Do you suffer from nomophobia?

by Scott Carmichael on

Hot off the heels of my article yesterday in which I reported that 35% of those interviewed would pick their phone over their spouse, I was listening to the BBC this morning and heard about a new phobia called “nomophobia”.

Nomophoiba is the fear of being without your mobile phone. (No Mobile Phobia). Apparently some of us are now so scared to be anywhere without our phone that it can give us jitters that are “on par with going to the dentist”.

According to a study commissioned by the Post Office in the UK, 53% of people feel nervous when they are unable to stay in touch, either because they left their phone at home, lost their phone, are outside the network coverage area or because they ran out of call credit on their prepaid phone service.

While I should be laughing at this study, it actually does make more sense than you’d think; the mobile phone has become an integral part of our lives. In the past, we could walk up to a payphone or simply wait a few hours, but the urge to stay in touch with others has become so great that I’m probably a nomophobe myself. Great. I wonder if my health insurance covers this?

So, let me ask you; do you suffer from nomophobia?

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5 steps to smarter packing

Phone safety tips – safeguarding your phone on a trip

by Scott Carmichael on

If you plan to take your phone abroad, please take a moment to read through these tips on safeguarding your phone and your data. Back in January a member of the UK government lost his Blackberry during a trip to China. Of course, with a device like that there are all kinds of security risks. But even if you are not a senior government official, it is important to protect your phone.

I’ve put together a couple of simple ways you can stay safe, plus some information on what to do if your device does go missing.


Don’t show off your phone.

The iPhone and most Blackberry models rank up there with that well known Cola brand in the red can; everyone recognizes it. Sadly, not everyone around you will be as good natured as yourself, so don’t flash your phone around too much. If possible, put it in a nondescript case so you don’t tell the world you have an expensive phone. Don’t forget that those white iPod headphones can also be recognized by anyone. Replace them with something less recognizable and you won’t stand out too much.

Leave your phone at the hotel and carry a cheaper model.

If at all possible, leave your phone at the hotel, and carry a cheap disposable phone. Your Blackberry, iPhone or other smartphone is always going to be attractive to thieves, but if you carry an ugly $50 phone, nobody will think of stealing it (hopefully).

Know who to call.

If disaster does strike, and someone runs off with your phone, do you know who to call? If your phone is stolen or missing, don’t assume it’ll be OK, and don’t think you can take care of things when you get back home. Call your operator immediately. When someone steals your phone, the first thing you’ll want to do is block the account to prevent it from ending up being used by 100 people at the local phone store to make international calls.

Since some countries block access to US toll free numbers, you’ll need to use the international customer service number for your operator. In some cases, if the call is about a stolen phone, you can ask the customer service representative to call you back, or even use collect call to contact them.

  • AT&T Wireless: 1-916-846-4685
  • T-Mobile: 1-505-998-3793
  • Verizon Wireless: 1-908-559-4899
  • Sprint: 1-817-698-4199 (Sprint also have several toll free international access numbers here)

Password protection is your friend – use it!

Pick up your phone right now, and read through all your emails, text messages, notes and contacts. Now picture all of that information being handed over to a complete stranger. That is what happens if someone steals your device. Everything you have stored on the phone will land in the hands of someone else.

If you must use email on your device, make sure it is not using the same email account you use for banking, Paypal, Ebay or anything else important. If someone steals your phone while it is set to receive your primary emails, then they could gain access to all your personal information and bank accounts in a matter of minutes.
Some devices have the ability to be remotely locked, if you have a company phone with this option, be sure to carry the number of your IT department so they can assist you.

Always enable the password protection feature of your phone. I’m fully aware that it is a hassle to have to enter the password every time you want to use your device, but it really is the only way to safeguard your data. If someone does make off with your phone, you’ll at least feel safer knowing that there is no way for them to make things worse.

An alternative route to unlocking your phone

by Grant Martin on

If you’ve ever traveled overseas for an extended period of time, you probably looked into getting a mobile phone while you were away.

As you now probably know, using your personal phone can get wildly expensive when you leave the United States, and plugging an alternative carrier’s SIM card into your phone won’t work because domestic phones are “locked” to their carriers.

If you dug a little deeper, you may also know that you can “unlock” your phone in a few different ways, freeing it, so to speak, to communicate with any network that you like. So you could pick up a Vodafone chip in Spain, drop it into the mobile you use in the States and have a new Spanish phone number.

The barrier that many people run into is that unlocking your phone can be tricky. Depending on your model, some require reprogramming from the keypad while others require a professional to do it for you — but it’s almost never anything you can do in a few seconds — so most people give up.

Flopping around the internet today though I discovered a device that will actually do this for you — or virtually do it for that matter. It’s a tiny little chip called an I-Smart Sim that slips under your regular SIM and circumvents the locking mechanism. Seems like a slick way to get around renting your own phone in another country or paying crazy fees.

I’d try it myself, but my phone is already unlocked so I don’t need any augmentation. Perhaps someone else could test it out and let us know how it goes. It’s only seven bucks.

For more information on using using your cell when traveling, check out: How to use your mobile phone abroad.

New legislation proposed to block inflight phone use

by Grant Martin on

It seems that people are sorely divided on whether airlines should or should not allow mobile phones to operate while in-flight. The technology and means to implement it are now available, and many carriers in the EU are starting to offer the service from the skies. Many US airlines are following suit given legislation that was passed a few weeks back permitting it.

And in all likelihood, we will be using mobile phones in the skies within a few years. Too many business people need the technology while in-flight and I’m sure are willing to pay dearly for it. That money that they bring is what will motivate the market’s development.

Don’t think that America is going to go quietly though. Several lawmakers including Jerry Costello, the chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee have recently proposed a bill to block mobile calls while in flight, calling it the HANG UP act, “Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace”. The law would essentially block carriers from allowing passengers to make calls while in flight.

It’s a quaint idea and one that I personally wouldn’t mind seeing passed (admittedly, loud talkers drive me buggers), but in the end I think Costello’s efforts will be in vain. At some point, I suppose that we old codgers have to buck up and accept change.

European Union regulators approve in-flight mobile phone use

by Grant Martin on

It is officially starting to happen — this morning, EU authorities approved the use of cell phone calls in flight, thus opening the floodgates for widespread mobile phone service and development on all European carriers.

You may recall that last month Emirates, the Dubai based luxury carrier boasted the first cruising-altitude mobile service on their aircraft and that several carriers in the United States are tinkering with the same technology. The difference in these cases is that by and large these services are limited to particular flights and routes.

These new rules applied in the EU essentially let any carrier develop and implement any technology to their liking. So you can expect several carriers to come up with several different means of communicating over the course of the year. It also means, however, that the airlines will have authority over the service. Your mobile signal will come from the aircraft, so the crew will have the ability to restrict or remove service at their discretion. And they will also have the ability to charge for it.

But at what rates? Will standard minute and roaming fees apply? Will the airlines charge extra for the privilege of crackberrying at 30,000 ft? There’s no official word on service and rates yet, but considering airlines are now charging to be nice to you, I wouldn’t doubt if we had to pay.

Either way, don’t expect your KLM flight to turn into a chatterbox immediately. Carriers need to integrate service at cruising altitude (ground towers usually don’t reach to 30,000 feet at 600MPH, especially if you’re over water) and unroll their own rules and regulations. Enjoy your silence while you have it.