[Image from fonefrenzy.com]

One of my good friends told me a story a few weeks ago: his sister just got an iPhone 4 as a replacement for her Samsung Blackjack. She was pumped. Her and her dad walked out of the Apple store with iPhone in tow, and they both parted ways once they returned home. Within a half hour, the father gets a call from the daughter. "I need a new phone," she says.

Thinking he has just been caught within a wrinkle in time, he politely reminds his daughter that she just got a new iPhone 4 (as he clutched his totem).

"No," she says, "the screen shattered."

This was launch day, mind you, so they--sorry, the father, not the daughter--had to wait in line for over an hour to get a replacement model. It turns out that the helicopter-windshield-grade-glass Apple used on the facade of the phone is strong enough to repel machine gun fire, but weak enough to be shattered by extreme tension and torsion. See, the windshield works because the glass isn't held in much tension. It's free to wiggle and wobble enough to dampen the force of the bullet. Apple glued the screen on so hard that the tension in the glass will cause it to shatter if dropped from more than a few feet.

And there lies the fallacy: to encase, or not to encase?

Here at 611connect.com, we are always focusing on the best phones available on the market, whether it's the Blackberry Bold 9700, the Samsung Restore, or the HTC Nexus One. But what about the OTHER cell phones, the poorly-made, poorly-designed, featureless phones that fall by the wasyside?

When it comes to deciding how to pay for your cell phone, the choice can be tough. If you use your cell phone a lot, chances are you may want to sign up for a contract. If you only use your phone occasionally, a prepay plan may be the best option for you.  It’s not always that clear cut, however. Let’s take a look at exactly what prepay and contract mean, and which is a better plan for you and your needs.

When the time comes to ditch your ancient cell phone for a brand new Blackberry, what should you do with your old cell phone? Rather than stuff it in a drawer never to be seen again, why not do one of the following with it:

Don't worry, I get it. Your relationship's on the rocks. Your relationship is so banal and full of lovelessness that a gift is the only way to prove yourself to your beloved. That's what we're here for. We've scoured the internet for the absolute best gifts for getting you out of the doghouse. I guarantee it.

Rhinestone Blackberry Case

As one of my favorite quotes said: "We can't help everyone but everyone can help someone", let us reach out to help almost 3 million victims of Haiti Earthquake. If you're interested, check the rest of my post to find out what can you do to bring back the smiles on the faces of Haitian people.

I know that it's counterintuitive to say this (especially working for a cell phone blog), but we need to stop advancing electronic devices. Remember those old chemistry problems where you have a balanced chemical system, and you're given the amount of each compound on the left hand side with the goal of finding out the amount of one of the compounds on the right hand side, except that there's a limiting reactant in the fray keeping the product amount from being anywhere near what it is capable of being?

Think of that, except with portable electronics, and instead of making salt water you can bankrupt companies and make consumers very angry.

Here's an interesting mobile phone scoop. According to the folks at GSMarena.com, Phillips has launched a pair of touchscreen mobile phones, the X800 and the Xenium X-Connect. The Phillips Xenium X-Connect offers high-end features that include Windows Mobile 6, UMTS and HSDPA, and a 3-inch display. However, the Xenium X-Connect does not support WiFi.