Verizon, the world’s leading cellphone service company has now decided it’s going to take back what it has told its loyal subscribers. The Unlimited Data plan that everyone was supposedly grandfathered into are going to be no more. Verizon’s current CFO Fran Shammo, said the company plans to force its existing unlimited data plan customers to move to a tiered offering this summer in an effort to drive more data revenue for the wireless carrier. 

Many Verizon customers are completely outraged with this as Verizon has nickel and dimed its customers to death the last year or so. First they put a charge in place “for the convenience” of being able to pay their bill online (Something no one else does), then they just within the last month put a $30 per phone line charge for upgrading your phone in place (this used to be a $30 discount which was intended as a benefit to keep you coming back to Verizon and renewing your contract), and now they want to do away with their Unlimited data customers plans (which all unlimited data plan customers were told they were grandfathered into once Verizon even spoke of tiered plans on their network).

Sounds to me like Verizon may be losing a lot of customers as this may be the straw to break the camel’s back…

To read more click here.

TaintDroid is an amazing tool to check out what your installed apps are sending and to where.Right now TaintDroid is not for everyone. It is in it developmental stage. However for application developers and rooted users of a Nexus S or a Nexus One this tool can be easily used. This tool can be easily incorporated to Android Development Kit. You can easily and safely test any application in a virtualized 2.3 Android operating system.

Two colleges, Penn State and Duke University both work together to target the most popular 30 apps on the market place for testing. Of the 30 apps 15 of them leaked GPS information to remote advertisement servers. The way it work is after installing TaintDroid, you run a program and then if the program sends anything over the network TaintDroid displays a notification in your notification area.

The best way to check this out is to go to their website and watch the demo video. It will give you a good example of how TanitDroid is used and a good understanding of the functionality. TaintDroid is open source and has no support other than their website and forum board.

Everyone loves the way their phones can navigate places for them, tell you what items are, give you times for events, etc. Now Google is working to bring that technology to your eyewear. Much like the futuristic scenes in many movies where the character looks around and a computer is analyzing everything they look at; Google’s new glasses are aiming to do the very same thing.

Google’s glasses will be able to set appointments for you and remind you about them, give you directions to somewhere you would like to go whether while walking or driving, or even help you meet up with friends using intergraded features of Google’s social media tool Google+.

While this futuristic technology seems far-fetched it was only a matter of time before Google, or another company invented a better, more hands free method of interacting with everyday life. This new design is meant to easily integrate into someone’s life and give them more readily available access to the Internet’s resource’s than ever before.

If you wwant to see a short clip of this cool new technology click here.

Do you have the same password for many locations, or do you wirte down passwords to help remember them?

LastPass is a password manager that can keep track off any passwords that you use online. It can generate and length and complexity of password that you would need. It is very user friendly. This can take the hassle out of your online security.

Lastpass stores all of your passwords in an encrypted database. Your passwords are encrypted with your "LastPass" password. Lastpass never records this password so do not forget it.Also for more security you can easily set-up many different types of 2-factor authentication including Google Authenitcator or Yubikey verification.

Google Docs is now offering Real Time collaboration with their popular Google Docs software. Google Docs which became popular for its web based productivity tools now allows users to see edits other users of the documents are making in real time, a feature that wasn’t previously offered.

Google Docs, while not offering the same amount of features that are in the ever popular Microsoft Office suite does offer one clear advantage, cloud storage. While this is not always a good thing, say when you’re out and about and do not have an internet connection, it does have its benefits.

Google Docs does offer many of the most commonly used basic features such as, bold font, italicized text, bulleted lists, and colored fonts. The other benefit is that these features are all now available on the Google Docs application for Android! 

If you’re interested in reading more click here.

That’s right one of the worlds most loved mobile apps is going to Facebook. Angry Birds which first debuted in on iOS devices in December of 2009 is now making the move to one of the world’s leading websites. 

The new version of Angry Birds is going to offer social network goers some more features not included on the Mobile or other Internet platforms. Angry Birds on Facebook will offer power-ups to allow players to beef up their arsenal against the competition. While Angry Birds is free to play however, the power ups are not. Power-ups can be purchased at the rate of 20 per 1$.

There are some users that are not to terribly happy with the new version however. Many people are saying that this should have been designed on HTML5 code rather than Adobes Flash Player 11. Guess it goes to show that Adobes not entirely out of the game yet…

If you are interested in playing the game you can check it out here.

If you just want to read more about the new game click here.

Android is becoming more secure. Apple being known for their very locked down operating system is soon to not be the only “secure” device out there for consumers to choose. While no device is entirely secure, Android is starting to take steps to ensure its users that the software available from legitimate sources is just that, legitimate. 

In the past there have been many malicious programs introduced that can cause everything from privacy issues, identity theft, or fraudulent charges to the phone users phone bill. Google is now taking some initiative to help secure the Market. While Android remains open source meaning anyone can create an application for the Market for users to download, Google has begun scanning all applications and running them in a virtual environment to watch them for malicious intent. Google is not only monitoring new applications uploaded but is also monitoring those already in existence.

It is nice to see that Google is taking security a bit more seriously but not actually locking down their software entirely. With Android being open source it allows its users/developers a very fertile ground for development and advances. With that openness comes security risks though that needs to be monitored. Keep up the good work Google!

To read more on the topic click here.

Say hello to the new breed of budget phones! While in the very recent past a budget cell phone offered little, if any features other than calling and texting (it wasn’t that long ago when they didn’t even offer texting) users of this type of phone may soon be able to access many of the features offered on the higher end phones.

Since phone manufactures consider a phone with the price tag of under $150 a “Low Cost” phone the users of phones in this category may be getting more choices of smart phones in the near future. Android, one of cell phones most popular operating systems, is yet again breaking new barriers. Many carriers are going to start offering phones in the “Low Cost” category with many of the same features of their more costly versions. Just this past week AT&T (Pictured) began advertising for a $29.00 smart phone featuring the popular Android operating system.

Keep in mind, you get what you pay for…While many computers can run an operating system for instance with say 512 MB RAM, it doesn’t mean you’re going to approve of the performance you get with that hardware. The same will apply with many of the budget phones…they have cheaper components in them and well…won’t run as well as the more expensive Android devices will.

My advice, save up a little extra money and spring for a decent phone if you think you need a phone with Androids feature set.

If you would like to read more about the upcoming Android devices expected to becoming out click here.

You may or may not have heard all the buzz about the wireless spectrums “running out of space”. If not then let’s play catch up, there are a number of companies stating that they need the government to step in an auction of some of the currently unused spectrum that other companies currently own or have rights to. That’s about it…

Anyhow, many of the large wireless carriers have high utilization on the spectrum ranges they are allotted but want to be able to purchase more of the spectrum (to the tune of billions of dollars) to increase their ability to provide newer services. Right now the largest carriers primarily use their spectrums for older wireless networks ranging from 2G to 3.5G and because of this do not have the available spectrum to expand to 4G and further on a large scale.

Several companies have a lot of spectrum available to them but do not have the financial capabilities or the business plan to expand on to these networks further. These are the types of companies the large wireless providers are pushing to sell of their unutilized spectrum.

For more on this story click here.

Since the recent drastic price cut/liquidation of HP’s WebOS TouchPad, many users have wished they were quick enough to snag one as well. After the weekend it was announced to be sold for $99 for the 16 GB Version and $149 for the 32 GB version it was sold out pretty much everywhere anyone looked. 

Some consumers thought they got lucky purchasing one at Barnes and Noble only to be disappointed when they received emails that their orders had been cancelled. Now in a Blog post release by HP Representative Mark Mudgell, consumers may have new hope. Mark states that he didn’t know if or when more will be available but also stated that he would have more information in the next few days.

Those of you hoping to get your hands on one of these deeply discounted Tablets may get your chance, and hey, if you don’t want to stick with WebOS, the device has already been ported to Android by the makers of Cyanogenmod (Even though many people said this would likely not be able to be done).

To read more about the blog post release by HP's Represenativie  click here. 

Mobile phones have come a long way in the past few years. I can still remember the “mobile” phones that were the size of a small back pack. Anyhow, phone companies have been coming out with many very interesting app’s ever since smart phones have come out from being able to mark your cars location to find it in a parking lot later to using GPS to find a destination half way across the world. What will they think of Next!

Well, a company named “Pet Tracker” has developed a new use for your mobile phone. Pet Tracker has developed a tracking system that includes the tracking device (Attaches to a dog collar) and docking station to charge the collar back up. This system runs on Verizon’s network and currently costs $199.99 for the initial package which includes the first years’ service. Yes, it is a service based application. That’s a cost that some pet owners may be willing to pay since the reward to possibly find your lost dog may be much more than that…

If you’re interested in reading more click here.

If you would like to see Pet Trackers website click here.

In the event that every parent’s worst nightmare were to come true, the FBI has developed an App for that. That’s right the FBI is even jumping on board with the mobile craze. This past week the FBI developed a new App that allows a child’s parents to add crucial information to help law enforcement agency’s find missing children more quickly. Once parents setup that appropriate contact information (of their local authorities) the App allows for one click emails, emergency calls, etc. to them which gives authorities more of the precious time needed to try and find the missing child.

The strange thing about this new app is that they chose to release it on Apple products first. With Android holding a significantly larger portion of market share when it comes to mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets one would think that would have been the platform of choice first. At any rate generally apps that hit Apple products end up on Android fairly quickly so if you have children keep an eye out for this app it just may be your child’s life line.

If you’re interested in reading more click here.

HBO Subscribers now have access to over 1,400 HBO shows, including HBO original programming, hit blockbuster movies, comedy specials, and even sports.  Streaming right from your Android or Apple iOS device, it is perfect for watching movies on your new Android tablet or iPad2 with their large display it makes viewing movies on-the-go a lot more enjoyable.  The App works on the iPhone and other Android Smartphones as well.  The App is free as long as you already have HBO on your TV and they support the major TV networks like Charter, DirectTv and AT&T just to name a few.

So if you already are an HBO subscriber you should check out your App market to download it and start watching movies today!

Have you ever wanted to play Angry Birds but don’t own a smartphone like the iPhone or a Droid.  Or maybe you do, and you just want to play Angry Birds on a bigger screen to make it easier to take down those pesky pigs.  Well now you can enjoy one of the top rated FREE games on the Android Market and Apple App Store, in your online browser!  Just click the link below… wait for the game to load… and enjoy knocking down as many pigs as you can!  

(Note: The game may take a few minutes as it has to load a lot of files).

(Note #2:  No birds were harmed in making of this game.)

http://www.angrybirdsnow.com/play/angry-birds-online/

Amazon has recently released Cloud Player, a music library in the “cloud”. Cloud Player from Amazon is easy to use, simply purchase your music through Amazon.com and your music is then synced to your Amazon account allowing you to access your music from any computer that has access to the web (Running Internet Explorer 8 or newer, Firefox 3.5 and above, Chrome, or Safari) .  All customers start with 5 GB free of Cloud Drive storage to help get you started.  And for a limited time, you can get a free upgrade to 20 GB of Cloud Drive storage with the purchase of an MP3 album!

Enjoy your music on the go with the Amazon MP3 app featuring Cloud Player for Android!  (iPhone / iPad version is not yet supported but will be available in the future).

A few weeks ago we talked about the Android OS taking over the tablet market.  Well Motorola has announced their new product featured at CES 2011 (Consumers Electronic Show)

Pronounced ZOOM, Motorola will be releasing the first ever tablet to run Google’s tablet-optimized Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system.  The tablet will have a rich 10.1” capacitive screen with a very high resolution of 1280x800.  The Motorola XOOM does allow for 1080p video playback so you can watch your movies in HD!  Also featured is a back AND front camera useful for taking pictures, or great for video chatting on Skype!  The Motorola XOOM, like all android devices (2.0 and up) will support Adobe Flash 10.1 player so you can view the web with no limitations.  The tablet will also have custom Apps designed for the tablet.  App’s like Gmail, and Maps user interface have been redesigned to have a more “tablet” feel to them.  But don’t worry all of the previous smartphone apps will run just fine on this bigger screen the Motorola XOOM has to offer!