A devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this month in Japan caused shortages of electronic components. It will also result in increased prices. Currently, Apple has to find alternative manufacturers for components of their new iPad2. While Apple may be able to find substitute manufacturers, those same manufacturers realize they have Apple in a desperate situation, and are charging more for those parts. In addition to Apple finding itself in a bind, consumer electronics as a whole are finding shortages of components. And of course, the old “supply and demand” axiom is pushing prices up.

Crisis in Japan Will Increase Consumer Prices

There are already signs of an increase in the price of memory chips. Display panels for computers, game consoles, and cell phones are also a problem due to the damaged Japanese factories. As a result, electronic goods such as computers, mobile phones and DVDs are predicted to be rising in price. Digital cameras and camcorders may be affected as well. Not only will we be affected by price increases, but by shortages of the electronic gadgets themselves.

Everything from automobile electronics to Smartphone components are in short supply. According to Terry Macalister, SMH, “a growing group of electronics, steel and car makers in Japan has suspended operations, creating the prospect of shortages of products further afield. Japanese electronics are in particular demand for televisions and audio equipment, but also as components in solar panels, computers and even vehicles. Japan is the world’s biggest supplier of silicon used to make semiconductor chips. NEC, Panasonic and Fujitsu are among the companies that have halted production and have reported damage to some of their factories. Sony has suspended production at seven plants and analysts say this will have an impact on lithium ion batteries and DVDs.”

The Japanese economy is being devastated by this crisis. Not only are there an estimated 18,000 lives lost in this disaster, but Japan will suffer economically while they regain their footing. The world looks to Japan for most things in the electronic market. Not only have factories been shut down, but ports are in jeopardy as well. All-in-all, it doesn’t look good for the Japanese. According to Macalister’s article, “massive daily monetary injections from the Bank of Japan have reached a total of ¥34 trillion ($425.8 billion) so far in short-term loans. An indication from the government that it could buy into the sharemarket helped shore up the Nikkei after dramatic declines earlier in the week.”

What does this mean for the consumer? As far as Smartphones go, there will likely be an increase in prices as well as some postponements for new product releases. I wonder if this will affect the release date of the new iPhone 5? Since Apple is already having trouble finding components for the iPad 2, it stands to reason that they may have trouble finding parts for the iPhone as well. So far, no one is speculating on a delay, but don’t be surprised.

Does this affect you personally? Were you waiting for the new iPhone 5 this summer? Do you think it will be delayed? We can only speculate and watch and wait.

The new iPhone from Apple is due out sometime this summer. Rumors are flying about just what the new iPhone will include. First of all, will it be called the iPhone 5? For simplicity, that’s what I will call it. Notable sites like PC World Report, iPhonereleasedate.org, and the UK’s The Independent are reporting “reliable rumors” (if there are such things.) Speculation about what will and won’t be included in the new iPhone differs, but most agree there will be a new case design. The back will be made from aluminum rather than glass, and the phone itself will be thinner. It is rumored that the screen will be shatterproof and scratch resistant. Other rumors include an HD audio system and a better “all the time” GPS mode.

iPhone 5—What’s in it?

The new iPhone may have face recognition. Rumor has it that the iPhone 5 will have sensors that will recognize your face and turn on your phone. Sounds like something out of Mission Impossible doesn’t it? With this technology, the security will be much improved, or so Apple would like us to believe. Just how accurate the face scanning will be, remains to be seen. What happens if you change your eye makeup style or wear colored contact lenses? Hmmm…

Will the iPhone 5 have 4G Video Chat? Sure, the iPhone 4 has video chat, but only at 3G speed. Can you imagine how fast 4G chatting will be? Of course if it is like the iPad 2, you can only video chat with other iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac users. While Apple would like the world to think only in Apple terms, there is a big world out there that doesn’t use the Apple products.

The biggest improvement may be longer battery life. Right now iPhone owners almost always complain about the short length of battery life on their iPhones. Of course this is true for most Smartphone owners. Rumor has it that the new iPhone will have a battery life of up to 14 hours of talk time on the 3G network and 7 hours of 4G talk time. Since you cannot replace the battery in the iPhone with an extended battery like you can most other Smartphones, it’s great that Apple may have included a better battery in the new iPhone.

The new iOS probably won’t include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. NFC is technology that allows Smartphones to send and receive information with nearby terminals for things like credit card transactions, and in some restaurants paying your tab instead of having to go up to the cashier. Bloomberg reports that Google will be trying out the new technology in New York and San Francisco in the next 4 months. Apple is reported to be holding back, citing that there is no “industry standard” yet for the NFC technology. According to a report by GigaOM, Verifone (PAY) is going to be including NFC technology in all the new in-store terminals. It seems like Apple better join the crowd.

Do you use a Cloud Server? I love using DropBox as well as Google Docs. I can access it now through my Droid X easily. I like the convenience of having all my documents available no matter how or where I access my files. Apple hasn’t joined the cloud computing technology yet. Will we see it in the new iPhone 5? Guess we will have to wait and see.

Ready to buy a new iPhone 5? Are you currently an iPhone owner, either through AT&T or Verizon? Will you be upgrading with the new iPhone? Or are you a Droid fan? Let us know. We’ll do a follow up story.

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 new Droid X Extended Battery online at batteries4less.

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.

photo credit: Safe Sexting

Teen Sexting… a whole new way of flirting?

Is sexting a dangerous practice for teens? More than even any paper trail, digital communications are open for wide spread distribution. What may seem an innocent flirtation with a suggestive photo, may end up on the Internet. After a nasty breakup, a vindictive ex-partner may post the photo on the web.

Sexting may affect future job applications or college admittance. Teens especially seem to have no long term vision as to what will affect their future lives. With the age of Internet searching, our private lives have become open to everyone who can spell our names in a search. (They don’t call it the World Wide Web for nothing.)

Should there be legal ramifications to under-aged sexting? I think there is enough legislation out there that cannot or will not be enforced. Yes, sexual photos of minors is already against the law. It is considered child porn. But if the teen is taking their own photo and sending it, who is to be prosecuted? And what will you do with the teen to stop them?

photo credit: Sexting Laws in Action

What is the solution? As with most situations in life, education seems to me to be the most practical solution to any challenge. By educating and counseling our teens about the risks and consequences of sexting, we give them control. By the time they are teens they should realize all choices have results, and taking responsibility for those choices is what growing up is all about.

Ultimately we have no control over teenagers. Anyone who thinks otherwise has never raised one. It is futile to tell a teen what to do or not do in social situations. The best we can do is give them the needed information and encourage them to make wise decisions. We can only be a safety net for them. We cannot be there to make all their choices for them.

Do you have a teen with a cell phone? Are you concerned about the content of their texting or in this case sexting? What will YOU do about it?

China Global reported that a young Chinese couple sold their 6 day old son for $366. Then they used the money to buy a new cell phone. If that wasn’t bad enough, the father then tried to re-sell the boy for four times the original price.

Kung Pao Baby or a new cell phone?

Is life so cheap in China that a baby is worth a mere cell phone? The couple, 21 and 19 years old, believed they were financially unable to raise a child, and so traded him in for the newest model of phone. Perhaps the monthly cell phone provider rates may be less than the cost of baby formula. (Certainly this nurturing young mother wouldn’t have been considering breast feeding.)

Could they seriously be considering returning the boy to these mercenary parents? There are conflicting reports that the Chinese police are either working to get the boy out of the welfare system and back with his parents or are investigating pending criminal charges. I personally think they ought to arrest the parents. Perhaps mandatory sterilization wouldn’t be out of the question, but then they would probably turn to trading off body parts for transplants to get their newest cell phones.

That new cell phone better be pretty special! Selling a baby…. Of course, some species eat their young. Kung Pao Baby anyone?

On my way home from work today, I opted to switch from music to NPR (National Public Radio). I do this from time to time to check up on news, and to see if there is an interesting topic being discussed. Today’s topic was about traffic. I paid particular attention to the portion about talking on a cell phone while driving.

According to the presenter, using a hands-free device (which is now the only legal way to drive and talk on a cell phone in California), does not limit the driver’s ability to see (obviously). It does, however, limit their ability to think about what they’re seeing. For example, studies have been conducted which track the eye movement of drivers in various situations. Drivers not talking on the phone typically look all around them, from the road itself to other cars, to signs, and so forth. Drivers talking on a hands-free device tend to just look straight ahead, and do not pay attention to the various other stimuli.

This can be quite dangerous because there are so many potential threats on the road. Drivers must be alert and aware in order to drive safely. It has also been found that drivers talking with a headset have slower reaction times than drivers not engaged in a phone call. The largest concern is that drivers do not realize how impaired their driving can be while talking on a cell phone.

I wonder… if talking on the phone using a hands-free device is so dangerous, is it just as dangerous to talk with other passengers in the car??

Some passengers have endangered my life while driving much more than people on the phone. After all with a phone, you can simply hang up. A friend of mine was recently put in the unfortunate position of designated driver for his VERY drunk friend. On the way home the drunk friend thought it would be “fun” to cover the drivers eyes from time to time and say “peek a boo,” while on the freeway (keep in mind this is a 28-year old Navy diver, picture that)!!! This would be MUCH worse than talking on a cell phone!

I can’t imagine California (or any other state) could ban passengers while driving, but perhaps the ban of all phone calls (even w/ hands-free devices) will be banned in the future? Only time will tell…

This afternoon, I went to the ARCO station around the corner from my house to fill up my tank. As I was filling up I noticed the man next to me talking on his cell phone while he pumped gas. I’ve heard that you’re not supposed to talk on a cell phone at a gas station so this made me pretty nervous. I was worried the whole gas station would go up in flames or something, but nothing happened. As I drove away from the gas station, thanking my lucky starts that I didn’t blow up, Zoolander-style, I wondered… “Is it really dangerous to talk on a cell phone while pumping gas?” I decided to do some research on this topic and here’s what I found:

• Motorola says, “This telephone has not been designed or approved for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.” - these “atmospheres” include gas stations
• The FCC says, “There is no evidence to support the claim that cell phones should not be used around fuel vapors.”

Upon further research, I found that:

There are no confirmed incidences where the use of cell phones at gas stations have caused fires or explosions. In Episode 14 of Discovery Channel’s MythBusters the myth was busted, “A properly-working cell phone poses almost no danger of igniting gasoline, even when surrounded by gasoline vapor with the optimum fuel-air mix for ignition. The actual risk comes from an electrostatic discharge between a charged driver and the car, often a result of continually getting into and out of the vehicle.” However, the wireless industry has concluded that it may be hypothetically possible for sparks from a cell phone to cause damage at a gas station under very specific, unusual circumstances. So basically, it hasn’t happened yet, and it probably will never happen, but there’s a small chance that it could.

So why are there signs at gas stations and in cell phone manuals that caution against using a cell phone while pumping gas? Warnings have been issued by fuel companies and wireless phone manufacturers as a precaution, to legally protect themselves if something were to happen. Just to be safe, I will NOT be using my cell phone at a gas station. Why take a risk, even if it is a small one?