What's the best way to deter a thief? Ruin the spoils, of course. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint have agreed to a broad outline that will culminate in the creation of a central database for stolen cellphones. The goal? To block lifted units from functioning on US shores. Over the next six months, each firm will build out its own stolen device database for integration into a larger, central database, said a Wall Street Journal source, with regional carriers joining the effort over the following two years.

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We recently purchased a new cellular phone for our eight-year-old son. The phone allows him to make or receive calls only from a defined list of telephone numbers, which we enter into it, and provides emergency 911 access. A few months ago, a friend of his from school came over and she had a new LG Migo "kid-friendly" cellular phone from Verizon Wireless. Once we saw the LG Migo, we knew we'd be getting him a cellular phone long before we had initially planned. While the Migo is a neat device, we ended up going with the Firefly, which uses Cingular's network.

The Firefly can be used as a pre-paid device, or you can subscribe to a monthly service plan. As with nearly all pre-paid services, the per minute rates are a little outrageous ($.25/min.), but since we anticipate minimal usage, we should be alright for the immediate future. The fact of the matter is this was an impulse purchase, and we may eventually change to the LG Migo and Verizon Wireless anyway.

It's a familiar scene in movies and on TV: a character, seeking to understand an issue involving computers, proclaims that an "expert" is needed. A teen is then brought on screen or referenced in dialogue.

The scene is funny because it illustrates something with which the audience is familiar anecdotally: the "digital divide."

While computer literacy is not universal, neither is it rare.

Complete Story w/Case Law References - click here

The illuminating power of bulky night vision goggles could soon be widely available thanks to a new, paper-thin device.

Adapting technology found in flat screen television sets, scientists have created a thin film that converts infrared light into visible light. The technology could give cell phones, eyeglasses and car windshields cheap, lightweight night vision.

Read the fully story:

http://news.discovery.com/tech/night-vision-cell-phone-eyeglasses.html

At least on paper, the HTC EVO 4G from Sprint absolutely crushes. It's not just one killer feature that puts the EVO over the top; the spec sheet reads like a wish list for anyone who's owned a touchscreen smartphone. We won't find out until this summer whether Sprint's exclusive 4G phone makes the best of its features, but in the meantime, here are five things to get excited about:

Full Story - http://www.pcworld.com/article/192286/sprints_htc_evo_4g_5_killer_features.html

My smartphone saga entered another new chapter yesterday, as I personally migrated from a Samsung SCH-i760 to the original Motorola Q. While I liked many of the features of the Samsung, I have been using it for several months now and have missed two important voice mail messages, which is simply unacceptable. Although both are Windows Mobile devices, at least with the Q I don't have to go looking for voice mail.

I first got my hands on the Q in June of 2006, within days of its release through Verizon Wireless. I had been testing various Windows mobile devices and had already submitted an order for three Treo 700w units, which were shortly thereafter sent back and replaced with new Q's. Now normally I give new products some time to grow and work through their initial bugs before I make a jump, but in this case I for some reason jumped on the bandwagon early; and subsequently, I suffered through the initial firmware issues.

I picked up the new "LG Chocolate in Black"about a week ago after a few weeks of debating over it or the iPhone. I know, I know, it's like comparing apples to oranges; but I wasn't comparing them per say, I was debating on whether to make the leap to the iPhone. Well, long story short, I just felt the iPhone wasn't worth the risk and the price, at least yet; I suspect it will be within a year or so though. So far, the $49 I spent on the new Chocolate (retails for $79 w/a 2-yr. contract) seems to be money well spent.

Basically, LG redesigned the touch pad and navigation wheel on this latest version of the Chocolate and made it smaller and lighter. Everything else is pretty much the same. It sports a 1.3MP camera that takes decent pix and short vids, but it lacks a flash. It has a microSD memory card slot and should you decide to buy one of these phones, I'd recommend using it.