Before the suspected new iPhone comes out (check the date), I need to sell my old one while it still has value so I decided to buy a cheap phone to hold me by. I decided to go with the Nokia 2610 from AT&T. Why did I choose this phone? The total cost for a refurbished 2610 for a prepaid account was only $10. Yes only $10 given you get a prepaid account. Well actually you don’t have to keep the prepaid account or even pay any money to start it up. I actually did pay for a prepaid account because I needed the SIM card for a GPS tracker I am using.

Not much to say about this phone. This Nokia is the same Nokia you could buy 4 years ago. I did not notice anything new or special about the phone but for $10, I am more than happy. This model does have speaker phone and it does live up to Nokia’s reputation for great reception. This is a great way to get a phone when you need one for something temporary. The next time you kid decides to kill their phone buy getting it wet, make them use this $10 phone as punishment. Oh, and one more thing! I’m pretty sure you can only get this deal online.

If you need at a minimum, weekly dose of tech news and commentary, please tune in to KFI am 640 talk radio on the weekends from 11 am to 2 pm for Leo Laporte The Tech Guy. If you cant tune in your radio, you get the stream from KFI at KFI640.com, or twit.tv/live which will soon be twitlive.tv.

Leo is amazing at helping people learn and solve everyday technical problems an average user might have. The show may sometimes get geeky, but is made for an audience that may or may not know anything about tech. Leo has been a source of inspiration for me and I hope for you too.

Leo also creates too many to count, podcasts that release just about every day. Check out twit.tv for getting any of his shows delivered to you via RSS or iTunes.

I love clothes made for geeks because they have tons of pockets to put all my geek gadgets in but I don’t like to look like a nerd. I cant resist ScottEvest clothes but some of their clothes might hint to my geeky nature. Not too long ago, I came across a web site that sells a few nice peaces of clothes with some pockets a geek would appreciate. Originally designed for law enforcement, www.511tactical.com has button up shirts for weapons that geeks might find useful for stashing their gadgets. If you have a minute, check out their Covert Casual shirt. If anyone has purchased this shirt, please let me know because I am thinking about it.

Ever been to a hotel where the television is sub-par? Ever wanted to watch the TV schedule you are used to or watch your recorded TV from your DVR? With a little device called SlingBox from Sling Media, you can watch your TV, cable connection, or DVR. I cant tell you how many times I have been in hotels with crappy TV and wanted to watch the cable that was at my house! All is required, is a pretty good Internet connection at your house and where you are and you are set. The device is very easy to setup and there are no monthly or annual fees for SlingBox. The only cost is the cost for the device. Check it out here.

If you have been waiting to buy a wireless Internet card from Sprint, wait no more. I just purchased the Sprint Novatel Wireless Ovation U727 for use with many of my computers and my new Personal Hotspot Router from Cradlepoint.

This card uses your USB connection of any computer you have, a USB card reader for mini SD up to 4 GB, and has a mini version of the connection software.

Configuring of the card is relatively easy for people who buy the card brand new. I however, purchased the card used at a discount price which makes setup a little harder. For some reason, I could not install the light software on a Vista Ultimate 32 bit machine but was able to install the full version.  Previously owning a Sprint card, I am familiar with their connection software and how to re-program an Internet card. For some reason nothing worked and I had to manually re-program the card with the help of Sprint Customer care. Sadly, it took me about an hour with typical reps who know nothing while reading a script till I got someone who transferred me to their tier 3 tech support. Tier 3 took 5 minutes with a rep who actually knew what she was doing. Once I finished, the card worked perfect and worked like a dream with my Cradlepoint Personal Hotspot Router.

In conclusion, buying a Novatel U727 brand new should be easy enough for anyone to setup and it works like a dream. If you buy a used card, prepare to do a little work to get it working. This card works with Windows and Mac operating systems.

I just picked up my CradlePoint PHS300 (Personal Hotspot 300) which is a very small battery operated router that works with my Sprint EVDO Novatel Wireless Ovation U727 USB Mobile Broadband card. The USB card allows me to get wireless Internet to my computer via Sprint’s cell network. Traditionally, you could only use a wireless card with one computer until mobile routers started appearing. A router’s basic function allows you to share your Internet connection with other devices. There are many other uses for routers including big security protection but most people use them to share their Internet connection with other computers.

I have had different connection cards and wireless routers before but I have to admit, this is the best I have come across. In the past, I have spent days trying to get things that don’t work with each other to work with each other but today that did not happen. Programming the Cradlepoint with my Internet card was as simple as plugging it in and creating a password. Yes of coarse I did a little more things for security of the network but someone could literally plug in their Internet card, create a password, and surf the net. The Cradlepoint PHS300 allows a wireless connection for up to 16 devices but that is not the amazing part. The router works plugged in or via a battery that boasts around 2 hours of operation. This now means I can tuck this wallet sized router with absolutely no wires in my truck and everyone with WiFi enabled phones or computers can surf the net while we a driving down the road.  This means that when I go over to friends or customers houses, we can use the net if needed very easily.

I am so happy with this practically zero config device and I urge anyone with a USB compatible Internet card to look into getting this device. Be sure to make sure you have a compatible connection card!

Just got my KPC Shuttle mini PC and within 30 minutes I had it running. This PC is perfect for many purposes or when you need a small PC. I bought a barebones K45 KPC for $100, installed a P4, some ram, and some hard drive I had laying around and I was ready to go. The biggest problem anyone is going to have with this PC is the power supply, it is green but only has 1  sata and 1 standard 12v connector for your hard drives. There are plenty of ports on the back: VGA, Parallel, serial, Ethernet USB… You can look this up for yourself!

Here is the hidden gem I found! Everywhere I looked, there was no mention of a CD-Rom drive bay in the front online or in any documentation. I have amazing  news to report! Inside the KPC there is two slots for standard hard drives and one slot at the top for a laptop Rom drive. Unfortunately, you will have to take off the beautiful Plexiglas bezel that houses those pretty pictures in the front but with a little DIY fun, you can make your own.

Take a look at the pics.

A Chinese company named SoloMobi claims that a phone with a 16,800mAh lithium battery, yes 16,800mAh,  will stay powered on stand by for a year. I seriously doubt it but a 16,800mAh battery is what I sure need in my phone. Typically, in any battery powered device, the higher the mAh, the longer the battery will last. I am not too educated on batteries so I may be wrong but this has been my experience. What is really cool, the company is rating the phone as a 3-5 day talk time. Could you imaging charging your cell phone every week instead of every night? Heck! Sometimes I have to charge my phone more than once a day. All information here was summarized from Engadget.com

In case you have not heard, today Apple released the SDK for the iPhone and iPod Touch and there will be a 2.0 update for iPhones in June. SDK stands for software developer kit and it will allow mobile software developers create everything from games to useful applications for iPhones and iPod Touches without having to use the browser.

Here are some of the highlights you have to look forward to in the iPhone:

-iPhone gets Enterprise support. This is the single most important thing to me. The iPhone will now have Microsoft Exchange and Active Sync support. This means my exchange server can now auto sync my contacts and give me push email through my iPhone. This won’t happen until the next software update but I am so happy for this.

-There will be an App store for the iPhone and and iPod Touch via iTunes for purchasing and installing software. This will be the only way to get software for your iPhone if it is not hacked.

- The game Spore will be available for the iPhone. Cool, and even though I can’t wait to play this game, I think I will want to play it on my computer.

-AIM, which was reported to be the most requested App will be available.

-Testing starts today with the beta release of the SDK but everything goes official in late June. What is odd to me, in the presentation, it said shipping in June. What is shipping? Are we going to see a new iPhone with 3G speeds? That is what the rumor is. I really hope it is true.

-Sim Unlock software will not be allowed in the iPhone App store. This means if you want software that is available for a hacked iPhone that is not available in the App store, you will still have to hack your iPhone. After June, and other than wanting to you use your phone on another carrier, I don’t see the reason to hack your iPhone anymore.

I have on just about every gadget I can get one for, a silicon protective case. Seriously, using them on my iPhone, Nano, iPod, Digital Camera, and more I am a firm believer of a silicon protective cases. A silicon case is a great and cheap way to protect your electronics. Silicon cases contour to your device, protect it from scratches, helps when you drop your gadget, and it still keeps the profile of your device without making it too much bigger. My most favorite thing about silicon cases is you can use your gadget with the case on. You don’t have to waste time taking your device in and out of a case. I don’t spend the money it costs in retail stores but I do pick them up online. For example, an iPhone silicon case costs around $20 or $30 from Apple but the same exact thing can be purchased on ebay for $8 and it comes with a screen protector.