An incredibly useful feature is coming to Gmail. Starting today (if all goes well), you’ll be able to send your friends and contacts text messages via the integrated Gmail chat. You’ll be able to save phone numbers to contacts and Google will give you the option of sending them a text should they go offline. It sounds very beta right now though, with Google using 406 area code numbers to push the texts out.

The first time you send a text message, it will appear on the person’s phone as coming from a number in the 406 area code. Google has made several thousands of these numbers available for Gmail users, and once a number is associated with your account, all of the text messages you send through Gmail will come from that number.

The 406 number works both ways, so your friend can reply to you via text message. Also, your friend can save that number in their phone as belonging to you, and they can even use it to initiate new chats with you.

Google never ceases to amaze.

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While the DOTS gloves looked to be the ultimate texting gloves, there’s now a new pair of mittens in town. The Freehands Glove features removable thumb and index fingertips, perfect for wintertime activities. No twirling your meat with these babies but texting should work out A-OK .

Fleece goes for $20 with some other fabric going for $30 and leather costing $40. The fleece ones seem like a good buy.

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I spoke with my peeps at T-Mobile today and was informed about the pricing plans for the G1. You’ll be able to get 400 text messages and unlimited Internet + data for $25 a month. For $35 a month, you get the same with unlimited texting. Not too shabby but considering that you need a voice plan for the phone, expect to spend $80 or more a month as a G1 owner. Worth it? We’ll see come October 22nd.

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Come winter, I will not wear a standard set of gloves. I am a texting machine and I need my fingers ready to pound on that “S” key all day long. So I wear cut off gloves. It sucks but it will have to do. Women? They’re lucky. They can wear DOTS gloves. At $13 to $18 a pair, they’re not only affordable and warm; they’ll also let you text with ease.

Thanks to miniature touch-sensitive buttons on the fingertips, you’ll be able to actually use your iPhone without getting frostbite. Bodacious!

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Technology helps prevent crime. That’s a no-brainer. London’s use of CCTV has turned the city into a near police state and GPS has led to more arrests for car theft. As of yesterday, New Yorkers will be able to send text messages, picture messages and video to 911 and 311. This will enable citizens to report crimes of all types, as well as provide evidence so the police ultimately have less work to do. By next year, images and video sent to 911 will be pushed to patrol cars and will be used as evidence in trial. All in all, the technology only took about 18 months to develop and cost $250,000.

While I find this to be a great improvement to public safety, it also makes me weary of my privacy. What if someone is drinking in public and they get snapped by an angry friend? Not good.

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A newly released patent reveals a new handheld device from Nokia which comes with a removable QWERTY keypad. The patent describes a UMPC device with dual touchscreens and a keyboard that sits on top of one of the screens until it is needed.

They keyboard will slide out when needed for texting or web surfing. When the keyboard is removed, the second display adds on to the first display as one large interface. This patent reveals what might possibly be one cool smart phone. — Andrew Dobrow

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Not really much of a surprise, but a 13-year-old girl won the LG National Texting Contest, beating the previous winner, a 21-year-old male, in the final round and winning the $25,000 grand prize. Morgan Pozgar of Claysburg, PA, who sends 8,000 texts a month (goddamn!), won by texting “Supercalifragilisticexpialidoucious! Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious. If you say it loud enough you’ll always sound precocious,” with no spelling errors in the fastest time.

Pretty damn impressive if you ask me. That’s one tech-savvy little girl. I wonder how the runner-up feels. Pure ownage on Morgan’s part. We’re thinking some of that grand prize will go to her parents to pay for that damn cellphone bill. And if not, meet America’s Top Brat as well. — Andrew Dobrow

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Text and SMS messaging has become a phenomenon with teenagers and adults alike. These days, it’s impossible to walk through a public place without bumping into someone aimlessly typing on their phones, or to have a peaceful dinner without a beeping text notification. So the news that texting traffic nearly doubled in 2006 is not much of a surprise. The wireless data service scheme is now a $15.2 billion industry. Time speant talking on the phone is also up 20%. Say goodbye to human-to-human interaction. Yay! — Andrew Dobrow

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The cell phone design we all know and love might be changing drastically in the near future. 180 degrees difference actually. A patent has been field for this upside down design, which is supposedly more convenient and comfortable for longer sustained periods of use.

The new design would place the keypad above the display screen to ensure that the majority of the phone rests in the palm of the users hand which should improve control and support.

The redesign of the thumb-rest also means no more shifting the phone around in your hand for one handed texting. The ultimate goal? Faster texting with more comfort. — Andrew Dobrow
[via Core77]