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If you haven't implemented a mobile device policy, now is the time to start, according to an Info-Tech Research Group analyst. With established devices such as RIM's BlackBerry already in rotation at most companies, and new handhelds like the Apple iPhone and Samsung Instinct on the way, IT departments must ensure employees using mobile devices are doing so in a safe and secure manner. Mark Tauschek, senior research analyst at the Canada-based Info-Tech, said a well balanced acceptable use policy - with a strong focus on mobile device security - is essential to every major organization.

Americans value mobility across the country and through the class ranks. This mobility remains especially important in times of economic stress. As educators, we can move to new schools or educational settings.

Many educators will need the support and ideas of their peers over the next few years.

Revenue from music sold over the Internet, via mobile phones and in other digital forms, rose by 25 percent last year, to $3.7 billion, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said in a report set for publication Friday. Digital sales accounted for 20 percent of the industry's revenue, up from 15 percent a year earlier.

According to the latest data, the U.S. "adoption rate" for mobile phones stands at 85 percent. That's higher than the percentage of Americans who have DVD players (84 percent), home PCs (80 percent), digital cameras (69 percent) or MP3 players (40 percent), according to the Nielsen Co. "The concept that within my lifetime we'd have the kind of penetration we have today is unimaginable," says Martin Cooper, 79, the former Motorola researcher who invented the portable cell phone in 1973.

"Last month I was somewhat surprised when my teenage son announced that he was going to sell his iPhone and start using a £10 monocrome mobile instead. Naturally I was interested in trying to understand his motivation for downgrading so dramatically. It seems that after six months of trying out various apps and dealing with the fragility and complexity of the iPhone, he was ready for something simpler."

Phone services by Google