July 6, 2009
Twitter to give bushfire alerts
Australia is to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to give people early warning of bushfires. The BBC reports.
Victorian state premier John Brumby says social networking sites on the internet will help to improve advice to households.
"We'll be providing more information to the community, like Twitter and Facebook - alternative means of communication to get the information out to the public," Mr Brumby said.
Growing Presence in the Courtroom: Cellphone Data as Witness
The pivotal role that cellphone records played in two prominent New York murder trials this year highlights the surge in law enforcement’s use of increasingly sophisticated cellular tracking techniques to keep tabs on suspects before they are arrested and build criminal cases against them by mapping their past movements. The New York Times reports.
In March, Google announced that it would require search warrants before releasing GPS data that pinpoints the movements of customers who use its mapping applications — like Latitude, which lets people see where their friends are — on their phones.
But phone and Internet companies want Congress to clarify the laws so that they are clear about their legal responsibilities.
Civil libertarians do not oppose using cellphone surveillance to solve crimes or save people in emergencies, but they worry that the legal gray area is enabling it to happen without much scrutiny or discussion.
July 3, 2009
Satellite for US cell phone service launched
The world's largest commercial satellite was launched into space Wednesday, with a mission to provide phone service to cellular "dead zones" in North America. [via Cellular News]
To connect to the satellite, the handsets will need a clear view of the southern sky, just like a satellite dish. When that's not available, the sets will be able to connect to regular ground-based cellular networks. TerreStar has a roaming agreement with AT&T Inc.
Twitter followers 'can be bought'
Twitter users who lack an audience for their messages can now buy followers. The BBC reports.
Followers are available in blocks starting at $87 (£53) for 1,000. The biggest block uSocial is selling is 100,000 people.
USocial said businesses and individuals were queuing up to use its follower finding service.
... USocial estimated that each follower on Twitter was worth about 10 cents a month to a company that got them to sign up. The money would be made from adverts and sales on websites that followers click through to.
Just How Successful is the iPhone App Store?
In Malcolm Gladwell’s New Yorker review of Chris Anderson’s new book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price,” he said that Apple will soon be making more money from iPhone downloads than it does from the iPhone itself. The WSJ reports.
... But a bigger moneymaker than the iPhone itself? It’s not even close. Apple doesn’t break out details about iPhone and App Store profits, so it’s difficult to get a precise figure. But Shaw Wu, an analyst for Kaufman Brothers, said his “guesstimate” for Apple’s quarterly App Store revenue is a few hundred million dollars at best, out of $1.5 billion in overall iPhone-related revenues.
On a per phone basis, Wu estimated that Apple gets about $600 a phone, give or take a few, based on a calculation that divides iPhone cash flow by the number of phones it has sold. (Consumers are able to buy iPhones for much less because cellphone carriers subsidize the difference).
Read full article.
Iran 'lifts block on SMS texting'
Reports from Iran say that SMS text messaging services have been unblocked for the first time since disputed presidential elections. The BBC reports.
Correspondents say texting has been restricted since 11 June - the day before disputed elections which saw the controversial re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The lifting of the restrictions has been reported by a number of Iranian news agencies monitored by the BBC, including Tabnak.ir, a conservative website believed to be associated with former Islamic Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezai.
Tabnak said that SMS services, although restored, were still blighted by technical problems.Messages up to three weeks old were being sent out, and some users were receiving multiple repeated messages, it said.
Read full article.
Speech Recognition iPhone App Translates Arabic On the Fly
Speech technology is advancing quickly; even smartphones offer apps that let you speak commands and perform voice-activated searches. Now, a new app for iPhone and Blackberry can convert spoken Arabic into spoken English (and vice versa). The mobile app's speed of processing and accuracy is unprecedented for such a complex and different pair of languages. Gizmodo reports via Popular Science reports.
Web tools such as Google Translate can convert written Arabic to English, and speech companies such as Tell Me and Nuance convert speech to text, but this mobile app is the first to convert Arabic on a mobile phone.
3 day course on how to start a successful iPhone Apps Business
Monday, July 20 9:00a to 4:30p at The Inn at Saratoga, Saratoga, CA.
Price: Early registration is $1695.
Phone: (888) 438-9510
Age Suitability: 18 and up
A 3 day intensive course on how to start your mobile App business from the ground up.
This course introduces you to proven models for rapidly starting new business with a focus on what works, and what to avoid. You will explore funding and financial models, marketing and legal structures,
Over the course of the class you will build your business plan and leave prepared to start putting it into practice.
Class requires a business background or desire to start your own iPhone App business.
July 1, 2009
Political Cartoon: Dropping cell phones
Cartoon from Bruno Plante - Tulsa World. Captured in Newsweek, page 14, July 6/13, 2009.
Obama Administration - White House News app
Obama Administration - White House News is a new app to keep up to date with President Barack Obama and his Administration.
This app will bring you daily blog entries from the Official White House blog, photos from the Official White House photographers, plus weekly video addresses by President Obama, videos of Press Briefings, Tweets from the White House's official Twitter account, and news articles from the Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times.
(Government content used within this application is in the public domain. This application has not been endorsed by the Federal Government.)
[via What'on iPhone]
Are you an iBore?
A fun piece from TechRadar on "iBores":
Or, horror of horrors, you yourself are one!
Over half of 18-24 year-olds in the UK claim to know an iBore, according to a Five News study of 2,050 adults aged between 18 and 24.
Most of these iBores tend to live in London and the South East, claims the YouGov study for Five News.
What's more, four per cent more men (29%) than women (24%) admitted to knowing an iBore.
Mobile roaming charges drop across Europe
Mobile phone charges will fall for millions of holidaymakers across Europe from today, after new regulations come into force to drive down the cost of roaming. The Guardian reports.
"The roaming rip-off is now coming to an end," said EU telecommunications commissioner Viviane Reding in a statement. "Expect the new roaming rules to make it much cheaper to surf the web on your mobile while abroad in the EU."
Examples of specific costs are available at the European Commission's website.
Mobile pollution sensors deployed
Cyclists, buses, cars and even pedestrians will become mobile pollution detectors in an initiative launched on Tuesday, reports the BBC.
These will measure traffic pollutants throughout the UK, and transmit their data via the mobile phone network.
Scientists say such detailed mobile measurements could help improve the management of air quality.
Four UK universities are collaborating on the project, which will deploy 100 sensors in London, Leicester, Gateshead and Cambridge. Each one will measure up to five different traffic pollutants simultaneously, including carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide.
Other projects where cell phones monitor pollution:
-- Cyclists' cellphones help monitor air pollution - Cellphones used by bicycle couriers are monitoring air pollution in Cambridge, UK, and beaming the data back to a research lab.
-- Cell phone Air Pollution Monitor - Squirrel is a Bluetooth-enabled gadget that monitors pollution developped by The University of California San Diego and Calit2.
-- Cell phones to sense our environment and its pollutants - Tiny environmental sensors in cell phones and turn phone users into roving citizen scientists who continuously sample and respond to their personal environment.
WSJ Asks iPhone App Users If They Would Pay
WSJ.com is surveying iPhone users about their willingness to pay for what is now a completely free product.
The quick survey asks flat out: “If full access to Mobile Reader required a paid subscription, how likely would you be to subscribe?” Answers ranger from “definitely yes” to “definitely no” with some middle ground.
[via PaidContent]
Recommend Your Favorite iPhone Apps With AppsFire
AppsFire which launched in private beta yesterday, allows you to recommend your favorite apps to anyone. TechCrunch reports.
Once the software is on your machine, it scans your iTunes folder to find your apps. It then opens a personal webpage on the AppsFire site and places the icons for your apps in front of you, asking you to choose your favorites. Once you do that, you can share them using the social networks, via email, in a widget, or simply get a link back to your AppsFire page.
June 30, 2009
Flexta SMS Blog Content Addendum
With regard to my previous post, "The content published on Flexta's blog originates from textually.org" - with my permission by the way - was not entirely accurate as flexta has other content as well as their own.
President Interrupted By 'Duck Ringtone' During Speech
Obama to the press corps: "Where do you guys get these ringtones by the way?
[via Wonkette]
Fluent News app aggregates made-for-mobile content
Fluent News aggregates exclusively made-for-mobile content from the most trusted news sources across the Web. Xconomy Boton gives it a good review (it's not available or even visible from the Swiss app stores where I live).
Stories on Fluent News comes from top news sources, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and CNN.
In their own words: Stay current wherever you are with fast, continual news updates. . All content from your latest sync is also available for offline reading. Our interface organizes content intelligently, grouping similar stories together, which provides breadth of news as well as one-click access to broader coverage of any single story. Easily post articles to Facebook or Twitter or email links to friends.
NY City Launches "Big Apps" Competition
New York City is hopping on the iPhone "app" bandwagon. Mayor Bloomberg is hoping software developers will take new data the city's posting online and turn it into applications for fun and profit.
The City is launching what Bloomberg says will be an annual competition called "Big Apps." The Grand Prize winner gets to go out to dinner with the mayor.
[via Wnyc]
June 29, 2009
Barnes and Noble gets an (amazing) iPhone app
The Barnes & Noble Bookstore app let's you shop and read reviews. And you can use your iPhone’s camera to search and shop for millions of books, DVDs, or music CDs.
In their own words:
Search millions of books, DVDs, and CDs using your iPhone’s camera. Just snap a photo of the front cover and we’ll find it for you instantly! Get product details, editorial reviews, and customer ratings – even find and reserve a copy in the store closest to you.
A store locator will help you find the Barnes & Noble superstore nearest you, see upcoming events, and get directions.
Apple agrees to industry standard mobile phone charger
The European Commission (EC) announced today that 10 mobile phone manufacturers and chip producers, including Apple, have signed up to an initiative to produce standard mobile phone chargers. V2.co.uk reports.
... Apart from Apple, the companies that have signed the MoU are LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Texas Instruments.
Previously:
-- Mobile phone makers agree to create standard charger
-- European Commission demands a single, standard phone charger
Grameen Foundation and Google create mobile apps for Africa
Real time information about farming, health and trading will be available to mobile phone users in Uganda with new technology services developed by the Grameen Foundation, Google and telecom operator MTN, writes The Seattle Times.
Peter Bladin, Grameen Foundation executive vice president, said AppLab builds on the success of an earlier project, Village Phone, in which local entrepreneurs rent cell phone use to villagers for pennies a call. Uganda now has 50,000 Village Phone and pay phone operators and nine million cell phone subscribers.
Bladin said he sought out Google and MTN Uganda to help scale up the applications and roll them out to other parts of Africa, where Google has seven offices.
The new services can be accessed by existing Village phone operators, as well as by people with their own phones.
Read full article.
Related Grameen Foundation news release
Google's Africa Strategy: Search And Trade Via SMS
Not only does Google want to organize all the world's information, it also wants to make all that information available to everyone in the world. TechCrunch reports.
The search service works like Google SMS in North America. You text a search term, and it responds via SMS with the result. Searches can be narrowed by using specific keywords such as “local time,” “weather,” “news,” “maps,” “translation,” or “currency conversion.” For more complicated searches, the related SMS tips service offers answers in an automated Q&A format.
But the most interesting application is Google Trader, which allows people to post items for sale and jobs via SMS. Other people can search for them by texting the service with the word “BUY” preceding the search term. Google Trader connects the buyer and seller together (each listing contains the seller’s cell phone number).
Related: Real time information about farming, health and trading will be available to mobile phone users in Uganda with new technology services developed by the Grameen Foundation, Google and telecom operator MTN. [Seattle Times]
Take a cell phone Swig!
The “Cheers” cell phone concept is powered by an efficient, maybe even energy-saving Alcohol-cell. By Designer: Tryi Yeh.
[via Yanko Design]
Lloyds customers can get their bank balance by text message
People who bank with Lloyds TSB will be able to find out their balance by sending a text message, the company has announced, reports The Telegraph.
They then receive a text with their latest balance, as well as details of their last six transactions. The texts can be requested "whenever and wherever they are needed", Lloyds said, and are sent "instantly".
The mobile banking pack also allows customers to transfer money between accounts and set up text alerts to tell them, for example, if their balance has fallen below a certain level. However, these services need to be set up through online banking or a special application that is downloaded to the phone.
Fin Phone Cell Holster for the beach
Spotted on Trendhunter, the perfect accessory for your cell phone at the beach, the Fin Phone Cell Holster - shaped, you guessed it - like a flipper.
Rumors surface of a PlayStation cell phone
Sony Ericsson is reportedly working on a phone that combines PlayStation games with a cell phone. It’s not the first time that such rumors have floated, but Nikkei, a major Japanese business publication, reported that Sony has a team working on the product now.
[via The Industry Standard]
Cell phone uniform policy causes stir
New U.S. Air Force guidelines regarding cell phone use in uniform are causing quite a stir between techies and traditionalists. [via Gopensacola.com]
Until recently, Air Force regulations forbade members from talking on cell phones while walking in uniform. Instead, they had to stay in one place while they completed their call.
But earlier this month, an Air Force board removed that restriction. Air Force members now can walk while talking on cell phones, as long as they put down the phone to render proper salutes to passing officers.
An Air Force Web site that announced the change has become a sounding board for service members who love — or loathe — the new rule.
"I believe that it is a disgrace and dishonor to walk around on any (Department of Defense) installation while being on any kind of appliance used to communicate. It takes away from professional image and core values, especially service before self," wrote an airman from Eglin Air Force Base.
But many commenters approved of the new rule.
Related:
-- Air Force enforces new (cell phone dress) code
-- Female Air Force Personnel Not to carry cell phones in their right hand
Nomophobia - The Fear of Being Out of Cell Phone Range
Research in Britain has shown that up to 53% of mobile phone users suffer from “no mobile phobia,” or nomophobia, the fear of being without cell phone service for any reason. Synthesis blog reports.
June 27, 2009
Jackson death was twittered, texted and Facebooked
News of Jackson's death generated the most tweets per second since Barack Obama was elected president, and more than twice the normal tweets per second from the moment the story broke. Philly.com reports.
Facebook said there were no internal reports of the site slowing from too much traffic. But there were slowdowns or outages on other sites. Google said the spike in searches related to Jackson was so big that Google News initially mistook it for an automated attack.
On MySpace, Jackson's own profile was seeing an average of 100 new friends added per minute, the company said, and his friend total was on its way to being the site's highest increase in one day.
... Jeff Jarvis himself tweeted the moment he heard of the death: He noted that Iran's spiritual leader should be grateful to Jackson because the story wiped Iran off the day's news agenda. "That was re-tweeted a lot," Jarvis said.
Russia Faces Mobile Phone Shortage Due to Customs Clamp-Down
Russia is facing a possible shortage of mobile phones following a clamp-down instigated by the Federal Customs Service. The Moscow Times reports via Cellular News.
Over the first two days that the rules have been in effect, customs points at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo have not processed a single Nokia handset, spokeswoman Viktoria Yeremina said. By Tuesday, more than 440,000 Nokia telephones worth around US$42 million have piled up at the two posts, and the figure is rising, she added.
Motorola managed to get a large shipment into the country before the new rules came into effect, but subsequent deliveries are also being delayed.
Text-Message Service Fields Flood of Jackson Queries
In the wake of the sudden death of pop icon Michael Jackson one thing is clear: Fans can’t get enough of him, writes New York Times Bits blog.
Mr. Jackson’s death is also prompting some people to ask questions about the life and history of the late singer. Mobile search service kgb, which employs human beings to answer text queries, has been flooded with questions about Mr. Jackson.
A spokesman for kgb said that since the first reports of Mr. Jackson’s hospitalization and death, the paid service — available by texting kgbkgb (or 542542) — has fielded more than 10,000 questions.
