As the world continues to flow towards smartphones and away from our trusted land lines, cell phone service inside a home or office becomes an issue. In the past, you would have to step outside or near a window to get clear service and a strong signal. There is a company that has designed a device to “boost” your cell phone service. This company is called Wi-Ex and they offer multiple devices know as zBoost to assist you in boosting your cell phone service. Let’s take a look at a few of the features of the YX540:

• Increases indoor signal coverage – up to 1500 sq ft
• Supports multiple users simultaneously
• Compatible with all U.S. carriers and mobile devices using 800 & 1900 MHz (except Nextel/iDEN or 4G, 2100MHz phones)
• Increases voice and data transmission
• Decreases dropped or missed calls
• Easy to set up – comes complete with everything you need
• No cradle or connections to your phone
• Extends phone battery life (uses less power when signal is stronger)
• Protects the carrier network using patented technology

For approximately $299 (plus tax), this device will be shipped to you and simply plug it in and you should see immediate improvement in cell signal. This is the middle option that Wi-Ex offers in terms of price and features, but definitely seems like the best option. For small, medium or large business with high cell phone usage, the zBoost is a worthy investment. Check out the video below that further describes zBoost:

For those of us who have our own websites and love to discover who is coming to visit our sites and where they are coming from, Chartbeat is a must have. Many of us choose to use Google Analytics to monitor web traffic. I like to describe Chartbeat as “Google Analytics on Steroids”. The proper definition of Chartbeat is “a revolutionary real-time analytics service that enables people to understand emergent behavior in real-time and exploit or mitigate it.” Real Time? Yes, Chartbeat makes data available in real-time, and it also receives constant updates from a site’s users about what they are doing. Chartbeat can also tell you how many people kept the page open, are on the page right now and whether they are actively interacting with it.

Read the full article here on Black Web 2.0.

In August I wrote the following about Getglue on Black Web 2.0:

One of the most “critically acclaimed” social networks is coming to the Android platform very soon. Dubbed as a social network for entertainment, Getglue has released the beta version of their Android app. The benefits of Getglue have been covered before and the addition of the Android app completes the cycle as they will now have a strong web presence, iPhone app and an Android app. Focused on sharing user preferences (and consumption) on television shows, movies, books and music, the mobile app will allow users to check-in within one of these four topics and also see what your friends are “consuming” in real time.

After approximately four months of using Getglue, it has found a permanent spot in my social media rotation. The first source of enjoyment Getglue brings me is simply sharing what i am watching with my friends on Twitter and Facebook. The simple picture of the show I am watching gets numerous comments and starts plenty of conversations. The second reason why I will continue to use Getglue is their “suggestion” feature. Since catching up on my movie history is a current goal, I am able to discover countless old “classics” that I would have never heard about.  I am ready to share, learn and watch even more with Getglue’s help. Pick up the Android and iPhone versions which can help you while you are on the road.

Have you ever had a brilliant idea about a project, but realized that you didn’t have the funds necessary to make the idea become a reality? As a result, your great idea never gets off the ground and dies a slow death just staring at you from the screen of your computer. Well, Brooklyn-based Kickstarter has an intruiging platform which is here to help you. Kickstarter is designed with creative projects in the music, television, video, comedy, fashion, gaming and other categories in mind. Don’t think of Kickstarter as a micro-lender or an investment firm. Think of it more as “micro-patronage” with built in levels of engagement.

Click here to read the full article on Black Web 2.0.

Last year I wrote this article on Black Web 2.0 detailing my recent discovery of Evernote. Another year has come and gone and my usage for Evernote continues to increase. It has become invaluable in assisting me in organizing my 2010 tax documents, collecting a growing “crate” list of songs to play during my DJ sets and organizing my notes from my daytime work for Marriott International. Along the way I have upgraded to a Pro account, shifted from the iPhone version to the Android version and added a one valuable add-on to my service. The goal for 2011 is to develop a more effective tagging system and use the snapshot feature to fully eliminate the plethora of paper that eventually gets lost.

The add-on that I will soon pay $2.99 per month for is Voice2Note. This allows you to record voice notes into Evernote and it will automatically transcribe them for you. Once you have experience using this add-on, you will wonder why you waited so long to implement this to your Evernote tool belt.

I recommend following the Evernote Tips & Tricks Blog as well as their normal blog to learn about the latest updates and advances with Evernote.

Back in early September 2010, I switched from the iPhone (AT&T) to Android (Verizon). I mentioned my initial thoughts in an article I wrote for Black Web 2.0. I have updated my observations with some quick additional thoughts after being with Team Android for four months.

• Battery Life was a concern. I could barely get through a while day with moderate usage of apps and the phone. The extended battery helped but the phone definitely needs to be charged nightly. This is still true but is less of an issue for me. It seems like the battery life is on par with the iPhone 3GS life (I have not used the iPhone 4 yet).
• The camera continues to be a welcome surprise. I have been able to take some very nice pictures and even record that looks very clear and detailed. The high quality camera has allowed me to expand my use of Evernote as well with the snapshot feature.
• The Android OS does take some getting used to. The addition of the  2.3 update has helped as the system continues to get more and more intuitive. I look forward to more updates.
• Although the number of apps will probably never catch up to Apple’s dominance, there are some very high quality apps available for Android users. The majority of the Apple mainstays are available for Android. They are also continuing to closely match the feature set included in Apple versions. The Instagram vs. PicPlz evolution is interesting to follow as these large communities are  growing at a rapid pace.

With iPhone coming to Verizon as well, I still have no urge to switch back. I am excited to continue to learn how to use my Droid X to its full capabilities. I strongly feel that the open system of Android will end up winning in the long run.

In summary, this site may just be my first stop when it comes to questions and issues with future or current devices I may have. Take a look at the video below to see gdgt in action. Will you be using gdgt? Follow me on gdt as well.

So, what is gdgt? from gdgt on Vimeo.

Tracking what is popular on the internet is very easy with splurb. Splurb is a cross-referenced list of the social web’s most popular links. To get listed, a link must be popular on at least two social websites. After that, Links are sorted by popularity over time and sized by number of sources. This then becomes a very valuable because you can monitor what is hot in the news and within social web/media circles. The topics range from Business, Entertainment, Humor, Gaming and others. You can also adjust the number of sources you require for a story to hit your screen. The maximum is five and minimum is two. splurb currently indexes Digg, RedReddit, Mixx, Propeller, TweetMeme, Yahoo Buzz and Fark. Therefore, you don’t need to visit these sites but come to one hub. Try it out and let me know what you think.