Human-powered search site ChaCha is launching a new service that allows you to ask questions and get the answers all over text message.
ChaCha was set to launch its free search service for mobile phone users on Jan. 3.
Basically, you can text any question to "242242" (which spells "chacha" ...
(Credit: P2i)Imagine buying sneakers and cell phones waterproofed with the same stuff.
You may be able to do that soon with the development of something called Ion Mask, a cold plasma surface enhancement technology developed by the U.K.'s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the University of
The biggest problem with JetBlue's inaugural "BetaBlue" flight, equipped with Yahoo and BlackBerry e-mail and instant messaging, was the fact that there aren't power outlets on board the aircraft.
Sure, there are those little 110-volt things in each bathroom. But if you hog the airplane toilet so that ...
Not all games have been optimized for the iPhone equally. In fact, I found quite a few clunkers that seemed to exist only to take your cash, advertise dubious services, or bombard you with cut-rate graphics. Shudder. These five games, added just this month, test your strategy and timing while offering above-average graphics.
Don't forget to review the games on CNET Download.com, or serve up your own favorites in the comments below.
501 Darts is a two-player strategy game that pits you against your cut throat iPhone. The goal is to roll down your points from 400 to zero by lobbing darts where it counts--in the highest point zones possible. Tap the red button once to set your horizon and once again to choose the vertical axis. Then watch the arrows fly. The game is fun, but lacks settings to change the game style, pause or save a game, or even reduce the points if you want a shorter game.
501 Darts is free, but supported by a banner ad that doesn't obstruct the graphics, though it certainly won't beautify them either....
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Product re-reviewed December 7, 2007 to include the full software feature set.
I'll come right out and say it. The biggest problem with YouMail is that not everything works. At least not for me.
YouMail is a voice mail system that replaces your carrier's default voice mail box. Being able to personalize greetings for select numbers and manage messages and greetings from the phone or Web is an intriguing idea that disappointingly fumbled during my tests. Hopefully the YouMail team can nix the blunders as the product moves out of beta, leaving a seamless solution for usefully manipulating voice data online in addition to from the handset.
YouMail's concept fits snugly into the intersection of two meta trends--personalized greetings (like Vringo) and online mobile management (like Dashwire). However, since you program YouMail to take over native voice mail duties, it involves a lengthier time investment up front. You follow online directions to assign it as your primary inbox, record a standard greeting, and record personal greetings for select numbers....
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Product originally reviewed December 6, 2007.
I'll come right out and say it. The biggest problem with my original experience with YouMail may have been my own human error.
In my original review of the voice mail system that lets you manage voice messages online, I said YouMail had a lot of potential, but wasn't delivering on its promise of catching my voice mail messages. It could be that I skipped a beat, and that before entering YouMail's phone number into the Motorola RAZR V3 handset, I failed to punch in the star (*) key. Or, offers YouMail's PR representative, Derek Brookmeyer, I may have actually done this and the signal cut out, in which case YouMail would not have completed my voice mail forwarding and Verizon would not have warned me the action was unsuccessful.
So now, the complete review. It turns out that once you've got YouMail properly set up, it works quite well and provides a well-rounded feature set, plus one controversial capability. (I call it creepy. Keep reading.)...
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Personal travel aggregation service TripIt has received a very important update this morning. It's now able to sync up travel plans that are sent its way to a handful of popular calendaring tools including Google Calendar, Apple iCal, Plaxo, Outlook, or any other service that can handle URL events. ...
Typing your starting point on a typical cell phone search tool can get tedious, even if you've got a high-end device with a QWERTY keyboard. A GPS-enabled cell phone can wipe those tears away, but since about 85 percent of handsets do not have GPS, most users are out ...
(Credit: Franklin)
We would never cheat on the SAT or any other exam, of course, but if we were of that ilk we might consider taking along one these gadgets and claiming that it's just a standard calculator.
The "Pocket Prep" SAT and ACT tutors from the Princeton Review ...
At this point resistance is futile so I just try my best to limit the amount of personal information Google knows about me. The updates to my Blackberry are actually pretty useful, eliminating the need for several clicks into Google properties I would likely go to anyway. I would beg for mercy but they would just slap an ad on my screams.
On to the mobile apps...
One interesting new item is a Google Mobile Updater app that updates the various Google properties that now launch standalone from the BB (the majority were already available through the browser.) The items that were new to me today were a unique "Search" icon, an icon for Picasa, and a Google News icon. This must be part of the bigger mobile strategy.
Some new info on the updates and new additions to Google Apps coming in 2008.
(Credit: Crave Asia)
Currently available only on the German and U.K. markets, Samsung's Ultra Smart F700 is headed to Malaysia and possibly other Asian countries early next year, according to the company.
We had a brief hands-on with the HSDPA handset and found ourselves liking the touch screen'...
If people are wondering whether the UMPC concept will catch on, the growing list of manufacturers pumping out ultra-mobile devices should silence the critics. Packard Bell is the latest to produce a 7-inch portable--christened the EasyNote XS20.
(Credit: Crave Asia)
Available at the upcoming SITEX show in Singapore, it will ...
(Credit: Crave UK)
Yesterday Crave attended the U.K. launch of E-Ten's new line-up, which includes the Glofiish M800, the X800 (which we reported on in March) and the X600. These oddly named handsets look very similar to HTC devices and pack many of the same features too.
The ...
Of the companies I saw yesterday at the Under the Radar: Mobility conference (more stories), the most audacious, and therefore my favorite, was Zoove. This company makes a service and a technology that allows mobile phone users to dial a short code (preceded by **) and then receive information via SMS ...
It's a good time for talented developers. Architects of Web and client-side apps have their choice of dazzling users on not one, but three cutting-edge mobile platforms. There's no shortage of opportunities to create custom Safari apps for the iPhone, and add them to our growing collection of iPhone apps...
NEW YORK--"Why are books the last bastion of analog?" Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asked an audience at New York's W Hotel in Union Square as he unveiled Amazon Kindle, the online-retail giant's new electronic book reader.
"Books have stubbornly resisted digitization," he elaborated. "I think there's ...
Amazon's Kindle, the new electronic book reader (hands-on first look), is not just a device for reading paperless books and newspapers. It's also an ecosystem for writers who want to publish their works without dealing with publishers or vanity presses or other middlemen.
Publishing doesn't look too ...
(Credit: Palm)Remember when the introduction of a new Palm PDA generated the same hype and hubbub as new iPods do today? Alas, those days are over, which may explain why Palm looks to be clearing out the inventory--maybe for good. From now until November 26, you can get a ...
Tech recycling services traditionally are either free or charge you a fee for trying to keep old gear out of landfills. But as long as you're cleaning out closets to make room for another season of gifts, you could finance some of your holiday shopping by sending tired tech ...