TextArrest App makes driving safer

Texting and driving are a bad combination no matter who you are. Teens are especially susceptible given the sheer volume of their texting.

TextArrest is a clever new app that disables your phone’ when the device is in motion (over 5 mph).  TextArrest Free™ and TextArrest Family™ launched today at CTIA WIRELESS expo.  It keeps users safe while driving by disabling texting, instant messaging, calling, Web browing and other phone-based distractions.

Parents can add to their ability to manage their teens phones through Text Arrest’s subscription based service that offers more control.

The TextArrest Family version also includes these features:

• A Web-based management portal that lets parents take note of all phone use activity.
• A geofencing feature that lets parents draw boundaries on a map, such as around a school, and alerts parents when a phone travels beyond geofenced boundaries.
• Customizable alerts to notify parents in real-time when phones are traveling beyond speed limits, including a report of what speed at which the phone was clocked.
• Customizable alerts to notify parents in real-time when TextArrest settings are tampered with or overridden.

You might wonder, what if you are just a passenger, can you still use your phone? The program includes a “passenger” override option. Also, the app does not prevent you from calling emergency services regardless of conditions.

All versions of TextArrest require only a simple application download and no hardware changes to disable text messaging and calling functions. There are no set-up or activation charges, and TextArrest Family subscriptions start at $4.99/month to cover up to five family members, a price well below competing services that have fewer capabilities. At launch TextArrest supports Android and BlackBerry smartphones with additional platforms coming soon.

Is your pre-teen texting 1,000+ messages per month?

A recent Nielson report on kids and texting revealed that kids 12 and under send an average of 1,146 messages a month (That’s like 4 every waking hour they are not in school!)  Teens send more than 3,000 a month or 10 an hour not sleeping or in school.

For the most part, mom and dad don’t feel the pinch thanks to unlimited plans with low fees.  If you have kids with phones and you have a pay-as-you-go plan definitely check out the unlimited options before you feel it in the pocketbook.

Found via Switched.

Zoom Safer

Driving while texting, emailing or talking on the phone is not only potentially hazardous it is also against the law in an increasing number of states. According to Zoom Safer:

“A recent study by the University of Kansas Transportation Research Institute claims that cell phone users are 5.36 times more likely to get in an accident than undistracted drivers.”

Zoom Safer offers a free software download to help you control what your mobile devices will and won’t do while you drive. The software activates while you are driving (not exactly sure how ) and can block incoming calls and texts according to your preference. It can also send text or messages to selectively notify others where you are.

Other premium options allow for voice-based access to texting, Twitter, emails and more or control options for organizations or parents to set boundaries or limits.

Communicating on the Fly

So, all this hype over cell phone use on airplanes, I haven’t been too excited to be honest.  Why do I want to be in an overly cramped space, with overly crabby people, and then get stuck listening to someone yap about work or the weather for a million hours?

Well, British Airways has come up with a way to please everyone.  You don’t have to talk in this day and age to stay in touch, so they’re going to initiate a trial one of in flight texting.  That’s right, phone conversation’s younger brother.  That way everyone can gripe about the horrible trip without making it more horrible for the person next to them.

I see it as a win win situation, as long as people know enough texting edict to keep their elbows out of other people’s personal space.

Sexting?

The Today Show this morning had a shocking and sobering story on teens tech use and the sending of nude or semi-nude photos of themselves electronically.

According to the results of a survey released today by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, 22 percent of all teen girls — and 11 percent of teen girls ages 13-16 years old — say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude images of themselves.

Teens seem to be unaware or unconcerned of the consequences of sending these images as they can be passed along and posted online without any permission or security.

Another survey reported:

The online survey of 1,280 teens and young adults — done by TRU, a company that conducts research on teens and 20-somethings — indicates that 15 percent of teens who have sent sexually suggestive content such as text messages, e-mail, photographs or video say they have done so with someone they only know online.

The Today Show story suggested talking with your kids about what they are doing in cyberspace, know who they are talking to online, set limitations on their electronic communications, and set expectations about what is and what is not appropriate online.

It’s a brave new world. Stay on top of technology trends so you can be a better, more informed parent.

I Can’t Live Without My Cell Phone

I don’t know what I’d do without my cell phone; I can hardly remember what I did do without a cell phone (besides borrowing other people’s).  The fact is we’re tight, my cell phone and me, we’ve grown up together.  I can’t really remember not having access to a cell of some kind, though I can remember only being able to make calls.  I can remember when it was just me and a number key pad.

Just a less than pocket sized plastic black brick in my parent’s car.  But seriously, cell phones aren’t just for calls anymore .  Actually, I spend more time typing on my phone than I do talking.  It’s just more convenient, and more polite in some cases.  It’s less intrusive to type a message in a crowded room than it is to try and yell over the surrounding ruckus.

It’s convenient, it’s easy, and it’s not as foreign as many people make it out to be.  It doesn’t have to be the generation gap it sometimes seems.  My friends and I find the misconceptions surrounding texting rather hysterical.  The texting vernacular, the language, isn’t quite as prevalent as it seems in pop culture.  Yes, there is short hand , but it’s not that crazy all the time.

Sure, when you get your first cell phone, or you’re a middle schooler on Instant Messenger, it’s there, but to be honest, beyond that, it’s not so bad.  The most common short hand on a cell phone is something like “u”, “k” or  “b/c” (meaning “you”, “okay”, and “because”, in case anyone is still confused) and that’s only because, as we all know, cell screens are only so big, and messages can only be so long.

With full keypads available on many phone models not only is texting language less of a necessity, but so are texting T9 skills.  No need to memorize the numbers and corresponding letters or update an in-phone dictionary.

I’ve grown up with the cell phone and I can’t text to save my life without the keypad, and I still get confused when I see some of those txt messages w/ who knos wat kind o words.  But you can forget capitalization in any of those grammatically correct messages; it’s still supposed to be a quick means of communication. I know I don’t have any patience to wait for my pinky to reach over to the capslock button.