6 great smartphones that won’t cost you a unitary penny

6 great smartphones that won’t cost you a unitary penny

News Tech Topnews

6 great smartphones that won’t cost you one single penny

Smartphones are here to stay, and it's no real surprise why. They connect us to Facebook, help us find guidelines to the office, take pictures, and may even why don't we connect our laptops to the internet from the side of the road. But they are just so darned expensive... roughly you think.

You don't need to spend $300 or even more just to get a great phone. We've come up with a summary of six great free smartphone options — they don't cost you not your signature (and, needless to say, a fresh contract). These to aren't one-day-only deals, plus they aren't refurbished models that someone's already had their fingerprints around. They are absolutely free, absolutely new phones.

You don't need to know somebody who knows somebody to obtain these to for free, nevertheless, you do have to buy these online. Most carriers have special, online-only pricing. And if you're upgrading a vintage phone, be cautious. Some carriers will ask you for an upgrade fee if you're still under a vintage contract. What fun is a free phone if you have to pay a fee to obtain it?

1 . AT&T: iphone 3gs

iPhone 3GS

Think an Apple iphone costs big money? Wrong — the iphone 3gs could be yours from AT&T, absolutely free. Sure, you don't get all the top features of the brand new $199 iPhone 4S as well as the $99 apple iphone 4, nevertheless, you still obtain the iPhone essentials: access to the app store, wifi, a good 3-megapixel camera that may record video, GPS, and 8GB worth of storage. You can even upgrade the telephone to iOS 5, Apple's latest operating-system.

The iphone 3gs isn't the brand new kid on the Apple block anymore. Nevertheless, you still get a great phone for your money — which, in this case, is zero dollars and zero cents.

2 . AT&T: LG Phoenix

LG Phoenix

At times, it looks like you can find two different kinds of people on the planet: those that love Apple products, and those who revile them. If you're in the latter category, then you're absolutely going to be in the marketplace for an Android-powered smartphone. And while we're not sure why you had need to get an Android phone on the restrictive AT&T network (you may be trapped by your contract, or possibly your dad is president of the company), if you're dead set on it, browse the LG Phoenix.

This smartphone isn't perfect — it does lack the ability to access the high-speed 4G LTE network. Nevertheless, you get plenty of phone otherwise. Its OS is upgradable to Android 2 . 3 (Gingerbread), you obtain access to the ever-growing Android market, the phone's 3. 2-megapixel camera shoots video, it's wifi-capable, and it's bluetooth-ready. You can even increase the option to tether the telephone to your laptop or other devices for anywhere access to the internet. Not bad.

3. Verizon: Droid Pro

Droid Pro

Most keyboards are virtual nowadays, and that's a shame, because there's something very satisfying about having to press real buttons. Verizon's Droid Pro includes a prominent keypad on the front — a throwback to the era of phones when BlackBerry was king.

However the keyboard isn't all you get. Behind it hides a powerful — dated, but powerful — Android device that may be updated to perform the Gingerbread OS. You obtain 3G mobile hotspot support, wifi, 2GB of internal memory plus 2GB of (expandable) preinstalled microSD memory, and all those great games and utilities in the Android Market. You even get a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, which is better hardware than you obtain with most free phones nowadays.

4. Verizon: LG Enlighten

LG Enlighten

So you've sold yourself on the idea of a phone with a physical keyboard. But what if you don't want those bulky keys getting in just how, getting mashed in your purse and taking on valuable phone real estate? Split up the difference with the LG Enlighten, a sexy smartphone with a hidden, slide-out keyboard.

The LG Enlighten offers you most of everything you get with the Droid Pro: a 3G mobile hotspot, spoken turn-by-turn Navigation from Google, and Android Gingerbread OS right from the box. Plus, you obtain a full 3. 2" capacitive touchscreen — one area where bigger most certainly is better.

The primary downside to the phone may be the insufficient internal memory. The Enlighten doesn't offer a large amount of built-in storage (only 150MB), and that may be considered a deal breaker. Nevertheless, you can simply expand the storage with the addition of your own microSD card.

5. Sprint: LG Rumor Touch

LG Rumor Touch

Are you or somebody you love a text-aholic? If so, you're the precise sort of customer LG had in mind when it created the Rumor Touch, a 3" touchscreen smartphone.

Like the Enlighten, the LG Rumor Touch includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard with big enough buttons to type with quick precision. The Rumor Touch even runs its messaging-friendly operating-system. And, needless to say, any phone built around messaging has to have Facebook and Twitter built in. The camera is weak at only 2 megapixels, however the Rumor assumes you will most probably be too busy texting to take any pictures.

Oh, and on top of that? The Rumor Touch also doubles as a phone. Can you believe any such thing?

6. T-Mobile: Nokia Lumia 710

Nokia Lumia 710

If there's one thing that the previously mentioned phones have in common, it's that they are all good, solid 3G phones. But let's be honest — 3G is yesterday's technology. Blazing-fast 4G wireless is where it's at. And T-Mobile's Nokia Lumia 710 offers you access to luscious 4G speed without having to pay a single penny in advance.

The Lumia uses the less popular Windows Phone 7 operating-system, but don't let the numbers fool you. Windows Phone 7 is a solid, seamless OS, especially for novices to the smartphone game.

The phone's hardware is great. You obtain a sharp, 3. 7", 800 x 480 LCD screen, a 5-megapixel camera, a powerful 1 . 4GHz processor, and all that wifi and GPS goodness you'd are expecting. And you also probably tuned all that out because you were too busy thinking about how cool it really is that free phone has 4G. Completely understandable.

Note: Before you order one of these brilliant free phones, be sure to check the pricing and make certain it's free. Carrier pricing can transform with the wind, and for no good reason.

Sell Your iPad 2 Now and Get an iPad 3?

Sell Your iPad 2 Now and Get an iPad 3?

News Tech

Want an iPad 3? Sell Your iPad 2 Now

iPad 3

Pay attention, Apple fans: save yourself your individual files to your iCloud in the sky, and delete your apps – because the time is nigh to market your iPad 2 .

Re-sale charges for the iPad 2 will fall because the official launch date for the iPad 3 — widely expected to be March 7 — edges closer, experts say. Consumers can are expecting to see a steep decline in value in the 2-3 weeks before the unveiling of the newer device, says Mark LoCastro, spokesman for sale aggregator site DealNews. com. “You’ll receive a higher resale value for your used device if you spend the it now, instead of looking forward to the newer generation to be announced, ” he says.

The re-sale price follows exactly the same trajectory because the iPhone, experts say. As SmartMoney. com reported, the apple iphone 4 declined 20% to 25% in value on re-sale sites during the immediate launch amount of the iPhone 4S, but this leveled out because the excitement on the launch subsided. The iPad 2 will probably experience a similar percentage decline after the iPad 3 is announced, says Ashley Halberstadt, a spokeswoman for re-sale site Nextworth. com. That said, LoCastro says re-sale sites desire to offer aggressive pricing now in order to buy up as much units as you possibly can while folks are looking to sell — so he doesn’t eliminate an uptick in cost on the day the iPad 3 is announced.

But if Apple decides to keep on trying to sell the iPad 2 at a discount along with the spanking new iPad 3, the re-sale market for old tablets will experience an even bigger hit, LoCastro says. “This is a rumor and several are skeptical, but if it proves true the trade-in value for your used iPad 2 will immediately plummet, ” he says. (Apple did not respond to requests for comment. ) That said, the worthiness of Wi-Fi only iPads an average of endure better on the re-sale market since they don’t involve buyers taking out a two-year data plan, Halberstadt says.

Prices vary on re-sale sites, too. NextWorth. com can pay $272 for a 16-gigabyte iPad 2 in “good” condition– a 45% depreciation on the price of a new $499 iPad 2 . Gazelle. com, a competing re-sale site, will buy a similar iPad 2 for $260. Both sites offer “lock-in” charges for an agreed time frame before the tablet sells. Nextworth includes a lock-in amount of 21 days, while Gazelle pledges a slightly more generous 30-day lock-in period.

More adventurous consumers may prefer holding onto their iPad 2 before last minute and trying to sell it on ebay themselves, says Yung Trang, president of TechBargains. com. Currently, the iPad 2 is trying to sell on ebay for about $300, a far more attractive price for sellers than both Netxtworth and Gazelle, he says. Plus, Trang says people may be reluctant to spend the their iPad 2 now — if only since they will be left empty handed before spring, once the new iPad is expected to actually continue sale. “That’s my dilemma, ” he says. “The question is really this: May be the incremental $50 to 100 you get now worth not having an iPad for nearly a month? ” The choice, he says, is supply the used iPad to your children.

Angry About High Gas Prices? Blame Shuttered Oil Refineries

Angry About High Gas Prices? Blame Shuttered Oil Refineries

Business News

The common price of gas is up more than 10 percent because the start of the year, a spot over and over made during Wednesday’s Republican Presidential debate. Predictably, the four GOP candidates blamed President Barack Obama for the steep increase.

Actually, the President doesn’t have that sort of pricing power. The more likely reason behind the purchase price increase, though certainly less compelling as a political argument, may be the recent spate of refinery closures in the U. S. Over the past year, refineries have faced a vintage margin squeeze. Charges for Brent crude have risen, but demand for gasoline in the U. S. is at a 15-year low. Which means refineries haven’t been able to spread the bigger prices with their customers.

Because of this, businesses have opted for to shut down a small number of large refineries instead of keep on to reduce money in it. Since December, the U. S. has lost about 4 percent of its refining capacity, says Fadel Gheit, a senior oil and gas analyst for Oppenheimer. That month, two large refineries outside Philadelphia shut down: Sunoco’s plant in Marcus Hook, Pa., and a ConocoPhillips plant in nearby Trainer, Pa. Together they accounted for about 20 percent of all gasoline stated in the Northeast.

This week, Hovensa finished shutting down its refinery in St. Croix. The plant processed 350, 000 barrels of crude a day, yet lost about $1. 3 billion over the past 3 years, or roughly $1 million a day. The St. Croix plant got hit with a double whammy of pricing pressure. Not only did it face higher charges for Brent crude, but it also lacked access to inexpensive gas, a essential raw material for refineries. Without the benefit of low gas prices, which are down 50 percent since June 2011, it’s likely that more refineries could have had to shut down.

The U. S. refining industry has been split up in two. On one hand will be the older refineries, mostly on the East and Gulf Coasts, that are set up to take care of only the bigger quality Brent “sweet” crude—the items that comes from the center East and the North Sea. Brent is simpler to refine, though it’s gotten dramatically more expensive recently. (Certainly another reason behind higher gas prices. )

Then you can find the plants able to refine the heavier, dirtier West Texas Intermediate (WTI)—the items that comes from Canadian tar sands, the deep water of the Gulf coast of florida, and the newer outposts in North Dakota, which just passed Ecuador in oil production. These refineries tend to be clustered in the Midwest—places such as Oklahoma, Kansas, and outside Chicago. While the price of Brent crude has closed at over $120 a barrel in recent days, WTI is trading at closer to $106. That simple differential 's the reason older refineries that may handle only Brent are hemorrhaging cash and shutting down, while refineries that may handle WTI are flourishing.

“The U. S. refining industry is undergoing an enormous, regional transformation, ” says Ben Brockwell, a director at Oil Price Information Services. “If you look at refinery utilization rates in the Midwest and Great Lakes areas, they’re running at near 95 percent capacity, and on the East Coast it’s more like 60 percent, ” he says.

This is primarily why the cheapest gas prices in the united kingdom are found such states as Colorado, Utah, Montana, and New Mexico, while Ny, Connecticut, and Washington, D. C., involve some of the highest prices.

Five of the Worst Celebrity Beauty Blunders of all time

Five of the Worst Celebrity Beauty Blunders of all time

Entertainment News Topnews

christina aguilera

Ever gone all morning with lipstick on your teeth, or attended a wedding with orange, self-tanned palms? Or possibly you've accidentally dyed your hair a shade of garbage, or used Nair where you mustn't have and were left with two giant blisters on the sides of one's upper lip. At one point or another, just about everyone has experienced an uncomfortable beauty blunder. But! We're not alone. Celebrities have problems with exactly the same affliction -- it's that if they create a mistake, it's immortalized on the net forever. After all, the worst consequence we face after a makeup disaster is a morning spent untagging a million Facebook photos.

I understand these stars are most likely mortified by their beauty bloopers, but they make us regular old Josephinas feel better about ourselves because, somewhere along the way, we, too, have been there, done that. So these 5 stars should take delight in the fact that women everywhere tooootally understand how they feel.

Take Christina Aguilera, above. She sang "At Last" at Etta James' funeral back in late January also it may have been the first time in history when individuals were more blown away by her legs than her voice. Streaking down the inside of her stems was some dark orange self-tanner, and boy, was it distracting.


Nicole Kidman

Then there's Nicole Kidman. She apparently experienced a fight with a powder puff before her Nine premiere, and the powder puff won. After all, it will need to have really beaten the crap out of her -- it's in her hair and everything.








Kelly Osborne

And may somebody please fill me in on what's happening with Kelly Osborne's hair? It's not grayish purplish deliberately, is it?

Lindsay Lohan
Naturally, or rather completely unnaturally, Lindsay Lohan takes beauty blunders to another level with this terrible synthetic wig, yellowish foundation, bronze eyeshadow, and a pale, overstuffed lip.







Britney Spears

Here, Britney Spears shows us the dangers of hair extensions. Most of us have tried extensions a few times and know that if they are not correctly maintained or styled, things can get ugly. And bumpy. And oddly spaced. And... just... no .

Eva Longoria's Sexy Revealing Dress

Eva Longoria's Sexy Revealing Dress

Entertainment News Topnews

Eva Longoria's Revealing Dress

Eva Longoria's Sexy Revealing Dress

Eva Longoria stepped out Thursday night rocking a super-sexy dress with a plunging neckline that showed off some serious skin! The night before, she donned a sultry pantsuit and boy, did she look hot. Which look do you like most readily useful? Plus, Tyra Banks graduates from Harvard Business School, and we're sharing our favorite celeb TwitPics of the week. Tell us on Facebook that you like most readily useful -- and why!

Eva Longoria's Photo

Eva Longoria's Sexy Revealing Dress

Eva Longoria's Sexy

Eva Longoria's Boobs

Kansas Teen Shot Hoops in Meningitis-Induced Coma

Kansas Teen Shot Hoops in Meningitis-Induced Coma

Health News Topnews

Teen basketball star Maggie Meier had perfect free-throw form, even though she was in a coma.

In the fall of her freshman year of senior high school, Meier got meningitis, a bacterial disease that spurred swelling in her brain and sparked terrifying seizures in the healthy student athlete.

"I'll remember it, " said Meier's mom, Margaret, a pediatric intensive care unit nurse. "Her eyes rolled right back, and I knew that which was happening. It had been terrifying. "

That seizure, the initial of 20 that night, marked the beginning of a 100-day hospital stay for then-14-year-old Meier of Overland Park, Kan., most of which she spent in a coma.

"Seeing her each day, not getting much better, it had been horrible, " Margaret said, detailing the tubes that delivered nourishment and life-saving medications to her unresponsive daughter. "But she'd do things that would make us know she was still there. "

Although Meier couldn't talk or walk in her trancelike state, she could still shoot hoops.

"She would wake up for just two to five minutes and shoot the ball, then be completely from it again, " said Margaret, describing an ideal swish of a beach ball through the makeshift net of Meier's sister's arms. "That's whenever we knew we were going to get her right back, and obtain her right back completely. "

Meier's neurologist, Dr . William Graf, said he'd never seen any such thing enjoy it.

"It was just incredible, " said Graf, now a professor of pediatrics and neurology at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. "She couldn't walk or eat, had no basic functions, but still had this perfect shooting motion. It had been engrained. "

The severe swelling in Meier's brain had disrupted the connections between nerve cells, and there was no guarantee those connections would ever be restored.

When Meier's immune system cleared the disease and she finally woke up, she had to relearn everything -- how to walk, talk, read and behave -- from scratch.

"She was very childlike, " said Margaret Meier, describing the tendency of children to "just say whatever they want" without inhibition. "All those social things you learn over a long time, she had to relearn. And she had some aggressive behaviors, especially towards me. "

Over 8 weeks of intensive rehab, and with the unwavering support of her parents and five siblings, Meier slowly returned.

"It wasn't easy, " her mom said, recalling the violent outbursts and the have to install special locks on all the doors. "It was months and months of intense work. "

Five months after she was hospitalized, Meier returned to Blue Valley Northwest Senior high school, where she got one-on-one instruction from the special education teacher in addition to physical and occupational therapy. Her spot on the basketball team bench was lovingly marked with a sign and her teammates wore beads on the shoes with her initials.

"Basketball was hugely essential in her recovery, " said Margaret. "It's been such a major section of her life since third grade, and she always wanted to make contact with it. "

And in her sophomore year, she did, earning an area on the Huskies' junior varsity team. Another season, Meier joined the varsity squad. And on Monday, her high school's Senior Night, the 17-year-old was area of the starting lineup.

"To see where she is now, after what she's been through, " said Margaret, voice shaking, "she's just such a great kid. "

In the fall, Meier will start college at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., where she plans to major in nursing or special education. Her mom can't imagine an improved fit. "She can really relate, " she said.

Whether Meier will play college ball is still up in the air, given her certainly hectic class schedule and busy social life. But her mom is confident she can do any such thing she puts her mind to.

"If she really wants to play ball, we'll be behind her 100 percent, " she said. "We're so pleased with her. "

Looks Women Love on Men

Looks Women Love on Men

Fashion News Topnews

Looks women wish guys would wear

Jennifer Aniston recently announced that certain of the things she loves about her new man Justin Theroux is his amazing sense of style. That’s ideal for her, but…most men aren’t so savvy with clothes, especially if they have to decorate. Kick your guy’s evening look up a notch with one of these ideas from Sachin Bhola, fashion editor of AskMen. com. (Bonus: They won’t crush your man's ego. )

The Go-To Navy Blazer

Exactly like women have the little black dress, men have the navy blazer. A fitted single-breasted, two-button blazer with a notched lapel gets the capacity to transform an otherwise ho-hum office-shirt-and-tie combo into something dapper.

Bonus: He'll have the ability to wear this with from jeans to, well, those office-shirt-and-tie combos.

ASOS Slim Fit Blue Suit Jacket, $86
asos. com

Get Him to Rock A Formal Hairstyle

No level of your look input will make him look acceptable if he forgets about grooming.

Would Ryan Gosling's appearance at the Ides of March premiere work without that hair? Nope. You can achieve a similar look by getting him to slick his hair to 1 side with a dime-size level of pomade (finish with spray gel for a shiny look). For more formal hairstyle ideas, check out AskMen's guide, where all the products are under $10.


Have Him Flaunt A vintage Watch

Whether you're bringing your man to a swanky social gathering or wedding, it's likely that, at some point at night, he'll be asked what time it really is. And because details make the man, a vintage watch is a lot more impressive than, say, his iPhone with a Z-list model screensaver.

A vintage watch includes a story, is original and incredibly gentlemanly. There may be one already sitting in his (or your) father's closet ready to make its debut.

Vintage Seiko Chinese Date Display Watch, $140 americanapparel. net

Master The Mix

Men gravitate to prints and color exactly the same way they gravitate to a vegan hamburger. But dressing up may be the perfect time and energy to bring ‘em out.

Take Jon Hamm's look: Not only is every piece he's wearing patterned, he's also included color. While your guy does not have to be quite so daring, follow one basic rule: pick from exactly the same color family, in this case red-violet. In any event, it sure is an intensify from the usual gray on gray on gray on gray.

For more tips about getting the guy to accomplish patterns and color, check out AskMen's guide.

Introduce Him to the Dress Shoe

Since guys broadly speaking can't stand wearing dress shoes, getting him a set of oxfords will be transformative for you, but shouldn't freak him out. He could even get away with pairing these with his favorite dark-wash jeans so he's not stepping too far out of his safe place. Baby steps, ladies.

Mr. B's Decost Oxford shoe, $150 aldoshoes. com