I know I am young (24) so my generation definitely knows what a cell phone is and how much money it can save if we just have a cellphone and not a landline. So many people I talked to no longer have landlines these days; or either they do, but never use them. Why? I think one reason cell phones win over landlines is the simple fact that they are portable. You can get a call anywhere. No longer do you have to be tethered to a phone jack to receive a call.

It is said, “for nearly three in 10 households, people do not even bother trying to call them on a landline phone.” Most figures show they either only have a cell phone or seldom if ever take calls on their traditional phone.  Most figures also show that dependence on cells is continuing to rise at the expense of wired telephones. “In the second half of last year, 16 percent of households only had cell phones, while 13 percent also had landlines but got all or nearly all their calls on their cells.”

It is far no surprise that these nifty, cool, little gadgets are growing, and growing quickly. Another reason why I think cell phone usage is growing is because solicitors. Cell phone users get freedom from those annoying solicitors. Families often either have their landline hooked exclusively to a computer or rely so heavily on their cells that they ignore landline calls because they are probably from telephone solicitors.

However, leaving out the poor landline can have some problems too. “The trends have an important impact on polling organizations, which rely primarily on calls to random landline phone numbers.” Calling cell phone users can be more costly for pollsters, in part because federal law forbids unsolicited calls to cell phones made by computerized dialing systems used heavily by pollsters. That is a joy to some people. I am definitely happy that I cannot get unsolicited calls to my cell.

But there is another problem — Also affected are the telephone industry and emergency service providers, who can find it harder to locate people calling from a cell phone. This can be crucial. My parents made the decision of switching to an unlimited cell phone plan and ditching the landline because they were not home. Before, they had their home phone forwarding calls to their cell phones anyway, so I could see their reasoning. More and more companies allow cell phones so it wasn’t a problem for their jobs. However, a situation that involved emergency help was delayed by the simple fact that they had nothing but a cell phone.

I searched and looked at the National Center for Health Statistics and found that out of the 13,000+ individuals they interviewed, they found some interesting findings:

-Low-income people are likelier than the more affluent to have only cell phones.

-About a third of those under age 30 only have cell phones.

-About 2 percent of households reported having no telephones

-Households with both cell and landline phones who rarely or never get calls on their landlines tend to be better educated and have higher incomes.

-Those with only cells tend to be living with unrelated roommates, renters rather than homeowners, and Hispanics and blacks rather than whites.

Of course, these finding do not apply for everyone,everywhere, and living situations, so you should not get offended, but their findings are interesting to see. I feel that, as time progresses and the sheer volume of people grow, landline may be the thing of the past, leaving us vulnerable to those polls and unsolicited phone calls. Kids these days are practically given cell phones after birth and the child grows up with the mindset that they don’t need a landline and that, my friends, is the start of a “landlineless” world.

The battle between free and paid wireless Internet access is starting to look fierce. However, I think there is going to be a draw, rather than a winner. Meet free WiFi with advertisements; everybody wins!

Wherever I go, I am notified of WiFi signals from everywhere. Personal, Airports, Businesses, Hotels, Parks, etc. All these places are now offering WiFi. Where some are free, others cost money. Why would one spend money to browse the net, when they can connect elsewhere for free? Many a person ponders that question. The answer is quite simple if you look at it closely - To continue having access to the internet. Nothing is free these days, but the battle between free WiFi and paid WiFi could meet up in the middle to provide WiFi with advertisements.

Travelers want to log on everywhere at no charge and they search for the closest “free’est” WiFi, while hotels, airports and coffee shops are looking for a way to pay for their Wi-Fi networks as visitors increasingly use greater amounts of bandwidth. The compromise that is emerging is to offer both free and paid options, with the free services increasingly requiring something in return, like viewing an advertisement or signing up for a loyalty program.

Starbucks is probably the biggest example. In February, the company announced plans to switch to AT&T from T-Mobile as the Internet provider in its U.S. stores. When AT&T takes over, customers who use their Starbucks card once a month will get two hours of free Wi-Fi access each day. Otherwise, that same time period will cost $3.99, or $19.99 for a monthly unlimited access plan.

I recently went on a trip to Indianapolis and stayed at the Hyatt Regency hotel. This hotel, which used to offer free Wi-Fi, switched to a dual pricing model, like so many hotels are doing today. I was able to get free in-room wireless access by signing up. An option appears on screen when guests try to log on. The alternative is to go to the hotel’s lobby and pay $9.99 for 24 hours of use.

Hotels also have greater costs associated with guests spending more time online. The typical Internet session is much shorter at cafes and airports, where free or ad-supported Wi-Fi is gaining more traction. At the airport in Indianapolis, there was a fee required. There was not an option, however from my airport in my hometown, I was greeted with free ad-supported WiFi.

No one is able to please everyone, but I would imagine that ad-supported WiFi would be a hit. Not only is a person able to browse the internet without paying (in most cases), but the company is still able to get money to keep these hotspots open for us to use publicly. What is your opinion on the subject? We would love to hear them; leave your comments!

I got a chance to get a lot of information on the new Nikon Coolpix S52 and S52c, which were announced in April. I never was a big fan of the Nikon point-and-shoot cameras, but after a very detailed explanation and review of the Nikon S51c compared to the S52, I am happy to say my next point-and-shoot just may very well be a Nikon.

Nikon introduced the new COOLPIX S52 and S52c to its Style Series of digital cameras. These cameras combine Nikon’s interesting (still not sure if I like it) wave-surface camera body with advanced features designed to produce great pictures with ease. With 9.0 megapixels, a 3x Zoom-NIKKOR lens, Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Image Stabilization and manual sensitivity settings (as high as ISO 3200), the COOLPIX S52 and S52c are not going to fail you in taking pictures at great quality in any setting.

Like most cameras these days, the COOLPIX S52 and S52c feature Optical VR Image Stabilization technology. These cameras also boast an AUTO ISO control, which automatically selects the optimal sensitivity across a range between ISO 100 and ISO 800, and up to ISO 2000 in High-Sensitivity mode. The S52 and S52c come with a 3x Zoom-NIKKOR lens designed to capture brilliant detail (like the 51) and vivid colors in every photo. What I love about this camera is the huge 3.0-inch high-resolution LCD screen. I currently have a Canon and although great cameras, the screen is nothing compared to these.

Like all cameras in the COOLPIX line, the S52 and S52c include Nikon’s unique image innovations including enhanced Face-Priority AF, which automatically finds and focuses on up to five faces within the frame; In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, which can automatically detect and correct red eye in a photo; and D-Lighting, which compensates for excessive backlight or insufficient flash in images.

In my article, “The Next Big Thing of 08,” I mentioned WiFi being a common thing in devices this year. The Nikon S52c does not prove me wrong offering WiFi built right in. The Wi-Fi enabled S52c can send images directly via email through its Wi-Fi connection, as well as support for “My Picturetown”, Nikon’s photo sharing and storage service. Through “My Picturetown”, users can email pictures directly to friends and family, publish pictures to the photo community sharing Website Flickr, and link their photos to blogs and social networking sites. Pictures can also be sent to the email addresses of a BlackBerry® device for viewing. So, essentially, you could take pictures, upload them on the fly, and move on, all without the use of a computer. I’d recommend a computer however.

Another cool feature I like is the Pictmotion function which will allow users to combine their favorite movies and photos and create in-camera slide shows with music including songs uploaded from iTunes. What will the stylish, feature-packed camera cost? Not much actually. The S52 has a price of $249.95, and the S52c will cost a little more at $299.95. They will be available this month. For even more information and stunning pictures, take a look at http://www.nikonusa.com.

I have tried a large number of social networking tools, and have remained unimpressed. Twitter’s desktop tools fail to astonish me, and selections for other tools are even more sparse. I have also tried a number of combined IM clients, such as Trillian, Pidgin, and Miranda, and have remained unimpressed. Although, Trillian Astra may be a whole other story. Now, I have found a new tool, called Digsby, and this one has impressed me.

So what is Digsby? Disgby is a instant messenger client that not only combines all other messenger clients into one (except a few), but also combines social networking, email, and the new Facebook chat. Currently, there is no combined email monitoring/social network monitoring tool apart from Digsby, but that will likely change soon. Most combined clients focus on the IM system, allowing one tool to connect to multiple networks. This is nice, because then you can view all your friends and such in one location.

Instead of segregating each service to its own area, like the other tools do, Digsby mixes them together, removing barriers. You can still tell who is on what network, by a symbol added to their picture, but they are all listed in one large contact group. You can easily start chats with people on multiple networks by double clicking their name, no need to change windows or panes. Furthermore, if your friend is on multiple networks, you can combine all their contacts into one. Clicking that will allow you to start messaging them on whatever networks of which they are online.

One thing that one client does (AIM) that is quite nice is that it pops up messages when you get a new message, and has an input box on those messages so you can reply to the message. Digsby does this as well, but for every network. In addition to IM, these popups work for social networks and email, so you can catch that message as it hits your inbox. Very cool. However, sometimes they can be annoying. When you have all the networks, email monitoring, and Facebook, the popups can be constant and fill your screen with updates. This can easily be changed though.

Many people have Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc accounts. Updating these can be a chore, usually involving cellphones or browsers. Digsby integrates with many of these, allowing you to update your status, see your friends’ status, and much more. This is one of the nicer features, and allows for quick status updates, so you can let your friends know exactly what you are doing. Something I really enjoy about Digsby is its email integration. AIM, Google Talk, and Yahoo Im offer alerts for when you get new emails, but unless you see the alert when you get it, you miss information about it. Digsby shows similar alerts with its popup, but also allows you to view the summaries of your unread messages, and perform various quick actions on them.

Digsby is also nice enough to include widgets, so if you have a website of Facbook account, you can install that widget to your pages, and people can come and chat with you, without having to use Digsby. The chat client is flash based, so it is speedy and easy to embed, as well as offering several color choices and customization options. If someone you do not wish to talk to starts annoying you, you can block their IP address. Simple as that!

Digsby is currently in open beta, and they are doing a phenomenal job. They are constantly pushing updates to make Digsby even more compelling. The latest update includes Facebook Chat and other fixes. Overall, Digsby is great, and some of the other multi-network messengers should take note. Trillian Astra has been in private beta for years and I am begging to think it will never be released, but when it does, Digsby may have something to fight for, but until then, look no further than Digsby.

What do you think about the iPhone? Is it what it is all cracked up to be? Would you prefer an iPhone or a Blackberry? Those are a few questions I think about when I look at the current trend and the intentions of both Research in Motion and Apple’s iPhone. Apple is trying to bust in on Blackberry lovers, but do you think they will be successful? Maybe.

I currently own an iPhone, and honestly because I love Apple products. They are well made, easy to use, and a joy to have. The iPhone is not the most functional phone when you think about it, but it does what I need it to do, and does it well. Beforehand, I owned a Blackberry. Quite functional if you ask me, but Blackberrys’ just don’t give me that wow-factor that the iPhone has and that is what I like in addition to functionality for my needs/wants.

Make no mistake that the iPhone has shaken up the industry. In just the last three months of 2007, smartphone shipments shot up 60 percent from a year ago, according to industry research firm IDC. And RIM doubled sales of the Blackberry, adding 6.5 million subscribers in its last fiscal year, double the previous year. As the market has grown, the Blackberry’s market share has dropped from 45 percent to 40 percent while the iPhone took 17.5 percent in the second half of 2007.

To compete, RIM is working on a so-called “Apple killer” — a device with a touchscreen and lines suggestive of the iPhone. But AT&T is said to have delayed its introduction of the new phone because of problems with call quality — and delays hurt RIM as a new 3G iPhone is rumored for release this year.

I think it is not so much if it is a better phone, but the fact of the matter remains who offers more. I think RIM will have to offer applications and other things to stay in the game. Apple’s appeal to third-party developers could easily overwhelm RIM. Apple has said it will launch a new version of the iPhone software to enable third-party applications on the iPhone and the iPod touch. Apple also says more than 200,000 developers are working on applications for the iPhone.  

It is still clear that the Blackberry wins the hearts of many, but RIM is shaking in their boots and they know their comfortable position is about to be compromised unless the step up. Regardless, both phones are amazing and I think each one will have their chance to be at the top. Take a look all over the web, and you’ll noticed the issue of which is best is highly prevalent. Don’t get too worked up about the issue because, inevitably, the competition is here to stay - at least for a little while.