If you have ever spent a few billing periods with either company, you know how expensive their entertainment packages can be. In some areas, you don’t even have a choice as Comcast has either paid someone to be the exclusive provider in that area (apartments), or other providers simply haven’t made it there yet. Still, in the year 2009 one would like to think that competition in on the uptick, especially with the economy so low. Why with the economy in the gutter and the assumed competition, the consumer should be saving a boat load right? Not to mention, with the growth of the internet, almost unlimited amounts of new technologies and services are just waiting to be discovered. The only problem is, the industry doesn’t want to discover. They want to recapture the monopolistic past.

Look at the cellphone/smartphone/mobile device you are carrying around with you. Take a second to think about every feature that it has and what it can do. We take many mundane, simple features for granted every day such as MMS, Bluetooth, and now even WiFi and 3G. Such features just a few short years ago were seen as “big ticket” items that many were willing to pay dearly for. With each new revolution or advancement in mobile technology comes with it the attention of the devout few followers, those who love their gadgets so much they would tell little Jimmy that he will have to buy his own bike because papa is getting a new Blackberry. Looking at your current phone, regardless of how new or old it is, as well as looking at what is in technology magazines and websites today as the up and coming mobile tech, what will be “the” next thing?

When you hear the words “auto industry” in this day and age, it is hard to think of a properous and youthful market. One that is expanding and on the leading edge of automotive technology. However, we all know that the U.S. auto industry is anything but “leading edge” or prosperous. Unfortunately, they aren’t the only market to start feeling the pinch of not only economic times, but also the technological times as technology and digitized goods become more and more a part of our daily lives. So what area of the market has been thrust into the spotlight claiming to be in the most dire need of help and a solution…the newspaper industry…

On device app stores while still all the rage are now coming off of their peak. Last summer with the arrival of the Apple App Store, several manufacturers and companies including RIM, Google, and Nokia just to name a few announced plans for their very own app stores. Carriers, the gatekeeper of the data pipe naturally want in on this extremely lucrative market. There’s only one problem, the innovation and features that keep customers happy and constantly purchasing never came from “the network” (carrier branded stores). Look at the small app centers that carriers have run for the last decade, from AT&T to Verizon to T-Mobile. You could access these pathetic excuses of WAP shopping goodness from practically any phone…but who actually did? I know I didn’t. The app selection was abysmal at the absolute best and apps and services were often overpriced. That isn’t exactly the best combination if you ask me. So, now that the App Store hoopla is starting to die down, who is trying to break in and steal the spotlight multiple months late?

Apple’s Push notifications while grossly past due from their original due date of last year, were at least delayed for good reason. At the iPhone OS 3.0 preview, Apple stated the delay was because of “developers suggesting ideas and methods of implementing the push service that they had never thought of”, which in return required a complete re-write of the service, hence the massive delay. But the real question is why does Apple refuse to bring by far the most requested and undoubtedly most important feature, background processes, to the iPhone platform?

When you’re in a hurry and have to leave someone a message on their voicemail, you want to do it right this second, not 15, 20, or 30 seconds from now. Another reason for the quick message is not only because of time constraints but more importantly to save a few pennies. Those precious seconds you’re stuck on the phone listening to some stupid recording when you could be yapping away yourself costs against your minutes, and if you’re over your minutes they go on your bill as nasty overages. Pretty shady huh!? But there is a hope for us mere mortals yet.

Terms of service are becoming increasingly restrictive as well as increasingly cryptic. What exactly can you do with your own property/services? What can big corporations do with that data?

Accuweather makes the jump into iPhone weather applications with a self titled weather app that puts up some serious competition to others already available such as The Weather Channel and My Weather. How does it stack up. Come inside!

The glossy “Aqua” style of Tiger and Leopard isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. iLeopard will appeal to those users by toning down the gloss and glare giving Leopard a new, darker lease on life.

HDMI cables aren’t exactly the most resilient connector in the cable world as they are easily knocked loose meaning you will spend many minutes of your life plugging a cable back into your device over and over again. For some, they don’t really care, but for others, that’s where the locking HDMI cable by PPC comes in. Built specifically for the home video enthusiast who needs a strong and reliable yet good quality cable, the locking cable by PPC will surely suit your needs.

The Mobile Rak by New PC Gadgets allows you to easily stow your digital devices up out of the clutter that is your desk while presenting it to you in a convenient fashion. No longer will you have to dig though a plethora of wires trying to find the end of a different wire or worse yet your device!

We’ve all had times where we were trying to grab that last gummy bear underneath the seat but just can’t quite see where your paw is grabbing. Sure, you could use one of those little keychain lights. But those require batteries that you have to change all of the time. You can also use a bigger flashlight that could be seen from space. Though, those also take large batteries that over time are costly to replace. Why should you even have to replace batteries? Take your old flashlight and throw it in the trash because the 12v Spotlight will be the last light you ever have to get.

If you are the type of peson who finds the Blackberry shortcuts merely adequate or even insufficient for your needs, you my friend have an addiction. An addiction that modern science and medicine cannot cure. So what is a person to do? You could always set time limits for your Berry usage. You could give it up all together (thought that is a bit extreme). Lastly and more importantly, you can make use of a great little tool…”ShortcutMe”, an amazing, easy to use shortcut application that allows you to set practically limitless (as there aren’t /that/ many BB apps) shortcuts. So what exactly can you do with shortcut me? How can this shorcut app make your life with your Berry even more productive and easier?

Touchscreens are the hottest feature currently on mobile phones.  If your phone doesn’t have a touchscreen, it pretty much isn’t worth much, save for the obvious few smartphones such as Blackberry Bold and even a few WinMo HTC handsets.  For people who can actually see, the super shiny, contrasty, and smooth glass screens simply ooze [...]

If the wave of “iPhonish” themes is getting old and wearing thin leaving you looking for something new, the Chiron Blackberry theme has just what you need. Featuring a brushed metal/chrome look to it, it takes on a more machined/industrial look that says “Hey, I’m a serious here”. So the theme won’t talk to you or help your masculinity, but it will look pretty darn good on your Blackberry 8900 Curve, Bold, or Storm.

The Se7en Blackberry Bold theme by Kissberry brings the slick look of Windows 7 to the Blackberry!

Take your Blackberry to the next level with Robotika, a unique “build-your-own” type of theme that allows you to custom build a robot on the homescreen depending on the user chosen icons on the homescreen. With over 35 parts to choose from, Robotika will surely enjoy an extended stay on your Berry as he shows off to all.

While Windows Mobile is the market leader in smartphone world in terms of smartphone OS usage, it is hardly the prettiest thing or most versatile OS. In that regards, if you are a loyal Crackberry user who has been itching for some WinMo-esque love for your device, now is your time. If you and your Berry have been feeling incomplete, the WM 6.5 Scroll Zen theme might just fill the emptiness you’ve been experiencing. If you have a Blackberry 83xx, 88xx, 89xx, 9xxx, or 95xx, stop on by the Berry Review store and claim yours for only $6.99.

The highly customized, tuned, and expensive Alienware style can now be had for you berry. Give it that sleek “stellar” look that is out of this world!

Touchscreens are the hottest feature currently on mobile phones.  If your phone doesn’t have a touchscreen, it pretty much isn’t worth much, save for the obvious few smartphones such as Blackberry Bold and even a few WinMo HTC handsets.  For people who can actually see, the super shiny, contrasty, and smooth glass screens simply ooze [...]

Bring the city life to your Blackberry with Elecite’s Urban theme. Featuring a unique corner oriented “ribbon” that slides between 8 icons, to 10 rotating wallpapers of the most breathtaking cities around the world, your concrete jungle fascination is sure to be pleased.

Gamers often take great pride in their rigs as they pour equally large amounts of time and money into them. While a painting is an artists way to express himself to the world in which he lives, much the same is the custom PC case to a gamer. One long year ago, Popular Mechanics made the bold claim that they were going to build the baddest most kick ass computer case that eyes had ever gazed upon. Their creation one year later is nothing short of cool. While it isn’t “flashy” per say, it will no doubt make you do a double take and stop to admire the inner workings of a computer again. Never again can you claim your own rig is “World’s Best”.

Bikers who appreciate and enjoy the added company of aother breathing body when on cross county bike rides will truly come to appreciate this latest test of sidecar innovation. Why lug around a dinky little sidecar that looks like a leech attached to your oh so dear motorcycle? Instead, pack something that will truly turn heads and thrust you into the “cool” club.

In years past, letting bad drivers know how you really feel made you resort to such barbaric practices such as cryptic hand gestures, rolling down the window and screaming obceneties, or even returing a favor or two with your own car. Such practices are now outdated. Thankfully technology and gadgetry has stepped in to make this once troublesome task more of a joy. The Drivemocion is a neat little LED sign which you can hang anywhere inside you car that will display on it’s “screen” either one of several pre-programmed expressions/words as well as user generated content. Get a Drivemocion and receive a new outlook on driving.

In what can be seen as the ultimate mobile movie goers dream, the Carl Zeiss Cinemizer Plus glasess will immediately differentiate you from the rest of the crowd (for better or worse) upon putting them on.

We’ve seen some pretty unique uses for lego in the tech world such as the Lego Flash Drive, the Lego USB hub, and even a Lego MP3 player. The latest use of Lego’s, while not quite “gadgety”, is none the less cool and unique. Instead of having electronic circuits inside the legos, they themselves become literal building blocks, supporting aging wonders of architecture.

If you think your novelty calendar was cool, I have news for you. It isn’t. In fact, it’s complete and utter crap when compared to the new title holder of the world’s coolest calendar — The Ink Calendar. How does it work, what does it do, and why is it sooooo cool? You’ll just have to hop on in and find out!

As you read the title above, think about how much 1 Trillion truly is. That is how many text messages we sent in 2008 according to CITA’s CEO, Steve Largent. But is it surprising? With the number of wireless subscribers in the billions and phones with either half qwerty mashups like RIM’s suretype keyboard or full qwerty keyboards, texting has becoming the new defacto standard for quick communication.

Everything in life can assume multiple roles. Technology and gadgets often have very short life cycles and are always being replaced by newer, faster, and smaller products. When the unfortunate time comes and your hard drive fails, instead of throwing it away, do something useful with it…make it a clock!

For many, MP3 player is synonymous with iPod. However, in terms of audio quality, the iPod is far from the top of the heap. Back when hard drive mp3 players were big, units such as the Rio Karma, iRiver iHP-120 (my favorite…mine still works), and Cowon’s X5 were the real kings of audio when actual audio quality was considered - something that seems to have fallen by the wayside today. If you want to bring some new school love to an old friend, in this case an old Cowon X5, reinvent your dying love with some new compact flash goodness.

If you have an unlocked WiFi enabled Blackberry and want to use it with T-Mobile’s UMA service, you’ll have to take a few extra steps than your locked brethren. Come inside to get your device up and running quickly and easily.

Mac OS X users who want to bring back a little of the Aqua shine to iTunes 8 now have a solution with iTunes Blue compliments of Larzon83 over at deviantart by way of a modified iTunes.rsrc file that once copied and pasted in place brings the sexy back to iTunes.

For those dear readers out there left wondering if they could ever mix food and TV quite literally…today is your day. Get out your old VCR and get ready to turn it into a toastin’ machine!

Touchscreens are the hottest feature currently on mobile phones.  If your phone doesn’t have a touchscreen, it pretty much isn’t worth much, save for the obvious few smartphones such as Blackberry Bold and even a few WinMo HTC handsets.  For people who can actually see, the super shiny, contrasty, and smooth glass screens simply ooze [...]

Has Safari 4 beta left you wanting a blast from the not so distant and still kinda-sorta present past? If you figured that non-sense out and want to get the tabs back on the bottom in Safari 4…check this out!