The recent devastating earth quake in Haiti has brought forth a new way of giving through text messaging. Help Haiti by making a $10 donation to the American Red Cross by simply texting “HAITI” to 90999. Michelle Obama has been all over TV promoting this simple way to give (see video below).

Mgive has provided this very simple way for people to make a donation in seconds to the Red Cross. Mobile donations have raised millions of dollars for Haiti already and still counting. Basically by texting “Haiti” to 90999, a charge will show up on your monthly bill or debited from your pre-paid balance and a $10 donation will be made to the Red Cross relief for Haiti. In a short amount of the time this way of giving has proven how powerful mobile transactions can be.

This is just the beginning of mobile transactions as our mobile devices become more and more powerful.

• Texting donations like the Red Cross has done
• Paypal Mobile offers an easy way to send money using text messaging
• iPhones offer the capability to be a credit card terminal.

I can imagine a future where my mobile phone will become my central hub for financial transactions. Think about your mobile phone as your credit card, debit card and all your club and store cards. We’re making our way there and texting a donation is just the beginning. Mobile transactions are coming to a phone near you!

Like always when new ways of transacting become popular there will also be scams out there. Always be aware of who your are giving to, donate to reputable organizations and check the organizations credentials.

Help Haiti today by making a $10 donation to the Red Cross today by texting “Haiti” to 90999 or visiting RedCross.org.

The new prototype of the CrunchPad from TechCrunch is out.  Today was the first time I read about this web tablet and it’s almost exactly what I’m looking for.  I’ve been waiting for an internet tablet device similar to the iPod Touch but bigger and this may be the answer to that, but the rumors of a Apple netbook is still very intriquing to me.

Specifically made for the internet it just runs a browser with associated apps.  All I want is to be able to do is check email, use Google Reader, watch YouTube and Hulu and listen to Rhapsody in portable device as shift my focus to having everything available on the internet.   The CrunchPad could be the device I’m looking for.

Price seems to be reasonable starting at $300, I can’t wait to hear more about the CrunchPad.