Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Your iPhone May Get You Killed | Two reasons to avoid talking on your cell phone as you walk down the street? For one thing, you're a lot more likely to get mowed down by a car, according to two new studies. (Chatty college students took 25 percent longer to cross the street than their peers who weren't on the phone; people over 65 in the same situation were 15 percent more likely to get run over.) Reason No. 2: As one Vanity Fair staffer's recent experience makes clear, you're also much more likely to get your ass kicked. Consider yourself warned. [Daily Finance, Page Six]

Your Cellphone Isn't a Megaphone | If you're the kind of person who uses the speaker phone function on your cellphone in public—thus subjecting strangers to both sides of your totally mundane conversation—be sure to read what happened to "Argentine opera diva" Gabriela Pochinki when she pulled the stunt at an Upper West Side restaurant last week. These stories never have happy endings, we assure you. [NYDN]

How UN4TUN8! | "The New York Senate voted Thursday to outlaw using portable electronic devices to text, play games or surf the Web while driving. The Assembly had approved the measure earlier. It sets fines up to $150 for using handheld devices or laptops to send text messages or read, view or transmit images or data while a vehicle is moving. Gov. David Paterson is expected to sign it." [Newsday]

Old Problem, New Name | Do your fingers ever begin to feel numb after spending, oh, two or three hours talking on your cell phone non-stop? You may have a new medical condition! "Orthopedic specialists are reporting cases of "cell phone elbow," in which patients damage an essential nerve in their arm by bending their elbows too tightly for too long." Unfortunately for these same specialists, the cure is not particularly complicated (or give them an opportunity to bill your insurance company for thousands): "The advice is simple: Switch hands—before it gets worse." [CNN]

A couple of weeks ago, state officials issued a report indicating New York City may need a new area code in the near future. It seems phone numbers for the 718 and 347 area codes—which are in use in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx—will run out by late 2011. Cindy Adams doesn't live in any of those boroughs (her apartment is a Park Avenue penthouse, thank you very much), but she's still outraged by the prospect: "Making someone get another area code is like making them move to the back of the bus. It's discrimination." More

The Etiquette of Texting | The Times has tackled the perils of texting on two occasions this week. (See here and here.) Teenagers are so determined to communicate with their peers, they're going without sleep to do it! They're texting in the middle of class and now their grades are dropping! Millions of teenage thumbs are now in need of medical attention! It's "texting anarchy," reports Cindy Post Senning, Emily Post's great-granddaughter. But aren't there times when texting is okay? "What about if they are stuck sitting at a table with a bunch of strangers at a wedding dinner or charity event, and the person on the other end is their spouse, who is being hijacked by Jihadists, and possibly sending their last goodbyes?" Every once in awhile, there are some shades of gray! [The Feedbag]

Your baby daughter is wailing. You'd really like to quiet her down, but you don't want to have to actually interact with her to make it happen. What to do? Let your cell phone do the work, naturally! As one dad tells it, when his infant daughter starts to get "fussy" in the car or during a walk, he simply turns on the free iPhone app "White Noise Lite" and drops it into her carrier. "It immediately relaxes her," he explains, which is nice since that makes two of them.More

Paris Hilton Gets Into Character | Paris Hilton is involved in some lawsuit over God knows what, and as part of a deposition, she was asked about several entries on her cell phone bill. Her response? "I've never looked at my phone bill in my entire life," she explained, adding that she didn't even know who paid the bill in the first place. "With my phone I never know, because I lose it all the time... I probably get a new cell phone like every two weeks." Of course, she could afford to lose her cell phone every hour of the day if she felt like it: Court documents indicate she raked in $22 million from 2006-07 thanks to sponsorship deals and public appearances. One of the companies that chipped in a good deal of that? Cell phone giant Motorola. Naturally. [TSG, AP]

Madoff Game On the Way | A Bernie Madoff game for mobile phones is in the works. "Made Off" will allow gamers to operate their own Ponzi scheme on the go, and is sure to be a big hit in Palm Beach. [BI]

Cell Phone Crackdown Planned for Tomorrow | If you're the kind of person who can't help but yap on your cell phone as you drive, tomorrow would be a good day to resist the temptation. The NYPD is planning a crackdown on drivers who talk and drive at the same time: "Officers on all kinds of routine patrol, across the city, will pay extra attention to the issue for a 24-hour period. Those caught using a hand-held cellphone will face a fine of $120." On a positive note, any cab ride you happen to take tomorrow will probably be a whole lot quieter. [NYT]

Department of Perfect Timing | Just the news you were waiting for: The Aura, Motorola's brand new $2,000 cell phone, went on sale today. Three tungsten-carbon-carbide-coated main gears! A scratch-resistant, 62-carat, grade 1 sapphire crystal display! Say no more! [NYT]

Grab Your Gun, iPhone | Yet another good reason to upgrade your old cell phone: police commissioner Ray Kelly announced today that potential crime stoppers can now send in videos to 911 via their mobile devices. In case the timing of the announcement has confused you, crimes against fashion do not count. Those should continue to be directed to Robert Verdi. [City Room]

Where Cell Phones Go to Die | Wondering what happens to your poor old cell phone when you toss it in the garbage so you can upgrade to a gleaming, new iPhone? Here's your answer! [Technology Review via Gizmodo]

In the market for an 18-karat gold iPhone? How about a diamond-encrusted cell with a screen made of sapphire crystals? No? That's probably because you're not Lacey Tisch. The daughter of Loews co-chairman (and billionaire) Andrew Tisch, Lacey took time to expound on the subject for the Sun today, suggesting that consumers are sick of cell phones that simply function. What they really want are luxury models from Prada, Giorgio Armani, and Bang & Olufsen: "What else are you going to put in your $15,000 Birkin bag? Not the latest free phone from Verizon, that's for sure." More