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This post is about Smart Phone Security, not the type of security were someone hacks into your smart phone and takes over your phone, although I guess that can happen. Instead this post is about the type of Smart Phone Security when someone steals your phone!

A good friend of mine was walking down the street the other day reading her email or sending a text message. I know you are not supposed to that. There has been all kinds of reports were people have hurt themselves walking into objects, other people and even walking into the middle of the road and being hit by cars. That is actually another reason for not doing this sort of thing, but this post is focused on Smart Phone Security.

Anyway she was walking along, not really paying attention to what she was doing and suddenly a guy walked up beside her and grabbed the smart phone out of her hands. Easy to do since she was holding it loosely while pressing the keyboard as she was preparing to send a message.

Apps Are Not Password Protected

She has a lot of apps on her Smart Phone , however they all have auto sign on turned on. Yes, her bank information, her credit cards, Paypal, Skype and much much more. Worse her phone was open and turned on because she was using it. Easy for someone to keep using the phone until the battery wore down, accessing her bank account and other applications that she has on the phone.

We used to be worried about losing our cell phone and someone racking up huge long distance charges. You still need to worry about this, but even more important is the applications we have on these Smart Phones and the damage someone can do to us financially. And I am not even mentioning the wireless transfer of funds when you bump smart phones together!

So How Do we Avoid Smart Phone Security being jeopardized?

There are numerous ways to tighten up security on our phones as well as avoid the type of situation my friend had over the weekend. Here is a partial list which if you follow will certainly decrease the chance of both having your phone stolen as well as losing money through Smart Phone applications that are open. Here we go:

• Do not text, email or use apps while walking or driving
• Keep your Smart Phone locked at all times except when using it
• Keep a firm grip on your Smart Phone when using it
• Make sure no one observes you as you enter passwords
• Make sure you phone auto locks after 15 seconds of no activity
• Never store passwords on your Smart Phone
• Always type your passwords into the phone when accessing an app
• Never write down passwords

If your Smart Phone  is stolen or lost, it still is a big loss, however not as big as you might think if your apps are compromised. Following the above steps will help to limit the loss of your phone.

We will let you know the details of how the situation turned out in our next post, however for readers who do not have the time to come back next week, she did get her phone back in an interesting way.

Wipe Your Smart Phone

Another common method for smart phones offered by some carriers is that you can wipe your phone if it is stolen or lost. This is a good thing, assuming you will never get your phone back, however by the time you reach your carrier and have the phone wiped the damage will already have been done. Protect yourself by not using your phone when you are not paying attention to were you are going or in large crowded areas.

We appreciate comments on this subject of Smart Phone Security as well as our suggestions to protect yourself. Please leave comments as well with additional suggestions that we can alert our readers to for improving their personal Smart Phone Security.

I recently starting considering whether I would upgrade my iPod to the latest version and it got me to wondering what are the issues associated with an upgrade and also what about upgrading my cell phone at the same time.

This Is What I Currently Have

First let me tell you what I have at the moment. I have an older Samsung flip phone which works well although the battery only lasts about three days before needing a charge. Other than that it works very well. I also have an iPod touch which is a year old, so it does not have the built in cameras. I purchased it with 32 G’s of memory and even with loads of pictures and music on it I am not even close to using all of the memory.

Now you may wonder why I just don’t upgrade to an iPhone. Well we live in Canada and the rates for cell service plus data service is ridiculous. That’s why with the iPod, I just use WiFi and the data does not cost me anything. Sure I have to find a WiFi site, however I have discovered that there are so many around that I always have access when I need it.

I am currently paying about $85 a month for 500 minutes of local and long distance service shared between two phones to Bell Mobility. I know this is high by USA levels, but that is what we are stuck with in Canada. This includes voice mail and text messaging. It does not include any data at all.

The best part is that I am coming to the end of my contract and I can now negotiate with Bell, my current provider and with Rogers who are the main competitors.

What Should I Upgrade to?

What I would like is a new iPhone 4 as an upgrade with data and voice at a much better price that what I am currently paying. I am used to the iPod and really like all of the current apps that I have. I would like the current configuration that I have on my iPod plus voice.

I have to wait another month for my contract to end and then we will see what kind of a deal Bell and Rogers will offer to me. Bell to keep me and Rogers to transfer me and pick me up as a new customer.

If I can get a new iPhone 4, then I will sell my iPod. I have seen them going for roughly $140 to $170 on Ebay and considering I have had it for one year and I paid $300 for it, this is not a bad deal.

Can Anyone Suggest a Better Approach?

If anyone has a better suggestion about how to get a better deal or what I should expect for a proposed offer for service, I would really like to hear your comments now. The end of May is my drop dead date for making a decision on a new phone of some kind. If they will not give me a good deal, then I might just keep what I have?

Make your choice about buying a smartphone based on how you will use it, not on how it looks or what the most popular model is. This is a great statement, but really difficult to follow. It is like saying don’t be emotional about the car you really want to buy, even though it is too expensive for you. If you are in the market for a new phone, and are planning to move to a smartphone, you really have to decide how you are going to use it, were you are going to use it and what applications you will use.

Once you get past the price of the phone and many are free or almost free, it is the monthly costs that will really surprise you. Data plans can add up in a hurray, especially if you download a lot of material from Yutube and use GPS location services. If you roam , the cost can skyrocket, so it pays to think through this carefully before you buy a smartphone.

The up-front prices of smartphones have dropped, and you can score even some of the newest models for free with a two or three-year contract. High end models can still cost a lot as well. But add-ons bump up the cost of ownership fast. Determine your price range for both the device, added memory, chargers, car chargers, transfer fee’s etc  and the service before you walk into a store.

Generally you’ll need a voice plan, a data plan and a text-messaging plan. To figure out what to buy, look at your old cellphone bills: How many minutes have you actually used each month, were they incoming or outgoing, what time of day did you make the most calls, and how many texts did you send? Do you send a lot of data, or is it just emails that you receive. Going over your plan limit is like an overdraft fee on a checking account — it’s an expensive mistake and a waste of cash. Also your plan may include added fees for call display, voice mail and other services that you routinely use. Make sure you have included all of these services when you are comparing a new plan and a new smartphone service.

One way to save money is to check out family plans, even if only one family member wants a smartphone. Some plans will let you share voice minutes without adding text messaging and data units to all the phones on the plan. That way, only one member of the family has to pay the additional fees — and the overall cost may be more reasonable. While this is a reasonable approach, it only works if you are able to and willing to speak to the customer retention group. Let them know that you are thinking about moving elsewhere and they may offer you a better deal.

Timing your purchase can also pay off. Take advantage of the beginning of the school year, Christmas, the end of your contract and other special sales that the phone companies offer from time to time. If the competition is making a big play to gain customers, you may be able to leverage this into a better deal for you, while staying with the same company.

Other factors are also important when you choose a smart phone. Screen size can make the difference between enjoying movies and playing games a success. The bigger the better. Touch screen phones are really intuitive and easy to use. This is an important feature that you probably want to consider.

Applications are becoming as essential as the smartphone itself. Apple is the market leader with over 300,000  applications, but other competitors like Android are in full throttle and are catching up.

Talk to friends and family, even strangers who are using the phone you are considering and find out if it is really the smart phone for you. It is combination of features, price for the phone, and price for the services. You may get a great deal on the phone, but then pay a lot for the services so do your homework before you take the plunge.

Smart phones are being purchased so quickly that in just a few more years , the gadgets will be ubiquitous.

Many people think that by 2015, ownership of smart phones will surpass 80% in North America, matching the ownership of PC’s or desktop computers. This represents a huge market for the companies that got in early and have developed a platform to build on.

There is becoming a clear distinction between smart phone use and the use of personal computers. Although most if not all PC owners will also have a smartphone as well, their uses will be quite different. Staying in touch by email, text messaging, social networking will migrate to the smartphone. Preparing documents of all types, research, etc etc will continue to be the playground of the PC. Some smart phones will cross over partially. With suitable forms type app’s, they can be used as on the job reporting devices to assist them in reporting everything from sales to reading meters.

There is no doubt that there are new opportunities waiting for the folks that took the plunge in developing a smart phone as well as those that are focused on developing applications for the smart phone. Creating new business models and cash flows will definitely put some pressure on the existing incumbents as sales and cash flow come under pressure.

If experts’ predictions come true, the tech world could look quite different in the next five to 10 years.

Your Personal Always On Device

Desk top PCs  can be shared among multiple family members or coworkers, lap tops became more personal since you typically carried it with you to meetings and on business trips. A smart phone on the other hand is always with you and always connected, making it your personal always on always connected device. That makes it very, very personal and heralds a huge change in the way we communicate.

For some users the smart phone is becoming your personal electronic wallet, your financial manager and your personal assistant that gets you to meetings etc on time and in the right place.  Apps store passwords, health information, financial transactions, daily calendars, to-do lists and detailed e-mail trails, plus games and vast entertainment libraries of books, movies and music.

From Cars to refrigerators, all will have a smart capability and be connected, however the smart phone will be  the remote control for our digital lives. Many people will still use PCs, iPods, iPads, laptops, tablets and many more devices, but it will be the smart phone that will always be on and will be always with you!

Your digital stalker

The smart phone knows where you are, constantly and that means also that the phone company or your phone provider can also find you anytime as well as long as you have your smart phone with you. That’s another watershed for the tech field.

No one knows quite how that technology will play out (or pay off), but everyone wants a foothold. Twitter and Facebook recently added location-aware capabilities, and venture capitalists are throwing cash at location-based services like Foursquare and Gowalla. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Yelp and Groupon are diving deep into the local advertising markets.

Where you are is now one of the most important — and potentially lucrative — aspects of your identity from an advertising perspective, because this information provides vendors with information about what they can advertise to whom based on location.

The Tech Field Will go Through an Re-ordering Process

The roster of gadgets orbiting your smart phone will vary based on application and use. For example most people will still use desktops, with large screens for their work, especially information workers who generate content and applications. Tiny screens are just not suitable for these types of activities. Some people who like specialized equipment will still use other gadgets for specific tasks. A smart phone is ok for a quick picture to be sent off to your friends and family, however if you want high quality pictures, most people will go with a dedicated camera,

Some devices will die off or become specialized. We will gravitate to less paper, but never eliminate paper so printers will still be needed. In fact there are people who own desktops, cameras and smart phones, but no printers already!

The tech giants are competing for the smart phone and this is a giant battle that will not be soon over. Already giants like Apple, Dell and others are introducing enhancements to their phones. Even Google with Android is in the competition for space in this market. The carriers are also lining up with smart phones, however they seem to be taking a more careful approach. Rather than bet on one horse, they are introducing as many smart phones as they can to attract as many customers as they can.

These carriers such as Verizon and Sprint in the US and Bell and Telus in Canada along with Rogers are competing for every minute and bit of data that can be carried on their networks.

The question is, is this the beginning of a major shift in technology and the way we use these devices, or are we well along the way. Only time will tell, but you can be sure that all of the major players will be competing for your dollars in the market for some time to come.

We would like to hear your opinions about this post and more specifically what you think the next big disruption is going to be in the technology field.

What did the respondents do with these phones? Download a lot of apps. As of June 2010, according to the report, 59 percent of the smartphone owners surveyed, and nearly 9 percent of the feature phone users, said they had downloaded a mobile app in the last month.

The respondents also are playing a lot of games. The report states that 61 percent of smartphone owners surveyed said they had bought and used a game within the past month.

They’re checking the weather, too. After games, the second most-used category of apps on the mobile phone were weather related, with 55 percent of phone owners surveyed using such applications, the report said. The smartphone owners surveyed also like mapping and navigation apps, social networking programs that access Facebook and Twitter, and music-related apps, according to Nielsen.

The respondents in the survey rarely download instant messenger apps and those used to make Internet voice over phone calls, the report found.

When comparing the different applications based on the type of phone used, the results were almost uniform across platforms.

Facebook, The Weather Channel, Google Maps and the music service Pandora were in the top five apps used on the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile platforms.

In a blog post on the company’s Web site, Nielsen said, “One of the main challenges facing apps publishers is making sure consumers discover their apps.” And so Nielsen asked the phone owners how they discover and find new apps.

According to the researchers, 40 percent of those surveyed said they found new programs directly on their phones, while 36 percent said they heard about new apps from friends and family.

In addition to the finding about how Android and iPhone users treated advertisements on their phones, the report found that teenagers were “much more receptive than their elders” in engaging with mobile advertising inside an app, with 58 percent of teenagers telling the Nielsen researchers that they look at mobile ads.