March 23, 2008
Samsung grape-colored phone comes with matching nail polish
Gone (thankfully) are the days when women matched the color of their hat with their gloves, their belt and their shoes, today's woman matches her cell phone with her nail polish. At least that's what Samsung is suggesting with a new a grape-color model that comes with matching nail polish.
[via engadget:mobile]
March 22, 2008
Car accident involving cell phone use reaches $5.2 settlement
Another reason not to drive and use your cell phone at the same time - besides devastating the many lives of the victims and their families in the case of an accident - it can cost you big time.
A $5.2 million verdict was recently reached in Fulton County, GA, in a personal injury case involving a car accident caused by cell phone use behind the wheel. The case was set for trial on March 17, 2008, but settled out of court. Injury Board reports.
"According to the complaint filed in 2006, an employee of International Paper Co. rear-ended Debra Ford, while talking on her cell phone. Her cruise control had been set at 77 mph in a 70 mph speed limit zone. The impact of the car accident caused Ms. Ford's car to overturn, which pinned her arm between the vehicle and the pavement. The plaintiff's arm had to be amputated just below the shoulder.
Georgia's cell phone statue states that drivers are not to do anything distracting while behind the wheel."
Chinese phone needs no charger
A new generic touchscreen phone from China lasts 2 years without charging. It comes with a 2-year long manufacturer-rated battery life.
[via Gadgetell]
Diamonds on the screen of Toshiba phone
Spotted on Tokyomango, a diamond studded Toshiba cell phone. Phones with diamonds are nothing unusual, but what's novel about the Cosmic Shiner as it's called, is that the diamonds appear to be on the screen itself.
March 21, 2008
Build Paper Planes Game for cell phone
An unusual game for cell phones, making and flying paper planes>.
Designed purely as a casual game to idle away a few spare minutes, Paper Planes is available from selected UK operators now via Namco Mobile.
[TechDigest via Ubergizmo]
Self-healing artificial muscle can charge an iPhone
An artificial muscle that can heal itself and recharge an iPhone at the same time? Sounds ludicrous, but researchers at UCLA have developed an electricity-generating muscle that might one day be to used to create walking robots or advanced prosthetics, according to Discovery News via News.com.
Batphones. Can you hear me now?
Spotted on Yanko Design, “Batphones”, designed to enhance any sound coming from in front of you.
MySpace Mobile launches on Sprint
Sprint Mobile announced the launch of MySpace Mobile across all of its web-enabled handsets, becoming the first U.S. operator to offer subscribers free direct access to the new social networking site, which makes its formal debut after roughly six months in beta.
According to MySpace, the mobile service generated more than a million unique users during beta trials. "Mobile is the next generation of social networking," said MySpace senior director of mobile business development Brandon Lucas in a prepared statement.
[via Fierce Mobile]
HTC names Google phone 'Dream'
The mobile phone High Tech Computer (HTC) has been developing to run on the Android software from Google will be called "Dream," and it will have a large touchscreen and full QWERTY keypad, a person close to the situation said Thursday. InfoWorld reports.
"HTC may become the first handset maker in the world to put out a mobile phone developed around Android, but it faces stiff competition from Samsung, a separate source said. Samsung has stepped up its effort to put out a Google phone, the person said."
Verizon, AT&T win major licenses in wireless auction
Verizon Wireless has snapped up most of the licenses in the prime segment of the US wireless spectrum in a record-breaking federal auction, the government said Thursday.
Verizon won the coveted C-block airwaves in the 700 MHz radio spectrum auction that closed Tuesday, while rival AT&T won the most regional licenses, the US Federal Communications Commission said.
The new rules mark a revolution in the US cellphone industry, where customers have largely been tied exclusively to their operators' handsets and applications.
[via AFP]
March 20, 2008
Cabdrivers Rally For Right To Use Cell Phones On Duty
Cabdrivers rallied Wednesday in Downtown Manhattan to call on the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission to allow drivers to use hands-free cell phones while on duty. NY Top 1 reports.
Currently, it is illegal for drivers to use a hands free kit.
"In all professions workers have some form of communication that they carry around,” said Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “It could be their cellphone, it could be a walkie-talkie, a CB radio, - or it could be a telephone at their desk. Why are taxi drivers expected to work 12 hours a day, without any live communication, like a cell phone?”
"We should be allowed to use a cell phone, an emergency could be with any professional driver anywhere," said another woman cabdriver.
The TLC responded with a statement that said, "Unfortunately, cell phone abuse has resulted in many instances of drivers leaving their passengers feeling improperly served and downright unsafe, which studies agree is a true concern."
Related: Woman Chokes Out Cab Driver For Using Cell Phone - A city cab driver is back on the job after she was allegedly attacked by an unruly passenger who was angry she was talking on her cell phone.
Israeli-made Cryptophone attracts world spy agencies
A new Israeli-made Internet telephone called the Cryptophone, which scrambles messages before they are sent down the line, is attracting spy agencies and military clients in Israel and abroad, the phone's manufacturer told The Jerusalem Post .
Tikal Networks CEO, Alex Argov is in talks with the Prime Minister's Office in Israel and a range of security agencies here and around the world.
Unlike other scrambling devices, the Cryptone sends coded Internet protocol (VOIP) technology.
"Encrypted conference calls, voice-mail and videos are tangible solutions for those who fear that someone hostile could be eavesdropping on their conversation", Argov said.
"Cryptone is part of a secure switchboard system and messaging system," he said.
A second device created by Tikal can turn any cellphone conversation into a ciphered exchange, including SMS messages, Argov said, by installing an encoding bluetooth application on the cellphone.
"In principle, any cellphone with bluetooth can become a secure line," he said. "
Links to other encryption phones.
Transformer Phone Concept Molds To Accomplish Any Task
Spotted on Gearfuse, a Transformer concept phone.
"... It features a 3D scanning system which could store a 3D image of an object in the memory banks and project an exact image of the 3D model using holographic imaging."
March 19, 2008
Gameloft and CBS using real phone calls in mobile games
Characters in mobile game based on hit CBS TV series will call the player on their phone.
"Gameloft has come up with an interesting gameplay quirk for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Mobile Game.
When signing up, players have the option of activating the interactive phone call feature - they will then receive an automated call during the game offering clues and tips that lead them to new crime scenes."
This CBS Mobile game is the first of its kind utilizing outbound calling, which literally calls players to action,” said Cyriac Roeding, Executive Vice President, CBS Mobile. “Your cellphone rings, and a detective calls you to the scene - just like a real CSI detective. This combination of game play with popular content and a whole new level of interactivity represent enormous entertainment and business potential for the mobile world.”
[via mobile-ent.biz and SMS Text News]
Hulger's DJ adaptor
Hulger's DJ adaptor. Simply plug your wired Hulger handset in and you’re ready to monitor. Pictured are the lovely Brokenhearts girls who were appointed the official DJ-adaptor-testing-team.
The product is now available to buy in Hulger Shop
[via Hulger]
Wireless Spectrum Auction Raises $19 Billion
The government announced on Tuesday that it had closed the most lucrative government auction in history as wireless companies bid more than $19 billion for the rights to radio spectrum licenses. The New York Times reports.
"In the coming days, the FCC is expected to publish a list of the winning companies. The major participants included AT&T, Verizon and Google, although many experts said they did not expect Google would bid much more than the minimum reserve price of $4 billion for one of the more attractive groups of licenses.
The licenses are coveted because they will provide the winners with access to some of the best remaining spectrum — enabling them to send signals farther from a cell tower with far less power, through dense walls in cities and over wider territories in rural areas that are now underserved."
March 18, 2008
Long-Distance Wi-Fi
Intel has found a way to stretch a Wi-Fi signal from one antenna to another located more than 60 miles away. Technology Review reports.
"The wireless technology, called the rural connectivity platform - that can send data from a city to outlying rural areas tens of miles away - will be helpful to computer-equipped students in poor countries, says Jeff Galinovsky, a senior platform manager at Intel.
... There is nothing particularly innovative in the antenna technology and the router hardware, he says. The trick, he explains, comes in the software that the radios use to communicate with each other."
iPhone Users Love That Mobile Web
A new study finds that iPhone users are using the Web and listening to music significantly more than those with other smartphones and mobile devices.
[via the New York Time's Bits]
Sports,Tracked by Phone
Japanese mobile operator KDDI/AU offers a Smart Sports service, enabling users to to track their exercise route and sync their music. Image left is an ad for the service at Shibuya station.
Nokia offers something similar on their N-Series phones, enabling users to download Sports Tracker beta :
Information such as speed, distance and time are automatically stored to your training diary, and on this site you can store and share your workouts and routes.
[via everyone's favorite Jan Chipchase for Future Perfect]
Chinese Firm Sends 230 Million SMS Spams Daily
Some eighty percent of SMS spam in China is sent by just one company, according to an article published in theBeijing Morning Post.
"Focus Wireless' Zhengzhou subsidiary sends out 200 million SMS every single day - while several other company subsidiaries send out upwards of 30 million SMS per day."
[The Raw Feed via Cellular News]
Paper Is Out, Cellphones Are In
At least half a dozen airlines in the United States currently allow customers to check in using their mobile devices, but so far, Continental is the only carrier in the United States to begin testing the electronic passes. The New York Times reports.
Their boarding pass is an image of an encrypted bar code displayed on the phone’s screen, which can be scanned by gate agents and security personnel.
... The mobile check-in may well be the first step in direct communications between airlines and passengers as they travel. Ultimately, Henry H. Harteveldt, a vice president with Forrester Research, said he expected airlines would use mobile messaging to communicate with passengers about on-board services, rebooking options, baggage pickup and ticket purchases.
“It’s clear that mobile is the gateway to how airlines will interact with their customers in the future for almost anything,” he said.
Study: Most Japanese teenagers bathe and talk
According to the latest Sega research, 41.2 percent of Japanese have at least once in their lives taken their cell phones into the bath to make phone calls, send text messages, listen to music or play cell phone games.
According to Sega, teenagers are most likely to bathe and phone.
[via Kotaku]
Zygo. A new mobile social networking service
Zygo turns your mobile phone from a person to person into a group communications networking device.
Zygo is a mobile social networking service for groups of people in the real world, and a unique mobile media platform for the brands that want to reach them.
There's a million and one reasons why groups get together; friendship, shared obsessions, shared knitting patterns, whatever, each to their own. But when they're on the move the one problem that all these groups have in common is the frustrating number of individual texts or calls it takes to keep everyone up to speed.
No more! By simply adding a single Zygo number to their contacts groups can instantly share their messages, news, plans, schemes and witty one-liners with their chosen few.
Phones to outsell TV sets in 2008
Consumers worldwide will buy more multimedia mobile phones than TV sets this year, according to a new report from Research and Markets. [via The Hollywood Reporter]
"The Dublin, Ireland-based firm predicts that 300 million such phones that can play audio and video and browse the Internet will be sold in 2008. Its new report, "Mobile Media 2008: The Third Screen for Entertainment," also found that half the world's population, or 3.3 billion people, now have a mobile phone subscription. "
March 17, 2008
Obama remains strongest candidate on tech issues
Obama remains strongest candidate on tech issues. If you are looking for a president who understands your geeky world and fights for relevant technology issues, Barack Obama is your man, according to Tech.Blorge.
"... He was the first candidate to use Twitter as a means of communicating with his base. If you are on Twitter you can follow Barack Obama and get updated on where he is speaking each day, where you can see him on television, where his speeches are being shown online and receive other links and commentary in 140 characters or less.
The only other candidates to try Twitter were Ron Paul, who hasn’t sent an update in quite some time, and John Edwards, whose updates stopped when he dropped out of the race."
With all of this technological savvy, where does Obama stand on the issues that are important to the internet and people in technology? Read on and watch him speak at Google last November on Real Leadership on Technology."
Patent for iPhone flip phone?
engadget_mobile reports on a recent patent filing by Apple, indicating that it has at least considered the possibility of an iPhone flip phone of sorts, among other dual-screen possibilities."
President Sarkozy advised to watch his texting manners at Windsor
According to The First Post, French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been advised to behave in a more statesmanlike manner, starting with his visit to Windsor on March 26 as a guest of the Queen.
"No more Ray-Bans and jogging shorts, no more public kisses and cuddles with new wife Carla Bruni, and definitely no more texting on his mobile while in meetings with heads of state - all of these are high on the list of his advisors' new do's and don't's.
... Text-messaging has been one of his more shocking habits: he did it during an audience with Pope Benedict, and then again in a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. "It is embarrassing and extremely discourteous," said a French diplomat unused to such casual behaviour from the president."
Padded lampost to protect texters was PR stunt
A story claiming that lampposts in an East London street had been fitted with pads to protect text-messaging pedestrians – covered across UK , foreign media and blogs (including this one) – led journalists to “suspend their disbelief”, it was claimed this week. The Press Gazette reports.
"Locals in Tower Hamlets have said that the padding – put in place by a PR firm working for phone directory company 118188 – were only on a few lampposts and only there for a day and a half.
The phone directory company said in a press release, written by PR firm Resonate, that “safe text” rubber pads, similar to ones used on rugby posts, were being put on lampposts in the street to minimise harm. It claimed the “trailblazing” scheme would be monitored before it was decided whether to expand it to other parts of the country.
... A spokesman for 118118 said: “The important thing it is that it is a pilot scheme and the goal was to test out and gauge people’s opinions. We’ve raised a lot of debate around it and that was what we were trying to achieve."
Recognize Internet and Text messaging addiction as mental illnesses
Compulsive e-mailing and text messaging could soon become classified as an official brain illness, reports The Ottawa Citizen.
"An editorial in this month's issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry says Internet addiction -- including "excessive gaming, sexual pre-occupations and e-mail/text messaging" -- is a common compulsive-impulsive disorder that should be added to psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders."
Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Dr. Block says people can lose all track of time or neglect "basic drives," like eating or sleeping. Relapse rates are high, he writes, and some people may need psychoactive medications or hospitalization.
Dr. Block says about 86 per cent of Internet addicts have some other form of mental illness, but that unless a therapist is looking for it, Internet addiction is likely to be missed.
He argues that the phenomenon warrants being included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, psychiatry's official dictionary of mental illnesses. The next edition is due out in 2012. A draft is expected to to be available for public comment next year.
A Cell Phone Made of ...Tapioca?
Scientists are using salmon sperm, silk, and viruses to create more eco-friendly gadgets of the future, reports Business Week.
"There's a video playing these days at New York's Museum of Modern Art about a curvaceous cell phone called "Morph."
Unlike your typical phone, this one's from Nokia is form-fitting: It wraps around your wrist like a bracelet when you're not using it for calls. It also kills germs and looks out for your health by "sniffing" the surrounding air and analyzing your sweat."
Modern Products in Vintage Ads
This is wonderful! A Worth 1000. The theme is to insert modern products into vintage advertising.
Computers, television sets, game consoles, motorcycles, the segway, vodka, coke, viagra... and related to this column, a Nokia ad. Fab.
[via Neatorama]