cell phone

This story will move only those who have a heart.

The remainder -- well, perhaps they man the judicial system in Cameroon.

Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, 32, wanted to express his love by text. He sent this: "I am very much in love with you."

The only problem is that Mbede lives in Cameroon. There, as the Associated Press reports, homosexual conduct is illegal. And Mbede sent the text to another man.

The police arrested him on suspicion of homosexuality. His phone, to them, confirmed it.

So he was sent to jail for three years in 2011.

Reason appeared … Read more

Cell phones are more interesting than people.

They're smarter. They're much quicker on the uptake. And, unlike people, they're far more interactive.

This is because, most of the time, people have their noses pointed toward their cell phones.

Some very sharp minds at Baylor's Hankamer School of Business have researched young people's obsession with their cell phones and declared that the sane development of our youth is being threatened by these gadgets.

Baylor's Dr. James Roberts was quoted by the Daily Mail as offering these dark thoughts: "Mobile phones are a part of … Read more

A blue mat, a fine-tipped screwdriver, and a dozen itty bitty screws. This is Titus Green's workspace, set within a warehouse that processes 2 million pounds of unwanted electronic waste each year.

Green, 22, and his team at San Francisco Bay Area e-waste collection center Green Citizen, refurbish 30 cell phones a day to put back into customers' hands.

If you don't chuck your electronics down the trash chute (and please don't,) the most likely cycle is that the phone will be refurbished and resold, one way or another.

Of the appliances that come through Green Citizen'… Read more

People are now using their cell phones for much more than talking. According to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 85 percent of U.S. adults own a mobile phone and 56 percent of them use it to get online.

"Fully 85 percent of American adults own a cell phone and now use the devices to do much more than make phone calls," Pew's Maeve Duggan and Lee Rainie wrote in the recently released study. "Cell phones have become a portal for an ever-growing list of activities."

The data is … Read more

Cell phones can make fantastic holiday gifts, but purchasing one for someone other than yourself is more complicated than shopping for other gadgets. Unlike a laptop or a shiny new camera, a cell phone requires a service plan to use any voice or data features (otherwise you wind up with a very expensive paperweight). In most cases, you won't even be able to leave the store or complete your online order until you get that angle set up. And beyond just being an additional expense, that service may require a long-term commitment.

There's no reason to stress, though, … Read more

Cell Phone Locator is a novelty app that supposedly allows you to type a phone number into it and then it displays the location of the associated phone on a map. It is a free app that installs easily.

When you launch Cell Phone Locator it displays a text box for you to enter a telephone number. Then you select the type of map you want, click the Track button, and the location of the phone number shows up on the map. What the app really does is display the location of your phone, on the assumption the person you … Read more

It was quite a charge.

That's the thought that may cross a mind or two after hearing the story of 28-year-old Darren Kersey.

Kersey is homeless, but he has a cell phone.

A logistical issue for him is where to charge it. So, as the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has it, he went to the public picnic shelter in Gillespie Park. It has a charging station.

At 9:20 p.m. on Sunday, Sgt. Anthony Frangioni of the local police wasn't happy with Kersey's ingenuity. He arrested him for the "theft of city utilities."

Frangioni allegedly added … Read more

Sometimes, the little bars on your cell phone just aren't there.

It could be because you're somewhere remote and it doesn't pay for phone companies to put a tower there. It could be because you're somewhere remote and the locals believe a cell tower would blight their aesthetic pleasures.

Or you could be in the middle of San Francisco and have AT&T.

My guess is 16-year-old Vera Oliphant was probably in category one when she reportedly wandered around, trying to find a cell signal. She wanted to call her mom and text her boyfriend. … Read more

The Brits do love their decorum.

It helps them feel good about themselves, while allowing them to hide their true natures.

However, one British store has decided to enforce a protocol that technology seemed to have wiped away.

County Stores, in rather sleepy Taunton, southwest England, has decided not to serve anyone if they're nattering on their cell phones.

They might be talking to their nannies or their brokers. They might be discussing their last night or their next one. It doesn't even matter if you're debating the relative merits of Kimmy and Snooki.

If you're talking on your phone as you come up to the counter, the person behind you gets served first. Unless they're also on the phone, that is.… Read more