I love my Apple iPhone 3G! I was a big Treo fan for at least five years. I kept upgrading from the Treo 600 … 650 … 700p. But, when Apple announced their iPhone 3G with faster Internet access, WiFi connectivity, GPS, BIG SCREEN, I told myself I had to have one. The selling point for me was the iPhone’s 3G network.

But, the downside to all of these cool apps and new functionality on the iPhone is that they’re all battery hogs. The other downside to the iPhone in general is that Apple, in all its wisom, did not allow anyone to open the phone up to put in another fully charged battery.

I suspect that I am a typical iPhone user. The reason we all bought one is for the glorious big screen and the cool applications. On a typical day, using my phone for various activities, I can honestly say that in an 6 – 8 hour period, I’m probably down to less than 1/8th left on my battery power.

So, let’s dissect some of the applications and things that you can do to preserve battery. One obvious idea is to buy an external battery booster. These things are great! I have a couple of them. One type is a rechargeable lithium ion battery and the other uses a replaceable double A battery. Both of the work the same by boosting your iPhone’s battery almost back to a complete charge. For power users I recommend getting two of these great devices. They also have the added benefit of being able to be used for the Apple iTouch as well.

Now, to the applications. There are several applications on the Apple iPhone which, when turned on drain a lot of juice. One of the less intuitive ones is the 3G network. When Apple and AT&T decided to support AT&T’s 3G network, we all were thrilled to get the faster Internet speed. The big downside to this; however, is that the 3G network is a battery hog. If you are not surfing the Internet, I recommend that you turn this funcion off, until you need it. The Edge network is just fine for phone calls and even email downloads.

Next, Bluetooth. The Apple iPhone, of course, like all good phones, supports Bluetooth devices. Bear in mind that the Bluetooth application on the iPhone continually tries searches to find a Bluetooth device to pair up with. I’m not sure why this utility was built this way, but it is one feature that can be turned off when not in use.

Another application which I think can be turned off to save battery power is the location on / off switch. If it’s on, it will continually update with your current location, which is used by the GPS feature of the iPhone. You should turn this off if you do not need to have your location tagged for a particular application.

And, finally a real simple way to save on battery life is to turn your Apple iPhone off when you’re done using it. In other words, don’t wait until the screen turns off by itself. There is an “on/off” button on the top right corner of your phone which turns the screen off. Or, if you can’t remember to do that, set the screen off to auto off after x minutes. This should also save on your battery life.

There you have it … good luch and more power to you, er … your iPhone/

I’ve been using this really cool device from MagicJack now for the last 30 days. I must say that it is indeed as the company promised … cheap and reliable phone calls using your PC and your home phone.

I was intrigued about this idea ever since a colleague of mine told me about it over dinner. He told me that he bought a MagicJack device and used it while travelin to India to call back to the US. I had to admit that I was pretty skeptical of this product.

But, after another colleague told me about MagicJack, I decided to give it a try. What the heck … it was only $39.95 to get the product, which includes the first year of phone service. Each year thereafter it’s $19.95.

Within 2 days of placing my order, I had my MagicJack. In fact, I actually bought two MagicJacks, because I was sending one overseas to my relative in Australia.

Setting up the MagicJack couldn’t be easier, especially after my last experience trying to install Vonage. With the Vonage, I literally spent 2 hours trying to get it to work. Only after I was on the phone with the technician did I / we realize that the instructions in the box were wrong.

So, back to the MagicJack. You simply plug the USB device into an open USB port on your computer and a regular telephone into the other end. Within seconds a screen pops up that says it is downloading the software to your PC. After about a minute or two you are presented with a screen to enter your name and email address. And then finally you are asked to identify an area code for which you want your phone number to be attached. And, voila, you have a new virtual phone number.

At that point, you can simply make a phone call.

Here are some extra goodies that come with the MagicJack. Imagine, you have your own phone service literally within the palm of your hand. The phone service goes with you wherever you are traveling. With this service you get: call waiting, call forwarding, caller id and, yes, voice mail. One of the coolest features though is that you can travel to India, London, Australia, wherever … as long as you get have an Internet connection, you can use your phone. You can call the US and anybody can reach you.

I had my relative in Australia call me last night. It worked like a charm. The phone number showed up accordingly and I was able to hear him without a hitch.  Not only that, but he is traveling to London over the next week or so and I’ll be able to report on that experience, as well.

The one downside to the MagicJack is that there is no call forwarding feature yet. So for example, if you want someone to answer your calls and then transfer them to your phone, it doesn’t exist. I don’t know how big of a problem that is for people though.

All, in all, for a $19.95 per year service contract, how can you beat it? Unlimited US and Canada calling plus calling back to the US from abroad – FREE.

Doesn’t get any better than that.

Cell phones, IM, email and text messaging are all an integral part of daily life in today’s connected society. For those who were born into this communication revolution, they expect instant contact with others and information. This is where text messaging and the iPhone come into play. The Apple iPhone offers unsurpassed accessibility, convenience, and technology, all rolled into one very portable package. By using the iPhone to text, it has never been easier to stay in touch.

Staying in contact is where the iPhone shines. It makes calling and keeping track of your contact lists a breeze. Applications such as Facebook make it possible to connect with your entire social network with just a few taps of the screen. We communicate faster and more efficiently than ever before and with your iPhone you can connect with just a touch or two of the screen. You can make a call, send pictures and texts to a friend, or perhaps send email or chat via IM. This is how you can stay in touch with your iPhone. Texting is a big part of that communication capability.

The Apple iPhone truly excels when it comes to its texting features. No other phone gives you the ease of use combined with constant connectivity. When texting, your iPhone flags a word that it thinks is misspelled. You can override this error flag by telling your iPhone that this is a new word. To teach this new word to your iPhone, tap the screen three times to cancel the correction and the word will then become a part of your iPhone dictionary! The iPhone seeks out the typos that you make when you are texting someone and it fixes errors for you. This saves you a lot of time, because you don’t have to worry about going back and fixing them yourself.

Here’s a a feature that teenagers will like. The iPhone has the ability to send out a text message to more than one person at once. So when news that the hottest band around will be coming to town soon, your teenager can tell everyone they know about the news with just a few taps of the screen. Write a message, select a list of recipients and send to as many people as you have in your contact list! It is that simple.

Texting and the iPhone is more than just another way for teenagers to stay in contact with one another. You can send texts to let clients know of a change in plans or if you are caught in traffic. Send a quick text to see if your spouse needs you to pickup something on the way home. Text the groomer to let them know you are on your way to pick up Rover. Looking to buy a gift? You can text the person to find out if they have a certain DVD or book. This is how we can all live better using texting and the iPhone.

This little piece of technology combines form, fashion, and productivity into one device. The iPhone has become a status symbol, especially with young adults from their teens to their early thirties. Pretty cool, eh?