May 21, 2012
Texting kills 5,000 people every year in the US
Texting and talking on cell phones behind the wheel kills more than 5,000 people every year on US highways. Teen drivers seem to be especially susceptible to distraction, a study says.
Texting raised the risk of a crash by 23 times compared with non-distracted driving, says an environmental report.
[via IBN Live]
Pakistan: Fatwa on Women using cell phone. Punished by acid in face
According to Right Side News, Islamic clerics' have issued a fatwa against Pakistani women, threatening to throw acid on those using a cell phone.
Former Pakistani lawmaker and cleric Maulana Abdul Haleem recently issued a fatwa (Islamic degree) against secular education and justifying honor killings of women.
The fatwa was issued in a sermon during a weekly Friday prayer in Kohistan district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Haleem also threatened that women from secular NGOs who visit Kohistan district may be married off forcibly to local men. In a similar incident, a cleric announced a fatwa in a mosque in Noshki town of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, justifying acid attacks on women who use cell phones.
Image and related article from Sinai Post.
May 20, 2012
Why Cyber Cafes Can Thrive in a Mobile Internet World
With the advent of cheap mobile phones and mobile data plans, there is the belief that mobile phones are pushing cyber cafes out of business. Well according to a Global Impact Study with surveys of public access ICT users in five countries, found that Internet café users do indeed have access to computers and the Internet at their homes, and yet they still visit public cyber cafes. Innovation Africa reports.
As the chart shows below, there are significant percentages in the “other” response, particularly for Chile and Brazil. Some of these “other” reasons include free access, not having to compete with their family members for computer and Internet use at home, software and services provided at the venue, and the convenient location of the venue.
Read full article via @jranck. Image from TNW.
Why some children are always on the phone: It's genetic
Are your children spending too much time talking and texting on their mobile phones? According to new research, it's your fault. Or more specifically, the fault of the genes you passed on to them. The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The results, published recently in the journal Twin Research and Human Genetics, showed that the amount of time spent talking or texting is highly inheritable.
The study also suggested smart people use their phones less.
Dr Geoffrey Miller, from the psychology department at the University of New Mexico, the lead author of the paper, says the study is one of the first to look at the link between genes and consumer behaviour. "One of the big misconceptions that almost everybody has is that you can only have genes for things that evolved in the past,'' Dr Miller said. ''That was one of the things we wanted to demonstrate in an in-your-face way: that even with a technology that's only been around for a couple of decades, you can still have these latent genetic influences that will shape people's personality traits, their interests, their styles of social interaction. ''Then those traits will play out in how they use a new technology.''
Read full article. Study: The Heritability and Genetic Correlates of Mobile Phone Use: A Twin Study of Consumer Behavior
May 19, 2012
MIT researchers create do-it-yourself mobile phone
MIT Researchers create a do-it-yourself mobile phone.
In their own words:
[via GMA News]
May 18, 2012
Smart Rickshaw Network: winner of world bank competition
India’s Aadhar Bhalinge is the winner of m2Work, a World Bank-sponsored online challenge seeking the best ideas for spurring the job-creation potential of mobile phones.
The competition organized by Nokia and infoDev, a World Bank innovation and technology entrepreneurship program, drew a total of 939 ideas, 96% of which came from developing and emerging economies.
Bhalinge convinced the high-level jury of World Bank, Nokia, UKaid, and other private sector representatives of the development impact, novelty, and feasibility of his “Smart Rickshaw Network” to take home the US$ 20,000 grand prize. His tool would crowdsource maps at a very low cost in developing nations by employing fleets of rickshaw drivers to feed live traffic updates into a subscription service.
[via WorldBank press release. More here.]
Chinese 3G users top 150 million but most still on 2G
China now boasts over one billion mobile phone users, and just 370m mobile internet users, highlighting the vast number that are still on 2G or basic, non-internet connected devices.
[via The Register]
May 17, 2012
Met Police set up 16 kiosks in London to extract suspects' mobile phone data
UK's Metropolitan Police has implemented a system to extract mobile phone data from suspects held in custody, reports the BBC.
The technology is being used in 16 London boroughs, and could potentially be used by police across the UK.
Campaign group Privacy International described the move as a "possible breach of human rights law".
Until now, officers had to send mobiles off for forensic examination in order to gather and store data, a process which took several weeks.
Under the new system, content will be extracted using purpose built terminals in police stations.
It will allow officers to connect a suspect's mobile and produce a print out of data from the device, as well as saving digital records of the content.
Read full article.
Related articles on cell phones and forensics blogged by textually over the years.
Mayo Clinic launches first free app specifically directed at patients
Mayo Clinic has 14 apps for the iPad and 15 on the iPhone. Until Monday, none of the free mobile medical apps were specifically meant for patients. The three free ones were mainly for doctors, alumni and people interested in medical research). MedCity News reports.
Dr. Sidna Tulledge-Scheitel of Mayo said that the app is meant to empower patients and “aligns with Mayo’s mission of trying to make our services accessible and affordable.”
She noted that patients can view lab results in real time as they become available and can check blood work results, for instance, before they meet with the doctor.
“That can help patients to fully engage in the conversation,” she said.
Even after patients go home, they can use their iPad or iPhone to log in and view clinic notes if they want to review what the doctor said during an appointment. They can also send secure messages to their care team, although Currently that service only available for certain areas within Mayo – transplant, obstetrics and primary care.
Read full article.
May 16, 2012
Australian passengers flouting mobile phone ban in the skies
Australian passengers are repeatedly ignoring safety bans on mobile phones and using their devices mid-flight, the national air safety investigator has found, reports News.com.au.
The ATSB investigation stemmed from a passenger complaint made through its confidential reporting scheme, REPCON, about others texting and using the internet on their mobiles during flights from Sydney to Melbourne.
Concern was raised that cabin crew may not be taking the safety matter seriously and had failed to adequately warn passengers to turn off electrical devices or put them in flight mode.
The airline responded, saying the “hundreds of reports that come through each year” from their staff showed cabin crew and members of the public took the issue seriously.
Shocker: Texting ups truthfulness, new study suggests
Text messaging is a surprisingly good way to get candid responses to sensitive questions, according to a new study to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.
"This is sort of surprising," says Conrad, "since many people thought that texting would decrease the likelihood of disclosing sensitive information because it creates a persistent, visual record of questions and answers that others might see on your phone and in the cloud."
With text, the researchers also found that people were less likely to engage in 'satisficing' – a survey industry term referring to the common practice of giving good enough, easy answers, like rounding to multiples of 10 in numerical responses, for example. "We believe people give more precise answers via texting because there's just not the time pressure in a largely asynchronous mode like text that there is in phone interviews," says Conrad. "As a result, respondents are able to take longer to arrive at more accurate answers.
Via Phys.org.
Nielsen: US smartphones have an average of 41 apps installed, up from 32 last year
The growing ubiquity of smartphones in the US is helping to drive the surge in app downloads, but as Nielsen reports the average number of apps per device has also increased significantly over the past year, reports TheNextWeb.
Interestingly, however, in the past twelve months the average number of apps per smartphone has risen to 41 from 32, representing a 28% rise.
Read more.
Related: - It's not just Instagram. The 'app economy' is taking off
May 15, 2012
USPS bans international shipping of smartphones starting Thursday
According to PhoneArena, Wednesday will be the last day that the U.S. Postal Service will accept smartphones for international shipping.
While the USPS did not explicitly state the reason behind the ban, it is believed to be related to the possibility of lithium ion batteries catching on fire if they are not correctly installed in a device, or have a full charge.
Read full article.
May 14, 2012
Are Smart Phones Spreading Faster than Any Technology in Human History?
Today's technology scene seems overheated to some. Apple is the most valuable company on earth. Software apps are reaching tens of millions of users within weeks. Major technology names like Research in Motion and Nokia are being undone by rapid changes to their markets. Underlying these developments: the unprecedented speed at which mobile computers are spreading. MIT Technology Review reports via @mobileactive.org.
And some interesting stats:
... Smart phones, after a relatively fast start, have outpaced nearly any comparable technology in the leap to mainstream use.
It took landline telephones about 45 years to get from 5 percent to 50 percent penetration among U.S. households, and mobile phones took around seven years to reach a similar proportion of consumers.
Smart phones have gone from 5 percent to 40 percent in about four years, despite a recession. In the comparison shown, the only technology that moved as quickly to the U.S. mainstream was television between 1950 and 1953.
A new SMS-based monitoring system aims to cut Africa’s childbirth mortality rates
With recent statistics showing Kenya’s maternal mortality ratio at 488 per 100,000 live births, a new monitoring system for expectant mothers is set to ease the number of deaths during childbirth. TheNextWeb reports.
... Reproductive Health Advisor for Aphia Plus, Kamili Dr. Ruth Jahonga said the pilot project has ensured that pregnant women in the area are registered by health providers who call or send SMS messages to find out about their conditions.
The system is a plus to both the mothers and the health experts, as it will not only reduce the number of deaths but it will help them curb the causes of it, says Dr. Jahonga.
Read full article. via @jranck. Image credit.
Despite dangers U.S. teens text and drive - poll
Virtually all teenagers agree that texting while driving is dangerous but nearly half admit they have done it anyway, according to a new nationwide survey released on Monday. Reuters reports.
The poll, conducted by an independent research firm for AT&T, was the second survey in a week to show teens agree that text messaging while driving was dangerous, even as many admit to doing it.
Consumer Reports said last week its survey showed that while eight in 10 said they knew the risks, some 29 percent of drivers aged 16 to 21 had text messaged while driving in the past month.
... Compounding the issue was the finding of what teens thought constituted texting while driving.
"The findings indicate reading a text is somehow (seen as) less dangerous than typing a text," said Andrea Brands, AT&T's director of consumer safety and education.
Read more.
Cell Phones allowed on Virgin flights
According to the Scotsman, passengers on Sir Richard Branson’s airline, Virgin Atlantic, will be able to make and receive phone calls while in the air.
By the end of 2012, nearly 20 aircraft will provide the service.
Read full article.
May 13, 2012
27% of emails are opened on mobile devices: stats
New stats show that more than a quarter of emails are opened on phones and tablets. eConsultancy reports.
Read more. via Paul Swansen+
Your Shoes Can Charge Your Phone
CleanTechnica reports on a device that turns your sneakers into cell phone chargers. Created by 24-year-old Anthony Mutua the invention is being presented at Kenyan Science Technology and Innovation Week in Nairobi this week.
Related:
-- Mobile phones could soon be 'powered by walking' - Taking a stroll may soon be enough to re-charge your mobile phone, after US researchers developed a way to generate electricity from human motion.
-- Telecom firm Orange, which sponsors the Glastonbury Festival, promoted its new "Power Wellies" last June as a means for festivalgoers to keep their cellphones charged.
-- A 19-year-old Indian from Himachal Pradesh has invented a pair of shoes fitted with an appartus, that charges a cell phone while you walk
-- Power-generating rubber films developed by Princeton University engineers could harness natural body movements such as breathing and walking to power pacemakers, mobile phones and other electronic devices.
-- A project called Green Erg harnesses (literally) a person’s movement energy to create electricity. Designed to work perfectly on all types of road, ground or floor conditons, it will generate enough power when attached to a person walking or to a moving skating board, bike, ox-cart, farm animal... for running cell phones or radios."
Nigeria fines mobile phone 4 carriers $7.3M over poor service
Regulators in Nigeria have fined mobile phone carriers Airtel, Etisalat, Globacom and MTN a total of $7.3 million over poor service in a nation that depends on cellular phones for communications, reports The Washington Post.
Read more.
New poll shows 12% of moms use their phone during sex
According to The Daily News, a surprising new study has discovered 12% of moms use their cell phone while in bed with their partner.
Of the 1,041 women questioned, more than one in five (21%) confessed to using their phones in the bathroom, and a further 12% say they’ve used it during sex.
The study may be missing the point. As a parent, you always answer the phone or read a text message because it might be from your child - and you always worry that they are OK.
Smart ski poles let you Call and send SMS
Spotted on Mashable, Anthony Griesel's smart ski poles that would let skiers stay connected on the slopes.
In their own words on Kickstarter (they need your help by the way):
The Neva ski poles communicates wirelessly with Android and iPhone - Whenever a call rings into your phone, the caller ID or name is shown visibly on the Neva display. A simple finger swipe will answer or ignore calls.
Read full description.
Y U NO TEXT ME? SMS Rage Faces for iOS is quite brilliant
If you’re not sure what Rage Comics are, then head on over to Know Your Meme and find out.
[via TheNextWeb]
Wallet, Wallet Everywhere: Making Sense of the Mobile Payment Wars
There's a cold war going on in the technology world. As smartphones become ubiquitous and online shopping grows, tech companies and payment companies are arming themselves for battle over how people pay for things.
Full report in TIME Techland.
After nine dropped cell phone calls for help, couple dies
An elderly couple desperately tries to use their cell phone to call for help after their car becomes stuck in a ditch just 20 yards from their home. The calls aren't connected. The lack of help leads to their deaths.
[New York Daily News via C/Net]
Apple said to be ready to drop Google's maps for its own in iOS6
According to The Guardian, Apple may be ditching Google as the provider of its mapping in the next major revision of iOS, the operating system that drives the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Read full article.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: Mobile app is top priority
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg today laid out his 2012 goals to about 200 investors who showed up at one of the company’s initial public offering presentations in Palo Alto, California. He declared his first priority was to improve the social network’s mobile app, according to Reuters.
[via ZDNet]
1,330 SIMs activated every hour in Pakistan
According to The Newstribe, from July 2011 to March 2012, an average 31,943 SIMs were activated every day on the networks of Pakistan's five cellular phone operators.
It means that every 68 person out of 100 have mobile phone connection in Pakistan.
The handsets having dual or multiple SIMs function has given impetus the trend of using multiple services of different operators by the users.
Whether it is business conference or romantic talks, gossips or backbiting, the mobile phone is used for every communication for purpose of saving time to passing time. There is no limit, no boundaries, no ethics and no time.
Read full article. Image from FrontlinePost.
The War On Texting While Walking Has Begun In NJ
This week, police in Fort Lee, NJ became fed up once and for all with the irritating texting while walking epidemic.
Other cities and states have considered texting while walking measures—including Arkansas and Pennsylvania—but this is the first time in the tri-state area that such a ban has been enforced.
[via Gothamist]
Mobile money transfers reach 16 percent of sub-Saharan African population
Money transfer via mobile phones has expanded to 16 percent of the total population in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new World Bank study that provides a global picture for how people save, borrow, make payments and manage risk. PC Advisor reports.
In sub-Saharan Africa, take-up of mobile money services, pioneered by Kenya-based Safaricom's M-Pesa service, has been boosted by the fact that traditional banking is hampered by transportation and other infrastructure problems.
"Money transfers through mobile phones is a form of increasingly nontraditional banking that often doesn't require users to travel or set up an account at a brick-and-mortar bank," according to a statement issued by World Bank.
"Such mobile banking allows account holders to pay bills, make deposits or conduct other transactions via text messaging," the World Bank noted. Kenya, where 68 percent of adults report using a mobile phone for money transactions, has seen particularly impressive growth in this market.
According to the study, three-quarters of the world's poor do not have a bank account, not only because of poverty, but also because of the cost, travel distance, and the amount of paperwork involved in opening one.
Read full article.
How the Mobile Phone is Evolving in Developing Countries
Increasingly, governmental and non-governmental organizations are using phones in place of physical infrastructure. In developing nations, 79 percent of the population has a mobile phone, according to a 2011 report from the International Telecommunications Union. [via PCMag]
Mobile phones alone are not an answer to the problems of the developing world, but read on to see how they're doing their part to alleviate some of the pressures.
Click here to see "How the Mobile Phone is Evolving in Developing Countries ".
