Smartphones like hotcakes

Those phones that are more like connected computers than telephones are "going mainstream," USATODAY reports. This means two things to parents: 1) They'll be hearing, "But *everyone* has one, Dad"; and 2) our kids' online communications will be even more mobile and beyond home supervision. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it's unnerving to some parents. "Unlike regular cellphones, smartphones have a PC-like operating system and download and run computer programs," USATODAY explains. "Most include advanced data features such as e-mail, instant messaging and word processing. Some, such as the Palm Treo and Samsung BlackJack, have small typewriter-style keyboards." Sales of these phones jumped 50% the first half of this from 2005, it adds. Another sign: YouTube's coming to a smartphone near you. It just struck a deal with Verizon, the New York Times reports. Meanwhile, at least in the UK, "the online video boom is starting to eat into TV-viewing time, the BBC cites a new study as finding. Back to smartphones: Even though prices are coming down (to around $100 with a service contract), you really don't want one if you're just going to talk and text. Smartphones are all about music, video, and the Web, which is what makes them very attractive to youth. But watch out, that downloading can add $10-$50/month to a phone bill, USATODAY says. [Speaking of downloading, Jupiter Research found that "adult content on mobile devices will be worth $3.3 billion by 2011, up from $1.4 billion this year," with Europe the biggest spender, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, Silicon.com reports.]