Cell Phone Myth #1: Cell Phone = Key for Your Car
Most cars these days come with remote keyless entry; a button on your keychain that can unlock your phone from afar. Luckily, this comes in handy when you lock your keys in your car and have a spare at home, no matter how far away from home you are. You can call a family member’s cell phone with your own and have them use your spare key to hit the “unlock” button. Viola! Your car will be unlocked and you can avoid calling AAA.

True or False? Absolutely false. Many people believe this myth because when they try it out, they’re still usually within the range of the spare key’s frequency (usually from the back of the house to the driveway, or only a short distance down the street). Unfortunately, your cell phone does not transfer radio waves across its network that will unlock your car.

Cell Phone Myth #2: Chatting at the Gas Station
Have you ever noticed the strict, bold signs at gas stations that say NO CELL PHONES while you’re at the pump? Static electricity from your cell phone can transfer to the pump and could potentially cause the fuel to ignite.

True or False? Mostly false. While static electricity can ignite fuel and cell phones do produce static electricity, they don’t produce nearly enough to light your gas on fire. However, Ercument Arvas, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, cautions that on a hot day after a gas spill could send fumes into the air. If you’re at the right place at the right time with a horrible, sparky cell phone, and it’s 10:46 on a Tuesday, there’s a chance that the fuel may ignite.

Cell Phone Myth #3: Popping Popcorn with Cell Phones
You’ll need at least 3 cell phones to accomplish this. Get a group of friends, their cell phones, and a small handful of popcorn kernels. Place the cell phones in a circle with the tops facing toward each other, and then place the kernels in the middle of the circle. Call each other, and the radiation will cook the popcorn! Don’t believe me? Check out these videos of cell phone popcorn poppage. And this is what cell phones are doing to your BRAIN!

True or False? False. Who would eat radiation-cooked popcorn, anyway? If food could be cooked using cell phones, then we would be burning or cooking ourselves severely each time we made a call. So how were the videos made? If you look at the linked example, the first video looks like the kids just threw popcorn into the circle and turned the camera to look at the shocked faces, concealing the untouched kernels. The second clip could have easily been done with a little bit of post-production, where they could have erased the kernels on the table in a video editing program.

Cell Phone Myth #4: Cell Phone Charging
Constantly charging your cell phone will reduce the battery life over time faster than if you only charge it when needed.

True or False? True. Cell batteries contain “memory” and are designed to fully charge when they are plugged in. For example, frequently charging the battery at half power conditions it to only hold a partial charge and stop charging fully if it’s drained all the way. The average cell phone battery charge lasts three days, so with consistent use you should try not to charge your phone more than once every other day. For our complete guide on battery care, see our article on how to preserve the battery life of your cell phone.

Cell Phone Myth #5: Secret Backup Battery Power Code
Has your phone ever been two seconds from dying and you just needed to make one more phone call? Next time, to activate hidden battery power, press the keys *3370#. Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. The next time you charge your phone, your reserve power will be charged, too.

True or False? False. This is confused by the fact that some cell phone brands (Nokia for example) use the option of “Half Rate Codec”. What that does is provide about 30% more talk time a on each battery charge in exchange for lower sound quality. If you happen to have one of the models that are equipped with those options, it doesn’t do anything for you if your battery is already dead. And for the record, that is enabled by pressing *#4720#. The *3370# sequence actually enables the Enhanced Full Rate codec, which provides better sound quality at the expense of shorter battery life.

Do you have a favorite cell phone myth that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!

With just a little under four days left to bid, we hope you’ll help us spread the word! RSVP to the BlackBerry auction event on Facebook and invite your friends. Thanks for your support!

This app is really geared toward people who buy a lot on eBay, but if you sell you will still need to log into the mobile version of the site. As the app stands now, the My eBay section allows you to only track items that you’re bidding on, watching, won, didn’t win, saved searches, and favorite sellers. It doesn’t support much functionality for sellers, which we hope to see more of in the future.

Features include:
• Real-time home screen notifications of bids
• Calendar reminders and email notifications for auction end dates
• PayPal compatibility

This app is free for download from BlackBerry App World.

• A non-stop, daily stream of all the news on Engadget, Engadget Mobile, and Engadget HD.
• See features, reviews, unboxings, and hands-on coverage as it happens
• Share news and other tech stories via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter
• Use the in-app option to tip Engadget on breaking news
• Intuitive and clear interface

To keep up with the latest headlines in consumer electronics, download the Engadget for BlackBerry app today!

“Fun. Challenging. Addicting.”

“The game worked perfect and is very fun to play. A mix between bejeweled and tetris, highly recommend.”

These are just a few of the rave reviews Ka-Glom has been getting, and this popular BlackBerry app is now free for a limited time. Connect four Ka-Gloms of the same color to start an explosive reaction eliminating all connecting blocks of that color.  In building huge chain-reacting explosions your Ka-Glom Factor increases and the bonus points multiply.  Play in Survival mode for a classic puzzle experience or try some deep thinking with the Puzzle mode.

You can download it from BlackBerry App World. Let us know what you think of Ka-Glom in the comments!

• Locate the nearest police department, ambulance service, hospital, towing company, rental car company or body shop.
• Read important tips on-site for steps to take and what to do if you ARE in an accident, what to look for in a quality body shop and what your consumer rights are.
• Complete an accident report and take photos to store and send to your insurance company and auto body shop.
• Identify the best auto body shops in your area with Help I Crashed My Car’s shop review system.

While we certainly hope that none of you will ever have to use this app, it’s nice to have and will help relieve the stress of an accident while you make sure you have everything you need for filling out an accident report. Make sure you’re covered with this free app, found in the BlackBerry App World store.

> BlackBerry Bold 9700

The Bold 9700 allows users to live their personal and professional lives to the fullest through power and performance.

> Samsung a237 Talk easily and conveniently with this handy camera phone. It has messaging and entertainment capabilities plus a camera - all in one compact flip that’s attractively priced (at free!).

> Samsung Flight Change the way you chat with the Samsung Flight, a phone that morphs from touchscreen talker to texting expert. Perfect for the social butterfly in your family!

*Mail-In Rebates require $20/mo messaging or $30/mo data & messaging service which can be canceled at any time. 2 year contract & new activation required. Upgrade pricing will very. See store for details.

> Pantech Impact The Impact offers one-touch access for IM, text, email, and multi-tasking to easily switch from app to app. Its two speakers offer an enhanced sound experience. It’s perfect for browsing the Web, taking pictures or video, and playing games. The Impact keeps you connected to your world.

The Sony Ericsson W518A flip phone is optimized for music playing with external music keys, stereo Bluetooth® support, over-the-air music downloads, and Shake Control. It is also packed with gaming, multimedia, and social networking offerings that make this phone a thin little entertainment powerhouse. You can play tilt-control games, watch streaming music videos and TV clips, and keep up to date with your friends with a Facebook application that has a rotating status carousel right on the standby screen. With this application, users can also quickly update their Facebook status or upload photos to their profile, wherever they are. The W518a also has a long list of other features including Mobile Email, Instant Messenger, Full HTML Web browsing, 3.2 megapixel camera, and AT&T Navigator for turn-by-turn directions and mapping functions. For more information on the this phone, visit our Sony Ericsson W518A information page.

The Sony Speaker Bag is a unique phone accessory exclsuively for their Sony Ericsson line. The best audio performance from these speakers is guaranteed. The built-in antenna boosts your FM radio reception and the speakers run off the charge of your phone battery, so there is no need to worry about charging a separate device.

Now for a limited time, you can get this holiday bundle from Fusion Wireless! Call your closest Fusion Wireless location directly or 877-933-CELL today with any questions you may have.

*While supplies last. New activation or upgrade purchase required.

Click here to view a larger, clearer version of the video.