I love my iPhone! In fact, every day I find new, cool things to do with it … from productivity tools to watching Youtube videos to listening to music. When I’m not mobile or using my iPhone on a call, I tune into AOL radio (which is really cool – but more on that later).

One of the items on my Christmas list this season is a docking station to keep my iPhone 3G upright. There are a few reasons why I want to do this. #1 – My iPhone deserves to be SEEN! #2 – I’m always of afraid of dropping something on it from above: my coffee cup, book, what have you. #3 – It’s so much easier not to have to plug, unplug, and re-hook and finally #4 – Sounds, man. If I buy an iPhone 3G docking station that’s also got a built-in amp and speakers, than I can rock away at the same time.

These iPhone 3G docking stations are on the shortlist that I’m giving to my wife.

Tunepro Stereo Alarm Clock Radio

This cool clock radio won the iLounge best of show for 2008. It is  sleek, black finish that has speakers that give a wide dispersion of sound. It uses the latest in flat panel speaker technology and SRS WOW system. This makes it look sleek, but also puts out really deep surround sound for flat speakers.

In addition to playing your iPhone it also charges it as well. The clock is radically cool, displaying through the front mirror screen. It acts as a clock radio, giving you the ability to wake up to either your iPhone or the clock radio. Tunepro Stereo Alarm Clock Radio

Macally Flextune Portable Stereo

Not as elegant as the Tunepro, but portable and less expensive. The thing I like about the Macally is that it’s a portable music machine that runs on both batteries and AC power. Your iPhone can also be turned horizontally to watch movie or Youtube videos!

Of course, while your iPhone is in the unit, it will be charging, as well. It will not have as rich a sound as the Tunepro, but for half the price it’s a very useful docking station. Macally Flextune Portable Stereo

Simplifi iPhone 3G Dock

If you’ve already got a stereo and your just looking for a simple docking station, this handy little unit is pretty nice. It’s a simple docking station that charges and syncs your iPhone 3G. But, in addition to that, it all accepts digital media cards such as compact flash and secure digital.

In addition it is a 2-port USB hub, which is powered by an included AC adapater. Simplifi iPhone 3G Dock

This is the list that I’ll be giving “Santa”. Let’s hope she knows which one to pick.

Once a geek, always a geek? Consider this, though … some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs and most powerful people have their roots in technology … Bill Gates (Microsoft) … Jerry Yang (Yahoo) … Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google). Technology has advanced so rapidly in the last few years that there’s virtually no industry left untouched by its reach.

Just today my wife and I were having a heated debate about why anyone would want to read a book on a computer. Or, take it one step further, why would anyone read a book on an eBook reader? I contend that eBook readers are just an extension of the possibilities for reading. Certainly not everyone will drop their hard cover books and switch to an eBook reader. But, just think about what Apple’s iPod has done to the world of listening to music.

Imagine being to able read almost 200,000 books WITHOUT having to go down to your local Borders … or having to wait for Amazon to deliver to your doorsteps your anxiously awaited latest edition of Harry Potter. If you’re like me, you might enjoy reading the NY Times or Wall Street Journal, but want the convenience of picking and choosing what you read, when you want to read it. This has been the promise of eBook readers for a long time.

Now, Oprah Winfrey has added her support and endorsed Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader. She has proclaimed it as her favorite new gadget. Oprah claims that it is a “life-changing gadget” and the “wave of the future.”

There have been many attempts by some very smart entrepreneurs to get people to read books on their devices. For example, PDAs have long been thought of as THE eBook reader. However, it has so many features and applications, that it quickly becomes almost overwhelming for some people who just want to read a book. Or, what about smart phones, such as the Treo, Apple iPhone or Blackberry? Once again, these devices somehow detract from the simplicity of just “curling up in front of the fireplace and reading a good book.”

I don’t know whether the Amazon Kindle is for me, as I have too many devices as it is. But, I do believe that it has tremendous possibilities to enhance our lives, especially in our educational system. The reason is simple. The whole process of publishing and distributing physical books is extremely expensive. This is one of the reasons why school budgets are so sadly strained. If we can reduce the cost of books / eBooks down to the level of today’s MP3 music, we can truly revolutionize the school budgeting costs.

Back to the debate that my wife and I had about eBooks versus traditional hard cover books. I believe that the next generation (my kids, for example) will have a “built-in” propensity toward eBooks. They have been brought up on cell phones, nintendo DS, WII, etc. They will “shop” for eCards before they go to Hallmark to buy a “physical” card, just like they will download an MP3, rather than buy a CD from the now defunct Tower Records.

This doesn’t make reading a book with Amazon’s Kindle as “right or wrong”, it’s just … different.

By the way, the Amazon Kindle sells at Amazon and EBay for $360. I still think this is a lot of money, But I found a website that is giving away free Amazon Kindles if you take a short poll.

Here is their website address:

http://ezsuggestions.com/amazonkindle.

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/