Cell phone accessories blog

The WildCharger is one of those products that creates a problem that you didn't know you had. Though the product is certainly innovative and it succeeds at charging your cell phone without a wired connection, we never really thought that we needed to do so. What's more, unless you're charging more than one handset at a time, we don't consider it a practical purchase.

Yet, WildCharge (the device's manufacturer) continues to surprise us. In April, it greatly expanded its list of supported phones beyond the now ancient Motorola Razr V3. And on Tuesday, the company expanded that list even more when it announced a charging "skin" for the iPhone.

The skins, which will be available in July, are $34.99 each. You'll also need to buy the WildCharger pad ($49.99), but if you ever wanted a cell phone charger with "wow" factor, you can't go wrong.

My BlackBerry, after recovering from Wednesday's swim.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)

It's every gadget lover's nightmare and, on Wednesday, it became my reality.

My BlackBerry went for an ever-so-brief tour of CNET's plumbing facilities. I'm not sure how it ended up exactly where it did, but suffice it to say, it did. And, to answer the question before you ask, it was a clean bowl.

I pulled it out within a second of hearing that dreaded splash. I shook it off, dried it, and headed to my desk with a sheepish look on my face.

With a quick glance to make sure no one was looking, I googled "What to do if cell phone gets wet."

As you may or may not know, many cell phones meet their end by visiting pools, tubs, and other reservoirs of different shapes and contents. There are so many such incidents, cell phones now have indicators that show whether they have gotten wet and are therefore ineligible for warranty replacement.

I called Verizon Wireless to see how often this happens. Although spokesman Jeffrey Nelson didn't have any solid numbers, he said, "I do think it happens a fair amount more than people realize."

Nelson said his own cousin has dropped his BlackBerry in the toilet twice and a Facebook friend dropped his phone in a cup of coffee this morning. (The Verizon folks also helpfully pointed me to this phone, should I really want a phone that can handle the water.)

Luckily, even some of the non-waterproof devices survive their aquatic ordeals and there is plenty of advice on the Internet about how to maximize one's chances.

As we head into the long weekend here in the States, I caught word of a newfangled freeware called JoikuSpot Light that might appeal to traveling owners of laptops and 3G phones that can't get their Wi-Fi connection to, you know, connect.

Joikuspot, and its Windows Mobile sibling, WMWiFiRouter, let laptop users wirelessly connect to their phones' 3G signal, piggybacking on it to your messages out and get fresh data in. If you're stuck in an airport or hotel room with a crappy or nonexistent Wi-Fi signal, JoikuSpot will enable to you to connect. If you've got an unlimited data phone plan, this could be extremely cost- and time-effective.

JoikuSpot Light turns your 3G phone into a Wi-Fi hot spot.

(Credit: JoikuSpot)

Originally, this was going to be a "hands-on" style write-up, but Joikuspot has some strict device limitations and can only be used by certain phones. However, the program's publisher does make it easy to determine if your phone will work with it. Head on over to the JoikuSpot Light page at Joiku.com and select your phone model. If it's not there, it's not supported.

If it is supported, you can have Joiku SMS the software to your phone, or download it directly. According to the JoikuSpot Web site, they have more than 200,000 users since the product was released a few months back. It appears to be reasonably secure, too, as it supports encrypted hypertext protocols (https).

Once installed, your laptop's Wi-Fi router should find your phone as an available Wi-Fi hot spot. Activate the connection and surf knowing that, in the relationship between you and your devices, you wear the pants.

There's a not-so-secret secret that BlackBerry Pearl owners in the know have been using to impress the socks off those astute enough to notice the glowing neon ball at the center of the handset. And that it isn't glowing white.

The trick is owed to a little software application called ColorPearl, which beams out multihued lights from RIM's famous navigation pearl by taking advantage of...well, we don't want to spoil the plot. Tune into this Quick Tip video from CNET Producer Randall Bennett to see the amazing Technicolor sphere in action.

Inside the AT&T Experience store. Click on the photo for a full slide show.

(Credit: Kent German)

Going to a cell phone store can be like going to the DMV. Typically you have to wait a long time to be helped, and there's seldom a place to sit while you kill time. The lack of chairs in carrier stores has always baffled me, but then a sales rep at the AT&T in Pasadena, Calif., told my mom that they removed the chairs because some klutz fell off one of them and sued. Who says baseball is the American pastime?

But seriously, buying a cell phone can be a trying experience, particularly if you're not a cell phone geek. While many store representatives mean well, I've found that getting basic information often comes with a sales pitch for services you don't need. That's a disservice to customers who just want to grab their new phone and go.

The AT&T Surface.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)

But I have to give credit to AT&T, as the carrier is making a push to redefine the cell phone shopping experience. The carrier recently opened five AT&T Experience stores across the country. Two are in New York City, one is San Antonio, one is in Atlanta, and one is in San Bruno, Calif., which is just outside San Francisco. The Experience stores are meant to be a destination of sorts. AT&T said it plans to open more in major markets.

I recently visited the San Bruno store to experience (sorry) what the new AT&T stores has to offer. While my expectations were low, I came away quite satisfied (check out the slide show for a full gallery of photos). Not only is the store bright, clean, and spacious, but also it's very welcoming to harried shoppers. The staff was polite, the displays are plentiful and shiny (including a dedicated iPhone section) and there's a comfortable lounge where you can view AT&T programming. But the best thing about the store is the new AT&T Surface displays. They really do make shopping fun again.

The surface provides a variety of useful information.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)

Developed by Microsoft, the AT&T surface is an interactive display that resembles one of those old tabletop videos games. Using the surface you can access a variety of information to help you make your purchasing decision. You can research available service plans, scan coverage maps, and check out a selection of phones. The coverage maps are especially cool; you can start with nationwide maps before zooming into your region or neighborhood. In a city like San Francisco, where geography plays such a big role in cell phone reception, it was helpful to see how coverage changed block by block. If you're looking for 3G service, you can research that coverage as well.

Just below the surface are a few AT&T phones on display. Each handset has a sensor sticker on its back for interacting with the surface. When you place a phone on the surface, it recognizes the handset and offers you a variety of options. You can see the features, the specifications, the applicable plans, and the available colors. The surface also lets you compare two handsets by showing their feature lists side by side. At present, only eights models can interact with the surface. While that selection includes AT&T's most popular models, such as the RIM BlackBerry Curve and the Samsung SGH-A737, according to AT&T, it will add more models soon.

AT&T's phone selection.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)

The surface is entirely touch sensitive so its quite easy to use. What's more, it even has some elements of the iPhone. By pinching your fingers together you can zoom in on the coverage maps while the opposite motion will zoom you out. Also, you can move multiple windows around the screen by dragging them.

What makes the AT&T surface so cool is that you can get en enormous amount of information on your own. Everything is right there in front of you in an unedited, unabridged format free of any sales pitches. But even better, the surfaces have an exceedingly easy-to-use design and interface. As a result, you can arm yourself with everything you need to know before you to talk to a sales representative. I can imagine everyone one from cell phone old-timers to cell phone newbies having a pleasant shopping experience. The San Bruno store has six surfaces in the store, so if you live nearby and you're AT&T customer, be sure to check it out.

SpinVox, a London-based company that offers voice mail-to-text conversion technology, doesn't hide the fact that cell phones can be downright irritating at times. Today the company released the results of a poll of the most annoying cell phone practices as chosen by SpinVox users. Though most of the results aren't particularly surprising--loud talkers topped the list--a few of the practices I never would have thought of as annoying.

For example, "taste blasters," or people who showcase their musical taste through their ringtones, ranked above individuals who talk on the phone in restaurants (aka "chow chatters"). In my opinion, the latter is a far bigger breach of basic etiquette. Also, the study cited "spinal tappers," or people who use a loud speakerphone, as more annoying as those insufferable fools who block a checkout or takeaway line while yakking on their phone. Again, I'd choose the latter as the more obnoxious.

The most amusing practice came in at no. 10 on the list. It was "can conversationalists," or talkers who insist on having that all-important conversation in a public restroom. I've said it before and I'll say it again, that's just gross. The two practices that I didn't expect to be on the list were "walk 'n scrollers," or people who scroll through their contacts list while walking through a public place, and "free samplers," or users who test each of their phone's ringtones with the volume turned up high (I admit I've been guilty of both). When I think about it, those do sound pretty annoying but I'd be more inclined to put driving with a cell phone, using a cell phone in a theater or at the gym, and obsessive Bluetooth users on the list.

SpinVox does offer suggestions for remedying each of the behaviors, but I've become more resigned to believe that annoying cell phone habits will never disappear completely. Still, I'd love to hear your comments on which cell phone practices you think are the worst.

Now that has thrown open its doors, and grabbed a lot of attention in the process, it appears that AT&T is still trying to convince consumers that it plays nice, too. First, it took pains early last month to remind us it had an open network ("You can use any handset on our network you want. We don't prohibit it, or even police it," an exec said) and now it is selling SIM cards for use with any compatible phone.

The 3G, 64K SIMs are just $10, but you get a whopping $5 discount if you sign a two-year contract (hint: sometimes it's best to pay full price). Alternatively, if you don't fancy contracts, you also can use the cards with the carrier's GoPhone prepaid service. Though the rumor mill is saying that the phone-free SIM cards don't entitle you to multimedia messaging, I'd be surprised if that was the case, and AT&T doesn't list any such restrictions on its Web site. The carrier only says you must use the SIM card with an unlocked or locked AT&T cell phone that operates on the 800 to 900 GSM bands. Also, the handset should not have been previously reported as lost or stolen. So go ahead, free your phone!

(Credit: Motorola)

Could it be that cell phone manufacturers are actually listening to their customers? Could it be that they're actually taking our deepest hopes and turning them into reality? Yes, Virginia, it appears they are.

As CNET'S News.com reports, leading cell phone manufacturers finally are moving toward a standard cell phone charger and peripheral connector. This week the Open Mobile Terminal Platform agreed to standardize the use of micro USB connectors for all phone cables. The group said it hopes to make life easier for consumers and cut down on the the number of chargers and cables that people throw away when they switch phones.

While the move will certainly make life easier in the long run, it actually will create some complications in the short term. Though companies like Motorola have begun to adopt mini USB chargers as a standard, the OMTP apparently decided that wasn't good enough. There goes yet another charger in the trash.

Here's some exciting news for those of you who have an iPhone and want to have the Star Wars Imperial March play every time your mother-in-law asks you for help installing the latest sudoku game: with a bit of file-extension tweaking and judicious use of the new iTunes 7.4 for Windows or Mac, you can now customize your ringtones without having to donate another 99 cents to Steve Jobs' favorite retirement fund.

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