Wi-Fi In The Sky?

You may be able to stay connected at 30,000 feet if a test run by American Airlines is a success. Julie Chen reports.

592 millions of Chinese use cell phones

More than 45 percent of China's 1.3 billion population now use cellular phones, government figures reveal. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said cell phone subscribers in China jumped 44.8 million in the first five months of this year to reach 592 million at the end of May. The increase is credited to rate cuts announced by mobile operators to draw more customers.

On the other side, the report said the number of landline or fixed-line users dropped by 6.5 million to 358 million in the same period. The jump in the number of cellular phone subscribers translated to substantial gains for the telecommunications sector, which reported revenues of $48 billion in the first five months of this year, up 9.6 percent from year-ago levels.

The Ringtone Maker software 3.4

The Ringtone Maker software is just that: an unlimited, unrestricted editor to create a 5-30 sec customized ringtone from MP3, WMA, WAV, Audio CD and OGG files. You select the music file, edit it, and then download it to your phone. There is a graph of the song to help you choose the right segment you want. Plus, now TRM allows you to make customized wallpapers from images on your computer and choose from over 2,000 pre-made true tone ringtone sounds, wallpapers, polyphonic ringtones and animations. The Ringtone Maker works in the US plus more than 65 countries and with most mobile phones that support real music ringtones and have Internet service through its carrier. No cables required, but you can download the ringtones and wallpapers from your PC to cell phone via cable, Bluetooth or infrared. Unlimited access, no subscriptions or hidden fees; make dozens, 100s, 1000s of ringtones for every friend, family member, occasion or mood and never pay for another ringtone.

Version 3.4 includes pre-made ringtones and wallpapers, sends free SMS messages in the USA, compresses full songs to play on your cell phone, posts your created ringtones on your MySpace and other social network home pages.

Requirements:
Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Download it here!

The new Skype 4.0 Beta for Windows

Skype, the popular free VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protcol) unit of eBay, June 18 released a revamped platform that makes it easier for the service's 309 million users to make video calls from their computers. The new Skype 4.0 Beta for Windows aims to leverage the factoid that in the first quarter of 2008, 14 billion Skype calls, or 28 percent, were video calls. That's the biggest change and it is a slam dunk at a time when users are increasingly using the Web as a preferred means of communication with friends, colleagues and business partners.

Short of being face-to-face with your best friend whose summering in Paris, Skype 4.0 lets you conduct video chats with he or she from U.S. to Europe right from your computer to her laptop by making a single click on the Video call button. Users can choose to have an IM conversation alongside the video call, also with one click, from one window. New unified conversations capabilities pull instant messaging, voice, video, file transfers, SMS and calls together, allowing users to easily move in and out of conversations between single users or groups.

Sprint's new phone is iPhone clone

This is a review of the 3G iPhone. No, not the one Apple announced on Monday. The other one. You know _ the one from Sprint and Samsung?

Banking from your cellphone

Bank of America announced today that more than 1 million of its customers have signed up to bank by cell phone. The Charlotte bank's mobile banking program, launched about a year ago, lets customers check balances and recent transactions, pay bills, transfer funds and find the nearest branch. Bank of America and other banks - including Wachovia Corp., BB&T Corp., and the smaller Bank of Granite Corp. - have marketed mobile banking as a way for consumers to catch up on banking tasks even if they're away from a computer. Bank of America's mobile banking is free and compatible with most cell phones that can connect to the Internet. Almost all mobile banking users check their account balances via cell phone, the bank reported. About 40 percent also transfer funds and pay bills. About 80 percent are under 45.

Cell phone in your wrist

Cellular phones have gotten smaller and smaller – that’s what people want. However, the handling doesn’t necessarily get better with decreasing dimensions. One area of improvement is the general application, as a communications device such as a cell phone doesn’t have to be a physical phone. You could also put it around your wrist.

The Hong Kong based OEM manufacturer Man Power Hi-Tech Limited and Marble Watch Manufacturing had only a tiny booth, but they demoed the latest version of the Cell Phone Watch. The model MP2008B is based on an operating system its makers weren’t able to specify any further. It is based on a 1.8” TFT touch screen display, supports the three key GSM bands at 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz, comes with Java, WAP, a MP3 player and even MPEG4 video playback. We couldn’t try that one as there was no video file on the demo watch.

Beware of calls from these numbers

The Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana warns consumers to beware of calls from two numbers: (201) 621-5694 and (201) 621-5695, from which an area resident reported receiving calls every day, numerous times, on her cell phone, despite her being listed on the Do Not Call Registry. The customer said the numbers appeared to be unlisted or not available via whitepages.com. Whenever she tried to reach them, the numbers were busy, so she was unable to determine who the caller was, the bureau said, adding it appears both of the numbers are part of a scam.

The second number is a scam number that will call and say it's regarding a government grant for which the consumer has applied. They claim they will send you free money for only $3.88 in shipping and handling. Once again, scam. Some people even said they asked for personal information (Social Security. addresses and other information).