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Smartphones, by definition, are smart cell phones, and they offer their users a lot of features: they can make calls, they can send/receive e-mail, surf the Web, be connected with their friends, family and work colleagues, they have multimedia centers on the mobile device, what could they want more? A smartphone is like a Swiss Army Knife for professionals.
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New tools are added to smartphones, and people seem to like them more and more daily. For example, more and more people use the built-in GPS and find it very useful, because it helps them to find specific locations and the best thing is that the number of the GPS-equipped models is continuously growing. Cell phone carriers understand its utility and they started to create special services for GPS devices, like Verizon's VZ Navigator, Sprint's Sprint Navigation and AT&T's TeleNav GPS Navigator.

GPS capabilities started to show their utility, and now they are not seen anymore like a luxury show-off. It really helps smartphone users to get real-time position tracking, they get text and voice guidance for reaching destinations, and a lot of points of interest. There are also trade-offs, not only advantages: the small screens are not suitable for car usage, and the GPS radio will affect battery life, in a negative direction, of course, but the voice prompts and helps you to avoid these problems, by announcing you when the battery is almost over.

GPS manufacturers are trying to enter mobile devices market, and they created a navigator-phone which offers part of a smartphone's features, but its design is focused on the GPS feature, and it somehow is a novelty, but it cannot be compared with the smartphones available on the market.

There are a lot of smartphones which have GPS capabilities, but if you already have one which cannot help you with this feature, you can add it this functionality with a Bluetooth receiver. Taking into account that a standalone GPS device is not anymore the only way to get navigation guidance, you can think of smartphones or cell phones which have GPS support, and if they do not have it, you can add software or accessories to transform your mobile phone into a navigation device.



If you have a Bluetooth enabled smartphone, you can pair it with a receiver, and this is how you will get real-time tracking on your mobile device. A lot of receivers come with mapping software, but you should check on the manufacturer's website on in the device's manual to see if it is compatible with the phone. If you don't need to deal with external gadgets, you can just get a car kit, which is a standalone GPS, with maps preloaded on an SD card.

With the solutions offered by network carriers you can get turn by turn driving directions and colored maps; moreover you can search for local businesses or interest points, and in some cases you can get the traffic updates so you can take the shortest and less crowded road to your destination. These solutions from the big carriers require a subscription fee, and as an alternative, you can use Google Maps for Mobile to get the same features (it is free, but you need a data plan for maps and traffic information).

Here are some good smartphones, GPS enabled, and for each of them a short description about how GPS works on them.



BlackBerry has released the latest device with a large touchscreen which can switch immediately between vertical and horizontal views. This large screen is perfect for GPS applications and it works better with business applications that its predecessors.



T-Mobile G1 is the first mobile device which runs the Android OS, and it includes a GPS receiver (built-in) and it has also location-based applications, like Loopt.



Palm Pre provides the standard locating information and the directions, and it is also linked to Pre's universal searching feature, which includes Wikipedia, Google, and Google Maps. Sprint Navigation is installed on the phone when you purchase it, and this application includes: driving directions (turn by turn), business finder with more than 10 million points of interest, traffic alerts and fuel prices, but full nationwide color maps too.

In the Apple AppStore, there are more than 400 navigation dedicated applications available for iPhone 3G, and it remains the champion in services and applications too. Just to mention some applications, I would name Snocatore, GPS Lite and Groundspeak for geocaching.



The only winner in all this competition is the customer, which has only benefits from this war between the smartphones manufacturers, because the features which are added in this competition between the companies only help the users and they make their smartphone user life easier.

People are crazy with their passion for all sorts of social networking websites. I know they are, as I’m one of them. I have an infinite number of accounts on websites I couldn’t remember if I didn’t have them all written in a Microsoft Word document that gets completed with each new account that makes me feel a complete person.

I have an infinite number of accounts and an equal number of passwords, so my memory is the most pleased with this situation. It’s all crap what it has to remember on a regular basis, but that the way things go and there’s nothing I or anyone else could do about it.

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The number of accounts is what defines me as a person. So, I should really take into consideration the idea of having a Facebook account also. Especially now, that a new version of the Facebook for iPhone, the 3.0, is very close to becoming available in the market. It seems that there isn’t much to do until it gets completed, so it will be released sometime in the near future, most probably via the App Store.



As expected, the Facebook for iPhone 3.0 will come with a wide variety of improvements and additions, such as: a brand new homescreen, events (there’s also the ability to RSVP), pages, notes, news feeds and enhanced notifications. More than that, you will have the chance to create photo albums, to upload the pictures you’ve taken, to tag them, to use the zoom functionality or to add favorite profiles or favorite pages to the new homescreen.

(Source: UnwiredView)

Nothing compares to a nice looking accessory destined to be used with an Apple product, such an iPod or an iPhone. Take a case for example. There can never be enough cases on the market, because customers are quite pretentious: some like them to be bright and shiny, some clear, some waterproof, some with crazy designs, some with clips and the list goes on and on, ‘til the end of time.

Due to a wide diversity of needs, it’s understandable why there must be a wide diversity of choices, so that everyone can find the one that fits best to their needs.

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The iClooly Clip Stand iPhone 3G Case is something that does two things simultaneously: not only it makes a stand for your iPhone, but it also helps it clip to your clothes. Not to mention the fact that there is enough room between the phone and the clip so that you slip your hand there and still feel it comfortable.



Therefore, if you know you’re clumsy and you always drop your things on the floor, this is a great alternative for you. As I can imagine from the pictures, it seems that you can only have your iPhone standing up, so you won’t be able to watch a movie, for example, in the wider form.



The case is available in three color versions, such as white, black, and the last one is a combination between black and red (the case is black and clip is red). The new iPhone case with clip can be purchased from MaxiMobileShop for an amount of 24,95 €.



(Source: coolest-gadgets.com)

People are crazy about the iPhone, even if many devices were announced and presented to the public as iPhone’s competitors and the manufacturers were very enthusiastic about them, hoping that they will actually knock the Apple handset down. They are crazy about it and they can hardly wait for the new generation which is expected to become available sometime time summer.

While waiting for the new iPhone release, we can enjoy ourselves with concepts that are meant to help us forget a little bit about it and make the waiting somehow pleasant. Not to mention the fact that some of these concepts look actually pretty good.

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So, let’s welcome a newcomer that was created by designer Adam Hutchinson. The phone was called “iPhone Magnet” due to the fact that the most impressive feature on its board is a magnetometer. I’m not sure whether the designer agrees with the name, but let’s call it this way for the moment.

As far as the features are concerned, this iPhone concept comes with a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, an integrated mirror, a frontal video camera, video voicemail, a magnetometer which is nothing but a digital compass, meant to increase the gaming experience, the changing-color home button which is designed to alert you of the new messages that you receive and of the notifications and an internal memory of 32GB.

The main disadvantage of the iPhone Magnet is that it’s just a concept for the moment and chances are pretty high for never hitting the mass production. Unfortunately.

(Source: concept-phones.com)

I said once that the iPhone resembles a very rare and captivating mystery of this world we live in, as it creates sensation and dependence wherever it is willing to show its face. People are crazy about the Apple device and carriers from all over the place are trying their best in order to have the iPhone in their line of products.

But it seems that I was wrong. In a way. It seems that there’s an exception to the rule. Or at least this is what rumors are telling us. Fido, a Canada based carrier, has decided to gives us all the biggest surprise ever, announcing everyone that they are not interested (not anymore) in the 16GB iPhone 3G. More than that, the carrier is preparing to get rid of the Apple handset, being eager to deplete the stocks during the next month. And the surprise is that they won’t restock.

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Now, we’re all curious why in earth Fido decided to do such thing, as it looks like suicide, when looking from outside. Same rumors say that Fido’s plans to discontinue the sales of the iPhone 3G is based on the fact that the device is too expensive for their tastes, especially now, when they’re trying to focus on entry-level consumers. After all, the iPhone 3G 16GB can be purchased from Fido for $299, if signing a 3-year contract agreement, which is, of course, quite a lot.

However, Fido doesn’t give up on the 8GB version, which is a little bit confusing. Anyway, if you live in Canada you might want to give Fido a helping hand. Buy iPhone 3G!

(Source: phonesreview.co.uk)