In case you haven’t heard the recent rumors about the first Catholic confessional app for the iPhone (News - Alert), the new application called “Confession: A Roman Catholic App,” can be purchased on iTunes for a dollar 99 and was created by an Indiana-based company called “Little iApps.”
However, for all you Catholic’s out there, before you download the app thinking it’s a substitute for going to traditional confession, you should know that the Vatican has sternly disapproved the concept, and declared that talking to your iPhone offers no absolution.
Federico Lombardi, spokesman for the Vatican explained that penance requires a personal dialogue between penitents and their confessor and cannot be replaced by a computer application.
The app's developer, Patrick Leinen, said the app was designed to be used in the confessional and was intended “for those who frequent the sacrament and those who wish to return.”
Used cellphones may appear useless to the people who toss them in a garbage, but in reality they are very valuable and are growing in worth and numbers. The Wall Street Journal predicts that within a few years, the refurbished cell phone market could account for one fifth of all cellphone sales in the United States.
ReCellular (News - Alert), a company that refurbishes old cellphones and resells them, recycled 5.2 million cellphones in 2010 and predicts its revenue will increase over 50 percent in 2011. According to the company, smartphones can sell for hundreds of dollars even if they are over a year old.
Retailers; phone manufacturers; wireless carriers; and website operators are selling reconditioned phones and even offer consumers cash or some kind of in-store credit for their old devices.
In other news, according to a recent Intel (News - Alert) survey, assessing mobile etiquette, about 28 percent of U.S. adults use mobile devices while walking. Nine out of ten respondents say they have seen people misuse mobile technology and 75 percent say mobile manners are becoming worse every year. Almost all surveyed agree that they wish people practiced better etiquette when it comes to using their mobile devices in public areas.
The survey noted that U.S. adults see an average of five mobile offenses every day. The top mobile etiquette gripes continue to be - the use of mobile devices while driving, talking on a device loudly in public places and using a mobile device while walking on the street.
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Stefanie Mosca is a Web editor for TMCnet. Previously she worked as a freelance copy editor for Digital Surgeons LLC. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University and a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of New Haven. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Stefanie Mosca