I've signed up for Twitter and am having lots of fun with it, but every time I add someone new, all of their Tweets end up going to my cellphone as SMS text messages. This is bad, and it's driving me crazy. Is there some easy way to fix this?

My digital camera has a cool feature: it can take little movies. They're not as good as a real video camera, but my kids love mugging for me and the results are often quite hilarious. Like "America's Funniest Home Videos" caliber. How do I put them on my Apple iPhone so I can share them with my friends?

I had my old Mac laptop, an iBook, stolen and now that I have a new one, I realize that I can't get the music off my Apple iPhone which is driving me crazy! Is there some way to sync the iPod music and video portion of my cellphone without having to start from scratch again?

I am a big fan of my Apple iPod, but I can't figure out how to have it automatically download the most recent podcast from the podcasts I subscribe to. I think there's something I can do in iTunes to get this to work, but I'm just not exactly sure how to proceed.

Saw your earlier note about creating custom Apple iPhone website icons and think it's very cool, but I'm wondering: how did you delete the icon you didn't want to keep?

One of the features added to the latest revision of the Apple iPhone operating system that's garnered quite a bit of attention is the ability to save Web page bookmark icons directly on the main screen of the phone. Experimentation reveals that some sites have cool icons while most are just miniature representations of the Web site. What's the difference? Read on and find out, including step-by-step directions on how you can easily ensure your own site (or blog!) has a custom iPhone icon too.

I have heard that in Japan people use their cellphones as simple payment devices, even for vending machines, which sounds super cool. Here in the US, though, seems like there's not much at all I can do with my phone. Is there a service that lets me send money to my pals, for example?

It was about four months ago that my 4GB Apple iPhone showed up and, after an initial scare that it was broken from dropping it - screen down - on a hard tile floor, connected to the network, replacing my Blackberry Pearl. I got the $100 credit for the Apple store after having watched the price drop $200 a month after I bought it, and I've gone through a number of cases already (!) and have a stack of different ones from the folks at Marware that I'm using now.

But after months of having it in my pocket, plugged into my car, on lunch tables with colleagues, and in various cities and states throughout the United States, what's my opinion of the phone now? What do I really love about it, and what drives me batty?

Read on...

I just upgraded my G5 mac to the latest Leopard software and am leery about syncing my iPhone with my computer because I'm afraid I'll lose data. However, I really need to get the photos off the phone and don't want to email them to myself, one by one. Your suggestion?

Maybe I'm the one dim bulb in the chandelier, but why do so many people want to unlock their iPhone, and for that matter, what does it mean to unlock the phone anyway? I can't read any Apple-related Web site nowadays without 25% of the news being about this, that or the other person who figured out some way to unlock the phone?

Okay, I read your tutorial on how to chop out a segment of a song to create a ringtone in mp3 format (see how to extract an mp3 snippet as a custom cellphone ringtone). Now I'm ready to actually find out how to copy that to my Apple iPhone and then set it as a custom ringtone. Can it be done?

I have a ton of mp3 format audio files on my Mac OS X system and want to chop a short segment out of it to use as a custom ringtone for my Apple iPhone. What's the solution?

I have a new Apple iPhone and have been greatly appreciating all your iPhone help, but am still a bit baffled by one thing: when I send mail from my iPhone, I can see how I can Cc myself, but then I see my own messages in my [Microsoft] Entourage mailbox. That's daft. Is there some smarter way to set things up?

I have an iPhone and appreciate all its features but one: I can't use the calendar capability because I use Google Calendar, not iCal on my Mac. Is there some way that I can either manually or automatically synchronize Google Calendar with iCal?

I know I can go to the Apple iTunes Store and buy movies to download onto my iPhone at a rather painful $10-$15 per movie but there are two problems. First, the selection is extremely limited, and, worse, I already own tons of DVDs. Between my Mac and PC, surely there's some way to copy one of my favorite movies onto my iPhone so I can watch it on the go?

My new iPhone is the belle of the ball. In fact, it's a problem: everyone who sees it picks it up and starts playing with it. Is there some way I can enable a security code or password so that only I can use it when it wakes from sleep?

I would like to know how to configure my Apple iPhone so that I can check my Google Gmail messages whenever I'd like. What's the best way to do this?

Just got a new Apple iPhone and bought a movie from the Apple iTunes Store so I can watch it on the phone, but it fails with "computer is not authorized to watch this movie", even though I bought it and originally downloaded it on my Mac. What the heck? How do I authorize my computer?

I'm stumped. With my iPod I simply drag and drop the music I want to take with me from my library onto the iPod on the left side of iTunes, but my Apple iPhone doesn't allow me to do that. How the heck do I put songs on the iPhone without synchronizing my entire (massive) music library?

I have a new Apple iPhone and am having fun with it, but I can't figure out how to download photographs or pictures onto it. Is there some trick or technique? Also, in case it makes a difference, I don't use iPhoto to manage my photo albums.

I'm psyched by all the hype and enthusiasm and am seriously considering buying a new Apple iPhone when they replenish their stock here in San Francisco, but I'm curious: do I have to go to a Cingular/AT&T store to activate my iPhone? I am already a Cingular/AT&T customer, if that makes a difference...

I spent a fair amount of time on the phone with Leslie Brooks Suzukamo, Telecom, Technology and Energy Reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Our topic of discussion? Whether the new Apple iPhone is going to be a good business phone or not. He quoted various industry sources and so-called pundits who predicted that it wouldn't and that it's designed exclusively for consumers. But he -- and they -- are so terribly wrong...

I saw your entry about how to filter incoming Blackberry email so you don't drown in the trivial, but I have a different question: how I can set up a vacation hold, a way to completely disable all email notification without actually shutting down my account? I'm going on a long-weekend to Mexico and don't want to pay data roaming charges for email I don't care about anyway!

I don't get it, I have a new Blackberry Pearl and have been enjoying getting used to its predictive typing system, SureType, but all of a sudden my phone is now into the same annoying multiple-keypress input system that my pre-Pearl phone forced me to use. How do I switch back to the predictive SureType system?

Since you seem to be delving into the world of the Blackberry Pearl with your Mac system, I was hoping you could tell me how to use the Pearl as a wireless (bluetooth) modem with my Mac OS X Powerbook system. Didja figure that one out yet, Dave?

I just bought a Blackberry Pearl, figuring it's the best phone out there until the Apple iPhone arrives, and am pleased with its ability to "push" email out to me anywhere, tapping into my main email account. Problem is, lots of my email is from lists where I don't need to actually be notified in real time, they're just for me to file for later. Can I filter or otherwise tweak Blackberry email on my Pearl?

I just got a shiny new Blackberry 8100 Pearl phone and it's all working fine, except I am hitting an error when I try to use Google's Gmail mobile app: "net.rim.device.app.systemControlledAccessException: Missing RCC signature. Not allowed to access Certicom functionality." What the heck does that mean and what do I need to do with my Cingular Pearl to get it working with Gmail?

Dave, when we were having lunch a while back, you told me the other day that the only way to turn off the text alert was to turn off the sound on your RAZR phone, but I didn't believe it, so I asked Verizon about it. They said I can do it with Menu > select Settings > select Ring Styles > highlight Style Detail > press Change > highlight Messages > press Change.

Like just about everyone else in the United States, I now find myself with two phone lines, my business office line and my cellphone. After talking with a representative at the telco monolith Qwest, I have signed up for something they call "call forwarding" because I think I can use it to forward my business line to my cellphone. Only one question: how the heck do I actually do that?

I bought a cute little green Migo phone from Verizon for my daughter, figuring that it wouldn't be abused or sidetrack her too much during school since it doesn't have a camera, mp3 player, sms capability, etc. Frankly, it's just a four button dialpad. Nice, cute, she loves it, but I can't figure out how to program the $#@$#@ speed dial numbers on the Migo!

I'm just about to buy a new mobile phone and I don't know if I should get my phone on a plan or on prepaid, which is better and cheaper? Can you offer up some advice, please?

Hi i brought a new Samsung sgh-d500 mobile phone and i can't put music on my mp3 player. I need to know how to put music on my phone from the computer but i don't know how. Can u please help me? Thank you!

I'm frankly baffled. My new Motorola RAZR v3m is a great phone, but when I try to hook it up to my computer via bluetooth I don't see any of the file navigation services you show in your tutorials. It appears that I'm missing some sort of feature and really want to know how to turn it on so I can grab photos off my camera directly. Any tips?

I really want a Gmail account from Google but can't find anyone that has an invitation! So I'm looking at the Gmail home page and notice that it indicates I can sign up by just having a mobile phone. Well, I have one of those, so I'm hoping you can tell me how to get a Gmail account through my cellphone?

I have an ancient Palm V device that I've been thinking of tossing into the junkheap of old computer gear, but someone told me I could actually run Linux on it. I find that unimaginable, but hey, I have time, is it possible? And if so, how the heck do I do it?

I have a Motorola RAZR (V3c) with U.S.Cellular. How do I set up the alarm to ring daily without haveing to set it each day?

I have the razr phone from verizon. On the bottom tool bar there is an icon of a man as if he is speaking I am thinking this means voice command. How do I get this icon off my bottom toolbar. I got it on accidentally when I was fooling with the phone. Thanks so much!

I once saw someone show a short movie clip they'd downloaded onto their Nokia mobile and ever since have been trying to figure out how to do that on my own phone. Nokia's not much help, though, but since I saw you have some other stuff about cellphones, I thought you might have a clue?

I read your earlier note about changing the Nokia ringtones, borrowed from Yuan's Nokia Smartphone Hacks, and thought it was pretty informative. Thanks. Now, my question: can I customize the wallpaper on my Nokia cellphone?

I need some help on getting ringtones on my motorola v710. when i went to the store to get some ringtones, the guy said he cant get it on my phone. he was using mobilephone tools or something. he said there was supposed to be some MUSIC tab on the program he was using. why is it?

My wife was a sweetheart and gave me some way cool new toys for my birthday, a Motorola SLVR iPod cellphone, and the latest of the Motorola bluetooth headsets, the H700. They're both darn cool, but I can't figure out how to get them to pair. Can you help me out?

I love my Prius. I also now love my new Moto SLVR cell phone. They both speak bluetooth, but I'm darned if I can figure out how to link the two together. Can you help me out? I realize you might not have a Prius but maybe you could sneak into a Toyota dealership and take some pictures? :-)

I just got a new Motorola SLVR cellphone from Cingular and it's very cool, but somehow I can't figure out how to use the iPod area of it. How do I hook it up to my Mac and download some songs onto it, and, for that matter, how many songs can it hold anyway?

Dave, can ya help me out? I can't pair oakley Razrwire with my RAZR v3c, though it seems like since they're both from Motorola it should be pretty easy to get it working. Help!

I have a Sanyo mm-5600 cellphone but i cant get it to play the music that i download on to it. Can you offer me any advice or assistance, please?

This is a weird question, but I seem to recall that Paypal used to have a feature where I could "beam" money to someone else with a cellphone, but when I go to the site today, I can't find anything about it. Is there any way to do this?

How can I copy a DVD from my G4 powerbook (I have pocketmac pro) to my I-mate Jam phone which uses windows Pocket PC? I'm familiar with Mac the Ripper but I don't know how I can convert the files to ones that my phone can read, I'm really confused regarding what mp4 setting to use (most available softwares are for ipod conversion eg. MovieToGo)

I'm sure there's a way do to this: how do I assign a different ringtone to specific people on my new Motorola RAZR v3c cellphone? I have Verizon service, if that makes any difference.

Well, it appears that I have forgot the password to reset all my settings on my samsung d500 phone. Help!

Dave, can you record voice records and apply them as ringtones in the Motorola RAZR V3?

I dunno, maybe I just make things difficult for myself, but I just bought a Motorola HS820 handsfree bluetooth headset to use with my new Motorola RAZR cellphone, and I can't get the silly thing to work with my phone! I follow the directions, but the headset is never seen by the RAZR?

I have a SAMSUNG D500 and I recorded a song but it wont let me use it as a ringtone how do i do it!!?

This might be a bit too specific, but I can't figure out how to have my PC see my new Motorola RAZR V3c via the bluetooth system. My PC has bluetooth, but it never sees the phone. Suggestions?

Dave: I can't get my V3c voice memo tool to work. I upgraded from a Motorola V710 which had an easy two-step process for recording and listening to voice memos. The V3c allows me to record (over multiple steps), but then I can't find where/how to listen to my memos! I know this is a 'low on the radar' issue, but any insight would be appreciated.

I just heard that Google supports SMS, which should theoretically mean that I can do really easy Google searches from my Nokia cellphone. Is that true? And if so, how do I do it?

Dave, I'm very excited. I just bought a brand new Motorola RAZR V3c cellphone and it's as cool and sexy as can be, but I'm now wondering what I can do with the bluetooth capability. How do I use this thing to copy pictures up and down from my Mac to the RAZR?