For a long time one of the things that drove users of cell phones to upgrade to newer devices was the addition of a camera. Today, pretty much every cell phone produced features a camera built-in. Typically, these cameras aren’t that high quality, but work in a pinch to take pictures on the fly. However, applications are starting to surface the take the use of a cell phone camera to new levels.

A good example is a new application available today for the Apple iPhone via the Apple App Store called ScanLife. The application allows iPhone users to take pictures of 2-D barcodes with the iPhone camera, and then link to more information about the product associated with barcode. According to Scanbuy — the maker of the ScanLife application — ScanLife can launch any URL address.

There is no shortage of insanely expensive gadgets and accessories for the wealthy geek that feels the need to show off. The catch is that some of the really expensive handsets — like the Vertu Signature — can show off how rich you are, but really don’t offer much in the way of cool features and usability.

What if you are one of the really rich types that wants a phone that actually works well — like the iPhone 3G — but the iPhone just isn’t expensive enough for you? You could go with the iPhone 3G and then swath it in the most expensive iPhone 3G accessory ever — the $15,000 Noreve Diamond Case.

Santok, a maker of cellular specific and related products for mobile phone owners, unveiled recently a new Bluetooth speakerphone for inside the car. It is called the Santok STK SP500.

The Santok STK SP500 is described as being fully functional and offering a pivoting microphone as well as adjustable volume. This unit uses Bluetooth to wirelessly connect with a Bluetooth-enabled phone, offering features like caller ID, voice dial activation and call rejection.

I have a first generation iPhone and like it a lot. One of the worst things about it though is that if you watch many videos on it the battery drains very quickly, iPod owners have this same problem. This fact has led to the proliferation of back up batteries for the iPhone and the iPod. Some batteries are only for the iPhone like the iPhoneck we talked about before.

If you want something a bit more universal that will work for your iPhone, the iPhone 3G coming this week and your 30-pin connector iPod, i.Sound has the battery for you. Called simply the i.Sound Back Up Battery the little device is a 2-in-1 charger that can charge your phone and the internal battery at the same time.

Over the last several months many states have moved to a hands free law that means all drivers in the state can only use a cell phone when coupled with a hands free kit like a Bluetooth headset. Many drivers in states that still allow you to hold your phone and talk when driving prefer Bluetooth headsets as well.

A new Bluetooth headset from i.Tech has launched called the i.VoicePRO and it claims to be the first Bluetooth headset on the market with dual microphones using Bluetooth Profile v2.1. The dual mics mean that the headset has superior noise filtering properties.

If there is one universal thing cell phone users can agree on it is longer battery life for their devices. We have seen all sorts of methods to prolong the run time of our cell phones from add on batteries to solar chargers.

The SunBlazer is a pretty interesting product and combines two things that most cell phone users might need. The SunBlazer is a holster for your cell phone that also has a solar charger built-in to keep your phone powered up.

Panasonic said today it was releasing a new mobile phone accessory which connects Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones to cordless handsets in the home. It is known as the Panasonic KX-TH1211 Link to Cell and you’ll find it pricing around for around $100 (model KX-TH1212 includes two handsets and retails for around $130).

The Panasonic KX-TH1211 Link to Cell is a Bluetooth-enabled box which has a one touch initialization process, according to Panasonic. It can link up to two Bluetoot-enabled cell phones with up to six compatible wireless handsets. It can also support regular landline communications.

If cell signals drop like a stone in your home, you probably need a mobile cellular booster to help bring your bars back up. Renasis, a developer of wireless communications products, is offering one such new product in the form of the Renasis MCB-819.

The Renasis MCB-819, which has no pricing or availability information at the moment, offers dual band compatible service (CDMA/PCS) can be used in home or office to enhance cellular signal in areas which typically drop calls, such as in basements or “dead” spots.

Do you ever have the urge to mess with your friends, but don’t, because your voice would give you away? Well, check this out. With the help of this simple and cheap device, you’ll be able to make a phone call without being recognized. It works just like other hands-free headsets. Just plug it into your cellphone, and you are good to go.

One drawback is that there aren’t many voice options. The device comes loaded with five voice modes, a robot voice, an old man for when you want to tell hippies to get off your lawn, a child, and a duck for when you want to do your own rendition of Disco Duck in someone’s ear. I’m not sure how long the fun would last, but the price is $29.99.

FunkWerk Americas is an outfit I’ve not heard of before but from the looks of the products at their Web site the company seems to be doing some pretty cool things with regards to mobile accessories and Bluetooth. It is taking the CTIA Wireless show this week to make some announcements about upcoming ventures.

FunkWerk said it will be adding on to its Ego Flash and Ego Look products an iPod adapter, available this summer. This iPod adapter will let a driver charge and control the iPod or iPhone, including “automatic pause and resume playback music feature during active calls.” Also being made available in these two Ego products by late spring is the ability to read aloud through a car stereo text messages sent to a Bluetooth enabled cell phone.

Envision if you will for a moment a mobile phone which lets you change it up somehow so that it meets your “changing needs, preferences and style- easily and affordably.” That is the idea behind a new mobile phone ecosystem announced today which is called modu.

Several sets of products make up this new ecosystem. At the core is the modu itself, a tiny mobile phone. This modu phone can be used enclosed in design focused phone enclosures called modu jackets and enhanced via modu mates – products from mainstream consumer electronics manufacturers who will be developing special MP4 players, digital photo frames, cameras and DECT phones, among other items.

Skyfire is a new mobile browser that promises a nicer browsing experience on your mobile phone as well as speed and simplicity. Right now it’s in private beta mode and just available to those with a US phone number.

According to the site, the browser can go anywhere and get anything, which would make it a nice step up in mobile browsing. Supposedly it just like browsing on your PC. Check out a demo of Skyfire after the jump. If it’s even half as good as they claim, users are going to be very happy indeed. At least it has a cool name. Things always sound cooler with fire.

For those interested in using your cellphone to control your computer from a distance, the new mobile application, PCMobilzr, has just been unveiled by Rove Mobile Inc. It’s an application that lets you control your PC using your BlackBerry or Windows mobile phone only. It will display your desktop and control the keyboard and mouse, also give you remote access to every file and application on the computer.

While away from the office or on the road, if you find yourself wanting to know what’s in a file or document on your computer, you can access it easily. The application can be downloaded from the computer or the mobile. One downside is, that in order to access your computer using the PCMobilzr app, you need to subscribe for a monthly fee of $9.50 and have a username and password.

Polymer Vision this afternoon revealed that it is now producing the Readius, a device they are billing as the world’s first phone with foldable display. It’s more advanced than Amazon’s Kindle and uses a 5-inch e-paper display that replicates the sharpness of ink and tucks into the main body for portability, creating a much smaller profile than any other e-book reader available.

It’s also a full-fledged phone. The Readius can make calls and connect to the Internet in the US and most other 3G-capable areas of the world. This will allow live RSS reading as other real-time information. The device also supports ActiveSync for synchronizing contacts and e-mail with Microsoft Exchange servers and audiobooks, music playback, and basic games stored on microSDHC cards up to 8GB in size. With the e-paper display, it can last for as long as 30 hours for reading and longer than many phones when it comes to calls.

Blue Raven Technology is out with a new phone adaptor device for use at home or in the office which lets you use your mobile to place and receive calls over your land line phone. It is called the Blue Raven MobileMate 1380 and it is set to price at around $100.

The Blue Raven MobileMate 1380 makes use of Bluetooth technology and lets one connect a Bluetooth-enabled mobile to a house phone. It can, by doing this, in effect let you use either phone to place and receive calls over either network. The connected house phone will ring when the paired mobile does as well.