Girls In Tech

Anyone that is a “gadget-freak” like me knows that the HTC EVO is one of the most talked about smart phones of 2011.

Finally, a touchscreen phone I am proud to call the iPhone killer. That’s right, I said it (and I’ve waited so long for this moment too!).

The EVO comes with 7 home screens, an 8 megapixel camera, HDMI output, live video sharing with a front-facing camera, visual voicemail, a kickstand for hands-free and tabletop viewing, 4.3 inch screen, 4G speeds, and so much more.

But what really makes the user-experience that much better are the apps!

With that said, here are my top 5 favorite apps for the HTC EVO.

1. Tasker

This app automates your entire phone! Here are some things you can do: launch a music application when you plug in your headphones, send an automated text to someone when you’re 15 minutes away from picking them up, or set a schedule to disable certain features on your phone to conserve battery power at night.

For more info:
http://tasker.dinglisch.net

2. CamCard

For those of you who do a lot of IRL networking, this app is for you! Whenever someone gives you a business card, simply take a photograph of it with CamCard. The app scans and detects the information on the card and adds it to your phone’s address book.

For more info:
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-intsig-bizcardreader-ptBx.aspx

3. Vlingo

For a safer and less distracting driving experience, use Vlingo. Use voice commands to operate your phone. Compose text messages and emails. Use Vlingo to read incoming messages (email and SMS) while driving or get directions while keeping your hands on the wheel.

For more info:
http://www.vlingo.com

4. Lookout

People often forget that a smart phone’s operating system needs anti-virus and security just like our PCs do. Use this app to stop viruses, malware, and spyware. The Lookout app also provides a backup solution so all of your data can be safe in the cloud. And finally, Lookout will help you find your phone when stolen or misplaced by pinpointing it on a Google Map. You can activate a loud alarm to locate your phone when it’s nearby…even if it is in silent mode.

For more info:
http://www.mylookout.com/m/android

5. Caller ID Faker

For us Girls in Tech that just wanna have fun, Caller ID Faker is a must-have app. Use this app to make crank calls from any phone number, change your voice, and record the call so you can proudly review your work and share it with your friends.

For more info:
http://calleridfaker.com

6. AND A BONUS FOR YOU SUPER GEEKS!!!

This isn’t an app, but I thought I’d mention this item on Amazon.com for serious EVO users that may want TWO extra longer life batteries and a wall travel dock + USB charger on the cheap! Never plug your phone in to charge again.

Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Battery-Charger-Verizon-Incredible/dp/B003XOUM12/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1288266335&sr=8-2-spell

Have something you’d like to share about the HTC EVO? Please leave a comment below and tell us about it.

Dimple Thakkar
Owner & Impresario of SYNHERGY ENTERTAINMENT
www.synhergyentertainment.com
@dimplethakkar
@synhergyent

Tags: 4g, Android, applications, apps, Droid, evo, gadget, Gadgets, htc, iphone, killer, mobile, phone, screen, smart, smartphone, sprint, touch
Posted in All Chapters, Los Angeles | No Comments »

Technology use in the workplace is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, it allows for increased efficiency and flexibility because we can communicate with co-workers and clients instantly from wherever we are through numerous mediums from a single handheld.  On the other hand, it has given us all a serious case of ADD.  And more importantly, it has blurred the line between what’s personal and what’s work.

We use our Blackberries, iPhones, iPads, Droids, and HTC-2s to send an email to a client or boss on our  companies’  systems one minute, and then use the same handheld to send a personal email to a  friend,  accountant, or lawyer  on our personal email account the next minute.  The same happens from desktops and  laptops.

The privacy issue arises when that handheld, laptop, or desktop is provided by a company to one of its  employees. Do the employees have a right to privacy in their communications when they send a  personal  email  over the company’s email system? When they use a company’s computer to send an  email from a  personal account  using the company’s Internet service? When they send text messages on employer-  provided phones and handhelds?  What is considered a reasonable personal use of company-provided devices in a world when employees are expected to answer emails from home and from handhelds and when they are expected to work 10 to 12 hour days?

These are just the sort of issues that are currently making their way through the state and federal court systems.

In a recent decision involving text messages sent on government-employer owned cell phones, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to make a broad ruling on the issue of “privacy expectations vis-à-vis employer-provided technological equipment” because of thepotential future impact such a ruling could have in an area where “rapid changes in the dynamics of communications and information transmission” are affecting both the technology itself as well as “what society accepts as proper behavior.”*

Because the legal analysis in privacy cases centers on a person’s “reasonable expectation of privacy,” what we accept as a societal norm affects what is considered “reasonable” from both an objective and subjective point of view.**

Despite the Supreme Court’s refusal to provide a broad ruling on this issue, it did not find that the City violated the employee’s privacy rights when it reviewed the content of his text messages.  The factual grounds supporting this finding were that: there was a workplace policy which indicated that text messages could be reviewed; and there was a legitimate work-related purpose for the review (i.e., determining whether text message overage charges required the City to increase its phone plan).

The implications of this decision are huge – even without a broader ruling and despite the differing privacy analyses that apply to public vs. private employers – because it essentially says that so long as employers properly craft their workplace policies regarding technology use, they can significantly erode employees’ privacy rights.  This is particularly troubling in an age when technology is trending toward the increased availability of a one-size-fits-all devices and when the distinctions between one’s personal and work life are being significantly blurred.

Meredith D. Williams is an employment lawyer in Los Angeles, California and a partner at Miller | Williams LLP, an employment litigation and counseling law firm, providing businesses of all sizes, as well as selected employees, experienced and cost-effective legal services in a wide range of employment-related litigation and counseling matters, including matters involving employee privacy, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour issues.  Contact her: mwilliams@millerwilliamslaw.com or @MerEsqLA

*See City of Ontario v. Quon, 560 U.S. ____ (No. 08-1332, June 17, 2010).
** The “reasonable expectation of privacy” issue is relevant in the context of Fourth Amendment privacy cases involving public employers as well as in the context of common law “intrusion on seclusion” privacy cases involving private employers.  See Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, Inc., 201 NJ. 300, 990 A2d 650 (N.J. 2010).

Tags: ADD, blackberry, Droid, girls in tech, HTC-2, iphone, LA Chapter, Meredith D Williams, Miller Williams, Personal Use of Company Technology Devices, Quon, right to privacy, Supreme Court, Text Messages
Posted in All Chapters, Los Angeles | 2 Comments »