As Mike recently pointed out, Adele is a phenomena who popularity exploded this year because… she has a great voice and the songs are great! She’s had a rough time lately however thanks to throat surgery and a silent recovery.

After a polyp was removed Adele was told not to speak for a month. According to an upcoming interview on 60 Minutes, Adele, who loves to talk, found the silence more difficult than the actual surgery. Fortunately for her she lives in the era of smartphone apps. As she explained,

I had an application on my phone that you type the words into it and then it speaks it.

But there’s more. You see, most text-to-speach apps offer G-rated language and Adele is a self-professed potty-mouth. … Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

(image courtesy Activerain.com)

I received a text message from a professional person yesterday that set my teeth on edge. The content was fine, but it was presented in a very unfortunate way. See, any place “you’re”, “you”, or “are” should have been used, she replaced it with “UR”, “U”, and “R”. Unless she’s on a special texting plan where she pays by the letter (unlikely), there’s no excuse for those abbreviations in a professional setting.

Sadly, this has been a trend I am encountering more and more, even with adults in a corporate setting. Text-speak is bad enough with personal messages, but at least those are informal. When you’re trying to present yourself… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Study after study has shown that teens text more than ‘older’ folks, something I can attest to as my kids rack up thousands of texts each month while my wife and I only do hundreds. But now, as more and more kids are getting smartphones … they are starting to lead the charge in data consumption as well according to a recent report.

Here is a sample:

Teens ages 13 to 17 used 256% more mobile data in the third quarter of 2011 than in the same time period of 2010. Teens took in 320 MB of data per

Last week when a video of a woman falling into a fountain at a Pennsylvania mall showed up everywhere, it was interesting … especially since I first noticed it on Windows Phone Thoughts where it was highlighted as ‘Windows Phone 7 Ad Comes True’.

Microsoft, you might recall, has a new phone generation out (you are forgiven if you missed it, and the 40 people who bought them will probably not notice), and their commercials show people completely immersed in their phones to the point of missing out on real life. Here is the mall security video showing the event:

Fortunately, you can immediately see that the person wasn’t seriously… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Growing up with today’s technology has its advantages.   Constant access to family and friends via social networking, and the ability to take all of your music, photos and videos with you wherever you go are just a few perks.   As many parents will tell you, there are also downsides to growing up in  the “always connected” generation.

Kids can all to easily be maliciously bullied via texting, Twitter and Facebook.   All without any physical contact.  Even worse, kids can even become targets for sexual predators — all from that mobile phone you gave them only for ‘emergencies.’     A company called SMobile is working to help families block what’s dangerous… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nashville, Tennessee was recently devastated by flooding.   Many families have been displaced as their homes and possessions were literally submerged under water or completely washed away.  The disaster is one  that has hit especially hard for me  since I grew up in Tennessee, and still have  family and friends living throughout the state.    While local communities in the area have certainly come together to help those impacted,  I know many people– like myself — would also like to contribute in some small way.

That’s where the American Red Cross comes in.   The organization is helping  to shelter and feed those impacted by disaster (just like they did after the earthquake in Haiti).  While each of us as individuals may not be able to do everything to help, coming together and doing something as simple as sending a text to ’90999′ and inputting ‘REDCROSS’ will provide a $10 donation (charged to your wireless bill).  Multiply that $10 by thousands of givers and you can imagine the ripple effect.   A very simple action suddenly helps make a huge difference in someone’s life.

The American Red Cross’s ‘Text 2 Help‘ disaster relief fund is set up to assist disaster victims across the country.  Read on for a list of participating U.S.  wireless carriers.

Smartphones are all the rage, right?  We’re a society that’s constantly connected via our high-priced unlimited data plans to keep us Facebookin’, Tweeting, and reachable 24x7x365.   Add our insatiable desire for apps — be it games or the latest and greatest promise of added productivity — and we’ll gladly fork over a few more bucks.

So what is all this about “dumb” (feature) phone apps?   I mean, first there was the announcement that AT&T was going to push Qualcomm’s BREW platform for feature phones.  Now we see that Shorthand Mobile is bringing even more app goodness to phones that don’t require a data connection.

Could this be the next ‘App Goldrush??’ Read on to see why carriers and consumers alike love this new appraoch.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

An ongoing problem these days is simply how to keep up with everything and everyone? You’ve got email, Twitter, Facebook, Instant Messaging (or IM’ing as the kids simply abbreviate it these days).   Don’t forget SMS texting.  Unless you’re out on Mount Kilimanjaro you better get used to the expectation of being connected — and reachable — by at least ten different communication methods.   And they’ll all be used before you even get a phone call.

With this onslaught of communication overload, how are you going to manage?  Are you going to ball up in the fetal position and cry yourself to sleep at the mere thought of all of the apps you’re going to need to purchase and learn how to use (much less check to be sure you’re on top of it all)?  Aw, heck no!   That’s where we have you covered.   See, Shape Services recently released a very special version of their popular IM+ application.

What makes it so special you ask?  For starters, this single application will connect you to just about every single instant messenger out there (Google Talk, Yahoo, MSN, etc.) as well as Facebook and Twitter.  All from one app and one screen.  If that’s not enough to make you want to try it out how about a pricetag of   $0.00.  That’s right folks, it’s F-R-E-E.    Want more reasons?  You sure are stubborn.  Ok, then let’s get to it.  I’m gonna show you why you’ll want — no, NEED — IM+ Lite on your BlackBerry.

Ok, we all know that logically, texting while driving isn’t a smart thing to do.  It’s too distracting from driving, and one could wind up with some serious repercussions. And, in cases where the state hasn’t enacted the law about requiring a Bluetooth headset while talking on the phone, the same thoughts apply.  This is just common sense.

So, state legislatures have been working hard to put laws in place to ban phone usage and texting while driving to save us from those ‘serious repercussions.’  Has it worked?  Well, according to a study put out by the Highway Loss Data Institute, the answer is no.

“The laws aren’t reducing crashes, even though we know that

Looking for a way to give assistance to Haiti in the wake of the tragic earthquake? Thanks to the Red Cross and Yele Haiti, you can do it through a text message.

To donate to the Red Cross, text HAITI to 90999; this will automatically donate $10.00 to Haitian earthquake relief, billed to you through your cell phone. If you’d prefer to support singer Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti, text YELE to 501501 (this donation is for $5.00).… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The march of applications to Android continues, as GOGII’s textPlus has landed in the marketplace as well. textPlus lets you organize group text messaging as well as individual texts. This is perfect if you have friends you have not yet assimilated into the wonders of smartphones, and therefore email is out, but texting is king.

If this app sounds familiar, it is because it first launched on the iPhone, and is now expanding to more platforms. Group texting is only one part of the feature list; coming soon will be the ability to send messages from a textPlus address instead of your phone number (great if you don’t have a texting plan)! Check out the demo video, and then hit the jump for the press release and more information on this great app!… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

GOGII recently launched version 2.1 of the textPlus application for iPhones and iPod touch devices.  What does the update bring to the table, you ask?  How about unlimited group texting.  Not flashy enough?  OK, fine.  How about Free Unlimited Group texting. That’s right, you can ditch the SMS text plan from your wireless carrier and go the free route with textPlus.  The application lets users create groups of up to 50 people and use a single broadcast text message to instantly communicate back and forth with all participants at once (think a “reply all” feature for SMS). This is an application that would work great for sports teams, families, students, businesses, and just about any organization that needs to be… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

At what age do kids need cell phones?  It’s a question my wife and I have been struggling with lately.

I’ve heard stories of six year old kids getting iPhones from their parents.  There’s no way we’re prepared to go that route.

My oldest daughter is nine and has been hammering us for a cell phone over the last year.  It’s on her Christmas list this year and she’s recently started an all out campaign to make sure it’s under the tree this year.  By campaign I mean she’s making sure she’s cleaning her room every day, being more responsible with her things etc. All things we as parents try to get her to do regularly.

But the real question is at nine years old does she really need a cell phone?… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

In talking with people that send text messages (SMS), one of the most frequent things I hear is that they wish they could save some of their SMS messages. Many of them have lost their messages forever if their phone is damaged/replaced/upgraded, or they run out of room and are forced to delete them. There is a very useful application for Android called SMS Backup that helps you save your SMS messages to Gmail so you can keep them forever.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I am still a bit surprised by AT&T’s sudden decision to allow VOiP over 3G. Happy but surprised. Sure the decision might just be an attempt to deflect some of the mounting criticism over lousy service (30% of calls in NYC are dropped!!) and numerous conflicts over apps like Google Voice and Slingbox. But no matter what the reason, I’ll take.

AT&T has had a good couple of week. First they finally got MMS pushed out to iPhones. Now 3G VOiP. What’s next?? Perhaps tethering? NOPE! Don’t expect it any time soon.

Here’s why…

According to a Wall Street journal post, when asked about the possibility that tethering would be… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...