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Cell Phones

App Could Aid Migrant (and Illegal) Workers Crossing the U.S. Border

Cell phones -- and for that matter, app-enabled smartphones -- have typically been aimed at the middle class, containing software designed to help balance meeting agendas, check a flight's status, and the like. But what about the potential for cell phone apps to help a notoriously under-served section of the population?

Well, there's an app for that. The 'Transborder Immigrant Tool,' which is currently in development, aims to aid illegal immigrants crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. This month, the app's creator Ricardo Dominguez, who works in the Visual Arts department at the University of California - San Diego, did a long interview with Vice Magazine, in which he spelled out the purpose of this potentially illegal software and the probable public anger it will cause:
"I would imagine [anti-immigration militias] won't be too happy with us, but again we're not trying to hide. It's a safety tool. It's not trying to resolve the political anxieties of these communities or resolve the inadequacies of a fictional border for a so-called free-trade community. Again, our position is that it's not a political resolution; it's a safety tool. That, at the core, is what we're attempting to do."
Using the cheapest cell phones possible (specifically the under-$30 Motorola i455, which comes with a GPS applet), Dominguez and his team were able to create a hack that added navigation functionality and the ability to locate water and highways. Although the app is still only in the alpha phase of development, Dominguez hopes to roll it out soon.

Read the whole interview for more information, and be sure to leave your thoughts on this in the comments section. [From: Vice Magazine, via: BoingBoing]

Cell Phones, BlackBerry, iPhone, Web, BlackBerry 101

More Folks Listening to Net Radio on Their Phones

At this point, free Internet radio stations abound, but one of our perennial favorites has been Pandora.com. (Go on and sign up; you'll see.) Based on an admirably well researched database called The Music Genome Project, Pandora automatically generates a customizable playlist based on whatever song or artist you choose, explaining exactly why each song has been selected in remarkably musical terms. Many a late night at work has been made infinitely more bearable thanks to its intuitive and automatic operation.

Now, according to the New York Times's Bits Blog, the radio station is taking an almost unwitting leap from laptops to smartphones. (Pandora now offers apps for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm Pre.) While each day sees 65,000 music lovers sign up for Pandora's free service, a full 45,000 of them are registering not on their computers, but on their phones.

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Cell Phones, Celebrities, iPhone, Mobile Software

Sing Like T-Pain With New Auto-Tune App For iPhone

You can't turn on the radio without hearing the impact Auto-Tune, a software program that corrects a singer's pitch. Whether that's good or bad is up for debate, but that hasn't stopped both schools of thought from cashing in on the craze. Jay-Z pumped out his anti-ballad 'Death to Auto-Tune,' and, on the other side, T-Pain now further cements his status as 'King of Auto-Tune' with a new iPhone application, as if there were any question after "On A Boat" (after the break, explicit language).

The 'I Am T-Pain App' helps anyone with Apple's mobile device (and $2.99 in their pocket) sing in that same robotic tone as the aforementioned musician, according to Digital Beat. Just hold the phone close to your mouth, belt out a few lines (they don't have to be from a T-Pain song, but the app does provide lyrics), and the program automatically corrects your pitch. It'll be just like you're in the studio with T-Pain, minus the bottle of cognac and bling.

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iPhone, Mobile Software, Web

TUAW Launches iPhone App


Our friends over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog just launched a new iPhone app (already #3 in the free news category on the App Store), available now via iTunes [iTunes link] and via the TUAW app page.

You mobile Mac-heads out there probably know about i.tuaw.com, the iPhone-optimized version of TUAW. Why go native? The new app offers offline browsing, allows you to bookmark articles for later reading, features Twitter/e-mail/Facebook-sharing capability, and lets you view that retro Mac design gallery in glorious full screen. Now, you don't have any excuse for missing out on that blurry pic of the latest Apple iDevice, taken in some dark factory by a TUAW secret agent.

And, yes, fellow Apple addicts, there's more. We've got a video tour of the app embedded after the break.

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iPhone

iPhone App Rates Sexual Performance


We've got apps to shake babies, apps that mimic bodily functions, but its Chris Alvares' 'Passion' app that may be the strangest, most illicit application designed for the iPhone.

Using the microphone and the accelerometer, Alverez set out to design a program that measures an activity that (hopefully) uses a fair amount of sound and movement: sex. Those curious about their performance can strap their iPhone to a belt or armband and do the deed, and the device rates the act. Factors considered are duration, activity, and climax, combining to give a reading measured out of ten. For the self-conscious, users can upload their score and compare their performance to others.

No doubt that this application will certainly garner support from Lotharios who want to see how they measure up, but if this (warning: hilariously disturbing) turtle taught us anything, noise and motion don't necessarily translate to satisfaction. Usually we end posts like these with a witty observation or snide comment, but this is an iPhone application that measures how well you do in bed. We can't really top that. [From: Telegraph.co.uk]

Cell Phones, Video Games, iPhone, Mobile Software, Mobile Phones

'Beer Pong' iPhone Game Creators Making $7K Per Month



Another sure sign that our capitalism system is broken: While PhD-educated physicists take jobs at Wal-Mart and single mothers hold down four jobs just to put factory-farmed food on the table, the creators of the iPhone game Beer Pong Challenge are making more than $7,000 a month in money from in-game advertising.

Business Insider broke it down, and figured out that for every 1,000 impressions, the company Super Experiment gets $3.21 -- which means that it's getting over 2.3 million impressions a month. Which means that a lot of people are playing Beer Pong Challenge.

Did we mention that this rendition of beer pong doesn't even get you drunk? [From: Business Insider]

Cell Phones, iPhone

Text No More: New App Brings Air-Writing to Cell Phones



Cell phone developers are constantly trying to address the problem of text input on mobile devices. Over the years, we've seen input systems ranging from full QWERTY keyboards and nine key predictive text systems (like T9) to virtual keyboards. New research suggests the answer may not be in the keys at all. According to LiveScience, researchers at Duke University have developed a prototype for the PhonePoint Pen, a cell phone app that allows users to "air-write" short notes.

The app functions as if the cell phone is a pen (though it will probably feel more like writing with a piece of sidewalk chalk); tracing letters or shapes in the air transfers inputs them into the phone's text field. How does it work? The air-writing app works by using the accelerometers (which track the phone's orientation) already inside smartphones like the iPhone. If you prefer texting on the move (hardly the safest practice, especially if you're driving or crossing a street) this could wind up being the app for you.

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Cell Phones, Web, Social Networking

Facebook Phishing Scam Bills Your Cell Phone


We've already expressed our distaste for Facebook quizzes; we're just plain tired of our Facebook accounts being bombarded with requests to 'Find Out How Well You Know Your Town' or 'What 1980s Film Character Do You Most Resemble.' After reading this story at WCPO.com, we can add one more entry to the list of reasons we would like to see these applications disappear; phishers are now using quizzes to steal information from your cell phone account and place extra fees on your bill.

According to the story from ABC's Cincinnati affiliate, a woman was asked to enter her cell phone number in order to receive her score from an IQ test she took on Facebook. Thinking the application didn't accept her number the first time, Leanne Saylor entered it two more times. When she opened her cell phone bill later that month, Saylor saw three charges for text message services, amounting to a total of $44. Apparently, she failed to read the fine print on the quiz, which stated that monthly fees apply. Luckily, AT&T blocked future months' fees.

Take a lesson from Saylor, though. Never give out your phone number, or any other personal information, to these applications. It's too great a risk to take just to see if you have a higher IQ than your friends. [From WCPO.com]

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Web

U Talking 2Me? Famous Movie Scenes Reimagined on iChat



The Internet, besides providing access to an unlimited supply of information on all aspects of life, also allows creative, or bored, people with time on their hands to make parodies of pop culture. Sites like YouTube and FunnyorDie host multitudes of videos and voice-overs satirizing movies, and iChat is now following suit.

The Geek Pad located some famous movie dialogues that have been transcribed into chat form, complete with appropriate, and hilarious, emoticons and LOLs. The famous cinema moments include a historic conversation between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, and the "Royale with cheese" discussion from Pulp Fiction.

Hopefully, this will open the door for more cinema chat enthusiasts. Arnold explaining, "My CPU is a neuronet processor, a learning computer" in 'Terminator 2,' or Shatner's facial expressions in the "KHAAAAN!," scene from 'Star Trek II' could translate hilariously into IM form, unless, of course, someone's already beat us to it. [From: The Geek Pad, via Url-y Riser]

Computers, iPod, iPhone, Mobile Software

Watch NCAA Basketball Live on Your iPhone With New App


Every moment of March Madness can now be experienced via iPhone, thanks to a new deal between Mobinet and CBS.

For $4.99, iPhone and iPod touch customers will have access to 63 NCAA basketball games through the new CBS March Madness app. The app can be purchased Thursday, although the games themselves don't start until next week. To actually watch games live, you must have access to Wi-Fi. Multiple games will be accessible during the earlier days of the tournament, so viewers will have the ability to choose between different regional battles.

We're sure bosses around the country are thrilled that their employees have another distraction at work. That is, of course, assuming they still have employees. [From: USAToday]

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Cell Phones, iPhone, Mobile Software, Mobile Phones

Most iPhone Apps Redundant, Pointless, Says NY Times Blogger



Saul Hansell over at the New York Times has a blog post up asking why iPhone users pay for content. His argument is that many of the non-game applications available on the iPhone simply contain information we could all get online for free, such as a directory of Congressional offices, public domain e-books and gym workout videos. Yet, while this content is readily available with the iPhone's browser, many people are choosing instead to buy it.

Trying to explain this phenomenon, Hansell points to the ease of the transaction, combined with the fact that Apple users are accustomed to buying software. Okay, we agree that it's easy to buy applications on the iPhone. But there are also the impulse-buy prices, novel touch interface, always-with-you convenience, and much, much more.

Frankly, we buy more apps from the App Store than we probably should. Why? Because we simply can't help ourselves. Why do you buy apps from the App Store? [From: New York Times]

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Computers, Editor's Picks, MySpace, Windows Software

Create 3-D Version of Yourself, Then Take Said Self Online



It could be argued that one of the biggest hurdles in the way of creating compelling shared online experiences is the fact that digital avatars look nothing like the people controlling them. A Pasadena, CA-based company called Big Stage Entertainment is trying to change that, and its solution is to enable anyone to quickly create a realistic 3-D version of themselves, which can then be used online in a variety of applications.

Using Big Stage Entertainment's proprietary technology, users can create their own free, animated 3-D avatar (the company is calling them "@ctors"). Just snap a few quick pictures of yourself on your digital camera and upload them; to create and view @ctors in action, you'll need to install the Big Stage Media Player (on your PC -- no Mac version, yet). You can then customize your avatar's look (read: hair, glasses, clothing), and then project them onto your social network sites, into video clips -- pretty much anywhere you like.

Of course, don't expect your own personalized Marcus Phoenix -- high-quality facial models take many man-hours of work. Still, for the applications involved, it's pretty cool stuff: it's easy to get your model online and in action (the results are not unlike those in games like 'Rainbow Six Vegas,' which employed similar technology). Check out the video above, and then go reinvent your digital self. To paraphrase Michael Jackson, it all starts with the man in the mirror. [From: Big Stage Entertainment]

Cell Phones, iPhone

Third-Party Party Apps Coming To iPhone Finally?

Apple to Finally Open iPhone to 3rd Party Apps?

We've been promised this before, and we're not really sure that the rumors are any more reliable this time around, but here goes: Sources are telling Business Week that Apple plans to open up the iPhone to third-party applications.

Currently, running third-party apps on the iPhone is a complex and dangerous operation that can render your iPhone completely useless.

The sources presented few details, but expect that the developer kit will be revealed at the MacWorld Expo on January 15. The belief is the delay has less to do with purposely frustrating developers and more to do with the release of Leopard, which many believe will enable more powerful features on the iPhone.

One thing is for sure, Apple will not just hand over a developer kit to anyone who asks. Expect the list of developers, at least initially, to be very short. As for the rest of those hoping to build applications for the iPhone, we refer you to Job's previous message -- build a web app.

From Business Week

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Latest Reviews from CNET.com

CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.

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