If you have never heard of phone cards you are either really young, or just never used one. Think of it like a debit card for pay phones. Using calling cards are easy. You simply type in the number that is on the back of the phone card, and then make the call you want to make. Before your call goes through they will tell you how much you have left on your calling card. Then your call is placed, and you did not have to put in any money. I think that is why phone cards are great gifts, because they just keep on giving. Now you may say that not that many people use pay phones anymore.

The cell phone has made it a thing of the past. For the most part you would be right, however, you cannot say that everyone in the world has a cell phone. So calling cards would be good for those people. For the rest of us that do have cell phones, the international phone cards have adapted to our new way of life. When you use the phone cards on your cell phone the money goes to the cell phone company, and you do not use up any of your minutes. This is perfect if you have used up all your minutes, and you do not want to spend more money on getting time to talk. Of course, you have to make sure that the prepaid phone cards work with your cell phone company. This is because some will and some will not. It is always better to check, just to be sure.

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The ASUS Lamborghini range isn’t for the faint-hearted. The company’s established Lamborghini laptops are geared to petrol-loving enthusiasts and sell for prices that would make most Vauxhall drivers whimper.

The Asus Lamborghini ZX1, pictured below, features Windows Mobile 6.1. ASUS is busy applying the finishing touches to a new user interface for the Asus ZX1 and other upcoming handsets. Unfortunately, as with all Windows Mobile themes and skins, it’ll simply cover up a largely cumbersome operating system.

The phone provides HSDPA; built-in GPS; a 2.8in, 240×320 TFT screen; and 256MiB of Flash memory. Not exactly mind blowing but it does say Lamborghini on the front and has the same sharp engines you’d expect to find on a Lamborghini Murcielago.

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One way to avoid long distance calls is to call someone Collect. By doing this you pass the payment off to them. Of course, unless you are trying to make your friends mad, this is not the best way to go about making long distance calls. Another way is to make sure your phone plan or cell phone plan covers long distance calls, however, if you are not making long distance calls all the time then you are more than likely going to be spending a lot more money on the plan than what you would be making the long distance calls.

So what is the best way to beat the system? Well I cannot really call it beating the system, but you could always get a phone card. This is a card that you put a set amount of money on, and then use it to make your long distance calls. Now sure you are still paying for the long distance calls, but you are putting a limit to how much money you are going to spend. This way there are no hidden fees at the end of the month on your phone bill. Everyone has to make long distance calls at one point or the other so a calling card could make a good gift. I am not saying that a phone card is perfect for everyone, but it could be a step in the right direction. Who knows you could end up saving a lot of money by using them. Also, you will save a lot of friends by not making them pick up your bill for the long distance calls.

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Following Vodafone and its failed Simple phone for senior citizens, another company is attempting to appeal to the Saga market by offering a phone designed for the over-50s.

Questioning whether buttons are too small, the loudspeaker too quiet or the menu systems too confusing, the company, Emporia, has launched a range of phones for the older customer.

“Customers should be offered information instead of multiple functions”

says company founder Albert Fellner.

“Large buttons, an easy-to-read display, a loudspeaker that is compatible with hearing aids and simple menu navigation is what we do.”

There are five phones in the range; the emporia LIFE, the emporia LIFEplus, emporia TIME, emporia TIMEplus, and the emporiaTALK. The emporia LIFE will have an emergency call function to let you call for help and five preset numbers will be automatically dialled. As not to confuse, the “Settings” menu item can be blocked.

The emporia LIFEplus is the same, however menu items can be operated with a slide switch…

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