May 21, 2013

Mobile Phones for Women's Empowerment

mHealthDebateImage.jpg The proliferation of mobile phones in low- and middle-income countries over the past decade has been rapid and remarkable. This boom in mobile technology offers an incredible opportunity to provide historically marginalized groups, such as girls and women, with increased access to information and education to improve their health and wellbeing. Forbes reports.

quotemarksright.jpg... The benefits of mobile technology reach far beyond the bounds of health in empowering women. For example, 41% of female mobile phone owners enjoy increased economic and professional opportunities due to owning a mobile, and 85% report feeling more independent because of their mobile phone.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

How are mobile phones empowering women and leading to better maternal heatlh.

May 20, 2013

Palestinian prisoners used forbidden mobile phones to plot terror attacks

A recent trial before the Samaria Military Court revealed a startling connection between Palestinians and the employee of at least one Israeli cell phone company − a connection that resulted in Palestinian prisoners obtaining working cell phones, even though they are forbidden to have them.

[via Haaretz]

May 19, 2013

99% of all mobile threats target Android devices

Android-Malware-radioactive.jpeg According to the recently published Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2012, 99% of newly discovered mobile malicious programs target the Android platform, with a very small amount targeting Java- and Symbian-based smartphones.

quotemarksright.jpg2012 was the second year to show explosive growth in Android malware. From a negligible eight new unique malicious programs in January 2011, the average monthly discovery rate for new Android malware in 2011 went up to more than 800 samples.

In 2012 Kaspersky Lab identified an average of 6300 new mobile malware samples every month. Overall, in 2012 the number of known malicious samples for Android increased more than eight times.quotesmarksleft.jpg

[via Kaspersky Lab. Image from SiliconAngle]

Who knew? New smartphone application improves colonoscopy preparation

The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).

quotemarksright.jpgThe preparation process, which begins days in advance of the procedure, includes dietary restrictions and requires specific bowel preparation medication to be taken at strict intervals. The better the preparation, the easier it is for doctors to see cancer and precancerous polyps in the colon. The study, which was conducted by the gastroenterologists of Arizona Digestive Health in Phoenix, featured the first doctor-designed app of its kind.quotesmarksleft.jpg

[via MedicalXpress]



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May 18, 2013

Cell Phone Use May Reveal Your 'Dominant Brain'

According to WebMD, new research suggests the dominant side of your brain may make the call on which ear you choose to use while talking on your cellphone.

quotemarksright.jpgThe dominant side of your brain is where your speech and language center resides. Ninety-five percent of the human population is left-brain dominant, and those people tend to be right-handed. The opposite holds true for people who are right-brain dominant. In this study, scientists found that roughly 70 percent of those surveyed held their cellphone up to the ear that was on the same side as their dominant hand.

This insight into the way people use their cellphones could one day help doctors quickly and safely locate and protect a patient's language center before beginning a potentially risky brain operation, the researchers said.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more.

Hemispheric Dominance and Cell Phone Use Michael D. Seidman, MD; Bianca Siegel, MD; Priyanka Shah, MD; Susan M. Bowyer, PhD JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013;139(5):466-470. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2013.2889.

emily | 9:19 AM | News, Buzz | permalink

Cure.org helps you save kids across the world with your smartphone

cure-org.png VentureBeat reports on nonprofit Cure.org, which raises money for children in need, and it’s experimenting with a suite of mobile apps to draw attention to the cause.

quotemarksright.jpgLaunching this week, the company’s new iPhone app features profiles of kids in developing countries who desperately require surgeries. You can donate directly through the app and receive real-time updates on the patient’s progress.

Once you’ve made a donation, the app invites you to send a get-well message. If there’s a language or literacy barrier, Cure.org claims its on the ground team will translate the messages and ensure they’re received.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more.

May 17, 2013

Pick your poison: messaging will be fragmented, expensive, or locked-in

Screen Shot 2013-05-17 at 1.44.02 PM.png

The hottest space in mobile tech right now is messaging, with all the apps that let you skip past high-priced SMS and send texts for free (or very cheap). The Verge reports.

quotemarksright.jpgJust this week, we've heard that BlackBerry Messenger will soon work on iPhone and Android — and yesterday, Google Hangouts launched on those same platforms. Facebook, too, has made a big push to promote its Messenger solution with Facebook Home and Chat Heads just last month. Added together, these apps have surpassed traditional SMS in the total number of messages sent.

Yet for all that innovation in chat, there's still a problem. All these communication apps can't communicate with each other. quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

emily | 1:42 PM | Text Messaging Apps | permalink

Smartphone Tracker Gives Doctors Remote Viewing Powers

health.datax299.jpg Ginger.io, a smartphone app spun out of MIT’s Media Lab alerts a doctor when patients are headed for trouble. [via Technology Review]

quotemarksright.jpgAt the Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, nurses can see into the lives of some diabetes patients even when they’re not at the clinic. If a specific patient starts acting lethargic, or making lengthy calls to his mom, a green box representing him on an online dashboard turns yellow, then red. Soon, a nurse will call to see if he is still taking his medication.

This novel way of keeping tabs on patients is one of several studies of an app called Ginger.io taking place at hospitals in the United States. Once installed on patients’ smartphones, the app silently logs data about what they do and where they go. It’s looking for signs that something in their life has changed.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

Texting While Flying: Help for Pilots

Screen Shot 2013-05-17 at 12.23.34 PM.png Pilots and air-traffic controllers texting each other? OMG! Your airline flight is finally starting to communicate the way the rest of the world does. The Wall Street Journal reports.

quotemarksright.jpgControllers and pilots aren't using their cellphones to text, even though many passengers now do using apps and in-flight Wi-Fi. Instead, planes with modern cockpit systems can log on to new systems at air-traffic control centers and link digitally. Rather than sometimes difficult radio calls, pilots and controllers simply send each other text messages to change altitudes, routes and hand off from one controller to the next.

The system has been in use for flights across oceans for several years. Canada now has it active across its domestic skies and European controllers have it in use in two large regions. But the U.S. is way behind.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more. (PS The very handsome SkyGuide air traffic controller above is my son Max).

May 16, 2013

Mobile phones could be cut for G8 summit amid terrorist bomb fears

alan-shatter-luke-ming-flanagan-penalty-points-4-296x159.jpg Mobile phone providers in the Irish Republic could be asked to cut signals during the G8 summit being held in Northern Ireland amid fears terrorists may use them to detonate bombs.

quotemarksright.jpgDefence Minister Alan Shatter warned that there was a "real danger" lives could be lost in such an event.

Eight world leaders will jet in for next month's G8 summit in Co Fermanagh, including US president Barack Obama, who will also use the trip to make his first visit to Belfast.quotesmarksleft.jpg

[via The Belfast Telegraph. Image from the Journal]

May 15, 2013

Samsung claims 5G mobile data transmission breakthrough - 100 x faster than 4G

????5G????????.jpg Samsung announces that it has developed a new mobile data transfer technology that's potentially up to "several hundred times" faster than current 4G networks.

quotemarksright.jpgMore precisely, the company announced "the world’s first adaptive array transceiver technology operating in the millimeter-wave Ka bands for cellular communications."

Samsung's new technology, which the company plans to commercialize by 2020 would allow for mobile transmission of "massive" data files, which include high-quality movies, "practically without limitation.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article in Mashable.

Related: - Samsung's 5G mobile claims played down by experts

emily | 8:43 AM | Technology | permalink

One in six admit to using mobile phone at funerals

Even in death there is no escape from the familiar ping or ring of a mobile phone, with one in six people admitting to having made or received a call, texted, or used social media at a funeral. The Guardian reports.

quotemarksright.jpg... At the funeral last month of the late Margaret Thatcher, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, was spotted by cameras apparently texting on her mobile from her seat in a pew near the front of St Paul's Cathedral.

A survey of funeral directors revealed that almost one in five funerals they had arranged had been interrupted by the sound of a mobile phone ringing or pinging.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more.

Top mobile carriers join forces to stop texting while driving

cell_phone_and_driving_270x193.jpg AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile band together on the "It Can Wait" ad campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of sending text messages while behind the wheel. C/net reports.

quotemarksright.jpgBesides rolling out TV, radio, and Internet ads throughout the summer, the campaign will also travel to thousands of retail stores, create a social media presence, and display messaging on Goodyear blimps.

According to the U.S. government's distracted driving Web site, 3,331 people were killed by "distracted drivers" in 2011, while 3,267 were killed in 2010. A 2009 study by the VirginiaTech Transportation Institute showed that texting drivers were 23 percent more likely to get in a crash than those who pay attention to the road.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more

Related: Texting While Driving Now Responsible For More Teen Deaths Than Drunk Driving

May 13, 2013

1stfone designed for children aged 4 to 9 to reach their parents

1stfone.jpg 1stfone is a credit card-sized mobile device designed for children aged 4 to 9. [via PSFK]

quotemarksright.jpgThe 1stfone has no screen, no internet access or texting capability, it does have customizable buttons and can be programmed with important numbers so that children can keep in touch with the people they need.

Kids just press a name button to make a voice call.quotesmarksleft.jpg

lstfone website.

emily | 10:06 PM | News, Buzz | permalink

Pakistan elections: mosquito app to bite poll cheats

Screen Shot 2013-05-12 at 9.20.19 AM.png According to The Guardian, a mobile phone app originally built to help authorities in Pakistan hunt down disease-spreading mosquitoes was to be used extensively during Saturday's general election to deter cheating at the polls.

quotemarksright.jpg The hi-tech solution will largely be restricted to Punjab, the country's most populous province, where more than half of the national assembly seats are up for grabs.

More than 15,000 smartphone wielding election observers will be able to send instant reports and photographs of any irregularities they encounter to a hi-tech control room. quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more. Image from ctvnews.ca

Related: - Pakistan Uses Smartphone Data to Head Off Dengue Outbreak

emily | 7:59 AM | SMS and Politics | permalink

New York State to Ask Smartphone Makers to Help Prevent Thefts

Concerned about an increase in smartphone thefts, the New York State attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, is trying to get the nation’s largest cellphone makers to do more to discourage the thefts.

quotemarksright.jpgMr. Schneiderman will announce on Monday that he has sent letters to top executives of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung seeking information from their offices about security protections, and asking for their cooperation in working on new measures to reduce theft.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more.

Previously: - Cellphone Thefts Grow, but the Industry Looks the Other Way

ABC to Live-Stream Its Shows via App

iPhone_5revised.jpg

This week ABC will quietly revolutionize its app for iPhones and iPads with a button called “live.” Users around New York and Philadelphia will be able to live-stream all the programming from ABC’s local stations there, the first time that any major broadcaster has turned on such a technology. The New York Times reports.

quotemarksright.jpgABC will be able to stream all of its stations’ local newscasts, syndicated talk shows like “Katie,” and national series like “Grey’s Anatomy.”

The live-stream functionality comes at a time when ABC and its broadcast rivals are trying to keep the attention of audiences that are increasingly turning to cable channels and Internet streaming services like Netflix.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

May 12, 2013

Snapchats Don't Disappear: Forensics Pulls Dozens of Deleted Pics From Android Phones

Snapshot-nude-girls4-194x3004.jpg Richard Hickman of Decipher Forensics found that it’s possible to pull Snapchat photos from Android phones simply by downloading data from the phone using forensics software.

He published his findings online and local TV station KSL has a video showing how it’s done. Hickman says he’s now doing research on Snapchat recovery from the iPhone.

[via Forbes]

On election day in Pakistan, helpdesks safekeep voters cell phones

Pakistanis have voted in landmark election set to mark the first transfer of power between two elected civilian governments in its history. (BBC)

The Punjab Government has decided to set up helpdesks on the election day at a distance of 400 meters from the polling stations where arrangements will be made for safekeeping of mobile phones of voters. The Election Commission of Pakistan has imposed a ban on carrying of mobile phones into the polling stations and the decision to set up helpdesks has been taken to ensure its implementation.

[via The Nation]

May 11, 2013

The war for mobile messaging is on

images.jpeg Start-up mobile messaging apps have surged, displacing traditional SMS texts. Silicon Valley titans such as Google and Facebook want in on the action. The Los Angeles Times reports.

quotemarksright.jpg... In many countries, consumers have decided they prefer these mobile messaging apps," said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst with mobile diagnostics firm Alekstra.

Now they are taking the U.S. by storm. That's particularly worrisome to wireless carriers that have already lost billions in revenue from customers shifting from text to so-called instant messages such as Apple Inc.'s iMessage service, which each day delivers 2 billion messages free of charge.

But the growing popularity of these mobile apps is not good news for the Silicon Valley tech giants either. Analysts say people use the apps to connect with their closest friends and relatives, creating a new more intimate social network that could rival Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. for the attention of hundreds of millions of users and, eventually, advertising dollars.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

Whatever happened to the ringtone?

Screen Shot 2013-05-11 at 5.23.33 PM.png In the early- to mid-2000s, the ability to play a customized sound for incoming calls -- usually a blaring few seconds of a favorite song called a "mastertone" -- was a fun novelty for people buying their first cellphones. Ringtones became an aural fashion accessory, as people scrambled to personalize their phones with the newest or coolest tunes. CNN reports.

quotemarksright.jpgMastertones mimicked the clarity of what one could hear on the radio, making the ringtone an easy and addictive way to hear snippets of one's favorite music. People also could assign different ringtones to different callers -- say, "Take This Job and Shove It" when your boss calls, ha ha -- as a sonic form of Caller ID.

At the same time, much was made of the millions of dollars ringtone sales brought to a grateful music industry that was struggling to adapt to the digital age.

"It was a great barometer of how people were starting to live around entertainment on their phones," he said. "Ringtones were a really big part of that."

Ringtones were popular in part because they were one of the first audio products you could access over your mobile phone, said Richard Conlon, senior vice president of corporate strategy, communications and new media for Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), the music-licensing organization.

In 2006, the RIAA instituted the first awards system for ringtone sales. Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" earned the distinction of being the biggest-selling ringtone ever in 2009, going five times platinum.

But then the sales dipped. Despite the enormous growth of smartphones, mobile audio products such as ringtones and ringbacks (which is a song that plays while a caller's waiting for an answer) brought in only $167 million last year.

So what happened?

Two things: The novelty of the musical snippets wore off. And we learned how to make custom ringtones for free.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

Anyone old enough to remember Crazy Frog?

Texting While Driving Now Responsible For More Teen Deaths Than Drunk Driving

78221-Gwent_PSA.jpeg Texting while driving has now replaced drunk driving as the number one cause of death among US teenagers, according to new research from the Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York. [via RedOrbit]

quotemarksright.jpgAccording to the study, more than 3,000 teens die each year as a result of sending SMS messages while operating a motor vehicle. In comparison, approximately 2,700 are killed as a result of driving while under the influence of alcohol, CBS New York reported on Thursday.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more.

May 9, 2013

San Francisco loses fight to put safety warnings on cell phones

The debate surrounding the safety of using cell phones has raged for years, most recently coming to a head in San Francisco, where local leaders attempted to pass a law requiring retailers to display the amount of radiation emitted by each cell phone. DVICE reports.

quotemarksright.jpg In a case that has been closely monitored by mobile phone industry players across the U.S., San Francisco's Board of Supervisors has agreed to drop the warning requirement after a lengthy legal battle with the CTIA. The argument made by the CTIA claimed that such warnings could serve to mislead consumers regarding the risks associated with cell phone use, particularly in light of the fact that the FCC has deemed the devices safe to use.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

Previously:

-- San Francisco Delays Controversial Cell Phone Law

-- San Francisco Passes Cellphone Radiation Law

-- San Francisco to vote on cell phone radiation labels

-- Main to legislate over cancer warnings on cell phones

-- SF Mayor back mandatory cell phone radiation labels

Cellphones Set to Outnumber People This Year

Screen Shot 2013-05-09 at 9.23.02 AM.png

There will be more cellphone subscriptions than people in the world by the end of 2013 if the current rate of growth continues, according to a United Nations report. The WSJ reports.

quotemarksright.jpgThe report [PDF] from the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union found that there were:

-- 6.8 billion cellphone subscriptions in the world, shared between 7.1 billion people. In 2005 there were some 2.2 billion subscriptions for 6.5 billion people.

--In 2013, there are almost as many mobile-cellular subscriptions as people in the world, with more than half in the Asia-Pacific region (3.5 billion out of 6.8 billion total subscriptions).

--As global mobile-cellular penetration approaches 100% and market saturation is reached, growth rates have fallen to their lowest levels in both developed and developing countries.

--Mobile-cellular penetration rates stand at 96% globally; 128% in developed countries; and 89% in developing countries.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more

May 8, 2013

India launches monitoring system to track all calls, texts, and online activity

A government-run system for monitoring every piece of citizens' telecommunications, including online activity, text messages, and phone calls, has been launching in India over the past month, reports The Verge.

The government's Central Monitoring System is meant to be used for enforcing "reasonable security practices and procedures" within the country, according to The Times of India.

Tao Lin's Photos of Taipei's 'Facedown Generation'

3ccd23254ffe4d09710756ad02311c46.jpg

Over the next month, in celebration of the forthcoming release of Tao Lin's latest novel, Taipei, Vice will be featuring a weekly selection of photos taken by the author during his recent trip to Taipei, Taiwan. This week's photos are named after a term in Taiwan for people who seem unable to stop looking at their phones while in public. All photos and captions by Tao Lin.

[See all photos]

May 7, 2013

Cellphone Thefts Grow, but the Industry Looks the Other Way

The cellphone market is hugely lucrative, with the sale of handsets bringing in $69 billion in the United States last year, according to IDC, the research firm. Yet, thefts of smartphones keep increasing, and victims keep replacing them. Police officials say the cellphone and handset industry has not done enough with technology to solve the theft problem. The New York Times reports.

quotemarksright.jpgSome compare the epidemic of phone theft to car theft, which was a rampant problem more than a decade ago until auto manufacturers improved antitheft technology.

“If you look at auto theft, it has really plummeted in this country because technology has advanced so much and the manufacturers recognize the importance of it,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit group focused on improving police techniques. “The cellphone industry has for the most part been in denial. For whatever reasons, it has been slow to move.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

May 5, 2013

How Smartphones Are Shaking Up The Travel Market

Smartphones and fast mobile Internet access have transformed nearly all facets of life, but travel has seen some of the most dramatic changes. Business Insider reports.

quotemarksright.jpgGone are the days of paper maps and awkward conversations trying to figure out a foreign transit system. Today's smartphones and apps can translate words live on screen, give real-time transportation advice, locate you anywhere in the world, act as your boarding pass, book your dinner reservation, and even help you find a cheap, last-minute hotel room.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more.

Physical by Smartphone Becoming Real Possibility

images.jpeg By hooking a variety of gadgets onto a smartphone you could almost get a complete physical — without the paper gown or even a visit to the doctor's office. Wireless Week reports.

quotemarksright.jpgBlood pressure? Just plug the arm cuff into the phone for a quick reading.

Heart OK? Put your fingers in the right spot, and the squiggly rhythm of an EKG appears on the phone's screen.

Plug in a few more devices and you could have photos of your eardrum (Look, no infection!) and the back of your eye, listen to your heartbeat, chart your lung function, even get a sonogram.

... The University of California, San Francisco, hopes to enroll a staggering 1 million people in its Health eHeart Study to see whether using mobile technology, including smartphone tracking of people's heart rate and blood pressure, could help treat and prevent cardiovascular disease.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

May 1, 2013

Now, charge your cellphones with puddle of water

myfc_powertrekk_assembly_small1.jpg Researchers in Sweden have developed a new technique where you can charge your devices anywhere without electricity, provided there is a water source nearby. Zee News reports.

quotemarksright.jpgJust add a spoonful and get instant power, anytime anywhere.

Handy for anyone who spends time away from electricity, the small, lightweight PowerTrekk could power critical devices for warfighters and aid workers deployed to remote areas of the world.

Developed by a team in Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology and made by MyFC, it's the world's first water-activated charging device that powers using fresh or salt water, the developers claimed. It can extend battery life up to 3 watts.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read more. Full KTH press release.

April 30, 2013

Wind-up chair charges your cell phone

wind-up-chair-3.jpg

Pega Design's Wind Up Chair shown at The Milan Design Week lets you charge your phone by winding a clockwork key on the back.

[via PSFK]

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