Kate Middleton Dress giveaway

This is a beautiful dress that is a Kate Middleton replica. Just click on this link to sign up for it!

http://katemiddletonstyle.org/erdem-jacquenta-dress-copy/

Amazon's Test Drive

I tried out the new solar panel charger for my iPhone. Sadly, it has already been returned to Walmart. But another one, same brand but different device, is on its way to me. The first device that I purchased charged itself in the sun for about 6 hours. I then plugged it in to my dead phone to see how much of a charge it actually gave me. It only gave me about a 30% charge. That just wasn't enough. I learned that the model that I bought was only 800 mAH. I also learned that for a little over a dollar more I could have one that is 1900 mAH. So, Friday afternoon, I packaged up the first one,returned it to Walmart, and purchased the larger device. I am greatly in hopes that it is better. I will find out shortly.

On a different note... Amazon.com has launched an Android App Store. It seems very similar to other app stores, except for one very noticeable improvement. Amazon has a button called "Test Drive". It gives you a taste of a bona fide cloud based cell phone. It is not just a single program, but a "virtual Android smartphone" with working mouse controls. You can play with a program and even delete it. You can also browse its photo gallery, listen to its music, and surf the web using its browser. Here is what Amazon says about it.

Clicking the "Test drive now" button launches a copy of this app on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), a web service that provides on-demand compute capacity in the cloud for developers. When you click on the simulated phone using your mouse, we send those inputs over the Internet to the app running on Amazon EC2 - just like your mobile device would send a finger tap to the app. Our servers then send the video and audio output from the app back to your computer. All this happens in real time, allowing you to explore the features of the app as if it were running on your mobile device.

Right now, this technology is being used to just sell apps. What if, one day this technology could be used to access your own smartphone? You could access your music, pictures, movies, games and apps from a computer terminal.  Sorry, Apple lovers, but I am giving this round to Amazon and Android.

A solar panel iPhone charger...

I just recieved my iQ-Power Mobile Charger in the mail yesterday. The idea is that it is supposed to be a secondary battery that uses a solar panel or regular charging cable to charge it. Then when your iProduct is dying, you just plug it in and have extra battery time. All for the ridiculously cheap price of $14 with tax! I was a little dubious of the product. For one, it is some off brand that had very ltitle research available. Second, it was a little too cheap for a solar panel. Third, it got a lot of mixed reviews of some people claiming that they loved it and others claiming that they hated it. I thought, oh well, it's less then 15 bucks. Let's give it a whirl!

I got it yesterday evening. The package appeared to have been sitting in a warehouse for awhile. It was dusty and appeared to be a little discolored. It also didn't come with any instructions and I can't find any instructions online. So I am having to figure it all out myself.

There are two lights on the back. One marked input and one marked output. So far, I know that when I put it in the sunlight, the light marked input turns red. I assume this means that it is charging. It was evening time when I opened the package, therefore, I didn't have alot of solar time left. But I did plug it in to my phone and sure enough, it appeared to be charging and the blue light that was marked output came on.

There is also a port at the bottom of the device that allows you to charge the battery using a normal iPhone charging cable.

Currently the device is outside in the sun (hopefully charging) and my iPhone is streaming videos in an effort to drain the battery. Soon enough, I will know how long it takes to charge the battery and how much of a charge it actually gives my phone.

I really hopes this works. It is a cheap way to get a free, environmentally friendly, and unending energy source for my phone. Hopefully, it also means that I will never be on my own without the companionship of a smartphone again! 

Jumsoft is Appolicious and a Kindle Giveaway

Amazon is giving away 10 free Kindles. No purchase necessary. All you need to be is over 18 and a US citizen to qualify. Here is how it works. Go to the Amazon Kindle facebook page. Then "Like" it. Then fill out the little form that asks for your name, email address, and phone number. Of course, I am really hoping that I or my husband will win. (Hint, Hint, David, go fill out the form.) So maybe I shouldn't be advertising this giveaway, you might just get MY Kindle. Or maybe you can just win the Kindle and mail it me. :)

http://www.facebook.com/#!/kindle?sk=app_172341942779663

Why do I like the Kindle so much when I have an iPhone? Well, two reasons:
1. Free global 3g internet with AT&T. Amazon pays the data bill so that you don't have to. Sure, they are hoping to make their money back from you downloading books to read and the web browser is pretty pathetic. But you have access to your email accounts or any blogs or news or any other web text that you like to read from anywhere on the planet that you can get a cell signal. For FREE!!! I have read about people being overseas and they were desperately trying to check their email and the only thing that was working for them was their Kindle. Oh, and if you are a homeless person and you have a Kindle. You still have web access.

2. The battery lasts a month.... Granted that is with the 3g signal turned off. But still, it lasts a month. It won't die on the airplane. If you forget your charger, its ok. I wish my cell phone's battery was like that.

Now on to the Jumsoft Money app. Being the type of person that enjoys tracking my finances, I wanted a good financial app for my iPhone. Back when I had the handheld Toshiba PDA, I used an app called Handwallet. It tracked my income and expenses. It also provided me with charts and reports that I could see on a monthly basis. It didn't have a very user friendly interface, but it was pretty decent at the time, nearly a decade ago.

So I went on a hunt to find the best financial app for the iPhone. I downloaded every free financial app that I could find on iTunes. There were alot. Most of them were quickly deleted. I was looking for certain features. I didn't want to have to use my data plan just to enter or view information. I wanted a way that I could back up my information to web so it wouldn't be lost easily. I wanted to be able to personalize my monthly expense categories. I wanted it to be able to add and track a home budget and provide me with monthly graphs and reports. I also wanted it to be pretty, user friendly, and glitch-free. Most of the apps I downloaded were quickly discarded because they didn't meet my standards. Jumsoft Money excelled in all the categories. There are no ads and it works like a charm. If you are looking for a free app to track your finances, this is the one that I highly recommend.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jumsoft-money/id325934225?mt=8

Why I am starting this blog...

I have an Iphone 3g. It is a pretty cool little phone. I admit that my life is a little wrapped up in it. I think that if I lost it, I might have a mental breakdown. I wasn't planning on getting an Iphone. I have been very torn between the Android platform and the iOS platform, and I wasn't wanting to pay for an AT&T data plan. My husband was noticing that I was suffering with my low tech Pantech Link that I owned, and being the knight in shining armour that he is, he rescued me by getting me an Iphone 3g as an anniversary gift this year.

As some historical background.... Right after we were married (8 years ago), my husband purchased a handheld Toshiba PDA for me. It ran on a Windows Mobile OS. It didn't have wifi. It could read ebooks, keeps notes, calendars, and other organizational things, and could use a small version of Excel and Word. I loved it! It was hi-tech at the time.

That little Toshiba PDA is what started my dedication to handheld computers. That fascination has now turned into smartphones. I find myself drooling a little over a powerful smartphone with a dual core processor and 8 mp camera. I also like to keep up with cell phone news and information. This blog is my outlet for that information and my opinions on it. I will also include apps that I love or hate and news that interests me. I will also probably touch on tablets, e-readers, and gaming consoles.

I just figure that if this information matters to me, then maybe, just maybe, it might matter to someone else. Maybe even you.