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Posts with tag CellPhone

German Companies Developing Scented Text Messages

by Nilay Patel, posted May 5th 2008 at 1:05PMBreaking News

Virtually every smell-based tech that's come through the pipe has fizzled out in one way or another, but that checkered past isn't stopping Germany's ConVisual from partnering with the Institute of Sensory Analysis and Marketing to develop scent-delivery chips for cell phones.

The partnership has been running for eight years and just received a patent on the tech, and the goal now is to start building the chips into phones within the next two years. Initially, the chip is supposed to have 100 different smells on it, and ConVisual says bad smells are a possibility as users will be able to reject certain messages. That's certainly interesting, but we've got to say, we're not all that keen on the idea of people having even more ways to emit odors -- we'll stick with the non-smelly cellys, thanks much. [Source: The Local via EE TImes]

Vodafone Recommends "More Discreet" Communication Methods in Public

by Darren Murph, posted May 1st 2008 at 7:11AM


Although it should be painfully obvious, we can't deny that chatting about sensitive information in public takes place practically everywhere. To that end, a new study commissioned by Vodafone UK found that over 70-percent of all workers "talk business on their mobile phones in public, with one-in-five talking about business-critical subjects such as sales leads." Worse still, 15-percent admitted to "openly discussing confidential new products or services whilst traveling," while 26-percent admitted that they have actually followed up on a lead in which they received via listening in to another's public call.

Not surprisingly, the company recommends that individuals utilize more discreet methods of communicating in public, suggesting texting and emailing in particular. Of course, it's a good bit more difficult to tell a story through those two methods, but it's a lot better than having your most promising client snatched out from under you, yeah?

[Source: Search By Headlines via textually, image courtesy of Miloh]

Air France In-Flight Cell Phone Calling Tests Begin: Not So Great

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 20th 2008 at 3:47PMBreaking News

The Air France in-flight calling trial is now well underway, and it looks like there are still some kinks left to iron out. The New York Times hitched a ride on a recent flight featuring tests of the system, and found that things weren't quite working up to snuff: Voice quality was said to be like "talking to a small robot," only six passengers could get a signal at a time, BlackBerry email didn't work, and calls placed from the ground to cell phones in the air went straight to voicemail.

That's a pretty long list for a system that's been talked about for a couple years now -- let's hope OnAir manages to clear up some of these glitches before angry passengers revolt over not only having to listen to other people's conversations, but also their screaming over bad connections. [Source: NYTimes]

70% of Workers Divulge Confidential Info In Public Over Cell Phones

by Will Safer, posted Apr 9th 2008 at 6:17PMBreaking News

Do you ever catch yourself listening in on a conversation someone else is having on a cell phone? It happens all the time. You're riding the bus, sitting in a restaurant, or waiting in an airport lounge for your flight when suddenly you are almost forced to listen in on what clearly should be a private conversation. What could be the impact of all these private calls made uncomfortably public?

Well, Vodaphone in United Kingdom has done some interesting research into how people making business calls on their wireless phones often say more than they should about sensitive information, essentially broadcasting company secrets to anyone within earshot.

Vodafone UK found that more than 70% of workers talk business on their mobile phones in public, often openly discussing confidential new products or services. More than a quarter those surveyed admitted that they would follow up on a lead they overheard from someone else's phone conversation.

So, the next time you feel the need to share some important piece of business information with a colleague, or even feel like talking about your date last night with a good friend, remember that your cell phone doesn't come equipped with a "private" button.

If you're out in public, then the public is part of your conversation.

From Textually.


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Prepaid Cell Phones Could Earn an Extra $11 Billion for the Nation's Poorest

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 7th 2008 at 10:58AM


Nicholas Sullivan at the MIT Media Lab has reached a similar conclusion to the one driving Google's Grandcentral for the homeless push -- communication is the key to success. The report out of MIT claims that putting prepaid cell phones in the hands of the 38 percent of the poorest Americans without one could earn them between $2.9 billion and $11 billion a year through increased business (for the self employed), and increased hours or wages.

The two surveys used to generate this report also found cell phones provided an important security blanket effect for the owners, with a vast majority of Americans agreeing that a cell phone was "very important" for emergency situations. This safety blanket effect is important because the poorest among us who would stand to benefit most financially from a cell phone are also disproportionately affected by crime.

That two for one shot, finances plus safety, makes us feel like some filthy rich philanthropist should start buying up and handing out every prepaid phone he/she can find.

From Textually and Cellular News

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A Zoom Lens for Your Camera Phone

by Thomas Houston , posted Apr 3rd 2008 at 3:22PM



If you find yourself wishing for a zoom lens for your camera phone, Green House's "Mobile Telescope Lenz" might be exactly what you're looking for. The Green House kit comes with an 8x zoom lens and a small tripod designed to accept most camera phones.

We're not totally sure how the system works, but it appears that you line up your phone's lens with the adapter (connected to the 8x zoom) and then operate the zoom by manually twisting the add-on lens. The quality of your photos probably won't improve, but now you've got "telescope lenz" capabilities.

The Mobile Telescope Lenz retails for $88, though we don't know if it will be available in the States anytime soon. In case you're interested in Green House's other offerings, the company also sell a variety of hamburger and pizza-shaped USB Flash Drives.

From Engadget

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Verizon Debuts Loopt Service To Track Friends, Pics By GPS

by Will Safer, posted Apr 1st 2008 at 10:02AM

Loopt for Verizon mobile phones.

Verizon Wireless is getting in on the friend-tracking game, offering a $3.99 per month service for its GPS-capable phones that allows a user to note the location of a friend or where a picture was taken.

The service, called Loopt, allows people to share their location with anyone in their contact list or in their AOL Instant Messenger list.

Privacy controls are in place so each user adjust security settings. That way you can keep your location private, an important feature in any social network or shared service application where personal information is involved.

Sprint Nextel and its Boost Mobile brand have already included Loopt into its GPS-enabled phones. Helio provides a service that is similar to Loopt. Other wireless carriers have safety plans that allow parents to track where their kids are located.

From BetaNews.


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Driver Crashes Car While Reaching For Cell Phone (But Saves Cup Of Coffee)

by Will Safer, posted Mar 28th 2008 at 5:17PM

Using a cell phone while driving

Modern conveniences and technology allow us to do many things while driving. We can navigate our way along unfamiliar highways, avoiding traffic and finding random points of interest. We can save fuel by motoring along on steam. We can even juice the stereo in our car to the point that it turns all components and passengers into something resembling tapioca pudding. But none of these technological advances can help us if we're still refusing to use our brains while sitting behind the wheel of a fast-moving car.

Case in point: An Oakland driver decided it was more important to reach for her ringing cell phone than keep control of her car. The result? She dunked her automobile into the Oakland Estuary. She somehow escaped injury and even saved her cup of coffee. Onlookers reported that she emerged from the car's watery resting place still clutching her cup of morning joe. No word on the cell phone, though.

May we suggest a hands-free device? Or perhaps a suspension of her license?

From AOL News.

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Gadgets Increasingly Ruining Sex Lives Around the World

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Mar 28th 2008 at 3:08PM

In the Battle for Supremacy It Appears Technology is Beating out Sex

We've published a number of articles about disturbing surveys focused on how technology affects our sex lives. MSNBC contributor Brian Alexander has compiled a boatload of information on the subject from several surveys in one surprising look at technology and our bedroom manners.

In addition to lowering your sperm count and potentially deforming the little guys in your man-batter, cell phones are adding to our technological distractions. Marta Meana, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, says that cell phones are part of our culture of multi-tasking, which is preventing us from making "quiet time to have sex." And we already know that 37 percent of you are taking your laptops to bed with you.

Even worse, almost 50 percent of British men said they would give up sex for six months in exchange for a free 50-inch plasma television. Not disturbing enough? Only 25 percent would give up chocolate as part of the same deal.

One sure way to put a nail in your sex life's coffin is to put a TV in the bedroom. An Italian study showed that simply putting a television in the bed room cut the amount of sex a couple had in half.

We obviously love our tech and gadgets here at Switched, but we could never choose the Internet or TV over intercourse. What's wrong with you people?

Seriously what is wrong with you?



From Shiny Shiny and MSNBC

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LG's New Keyboard Built to Feel Like Human Skin

by Thomas Houston , posted Mar 26th 2008 at 2:14PM



LG's new LG-SH240 slider, recently released in Korea, is a pretty standard mobile phone with a 2-megapixel camera, HSDPA 3G connectivity (for fast downloads and Web surfing) and Bluetooth (for wireles headsets and speakers).

The phone's main attraction? It comes with a keyboard designed to feel like human skin. Yes, the next advancement in touch-based technology appears to be mimicking the feel of skin.

If you're looking to get your hands on this creepy phone, you're out of luck if you live Stateside as it's currently retailing for around $400 and is only available in Korea. We'll let you know if and when the word yet on whether the LG-SH240 will be released in the U.S..

From Engadget

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200-Million Spam Text Messages Hit Chinese Cell Phones

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 25th 2008 at 1:39PM

Phone Spam Hits Nearly Half of Chinese MobilesThere's little more irritating than getting spam text messages on your cell phone, especially when your plan has you stuck paying for each message that comes in.

Thankfully, phone spam is a fairly isolated problem here in the U.S. In China, however, it's another story entirely, as nearly half of all the cell phone users in the country recently got hit with a flood of spam text messages.

Last week, over 200-million spam messages were sent to subscribers of China's two largest mobile providers, China Mobile and China Unicom. The messages originated from seven different advertising firms, which took advantage of security lapses at the two service providers to send out the blasts. Those advertising firms have been apparently blocked from future spam attempts, but it remains to be seen whether they'll face prosecution or not.

Here's hoping.

From BBC News

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Chinese Mobile Phone Has Two -Year Battery Life

by Will Safer, posted Mar 24th 2008 at 3:19PM

Chinese cell phone with two-year battery life.

Battery life is often the determining factor when we buy consumer electronics products. How does a cell phone with two years of stand-by time sound to you?

A new phone out of China promises just that, giving you two years of stand-by time and two to three days of active talking time -- all without plugging the phone into the charger even once.

You may be thinking this device, Solo Mobi model number ZJ268, would be nothing more than a big battery with a keypad, but the handset actually has Bluetooth support, slots for two SIM cards, keypad AND handwriting input, and MP3 playback capability. The Solo Mobi also has plenty of standard phone applications like calendar, task list, and (of course) a contact list.

The 32800 mAh battery is rated by the manufacturer to operate for 666 days in standby mode, which blows away anything else we've seen on the market.

As best we can tell from the manufacturer Web site, the basic cost of the phone is $128. According to the specifications, it does come with a charger -- but why would you need one?

The good news is that if you can get your hands on one -- either by going to China and buying one or finding it for sale online -- you'll be able to use it with ay T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless SIM card.

From Textually.org.


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Police Accept "Ear-Warming" Excuse From Driver With Cell Phone

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Mar 17th 2008 at 5:36PM

Man Claims to Have Been Warming His Ear With Cell Phone While Driving
Walter Klein's talents for selling heaping piles of crap to people are going to waste behind the wheel of a tractor trailer. This man not only had the balls to tell police, who pulled him over for using his cell phone while driving, that he was just warming his ear, but was able to convince a court in Hamm, Germany that it was the truth.

Klein claimed that he had a earache that morning and was using the warmth generated by his freshly charged cell phone to ease some of the discomfort. Klein was able to produce an itemized telephone bill proving he had not been using the phone at the time of his arrest, and the court accepted his plea of innocence.

We're still not buying it. Something tells us Klein just hadn't finished dialing yet. But the guy deserves credit for being brazen enough to attempt such a blatantly lame excuse.

From Fark and IOL

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68% of Americans Suffer from 'Disconnect Anxiety'

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Mar 12th 2008 at 3:12PM

68% of Americans Suffer from 'Disconnect Anxiety'
According to a recent study by the Solutions Research Group (Warning: PDF file), Americans just can't stand to be out of touch. According to the survey, 68 percent of Americans suffer from at least occasional disconnect anxiety when away from the computer or cell phone. The participants' feelings when away from the 'net range from general discomfort to inadequacy and panic.

Some other interesting statistics: Only 37 percent of laptop users frequently log on from their bed rooms, but 63 percent of Blackberry users admitted to using their device of choice while in the "washroom." That last number seemed particularly disturbing to our pals over at Engadget, but we'll be the first to admit that entire articles on Switched have been written from the comfort of the porcelain throne (desk?), which really just goes to show how terrified of being disconnected we are.

From Engadget

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London Lamp Posts Padded to Protect Distracted Texters

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Mar 6th 2008 at 1:19PM

Lamp Posts in London Padded to Protect Walk'n'Text-ers
We live in a dangerous world filled with murderers, terrorists, and lamp posts. That's right: lamp posts. Don't play coy with us. We know on at least one occasion you've been walking down the street texting away on your mobile phone and walked right into a lamp post or telephone pole.

British telephone directory service 118 118 is out to save Londoners from themselves and has started wrapping lampposts in thick padding. Apparently serious injuries from people paying less attention to where they were going and more to their tiny cell phone screen has inspired the company (along with charity Living Streets) to take action. The company will poll pedestrians in the area of the pilot program and if all goes well, Birmingam, Manchester, and Liverpool are next.

The best part about the 118 118 program is that there is simply nothing we can do to make it any funnier. Once in a while something comes along that is so perfectly hilarious we are forced to just let the story mock itself. If this was April we would have written this off immediately.

And for those of you who don't believe us:

From Engadget, Yahoo News, Metro, and Daily Mail

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