textually.org tag:www.textually.org,2010-06-14://1 2013-05-24T18:33:17Z Movable Type 4.31-en The Fairphone, World’s First Ethically Sourced Smartphone, Opens Pre-Sales To General Public tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31995 2013-05-24T18:26:41Z 2013-05-24T18:33:17Z Netherlands-based hardware initiative Fairphone began around three years ago as a project designed to highlight the use of conflict minerals in the construction of consumer electronics, and then evolved three years later into a full-fledged hardware startup, with the aim of turning its knowledge into action with the building of an ethically sourced, built and distributed smartphone. Now, it’s opening up pre-orders to the general public, beginning with customers in Europe. TechCrunch reports. The Fairphone is a 4.3-inch smartphone running Android 4.2, powered by a quad core processor. It has an 8 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front facing shooter, with dual-SIM trays for easy carrier switching and international travel. .. The phone itself is made using materials from a completely transparent supply chain – Fairphone is looking at the provenance of each mineral used to make each component, the people who build each part and the processes evolved and their social and ecological impact, and will make all of that information available to buyers and the general public. Read full article via @jranck. Screen Shot 2013-05-24 at 8.29.43 PM.png Netherlands-based hardware initiative Fairphone began around three years ago as a project designed to highlight the use of conflict minerals in the construction of consumer electronics, and then evolved three years later into a full-fledged hardware startup, with the aim of turning its knowledge into action with the building of an ethically sourced, built and distributed smartphone. Now, it’s opening up pre-orders to the general public, beginning with customers in Europe. TechCrunch reports.

quotemarksright.jpgThe Fairphone is a 4.3-inch smartphone running Android 4.2, powered by a quad core processor. It has an 8 megapixel rear camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front facing shooter, with dual-SIM trays for easy carrier switching and international travel.

.. The phone itself is made using materials from a completely transparent supply chain – Fairphone is looking at the provenance of each mineral used to make each component, the people who build each part and the processes evolved and their social and ecological impact, and will make all of that information available to buyers and the general public. quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article via @jranck.

]]> Nigeria's mobile phone blackout tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31993 2013-05-23T19:32:29Z 2013-05-23T19:36:53Z Mobile phones across northeast Nigeria have been cut off for seven days, reports Aljazeera. This is because of the state of emergency in the sates of Borno Yobe and Adamawa. The military, state security service, police, the government, and president’s office have not spoken officially about why this decision was taken, and how long the network will be shut down for. Sources in the military, speaking unofficially, have explained this is part of the strategy to stop Boko Haram. The military says Boko Haram fighters are using mobile phones to communicate, re-group and reinforce. Cutting off the mobile phone network is a way of making sure that does not happen. Soldiers are communicating via radio or Thuraya satellite phones. Read full article. Mobile phones across northeast Nigeria have been cut off for seven days, reports Aljazeera.

quotemarksright.jpgThis is because of the state of emergency in the sates of Borno Yobe and Adamawa. The military, state security service, police, the government, and president’s office have not spoken officially about why this decision was taken, and how long the network will be shut down for.

Sources in the military, speaking unofficially, have explained this is part of the strategy to stop Boko Haram. The military says Boko Haram fighters are using mobile phones to communicate, re-group and reinforce. Cutting off the mobile phone network is a way of making sure that does not happen.

Soldiers are communicating via radio or Thuraya satellite phones.quotesmarksleft.jpg

Read full article.

]]> Jennifer Lopez to Open Cellphone Stores tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31991 2013-05-23T16:50:56Z 2013-05-23T16:55:31Z Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez on Wednesday announced she’s opening a chain of 15 cellphone stores and a website under the Viva Movil brand. The aim is to sell Verizon phones and services to Latinos. The first store will open in New York on June 15, with others following in Los Angeles and Miami. The stores will have bilingual staff and provide a “culturally relevant shopping experience,” Viva Movil said. Viva Movil will be an authorized Verizon reseller, with the same prices and plans as regular Verizon stores. TIME Techland reports. jlo.jpg

Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez on Wednesday announced she’s opening a chain of 15 cellphone stores and a website under the Viva Movil brand. The aim is to sell Verizon phones and services to Latinos.

quotemarksright.jpgThe first store will open in New York on June 15, with others following in Los Angeles and Miami. The stores will have bilingual staff and provide a “culturally relevant shopping experience,” Viva Movil said.

Viva Movil will be an authorized Verizon reseller, with the same prices and plans as regular Verizon stores.quotesmarksleft.jpg

TIME Techland reports.

]]> Mobile Phones for Women's Empowerment tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31985 2013-05-21T18:59:03Z 2013-05-21T19:04:31Z 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. ... 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. Read full article. How are mobile phones empowering women and leading to better maternal heatlh. 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.

]]> Palestinian prisoners used forbidden mobile phones to plot terror attacks tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31982 2013-05-20T17:20:55Z 2013-05-20T17:22:50Z 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] 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]

]]> 99% of all mobile threats target Android devices tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31980 2013-05-19T14:04:30Z 2013-05-19T14:09:34Z 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. 2012 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. [via Kaspersky Lab. Image from SiliconAngle] 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 tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31979 2013-05-19T14:00:01Z 2013-05-19T14:02:37Z The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week (DDW). The 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. via MedicalXpress] 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]

]]> Cell Phone Use May Reveal Your 'Dominant Brain' tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31978 2013-05-18T07:19:11Z 2013-05-18T07:24:41Z 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. The 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. 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. 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.]]> Cure.org helps you save kids across the world with your smartphone tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31977 2013-05-18T07:07:30Z 2013-05-18T07:12:48Z

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. Launching 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. Read more. 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.

]]> Pick your poison: messaging will be fragmented, expensive, or locked-in tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31974 2013-05-17T11:42:00Z 2013-05-17T11:45:26Z 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. Just 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. Read full article. 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.

]]> Smartphone Tracker Gives Doctors Remote Viewing Powers tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31973 2013-05-17T11:31:53Z 2013-05-17T11:37:19Z Ginger.io, a smartphone app spun out of MIT’s Media Lab alerts a doctor when patients are headed for trouble. [via Technology Review] At 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. Read full article. 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 tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31972 2013-05-17T10:15:53Z 2013-05-18T07:17:45Z 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. Controllers 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. Read more. (PS The very handsome SkyGuide air traffic controller above is my son Max). 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).

]]> Mobile phones could be cut for G8 summit amid terrorist bomb fears tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31970 2013-05-16T06:47:04Z 2013-05-16T06:51:05Z 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. Defence 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. [via The Belfast Telegraph. Image from the Journal] 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]

]]> Samsung claims 5G mobile data transmission breakthrough - 100 x faster than 4G tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31969 2013-05-15T06:43:27Z 2013-05-15T06:56:38Z 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. More 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. Read full article in Mashable. Related: - Samsung's 5G mobile claims played down by experts ????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

]]> One in six admit to using mobile phone at funerals tag:www.textually.org,2013://1.31968 2013-05-15T06:36:46Z 2013-05-15T06:39:27Z 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. ... 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. Read more. 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.

]]>