Cell Phones
How to Make Your Own Ringtones for Free
Jun 1st
We have something here that many of you will like… making your own Ringtones for free. Using a program called Audacity (download here), any of your unprotected music— those not purchased through iTunes (check your songs in iTunes by right-clicking on a selected song, clicking Get Info, and then looking at the bottom of that first tab) and such, or in Mp3 or ACC format— can be shrunken down and subsequently placed onto your phone. For a full guide, see this ATT forum I found. This should work for most ATT phones—unfortunately excluding the iPhone or any other smartphone— and possibly for T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint.
But don’t be disappointed iPhoners. In iTunes, you’ll see the option to convert to ringtone for an iPhone—though only for an iPhone—for an additional $1.
zzzPhone Review- Windows Mobile Phone
May 11th
Well after a few other posts we’re back to finish our 3 part series on the zzzPhone. For those of you who are reading this for the first time we have 2 other parts in this series- the zzzPhone Standard review, and an interview with a zzzPhone head Jesse Nowlin. Now lets get to the main topic– the Windows Mobile 6.1 zzzPhone.
zzzPhone Windows Mobile version
LG Vu out today for ATT
May 4th
Well taking a break from our zzzPhone reviews, here is something new for ATT- the LG Vu. Believe it or not this is an iPhone competitor on ATT’s own network as this phone is designed exactly like the iPhone in that it is pretty much all touch screen. I actually was able to see the phone in person and have to say it is very small, shiny and light, but still has a 3 inch touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera with video recording, music player, full internet browser, ATT Video Share, 3G (which the iPhone is missing), as well as the big feature- ability to watch live TV on ATT’s new Mobile TV service. Channels on this new Mobile TV service include ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, and an ATT exclusive PIX movie channel, along with a few other channels. The Vu also got a higher rating than the iPhone from the editors at Cnet.com, coming in with an 8.3 rating compared to the iPhone’s 8.0.
LG Vu and iPhone
There will be 2 versions of the phone available- one with the TV and one without. Only the TV one came out today, and it costs $300 with the $100 mail in rebate, and if you want the TV service, that will add in an extra $15 a month in most cases. You can get the phone from your local ATT store or ATT’s mobile website.
Btw all you Verzion users- don’t worry you’ll supposedly have a similar phone in the LG Dare (all touchscreen with 3G, 3.2 megapixel camera, Mp3 player) this summer.
LG Dare
Jesse Nowlin zzzPhone Interview
May 2nd
So here is part 2 of our zzzPhone info series, the interview with Jesse Nowlin who has a big role in the company. We talked to him in this interview from everything from how he got involved to future products to advice for some of you out there who want to get involved in something like this now. Click on the more under the picture for the whole interview.
zzzPhone Review- Standard model
May 1st
Two days ago we said we would write a review of these phones-TV/Standard and Windows Mobile-and also an interview with one of the members in the company. So here is the first part of that with the review of the TV/Standard phone. PS you’ll notice some bold text throughout the post (like here), that is some of the main or interesting points that the “skimmers” out there may want to notice.
The zzzPhone!
First Look- zzzPhone
Apr 29th
Here is something that is completely new for us here at TeenTechBlog, a first look and “hands on” review of a product. The device we have here is a whole new cell phone concept out of China called the zzzPhone. What the zzzPhone does that separates it from all the other cell phones from manufacturers like LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Apple , is that the zzzPhone allows for the buyer to choose the features the buyer would like in their cell phone. An example of some of the features available to be customized are the camera (standard is 2 megapixels, but could go up to 5 or 7, and there is also an option to get rid of the camera all together and save $11). There are also many other features to choose from and we will be getting to them in the coming days with a review of this model and the smartphone Windows Mobile version (also touchscreen with a 2 megapixel camera, but also ships with the latest and greatest version of Windows Mobile… 6.1!). In the meantime here are a few pictures of both phones with more coming with the review and interview with a fellow teenager Jesse Nowlin who just so happens to be working in this company (and also hooked us up with the phones).
Click on the more link for some pictures- smartphone is the one with the full keyboard.
Future of Cell Phone Shopping?
Apr 18th
ATT and Microsoft have released today in a few select ATT stores a whole new way to shop for a cell phone. This new way is through a Microsoft product called Microsoft Surface. What it basically is, is a huge multi-touchscreen table computer, that in this case, would make your shopping for a new cell phone easier (seeing features of a phone, comparing multiple phones, shopping for accessories, etc.). Right now it is only released in 5 ATT stores in New York (2 stores), San Antonio, Atlanta, and San Fransisco (though more will be in other ATT stores soon). If you want some more info including store locations (for those of you who want to see this in person and/or are getting a new phone), photos of the new giant computer table in action, or video of that giant computer table in action see some of the links below. (Also by the way if your thinking that you want to get one of these as your next computer you may wanna start saving up for 2 reasons: 1. This will cost a whole lot of $$$ when it is released to the general public, and 2. It wont be released to the general public till 2011- or so they say).
Links:
Video courtesy of Gizmodo.com- Here
Store Info courtesy of Boygeniusreport.com- Here
Photos (including one above) courtesy of Engadget.com- Here
Top 5 Cell Phones- T-Mobile
Apr 14th
Here are the top 5 regular cell phones to get if your getting a new cell phone for T-Mobile, in the “free with contract” to $250 price range. Ratings provided from the Editor reviews at www.cnet.com . Pricing information is provided from the T-Mobile website www.tmobile.com.
1. Nokia Xpress: Music 5300. The Nokia Xpress: Music 5300 is a nice slider phone with some nice features. Those features include 1.3 megapixel Camera with ability to record video, available in multiple colors, Mp3 Player with external rubber controls, and a memory card slot. Another great thing about this phone is its price. It’s price as listed on T-Mobile.com is only $29..99 with a 2 year contract.
The Xpress 5300 is $29.99 for both of the available colors (black and lilac- think purpleish) with a 2 year contract, received an 8.3 out of 10 rating from the editors at Cnet.com.
Nokia Xpress: Music 5300 (in black)
Free Baseball Text Message Alerts for your Cell Phone
Mar 31st
As we all know (or should know) the 2008 MLB season is underway. Of course with most of the opening games taking place early during the day, it may be hard for some of us to keep up. I have recently discovered a site which can help Fantasy fanatics and sports fans everywhere (like me, I’m a big Yankees fan and found this site while trying to get scores for opening day game). This is a site provided by 4INFO.net that basically sends free baseball and sports text messages to your phone regarding score changes, inning-by-inning updates, player stats etc. (it also has other features like weather, news and other sports updates like March Madness, NBA). What makes this so great though is that unlike mlb.com’s text message updates (which are also free from the TeamTXT page), the user has more options to pick what they want—instead of just score and team news, a person can also choose lead changes, inning by inning etc. To sign up for this service from 4INFO all you need to do is create a free account with your email, cell phone number and carrier and phone type (RAZR, iPhone etc.), and then set up the updates you want. Mlb.com’s offer is similar but there you’ll need to only enter your cell phone number and team.
Just something to keep in mind: while these services are free from their respective companies, they do send text messages which cost money. This means that if you want something like score changes, then you should get a big texting plan because you never know how many runs will score in a game (remember last year’s 30-3 Texas vs Baltimore game), also if you want to stop the messages, at any time you could reply stop or stop all to a message sent to you. To get a texting plan may cost more money based on your wireless carrier, and you should check to make sure it is what you want before you buy it and sign up.
Enjoy and Go Yankees 
Example of 4Info from Yesnetwork.com
New tech from CES: Cell Phones
Jan 23rd
There were many new cell phones announced at CES from many companies, but here are some of the more interesting ones that we saw.
From Motorola: The Z10 and Rokr E8. The Z10, in terms of looks, looks like many simple slider phones, but it is actually very different. This phone slides out to, in a way, look like a banana in terms of shape (see picture below for better idea). It is also loaded with features like a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, ability to record movies in regular TV quality, a 2.2 inch screen, ability to add a micro SD card to increase the phones memory to 32 GB ( just a note: at this point cards in that high a memory range don’t run cheap), an FM radio, and Motorola’s Crystal Talk technology for better phone conversations. Unfortunately though according to Motorola this phone will not be launching in the US in this particular design, but will be available to purchase unlocked (buying the phone without a contract, this is usually at much higher price because it has no carrier to bring the price down).
The Rokr E8 is another new phone announced by Motorola at CES, and this is a phone that is generating a lot of attention. It is looking so good that Cnet.com gave it one of its Best of CES awards. What makes this phone so cool and different from other phones? For one it is running a completely different keypad. This keypad is not like other phones in that it stays in “phone mood” regardless of what your doing like listening to music, or taking pictures. The Rokr E8′s keypad actually changes from phone to music controls to picture controls based on what your using it for (see pictures below for greater detail). It’s also is promised by Motorola to be a better music player than regular music only devices. Other features on the phone include a 2 inch screen, 2 GB of built in memory with memory card slot to add more, Motorola’s Crystal Talk technology, and a interesting new feature that will let you read text messages while dialing or on a call.
The Z10 and Rokr E8 (in keypad and music controls)
