Wake Up Call: Alarm Clock App For the Android!

To paraphrase Aretha: I have never loved a phone the way I, I love my Android. I like having an alarm better than setting up an appointment ("wake up") on my calendar.  More reassuring.  Can't trust the hotel wake up call 100%, am I right?  In the Android Market, I like twofree alarm apps.  I'll tell you which one I like best:

Alarm Clock Xtreme!  Because all alarm clocks should be extreme, right?  Anyway, the reason I like it is because I can choose songs from my playlists on my phone to wake me up.  OR, I could (and I tested this), record my voice saying "Wake up Elizabeth!"  Not that I want to wake up that way, but knowing I could wake up to just about anything makes me feel very powerful.

I also like AlarmDroid, which has some snazzy features whereby you shake the phone to go to snooze.  It has a power nap mode so that you can set the alarm to go off in 1 hour and 12 minutes and 5 seconds -- if you can't deal with figuring out the time, I guess.  It also let's you record your voice and stuff like that.  Why is this one number 2 in my book?  Honestly, who can remember?  As I write and play with this version, I'm liking it more than Xtreme.

It's FREE!  Get both.

There are paid versions of these apps as well, but you really have to geek out to care.  I just want it to work.  And they do.

iTunes on the Android

I was having issues playing my music on my Android phone.  On my PC, my music lives in iTunes.  I like iTunes because it allows me to make playlists so I can listen to exactly what I want.  But to get the music to my droid, I was using an app called DoubleTwist that gave me only grief.  Hard to set up, hard to sync.  Made me listen to pandora instead, which I like, but sometimes you just want to listen to your own playlist.  Am I right?

My most recent discovery is iSyncr -- it allows me to play my iTunes playlists directly on my Android phone.  I am not someone who buys a lot of apps.  More often than not, I go for the free apps (and still, I ignore those).  iSyncr is worth the $2.99 I paid.  No more sync issues.  Easy, fluid app.  And if I wanted to pay an extra 99 cents, I could do it wirelessly.  But I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  I can deal with the wire.

There you have it: iTunes playlists on your Android Phone.  Easy Peasy.

Translation Software for the Android

Ever been traveling in a foreign country and meet someone who seems really cool, but you can't communicate because you don't speak each others' languages? That barrier is dissolving. And the future solutions will only become more elegant. I've spoken of my love for my Android phone, but now I feel like Natalie Portman: I'm indescribably happy. Well, actually, I can describe it.

I've found translation software. Software that allows you to talk into your phone, push two buttons and have it spit out the translated sentence into decent sounding French. And Spanish. And Vietnamese -- although I don't know how decent sounding the Vietnamese is because I don't speak it. But based on the other two, I would be hopeful. I think I need to go back to Vietnam to make sure.

This app developer has the same app in Italian, Hindi, Indonesian and many more. User reviews are all around 4 stars and some even higher. For some reason, they are not available on the iPhone, although there are plenty ofiPhone translation apps, naturally.

No longer will you have to resort to smiles and hand gestures to communicate. Now, you can phone it in and be there, all at the same time.

Get ready to make new friends on your next trip!

Tell Your Telecom Company You Want a Better Deal

Do you know how much you are paying for your Internet/Telephone/Television?  Do you know if you're getting the top-of-the-line features?  When was the last time you checked?  I've got news for you: you are probably paying more than you need to.

If I were you, I would:

1. Find out what the best deal is for new customers for your carrier.
2. Find out what the best deal is for new customers for an alternative carrier that you would be happy switching to, if push came to shove.
3. Call your carrier and let them know that you would like to review your account and pay less (or get more features).

I know that sounds ridiculously facile -- but it works.  If you have had your contract for over one year, the telecom companies would really like to stay in business with you and will be willing to negotiate.

You should also know that if you haven't updated your DSL account in a while, you are probably paying way too much for slower broadband.  DSL companies will almost never suggest that you upgrade because that will mean a better deal for you -- and with a faster connection. 

Sure, this takes some of your time.  But you could save hundreds of dollars in 2010.  Getting good value and finding money is always a good thing.

Free and Reliable Wake Up Call

This past weekend, I booked myself a flight for 9am Sunday morning. I didn't realize it was going to be daylight savings time starting that day. So I was losing an hour. Ugh. 9am flight. At least I live close to the airport.

I was worried about being awakened by my smart phone, because I didn't know if the clock would reset in time. So this time I used Snoozester.com.

Snoozester is free and it works. I signed up online, entered my cell phone number and my time zone and told them when I wished to be awakened.

I got a call at 6:30 (which was really 5:30 in the standard time I was used to), followed by an ad. Funny, I don't remember at all what the ad was for. I was ASLEEP!

Note to self: don't buy ad space on Snoozester.

Free 411 on your cell phone

How much do you pay each time you call 411 from your cell phone? It seems like ten bucks, am I right?

Google has a free, voice activated information system, whereby you can get business listings.
You don't need a computer, an Internet connection, or even the keypad on your phone or mobile device. GOOG-411 is voice-activated, so you can access it from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at any time. For free.

Dial (1-800) GOOG-411. Say where. Say what you're looking for. Example: Pizza. Then, say the city and state. GOOG-411 will give you multiple choices for pizza in the area. If you know the exact pizza place you want, then you can say it in the first place and it will connect you.
If you are calling from a mobile device, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details and a map. Simply say "Text message" or "Map it."

Sometimes, it can't understand what I'm saying -- and it doesn't help that my children are talking loudly in the background, but it's been golden so many times that it has afforded us great eating opportunities in unfamiliar neighborhoods. (I live in Los Angeles, so there are a lot of neighborhoods -- and choices.)

Magic Jack! $40 for a year's worth of phone calls...

It's a friggin' miracle! No, it's MAGIC. Yeah. Magic.

So we got the Magic Jack and within 5 minutes of taking it out of the box (30 day free trial, by the by) and plugging it into our computer, we had a new phone number with voice mail, call waiting, call forwarding, three way calling blah blah blah. The works!

After the 30 day trial is over, we will pay $40 plus shipping and handling and that will give us a YEAR of free calling to the US and Canada. We provide the phone. Right now, we use Vonage, which is pretty inexpensive at $25/month. But folks: $40 a year is INSANE.

Here's the negative: the jack plugs into your computer, so your computer must remain on to receive incoming calls. Otherwise, they will go straight to voice mail. I haven't figured out the other negatives yet, but if I do, I'll let you know.

A no brainer -- and great for a new small business. I'm just saying...