There are some wild predictions floating around about the predicted growth of Android-based mobile phone handset sales. Analysts in the industry are saying that there will be more than ten million of these handsets sold before the year is over. That’s a 900% increase! Is it possible?

It’s probably true that there will be a large increase in Android-based handset sales between this year and last year. That is because there are more companies offering these phones and the increased availability combined with the slow start of sales when the product launched could lead to a large percentage difference in sales.

But will there really be ten million handsets sold? We’re already almost halfway through the year so some major sales would have to take place in the last half of 2009 to make that happen. I’d be surprised if sales go that high but it’ll be interesting to see how close they get. There are definitely some interesting new handsets on the horizon.

Tags: android, google, mobile, phones, predictions, Technology

Quick – think of the ways that you could use your phone to catch a criminal. Obviously if you witnessed a crime in action then you could call the police with your mobile phone to report the crime. And if you were a victim in a situation such as a kidnapping then you might text to get out of trouble and get your captor caught. But did you know that there are quite a few other ways that criminals are caught because of cell phones?

Take a look at these ten ways cell phones catch criminals. You might be surprised by a few of them. For example, did you know that cell phones emit a certain smell and that the same dogs that are used to find drugs can be used to find cell phones in certain illegal situations? There is some strange stuff going on out there in the world of fighting crime.

Now, get creative … I’d love to hear your thoughts on the most creative ways that we, as average citizens, could use cell phones to catch criminals in the act so that they would be caught. Share in the comments …

Tags: criminal, criminal justice, justice, law, legal, mobile, phones, Technology, Wireless

Chances are that you don’t carry a camera with you on a daily basis because your phone has a camera built in to it that you can use if you wish to take pictures. And you probably don’t carry a separate music player anymore because your phone can play that role as well. And if you’ve got a smart phone with high speed Internet connections then you usually don’t even need your laptop anymore. And coming soon to the future near you is the chance that you probably won’t even need a debit or credit card on you anymore because your phone is going to be able to complete transactions for you.

The area of Near Field Communications (NFC) is improving. This technology allows certain phones to be swiped in front of readers as a method of making a payment when you are completing a transaction at a local store, toll booth or parking garage. Trials of this wireless technology are being successfully completed and businesses are starting to launch this service around the world. It’s going to be a little while before we actually see this technology in America but we’re on our way to that kind of future.

Tags: mobile payment, near field communication, nfc, phones, Technology, Wireless

What do you use your cell phone for most of the time? A few years ago, the answer to that question would’ve been “phone calls” for all but the die-hard CrackBerry addicts. Today, with the option of using phones for everything from texting to sending pictures to accessing the Internet, it is unlikely that the service that you use your phone for most frequently is actually placing or answering voice calls. However, times could be changing again and announcements from three major companies seem to indicate that voice communication could be finding a toehold in the cell phone business once again.

Recent announcements in the world of mobile phones include the launch of Google Voice, the debut of Alcatel-Lucent’s Rich Communications Manager and the development of Skype mobile VoIP for the iPhone. All three of these announcements are related to the launch of new types of voice-based services for cell phones. What all three have in common is that they also feature modern use of advanced cell phone technology to enhance voice calls so that they become more than just voice communication.

I’m curious to see how this area of mobile phone use develops over the next couple of years. There’s been a big push towards unified communications in which your mobile and landline experiences as well as your PC and phone experiences are all merged much more seamlessly than they are today. The developments in voice communication for mobile phones seem to be taking us further in that direction. Interesting how a return to the original use of phones may be a key feature of moving us forward in their development.

Tags: cell phones, communication, development, google voice, kathryn vercillo, mobile phones, phones, unified communications

As someone who has written regularly about technology, I find myself always looking for the latest news about trends in different sectors of the tech world. Things change so quickly – there is always a new gadget or new version of something being announced. So it’s interesting to me when there are types of technology that take time to really develop.

The example that I’m thinking of is the development of femtocell technology in the wireless sector. People have been talking about femtocells for awhile now but the average person still doesn’t know what this technology is. That’s because we haven’t quite developed a way to use it that is of interest to the average consumer.

Basically femtocell hubs can be used to improve the call quality of indoor cell phone calls. Recently it has also been found to significantly boost data transfer speeds on Internet-enabled phones in the home. These are things that people do want to have access to so it’s just a matter of time before the technology takes off. It’s just interesting to me that it’s taking so long considering how many different tech things have come and gone in the meantime. I like watching technology develop over time, don’t you?

Tags: cutting edge, developments, dialaphone, femtocell, phones, Technology, Wireless

I’ve been eyeing the development of the Google Android-platform based phones since a few years ago when it was just rumored that there was some sort of Gphone in the works. As time has gone on, we have learned that Google didn’t create its own phone but instead created a platform which can be used to develop a phone. And now those new phones are beginning to be released to the market and I’m intrigued.

The first phone that came out was the G1, a T-mobile phone with smartphone features and a unique design that incorporates both a touchscreen keyboard and a full QWERTY keyboard. Right on the heels of that phone, the same handset maker (HTC) is about to come out with the HTC Magic. Although this phone is also an Android-based phone, the differences in the handset between this and the G1 make it possible to see how one phone platform can be implemented differently because of design.

The HTC Magic is probably only coming out in Europe although rumors indicate a version of it may reach the U.S. at some point later this year. I’m not itching for it to come here or for me to get my hands on it. However, I’m interested in continuing to watch the phones that are developed on this platform. I think there is a lot of potential for something really creative and cool to come out of this situation … I just don’t quite feel like I’m seeing it yet.

Tags: android, g1, g2, google, google phone, htc magic, phones, Technology

I am interested by almost all types of art. I’m just as happy to browse through a small independent gallery as a huge art museum, to attend a dance event or a live music performance, to fingerpaint or take a sewing class. I believe that exposing yourself to art of all kinds broadens your perspective on life and enhances your creativity.

But there are some types of art that capture my attention more so than others, of course. Found art is one of those types of art, as I’ve mentioned here on the blog before. And another is art that is combined with technology. One such type of art is mobile phone art.

There are a lot of different types of mobile phone art out there. People actually take recycled mobile phones and use them in sculptures and found art pieces, creating mobiles and structures that are visually stunning despite the ordinary-ness of the mobile phone. Other people use the phone as the means to make art, creating interactive audio and visual performances from the phone or filming videos on the phone and turning those into art.

I find this all to be really interesting. We use our phones every day but most of us don’t think twice about them in terms of their potential for creativity. As mobile phones get more and more advanced, that potential just opens up even wider. I think it’s inspiring … it makes me look at my own cell phone in a whole new light!

Tags: art, cell phones, creativity, found art, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, mobile phone art, mobile phones, phones, recycled art, tech art, Technology

Last week I asked the question: how long should you keep your cell phone? As part of a life of frugal living, people should probably try to make their phones last as long as possible so that they aren’t spending more than necessary on new phones and increased phone bills.

Another important question to ask is how much should you pay for your cell phone? What do you think is a reasonable price to pay for a device? And is your decision impacted by the monthly cost of services on that phone?

I did a Nokia N97 review recently which highlighted all of the reasons that a lot of people are really interested in this new phone which is set to come out in the summer. But there are rumors going around that the phone is going to have an outrageous price of $1000. Even if those rumors are incorrect, the price is likely to be at least half that. Is $500 too much to pay for a cell phone?

I come from the school of frugal living as far as phones go. I try to keep both the cost of the phone itself down and also try to limit my monthly spending. However, I do think that it’s sometimes wortwhile to pay for added convenience which is probably why so many people are footing the bill for the advanced smartphones that can do so much more than a basic cell phone can. So it’s a balancing act, I guess.

What is the most that you would pay for a cell phone?

Tags: cell phones, cost of phones, Frugal Living, mobile phones, phones, price of phones, shopping, spending, what to pay for phone, Wireless

One of the things that is making headlines this week in the tech world is the launch of Google Voice which is a series of voice services that serve as an upgrade to a phone service that Google acquired a couple of years back. The original service, GrandCentral, served the purpose of uniting all of your phone calls and voice mail messages under one number. The new advanced features of Google Voice take that one step further.

Basically, the idea behind GrandCentral was that you could use one phone number for the rest of your life and it would reach you at different cell phones and landlines around your world. This streamlines your calling. Google Voice has added some interesting new features that further streamline your voice calls and messages to make life easier for you in terms of communication.

The main cool addition is that Google Voice will turn your voice messages into text message transcripts. This means you can read them instead of listening to them. It also means that you can archive them and then have the ability to search through them again later. This seems great on a personal level and also might be good in terms of legal or business issues that come up … if you can always go back and search for the thing that someone told you on a message then you always have proof of what was really said. Cool stuff!

Learn how to sign up for Google Voice.

Tags: communications, google, google voice, grandcentral, internet, phones

The Nokia N97 is a new mobile phone that Nokia is coming out with in June of this year. It is a new phone in the N Series that Nokia is known for. However, it’s more than that because it’s also a flagship phone designed to be the start of a new line of phones that are advanced enough to really be considered mobile computers.

Advances in wireless technology have grown so much that we can now basically have a laptop computing experience right on our mobile phones. With advanced memory storage, multi-media features and new organizational tools, the Nokia N97 is a clear example of this trend in mobile phones.

Like most mobile phones coming out today, this is a touchscreen phone. However, it has a really unique design which allows for both touchscreen keyboard functions and full QWERTY keyboard functions. It’s a phone that looks to be worth keeping an eye on. You can read my complete review by following this Nokia N97 link.

Tags: cell phone, mobile phone, n97 review, nokia, nokia n97, phone review, phones, Technology, Wireless