Besides, in the world of satellite radio and in-car MP3 players, who listens to the AM/FM format while driving anymore? But I, like most, still love traveling by car, and so traffic jams are always a risk. Checking the net for traffic information isn’t helpful if you can’t do it on the road, with conditions changing through the day and a sudden accident enough to lock up a freeway for hours.

That is why I have turned – as I so often do – to my Android phone and the many apps that have been created to maximize convenience in today’s busy world. It is great that they now have traveling and traffic apps, because this smartphone is in my hand so often that my family probably thinks a prankster has super glued it there.

Here are some of the best apps for avoiding traffic jams to download onto your Android phone:

Google Maps For Mobile

Price: Free!

This can officially be labeled a classic choice. Google is the single largest web company around, and they are famous for their many products. One of their most used is their Google Maps, which you can now get on your phone.

You get the usual features of looking up any area on a map grid, but there is also a navigation aspect that they have on the program itself, which will give you good directions. It will also let you know of any traffic problems in the area so you can find and follow an alternative route.

Waze Mobile

Price: Free!

A handy GPS unit, Waze is socially based, just like all of the biggest Internet products. It works by allowing you and other drivers to build interactive maps based on the on-board GPS unit in your Android phone.

They have a navigation tool to plan rroutes for walking, running and driving, as well as real time traffic updates to avoid trouble spots. But it tends to have more information than some other apps, such as information on local areas and a social networking feature.

WHERE

Price: Free!

Where is like an all-in-one travel app. Not only does it give you current traffic conditions updated in real time, but you can find local restaurants, events, places of interest, deals and offers from nearby businesses and more.

You can save personalized ”favorites” that keep track of spots you visit often to target results when accessed, such as any accidents or slowdowns on the way there.

There’s a similar app for iPhone coming later this year from Cheaphotels.org.

Conclusion

Don’t get stuck in traffic, or stuck listening for a quickly-spoke traffic report on the radio. If you have an Android phone, the details are just a few clicks away. What are some of your favorites? Let us know in the comments.

• Fences Organzies Your Desktop – June 27, 2011
• Raptr Is the Ultimate Gaming Service: Connects PSN, Xbox and More – May 16, 2011
• Give Away Of The Day gives you free software everyday – May 5, 2011
• Design Android Apps with DroidDraw – October 24, 2010
• How to Create 3D Desktops in Windows – September 26, 2010

Phone Apps for Your Next Road Trip originally appeared on: Crenk
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• Nokia Deny Android Plans – July 7, 2009
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Samsung Illusion 4G – November 18, 2011
• Nokia’s Windows Phone 7 Mobile Phones Coming Next Week – October 24, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011

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I came across this amazing wooden iPhone 4 case that I would love to get my hands on! This wooden iPhone 4 case makes it look like you are taking a photo with an amazing old school camera. Sexy, old and futuristic at the same time!

You can pick up your own for $42.

via – Gajitz

• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011
• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011
• iPhone 4S Released Not the iPhone 5 – October 4, 2011
• iPhone 5 Available to Buy on October 7 or 15 – September 12, 2011
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011

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Samsung Illusion 4G pictures have been floating around for some time now, but it has been confirmed that Verizon will be shipping the Samsung Illusion 4G in the US this holiday season.

A leaked rebate sheet reveals the device could be headed to Verizon very soon.

via Engadget

• What is 4G? – November 18, 2011
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011
• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011

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CNET UK Presents: History of the iPhone, dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs from Drew Stearne on Vimeo.

• iPhone 4S Released Not the iPhone 5 – October 4, 2011
• iPhone 5 Available to Buy on October 7 or 15 – September 12, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011
• AutoCAD for iPad, iPhone and Mac OS – September 27, 2010

Journey from the Phone to the iPhone originally appeared on: Crenk
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It seems as though Steve Jobs’ last project was the iPhone 5. An inside source has been disclosing the details and it all seems understandable.

The iPhone 4S was not a major rework of the iPhone, it was just a tech spec upgrade. Jobs was working on the iPhone 5 which we will probably see at Apple’s next Developer conference.

via – Cnet

• iPhone 4S Released Not the iPhone 5 – October 4, 2011
• iPhone 5 Available to Buy on October 7 or 15 – September 12, 2011
• IPHDAVAD The All In One HDMI and USB Port for Your iPhone and iPad – November 28, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011

Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 originally appeared on: Crenk
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You will be able to pre-order from October 7th and then available to buy October 14th.

• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011
• iPhone 5 Available to Buy on October 7 or 15 – September 12, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011
• Apple iPhone 4S Launch In 90 Seconds – October 5, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011

iPhone 4S Released Not the iPhone 5 originally appeared on: Crenk
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There have been a lot of rumours around the iPhone 5, but this seems to be pretty solid!

• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011
• iPhone 4S Released Not the iPhone 5 – October 4, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011
• IPHDAVAD The All In One HDMI and USB Port for Your iPhone and iPad – November 28, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011

iPhone 5 Available to Buy on October 7 or 15 originally appeared on: Crenk
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These services, such as Anywho’s reverse phone number finder, essentially finds the person who belongs to a phone number you may have. Why would anyone have a phone number, but not a person attached to that number? For plenty of reasons, including:

Prank-Calls

Prank calling is predominately a thing of the past thanks to Caller-ID, but it still happens more than you think, and it can be quite annoying to repeatedly receive calls late into the night. Instead of answering the phone and threatening whoever is calling you with hopes of scaring them into stopping, simply type their number into a serve like Anywho, find their info, and send it over to your local police station. Those pesky calls will be sure to stop in no time.

Telemarketing

Telemarketers are some of the most relentless callers on the planet, and have been known to contact the same individual up to three times in the same day. If you find yourself receiving frequent calls from mysterious numbers which you are sure are telemarketers, don’t answer to receive an earful of sales pitches. Reverse phone look up the number to find out the exact company name and then put yourself on their no call list. If they continue to harass you, you can then take their information to the BBB.

Found Numbers

Do you ever come across numbers that you have written on miscellaneous papers or notes. Instead of having to call the number and giving the person the tenth degree before figuring out who they are, you can now simple type the number in to a reverse phone look up service. You may find out that the number is innocuous and simply that of your family physician, or you may find that it is the number of that man or woman who wouldn’t stop bothering you at your last conference – the one whose number you wrote down simply to be polite.

Services like reverse phone look up exist because they actually do have a few great uses. If they were completely worthless, companies, like the one that runs AnyWho, would waste their resources to keep the site up and running. The service is free too, which gives you all the more reason to use it the next time an unidentified number comes across your smart phone.

• Phone Apps for Your Next Road Trip – January 11, 2012
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Samsung Illusion 4G – November 18, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011

Reasons to Actually Use Reverse Phone Look Up originally appeared on: Crenk
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The Rotary Mechanical Smartphone is a very cool modern touch screen phone that has been steampunked! I really love the old school dial and the touchscreen combination.

The longer the phone is carried around and used, the more attractive it will get: the overlying layer of paint will wear away to expose the electroplated copper body beneath.

• Nokia Deny Android Plans – July 7, 2009
• Phone Apps for Your Next Road Trip – January 11, 2012
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Samsung Illusion 4G – November 18, 2011

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The Google OS for mobile devices is the most used operating system in smart phones… yes, even more than iPhone OS. And the market share estimated for the next few years says that this tendency won’t change; so if you were thinking about mobile apps design you better start with Android.

DroidDraw also offers free tutorials to understand this free tool and some nice guidelines and tips.

• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011
• AutoCAD for iPad, iPhone and Mac OS – September 27, 2010
• App Inventor for Android – July 12, 2010
• Nokia Deny Android Plans – July 7, 2009
• Phone Apps for Your Next Road Trip – January 11, 2012

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Below are the screenshots of the Blackberry Desktop Manager 6.0. The user interface looks a lot better and it seems to resemble the Mac version. If you’re looking to get in on BDM 6.0, head over to the BlackBerry Beta Zone and see if you are eligible to try it out.

• New Blackberry Curve’s 9350 – 9360 – 9370 – August 23, 2011
• Fences Organzies Your Desktop – June 27, 2011
• Give Away Of The Day gives you free software everyday – May 5, 2011
• RIM Soon to Adopt Other Mobile Platforms Such as iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7 – May 3, 2011
• RIM Launches Blackberry Radio App for Free: Streaming Internet Radio Stations – February 4, 2011

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I’m a huge fan of my iPhone, iPad and iMac, and I’m sure if they made an iWatch I would be the first to buy it. Apple is know for style and this watch / projector concept is cool!

The concept, by ADR Studios, runs on iOS and let’s you do everything from reading feeds, checking the weather forecast and looking up the current time. It comes with a aluminium body, boasts 16Gb of internal storage, supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The iWatch also lets users connect to their iPhone or iPad’s via Wifi or Bluetooth and even features a LCD projector to show everywhere pictures by your iPhone / iPad.

• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011
• iPhone 4S Released Not the iPhone 5 – October 4, 2011
• iPhone 5 Available to Buy on October 7 or 15 – September 12, 2011
• iOS 5 Speech Recognition Concept – May 20, 2011
• Phone Apps for Your Next Road Trip – January 11, 2012

iWatch: Apple Watch Concept originally appeared on: Crenk
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The interesting part of this tool is that will not require great expertise for users to actual create their own apps with App Inventor.

Take a look to this simple video where we can create a “Pet the kitty” app:

App Inventor is currently working with invitations, and you need to subscribe to get one. We are expecting more news in the next few weeks.

• Android Market Now Has Over 250,000 Apps: Grown by 100,000 in Last 30 Days.. Really! – March 21, 2011
• Design Android Apps with DroidDraw – October 24, 2010
• Nokia Deny Android Plans – July 7, 2009
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011

App Inventor for Android originally appeared on: Crenk
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This new device will be, of course, oriented to sports fans by including some applications to use it while you are exercising. But let’s face it, you cannot introduce a phone in this market just by giving a few cool apps; the Puma Phone will have some interesting features:

• 2.8” touch screen with a 240×320 resolution.
• 3.2mb camera, including flash.
• GPS and compass.
• Solar cell integrated. Providing the possibility to be solar powered.

Pretty cool the last feature isn’t? The device has a panel that you can use it to charge your battery just by using the sun.

The price will be around the 400 euros. Little pricy if you ask me.

For more info visit http://pumaphone.com/ you can access some videos and a PDF with the characteristics.

• Phone Apps for Your Next Road Trip – January 11, 2012
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Samsung Illusion 4G – November 18, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011

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I’ve actually been keeping my eye on this one for a few weeks now. It’s the up and coming Sony Ericsson Aspen. The reason it caught me eye is threefold. Firstly, it has a touch screen. Secondly, it has a Blackberry-style keypad. And lastly, it’s running WinMob 6.5.3. Oh, and it looks great too!

Now, a video has emerged which shows a Russian or Eastern European guy reviewing the phone. Unfortunately, it’s all in a foreign language but you can still make out some of the great features of the phone. He first shows you the exterior casing and build quality. Then he powers up the phone and takes you through some of the very impressive 6.5.3 menus and functions. The media player and messaging options are displayed in great detail.

Lastly, he compares the device alongside devices from other popular Smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and RIM. Check out the new Sony Ericsson Aspen below.

• Dell Mini 5 Tablet Shows up on the Black Market – January 29, 2010
• iPad Analytics will be Supported by Motally – January 31, 2010
• Windows Mobile Overhaul Coming in 2010 – January 27, 2010
• Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Caught on Film – January 14, 2010
• Orange Executive Confirms Existence of Apple Tablet – January 13, 2010

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BillShrink’s chart shows the cost per month of having a standard cell or smartphone on Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, or T-Mobile, in the average plan divisions, with extras like a messaging plan and basic or smartphone data. It’s really helpful, but there’s a caveat—no contract purchase is ever a straightforward process. One-time deals, promotions, and slight variations offered on each plan make this chart more of a starting point for your shopping, not a final word.

• Phone Apps for Your Next Road Trip – January 11, 2012
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Samsung Illusion 4G – November 18, 2011
• Google Galaxy Nexus: Smartphone Comparison – October 19, 2011

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Mobile phones are hot devices that are increasingly becoming the standard bywhich businesses are succeeding or failing. Companies not accessible via mobile devices are losing ground, while the device itself is starting to replace laptops and desktops for reading, searching, and geo-locating on the go.

Recently the LG Expo ($200) was announced and this mobile phone offers an interesting addition to the mobile lineup. Imagine carrying a smarphone with a small DLP Pico Projector attached to it, allowing you to display video with clarity and precision unheard of in a device so tiny and versatile. That’s what just happened, so stop imagining and see the reality.

The projector is optional, but the smartphone is no slouch either. This powerful mobile comes with a 1GHz processor, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, a 5 megapixel camera with flash, a slide-out keyboard, 7.2 Mbps HSPA wireless, microSD storage, and Windows Mobile 6.5. Not enough? Then go buy the projector because that’s about as good as it gets for a device in functionality.

The technological wonder comes with another release first as well, the distinct honor of being the first 1Ghz phone in the U.S. The phone will work on the AT&T network and be ready for purchase on December 7th.

Still not good enough for you? Then maybe you didn’t read the post. For the rest of us, it’s going to be interesting to see if the projector piggybacking on mobile device concept takes off.

• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011
• iPhone 5 Available to Buy on October 7 or 15 – September 12, 2011
• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• IPHDAVAD The All In One HDMI and USB Port for Your iPhone and iPad – November 28, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011

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Google have now announced that they will be launching a proper, pure, Google branded phone. It won’t carry the manufacturer brand or have the OS tinkered with. No. This is going to be Google’s version of the iPhone – 100% Google just the the iPhone is 100% Apple.

What can we expect?

I’ve given this some though and asides from the obvious high-speed internet access etc… I think the Google phone will be putting more of an emphasis on communication than the iPhone has – which is largely an organisational and app tool. Adequate video calling, perhaps? Most definitely it will be fully integrated with Google Voice for users in the US. Dare I say it; maybe even a mobile version of Google Wave? (at least then Wave would have a purpose).

What would you like on the upcoming Google phone?

• Phone Apps for Your Next Road Trip – January 11, 2012
• Design Android Apps with DroidDraw – October 24, 2010
• App Inventor for Android – July 12, 2010
• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010
• Big Google Wave Coming Up – September 29, 2009

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However, Yahoo! have just announced that Go is to suffer the same fate as GeoCities did last month – it’ll be leaving us. Come January 12th next year, when you turn on Yahoo! Go on your mobile you’ll get an error message.

Undoubtedly this is because of the competition from more powerful apps and platforms such as those on the iPhone.

However I think this might be slightly pre-mature because the app is still being sold on phones as you read this. Perhaps Yahoo! are trying to push us into the smart phone market?

• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Samsung Illusion 4G – November 18, 2011
• Journey from the Phone to the iPhone – October 19, 2011
• Steve Jobs’ Last Project Was The iPhone 5 – October 16, 2011

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The company bigwigs decided enough was enough and flat out denied any rumors that they would be releasing an Android phone onto the market at the Nokia World event in Germany this coming September. A report stating these predictions in The Guardian has been responded to by Nokia. “There is no truth to this story whatsoever. It is a well known fact that Symbian is our platform of choice for smartphones”, said Nokia in a statement to TechRadar.

For a company to make such bold statements about its own future in the mass media it’s almost a sure thing that Nokia won’t be using the Android platform anytime in the near (or distant) future, preferring to stick to its own developments. As for the meantime, Nokia are continuing in their development of a new platform of their own called Maemo OS for their internet tablets. Outsourcing is not one of Nokia’s favourite habits.

• Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Night Rises – December 16, 2011
• Design Android Apps with DroidDraw – October 24, 2010
• App Inventor for Android – July 12, 2010
• iPhone 4: Retro Yet Futuristic Wooden iPhone Case – November 20, 2011
• Samsung Illusion 4G – November 18, 2011

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