Here's one for the keeping up with the times file.  It seems that Black Hawk County, Iowa's 911 service will now be accepting text messages for emergency calls.  This comes from MobileCrunch.com.
As is said in the article this seems like a great idea at first but you have to remember there are several issues.
It's only one place for now.  Until this is rolled out on a large scale a small county in Iowa will likely only benefit the residents.  I mean don't start texting 911 from your phone you might be sorry when no one shows up to help.
Time counts.  Texts are nice but it can take forever to reply if you don't have someone that is quick on either end.  How many times have you sent a text from your mobile phone and it takes 10+ minutes to get a response from someone.  The operator might be quick but [...]

It looks like US lawmakers are considering passing legislation banning textng, but only why someone is driving.  According to the American Press there are currently 14 states and DC that have banned texting while driving, but this law would ban it throughout the US.
A study released last week by the "Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that when drivers of heavy trucks texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting.  The also said that "dialing a cell phone and using or reaching for an electronic device increased risk of collision about six times in cars and trucks."  So at least from their study it does seem that texting is a lot worse.
To enforce the law states have to ban texting and emailing while driving or they would lose 25% of their yearly highway funding.
The best thing though is some of you out there are wondering if police [...]

So after all is said and done and many many years of people complaining it looks like the manufacturers are finally going to standardize on a charging port.  That means no more things like the Apple wall charger or the Sony Ericsson fastport.
This is all coming from an article at Arstechnica.com
...The European Commission announced today that 10 mobile phone producers, which represent some 90 percent of the mobile phone market in the European Union, have signed a voluntary agreement to use standardized chargers for mobile phones using a micro-USB connector. The agreement addresses the EC's concern that mobile phone chargers create needless electronic waste...
This is great news it means that in the future, since no start date was anounnced, all cell phones will use a microUSB port for charging.  No longer will you have to search for one basically any charger will work with any phone.  As it was said [...]

That's right folks according to IntoMobile.com Nokia is set to release a new cell phone sometime in September.  If the rumors are right this will be the Nokia 3720 and it will be a waterproof phone that is also dustproof.

Being waterproof and dustproof the Nokia 3720 will let you worry less about common problems that plague cell phones.  Many people spill a little water on them.  Another feature is the Nokia 3720 is also shockproof.  This means that it can be dropped and the phone will still work.  Granted we're not saying take it to the top of a 5 story building but you won't have to worry anymore if it falls of the table or slips out your pocket

So for now this is simply a rumor and we will have to all wait to an official announcement with specs but at least it looks promising.

[image courtesy mobilecowboys.com]

So RIM has been on a real hot streak recently.  They have been releasing a lot of phones recently, with the Bold, Storm and Curve 8900 no one can say they haven't been able to get their fix and now it looks like they are releasing another Blackberry phone.
This one is set to be a "low-end" phone.  The new phone, Blackberry Curve 8520, looks to be released in the next few months as it is in testing phase now.  The new Curve will be an upgrade to the old 8300 line but won't be as full featured as the higher end Curve 8900.
There was a full review done over at Crackberry with a testing unit.  They down a full review and include that the specs for the phone are:

Edge device
320 by 240 display
256 megabytes of internal memory (same as 8900)
1150mAh battery
2 megapixel camera, no flash

Alright so there aren't many specs known [...]

So it looks like this year is going to be a year that Palm makes a jump back into the cell phone market.  In the past year or so Palm hasnt' really been seen on the market.  Many people had lost confidence as they had issues with the 680 and 750 models.  Well now this year with the Palm Pre releasing they have announced the Palm Eos
This is looking to be the first North American phone that will run on the Palm WebOS.  As for the phone it seems pretty standard.
The specs we've seen come from BoyGeniusReport.com

Quad-band GSM, 850/1900MHz HSDPA
111 x 55 x 10.6mm (looks like the E71’s reign as the thinnest QWERTY smartphone is coming to an end)
2.63-inch 320 x 400 capacitive display
4GB storage
Price: $349 (pre-rebate)
Camera: 2 megapixel fixed focus digital camera and flash / video capture
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP and EDR, USB 2.0 via micro USB
Removable 1150 [...]

Well today is Earth Day.  This year it is even more celebrated because everyone is starting to realize how much we, as a world, have to come together and start taking care of our planet.  We are seeing more and more technologies go "green" and this is no exception with cell phones
Reading an article on treehugger.com
"Another cell phone is getting a solar panel slapped on its surface, showing that going solar is juuuust starting to become all the rage among mobile phone makers. At least in a limited way."
The specs of the phone are still limited
"AU (KDDI) and Sharp are presenting a new phone in the Japanese market that has a solar panel embedded in its lid. Users can leave it in the sun for up to 10 minutes in order to generate enough energy for 1 minute of communication or 2 hours on standby"
Now really that isn't too much [...]

 
 
Nokia is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of mobile phones with a global market share of   38% in Q3 of 2008. The company provides solutions and services for mobile telecommunications as well as network infrastructure The Nokia cell phones cover all type of subscribers-may be a business man or a general end user. The exclusive range of Nokia wireless handsets are manufactured using GSM and latest mobile technologies. Nokia Cellular Phones are high on style as well as offers optimum functionality. Here is a list of popular cellular phones from Nokia.
Nokia N96: The Nokia N96 smartphone offers a great multimedia experience. It supports high quality DVD like videos in great formats, such as MPEG-4, Windows Media Video and Flash Video at 30 frames per second. Capture high quality clear images with its 5 MP camera and share them on internet or TV. You can also geotag these pictures [...]

 
Motorola is one of the world’s leading providers of cellular phones and has a strong market value internationally. Motorola phones are known for their spectacular appearance and high performance as they are equipped with the latest software and accessories. Below are listed some of the smart and designer handsets by Motorola.
Motorola ZN5: This special phone is the first one to combine the Motorola’s ModeShift Technology and KODAK Imaging Technology. With the ModeShift technology the phone converts into a camera (5-megapixel) and the KODAK Imaging Technology helps to capture clear and sharp images with a finest detail. Other features include Phonebook 2000 entries, CrystalTalkTM technology, Stereo Bluetooth wireless technology, 350 MB onboard memory and Digital viewfinder.

Motorola ROKR E8: This sleek and smart phone is basically designed for all the music lovers. This highly functional phone comes with a Mode Shift feature that switches from music player to phone or imaging device [...]

 
Sony Ericsson made a huge debut this year with a new phone.  The phone is called the Idou. Although it is still a little early for a complete review we felt that a quick post about it was in order
The Sony Ericsson Idou is set to be a really stunning phone.  It is going to have a 12MP camera and a 3.5 inch screen, which will make the display nice and easy to see.
The other big thing about the Sony Ericsson Idou is that it will be a touch screen phone.  Like many phones currently on, or coming to, the market it is following the trend.  It does look like Sony Ericsson has done a good job with the touch screen though.
Lastly the Idou will be using the Symbian Foundations operating system, which is similar to what can be found on phones like the Nokia N95.  This is a stable [...]