GeekSugar

Where's My Cell Phone Reunites Phones With Owners

GeekSugar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:00:07 -0700

If you ever misplace your phone and don't have a friend nearby to give it a ring, a site called Where's My Cell Phone will call your phone so you can actually hear it hiding under that pillow. I guess you could even use it if you lose your phone and don't have a landline to ring your phone, although fingers crossed someone picks it up and answers it! Thankfully a whopping 90 percent of you said that you would return a lost cell phone or camera to its owner, so maybe you wouldn't have to use this handy site after all. Keep in mind, this site won't work its magic if your phone is on silent or vibrate!

Website of the Day: Where's My Cell Phone

GeekSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:46:20 -0700

What do you do when you misplace your phone somewhere in your house, you are home alone (no other cell phones at your disposal), and you don't have a landline? Tough one, isn't it. Promise not to laugh, but this has happened to me a few times after various sleepwalking episodes. I've seriously gotten up in the night, moved my phone, and it's nowhere to be found in the morning. That's when I turn to an awesome site called Where's My Cell Phone where you can enter your number and it will call your phone for you!

Currently this service is only offered in the US and they swear that they don't keep a record of numbers dialed.

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post.”
Give your story a “Title.”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets.”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click “I’m done” to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Source

Geek Tip: Take a Self Portrait With Your iPhone

GeekSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:50:24 -0800

One of my favorite iPhone features is its camera. It's of impressive quality for a cell phone camera, and has gotten successively better with each generation of iPhone released. Add the plethora of accessories meant to enhance the iPhone's camera and applications to enhance your photos, and my iPhone can produce better photos than my camera. But even with all of the additional bells and whistles, there was one thing I thought my iPhone camera couldn't do: take self-portraits. In fact, I thought the only real way to take a self-portrait was with a mirror, with the back of the iPhone in full view.

Sure, we joke about the famous self-portrait photos that show up all too often as Facebook profile pictures, the telltale extended arm in the photo holding the camera above eye level. But taking a self-portrait with an iPhone seemed nearly impossible; holding the phone in one hand, trying to tap the right place on the screen where the camera button is located, nearly dropping the phone on the ground. (Not that I've, um, tried this or anything).

But the iPhone self-portrait is possible! To find out how, read more.

The iPhone camera doesn't take the photo when you press the camera button, it snaps the image when you release it. So, in order to take a self portrait, open the camera function and place your finger on the camera button, but don't release. Then, you can turn the phone around, extend your arm, and take the shot. No more blurry photos or iPhone-in-the-mirror shots. Even more helpful? Make sure your phone is out of silent mode, so you'll hear the "click" of the shutter's release. Smile!

Do you have a helpful iPhone tip you'd love to share? Join our iPhone Tips group where you can share your tip and tell us why you love it so much. And your handy tip or trick could be featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Japanese Solar Powered Cell Phones Stream Live TV: Lucky!

GeekSugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:43:57 -0700

During my travels through Japan, I just had to stop by the Akihabara district. Known as "Electric City," it's packed with blocks and blocks of gadget shops, game arcades, and stores where you can get every kind of cable known to man. It was a geek's dream, and I was living in it.

Cruising around one shop in particular, I noticed how awesome Japanese phones are. Let me start out by saying there aren't many iPhones in Japan - they're way too expensive - and people don't seem to mind. Why? Well, on their slim but lengthy solar-charged flip phones, they can stream TV and watch movies from anywhere in the country. I couldn't help but be jealous of their advanced cell phone tech (and prices - these high tech babies were only about $150 bucks in-store). I say, forget the Solio and give me solar panels on my iPhone!

Check out more pics of the gadgets I found in the Akihabara district of Japan when you read more.

View 10 Photos ›

Ask a Geek Girl: What Does In-and-Out Holster Mean on My BB?

GeekSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:28:01 -0700

Dear GeekSugar,
I just got a new BlackBerry and was very excited to select my new ringtone and SMS notification sounds. When I am in my profiles, there's an option for setting for In Holster and Out of Holster, but I don't know what that means. Please help!
- New BlackBerry Owner

Dear New BlackBerry Owner,
You'd never guess it, but there are still people who choose to keep their BlackBerry in a holster (otherwise known as a cell-phone clip or case). All BlackBerry's feature a magnetic sensor right under the keyboard, and most BlackBerry holsters feature a magnet as well, so when your BlackBerry is in one of these cases, you can utilize the "in-holster" settings. So say you want your phone to vibrate for both emails and phone calls when it is in its holster, you can set your phone to do so.

Do you have a tech question you'd like to ask us? Join the Ask a Geek Girl group where you can ask everything and anything related to technology. And you never know, it could be featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

What's Worse: Poor Cell Service or a Bad Internet Connection?

GeekSugar — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:16:57 -0700

There are two unavoidable spots in my commute where I lose cell phone service. . .everyday. Yes, at this point I know to expect my call will be dropped when I hit those streets, but I have to get from point A to point B and I like talking to my sister on my way. I've explained the phenomenon to experts and they say it's a problem with the cell tower not being able to send a signal to those spots and I just have to learn to live with it until it is someday fixed.

Similarly, there are a few spots at work and home where I can't seem to get a solid Internet connection no matter what trickery I try. I recognize these are universal ordeals associated with living in a connected world and I should be patient, but it doesn't stop me from complaining. Which connection failure do you think is worse?

List Calls Out Cells That Emit Most and Least Radiation

GeekSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:25:06 -0700

We've heard talking on a cell phone before bed can result in health complications. We've heard that germs on cell phones can cause rashes. And about half of GeekSugar readers worry about their phone causing cancer or other health issues. We use our phones daily - sometimes for hours on end - but how bad is the radiation really?

The Environmental Working Group has crafted a list ranking more than 1,000 cell phones according to the radiation levels they emit. The list is based on technical data provided by the manufacturers.To see the top 10 best and worst rated phones (and more importantly, check where your cell stands), read more.

Lowest Radiation Phones	Highest Radiation Phones
1. Samsung Impression (SGH-a877) [AT&T]	1. Motorola MOTO VU204 [Verizon Wireless]
2. Motorola RAZR V8 [CellularONE]	2. T-Mobile myTouch 3G [T-Mobile]
3. Samsung SGH-t229 [T-Mobile]	3. Kyocera Jax S1300 [Virgin Mobile]
4. Samsung Rugby (SGH-a837) [AT&T]	4. Blackberry Curve 8330 [Sprint, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS]
5. Samsung Propel Pro (SGH-i627) [AT&T]	5. Motorola W385 [U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless]
6. Samsung Gravity (SGH-t459) [CellularONE, T-Mobile]	6. T-Mobile Shadow [T-Mobile]
7. T-Mobile Sidekick [T-Mobile]	7. Motorola C290 [Sprint, Kajeet]
8. LG Xenon (GR500) [AT&T]	8. Motorola i335 [Sprint]
9. Motorola Karma QA1 [AT&T]	9. Motorola MOTO VE240 [Cricket, MetroPCS]
10. Sanyo Katana II [Kajeet]	10. Blackberry Bold 9000 [AT&T]

Are You Stoked About the Launch of Windows Mobile 6.5?

GeekSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:05:03 -0700

There's a new batch of phones on the block, and they're out to steal away some market share from Apple. Launching on October 6, select phones on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint networks will begin running Windows Mobile 6.5 under the "Windows Phone" brand. Windows has seemingly taken a back seat in the cell phone department, with Blackberry, Apple, and Android obviously being the front runners to innovation and integration. I remember using Windows Mobile OS on my old T-Mobile MDA, and I have to be honest - it wasn't one of my favorite mobile experiences to date.

But now, Windows hopes to make a comeback in the mobile market with its newest operating system and Windows Marketplace, where you can browse and purchase apps for your phone. It's yet to be announced which devices will be available to run WM 6.5, but I'm curious to know - are you stoked about the launch this Fall?

What Do You Think of the Tamara Hope Palm Pre Ads?

GeekSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:33:25 -0700

The Pre, Palm's latest smartphone, is a pretty cool phone, with its attractive exterior and sleek OS, but its ads are another story. Where the first commercial featuring actress Tamara Hope was pretty epic, with a serene Buddhist scene, the most recent ads are a bit mind-boggling. In one, Hope talks of going with the flow, and more bizarrely, she admits that the Pre can do something cooler than let her read her email: it reads her mind.

I'm a little weirded out. But maybe I'm just used to my cell phone ads incorporating some catchy pop song and knee-jerk editing and I need to slow down and appreciate Hope's Zen-like attitude about her phone. What do you think of the ads?

Tech Dating 101: Taking Phone Calls at Dinner

GeekSugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:12:36 -0700

Welcome to Tech Dating 101, where I help disperse a double whammy of tech and relationship advice. I've covered how to interpret Internet signals before you're even dating, and how to unwire your ex from your life once you're not dating anymore, and now I'm tackling a question that hits right smack dab in a relationship. So you're happy, together, serious - and so comfortable that certain habits become problematic. The problem? When your partner answers his cell phone when you're having dinner. I don't mean a date scenario, where answering calls and texting is always considered rude, but the run of the mill, one on one dinners at home or out between a seasoned couple. To hear what I think, just read more.

So when I was growing up, my parents would be irate if telemarketers called during dinner. In fact if the phone rang, we always let it go to the answering machine - they drilled in me that dinnertime was never, ever phone time.

That's carried over into my adult life, even though I consider my iPhone my lifeblood. So I get pretty irritated when my boyfriend (or anyone else I'm with) answers a call at any dinner, casual though it may be. Hey, even though we're at home and not out on date trying to woo each other, it's still a sacred time to me.

My advice to anyone who has this problem is to decide what offends you - is it the attention being paid to the phone and not your time together, that he's answering the phone at all, or the amount of time spent on the phone once it's answered - like, is he saying "I'm having dinner, let me call you back," or is he having long chats while you stew - and eat your stew? Once you figure that out, gently let your boyfriend know how you feel and propose that no one looks at their phone during dinner, or the phone can be looked at if someone calls, but only answered if it's presumed an emergency. Let him know that you're not trying to be demanding, you just want to have real quality time with him.