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Lifehacker has yet another take on how people can use an iPod Touch as a replacement for the iPhone.
Their post goes even farther, by adding a Mi-F hotspot to give your Touch complete mobility.
I can't imagine that the battery for the Mi-Fi or the Touch would last a full day. However, my neighbor did just pick up a new 64GB Touch and says the battery life is much improved in the newer model.
While cell phones have become nearly ubiquitous in American society, fewer and fewer people, especially young people, are actually using them to talk.
Most adults still use their phones for calls, averaging five voice calls a day, according to a recent report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
But texting is gaining ground. Some 72 percent of adults send and receive text messages, but 87 percent of teenage users text. Teens average 50 text messages a day, according to the Pew report.
My youngest son is NOT an average user.
Our Verizon bill includes phones for my wife, a college student and a high-schooler.
My wife has her phone off as much as she has it on. She spent 256 minutes talking on her cell last month. She also sent a measly 28 texts.
But the two boys treat their cell phones like a lifeline. Their phones are almost always on. The college student logged 651 voice minutes last month (out-of-state girlfriend) and sent 361 texts
The high-schooler spent 158 minutes talking and sent -- brace yourself -- 10,907 texts!
I can't imagine sending that many texts, and I type for a living.
The other day I saw a woman waiting for her food at a local restaurant. She held one phone to her ear with her shoulder and was texting with a second phone at the same time.
My life should be so interesting!
Rumors of a deal that would allow Verizon to sell Apple's iPhone are swirling once again.
And, on Thursday, Verizon announced it would begin selling the iPad by the end of the month.
Which leaves the cheap tech shopper wondering ... is it worth the wait for an iPhone on Verizon's network?
Nah.
Truth is, data plans (from all the carriers) are ridiculously expensive. Added fees for tethering make the most useful smartphone an even pricier option.
Nearly all of my gadget-freak friends own iPod Touches and rely on the nearest free Wi-Fi to connect. While all of them lust for an iPhone, they love the Touch — and the extra $20 to $30 a month in their pockets -- enough to resist.
Have you sprung for a smartphone? Is it worth the money?
Google announced on Sunday that they have been testing a car that drives itself.
They sent out the automated cars (after mapping the route ahead of time and talking to the police) manned with a trained operator (who was charged with grabbing the wheel in case things went awry) and a software engineer who monitored how things were working.
Google claims it has logged 140,000 miles in its automated cars.
Which begs the question: If Google were to license the product and automated cars were available at your nearest auto dealer, would you buy one?
Google says the initiative was borne out of a desire to make roads safer. They say that automated vehicles could cut the number of U.S. accidents in half.
And if you had an automated car, what would you do during your commute? U.S. drivers spend an average of 52 minutes on the road to work and home.
Would you nap? Fire up the netbook and work? Surf the Web on your smartphone?
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