Is the iPod Phone Really Coming?

Insiders at BenQ say that Apple procurement executives have been talking to various Taiwanese phone makers during the past few months in an effort to cut a manufacturing deal on an iPod Phone. (Hey, we’ve heard this rumor before!)

Apple will launch an iPod with phone functions within the next few months.  “An iPod phone is definitely coming. BenQ will not be making it as we are in competition with Apple however several of our suppliers have been approached to manufacture parts. Among manufacturers in Taiwan it is common knowledge. The issue for many is the availabilty of parts if the phone takes off” says a BenQ exec.  keep reading...

Beam Me Some Cash, Scotty!

Paypal now lets you send money via your phone from anywhere at anytime. I’ve used my mobile on PayPal for a long time, but the “standard” way, so now they’ve made it easier with a ”text me $$$” method. What does this mean for you? It means that you can now send money to your friends with a credit card or bank account and a cellphone, two-way or PDA. It couldn’t be easier, could it? So now, between PayPal and eBay I have an even easier way to spend my hard earned $$$. Lucky me, and lucky you too!  Here’s the 411 -

After you activate your phone, you can send money one of two ways:

1. Text to 729725 (PAYPAL) with the amount and recipient’s phone number. Example: send 5 to 4150001234

2. Call 1-800-4PAYPAL (1-800-472-9725) and follow the instructions.

Sounds pretty easy. Here’s a little visual. I just know you love pictures *smile*

Hello Kitty Prepaid Phone

All pink loving savvy chick’s need one of these. The best part is that they’re only $99 and you can use them in the United States. They’re prepaid phones using Cingular, so they would be great for a teen.

“This supercute custom pink Hello Kitty Nokia 6010 handset features exclusive Hello Kitty ringtones, plus wallpapers and a game for its full-color screen. It also features voicemail, caller ID, wireless Web/email and text messaging. The Hello Kitty Nokia phone includes $10 of free prepaid Cingular KICSM wireless airtime.(Calls are 10c/minute to all Cingular customers on the Mobile to Mobile Plan.) When that balance is low or depleted, you can buy Cingular prepaid refill cards at Cingular Wireless stores and participating authorized agents and retailers.”

Panasonic does Skype VoIP

Panasonic is bringing a new twist to the old-fashioned cordless phone market by announcing it will ship a set of Skype-compatible handsets in the second half of the year. The phones will connect through regular DECT base-stations into the public phone service and via a broadband internet link to Skype’s P2P network.

The KX-TG9000 series lets users choose which way outgoing calls are routed. And it will automatically relay both landline and VoIP calls through to the handset. The phones will not only support free calls between Skype accounts, but also work with SkypeIn, SkypeOut and Voicemail services.

According to Panasonic, this will “push VoIP into the mainstream”. No word on pricing, but expect this to drop in the second half of this year in “some European countries.”

Neal McCoy - Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On

So, did you pull a Billy this weekend? St. Patrick's Day falling on a Friday gave you all 3 days of partying in a row! The most fitting song for this Monday after the drunken holiday weekend is Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On. I just love the video, Rob Schneider is hilarious. What are you waiting for? Let's have a little bit of fun with Billy.. click here to see the video.

The Week in Review (March 13-19, 2006)

Zvue isn’t an iPod but it’s Cool!

There’s a lot of iPod envy in our house. Big sister got the 60gig iPod video for Christmas, and little sister was mad as hell (to put it lightly). I thought they’d share, but that’s never happened (should have known better). Little sister got a cool portable DVD player that came with 25 built in video games but that wasn’t an iPod and she wanted an iPod too. Despite the warzone around here over the shiny little gadget, I didn’t rush out to buy the youngest one because I honestly didn’t want to spend the money on yet another one. Heck, if anyone has one shouldn’t it be me????

As you all know I placed in the Expression Engine shootout and won some money, so I decided that this money would be “mad money” and we’d just blow it on something fun and exciting. I took my youngest daughter to Wal-mart last night and was going to talk her into an iPod Nano, because you can get a 1gig for $142 at Wal-mart. It’s not the video and it’s not 60gig but it’s still an iPod. Oh well, tell her that!

After looking at all the mp3 and portable media players she had her heart set on what I’d deem as a “kids” version of the iPod video. It was called Zvue by HandHeld Entertainment and the best thing about it… $174 on sale for $94.86! But, they were out of them! So, after torturing the little old lady in the electronics department to call around to stores in a 60 mile radius one was found and the kid is happy. She’s upstairs right now watching some videos on it.  Keep reading for my review and more info on Zvue…

Great Excuse to Eat Yummy Goodies!

How could we round out our 7 days of St. Patrick’s day goodies without a little chocolate?! So, today I present you with Chocolate Shamrock Cookies.

Good luck and good taste go hand in hand with these delicious cookies. You get 24 hand-dipped cookies in a thick coating of pure milk chocolate. These chocolate sandwich cookies are topped with a lucky green icing shamrock and they arrive in a wooden shaker-style box with green tissue and a green ribbon. Cool! Do you think they actually eat these in Ireland? You know the Irish don’t drink green beer either, that seems to be just an American thing.

Couture Meets Connectivity????

Simple, Colorful, BOLD. Okay, so they got that one correct.

These are just some of the words that Motorola is using to describe the Motorola PEBL Colors. Can a simple yet colorful phone live up to such hype? Check this out:

“Luxury meets fresh and bold style with the Motorola PEBL Colors.  Stretching the boundaries of traditional design, the colorful PEBL boasts a unique oval shape, distinctive vertical external display, innovative one-handed opening hinge design and tactile soft-touch finish.  And now available in vibrant shades of green, orange, blue, and pink, the Motorola PEBL is sure to be the center of attention everywhere you go.”

Oh and that’s not all, this is the best part:

“Document life on the go with the rich multimedia capabilities of the Motorola PEBL Colors.  Before you buy the latest handbag, get a friends opinion - even when she’s across town.  Simply point, shoot and narrate via MPEG4 video playback, then send via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)*.  Visual delights continue with an embedded VGA camera for quality still photography, picture caller-ID* and dynamic color display.”

I’m sorry, this phone is cute and all.. but this what??? What are they talking about? How many fashion conscience style mavens are going to rush out to buy this phone? I honestly don’t know of very many. Hype Hype Hype. Blah Blah Blah. Whatever!  Okay, that’s enough already.. just go read the press release yourself if you want to.

Lucky Keychain.. will you lose them?

We can’t guarantee they’ll never lose their keys again, but this lucky clover is bound to help find them. A perennial good-luck symbol, the four-leaf clover is believed to provide its owner with more than luck; the leaves represent faith, hope, love and luck, so all bases are covered. This keychain also comes with optional engraving, making it a perfect gift. This matches the framed four leaf clovers we told you about yesterday.