photo credit: Cell Tower Fits in Your Hand

Mobile data usage grows almost exponentially. With more and more Smartphone usage, Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile technology in general, how to handle growing mobile data usage is the focus of wireless companies. Wireless companies are spending billions each year to maximize capacity. As their research and development costs grow, so do our cell phones bills. Costly cell phone towers being built at alarming numbers not only push our wireless bills up, but are unsightly as well. A tiny little device the size of a Rubik’s cube is being developed by Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) that may be the answer to both cost and more cell phone towers.

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photo credit: Green Cell Phone Manufacturers

RIM BlackBerry scored the worst in GoodGuide’s list of green cell phone manufacturers. According to an article by Wendy Koch, USA Today, BlackBerry only earned a 3.3 rating, mostly for the company’s environmental record. Nokia took top honors, with Samsung coming in second. Apple’s iPhone also scored in the lower half of the manufacturers, again not because the material in the iPhone is toxic, but because Apple itself has problems with its “ethical policies and performance.” Nokia scored as the top green manufacturer. 26 of 30 of the top cell phones scored were made by Nokia, each scoring 7.7 or 7.6 out of a possible 10 points. Nokia C6 scored best overall. This is pretty impressive.

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photo credit: Carbon Nanotubes

A team of scientists at the University of Illinois has possibly discovered a way to make cell phone batteries that don’t need charging for months at a time. The team believes their method will enable mobile phone and laptop batteries to last up to 100 times longer. According to Stephen Adams, The Telegraph, it focuses on changing the way a device’s digital memory works, as this consumes much of the charge. Feng Xiong, a graduate student on the team who was lead author on a paper, to be published in the journal Science, explained: “The energy consumption is essentially scaled with the volume of the memory bit. By using nanoscale contacts, we are able to achieve much smaller power consumption.”

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photo credit: ReadySet Changes Africa

There are over 500 million cell phone users worldwide. This is according to research by the GSMA, the international association of mobile operators. The problem with all those cell phones isn’t access to a network. The problem is that most of the users in 3rd world countries live off the grid and can’t charge the darn things. ReadySet, manufactured by Fenix International, San Francisco, California, may be the solution.

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photo credit: Solar Charging Screens

Solar powered cell phones are not new. UMEOX Mobile, a Chinese manufacturer, featured their solar charged “Apollo” Smartphone at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona earlier this year. Samsung has 3 models of solar-powered cell phones. There are a variety of solar-powered cell phone chargers on the market. But the newest innovation is the thin, transparent film that turns your phone’s screen into a solar charger.

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photo credit: New Fast Charge Batteries

A new technology may change the battery industry. According to article published by John Timmer, Ars Technica, this new technology uses a whole new approach and can work with both lithium- and nickel-based batteries. Imagine being able to charge your cell phone 90% capacity within 2 minutes. Charging a NiMH battery to 90% takes only 20 seconds.

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photo credit: Bluetooth Mobile Headset

With hands-free driving laws in 9 states, Bluetooth enabled headsets are becoming a necessity. As more states come on board with hands-free driving laws, it is inevitable that more Bluetooth mobile headsets will be manufactured and sold. There are also a plethora of mobile headsets already being sold. How can you navigate the market and find the best Bluetooth for you? Only you can choose what works for you. Several notable sites, like CNET and PCMagazine, have recently put together a review of the top rated Bluetooth mobile headsets. I have compiled their lists to give you a best of best list to check before you purchase a new Bluetooth mobile headset.

There are really 4 categories of Bluetooth headsets. For comparisons, we have to relate apples to apples. The 4 categories are: mono Bluetooth headsets, stereo Bluetooth headsets, speakerphone Bluetooth devices (usually clipped to your car visor), and then those most compatible with the iPhone (naturally not all Bluetooth headsets are compatible with Apple devices.)

Mono Bluetooth Headsets

PCMagazine lists its top 6 mono Bluetooth headsets with pricing and comments. In order of their ratings, below is their list:
Aliph Jawbone Era – $129 – 4 ½ stars.
Aliph Jawbone Icon – $99 – 4 stars.
BlueAnt Q2 – $129 – 4 stars.
Plantronics Discovery 975 – $129 – 4stars.
Plantronics Voyager Pro+ – $99 – 4 stars.
Sound ID 510 – $129 – 4 stars.

CNET’s list for mono Bluetooth headsets is almost exactly like PCMagazine’s list. The exception is the Motorola Finiti ($99). CNET’s initial review gave it 4 stars, but it has dropped the rating to 2 1/2 stars due to disconnection problems.

Stereo Bluetooth Headsets

PCMagazine lists 2 in its favorite review for stereo Bluetooth headsets. CNET didn’t offer a review of stereo Bluetooth headsets.
Motorola MotoROKR S9-HD – $129 – 3 1/2 stars.
Samsung Modus HM3500 – $59 – 3 1/2 stars.

HubSpot has also given a good review of stereo Bluetooth headsets. Their favorite list includes:
Sony Ericsson HBH Bluetooth Headset – $149 – 4 1/2 stars.
Motorola MOTOROKR S305 – $39 – 4 stars.
Plantronics Backbeat – $69 – 3 1/2 stars.
Nokia BH-905i Bluetooth Headset – $188 – 4 1/2 stars.

Top Bluetooth Speakerphones

PCMagazine only rates one Bluetooth speakerphone.
BlueAnt S4 – $99 – 4 stars. The BlueAnt S4 is an excellent-sounding, voice-enabled, hands-free speakerphone that’s a must buy for anyone sick of wearing a Bluetooth headset in the car.

Top iPhone Bluetooth Headsets

Only HubSpot gave us a list of headsets especially good for the iPhone. Briefly, here is their list:
Plantronics Discovery 975 – $59 – 5 stars.
Plantronics Voyager 510 – $117 – 5 stars.
Plantronics Voyager Pro – $42 – 5 stars.
Plantronics Discovery 95 – $149 – 4 1/2 stars.
Aliph Jawbone Icon – $59 – 4 1/2 stars.
Jawbone III – $49 – 4 1/2 stars.

How do you choose a Bluetooth headset? PCMagazine lists 9 criteria for choosing just the right headset for your tastes. The 9 things to consider are: call quality, noise cancellation, battery life, comfort, style, range, mono v.s stereo sound, bonus features (texting via the headset), and price. No matter which one you choose, getting a Bluetooth headset is a great idea. I love using my Bluetooth any time I use my Droid X Smartphone, not just when I drive. I don’t like having to hold my phone crook’d in my neck to make calls. I personally use what I consider to be a great headset. It’s the NoiseHush N500—light weight and great sound. It comes in a variety of colors. You can get it for only $25 at batteries4less. The best thing about getting at batteries4less is that they offer a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee (in case you don’t like it or it doesn’t work well with your cell phone), and a 1 Year Warranty.

Support for CellPlaza.org is provided by batteries4less.com, the leading online retailer of camera replacement batteries, cell phone batteries, chargers, Motorola RAZR v3 Battery, mobile accessories and cordless phone batteries.

photo credit: Grey Market iPhone 64GB

An iPhone 64GB prototype has surfaced in the ‘grey’ market in Hong Kong. According to an article by Sara Yin, PCMagazine.com, the rumor was first announced on Chinese-language blog Unwire.hk and later ‘confirmed’ by MIC Gadget. The 64GB model appears to be unlocked and running iOS 4.1. MIC Gadget’s photos of the model found are much like the iPhone 4 model that Gizmodo found last spring in a bar. The model shows lots of XX’s on its case. The model number states ‘XXXXX’, FCC ID number is ‘BCG- XXXXXX,’ and printed capacity is ‘XXGB.’

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photo credit: Casio Bluetooth Wristwatch

Ever had to dig in your bag to silence your ringing cell phone? Now you can just tap your wristwatch twice and it will silence your phone. According to Martyn Williams, IDG News, Casio has developed a prototype system that can mute a phone with a couple of taps to a wristwatch. The wristwatch works with Bluetooth Low Power technology (BLE-technology) and an app that enables it to link with your cell phone. The watch is scheduled to be out to consumers by the end of the year.

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photo credit: GPS Systems Jammed

Despite warnings and concerns by the FAA and the Defense Department, LightSquared was given conditional approval. The plan is for LightSquared to install up to 40,000 terrestrial cell phone base stations across the U.S. to augment its mobile satellite communications service. The FAA is concerned with test results involving the Garmin International GPS system that was jammed by the LightSquared transmitter. Not only does this affect GPS systems in vehicles, but also in airplanes. This can’t be good.

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