Sony Ericsson now gives you directions on how to unlock the bootloader on their Android phones. In the past, Sony has been known to unfriendly to developers and modifiers. However, now the Sony Ericsson Developer Blog has announced that the Xperia Arc, Neo, Play, and Pro will have a feature that enables an easy bootloader unlock method. Of course along with the directions, they warn you that you could majorly screw up your phone and not be able to recover from the screw-up.

Unlock the Bootloader on Your Sony Droid Phone

Bootloader? What’s that? A bootloader is part of the Android operating system that enables users to get into recovery mode. This is required in order to load custom ROM’s on Android phones. According to Andrew Kameka, Androinica, “Motorola originally had an anti-hack policy that the company has since begun to backtrack on, and HTC, which has traditionally been hands-off with hacking community, has begun shipping some phones with locked bootloaders. Android developers eventually discover workarounds for these roadblocks, but Sony Ericsson is surprisingly reversing its course on appealing to advanced consumers.”

Sony’s blogger site gives dire warnings about unlocking the bootloader. On the Sony Ericsson Developer Blog they state, “If you unlock the boot loader and then flash a custom unsigned ROM to your phone, the custom unsigned ROM will not have gone through the thorough tests that we run for each phone and software version that we release. Because of that, the custom unsigned ROM might not work properly on your phone. Certain functions may cease to work, and the performance of the device might not be ideal. You might damage your phone permanently. In worst case, it will cause physical injuries or material damage, for example, due to the phone overheating. Therefore, you should only unlock the boot loader of your phone if you are an advanced developer with good knowledge of the technology and risks involved. We strongly recommend that standard users NOT unlock the boot loader, as it is not needed. We are proud to deliver great phone experiences through our rigorously tested and official software releases.”

The bottom line? Just don’t do it unless you are a very experienced developer. This is not something you should experiment with unless you really know what you are doing.

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With the popularity of tablets rising, mobile television is fast becoming a favorite pastime. Last week’s trade show in Las Vegas for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) shows that the technology is making progress. According to an article written by Maisie Ramsay, WirelessWeek, “The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), the main proponent of mobile broadcast television in the United States, announced that 76 television stations in 32 markets are now doing mobile television broadcasts.” Using a WiFi hotspot or at home, you can download TV episodes and store them to watch later. If you are using a Smartphone, it gets stored on the MicroSD card, so make sure you have at least 2 GB free per show.

Mobile Television is Gaining Ground

Streaming TV and Movies over 3G or Wi-Fi to your phone is so cool. There are a slew of apps available to enable you to watch shows. I have downloaded and used both Android TV and TV.com apps for my Droid X. I wasn’t sure I would like watching a show on the tiny screen, but it really is good quality. See my blog TV Apps for your Smartphone on technewscorner.com for a list of apps for both the Droid phones and the iPhone/iPad.

Droid TV is a good free app. The paid version of Droid TV is really just a subscription so you have more shows on the menu. All in all, I like the app. The only real downside to the app is that the shows are older. Still if you have missed an episode of one of your favorite shows, it’s a good app. Streaming live TV would be better, but being able to watch favorite shows is great.

Mobile TV apps will become more prevalent soon. With all the attention mobile television is getting at the trade shows, you can see the trend. As more stations become available, app developers will focus more on providing apps. It is the law of supply and demand. With iTunes and Pandora apps for music, and YouTube for short videos, mobile TV apps will fill in the gap.

Have you tried watching mobile TV on your phone or tablet yet? I think with the tablets getting more popular, it will be the device of choice for mobile TV. Which are your favorite apps for mobile TV? Had any trouble with the functionality of the apps? Let us know.

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 Droid 2 Extended Battery online at batteries4less.

AT&T is the last of the cell phone service providers to offer a Droid Smartphone in their pre-paid lineup. Beginning April 17th, AT&T is offering the LG Thrive for $180. The Thrive is a mid-range Droid, running on the Android OS 2.2 (Froyo). It only has a 3.2 megapixel camera and 160 MB of memory, although it can be expanded to 32 GB with a MicroSD card. The customers will have to pay pretty dearly for using this phone however. Customers can choose the “Smartphone 10 cents per minute” plan or “Smartphone $2 USD per day for unlimited talk and text” plan. Their choices for data plans range from $5 for 10 MB to $25 for 500 MB. There is no contract, which is probably a good thing since customers may dump AT&T once they find out how poor the service coverage areas are.

AT&T Finally Gets On Board

Verizon has a whole bevy of Droid pre-paid Smartphones available. They include the Motorola Original Droid, Motorola DEVOUR, Motorola Droid X, Motorola Droid 2, HTC Droid Eris, HTC Droid Incredible, LG Ally, BlackBerry Curve 8330, BlackBerry Curve 8530, BlackBerry Storm 9530, BlackBerry Storm 9550, BlackBerry Tour 9630, BlackBerry Bold 9650, Palm Pre Plys, and Palm Pixi. Rumor has it that Verizon’s unlimited talk, text AND data plan will run about $80 per month. And Verizon certainly has better service coverage than AT&T. Of course this is just a rumor so far.

US Cellular is also in the game with the LG Optimus U and the LG Apex as their prepaid Android phones. The Optimus U features a 3.2mp camera, Android OS 2.2, 3.2″ display, and 140 MB of storage. The LG Apex runs on Android 2.1, features a 3mp camera, 3.2″ screen, and has 256 MB or Storage. The Prepaid Plans include: $70-Unlimited Talk & Text with 2GB of data, $60-450 minutes, unlimited text, and 2GB of data, $50-Unlimited Talk & Text, $50-2GB of data.

Sprint’s BoostMobile offers Droid and BlackBerry Smartphones. With the best deal in town, they offer a plan with unlimited talk, text and data for as little as $45 per month once you have paid your bill on time for 6 months. With $18 months of payments on time, your plan drops to $35 per month.

AT&T’s announcement of offering Droid Smartphones on a pre-paid plan just isn’t all that exciting. But they have to do something to stay in the game. They are losing customers and not signing up new ones. If they are able to buy T-Mobile, it may breathe some life into the company, but for now, they come in last on my list.

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Do you hate fighting traffic? There’s an app for that, especially if you are a BlackBerry user. Just released this week, BlackBerry Traffic version 2.0.0.1749 adds new features and a completely revised UI. It has new icons, a new color scheme, the ability to select from multiple routes, and the addition of pre-set destinations directly from BlackBerry’s native contacts app. It is compatible with any GPS enabled BlackBerry Smartphone operating on OS 4.6 and up in North America.

New BlackBerry Traffic App with Route Choices

BlackBerry Traffic predicts the future traffic. It can be accessed by selecting an ETA on the route selection screen or by flipping through the different views when a route is selected. One of the best feature is that it gives you the best time to leave for a destination based upon real time traffic data. Considering that traffic data is constantly being updated, this is a huge deal for commuters. The app has turn by turn directions in LARGE font size. There’s nothing worse than not being able to see your directions. But best of all is that it’s FREE.

In a nutshell, here are the improvements listed on the BlackBerry App site:
•A new route selection screen displays two route choices to a destination.
•A new future traffic view can be accessed by selecting an ETA on the route selection screen.
•A revised simple drive view displays the next maneuver with corresponding icon in a large font.
•Frequent search terms are now available on the search screen.
•Updated keyboard shortcuts are listed under the help menu.

Are you running a bit behind schedule? BlackBerry Traffic 2.0 gives users the option to share estimated arrival times via SMS, email, or PIN (BBM). Now you can be considerate and let people know when you’re running late. (Of course you can’t text and drive…. Very dangerous!)

Are you a BlackBerry user? Do you spend a lot of time on the road? This BlackBerry Traffic App may be just the thing for you then. It sounds like the improvements really are improvements. So many times the upgrades are just blasé. This new version seems to be pretty neat. If I were a BlackBerry user I would definitely download it and use it. As it is, being a Droid X user, my Google Navigation is pretty cool as well.

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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.

Turn Your Cell Phone Screen into a Solar Charger

Wysips, a small, French technology company, has developed a new thin film that charges your cell phones using solar power. The photovoltaic film is placed on the screen of the cell phone, creating a continuous trickle charge from the UV rays. The photovoltaic cells capture energy from the sun to power your phone. The company claims that by using direct sunlight, you can fully charge your cell phone in about 6 hours, taking a bit longer in indoor light. Of course this film only works with light, so it isn’t charging while it’s in your pocket or purse, and not at night. But this new innovation could mean the end of the traditional chargers.

Wysips claims the film won’t interfere with 3D screens. It also isn’t supposed to affect the touch screens on Smartphones. And the film isn’t limited to just cell phones. Wysips says the film can be tailored for other devices, such as mp3 players, GPS devices, tablets, and e-readers. By simply placing the device in direct sunlight on your window sill, you can be charging your device. The company demonstrated the film at CTIA 2011 this month, with plans for it to be on the market within 12 months. According to an article by Amanda Hinksi, InventorSpot.com, “the company is currently working on a second generation model which would allow 30 to 60 minutes of talk time from just one hour of solar charging.” There was no mention of the pricing on this film, but it may just be worth it, whatever the cost.

What will this mean to the cell phone industry? Well for one thing, it means that cell phone manufacturers can stop concentrating on putting bigger capacity batteries in phones. (Those Smartphones really use up battery juice.) This means that the phones will become thinner and lighter. You won’t need to have an extended battery because you will constantly be charging your phone. Right now I have a Droid X and it is certainly a power sucker! I have a Droid X Extended Battery in it from batteries4less, which is really nice, but it does make the phone thicker and heavier. It would be awesome to be able to have a thin battery and use this film to keep it charged.

Don’t you just love inventors? With these amazing minds working towards such great innovations, things are looking up for the planet as well. If there are thinner batteries, and fewer chargers, we will have less e-waste as well. Do you have a favorite new invention that you’d like to share? Let us know and we’ll share it too.

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 HTC Incredible Battery online at batteries4less.

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.

Asus demonstrated its 7-inch Android Memo tablet, including phone accessory, at the CeBit in Hanover, Germany last week. After CES, which takes place in Las Vegas in January every year, CeBIT is the next big tradeshow that showcases the latest digital innovations. Asus showcased its small 7″ tablet with the Android OS 2.2, but assured everyone that it would be shipping with the Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS as soon as April 2011. Pricing is reported to come in around $499-$699, depending on the options you choose.

Take a Look at the 7″ Asus Tablet Phone

The Asus Eee Pad Memo is an ultra-portable tablet touting some pretty high-end specifications. According to Gadgetian, the Asus Eee Pad Memo comes with Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS, runs on a 1.2GHz Qualcomm 8260 processor, sports a 7-inch IPS multi-touch screen with resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, is equipped with 5 Megapixels camera with LED flash and an additional 1.2 Megapixels front-facing camera for video chat, has 1080p HD video playback support, 1GB RAM, HSPA+ support, a micro HDMI port, includes GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and micro-SD card slot. You will be able to choose from 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB memory storage. And of course since it is an Android, the Android Market and a whole host of Google services come preloaded. The Eee Pad Memo tablet packs a Stylus for input by featuring Media Note combining a notes app that offers hand writing capabilities and Painter app. One of the best features is a stereo Bluetooth-based MeMIC media phone extender for receiving phone calls. If you have an active SIM card, you can actually use the tablet as a phone!

One of the Asus Memo tablet’s faults was the display. While it was reported to be crisp and clear, it was only a TFT and didn’t compare to some of the IPS displays on show at CeBIT this year. Another fault was Bluetooth connectivity is only 2.1, instead of the Bluetooth 3.0 version.

A 7″ tablet with phone capabilities sounds pretty cool. The choice would seem to be whether you want true portability (7″ tablet) or a larger form factor for easier visibility of content (10.1″ Xoom). I have written about the choices between the iPad 2 and the Android tablets, (see my blog Android 3.0 vs. iPad 2) and my choice of course is to wait for the Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets. As I have said before, my phone and my computer both use Google apps and documents, so it makes sense for me. Since my Motorola Droid X has a 4.3″ screen, I think I would prefer my tablet to be the larger 10.1″ size. But what about you? Do you think you would enjoy the smaller Asus 7″ tablet or a larger one?

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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.

The much touted iPad 2 is rumored to be revealed today in San Francisco at 1:00 pm. Special invitations for the event were sent out with a sneaky-looking iPad peeking out from behind the date. Rumors are flying about just what the new features will be. According to Catharine Smith, The Huffington Post, MacLife offers a sobering prediction: “While many may be disappointed if Apple doesn’t ’shock and awe’ with the next iPad, the reality is that the company’s tablet is leading the market by such a wide margin at this point, Cupertino can still afford to coast a little bit — at least until September, when the rumor mill claims we’ll likely see a more spectacular iPad 2 with the bells and whistles that make us all swoon.”

iPad 2 Event in San Francisco Today

What do you think the next iPad will feature? Rumors are flying speculating about everything from front and back cameras with flash to a new smaller size. Steve Jobs says the smaller size won’t happen, and ridiculed 7″ tablets as “tweeners.” Some of the rumors include an SD card slot, a new multi-core “A5″ processor based on Cortex A9, a very high-resolution display (2048×1536), a side port for docking while in landscape, improved speakers and iLife for iPad. I guess we will just have to wait until the event this afternoon to see just what they reveal.

What about pricing? Rumor has it that the original iPad will remain at about $399 while the new version will go for about $599. Do you think $599 is too much to pay? I know right now you can also get a 32 GB iPad for $899, and people seem to be fine paying that price. Perhaps the new iPad will also have an upgraded “premier” version.

iPad vs. Android tablets? If you are an Apple user (iPhone, Mac, iPod, etc.) you will probably want to stick with the iPad. I have a Motorola Droid X Smartphone so I will probably stick with an Android tablet. Actually there are rumors that Amazon will be releasing a new Kindle Android tablet. I already have the Kindle and love it, so a hybrid of the Android system and the Kindle would suit me perfectly. What about you? iPad or Android?