Have you ever tried using your iPhone or iPod Touch with longer fingernails?  It’s difficult isn’t it?  What about those days when your fingers are frozen and the capacitive touchscreen doesn’t register your touch and the end result is getting locked out of your phone due to failed SIM card unlock attempts.  I got locked out of my phone once and the irony is that once the SIM card is locked out, I can’t make any calls whatsoever to even get my phone reactivated unless I use I different phone to call AT&T.   Much of my problems could have been averted if I had the Ten One Design Pogo Stylus – an aluminum body with a spongy tip which works on the touchscreen.   The tip is soft and requires a good deal of pressure to use with some types of screen protectors.  In my case, I found that at times, I had to press so hard that the metallic portion of the stick came in contact with the screen.  This seems to be a catch 22 as the screen protector is supposed to protect the screen, yet, by using the stylus I am at risk of putting the screen protector to the test.  This is not exactly a situation I like to be in.

My primary use for the stylus is for better signature capture when processing payments through Square.  Try signing your name nicely using your finger – it is very difficult if not impossible (at least for me).  I can however sign a legible signature when I use the Pogo Stylus.

The Pogo Stylus also comes with a clip so you can attach the stylus to the side.  This is very useful in not losing the tiny little aluminum stick.  Granted there are times when the clip can get in the way of some apps that demand to be in a certain rotation.

The Pogo Stylus comes in several different colors and is quite inexpensive for the control that you get with your device.  Personally though, I am not a big fan of it due to the potential of scratching up my screen protected screen although I have seen it function superbly in a non-screen protected environment.  Seeking an additional opinion, I turned over my review sample to another iPod Touch user, Evelyn Wong, which has this to say about the stylus:

This stylus works okay but it is soft so some effort in pressing is needed.  This stylus does not have a rubber tip but rather a spongy one, so it glides across the screen easily.  Depending on how hard you press, the spongy tip does get flat.

Well, there you have it folks, the Ten One Pogo Stylus, a helpful tool that works ok.  It gets the job done and is perfect for those upcoming cold days that will soon be upon us as well as for signature captures.

Vital Statistics:

Product: Pogo Stylus for iPhone 3G / 3GS and iPod Touch 3G
Manufacturer: Ten One Design
Available Colors: Black, Gun Metal, Hot Pink, Silver
Available From: Micro Center, Amazon.com, Ten One Design
Retail Price: $14.95 USD

Not all flash drives are created the same.  Sure, you may get capacity….but what about speed?  In our latest benchmarks in the JAMM labs we looked at Micro Center’s 8GB (Green) flash drives.  The results?  The newest models are an actual setback compared to the proceeding model.  Let’s look at 3 generations of Micro Center flash drives from oldest to newest:

Read and Write 312.0k
Read 22.7M
Write 320.0k

Read and Write 6.4M 
Read 16.2M
Write 10.6M

Read and Write 3.5M
Read 14.9M
Write 5.5M

As you can see, there was a major performance differences between all 3 generations.  The oldest had the fastest read speeds but the slowest write speeds.  The 2nd generation had the fastest write speeds.  As such, get you hands on the 2nd generation while they last!  Newer doesn’t mean better – and supplies are limited before the mid generation gets phased out.  Tests were conducted using HD Speed.

Tired of metered usage by carriers like AT&T and Verizon?  Can’t watch your videos or stream music from Google Music because of the lousy cap?  Look no further as Sprint brings us – UNLIMITED DATA PLANS!!!  For $110 a month you’ll have unlimited everything – voice, data, text, and even GPS navigation.  That sure beats AT&T where you pay $70 for your talk and $15 (200MB) -$45 (4GB) for data bringing costs to $85 and $115 respectively (prices rounded to nearest USD). 

The iPhone4S will cost $199.99 for the 16GB, $299.99 for the 32GB, and $399.99 for the 64GB with a 2 year contract.  Also, the iPhone 4 is available beginning today and will cost only $99.99 with a 2 year contract.

Here’s what Sprint offers for their individual plans:

Individual Plans

Personally as I don’t use many minutes, I am thinking that the $80 plan may be best for me as I rely heavily upon emails, texting, and VoIP applications which would give me additional voice capabilities.  iPhone coming to Sprint is a great thing for the consumer as it provides some healthy competition, in my opinion.

A visionary departed us yesterday.  The brainchild of Apple, he saw the future and helped us to taste and see what is good.  A leader, he crafted and molded the minds of many.  His values and contributions will outlive him – something that many of us dream of….to be remembered and to have made a major difference in the world.  Take a look at Steve Jobs at Apple: In Pictures to look at the illustrious career of Steve Jobs and his humble beginnings.

You’ll be missed, Steve!

You though it would be a straight jump to iPhone 5, eh?  Well think again!  Following the tradition of going from 3G to 3GS, the iPhone 4G will be followed by the 4S.  Let’s of improvements again – dual core processor, a better 8MP camera that can also shoot 1080p video, iOS 5, iCloud, and the most interesting new feature – Siri, the intelligent assistant.

Siri, supposedly will be able to send messages, set reminders, and search for information using voice recognition technology.  I like the idea, but how accurate will it be?  It would be rather embarrassing if a text message were transcribed incorrectly….I have already seen some pretty messed up transcriptions using Google voice. 

With all of this coming, you can now get an 8GB iPhone 3GS for free from AT&T with a 2 year contract.  For iPhone 4’s the prices will remain at $99 with a 2 year agreement.

So the question is:   Will you get an iPhone 4S?  Or will you perhaps opt for an older iPhone now that everything has become even more affordable to get on the iOS band wagon?