PC World — For the un-initiated, the term Easter eggs is geek parlance for secret gags and goofs buried deep inside software. Google's (GOOG) been laying Easter eggs for years. Now as cell phones have hit mass appeal, perhaps it's no surprise that Easter eggs have snuck into our handhelds.

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So with Easter on the way, and smartphones hotter than ever, we've dug up 10 smartphone Easter eggs to either help or amuse you. And don't have to be a devout user of any one brand, either; there are examples here for every modern smartphone platform.

Android: Nexus One Holiday Game

Shortly before Google announced the Nexus One, employees testing the phone were able to play a card-matching memory game online. It's still available for all Nexus One owners at android.com/holidays, but any other browser will redirect to the Android home page. Image credit: AndroidGuys.

Android: About That Battery

To get quick access to detailed battery information, including charge and voltage, open your phone's voice dialer and say "open battery info."

BlackBerry: Help Me!

Despite the old age of BlackBerry, virtually no Easter eggs exist for the platform. The "Help Me!" screen is as close as you get, revealing battery level, signal strength and other statistics. On full QWERTY models, hold Alt, Shift and H at the same time. On touch screen models, hold the escape or back button, then tap top left, top right, top left, top right sequentially. On the BlackBerry Pearl, press Alt, E, A, C, and E at the same time. Image credit: BerryReview.

iPhone: Twitterific Over the Top

The Twitterific client for Twitter gets a little silly if you enter a 140-character Tweet containing the word "Twitterific." This creates a swooshing sound, and unlocks "Twoosh" in settings, creating the same noise for every 140-character Tweet when toggled. Also, Tweeting in all caps and ending with the word "CHOCKLOCK" unlocks "Be Awesome" in settings, a toggle for automatically Tweeting in all caps. You'll hear someone yell "You're Awesome!" if you did it right. Image credit: MyGreatPhone.

iPhone: The Konami Code Returns

Here's a simple way to amuse old-school gaming fans: Visit konamicodesites.com and perform the konami code with swipe gestures (fine, it's "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right," then "B, A" on the buttons that pop up). Your reward is a sprite from Contra III: Alien Wars.

iPhone: Pwnage Tool 3.0

This isn't an Easter egg within the iPhone itself, but people who are on the way to unlocking their iPhones can hear hidden messages in PwnageTool for Mac. To hear the first, go to the "About PwnageTool" box, hold the letters "S" and "F" and click the pineapple logo. For the second one, go into Expert mode, choose your firmware, click "General," enter "666" for the partition amount, then click the blue "Next" arrow. BlogsDNA has the transcription if you want the surprise spoiled.

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