People seem to take things way too far.  Check out this rebuttal by Chris Spera:

The news of the recommended ban of all in-vehicle mobile device use really just hit me the wrong way. I’ve published a response to it on Byte (yes, as in BYTE Magazine from back in the day).  You can see it at the link, noted below.

The NTSB Recommended In-Vehicle Cell Phone Use Ban – Technology Can Solve the Problem
Most responses to the NTSB’s recommended Nation-wide ban on in-vehicle cell phone use fails to do one important thing – address the root cause of problem.

http://www.informationweek.com/byte/commentary/personal-tech/smart-phones/232300537

I have a professional photographer friend who always criticized me and asked that I stop sending him photos from my phone. He said the quality was insulting and not worth viewing. That all changed when I discovered and began using Photoshop.com for Mobile. When I sent that friend the first batch of pictures using the web version of Photoshop to edit my cell phone photos, he thought I had switched to using “ a real” camera.

There are many photo applications available for various phone operating systems, but they are primarily viewers, often proprietary, and usually lack editing features beyond fixed “auto correct” choices. Photoshop.com offers downloadable application versions for iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile phones and all are compatible with a web accessed companion application. From your phone you can upload, view, and share photos from wherever you are; from the Web account you can resize and edit photos with a stunning array of choices.

Photoshop.com is still in Beta, but you would be hard pressed to believe it. It works very well and all you need do is register for a free account, which then allows you to upload photos from your phone. You can choose to share those photos, view them on-line, or keep them private, all with a free 2GB storage capacity. The ability to view your library or individual albums is a nice feature, but the access to a real editor from the web browser of your home computer pushes the limits of your camera phone to new heights. From here you have mouse-over previews of incremental changes to fill-lighting, tone, exposure, brightness edits, and more.

Sign up for a free Photoshop.com account HERE.  Download the phone appropriate mobile client and try it. You might extend your own limits.

Features:

• Upload and store photos on line (2 GB free)
• View photos from your phone
• Share from wherever you go
• Available for Android, iPhone, and Windows Mobile

There’s no new sheriffs in town; it’s the same old ones, but they’ve found yet another revenue source. Everything is about revenue these days and local and state governments have decided that moving violations are a jackpot. In California, first time offenders caught talking on their phones are supposed to be fined $20, second offences $50, and radically higher after that. Truth is, with taxes, court costs, state and local what-evers tacked on, first offences are turning out to be $120 to $140, second ones pushing $200. Better buy that Bluetooth, and use it.

The thing is, a headset is fine for taking calls and talking, but just dialing a phone can be dangerous. And if you even think of trying to text or take a note, you’ve just fallen into the “Special Kind of Stupid” category. What’s a true Road Warrior to do?

Subscribe to DIAL2DO. Watch this:

Dial2Do Free Version will only let you call in reminders. But the pay version opens up an entire world of mobility and puts you in the “Special Kind of Brilliant” category. The service is $3.99p/m or $39.99p/y, but there is a 30 day free trial. Here’s what it can do:

• Create and listen to reminders
• Send, listen to, and reply to email
• Send texts
• Use Twitter, Facebook or Tumbler
• Contact Google Calendar, Expenser, Evernote and more
• Listen to Sports, News and Weather
• Record messages up to 30 seconds in length
• Instructions for setting up your account, commands, and contacts can be found on their FAQ page
• Downloadable apps for Android and Blackberry available

Stacked up against one or two of those tickets, this is a bargain. And you get to keep an eye on the speedo and your rear view mirror watching for Ol’ Smokey. Give it a try. It might make your day Just Another Mobile Monday.

DIAL2DO Home Here

There is an old joke about a guy who buys a watch with countless features.  While showing it off to friends, someone asks him what time it is.  Oh, comes the reply, "this watch does not tell time."  And I was reminded of that recently, when I saw rumors of a phone which would not make phone calls.  And if these rumors hold true, that is exactly what Dell has in store.  Well, technically, they are calling it a MID (Media Internet Device), but it will run the Android platform.

This rumor got me thinking, though.  Is a converged device with no phone really all that surprising?  In a recent four country survey conducted by Lightspeed research, 13% of users in the United states never make voice calls from their phones.  And a mere 52% (barely half) of all users in the United States make one or more voice calls per day.  Heck, I can tell you from my own use that while I use data on an hourly basis to download my calendar (from Google calendar), sync tasks and contacts, check email, and a myriad of other tasks online; I probably make fewer than one voice call per week.  The truth is that for me, and for roughly half the United States, these devices are not primarily cell phones.

Given this data, it should come as no surprise that Dell’s new (and by “new”, I mean “rumored” smartphone is not going to be a phone at all.  If the latest rumors hold true, it will be more along the lines of the iPod Touch than an iPhone.  According to the Wall Street Journal, the device – which is to operate from Google’s Android Operating System – the new device may also be sold through cell phone carriers, meaning it would have access to 3G or 4G wireless networks.  No word, of course, as to which carriers might carry the rumored Dell device; or whether this would replace the rumored Dell phone (which may or may not be pictured above) or whether it would be in addition, just as the iPod touch supplements the iPhone.  One thing that is clear, however, is that the people who can answer these questions are not talking.  Dell had no comment on any of these rumors. 

There have been reports floating around the Internet this week of a new mandate from Microsoft.  Essentially, Microsoft will no longer pay for its employees’ Blackberry and iPhone plans.  In fact, they will only reimburse employees for plans on Windows Mobile phones.

Reports around the Internet range from outrage (how dare they mandate which phones employees can use) to dejection (it is a sign of the economic times). 

Personally, I think this whole story is a bunch of bunk.  Anyone who has worked for a private company knows that you are generally expected to use your company’s products.  Using another company’s competing products would be, among other things, short sighted and bad for the company.

So, why does so much of the Internet think Microsoft should be any different?  They make one of the largest mobile operating systems in the world.  Windows Mobile is found on dozens of handsets, with new models coming out on a regular basis.  So, why would anyone thing Microsoft would pay for its employees to use a competitive phone or operating system?

What do you think?  Is Microsoft being unreasonable by only reimbursing its employees using Windows Mobile phones?  Or do you think Microsoft should reward its employees for their support of a competitive brand?