Cellular Telephones

The human race seems to be falling for the space aliens' devious scheme: We're watching more television than ever, according to a report released Monday. If you've seen that Hulu.com commercial starring Alec Baldwin, you know that TV is a plot devised by aliens to turn our brains into mush so they can scoop them out and eat them. Computers, the ad says, are making our brains even mushier by giving us more places to watch TV. The Nielsen Co.'

If you're like most cellphone users, you probably think you're paying less than 10 cents per minute for calls. Think again. When you do the math, you find the average cellphone customer actually pays more than $3 per minute, according to a report being issued this week by the Utility Consumers' Action Network, a San Diego consumer advocacy group. I got a sneak peek at the report the other day. Researchers arrived at the average $3.

While traffic officials applaud a new law that makes it illegal for drivers to read, write or send text messages, they admit there is little evidence that last year's ban against talking on a hand-held cellphone has actually prevented accidents. Since holding a phone to your ear was made a traffic violation last July, the California Highway Patrol has written about 48,000 tickets, fining drivers from $20 to $50.

People have been asking for years whether cellphones can give you a brain tumor. And for years, the wireless industry has been telling us not to worry our pretty heads. So that's settled, right? Maybe not. A group called the International EMF Collaborative issued a report the other day warning that cellphones may be more dangerous than users have been led to believe by health authorities. The report, titled "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern," says the latest research indicates that regular use of cellphones can result in a "significant" risk of brain tumors.

Ge Wang blows softly, his fingers move lightly, and "Auld Lang Syne" comes floating out in ethereal electronic notes. Then his instrument rings, so he answers it and starts chattering away. It's an iPhone, transformed through Wang's software genius into an ocarina -- a computerized version of an ancient Aztec flute. Wang, an associate professor of computer music at Stanford University, is the co-founder of SonicMule Inc.

Only a few years ago, bigger guns, badder enemies and louder explosives mattered most in video games. Now, small is beautiful, and Apple Inc.'s iPhone is largely responsible. The surprising emergence of the iPhone and its phone-less sibling, the iPod Touch, as hand-held game consoles has started to change the dynamics of the $40-billion game software industry.

Capping a day of dueling announcements from rival cellphone service providers, AT&T said Tuesday that it would allow users of Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone to make Internet telephone calls over its wireless network. Hours earlier, Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest mobile carrier, said it was teaming up with Internet search giant Google Inc. to release a family of cellular devices powered by Google's Android software, whose capacity to run a vast array of "apps" is widely thought to represent a threat to the iPhone.

The new, high-octane iPhone 3GS is loaded with features that could light up your life -- but its battery isn't one of them. Buyers are finding that the device, introduced two weeks ago, has trouble making it through a workday without a rest stop at the electrical outlet. It's proving to be something of an Achilles' heel on Apple Inc.'s flagship device, more than 1 million of which were sold in the first weekend.

We've all found unexpected charges on our phone bills at one time or another. But nothing compares with the nearly $10,000 hit that Aliso Viejo resident Mark Elliot took from Verizon Wireless. And even though it seems pretty obvious this had to be a mistake on somebody's part, Verizon's first instinct was to stick to its guns. "We believe in the accuracy of the charges," Ken Muche, a company spokesman, told me after checking into Elliot's situation.

A thirst among shoppers for stylish cellphones that can do more than make calls and take grainy snapshots has helped Apple Inc. ring up sales of more than 1 million units of its high-end iPhone 3G S just three days after the device went on sale, the company reported Monday. "Even with a down economy, food, shelter, clothing and now smart phones are becoming an essential part of people's lives," quipped Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner Inc.