We’re always looking for ways to get more out of what we have, right? Well, what if you could get more out of your current cell phone? The following are five things that you perhaps never knew you could do with your cell phone:

1. Text Google- Send Google a short message service (SMS) text message by punching in GOOGL (46645) to look up what you need. For instance, if you wanted to look up a specific chain of restaurants to see if there are any in the area, simply type in the name of the restaurant and the zip code and hit ‘send’. In return, Google will send you a couple of local listings. [source]
2. Emergencies- In case of an emergency, the number to call isn’t always 9-1-1. In fact, the emergency number worldwide for a cell phone is 1-1-2. So, if you find yourself in an unfamiliar area, dial 1-1-2. This supposedly works even if your keypad is locked; but only try it out when there is an actual emergency. [source]
3. Locked Out of Your Car? Aside from this really sucking- you no longer have to wait to call the police to slim jim your car door open. Instead, if you have your cell phone handy and have the number of someone who can get to your spare set of keys (everyone should have a spare set), instruct the person on the other end of the line to hold your keys to the cell phone and hit the ‘unlock’ button. In the meantime, take your cell phone and hold it approximately 1 foot from your car door. Your car WILL unlock!! Obviously, you have to have keys that are compatible for remote lock/unlocking mechanisms. [source]
4. Low Battery Life- If you are on a long trip or are somewhere where you wish that you had charged your cell phone because now it’s dying, no worries. Simply punch in: *3370# on your cell phone. Shortly afterwards, your cell phone will restart, and you will notice a 50 percent increase in the battery life from before. This should be more than enough juice to tide you over until you are able to find your charger and plug it in. [source]
5. The 4-1-1- Every time you dial 4-1-1- on your phone, you are charged a fee on your phone bill. Yep, it’s true. However, you can avoid this extra cost by dialing 1.800.GOOG.411. This clip will show you how easy it is. [source]

What is a Poken?

A Poken is a small USB device that allows you to store your social networking info and share it with other Poken users. Essentially, it is akin to having a social business card because it makes sharing your contact details and online social networking info incredibly easy (not to mention paper-free).

How do you Poken?

To activate your Poken, you have to pull apart the body and hand (yes, they look like little people) and pull out the plastic tab. If you see a flashing red light, then this means that your activated and read to go. When you meet up with your boss for lunch or with other business prospects, instead of handing them your business card, simply connect your Poken to theirs. You can choose what sort of information you would like to share with other people before hand. Remember, your poken card only shows whatever information you want to share with people.

Where Do I Get One?

Pokens can be purchased in packages or individually from official resellers found here. Pokens can come in sleek and sophisticated designs (for those of you who like to keep things super simple) or you can purchase them in one of the many characters that they are popular for. Most of them average between $20-$35 depending on the style that you get. To get an even better idea of what Poken is all about, check out the following video:

In a recent article published by the LA Times, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is envisioning a future in which people can check their email and flip between their favorite cable television show all from the same electronic device: their television sets. According to the article:

Comcast Corp.’s chief executive, Brian Roberts, was gushing last week about his company’s impending takeover of NBC Universal, saying the deal would give consumers what they want, “which is access to all different types of content on different platforms and different times.”

That’s not the half of it — but it may not be Comcast in the driver’s seat.

If federal regulators have their way, the next big thing on the tech horizon will be a brave new world of Internet-ready, work-with-any-network set-top boxes, offering consumers unprecedented multimedia options through their TVs, not just their computers.

And if this plays out as the Federal Communications Commission envisions, the world as cable companies know it will radically change, making the potential synergies of the Comcast-NBC deal all but obsolete.

“The consumer will be king,” said Colin Crowell, senior counselor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “You’ll be able to get your own set-top box that does all the whiz-bang things you want it to do, and you’ll be in control.” [source]

But wait a minute…Can’t we already sort of do this?

For instance, in my boyfriend’s brother’s house, he took the CPU to one of his computers and hooked it up to his main television in the family room- this way he can check his email and/or do computer-related work. If he wants to watch television, all he has to do is press a button on his remote control for the TV to switch it back to cable.  That being said, I am not really sure how the FCC is going to introduce something similar without making the prices extremely competitive.

With all the talk of maybe combining television with Internet access, there is a great deal of speculation that the official merge of the two will result in more people walking away from cable television- especially since many of us can catch our favorite shows on sites such as HULU and YouTube for free and sans commercial interruption (for the most part).