They call it the Storm, but it is anything but disastrous.  The new Storm phone by Blackberry is the first touch screen Blackberry.  Verizon Wireless is the first network to carry this phone and is currently advertising buy one Blackberry get one free! I liked the sound of this so much that I went out and bought myself the new Storm and got one for my mother too!  I was skeptical at first since I had heard that this phone was “slow” but all I can see is clear skies ahead.  This new Blackberry allows you to perform all the normal Blackberry phone functions.  Its biggest perk though is the touch screen makes for an easier time using your phone and less of a hassle with small keys. 

The Storm is my first Blackberry phone and I have to admit that life is so much easier with it.  On my previous phone I could not check my email, go on the web, or Blackberry Message people. On the Storm I can do all of these things and a lot more.  The Storm has a very distinct feature that other touch screen phones do not have. When you touch a certain part of the screen it lights up blue showing where you are touching.  To actually choose something, you can press down on the screen and “click it” to perform an action on your phone.  This allows you to click what you actually want to click, and not just any random key.  Another amazing characteristic of this phone is that it can be used horizontally or vertically and automatically changes for you when you turn your phone.  This feature comes in hand because when I turn it horizontally, I get a full keyboard to type on, and when I turn it vertically, I can use a compact keyboard that has two letters per key.  At first I had trouble typing on this screen, but luckily the phone has a typing wizard that teaches you how to type on it and in a matter of hours I was having no problems using the touch screen.  The Storm allows you to enjoy having a phone without worrying about unreliability or a dim screen.

I would strongly recommend the Storm phone to anyone looking for a dependable Blackberry that is easy and fun to use.  I am able to transfer tons of documents, music, and pictures to my phone through my USB cord and Bluetooth.  This has been very helpful because I have not had the burden of lugging my laptop around as much because everything I need is on my Storm.  What a relief!  The Storm may have the name of catastrophe, but it has proven to be a ray of light in a plethora of disasterous phones.

• To get your own Blackberry Storm via Amazon.com Click Here
• To review special pricing on the Blackberry Storm Click Here

Hello Party People,

Amazing Tech Guy here to tell you about a little technology that I’m sure you’ve noticed, but may not fully understand. Your phone may have it, or your laptop. You may not even know you have Bluetooth, but you may recognize that logo. Whatever your familiarity with Bluetooth may be, it’s likely that you’re missing out on a great opportunity to clear yourself of wires.

Bluetooth is all about creating what’s called a “Personal Area Network” around you. When you have a Bluetooth device that sends and a Bluetooth device that receives, you can send all kinds of information between the two devices without needing any wires or cables.

For example: I have a cellphone that is Bluetooth compatible. I can use a Bluetooth headset to talk hands free without needing wires. Additionally, I can “pair” my cellphone to my Mac Mini and share address book information between my computer and my phone.

Pairing is a system that’s used to link two Bluetooth devices together. You don’t want your cellphone connecting to hands free headsets all willy nilly, do you? In order to use two Bluetooth devices together, you need to link them together. It’s an added layer of security to keep people from accidentally listening in on your phone calls.

So, what can you use Bluetooth for? The most common use is the aforementioned hands free headset, but there are lots of other uses:

• Headphones: Many new MP3 players are coming with Bluetooth built in, and use an adapter if your portable audio solution isn’t hip to the newest technology. Just plug the adapter into your headphone jack, and it will beam the sound to your headphones. The range on Bluetooth is decent enough that you can leave your MP3 player on your desk and not get any crackle as you move around the office.
• Virtual Keyboards: We’ve discussed these on the blog before. They beam a laser map of a keyboard on any flat surface, and let you type on your phone or PDA.
• Printers: It’s not as reliable of a connection as using network cable, but if you want to share a printer with a few computers, it’s hard to beat the flexibility of only needed an electrical socket to find a home for your printer.
• Gaming: The Wii uses Bluetooth to connect those wireless remotes to the system, and enterprising tech heads like to re purpose them for all kinds of Bluetooth hijinks. The Playstation 3 uses Bluetooth to pair their gaming headsets to the system, allowing you to shout obscenities at 8th graders with crystial clear audio.
• Keyboards and Mouses: The wireless mouse and keyboard is nothing new, but most require connecting a receiver to your USB port. If your computer has built in Bluetooth, that’s a USB port you’re wasting unnecessarily. Link your mouse to your computer through Bluetooth and save that port for the little dog that makes humping motions when you plug it in.

What’s your favorite use of Bluetooth? Leave it in the comments!

It’s talk-safe time in California. On July 1st, California will follow 30 other states in implementing a ban on driving while talking on the cellphone. Everyone is buying headsets, even those who hate the pesky, poky, blinking, Martian antibodies.

My girlfriend had been complaining about hers from day one – she had a sore ear and a tangle of wires running from the headset to her phone. The audio quality was decent…err, until she blundered by opening the sun roof in her car. Her voice was instantly lost in the flurrying wind.

We decided to go together to an electronics mall and buy a better headset for her.It was overwhelming to walk down aisles flooded with tiny headsets. None appeared to us any more impressive than the other until..

We saw the Jawbone. Its sexy design made us ooh and aah. The Jawbone trumpeted itself in two simple words – Noise Assassin. It was bluetooth, so there would be no tangled wires. The Jawbone also came with different sizes of earplugs and earloops to fit every ear.

The Jawbone uses very advanced audio technology where a voice sensor at the bottom of the headset rests on your cheek and senses motion as you talk. It only picks up the sounds coordinating with the muscle movements in your cheek, so the background noise is completely ‘assassinated’, in Jawbone lingo. My friend was persuaded.

The next day she called me while driving. It was great – I could hear her crystal clear despite the windows being rolled down and the wind racing past her. The Jawbone got a thumbs up!

The Jawbone is a really classy accessory for anyone who has to answer a lot of calls all the time and doesn’t want to engage one hand with the phone. It is a bluetooth headset which automatically detects the phone it is paired with and connects to it seamlessly. Once your phone has been paired the first time, the headset disconnects from it when the phone is farther than 10 meters away, and connects automatically when the phone is in range.

The Jawbone also does not have any blinking buttons that make you look like you stepped straight out of Star Wars. It has discreet, invisible buttons which can be pressed lightly to answer or end a call, and control volume. The LED lights on the surface are discreet and not at all intrusive.

The Jawbone is the perfect bluetooth headset – both modern and functional. If you have not yet bought a headset, the Jawbone would be ideal to leapfrog you into July’s talk-safe time. The Jawbone would also make a great Father’s Day gift for Dad – give him something sleek and sexy, with a Noise Assassin and he will call you more often too!

• You can get your own Jawbone by Clicking Here

• You can check out special pricing options by Clicking Here

• You can review pricing comparisons on this product by Clicking Here

July 1st is fast catching up with all of us here in California. After 38 other states in the country, California is also going to implement a ban on mobile phone usage while driving – forcing a lot of us to abandon the single-handed steering maneuvers while talking on the phone.

The only way to continue yapping in the car is to use headsets. Last week, I finally decided to buy a bluetooth headset before it is too late and I get a ticket.

Trust me I have tried using these pesky things more than a couple of times in the last few years.  But one of two things happened – either the headset was discharged just when I plugged it into my ear to receive a call, or I would take it home to charge and forget to get it back to the car. The last time I owned a headset was before it got crushed under a truck’s tires (I was crossing the road with a bunch of shopping bags and the headset in my hands, dropped the headset and heard a silent crunch as it got squashed to bits under a passing truck…sigh)

Scanning aisle after aisle looking at tons of tiny headsets, I was so sure that I was going to lose whatever I bought and would be back here in a week’s time – looking for another one.

And then I saw the Yada! It is amazing how the most basic design can be the perfect solution to all our headset troubles. The straight, simple lines, accessible push-click button are both functional and sophisticated.

The Yada bluetooth headset has a simple, easy-to-figure-out design. It connects easily to any bluetooth enabled phone in two simple steps – turn on the bluetooth on both the phone and headset and enter the passkey on your phone. Voila!

The Yada can connect to up to eight bluetooth devices – so everyone in your family can use the it if need be, and you can also hook it up to your multiple phones, including VOIP phones.

The best bit about the Yada is that it has a charging dock that mounts to your dashboard or air vent and plugs into the cigarette lighter in the car – so the headset is always charged. And I don’t have to take it out of my car, so it is always there when I need it. Now that solves all my troubles.

The charging dock also has an attached dock for my phone. It is a universal phone holder (I wish it could charge my phone too but sadly it can’t) it has two expandable arms that can secure any phone, so they don’t end up on the car floor.

An amazing feature of the Yada is its auto-power, auto-answer and auto-end functions. As soon as you sit in the car and start it, it automatically detects your phone’s bluetooth signal and connects to it. And it automatically powers off it it does not detect bluetooth signals from your phone for over an hour.

The auto-answer function allows you to just lift the the headset and place it into your ear to answer a call. And when you are done, just place it back into its dock to end the call. Alternatively, you can place it in your ear – it is quite small and sits snugly – and push a multi-function button on its surface to answer or cancel calls.

Aah, the days of bending double and squinting under the car seat looking for my phone and headset are over. The Yada is just what I needed for my everyday driving needs – it’s sure an amazing tech product!

• You can get this product via Amazon by Clicking Here