Pogo iPhone Stylus from Ten One Design

Pogo Stylus

Some people are neat and tidy. Some people have large fingers. Some people have large tidy fingers.

The former don’t like to get fingerprints on their iPhone’s touch screens, and the latter hit too many keys on their screens.

Enter the Pogo Stylus from Ten One Design.

This light aluminum stylus has an anodized finish and laser-etched graphics.   It soft tip won’t mar the display surface of your iPhone or your iPod Touch; and it provides greater accuracy, preventing time-consuming typos common to those with large digits.

Stylus and iPhone

In Ten One’s own words:

“Eliminating fingers has the added benefit of keeping the screen free of smudges and grease. Designed to firmly hug the contours of the iPhone 3G, the Pogo Stylus travel clip will keep your stylus close at hand. A second clip is included for the original iPhone and iPod touch.

Why not use a pen or other stylus?

The iPhone screen isn’t a standard pressure sensitive screen, but was designed with finger use in mind. A standard stylus’s point is too small to make an impact or to be sensed accurately by the iPhone or the iPod Touch. A tool with a larger surface area is needed.

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Hello from the Grand Canyon’s rim

Grand Canyon

Hello, friends, followers, and readers!  Though I’m on vacation this week (and will be returning very soon) I’ve got blogging on my mind.  Sounds like a song, “Blogging is my business, and I’ve got business on my mind.”

So what could I possibly write about, technology-wise, while sitting beside one of the seven natural wonders of the world?

Well, it’s sitting right next to me, my Netgear SPH200D Internet phone with Skype.

The Netgear SPH200D

What a wonderful device Netgear has made!  I’ve had it for almost a year now. It’s a cellphone-sized unit, plus a box about the size of a small paperback, and two power adapters. It’s so portable I’m able to fit it all into a shaving case sized bag.

The phone system can be plugged into any high-speed Internet connection allowing me to make and receive call just as if I were home. Much like a cellphone, the phone number goes wherever I go.

So What?

Netgear

… You might say, “I can take my cell phone anywhere, too, and I don’t have to plug into anything except a wall outlet from time to time.”

That’s true, but how much are you paying for that convenience?  $50 per month?

My Netgear phone with Skype is costing me $50 a year! Yes, a year!

I admit, it’s not a replacement for a cell phone, but I have been able to reduce my cell phone usage significantly, by using the Internet phone instead when possible.

Like now, from the edge of the Grand Canyon with my hotel’s free Internet service. Or tomorrow, when I get to my sister’s home, I’ll connect it to her home network’s router.

My cellphone usage has dropped far below my provider’s lowest level service plan. I’m half tempted to get rid of it entirely, or switch to a pay as you go plan. I used to pay $1,200 a year for cellular service. That dropped to $600 a year shortly after getting the Internet phone, and I may very well be on my way to getting it as low as $240 per year if I play my cards right.

I’d get tired of all that setting up

Again, I agree, and Netgear has a solution for that, too. They have a unit that operates without the box. It’s just a single cellphone sized device that works with any wireless Internet service you may be near. So I could use it with the hotel’s wireless internet service, or the airport’s wireless serice, or my sister’s wireless router, or the wireless internet at the local Starbucks’ or Borders bookstore.

Sounds better, doesn’t it? You bet.  That’s why I’m getting ready to pick up one of those, too.

Enough, how much does the Netgear phone cost?

The SPH200D I have goes for $149, and can be purchased at your local Best Buy, or from Skype. The wireless capable unit goes for $199, and can be picked up at the same locations.

It uses rechargeable AAA batteries that you can buy anywhere, and it comes with a recharger base.  You can also purchase two more handsets, and use them with the box base.

Skype?

I’ll talk more about Skype (www.skype.com) later. They have plans that run from FREE to $20 to $60 per year. That’s yearly, not monthly. The free service enables you to connect with other Skype users, while the pay plans enable you to make and receive calls with anyone else. They even have software which can be installed on your computer.

Talk to you soon!

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Another iPhone Upgrade. Privacy at Risk

Courtesy of Apple

Gizmodo released a video today illustrating a security flaw in the iPhone 2.0.2 upgrade which was released on August 15. The video demonstrates how to bypass the passcode needed to unlock a locked iPhone.

To bypass the code anyone can move the locking slider, and when asked for the passcode they need only tap the “Emergency Call” button once, and then double tap “Home”. The video below demonstrates the technique.

Once unlocked they have full access to the phone and can make calls, send and read emails, make online purchases and more.

Apple had addressed the issue in an email released today, but no date for a patch to this security risk has been mentioned. Instead Apple suggests users modify their settings so that the Home button goes to their music collection instead of their Favorites.

Back on August 5, I reported on Apple’s release of a firmware upgrade (v2.0.1) which was designed to remedy widespread problems experienced by iPhone users who upgraded to the iPhone 2.0 operating system after July 11. Problems addressed were instability issues, application crashes, responsiveness, and speed.

13 days later, August 15, v2.0.2 was released to address connectivity issues with the faster 3G wireless networks and a few other minor problems with the App Store and the Safari Internet browser.

It’s been yet another 13 days and now Apple has yet another hole to fill in their popular devices operating system. A date for release is pending.

Apple projects sales of the iPhone are to reach 10 million by year’s end.

Update Aug. 29: Still no exact date for the update, but word from Apple has it that it will be some time in September.  My guess is they’re all off for Labor Day weekend, so they’ll tackle late next week.

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