There are hundreds of thousands of free apps available for Android phones so with all the wonderful free apps that will never cost you a penny, why would you want to pay for an app?

Because they’re worth it.

I don’t purchase a lot of apps, but there are a handful of great paid apps available for Android that I think are well worth the little bit of extra cash they cost. Most of them are really reasonably priced, often costing less than a drink from Starbucks.

Here are what I feel are the 10 best paid apps for Android Phones – all are available directly from the Android Market.

One last thing, I decided not to feature any games (like Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja) since games depend so much on personal preference and I don’t play many games.

Tasker – If you’ve seen the Smart Actions commercial for the Motorola Droid Razr then you probably have some idea what this app can do. Smart Actions basically duplicates Tasker’s functionality but offers less features and makes it a bit more user friendly.

Tasker is an automation app. For example, it can launch your music player (whichever you use) when you plug-in headphones. If can go into airplane mode at night to conserve battery life. It can turn Wi-Fi on when you’re at home but turn it off when you’re not and with thousands of pre-made profiles, you don’t need programming expertise to use it.

Bottom line, if you’re only willing to pay for one app, this is the app to get.

WaveSecure – McAfee bought this company a couple years back and surprisingly they didn’t ruin it. It’s still great. This is a security app for your phone so if your phone is ever lost or stolen, you can remotely lock down your device if it’s missing so that nobody starts accessing your personal data or calling and harassing your friends (that actually happened to my sister once). If you’ve decided it’s unlikely that you’ll ever get your phone back, you can wipe your personal data off the phone remotely as well. It does backups and device locating as well. It’s the most expensive app on this last and will run $19.99 a year but I think it’s $20 well spent for keeping your personal information safe.

SlideIT / Flex T9 / SwiftKey X Keyboard – There are a lot of things I love about Android. The stock keyboard isn’t one of them. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but there are much better keyboards out there. Personally, I think Swype is the best keyboard app out there, but unless your phone comes with it preinstalled, it’s a pain to get it working. The Flex T9 and SlideIT keyboards are the closest thing to Swype that you can download from the Android Market.  I personally used Flex T9 for about a year and it works great.  I haven’t played with SlideIT much but it has earned an Editor’s Choice from the Android Market and has been voted the best keyboard replacement app for Android and you can even try it out for 15 days for free before you have to pay for it to make sure you like it. If you prefer a keyboard that’s a bit more familiar, try the SwiftKey X Keyboard. It works a lot like a regular keyboard but with excellent memory of words you use frequently.

Camera Zoom FX – This has been voted the best camera app for Android and it’s easy to see why. It adds a lot of “real” camera features like burst mode and a timer. It also has voice activated, collage, stable shot, and time lapse shooting modes. With a ton of post processing features for editing your photos on your phone, it’ll make your smartphone camera seem like the only phone you really need and when combined with the camera improvements made in Ice Cream Sandwich, it’s amazing.

Gentle Alarm – I’ll just say this, I hate alarm clocks with a passion – hate them. I do my best to avoid using an alarm clock whenever possible. However, like you, I don’t always have a choice – I have to be awake by a certain time.

A few years ago I got my favorite alarm clock of all time – a SleepTracker watch. It works by monitoring your sleep cycles and waking you up when you’re not in a deep sleep so you can wake up feeling rested. Research has shown that if you’re jolted out of a deep sleep, you’re more likely to be tired and cranky and feeling “like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” It sounds a little gimmicky, but it works… as long as you don’t mind wearing a watch when you sleep or spending $150 on the thing. I found wearing a watch to bed kind of weird, but it’s still my favorite as you can set it so it only vibrates in the morning. When it’s attached to your arm, that’s plenty to wake you up.

Now your cell phone doesn’t have that capability since you’re not going to wear it to bed, but Gentle Alarm uses the same principle of gently easing your out of sleep.

It starts with a pre alarm phase and very quiet music. If you wake up at this point, you’re in a light sleep cycle and it’s a good time to get up. I find myself waking up during this period about 1/3 of the time. If you don’t wake up during the pre-alarm, then the regular alarm goes off and it plays music that slowly gets louder. If you still don’t wake up, it has an extremely loud white noise siren

And if you are the kind of person who will mindless tap the snooze button, you can have it make you solve a math problem or solve a pattern challenge.

This app has a few neat features that I really like and it’s all very customizable. My favorite alarm clock app (if there can be such a thing for a person who hates alarm clocks).

AirSync by doubleTwist – doubleTwist is an iTunes like app for managing music on your Android phone. It can read your iTunes playlists and sync them to your phone when you plug it in via the USB cable. The AirSync allows you to do all of this via WiFi, without wires!

Locale with Astrid – One neat feature that Apple built into their iPhone is a location aware reminders app. However, Android users have had that capability for a while by using two apps – Locale and the accompanying Astrid Locale Add-On. If you have milk on your list and you drive by a grocery store, it’ll remind you to get some milk.

Business Calendar – Since I’m a boring business guy, this app is greatly preferred over the standard Calendar app built into Android since it allows me to sync not only with Google Calendar, but also Basecamp. I can see everything in one nice little widget.

PocketCasts – I’ve become a bit of a podcasting junkie in the car these days. I rarely listen to radio because I’ve got so many fantastic (and commercial free) podcasts that I can listen to instead. Google Listen is a free alternative if you want to listen to podcasts (nearly all podcasts are free, btw), but I think PocketCasts is just way better and it’s super easy to use. Well worth the $3 it’ll cost you.

Read It Later – There is a free version of this app, but the pro version is better since it doesn’t limit you. If you’ve ever been reading an article on your phone but don’t have time to finish it, this app allows you to save it for later. It makes the article available offline and syncs it to your computer as well as your phone.

Best Paid Apps For Rooted Phones

And while I won’t to into a lot of detail about these four apps below, here are my favorite apps for people with rooted phones.

Titanium Backup Pro ($6.58)

ROM Manager ($5.99)

Root Explorer ($3.99)

Absolute System Root Tools ($1.99)

Both are intended to be top of the line smartphones in the Android ecosystem and both feature 4G/LTE connectivity, but there are some small differences between the phones you’ll want to take into account before you decide which one to buy.   Watch the video below to learn more:

These are two high end smartphones that have very little in common.    Watch the video to see just how different and which one you’ll want to be carrying around in your pocket.

And if you’re really interested in delving into the differences between the operating systems themselves, I highly recommend watching my Ice Cream Sandwich vs iOS 5 video.

I recently had a friend turn her back on her iPhone (which she loved) because the $100 a month she had to shell out was straining her budget.  She ultimately went back to a standard cell phone (the kind with just a number pad) and with her eschewing such fantastic technology, I think she secretly wants to be Amish (kidding… sort of).

So I’m on a mission today – if you have a smartphone, I’d like to help you keep it.  If you don’t have one yet, hopefully I can help you justify the purchase of a new one.

Today I’ll show you all of the legitimate ways that a smartphone, whether it be an Android phone or the Jesus Phone iPhone, can truly help you save money.

1) You Don’t Have To Buy So Many Gadgets

While you may not have ever been a Star Trek fan, you’ve certainly seen or heard of the tricoder used on the show.  It’s pretty much a “do everything” gadget.  With recent advances in smartphones, it’s getting closer to becoming a reality and the Life Sciences Prize Group just commissioned an “X Prize” and a $10 million reward for the team that can build one.

While today’s smartphone still can’t operate as a medical scanner, there are several legitimate gadgets you no longer need to buy:

GPS Navigation Device

Before I got my smartphone, I had three GPS devices, two handhelds and an automotive GPS.  Since I bought my Droid in November of 2009, they’ve been sitting in a drawer collecting dust.  I haven’t found any need to use any other GPS device and with Android you get the pretty darn good Google Maps Navigation Beta.  Sure, Navigon Mobile Navigator is better, but you probably don’t need it.   If you have an iPhone you may want to spend the $50 or so on it, but it still saves you from spending $150-$300 on a dedicated unit you’ll only use once in a while.

Music Player / iPod

I still have a 2^nd generation iPod… in a drawer… somewhere.   While I think my iPod is a superior music player than my Droid, I haven’t used it in the past six months – it’s so much easier to just take my phone with me and it does the job just fine.    And with apps like Double Twist for Android that will sync your iTunes playlists and music, there’s really no need to keep an iPod handy.  And since the iPhone is an iPod, there’s no excuse there unless you really want a little music player to strap to your arm while you’re working out (personally, I just make sure I wear a pair of shorts with pockets).

Digital Camera

Yes, a modern smartphone can replace a digital camera, but with a couple caveats.  First, if you’re used to a digital SLR, then I lied – you can’t.  However, if you typically use a pocket digital camera for pictures, high end smartphones like the iPhone, HTC Inspire 4G, HTC MyTouch Slide 4G, and Samsung Galaxy S 4G all have really good digital cameras built in and with onboard editing,  easy uploading to photo sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr, their ease of use easily compensates for the slightly (emphasis on slightly) higher quality you can get out of a digital camera.   I’m not going to include a video camera in this list yet since handheld video cameras can still outperform a smartphone video camera by a significant margin but the day is coming when your phone will be a perfectly good camcorder as well… give it a year or two.

And there are professional photographers who have shown that you really can take professional quality photography using an iPhone and a good eye for the right shot.

Alarm Clock

Okay, so most phones have a built in alarm clock, but apps like Gentle alarm are a whole lot nicer than that incessant buzzing your standard cell phone alarm or regular alarm clock is going to give you.  My alarm clock plays music, starting quietly and slowly getting louder over the course of 10 minutes to make waking up easier and more pleasant.   I don’t like alarm clocks in the first place and don’t really see the need to ever buy a new one.

Voice Recorder

I know that a lot of people don’t carry a voice recorder with them… but I used to.  However, my phone has made that thing obsolete as my phone has a large storage capacity and it’s even easier to transfer those files to my computer than ever before.

Stop Watch

Okay, so a stop watch doesn’t cost much to begin with and they last forever once you have one, but if you put a stop watch app on your phone, you’ll always have it with you and they really do work just as well as the real thing.

Nintendo 3DS / Sony PSP

If you like having games with you when you’re on a road trip, sitting in the airport, or riding the bus to work, you have to really be into games to bother buying a handheld gaming device like the 3DS or PSP when the iPhone has thousands of fantastic games that are a lot cheaper (most games cost between $.99 and $4.99)   Heck, on Android, you can even get a Playstation Certified smartphone (the Xperia Play) that has a real playstation controller built in – just slide up the screen and your controller is revealed.    If you like gaming on a portable device, get a smartphone.

Calculator / Graphing Calculator

I remember that in college I needed two calculators – a graphing calculator ($120) and a scientific calculator ($20).  My roommate needed a specialized finance calculator ($30).   There are free or very cheap apps that’ll run on your phone that can replace every kind

Cargo Pants

Now that you don’t need to carry all this junk around, you don’t need a pair of pants with a ton of pockets anymore, either.

2) Never Buy Another Ringtone

Ringtones are a racket and there’s really no good reason to buy one anymore when smartphone apps will allow you to turn any song into a ringtone… for free!  And you can completely customize the ringtone to be just what you like all on the phone – you don’t need to do any editing on your computer first.  On Android I use RingDroid – for the iPhone I recommend Ringtone Designer.

3) Stop Paying ATM Fees

It’s a fact of life that most banks are going to charge you to use their ATM if you’re not one of their customers and there are plenty of times where you just don’t know where the closest ATM for your bank is.  However, your smartphone can save you from getting fleeced for $2-$5 at the ATM by locating the closest one.  If you do business with a large bank, they probably already have an app out for your phone.  If you bank with a smaller bank, just bookmark their ATM locator page on your phone.

There are also apps likes ATM Hunter and Allpoint which can help you find ATMs in the area that are surcharge free (there are 37,000 free ones in Allpoint’s database).

4) Carry Your Coupons With You

Now as a guy I’m the first to admit I don’t clip coupons… ever!  I’m not going to spend any time with a flyer I got in the mail with a pair of scissors clipping coupons and putting them in my wallet.  However,  if coupons are easy to put on my phone, I’m okay with using them since they don’t take much time to find, access, and use.  For the iPhone, the best coupon app is probably Coupon Sherpa – for Android go with The Coupons.    There are plenty of store specific apps but to be honest, I’m too lazy to use those – if you’re a little more motivated, you could certainly save a bunch of money every month.

5) Compare Prices – Avoid Buying Crappy Products

A few months ago I was in Sears with a friend of mine and we saw a product that looked really interesting but the claims seemed a little “too good to be true.”  So since I had my smartphone with me, I just scanned the barcode and we were able to pull up several reviews of the product indicating that it didn’t work and it’d be a waste of money.    Saved us from wasting $15.

You can also use the barcode scanner on your phone (it scans by using your phone’s camera in case you’re not familiar with them) to compare prices.   While I wouldn’t bother on low priced items like groceries, I’d certainly be willing to use it to compare prices of power tools or electronics.

6) Store Discount / Loyalty Cards

I can’t even tell you how many discount or loyalty cards I’ve lost over the years.  There are a lot of stores I go to that give them out that I only shop at a few times a year and when I do go back, I’ve either forgotten the card in my desk drawer or it’s lost or been through the wash a few times.

However, your phone can help you manage all those cards to make your life easier.  Just download the app CardStar (they have an Android, iPhone, and Blackberry app) and you can store all of your discount cards on your phone.

Now it’s no sweat to keep all of those cards with me when I’m out shopping.

For shopping for groceries, there is an app called Grocery IQ that is really cool.  First of all, whenever you run out of something or you’re getting low, just scan the barcode at home and it’ll put the item on a list so you actually remember to buy it when you to got the grocery store.  That feature alone makes it worth it to me since it often takes me two or three trips to the store to remember to buy items that I’ve run out of.   It also stores you’re the discount cards to the grocery stores you go to and keeps you up to date on sales and coupons.

And while we’re saving money, let’s not forget about gas.  If you live in a city, even a small city, there are probably several choices of gas stations that are all convenient for you to visit.  However, since gas prices literally fluctuate daily, knowing which station has the cheapest gas that day is a pain unless you’re going to drive by all of them… and you’re not going to do that because that’d waste more money than you could ever save.  So just download the app GasBuddy and it’ll help you find which gas station has the cheapest gas that day.

7) Unlimited Calling… Without An Unlimited Plan

I know I know – phone calls are so last century… but I know a lot of people do spend quite a bit of time on the phone and will burn through their anytime minutes quickly.

However, there is a workaround you can use to hack your Android phone and make unlimited phone calls as much as you want.  The only thing you need to make sure you get is a cell phone plan that has a friends and family option.  You really only need one number to make this work so get the cheapest plan.

Then you just need to make sure you have a Google Voice account setup and then you need to download an app called Google Voice Callback.

Next, setup one of your “friends and family” numbers to be your Google Voice number.  Remember that Google Voice makes long distance calls to anyone in the United States for free.

When you use Google Voice Callback, you end up using your cell phone to call your Google Voice number, then the app uses Google Voice to place the long distance call.    The end result is unlimited long distance even on a much cheaper plan.

You can also use Skype to make phone calls so if you don’t want to setup the system I just mentioned, then just use Skype to make calls.

Either way you slice it, the only time you should be using anytime minutes is when you’re receiving phone calls… all your outgoing calls can be placed without using any of your minutes.

8 ) Tethering / Mobile Hotspot Without An Additional Charge

I remember a few years ago getting a mobile broadband card for my laptop.  I traveled a lot and needed to be able to get on the Internet in more places than just airports and coffee shops so I paid the $60/month it cost.

These days the cell phone companies are happy to let your share the Internet connection from your smartphone supply an internet connection to your laptop or any other mobile device… for a fee – usually $30/month.

That’s still ridiculous especially if you have an unlimited data plan considering you can do it without paying an extra dime.

Disclaimer: The following information isn’t exactly approved by the cell phone carriers – in fact they’re very much against this so remember you could be violating the terms of your contract if you follow any of the advice below.  The consequences of following my advice are unknown but could result in your service being terminated, or additional charges being added to your bill, or you might be placed in a burlap sack and beaten with reeds – I really don’t know.

What I do know is that I’m already paying the cell phone company over $100/month to begin with, I’m not going to lose a wink of sleep over not giving them even more money every month, but ultimately the decision is up to you and if you feel it’s morally wrong or you can’t handle the potential consequences (known or unknown), then don’t do it – nobody’s twisting your arm.  The information below is for informational purposes only – you take full responsibility for any consequences that come from putting it into practice. [/disclaimer]

AT&T and Verizon have been cracking down on unauthorized tethering apps like PDAnet and Tether lately since they only want you to use their apps that they’ll charge you an arm and a leg for.

While you can still find those apps, the easiest way to future proof your phone is to root it if you’re an Android user or Jailbreak it if you’re an iPhone user.

Just Google it for directions (try “root + your phone’s model” or “jailbreak iphone”).  The process is different for every phone and changes frequently for may phones which means that how to do it is well beyond the scope of this already lengthy article and would require yet another lengthy disclaimer.

Once you’re rooted or Jailbroken, you’ll able to download apps like Wireless Tether for Android (free) and MyWi 4.0 for the iPhone ($19.99 on Cydia or Intelliborn.com).

Then you can use your phone as a Wifi hotspot for no additional charge and power your iPad, Android tablet, laptop or whatever the heck you want.

Conclusion

So there you have it – several ways to justify the additional cost of a smartphone.  Have any other ways you can use a smartphone to save money?  Just post in the comments – we’re always looking for more cool tips.

Chirping for the Masses

The famous Nextel walkie-talkie phones soon became the IM replacement of the cellphone world, and became very popular with many people outside the business sector. The act of talking to someone using the walkie-talkie method quickly took the name, “chirping.” How many products in the world officially had slang terms created for their products? Not many, that is for sure, but now the exclusivity is gone because HeyTell distributes an Android and Apple application for smartphones that recreates the chirping act of communication.

Yes, that’s right, now we have walkie-talkie for the smartphones, and it is just cool. Now the company is going over the top with the recent addition of group chirping. HeyTell was not one of the “winners” at the SXSW conference in early 2011, but could upset the race. Group messaging systems like GroupMe and KiK took the show at the media and technology conference. Social networking is looking to be the next big move in mobile. HeyTell, with the addition of group messaging to its direct-connect app, makes it potentially a killer group messaging app.

The service is not perfect, as it has a bit of a lag, depending on the message length, and is because the system uses an IP voicemail transfer system. You push a button to talk, the system records your voice, digitizes it, and then sends it over the Internet to the target phone where it is played back, which make s a small delay, especially if you talk a lot, but it is still very, very cool. By incorporating the concept of group messaging and the walkie-talkie, users can create groups from Facebook contacts.

Who is HeyTell?

HeyTell is an application released by Voxitale, but beyond this, very little information exists on the company home page and what you see is what you get, as this is all that is currently known about the app’s creators. The basic app is free to download and use, while revenue is generated with the addition of other app extensions such as broadcasting to multiple contacts. The Facebook interconnect is built into the basic app.

We can only imagine that the capabilities of this platform are going to increase dramatically. One reason is that the company has recently scored millions in funding. The reviews are rave across the board, both customers and the media are filled with glowing statements about how cool it is, how easy to use. The addiction will begin. This company could easily extend the functionality of the app and grow is user base at the same time. The company is already expanding its capacity to 100 million users, and has over 4 million registered users now; by the end of the year, HeyTell might just grow to outpace all the other group-messaging systems. It could add geo-location and video; can you imagine a video walkie-talkie? It could be as big as Facebook itself, as the very idea of walkie-talkie smartphones is enough to ensure this start up has a major shot at the future.

About the Author:

Jon T. Norwood is a managing partner at High Speed Internet, a site dedicated to providing information on Mobile Broadband News. Jon can be reached at jon@velocityguide.com.

1. Encrypt Your Backup Information

Set your preferences to encrypt the information downloaded to your computer during sync. Though the information remains unencrypted on the device itself, the logged backup will be unreadable to those attempting to ascertain private information or past whereabouts.

2. Encrypt Your Device

Many smartphones offer data encryption options for the device itself. This prevents information from being intercepted and accessed during transmission. Check with your provider to determine if this is an option for your device.

3. Set Location Services to “OFF” Mode

iPhone and Android devices both have options to knowingly transmit location data. In the setup of Droid phones, users can opt out of transmitting information to Google. iPhone users can select to turn off location services at any time via the setup menu. However, turning off location mode has its drawbacks. Apps and maps that access the users locale to provide pertinent info and tips become virtually moot.

4. Beware of Apps

Just like a computer, a smartphone is vulnerable to viruses and malware that can easily be downloaded in the form of applications, links and ringtones. Check what others are saying before downloading via reviews and ratings. Also be wary of opening spam emails or providing apps with access to location or your contact information.

5. Use Anti-Virus Software

Downloading a TRUSTED application to guard against malware and viruses adds an extra layer of protection against malicious programs attempting to gain location, contact info and private data.

6. Keep Your Phone With You

No one wants to lose their phone, but many casually leave their phone lying about the office, on tables in restaurants and generally in spots others can access. With your smartphone in hand, anyone has access to your past whereabouts in addition to all the other information you carry with you. If your phone is stolen, call your provider immediately to disconnect service and see if they have the ability to “wipe,” or erase all its information.

7. Password Protect Your Device

Setting a complex password is the easiest way to protect your information. In the event your phone does fall into someone else’s hands you will have an extra layer of protection against their access to your data.

8. Surf Safely

Similar to on personal computers, beware the sites your visiting and the data trail you are leaving. Clear browser history and cache regularly and do not visit questionably secure sites.

9. Purchase in a Privacy Filter

We often access our information in public without thinking of the ramifications. Simply a thin shield that prevents your information from being seen from the side or at angle, privacy filters can protect you from the prying eyes of those nearby when sending an email or checking a bank balance on the bus.

10. Keep Sensitive Information On Your Home Computer

Hopefully you’ve taken the necessary steps to keep information on your home computer or laptop safeguarded. Refraining from transmitting highly-sensitive information and files to and from your smartphone ensures one less place to worry about its security.

Despite all of the controversy and anxiety surrounding privacy concerns, you can still use these methods to stay safe while enjoying your gadgets.

* FedEx Mobile
Compatibility: iPhone, Blackberry and Android
Cost: Free
A comprehensive app, this leads users to nearby FedEx locations, shows pickup schedules, allows users to access specific quotes, accesses shipping histories, designs and sends PDF shipping labels via email, and tracks any packages you may have in route.

* UPS Mobile
Compatibility: iPhone, Blackberry and Android
Cost:Free
This UPS app has mobile tracking for your packages, printing and sending labels through email, quotes and estimations for shipping costs and delivery times, as well as identifying nearby UPS locations for drop-off and pickup.

* Overnight
Compatibility: iPhone
Cost: $4.99
Here the iPhone app gathers shipping costs and locates the nearest UPS, USPS, DHL and FedEx locations. It also tracks any mobile packages.

* Delivery Status Touch
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad
Cost: $4.99
Delivery Status Touch offers package tracking for items in transit and before they have even shipped. Support for Adobe.com, Apple.com, Aramex, Canada Post, City Link, DHL, GlobalMail, FedEx, GLS, Google Checkout, Hermes Logistik Gruppe, Hongkong Post, Japan Post, La Poste, OnTrac, Parcelforce, Post Danmark, Purolator, Royal Mail, Poste Italiane, EMS, Posten, Sagawa Express, Swiss Post, TNT, UPS, USPS, Yamato Transport come with the app including  the option to add more. Packages being tracked are synced with your computer to easily be accessed when a mobile device is attached. This is an optimal app for people dealing with international shipping and/or tracking.

* Package Tracking
Compatibility: Android
Cost: Free
An Android app, this offers an integrated solution for tracking items from UPS, USPS, DHL and Fedex. It is a lot less comprehensive than the other apps but who will complain about its price?

Some of the top apps on this list are free and offered by the companies themselves. However, individuals may enjoy an integrated all-in-one solution, which will display data from multiple carriers at once. To date, iPhone users have access to the most shipping and tracking apps, but Android users also have some good options as well. Whichever smartphone you may have, managing and tracking packages have become something that may be done by phone.

Author Bio: J. Salvage is blogger and tech junkie who incessantly tracks the many packages she orders.

Congress is now demanding answers.  Specifically Republican Edward Markey has asked Apple to convey more specific information on the data collection to ensure that the iPhone “doesn’t become an iTrack.”  Further, Senator Al Franken wrote to Steve Jobs demanding details on Apple’s conduct.

The first question that comes to mind is why both companies would be interested in tracking consumers’ locations?  Many think such conduct will contribute to the companies building giant databases.  In turn, these databases may help both companies get into the $2.9 billion location-based services market.  Research firm Gartner Inc has predicted that in 2014, the location-based services market is expected to grow into an $8.3 billion market.  Considering these large numbers, it does make sense that the companies would strive to tap into this largely profitable market.

Since the tracking reports released earlier this week, Google and Apple have not released any specific statements.  Many await how both companies will respond and defend their careless conduct.

Here are some thoughts that come to my mind.  Many people voluntarily release information regarding their whereabouts via Facebook or Twitter updates.  So these same people cannot complain about their phones tracking their location information when they themselves voluntarily divulge the information on the Internet.  After all, their actions allow people to track them, just as their phones are doing.

The larger issue here is that Google and Apple failed to inform customers of this tracking capability, and did not obtain consent from customers.  If they had, there would be no issue made of it today.  These are two large companies who can probably afford top-notch lawyers to be their general counsel.  Why then did no one pay attention to the “inform and consent” issue?  Was it consciously ignored?  We would hope that both companies would always strive to behave ethically and not consciously ignore such a huge issue, but then again ethics and business do not always mix.

Alongside informing consumers and acquiring their consent, both companies should have provided an “opt-out” option, where consumers can opt-out of being tracked.  Not only would this have made consumers happy, but it would have shielded the companies from any potential litigation.  Why such approaches were not thought of is simply shocking.

However, I doubt that iPhone and Android sales will suffer due to the tracking news.  Wherever you go, people are hooked onto their smart phones and cannot imagine their lives without them.  Now, there is just a heightened awareness of the vast capabilities of these small devices.

Most likely, both companies may face a class action lawsuit in the near future.    Many people own iPhones and Androids, and are objecting to the invasive conduct by both companies.  However, each individual bringing about a lawsuit for invasion of privacy and any resulting harm is not likely.  However, once a class action commences, adding members to the group will not be difficult.  Further, it is obvious that a lawsuit against deep-pocket corporations such as Apple or Google will likely result in some form of favorable recovery for each individual, without any single person doing a great deal of work.  Therefore, people are likely to corroborate and file a class action against these two large corporations.

If it can be proven that both companies have collected, stored, and disclosed consumer location information without obtaining written consent, it is not likely that they will be pardoned in a court of law.  Although paying a settlement to each member of the suit will not be a huge burden to both billion dollar companies, nor will it likely decrease product sales, it may affect the credibility of both companies.  People may force themselves to think twice, research, and truly inquire about an Apple or Google product before taking it home.

Neha Sareen is a regular contributor to LegalMatch and the LegalMatch Law Blog.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqz6LzyFqus

The 3D Screen

There’s a lot we like about this phone but since the focus on this phone is the 3D screen, let’s talk about this first.

As far as size goes, it’s the same size as the original EVO and many other new Android phones – 4.3″

The screen has a high resolution – 960 x 540 – which takes it close to the resolution of the iPhone 4.

Just like with the Nintendo 3DS, the EVO 3D doesn’t require glasses for it’s 3D screen though the viewing angle for 3D is quite small.

Even if you don’t care much about having a 3D screen, I’ll tell you the display is still gorgeous as a 2D screen, one of the nicest out there right now even if it isn’t Super AMOLED.

3D Video

One of the big things I think that is really holding back 3D from gaining a foothold is the dearth of content available.   Sprint is currently working with Blockbuster, Youtube, and game developers to hopefully have 3D movies, videos, and games available at the launch.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for 3D videos to come out with this phone – you can make them yourself with the dual 5 megapixel cameras on the back.  You can record 3D video in up to 720p HD resolution.

If you’d rather not record your video in 3D, then you can record in full 1080p in 2D with the rear video camera.

Also, you get a 1.3MP front facing video camera for video conferencing via Qik.

Under The Hood

If you peek under the hood of this thing, you’ll find plenty of power to keep everything snappy and responsive.

It’s packing a dual core 1.2 GHZ Snapdragon processor and a full 1GB of RAM.

As far as storage goes, it’s not bad but it’s not great either.  You get 4GB of internal memory (which helps the phone perform faster) and an included 8GB microSD card.  You can expand the microSD card to 32GB so more capacity is a simple trip to the store away.

It’s also running the latest version of Google Android – 2.3 Gingerbread.

Battery Life – One of the biggest disappointments with the original EVO was how miserable the battery life was.  I remember one of my friends telling me that he always made sure that when he left to go to work in the morning, he had a spare battery with him because the battery life on it was so bad, it simply wouldn’t last a full day.

The EVO 3D has a bigger battery – a 1730 mAh battery compared to the 1500 mAh battery which should hopefully help the EVO 3D have battery performance on par with other high end smartphones.

Other Specs

4G WiMax

HDMI Connectivity

Size: 5″ x 2.6″ x .47″ (127 x 66 x 12 mm)

Weight: 6 ounces (170 grams)

Price: Unknown

Release Date: Summer 2011

Conclusion

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed to see the kickstand found on the original EVO is gone and while NFC is still and up and coming technology, it’d have been nice to see that added into this phone, but otherwise I don’t have many complaints.

Even if the 3D thing doesn’t really take off, the HTC EVO 3D is a fine phone and a worthwhile upgrade if you’re on the Sprint Network.  And seeing as how Sprint’s unlimited plans are actually unlimited and their wireless plans are a little less expensive than Verizon and AT&T, you may actually want to switch if you live in an area with good Sprint coverage.

What do you think – like it? love it? hate it?

Let me hear from you in the comments below.

And while Android didn’t start out being all that great for business users, there are now plenty of fantastic apps for the business user on the go.

Here are a few of our favorites and the ones we feel are the best Android Apps for business users.

1. Google Maps Navigation

When you’re traveling, you probably prefer to have as few of things you need and having a separate GPS is just another thing you can lose.  Fortunately, with Google Maps Navigation, you can find your way to wherever you need to go and all for free.

This app was actually the one that finally pushed me over the edge and made me decide I was going to give Android a try and I’m happy I did.

2. Google Voice + Google Voice Callback

When it comes to Voicemail, it’s hard to beat the unlimited storage of Google Voice and the free voicemail transcription is fantastic.  It sure beats checking a long backlog of messages just to see if there are any important ones.   And the price of FREE makes this one of the very best Android apps out there.

If you make a lot of calls but don’t have a lot of minutes, you can get an app called Google Voice Callback which will allow you to make unlimited phone calls using Google Voice.  The trick to making the whole thing work is to assign your Google Voice number to one of the phone numbers you’re allowed unlimited calling to with on a Friend and Family Plan.

3. Ringcentral

While this app is only useful if you’re a Ringcentral user, it sure is darn handy.  Since I run my own small business and have multiple different numbers and fax lines, this app allows me to manage all of them, including voicemail and faxes all from my cell phone.

4. It’s about Time

There are plenty of finance apps available on the Android platform, but if you’re a Quickbooks user, this is the one you’ll want as it is integrated with Quickbooks 2007 and later and allows you important and export information to Quickbooks.  If your business books are powered by Quickbooks, then you’ll want to have this app on your phone.

5. Dropbox

This is a fantastic little app for keeping files synced between multiple devices.  With Dropbox you don’t have to worry if a file is on your laptop, desktop, or cell phone.  All files put in your Dropbox folder are automatically synced between all of your devices.

6. Currency

For those traveling abroad frequently, having an app to do currency conversions for you is a handy thing to have.  There are plenty of good apps on the market that will do this task for you – we like the Currency app but get whichever one you like best.

7. Locale

Locale is a fantastic app that will prevent your phone’s ringer from going off when you don’t want it to – like in an important meeting.  You can set it to make sure you phone doesn’t ring when you’re in a certain location or during specific times.   You can even set up certain rules so that only certain people can call you at certain times while all others are sent straight to voicemail.

8. Google Calendar

This one is built into your phone so you shouldn’t need to download it, but I do recommend you use it as it allows you to see what’s on your agenda for the day a quick and easy task.  You can even setup a widget to see your appointments without even opening up the app.

9. Worldcard Mobile

If you’re sick of manually entering in contacts, this app makes it simple.  Just take a business card and take a picture of the card.  The app will then read the text on the card and all that information to your contacts – simple as that.

10. Cab4Me

Need to get a cab?  This app makes it easy to find cab companies wherever you are.

11. Google Translate

If you need real time translation, then Google Translate is the app to get.  If you just can’t understand someone, use this app to get your point across.  It also has text to speech capabilities so if you need to translate some text quickly, this app can do it for you.

12. TripIt

When it comes to organizing all of your travel information in one place, it’s hard to find an app that does it better than TripIt.

13. Basecamp

For project management, I love Basecamp.  While basecamp has it’s own mobile site, it doesn’t have it’s own official Android app.  There are plenty of third part apps out there to help you connect to your Basecamp account, though.   You can try Beacon, Proejct Schedule Free or Baby Milestones.  See which works best for you.

14. Gmote 2.0

I actually have an entire screen devoted to remote control apps but my favorite one is the Gmote 2.0 app.  While it has plenty of cool features, the one I find myself using is as a remote control for my Powerpoint presentations and since it operates over Wifi, I never have to worry about being out of range.

15. Documents ToGo

If you’re a Microsoft Office user and need to be able to use and modify files on the go, then ThinkFree Office Mobile is the app for you.  It works with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files as well as PDFs and Google Docs.

One thing that’s still missing – A Call Recorder

The only reservation I have about making an Android Powered phone your business cell phone is the lack of a call recorder.  If a call recorder is something you need to have, then you’ll want to hold off on getting an Android Phone.  When or if this feature will ever come to the Android platform remains a mystery so don’t hold your breath.

One workaround that you can use is to record incoming calls through Google Voice – just press “4” on your number pad and the recording starts and when you’re done it’ll show up in your Google Voice account.  Unfrotunately, it doesn’t work with outgoing calls, but it’s better than nothing.

If you can live without the call recorder, then an Android phone could serve you well and we’d highly recommend one.

What Do You Think?

Did I miss any apps that you feel are worthy of being on this list?  Got a bone to pick with one of our selections?  Let me hear about it in the comments below.