When To Whip It Out: A Quick Guide to Using Cellphones in Social Situations

We've all been there - the date where the other person takes out their phone while you're telling what you think is an important story (apparently not, since his phone just made his face light up as if something just saved him), or family/friend outings when you have people down your back about continually checking sports scores or e-mails on your phone.

After all this time, you think we would've gotten better with handling social situations with our cell phones. Instead, society has gotten worse. Although it's not your fault cell phone companies like Apple come up with extremely addicting apps that make you feel like an app-addict, there are ways that you can save yourself the lecturing and still manage to get your phone time in.

Here are a few tips. Spread the word. We need to save ourselves.

OFFENSE: The ill-timed Foursquare check-In
Don't panic, you can still check in while you're on this date. Don't ruin her moment of thinking you guys have a special spark by starring at your phone. Chances are, she wants to look her best. This means when she takes her trip to the bathroom to "powder up", you'll have enough time to get out your phone and do a specific task. She won't even know. Want to get more brownie points? Give her a big smile while she's on the way back to the table. You're in.

OFFENSE: A bright cell phone screen makes the movie theatre light up
No matter how bad you want to escape the movie or check who texted you, other people didn't pay to see Tom Cruise sprint in his fourth rendition of Mission Impossible so you could ruin it with a loud ringtone or bright screen. Check your phone before you get in the theatre and put it on vibrate. That's a must! Next, if you think the chances of you checking your phone are high, you might want to decrease the screen brightness on your phone. Or, sneak out to check your phone. The same feeling of "I can't stand it - I need to check it" might be mutual to a black-belt karate champion thinking "I can't stand it - this guy's toast."

OFFENSE: Interrupting family/friend time by messing around with your phone
Look at your audience. Most of your friends are going to be more accepting of you looking and messing around on your phone since they probably do the same thing. Even in this case, they deserve your attention. LIVE IN THE MOMENT. Set yourself a time of how long you want to stay away from your phone. Going to dinner? Watching a movie? Set your phone on silent and put it in the kitchen while you go lay on the couch. People will live if they can't contact you in a two-hour period. Remember back in the day, when we didn't have cell phones? Exactly.

If it's family, you're most likely going to get a mad look or a lecture of some sort since their generation doesn't understand our obsession. Best way to handle this- check your phone when you take trips to the kitchen or bathroom. They might not even see you and you can get a lot done. Perfecto!

OFFENSE: The too public phone call
Just because you have a phone doesn't mean we want to hear why you went to the Doctor yesterday. If it's extremely personal and there's people around, be thoughtful and send the information in a text or something more private. Even though we have access to our phones basically anywhere we want at anytime we want, doesn't mean we want to hear your personal drama.

Next iPhone Could Be The Thinnest Yet

Even thinner? Well wouldn't that be a delight for our pockets (or purses for the ladies). PCMag give us the insider on the recent news:

The next version of Apple's iPhone could likely be the thinnest one yet, thanks to the rumored switch to cutting edge in-cell touch panels, an analyst is predicting. 

Rumors surfaced late last week that the next iteration of the Apple smartphone will use new in-cell touch panels, reducing the weight and overall thickness of the device. Now, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a report agreeing with that rumor, and noting that that the switch to in-cell touch panel technology could shave .44 milimeters off the thickness of the next iPhone, according to AppleInsider. 

The new design would embed the phone's touch sensor within the display, thus eliminating the separate touch sensor layer, as well as one layer of adhesive used on the current model. Moreover, a thinner battery and Apple's rumored switch to a metal back instead of glass could further reduce the iPhones thickness by .96 mm, Kuo predicted.

New iPhone Commercials With Two Of Our Favorite Celebs

Zooey Deschanel stars in new iPhone 4S commercial. It's amazing what phones can do these days.

Samuel L. Jackson graces us with his presence as well.

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Ellen Degeneres Makes An iPhone Commercial

This will give you a good laugh. Not all people have an easy time adjusting to the touchscreen on the iPhone, especially when it comes to texting. Watch this short video with Ellen as she demonstrates this process.

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The 5 Free Must-Have iPhone Apps

With all the new apps available on the iPhone app store, we all could use a little guidance in which ones are actually beneficial. Here is a list of the 5 Free iPhone apps that we would recommend you download, install, and actually use.

1) Facebook - Free

No matter whether we like to admit it or not, Facebook keeps us connected to the world and updated on what's going on in our "Friends" lives, even if it makes us feel like a bit of a stalker. There are 800 million accounts worldwide. Whether you check it fifteen times a day or are just an occasional user, it's nice to stay on top of what's new in people's lives and do fun things like post pictures, tag pictures, and check-in at new destinations.

2) SHAZAM - Free (For a certain amount of song catches)

Shazam is one of my favorite apps ever invented. How many times have you been in the car, at a restaurant or basically anywhere, and heard a song and thought, "I love this song! What is it called?" Well months of torturing yourself in trying to think of one line from the lyrics to type into Google is no longer needed, my friend! All you need to do is open the app, press the Shazam button on the screen and hold your phone up to the song for the allotted amount of time (phone will vibrate when tagging is complete.) As long as there isn't any major background noise or people talking, I'd say this app is 99% effective. It even allows you to click on the song (located in My Tags) and look up the lyrics, find YouTube videos, and buy it immediately on iTunes. The free version only allows you to tag so many songs per month, which is perfect for people who won't use it that much. I bought the app for a year and it cost me $3.99. There is also a Lifetime package for $5.99. Totally worth it!



3) WebMD - Free

The moment you get sick, you'll be glad to have this app. With easy search options like symptom checker, conditions and first aid information, you might not even have to make a visit to your doctor. WebMD comes with simple instructions for all types of emergencies. It's a great medical relief when you're on the go, especially for parents. Warning: Don't get too search happy and freak yourself out.

4) Yelp - Free

Yelp is a great tool by pinpointing business by locations, letting you know if they're open at the moment of searching them, and shows you user-written reviews to help you decide if its the right place for you to go. If you're ever in an unfamiliar territory, Yelp will be your personal tour guide.

5) Find My iPhone - Free

Part and parcel of iOS5 and Apple's iCloud, Find My iPhone is a great app that needs to be installed and properly activated on your Apple device. If your cell phone is ever stolen or lost (it happens to the best of us), Find My iPhone will locate it physically, on a map, to show you exactly where it is. If you misplace your phone and think it might be stolen, you can go to the iCloud website from any computer and send a message that will flash on the phone screen. Another neat thing- if you think you misplaced it somewhere nearby, you can log in to the iCloud website and make your phone play a loud tone, even if it's set to silent. This is one of the best free features from iOS5 you can have. 

Good Thing To Know: What's The Difference Between 3G and 4G?

Right now there are so many different varieties of 3G, and with 4G coming into the mix, who can even keep track of what's what anymore. Here is a breakdown of what the difference is between 3G and 4G, and what might be the right choice for you.

3G vs. 4G: What Are They? 

First things first, the "G" stands for a generation of mobile technology, installed in phones and on cellular networks. Each "G" generally requires you to get a new phone, and for networks to make expensive upgrades. The first two were analog cell phones (1G) and digital phones (2G). Then it got complicated. 

Third-generation mobile networks, or 3G, came to the U.S. in 2003. With minimum consistent Internet speeds of 144Kbps, they were supposed to bring "mobile broadband." There are now so many varieties of 3G, though, that a "3G" connection can get you Internet speeds anywhere from 400Kbps to more than ten times that. 

New generations usually bring new base technologies, more network capacity for more data per user, and the potential for better voice quality, too.4G phones are supposed to be even faster, but that's not always the case. There are so many technologies called "4G," and so many ways to implement them, that the term is almost meaningless. The International Telecommunications Union, a standards body, tried to issue requirements to call a network 4G but they were ignored by carriers, and eventually the ITU backed down. 4G technologies include HSPA+ 21/42, WiMAX, and LTE (although some consider LTE the only true 4G of that bunch, and some people say none of them are fast enough to qualify.) 

There's one rule to follow: Each generation will offer faster Internet speeds than the last, that is, on the same carrier. Sprint's WiMAX 4G is almost always faster than its CDMA 3G. But AT&T's 3G HSPA can be faster than MetroPCS's 4G LTE. You can rely on speeds to move up within your carrier, though. 

When to Go For 4G 

The mobile carriers are still building out their 4G networks, so first, you need 4G coverage to appreciate a 4G phone. Of the national carriers, Verizon and T-Mobile have the broadest 4G coverage. AT&T currently covers about a quarter of the U.S. population. 

One way to sum up the difference in speed between 3G and 4G.

If you like to surf the Web and especially stream video, 4G can be heaven. If you connect a laptop to your mobile link, 4G makes a huge difference. In general, anything involving transferring large amounts of data gets a big boost from 4G. Watch out for the data limits on your service plan, though; it's easy to use up a lot of data very quickly with 4G. 

If you have a 3G phone and you've been frustrated with clogged-up networks, 4G may be the solution. You'll be switching to a different, less-trafficked network for your Internet data. 4G won't solve any dropped call problems, though, as all calls will be made over 3G networks until carriers switch to voice-over-LTE during the next few years.Finally, if you want to future-proof yourself, get a 4G phone. 4G coverage is only going to get better, and that's where the carriers are spending most of their money right now. As we move into 2013 and 2014, some carriers will even try to switch subscribers to 4G-only phones which make voice calls over the LTE network. 

When to Buy 3G 

If you want an iPhone, it'll be 3G. End of story. We're done. Apple may be releasing a 4G LTE iPhone later this year, but the company doesn't currently have a 4G model. (The "4" in iPhone 4 refers to the model number, not the mobile technology.) 

If you live in an area that doesn't have 4G coverage, there's no advantage to a 4G phone. In fact, you'll have serious battery life problems if you buy an LTE phone and don't disable 4G LTE, as the radio's search for a non-existent signal will drain your battery quickly. 

In general, if you value battery life more than Internet speeds, there's still life in 3G yet. We've seen significantly shorter usage times on 4G devices than on 3G devices, most notably on Verizon and Sprint phones. 

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