ZTE Peel Case

Although extremely popular the iPod Touch has always been seen as an “almost-iPhone”. The one thing it lacks is a mobile wireless antenna and without 3G it will never replace a smartphone. Sprint is trying to change all that with its new ZTE Peel, which is basically a 3G hotspot that takes in a 3G signal from Sprint that provides a wi-fi network that any wi-fi device can access. Although there are already similar technologies out there this one is specifically designed for the iPod Touch.

In fact an iPod Touch with a ZTE Peel even has some advantages over an iPhone. It is a cheaper device that is contract free. The ZTE Peel can support up to two other Wi-Fi devices, a feature for which AT&T charges $20 per month on the iPhone. Additionally this product is for Sprint, which many claim is a more reliable service than AT&T.

Still, this isn’t exactly an iPhone. Most obviously, an iPod Touch is more than twice the thickness of the iPhone 4. Secondly, the case only supports the second and third generation iPod Touch even though the newest generation is more like an iPhone 4 with a camera , ultra sharp screen and speedy processor. Also there’s the fact that there is no possibility of a voice plan. Lastly, an encased iPod Touch suffers from a reduced battery life.

Despite the few drawbacks, being able to give your iPod Touch instant phone like capabilities seems pretty cool. For many people a voice plan is pretty unnecessary anyway and eliminates expensive contracts. The ZTE Peel is $80 in Sprint stores and all you have to pay is $30 for 1GB of bandwidth.

Idle Chatter

If you are a heavy conversationalist on Facebook, there is a new desktop based alternative to the standard Facebook chat application called Chit Chat. This app is designed specifically for chatting with your Facebook friends and offers a user friendly and intuitive interface. After downloading and installing the software all you have to do is log in using your Facebook username and password. You can then import whatever contacts you want from Facebook. Although you log in using your Facebook credentials, Chit Chat runs independently of Facebook, so you are not actually logged into the site. This allows you to chat with your contacts without viewing everyone's status updates, etc.

Chit Chat resembles older versions of MSN Live Messenger so anyone with previous experience with that or any other instant messenger should be able to use this with no problem. The interface is pretty simple and can't be customized design-wise, but offers a good selections of features for chat.

Contacts are shown as either offline or online and the user can categorize them as they choose. The chat window is presented as floating tabs which represent the conversations that are open at the present time. You can type text which you can format simply (bold, italics) and insert emoticons. You can also save and log conversations.

Basically all Chit Chat is is a slightly more sophisticated version of Facebook Chat. If you're used to an IM with all the trimmings this probably isn't for you. However if all you want is a more convienient way to Facebook chat this does the job.