So, you have an electric car? Do you ever worry about finding your next charging station before running out of juice? There’s an app for that. PlugShare for the iPhone allows electric car drivers to locate the closest charging stations. Now you can rest easy that you will be able to travel the highways without worrying about being stranded with no power.

New iPhone App for Electric Cars Shows Charging Station Network

The new app also lists homeowners who are willing to share their power. The California-based Xatori announced their new app, PlugShare, earlier this month. According to ConsumerReports.org’s Car Blog, “To see a map of shared outlets in a given area, drivers enter a destination. If someone is using the app to share home electricity, an address, type of outlet, phone, and preferred time of contact is needed. For many people outlets are in the garage or house, and therefore may want to be home to let an electric car driver charge up.” How cool is that? People are actually willing to share their power with other electric car owners. Perhaps there is hope for the world. Of course, the app also includes a complete database of public charging stations across the US if you’d prefer just using public charging stations when you’re out on the road.

One concern is that homeowners offering to share may see a rise in their power bill. Xatori says the cost of charging a vehicle isn’t that much and that there shouldn’t be that much of an increase in the homeowners’ power bill. Homeowners who wish to share don’t need to worry about having a special outlet to signup, because EV owners will have their own vehicle plug-in adaptors. And the sense of being part of a group that furthers “greening” America may just offset the cost.

“Many people won’t have EVs right away, but everyone has an electrical outlet,” Xatori CEO Forrest North said in a statement. “Sharing electricity from a standard outlet only costs about $0.15 an hour, a small price to lessen our dependence on oil.” In addition, it is thought that most drivers will only be “topping off” their EVs rather than fully charging their vehicles.

Will this change the dependency on oil in the US? It is a step in the right direction. With the price of gas now over $4 in most states and still rising, the need for alternative transportation is becoming more critical. Proponents of electric cars are hoping with more awareness and availability of charging stations, more people will be purchasing electric vehicles soon. There is a movement called 4 Years. Go that was started in 2010 and intends to “green” the world by 2014. Their plan is to create awareness and assist people in making small, everyday changes that will result in a greener planet. Electric cars are just one part of the steps necessary to help.

The PlugShare app is only available for iPhone users at this time. Xatori plans to roll out the Android app “soon.” This is probably the first of many EV apps that we will see. It is exciting to think that app developers are working along the same thoughts and goals as environmentalists. What do you think? Let’s shout a rousing “Go Green!”

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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.’

iPhone 64GB Prototype Found in China

Macrumors reported that the model found in China was produced in early 2010. They had analyzed the serial number from MIC Gadget’s photos and determined the phone was produced well before the launch of the iPhone 4 in June 2010. It is also running an older version the iOS.

Evidence suggests that Apple produced and then discarded the iPhone 64GB model. In June 2010, Apple came out with just 2 versions of the iPhone 4, with 16GB and 32GB capacities. Apple may still be planning to come out with the 64GB version, as it isn’t unlike them to come out with a third generation after the first release. According to PCMagazine, “the original iPhone debuted in 2007 with 4GB and 8GB of space, but in February 2008, Apple released another 16GB model. Then in July 2009 Apple launched the iPhone 3GS in 16GB and 32GB versions, but later added an 8GB model after recession-stricken consumers complained that the phones were priced too high.” When the iPhone 4 was released last year, many criticized Apple for not releasing a version with higher storage capacity.

Perhaps Apple will include a 64GB version of the iPhone 5. With Verizon now selling the iPhone, Apple will need to make the iPhone 5 something extra special in order to get iPhone 4 users willing to upgrade. Just as the iPad 2 isn’t all that much different than the iPad, Apple will need to put a lot of pizzazz into the iPad 3 to get people to upgrade.

Beware of buying a ‘grey’ market iPhone. Obviously Apple won’t be honoring any kind of warranty on these phones. With the battery life kind of lacking on the iPhone, you can’t send it back to get a new battery installed by Apple. Of course one solution to the short battery life is to buy a cool gadget that actually has a backup battery in it. There’s a new Apple approved aftermarket iPhone 4 case with an external battery built in. It takes over when your internal battery gets low and gives you another 3 1/2 hours of talk time. You can buy this rechargeable battery case for iPhone4 at batteries4less.

Support for CellPlaza.org is provided by batteries4less.com, the leading online retailer of camera replacement batteries, cell phone batteries, chargers, mobile accessories and cordless phone batteries. Buy a LG Vu cu920 Battery online at batteries4less.

Are you a Catholic needing to go to confession? There’s an app for that. Seriously though, it’s not actually an app to substitute for confession. (The Catholic Church is very clear on this issue.) It is an app for the iPhone that helps you figure out how you’ve sinned (as if you didn’t know) and formulate a confession. It’s called Confession: A Roman Catholic App, and was created by Little iApps with the help of two Catholic priests ($1.99). And it has been given the blessing of Bishop Kevin C. Rhodes of the Diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend, Indiana.

Forgiveness is Just an App Away

“Very cool; very useful,” wrote Thomas Peters of catholicvote.org, an online community for Catholics. Peters praised the app as being “not like those other programs that claim to ‘wash away sin’ and are essentially mockeries of confession, not preparations for the sacrament.”

This Confession App does not promise to forgive you of your sins. The app was developed as a tool to assist you with your confession, and offers a “personal examination of conscience,” plus a step-by-step guide to confessing. According to an article by Megan O’Neil, Appolicious, as you go through the app, you are guided through the 10 Commandments, with self-examination through a series of questions. For example: “Tap on the fourth commandment – honor thy father and mother – and you are asked several questions such as “Do I try not to bring peace into my home life?” and “Do I not care for my aged and infirmed relatives?” Check all that apply. Then, move into the confession feature. The app guides you through exactly how the sacrament should proceed, including your opening lines “In the name of the Father, Son… Bless me Father for I have sinned…” And when it is time to state your sins, the items that you had check-marked are listed for you, so you don’t find yourself scrambling or forgetting anything. Included in the app are no less than seven versions of the Act of Contrition, including one in Latin (for those who remember the pre-Vatican II days). Many of other important prayers are also there, including the Hail Mary, Our Father, Apostles’ Creed, etc.”

The app is not a substitute for meeting with a priest and receiving absolution. The Catholic Church looks at this app as a tool, a way to do a little soul searching. I find it interesting that it is only available to iPhone users. I guess those of us who own Droid or BlackBerry phones are without sin and need no confession. (Yeah, right.) With the age of smart technology, will there come a time when you can program your Smartphone to monitor your activities and log your most recent sins in preparation for your next confession? Interesting concept, don’t you think? What’s your take on the Confession app? Are you Catholic? Would you use it if you could?

The Motorola Xoom became available February 24th. With its 10.1 inch screen and 1280 by 800 resolution display, it is perfect for displaying pictures and presentations. The Xoom’s Honeycomb OS runs Nvidia’s Tegra 2 platform, with a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and 32GB of on-board user memory (plus an SD card slot). What’s not to love? Why not rush out and buy it now?

Motorola Xoom – Buy Now or Wait?

You might want to wait a bit before rushing out and buying the Xoom. According to JR Raphael, PCMagazine, the Wi-Fi-only edition of the Xoom may be worth waiting for. The Wi-Fi only version is supposed to be an additional $200 cheaper. In addition, the Xoom has shipped without Adobe Flash. (The Flash upgrade is expected in a few weeks.) Right now the Xoom is available at BestBuy and Verizon stores for $800 with no contract. With a 2 year contract Verizon will let you have it for $600, plus a $20 per month data plan and a $35 activation fee.

Are you a Honeycomb OS purist? Go with the Xoom. Motorola has promised to keep the “proprietary” junk off the Xoom. In addition, Google is using the Xoom to test and develop the Honeycomb OS. When it comes to system upgrades, you can bet that the “pure” Google tablets will get them first. Also, the other Android tablets don’t have as many cool features as the Xoom.

The iPad 2 premiered yesterday and will be available on March 11th. If you are vacillating between the Android OS and the iOS, the new iPad 2 has some really nice features. The biggest drawback to the iPad is that it doesn’t have Adobe Flash either. If you are a Google apps user, you will want to stick with the Android OS. The iPad doesn’t have a USB port and the video calling feature only works between Apple users. If you aren’t sure, wait a week (until the iPad 2 is available) and go to BestBuy and play with both the iPad 2 and the Xoom.

To wait or not to wait? There are almost 100 Android tablets coming in 2011. If you want to wait a little, you will probably see some stiff competition for the Motorola Xoom. Size options will be available, which will give some price options as well. My personal preference is to wait for the Amazon Kindle Android. It will have all the features of a tablet, as well as be Kindle oriented. I love my Kindle, and it seems like a good combination to me.