2011 has been the year when smartphone gamers have been able to pick from a wide selection of large-screened devices to make it easier to play games in greater detail in sharp focus. As a Windows Phone, the Nokia Lumia also has greater integration with Microsoft products; Xbox Live support makes it easier for gamers to pick up a game on their console and then their phone, or to check their status remotely when away from their Xbox.

Two of the most popular games so far for the device are Jet Car Stunts and Burn the Rope.

Jet car Stunts comes with 3D graphics, perfectly utilizing the AMOLED screen with 800 x 480 pixels and the ClearBlack technology reducing reflection glare. With a fast 1.4 GHz processor and 512 MB of memory, the device is more than capable of keeping gameplay speedy.

The 3D graphic accelerator is put to good use as well in Jet Car Stunts. With colourful tracks, which increase in difficulty the more your progress riders jump through hoops, leap over divides and ramps using 3D graphics to enhance gameplay and the experience. The handset is held like a steering wheel so users tips and turn to navigate the tracks. To speed up or slow down there are large buttons on the screen that only needs users to move their thumbs while playing. The game is available at the Windows Phone Marketplace for $2.99

Burn The Rope again utilizes the Lumia’s fast processor to incorporate movement of the device into gameplay. The aim of the game is to set fire to a rope and then twist and turn the phone to guide the flame until the rope has burnt away. The flame has to be directed upwards so while it may sound simple the phone needs to be tilted to make sure the flame is heading the right way, or it will burn out. The path of the flame gets faster and more intricate as users pass through the different levels. The game is available from the Marketplace for $2.99.

The speedy processor and screen resolution, along with the 3D capability means the Lumia 800 has a real potential for the gaming market. The new device marks the first delivered in the new partnership between Nokia and Microsoft, suggesting a desire to make a greater splash in the smartphone market. Whereas the App Store and the Android marketplace have made a big splash in encouraging gamers to turn off their console and instead play on their smartphone, Windows Phone has not had a similar appeal. Some critics blame this on a limited number of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace but it could be more to do with a focus on the Xbox as one of the main Microsoft gadgets on the market. The interactivity and integration between the Nokia and the Xbox suggests this is definitely a target market for the Windows Phone. Their existing dominance in the gaming market, and the appeal they already garner amongst gaming fans, suggests Apple and Android may well be looking over their shoulder.

Simon writes on behalf of Best Mobile Contracts, the UK’s leading mobile phone comparison website, where you can find the cheapest mobile phone contracts for the new Nokia Lumia.

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What is The Callet?

The Callet is the love child of a wallet and a phone case. It protects your phone like many phone cases, but it includes a feature that you don’t see in other phone cases. On the back of this case, there are two pockets for credit cards and the like. The idea is to provide the convenience of an iPhone case with features that replace the most basic need of the common wallet. I mentioned above that I don’t usually have cash in my wallet, and I think that may be more and more common in a society where we’re all in the habit of using credit or reaching for our debit card.

The Callet is available in pink, blue, black, and white for most iPhone and Blackberry devices. It’s also cheaper than a lot of iPhone cases I’ve reviewed, coming in at $19.95

My Wallet-Free Week

OK, ok. I actually carried my wallet, too, but I spent a week with this case around my phone and mostly ignored my wallet. In that time, I noticed a few things.

The Callet mostly nailed it with the two primary functions it was created for. It kept my phone protected and it served as a wallet. The unique feature as a wallet was perfect for holding my debit card and driver’s license, one in each card pocket. I did try to squeeze two cards into one of the card pockets and they fit, but it was a really tight fit. When I was out, I adjusted pretty quickly to pulling out my phone rather than my wallet to pay the bill at restaurants we went to. There was no problem at all with the intended features of this case.

While The Callet handled the basics well, it leaves room for at least one thing I’d like to see. Some people carry cash at all times or at least most of the time. The Callet leaves these people to find their own solution for cash. Now, I’m not sure I want my cash visible on the back of my phone every time I make a call in public, but the option might be nice. I would have also liked space for a third card, but this case had to be a little thick for two cards as it is, so perhaps they were right to stop there.

Conclusions

In the end, I switched back to my old case. The Callet is great, but I often have my phone out in a restaurant in case a server goes down and having my ID and debit card in there makes me more nervous about someone swiping it. That may just be me, though. In general, it does what it should and for about 20 bucks, the price is just right. I would pay more for a hard case, though.

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I’m Watch, from Italy, seems to be turning some heads lately. This watch from a company called Blue Sky disguises all the tech savvy of a full sized Android or IOS smart phone into a beautifully designed watch. Looking more like an iPhone for your wrist, this Android powered smart watch is set to hit CES in January while it simultaneously opens up for U.S. sales.

The watch will boast an app store filled with applications and compatibility with IOS, Android, Symbian, Bada, RIM, and Windows 7. The I’m Watch also features “the first ever capacitive touch display on curved surface”. This all fits in a device a little bulkier than a normal watch and at a price not too far off from an iPhone. I’m waiting for the availability of review units in January, but until then, the video below offers a pretty good preview of how I’m Watch works.

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• iPhone owners are the most loyal to their brand, with 73 percent saying they would stick to Apple no matter what, with Android lagging behind with only 40 percent loyalty. Also, many who don’t currently own an iPhone, say that their next phone will be from the Apple stables.

• Rating loyalty for the Android is a trickier proposition because the OS is available for use on many mobile brands. So its collective sales may be much higher than that of the iPhone OS, especially with the phenomenal success that Froyo (Android version 2.2) is experiencing. Also, according to Zokem, 89 percent of Android users are likely to stick with the same brand of mobile phone, beating the iPhone which has only 85 percent.

• Another once-mighty player in this business, RIM and their BlackBerry OS, rate a poor 30 percent in terms of loyalty. Perhaps this is because of all the new entrants into the field and the low rate of innovation achieved by RIM.

• Windows Mobile and the Palm Pre OS rate very lowly with loyalty scores of 10, but maybe this state of affairs will turn around, what with the prediction that Windows 7 is going to be fastest growing platform for smartphones in 2011. Only time will tell of course, if this OS enjoys the same success in the mobile world as it does in the world of computers.

However, the competition in the mobile industry is fierce – BlackBerry has come out with many new models in the last year and are constantly updating and tweaking their software and OS; the iPhone is looking to stay ahead of the curve by offering multi-tasking and many more options on the mobile, and best of all, Android is being used to simulate a virtual desktop computer when combined with a keyboard and mouse – it has
become powerful enough to act as the CPU of a desktop device (check out Motorola’s Atrix if you’re curious).

So what does the mobile OS industry hold in store? From the looks of what has happened so far, we can see that the main players will be Apple, Google, RIM and Microsoft. And since most mobile platforms offer similar features barring a few minor differences, popularity and sales will boil down to brand loyalty and carrier efficiency (in countries like the US where most smartphones are tied in to a two-year contract with a service provider) – if you’re satisfied with your brand and your carrier, you’re not going to want to switch loyalties unless the competition has something really out of the world to offer.

This guest post is contributed by April Davis, she writes on the topic of Accredited Degrees Online. She welcomes your questions and comments at her email id: april.davis83(@)gmail(.)com.

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I remember my first LG phone. It was the LG VX7000 and I bought it because it was innovative, giving me a camera that I could turn from pointing away from me to pointing at me and many angles in between. These days, it looks like LG is innovating again. This time, they’ve launched the LG Optimus One, a fast smartphone running Android at an entry level price. It’s pretty decent looking, too.

Looks and price aren’t everything, and that’s true with this phone, too. More than just a pretty face and even better looking price tag, it still offers some great smartphone features.

Optimus One Specs

While most people may only care about the camera (a decent but not record-breaking 3.1 MP) and the battery life (LG proudly boasts about the 1500mAh capacity battery), there’s a few other important technical specifications you should know about:

* Android 2.2 (Froyo)
* 3.2-inch Capacitive Screen, @ 320 x 480
* 600 MHz CPU
* 170MB User Memory
* 802.11 b/g, A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
* 3.1 MP auto focus camera
* HSDPA 7.2, WCDMA : 900 / 2100, GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
* 700 hr (2G) / 550 hr (3G) Standby Time
* 480 min (2G) / 450 min (3G) Talk Time

The Android 2.2 OS and 600MHz processor are a big part of why this is not a standard entry level phone. It’s fast and friendly, offering two to three times faster web browsing and smoother scrolling. The camera is important, too, though. Some of the Google features mentioned below make great use of the camera, not to mention it’s face tracking and smile shot capabilities.

Optimus One Google Features

Google makes some really cool tools and web applications, but more and more, they are flexing their mobile muscles as well. The pairing of a lot of cool Google integration and the LG Optimus One looks fantastic.

After watching the video above, I really wanted to start downloading some of this for my own phone, but it’s not available for me. It’s not a stand-alone reason to run out and buy the Optimus One, but it’s definitely a factor.

How Smart Is It?

A smartphone isn’t just smart because it has a faster processor or large screen. It’s all the things a handset can do that make it a smartphone. As mentioned above, this phone is optimized for Google Mobile Services including Google Voice SearchTM, Google Voice ActionsTM, Google GogglesTM, Google ShopperTM and Google MapsTM with Navigation. You can also sync with your Outlook Calendar, which is a must for me. Perhaps one of the coolest features is the Wi-Fi hotspots, which allow you to share your 3G connection with other devices that can connect via Wi-Fi. This would be particularly useful, for example, if you need to get some work done on your laptop but there was no Wi-Fi in sight.

The user experience plays its part, too. What good is functionality if it’s hard to use or you have to navigate for five minutes to find something? LG loaded the Optimus One up with some apps and widgets geared towards ease of use. Even a techie like me can spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to get around Android if they’ve never used it before. A lot of useful features are found pretty quickly right on the Optimus One’s home screens. Additionally, this phone includes the exclusive LG App Advisor, which recommends 10 highly rated applications every two weeks to help you find the gems in the 80,000+ App Android Market.

Final Thoughts

Although I didn’t have the pleasure of personally test driving the Optimus One myself, what I’ve seen in the video reviews, spec list, photos and pricing point to a good purchase. In one of LG’s promotional videos, they mention that they hope to lead the path when it comes to putting smartphones in the hands of average consumers. The Optimus One’s price tag really drives that point home. The LG Optimus One will be available in over 90 countries via 120 partners and is available in the U.S. now from Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, as the Optimus S, Optimus T and Vortex, respectively. Sprint and T-Mobile’s web sites both have it for free with a 2 year contract while Verizon’s site has it for $79.99 with a two year contract. Even at Verizon’s price, it’s far cheaper than most smartphones without lacking all the goodies. The only negative thing I’ve seen so far is some reports of the battery life not living up to the expectations. Still, if I didn’t have a phone (and a contract) already, this would be a top contender for my Christmas list.

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Two weeks ago, a package arrived at my office. It contained two phones to activate on Boost Mobile and some Re-Boost cards to get me started. The phones they sent were the Motorola i1 and the Blackberry Curve 8330 to give me a couple different ways to check out the Boost Mobile network, the activation process, and the many ways they provide for paying on your account.

In the photo above, the Blackberry Curve 8330 is on the left and the Motorola i1 is on the right. Both offer great ways to stay connected with Facebook and Twitter, but I had some challenges along the way.

My Personal Activation Processes

I had a fast and painless activation process… and a hair-pulling and frustrating one, too. Let’s start with the easy one.

When I got my phones, I pulled them about and began poking around the Re-Boost area at Boost Mobile’s web site while also reading the enclosed instructions. Each phone came with an activation kit with instructions on how to get your phone up and running quickly. I decided to start with the Motorola i1, because I’m a fan of the touch screen smart phones and this one just looks great. To say the activation was simple doesn’t do it justice. I just followed a few simple prompts, entered some numbers, chose my area code and prefix and my new phone was activated in about five minutes. The easy setup and the unlimited everything $50/month plan I chose had me wondering if this might even be a viable alternative to my pricier iPhone service. After activating the i1, I wasn’t yet able to log into my account with my four-digit pin, so I decided to call and find out how long that might take while also asking if I could set up the second phone on the same account. This is where things went down hill.

After working my way through a couple menu options in the automated phone support system, I found myself on the phone with someone pretty quickly. She also had problems logging into the My Account area with my information, so I decided to just give it a try the next day and asked about activating the second phone on my account. After telling me this was not possible, she began setting up the Blackberry and I explained that I planned to set that one up online as well, thanked her, and the phone call ended. I then set up the Blackberry online in the same way I set up the i1. The only thing I did differently was chose the $3/day unlimited plan. Once again, the setup went smoothly, but the phone did not activate right away. It was getting late, so I set it aside and about a week passed before I decided to call and find out what was going on.

My first call left me talking to a support representative who told me that the account notes indicated that I had called in three days after activation and canceled the account. As you might guess, I certainly wouldn’t do that before reviewing the phone and service. Stunned, I explained that I had not canceled anything and would like to get the activation completed. This, I was told, could happen with a mere $10 re-activation fee. It’s not a lot and I completely understand the fee under normal circumstances, but I hadn’t canceled any accounts and protested the fee until the support rep agreed to waive it. While attempting to re-activate the phone (which, by the way, had never actually been completely activated yet), he noted that the account was beyond his ability to fix and he would have a tech work on it. This, I was told, should take two to four hours.

A few hours later, I called back and another support rep named Eric told me that he would uncancel the account. Didn’t the last guy do that? He said the account was all “jacked up” and he couldn’t fix it and that even his supervisor agreed I needed to talk to the technical support department to get it cleared up. The tech I was transferred to said that he’s a general technician and I that I would need to talk to a Blackberry tech and transferred me again. The Blackberry tech couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t hear him, so he called me back on my wife’s phone. As with each person before him, I was told that I, or someone with my pin, had called in to cancel the account and that it was all messed up. Again, I asserted that I had not even called, I had definitely not canceled the account, and I was told by two people before him that the $10 re-activation fee would be waived. After he argued about this at length (and he kept his calm while I did not), I insisted he get a manager and he did. The manager talked to me about the account, reluctantly agreed that it was possible that someone there made a mistake, and eventually transferred me to another department to set up a new account with a credit for the Re-Boost card I had applied.

I talked to Kim in this department and she said she would set up the new account with a new phone number, which was great news. Unfortunately, she warned, she would not be able to activate this phone so soon after it was canceled on another account without first submitting a special request form. Willing to accept any small success, I thanked her when she said that someone would call me back within 24 hours. I hung up and relaxed a little.

48 hours later, I called and navigated the automated phone support to get to a person again. I spoke to someone who said she could not look up any anything on the new account without a phone number, but I didn’t have a new number yet without the account set up. I asked her to try looking it up with the old phone number. She said there was no notes on any of my previous phone calls other than the note that I had called to cancel. After venting a bit, I asked if she could just set up a new account for me with the promised credit. She explained that she could not transfer me to the case department for the old case with the promised credit, nor could she credit me any more than $10 as that was her allowed limit per account. When I asked for a supervisor, she said that no supervisor there could, either, for the same reason, but that she could generate a request with a case number. At my request, she set up a new account for me with a $10 credit and opened a case for the remaining $40. This time, I asked for and was given a case number. At this point, the account was set up and activated quickly and I was finally able to start using the Blackberry Curve 8330.

To be able to definitely review the process as good or bad is hard. While the automated phone system hung up on me several times and the human customer support was an absolute nightmare for the second activation, my first phone was the easiest cell phone activation I’ve ever had and the second was just as easy over the phone once the customer support issues stopped plaguing me. I can only hope this was an isolated experience.

Posting to Facebook and Twitter

Once I had both phones activated, I decided to try updating my Facebook and Twitter accounts from each phone. I update both social networks pretty often while I’m out, especially to share fun or crazy photos of stuff I see while driving around or shopping. Last month, having my social media in my phone allowed me to post this photo to both Facebook and Twitter while I was out for a bike ride. In the past, I’ve used my phone’s Facebook integration to post that I would be out at a club or event and was able to instantly know when a friend replied to say they were coming out too. Social media integration on the go helps improve my actual social experiences and Boost Mobile’s unlimited plans eliminate the worries that those of us with limited data plans have about overage charges.

After downloading Facebook and Twitter apps to each phone, I sent out some tweets and updates, read tweets and updates an played around with all the features. Tweeting and updating was easy from both phones after some quick experimentation and poking around.

The best option for Facebook on most platforms seems to be the official application. The experience on Android is perhaps a little better than the iPhone Facebook app I’m so used to. It’s very similar, but shows recent photos along the bottom. The app sits in the application tray, but can be dragged onto one of the home screens for even faster access. In short, keeping up with my friends (and now even my dad) on Facebook is fast and easy on the Motorola i1. On the Blackberry, the Facebook experience is a little different. At first, finding the downloaded application was a task. The Blackberry stores these social applications under the Communities screen. Once in the application, it was obvious that it came full-featured, but navigating through all the features was cumbersome. This may become easier with use, but it was not immediately smooth moving from the News feed to other areas of the application.

Twitter was a very similar experience on the Blackberry as Facebook on the Blackberry. Both made sending an update pretty simple, but everything else wasn’t nearly as easy. Twitter on the i1 (or most any Android phone, really), is an experience that depends on your app selection. The first application I chose had problems even connecting to my account, so I moved on to an app called TweetCaster, which looks and feels great. It loaded quickly and enabled me to read my friends’ tweets, update my own, check my DMs and messages, and even access and manage favorites with a clean and simple interface. When it comes to tweeting on the Motorola i1, it’s just a matter of choosing the best Twitter application.

How Re-Boost Works

One of the things I liked about Re-Boost was the different ways they have to do it.

As you might guess from the screen shot above, you can pay on-line, in-person, or by phone. The online process, as I’ve mentioned above, was really fast and simple to do, and I imagine the phone and in-person options are just as easy. While in a Boost Mobile store, recently, I watched as someone else paid in the store and the process didn’t take long at all.

Payment can be made via a debit or credit card and this can be done as you go or you can set up automatic payments to avoid forgetting. What I really liked, though, was the Re-Boost cards. They can be purchased in different amounts and used for yourself or given away as gifts.

When you Re-Boost, either by Re-Boost card, credit/debit, or a payment in person, you are simply adding funds to your account, to provide you with another month or day of service, more minutes, or added features.

Boost Mobile Plans And Phones

One of the things that makes Boost Mobile unique is all the plans geared to fit any consumer. Alongside the traditional monthly plans, they offer daily, pay as you go (per minute), and monthly and daily plans for Blackberry. $50 monthly for unlimited everything is my preferred plan and a pretty good deal for the money compared to other companies.

The phones shown in this review are pretty feature-rich and the i1 is just downright smooth. Boost Mobile’s phone line-up ranges from high-end smart phones like the i1 down to more budget-friendly phones like the $29 i290. Although I liked the i1 a little more, the Blackberry Curve 8330 felt oddly comfortable in my hand. I didn’t expect it to as a touch screen phone fan, but its weight, size and general feel just felt like the ideal.

Final Thoughts

Despite customer service issues, setting up and activating my phones on my own was a breeze. The phones, themselves were great, as well. Data felt a little sluggish at times on both phones, which may be the price of unlimited data accounts, but not having to worry about overages may be an acceptable trade-off. Boost Mobile seems to be a more budget-conscious solution, especially if you don’t want to jump through all the credit check and application hoops other companies often require.

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(photo courtesy of Avolore on Flickr)

Best Value Laptops/Netbooks

The Gateway ID Series is especially designed for those who “live the mobile lifestyle.” Weighing about 5lbs, it’s light enough to carry from the dorm room to the classroom. It has a 14-inch HD display, an Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of memory, and 500GB hard drive. It also includes Dolby home theater sound, a DVD burner and a web cam. It also includes a social networking tab that allows students to quickly access their social networks sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. For about a fraction of the price, and the size, check out the 2lb,10-inch Gateway LT Series netbook. It includes a webcam and digital microphone, 1GB of memory and 250GB hard drive. It’s the right size to throw into any backpack or messenger bag. $680; $350 respectively Gateway.com

Printer

The KODAK ESP 5250: All in one Printer is the perfect tool needed for any student boggled down with tons of term papers to print. It includes Wi-Fi connectivity, which allows you to print from anywhere: your room or you could even print directly from your phone if you install the proper application. Not to mention Kodak has some of the cheapest ink in the industry, only $10 to cartridges. $119; Kodak.com

E-Readers

Text books too heavy to carry around in a backpack? The Pandigital Novel is a color eReader that allows you to download tons of books and easily organize them into libraries. It provides a great reading experience with its high resolution screen. The Pandigital Novel runs on the Android operating system, which means students can surf the web and check their email. Comes in white or black. $179; pandigital.net

Phones

The HTC Evo 4G is one of the newest phones trying to give the iPhone a run for its money. With Wi-Fi accessibility, an HD camcorder and a massive 4.3-inch screen, it is the first 4G phone on the nation’s first 4G network— which just means you can upload, download and browse the web much faster. What makes this phone extra neat is its live -streaming video application which can instantaneously connect any student with someone across the country. $199 with contract; Sprint.com

This guest post is contributed by Roger Elmore, who writes on the topics of hospitality management degree. He welcomes your comments at his email Id: rogerelmore24 @gmail.com.

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The mobile phone market is just nuts. Every time you turn around, there’s a new phone launching that promises to be faster, sleeker, cooler, or smarter than the phone you have now, and half the time, it is. Sometimes, we even let our geek lust get to us and run out and buy the latest and greatest phone, often leaving our old phone to collect dust in a drawer. Those of us ambitious enough might even try our luck at ebay, but there’s a better way.

RecycleMobilePhones.co.uk is a site that makes it easy for you to not only find out what you can get for your old mobile phone, but it makes the whole mobile phone recycling process pretty easy.

Why You Should Recycle Your Mobile Phone

There are a number of things you can do with an old phone when you upgrade to a new one. You could give the old phone to a friend or family member or turn it in at some mobile phone stores to be recycled. You try an online classified ad site like Craigs List or an auction site like ebay to get some money out of the phone, but you never know what you’ll get for it or if it will sell at all. I’ve done both with very mixed results. The number one reason to try a site like this is to know how much you’ll get for your old phone and that it will sell without having to worry about it. You also can avoid worrying about someone actually paying after the phone is purchased. When you sell to one of these companies, payment is usually pretty quick.

How Does It Work

The process is about as simple as you might expect it to be. You start out by searching for your phone with the prominent search box on the home page. This is a predictive search, which means that it starts bringing back suggested phones as you type. I love this because you can find my phone faster, especially if it’s one whose spelling you are unsure of. Once you’ve searched for and found your phone, you get a list of potential buyers. These are mobile phone recycling companies like Mazuma Mobile that will make you an offer for your phone. This offer is usually in a cash amount, but may also be in trade-in points or some other virtual currency or vouchers. The list defaults to showing the highest values at the top. Select a buyer and you get forwarded out to their site to initiate the sale. Just confirm the phone you’re selling and they’ll usually provide you with a means to ship it to them for free. Send it out and wait for the delivery confirmation and payment.

The steps to get your phone sold are pretty straight forward and simple, but there’s one boring step I’d suggest as well. Like many sites, these sites have terms and conditions you need to agree to in order to sell your phone. This is a transaction involving money, usually, and depending on the phone, it could be a decent amount of money. You should always read through the terms before agreeing to them.

Conclusions

RecycleMobilePhones.co.uk is a very clean site. It’s put together well and is incredibly easy to use. The trade-off is that there’s just one or two teeny tiny features I didn’t find that might be nice like the ability to sort search results by clicking a column header. The up side is that the search is so well done that sorting is really not needed, anyway. While I don’t know of every mobile phone buying site out there, RecycleMobilePhones.co.uk seems to have lined up enough of them to get the job done and the amount I could get for my iPhone seems more than reasonable. In short, I give the site two thumbs up and would certainly use it if the opportunity presented itself (and you know it will). Book mark it and you’ll have the perfect solution for your old phone next time you upgrade.

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How To Email A Text Message

First, you have to know their phone number and mobile carrier (AT&T, Verizon, etc.). Armed with a phone number and the list below, you should be able to easily figure out the email address to send a text message to your victim’s phone.

T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
Cingular: phonenumber@cingularme.com
Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
US Cellular: phonenumber@email.uscc.net
SunCom: phonenumber@tms.suncom.com
Powertel: phonenumber@ptel.net
AT&T: phonenumber@txt.att.net
Alltel: phonenumber@message.alltel.com
Metro PCS: phonenumber@MyMetroPcs.com

where phonenumber = your 10 digit phone number
(Thanks to tech-recipes.com for the list)

Get A Fake Email Account

The easiest way to do this is to head over to Gmail and create a free account. You want this free account because you’re only going to use it for this and you want to set up the name and address to be whatever you want.

The screen shot above shows my new account as B Obama with an email address of prez-b-obama@gmail.com, but I eventually went with President Obama and notreallyobama@gmail.com. Be creative.

Send A Text Message VIA Email

Now here’s the really easy part. Just compose an email from your new Gmail account. Send it to the address from the first step above. You might even leave the subject blank to make it look more like a text. The result might look like it did on my iPhone in the first image in this post, but be aware that some phones/carriers will display the email address, too, like my Verizon DROID Incredible below:

You may also note that I tried to include an image on that one. My iPhone didn’t show the image or even indicate that there was one. The Verizon phone removed the image (and said as much) as seen above. I’ve had mixed results on other carriers. If you’re unsure, just do a test with another friend who’s on the same carrier.

With one more relatively simple step, you can actually spoof the email address as well. All this means is that you’ll make the email look like it’s coming from a more convincing address. In the past, this used to require some technical savvy and access to a server that would let you do it. Now, it’s as simple as downloading a free email spoofer and installing it. For me, this took about two minutes. Take a look at the image below compared to the one above. The one below shows a text that, to most people, looks like it came right from the White House. Of course, with the email spoofer, you don’t even need the Gmail account, but I like to use both.

Share Your Results

I’m interested in what you’ll all be sending to your friends/co-workers/family with this. Let us know, below, about the fun you had and any reactions you got. And remember… This is meant to be for fun with a couple friends. Ultimately, stuff like this can get tracked back you you if you do something illegal with it. You’ve been warned.

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It’s Like DROID’s Little Sister

You’ve heard of the DROID, of course, and if you haven’t, click above to read the review. While DROID is a top phone choice for those in need of constant communication and all the bells and whistles, it can be overkill for others. The ERIS is like a smaller, curvier, little sister with a few of DROID’s key features missing. Since I’m comparing it to the DROID, I might as well point out what I couldn’t find on the ERIS.

The first is obvious. There’s no hardware keyboard. In iPhone user, I didn’t find this to be of much concern, especially since the software keyboard was pretty responsive and accurate. For some, this takes the ERIS out of the running when choosing a phone, though, so it’s important to note. The other main thing I found missing from the ERIS was voice control. DROID has it and I’ve gotten used to it in the iPhone. This is a software feature and I really don’t understand why it wasn’t included. It’s forgivable, but an unnecessary loss.

Otherwise, the ERIS runs on Android just like it’s big brother, so the environment was nearly the same.

In Its Own Class

As much as the ERIS makes me think of DROID, it really stands apart from a lot of the phones on the market. It embodies many of the features I find in the pricier smart phones but at around $100 less when bought from Verizon online (around $80 with a 2 year contract). That’s not a bad trade-off for the couple missing features previously mentioned.

Beyond having all the features that come with the Android OS, the ERIS is just really nice to look at. It’s not too flashy, but it has very smooth rounded corners and buttons that are pretty flush with the phone’s surface.

The front of the phone has Call and End Call/Power buttons that sit on either side of the combination roller ball/action button. This roller ball lights up when in use, which adds to the aesthetics of the phone, but I find myself not using this for navigation. It’s just not a natural feel for me, although it may make navigation a little easier. Above all this is a row of four navigation buttons. The buttons, which take you home, back, to a menu, or to a quick search are sensitive to the slightest touch and are completely flush for a smooth feel. Of course, there’s volume control buttons on the side and a standard headphone jack on the top.

Mass Appeal

The fact that I was a little more eager to take this phone with me to gatherings with friends says something, but what spoke volumes was how much other people wanted to play with it. At a friend’s birthday party, I think I spent a half hour talking about the phone and people were eager to play with it. These same people (one of them a DROID owner) noticed and made mention of the missing voice control and physical keyboard, but still had lots of good things to say about it as well.

Conclusions

I was excited before I ever put my hands on this phone and was more excited after I got to play with it. I was excited enough, in fact, to overlook the lack of headphones that I think every smart phone should include. Holding its own with some more expensive phones, this is a more affordable way to get your hands on a good-looking smart phone with all the benefits of the Android platform. Not only would I recommend this phone, but I tried to convince my wife to buy one (though it just wasn’t for her). This phone is an easy winner, provided you don’t need voice control or a physical keyboard.

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