Video phone help for deaf people

Deaf people who prefer to communicate using British Sign Language (BSL) could soon be having their phone conversations relayed using webcams or videophones and an interpreter, reports the BBC.

"The Video Relay Service is being piloted by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) who is urging telecoms regulator, Ofcom, to reduce the cost of the service, making it the same as ordinary phone calls.

The service works by putting a deaf person in visual contact with a BSL interpreter via a webcam or video phone, and the interpreter then relays the deaf person's conversation using a telephone and translates the other person's response into sign language.

For many deaf people, especially those born deaf, BSL is a first and preferred means of communication.

For more on services and features offered by operators around the globe, cf SMS for Deaf category in Textually.org.

Read aslo Scene and heard.

Samsung cameraphone with 1.5-gigabyte hard disk drive

The Korea Times reprots that South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics introduced on Thursday, a camera phone with a 1.5-gigabyte hard disk drive that can store as many as 1,000 photos.

"The SPH-V5400 model, equipped with a 1-megapixel camera, can save up to three and a half hours of video with its camcorder feature, Samsung Electronics said in a statement. Its price is set at below 800,000 won ($767).

Other features include an MP3 digital music player, a radio tuner and an electronic dictionary, the company said.

The phone also has an electronic book function that allows users to read text on the device after downloading it from personal computers or Web sites, it added.

Saudi Arabia to permit camera phones, paper says

According to SignOnSanDiego.com, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia will overturn a ban on the import and sale of mobile camera phones in the conservative Muslim kingdom.

"Although widely used across the country, camera phones are illegal in Saudi Arabia and have been condemned by religious leaders who say they are used to invade privacy, particularly of women.

Al-Eqtisadiah quoted unnamed sources as saying authorities had asked the Interior Ministry to put in place regulations to prevent "the negative use of the camera equipment in the phone."

Officials were not immediately available to comment on the report. "

Related articles on this issue:

-- Female Students With Mobile Phones Face Campus Ban, Fines- Saudi - Female college students carrying cameraphones on campus in any college in Saudi Arabia could face a SR500 fine and 3-year suspension under recent regulations issued by the Ministry of Education.

-- Will Saudi Arabia lift ban on cam-equipped mobiles? - Four Saudi ministries have appealed to King Fahd to reverse a ban on camera-equipped mobile phones in the kingdom.

-- Religious edict bars camera phones in Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority has issued an edict barring the use of cell phones with built-in cameras, blaming them for "spreading obscenity" — a final resort after a ban on their sale and import to the kingdom failed to dent their popularity

-- Saudi women beaten for mobile phone snapping - Two Saudi women were badly beaten by other female guests at a wedding party in the kingdom when they were seen using a mobile phone to photograph the segregated celebration

-- Mobile pictures spark violence - A wedding party in Saudi Arabia turned violent after a female guest was caught using her mobile phone to take digital photographs of other women at the celebration.

-- Footage of an assault in Saudi Arabia through cameraphones - A rape scandal broke after the two men reportedly circulated footage of the assault through mobile phones equipped with cameras.

-- Woman fired over mobile snapshots - A Saudi woman has been expelled from her university for taking pictures of unveiled colleagues with a camera-equipped mobile phone osting them on the Internet.

-- Saudi Arabia and phonecams When the Saudi people finally rise up in revolt and throw out the House of Saud," fellow Saudi blogger, Alhamedi Alanezi says, " it won't be for democratic reform, and it won't be for an islamic republic. It'll be about mobile phones".

-- Saudi Arabia enforces ban on camera phones - The Saudi government began enforcing a ban on the sale of camera-equipped mobile phones.

-- Banned Camera Phones Selling Like Hot Cakes in Jeddah's Black Market - Mobile camera phones are hot sellers this Eid season - a celebration to mark the end of Islam's holiest season - despite a Kingdomwide ban and a significant increase in retail price.

Also

- Kuwait: Three years jail proposed for misuse of Bluetooth - A senior member of parliament has proposed a draft law stipulating a jail term of between six months and three years for the misuse of the Bluetooth technology, especially in mobile phones, in invading personal privacy.

Mobile ID Card for Students

KT, Korea's largest telecommunication service provider announced an agreement with Daedeok University to build a “Ubiquitous Campus”, reports Telecoms Korea.

"If the project is completed, students will be able to download their mobile ID card on their cell phones on the web, the company said.

The company's solution is a kind of next generation mobile customer service that lets customers download barcodes containing their personal information on handsets. The solution is expected to replace membership cards and/or mileage cards.

The mobile ID service will also be linked to library system so that students conveniently find out that books they look for are available or not."

Camphones Safe in Both Carry-On and Checked Baggage

According to a press release by the Imaging Industry and Transportation Security Administration, digital cameras and camera phones should be able to travel safely in either checked or carry-on bags, without damage to stored images.

"More care is needed for cameras with film, however, as the X-ray scanners for both checked and carry-on luggage can fog both developed and undeveloped film."

Test protocols and results can be downloaded from http://www.i3a.org/itip.html.

The year 2004 in review: Some cameraphones of note

Camera phones have come a long way from just taking low resolution pictures and allowing users to share them.

This year camera resolution really improved. 1 megapixel camera phones became common in Europe and America, 2 megapixel phones are on their way and South Korea is miles ahead with digital camera-like quality handsets boasting 5 to 7 megapixel resolutions.

This post is not about resolution but a review of some of the most interesting features to have been added to camera phones this year or that are currently in development. Many of these handsets come from Japan or South Korea.

-- NTT DoCoMo Mova 506i series i-mode cameraphones came with an integrated bar code scanner.

-- New LG Camera phones launched with fingerprint identification.

-- An animated download assistant was included in Siemens' new C65 camera phones to help users download ringtones, logos and games.

-- Stroke, press and shake sensors were included in Siemens CX70 EMOTY to help express the users' moods., allowing to better communicate emotions via MMS.

-- Philipps' 775 Scribble Phone came with a touchscreen that lets you draw little messages with a stylus and send them out as images over MMS.

-- Handwriting recognition will be a feature of the Nokia 7710 to launch in Europe and Africa in the first quarter of 2005.

-- LG Electronics new handset (LG-KP3800) will be able to recognize and read characters and numbers on business cards.

-- DoCoMo unveiled a new line of advanced stereo-quality surround sound camera phones with "three-dimensional" surround sound that allow users to hear the whack of a golf ball, clapping of hands, or bells ringing in games.

-- Korea's Curitel P1 launched a Text to Speech Function. It's a bright blue handset which is held sideways.

-- KTF offered a mobile caption service which displays the lyrics of a song played on MP3 phones in real time.

-- LG Electronics launched a camera phone for diabetics with an integrated blood sugar tester.

-- SK Teletech's silver-nano coated cameraphone has a sterilizing function - to keep cell phones clean as a whistle.

-- And Samsung Electronics just introduced in December, a camera phone with a 1.5-gigabyte hard disk drive drive that can store as many as 1,000 photos, the The SPH-V5400. The phone also has an lectronic book function that allows users to read text on the device after downloading it from personal computers or Web sites.

Flashers move to the latest technology

Danish users of third-generation, or 3G, cellphones were advised to consider precautions to avoid being harassed by flashers using the new technology, the Danish National Consumer Agency said on Tuesday, reports IOL.

"The new high-speed technology that allows users to send and receive video clips, also attracts abuse. The agency said it had learned of a few cases where flashers had sent indecent images to owners of 3G handsets.

The flashers guard their anonymity by using unlisted telephone numbers."

Cameraphone can capture TV through cable

Samsung Electronics released its new camera phone on Tuesday, boasting a higher picture resolution of two million pixels, reports Digital Chosunilbo.

"This model enables users to view pictures and videos captured by the handset on their television screens through feed cables. It also functions as an MP3 player".

«Phonescoping»: Camphones attached to a telescope

French ornithology magazine Ornithomedia.com, writes about a new trend called Phonescoping.

Phonescoping is when ornithologists take pictures of birds with their camera phones attached to a telescope.

You can view beautfiul pictures taken on Tommi Laurinsalo's website.

Phonetography

Throughout this week, and for the next four, The Times Online is inviting their readers to send in snaps of images that represent Christmas to them.

First prize is a Ferrari-emblazoned Sharp GX30 camera phone.

In their own words:

"Every Friday, our picture editors will choose the best 10 snaps from the week. They will be entered into our hall of fame, from which each week's winners will be chosen.

The pictures are already rolling in. See our gallery for early signs of how the competition is shaping up and what types of snaps are being taken".

Vandalism marks matched logo found on lost cell phone

Investigators used a logo on a lost cell phone to track down graffiti vandalism suspect David McGreal, according to a police report, writes The Kane County Chronicle.

"The "Slim North" logo on McGreal's phone, which was found by a groundskeeper in the Abby Glen subdivision, matched the spray painted marks found on several Campton Township traffic signs and roads in May."

Other police efforts to track down graffiti vandals thanks to cameraphones:

-- Police camera phones hunt graffiti - Images of etchings are captured on camera phones, emailed to police headquarters and stored in a database of graffiti tags, the trademark sign of the urban street 'artist'. Detectives can then compare them with images of spray paint vandalism in towns and cities.

-- Police test “snap trap” approach - Tayside Police (Scotland) are equipping officers with picture phones in a trial-run crime-busting initiative to tackle persistent graffiti vandals allowing officers to photograph graffiti and identify individuals responsible for multiple instances of vandalism by looking at distinctive signatures and styles.

How and Why People Use Camera Phones

This paper from HP presents an in-depth study into how people use their camera phones.

Using a combined method of interviews and grounded discussions around a sample of actual photos, the study examined people's intentions at the time of capture and subsequent patterns of use.

The result is a 6-part taxonomy describing the way images are used both for sharing and personal use, and for affective and functional use.

The implications of these findings for future products and services are discussed. Notes: Rowanne Fleck, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK Abigail Sellen, Microsoft Research, 7 JJ Thomson Ave, Cambridge CB2 0DF, UK

Augmented Bar Code, The

According to Dara O'Rourke, a U.C. Berkeley professor of labor, shoppers choosing, say, turkeys could one day scan bar codes with their cellphone cameras to find out where the birds were from, and even see pictures of the farms. The transformed bar code would call attention to environmentally friendly products and raise the consciousness of shoppers everywhere. [via the New York Times.

Software already exists that allows camera phones to read bar codes. And some companies have begun sharing encoded product-tracking information with curious consumers. This year, Heritage Foods started providing a tracking number with every piece of meat it sells. When keyed into the company's Web site, the number provides the animal's medical and feed history. The site also features a turkey Web cam, so you can examine the animals' living conditions for yourself.

The disclosure of so much production-process detail has risks: what if a turkey keels over on camera? Many companies are reluctant to throw open their doors while their competitors remain invisible. Still, a sizable number of consumers actually want to know how their sausage (or turkey) is made. These folks are less worried about losing their appetites than they are about buying something seriously unhealthful.

Related articles:

-- KTF to Trace Imported Beef with RFID - KTF, the second largest mobile carrier of Korea announced that it would launch a service to trace the origin of imported beef using RFID as of next year.

-- Fish bar code system under development - - A new cell phone information system is being developed to enable consumers to receive detailed information about fish at retail stores, including where and when the fish was caught and by whom.

Korea Demonstrates World's First Wireless Broadband (WiBro)

Korean researchers have developed prototype products for Wireless Broadband (WiBro) or Portable Internet, which enables users to log on to the web on the move, for the first time in the world, reports Seong-ju Lee for Teelcoms Korea.

And in a related article , Samsung Electronics said that it would prepare for mass production of WiBro equipment based on the prototype by the end of next year so that mobile carriers can launch WiBro service as scheduled next year.

Numbers of people not taking and sending pictures, audio and video is growing

There is no doubt that mobile phones sporting cameras and colour screens are hugely popular.

More than 167 million handsets were sold between July and September 2004, a period that, according to Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi is "seldom strong".

But although consumers have mobiles that can take and send snaps, sounds and video clips few, so far, are taking the chance to do so, reports the BBC.

"In fact, the numbers of people not taking and sending pictures, audio and video is growing.

Figures gathered by Continental Research shows that 36% of British camera phone users have never sent a multimedia message (MMS), up from 7% in 2003.

This is despite the fact that, during the same period, the numbers of camera phones in the UK more than doubled to 7.5 million.

Research bears out the suspicion that people are not sending multimedia messages because they do not know how to.

This has led to operators finding other technologies, particularly one known as Wap-push, to get multimedia to their customers.

Israeli technology firm Celltic has found a way to broadcast data across phone networks in a way that does not overwhelm existing bandwidth.

One of the first firms to use the Celltick service is Hutch India, the largest mobile firm in the country. The broadcast system gets multimedia to customers via a rolling menu far faster than would be possible with other systems.

While not multimedia messaging, such a system gets people used to seeing their phones as a device that can handle all different types of content.

As a result 40% of the subscribers to the Hutch Alive, which uses Celltick's broadcast technology, regularly click for more pictures, sounds and images from the operator."

Camera phones to hit digital camera market

With the appearance of cellphones with digital cameras, the growth of the world digital camera market will likely cool down, said the Korea International Trade Association yesterday. [via JoongAng Daily].

"The trade organization said the global digital camera market, which has increased 40 percent this year with sales of 68.5 million units, will expect a growth rate of 22 percent with sales of 84.1 million units in 2005.

The organization said sales of digital camera in 2006 will likely reach 84.7 million units in 2006".

Cellphones spell the end for pocket TVs

Snowy pictures and hissy sound have been the hallmark of pocket TVs since they were launched more than 15 years ago. But the quality of TV picture available to people on the move is in for a sea change, according to New Scientist.

"From 2006, mobile phones will be offering crisp, clear TV pictures. But the pictures will not be coming over the cellphone network - they will be sent from transmitters already used for TV broadcasts. And this means a completely new breed of phones will be necessary to pick them up.

[..] With cellphone bandwidth so expensive, operators need another way to transmit their pictures. Which is why the cellphone industry has been working on a number of ways to deliver live TV to phones via digital signals broadcast from existing TV transmitters.

The most promising scheme, called Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H), was last week chosen by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute as the standard for Europe. DVB-H is based on the successful digital terrestrial TV system that delivers the UK's 30-channel Freeview digital TV service.

In the UK, the mobile network O2 will start using DVB-H next year, despite having paid £4 billion for a 3G licence in April 2000.

O2 plans to give prototype Nokia TV phones to 500 of its subscribers to test.

Unless severe problems emerge in the trials now under way in the US and Europe, the momentum behind DVB-H seems unstoppable. Motorola, NEC, Siemens, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia, O2 and NTL expect to kick off DVB-H services in 2006.

Admiralty bans picture phones in terror fear

Picture phone bans in the UK Ministry of Defence are being rigorously enforced amid fears that terrorists could "hack" into mobiles and use their microphone and camera as the "ultimate bugging device", reports Yorkshire Post Today.

"Senior officers and staff in sensitive parts of the Admiralty in London have been ordered to turn phones off in case "hackers" gain images of the layout of the inside of Britain's military headquarters or listen in on confidential or top-secret information.

There are fears that a virus or other electronic trigger could activate features of an innocent user's phone without their know-ledge and use them to gather intelligence.

Security experts have warned that a modern phone, which usually includes a camera and Internet connection, can be turned into the "ultimate bugging device".

Click here for related articles and links on spy phones.

Military related articles:

-- US Department of Defense rules on wireless security

-- Did Rumsfeld ban Iraq camera phones?

Sony Ericsson pushes camera phones at Empire Awards

Mobile phone giant Sony Ericsson is to sponsor the 10th annual Empire Film Awards for the third year running to promote imaging and entertainment on its latest range of camera phones, reports Brand Republic.

The Empire Awards, which claim to be the only awards ceremony voted for by the cinema-going public, regularly attracts a host of A-list stars with past attendees including Dustin Hoffman, Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz.

Sony Ericsson will also sponsor an award, which will be announced nearer the date of the show in March 2005.

The ceremony is being held at The Guildhall on March 13 2005. Voting forms will be available in the February issue of Empire magazine."

Samsung to Produce Camera Phone Module with Its Own Technology

Samsung plans to produce a camera phone module with its own technology starting next year, reports Seong-ju Lee for Telecoms Korea .

"A spokesman of Samsung said Friday, ”We recognized that there is growing need to strengthen competitiveness in testing and quality in camera phone because red-hot demand of the products."

Currently camera modules for Samsung Electornics are mainly supplied by Samsung's affiliates such as Samsung Electricity and Samsung Techwin or Pentax. Samsung said, “If we strengthen criteria for camera modules, suppliers will have no choice but to enhance the quality.”

Hi-tech posters guide commuters

More on Hypertag's interactive posters, from the BBC

"When interrogated with a mobile phone, the posters pass on a number that people can call to get information about the safest route home.

Sited at busy underground stations, the posters are fitted with an infra-red port that can beam information directly to a handset.

The posters are part of Transport for London's Safe Travel at Night campaign. "

Related articles:

-- London gets interactive posters

-- Interactive posters now get Bluetooth

New bill targets some peeping Toms

In one of its last moves of the year, Congress passed a bill that would levy heavy fines and prison time for anyone who sneaks photos or videos of people in various stages of undress, a problem lawmakers and activists called the new frontier of stalking, reports the AP.

"The bill, which President Bush is expected to sign, would make it a crime to videotape or photograph the naked or underwear-covered private parts of a person without consent when the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Conviction could lead to a fine of not more than $100,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both."

VIDEO VOYEUR LAW

The law: People who "capture an image of a private area of an individual without their consent" on federal property may be fined or imprisoned.

States with similar laws: Several states already have their own laws on video voyeurism. Federal judges are known for tougher sentencing than many of their state counterparts.

Bottom line: Cameraphone and now videophones are becoming more popular, and authorities are looking for ways to stop the illicit photographing of people in bathrooms, bedrooms and now public places.

Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004

Related articles:

-- NZ aims to jail 'up skirt' snappers

-- Thailand: Action urged over Thai camphone sex pests

-- USA: House approves video voyeurism crackdown

-- Singapore laws adequate to deal with cameraphone misuse

NZ aims to jail 'up skirt' snappers

Hi-tech "peeping Toms" could be sent to jail under proposals put forward by the New Zealand government, reports the BBC.

"It has decided to clamp down on photography and filming making it an offence to make, publish and possess so-called "up skirt" images and other voyeuristic recordings.

Under the proposed measures, the making, publishing or distributing of voyeuristic material made without consent will carry a penalty of up to three years in prison.

Knowingly possessing such material without reasonable cause will become an offence carrying a penalty of up to one year in jail.

Under current New Zealand law, such images would have to be deemed objectionable to be caught by censorship laws.

Prosecution under the country's privacy laws could also fail if the images were only made for personal use.

The legislation will be introduced into New Zealand's parliament early next year."

Related articles:

-- Thailand: Action urged over Thai camphone sex pests

-- USA: House approves video voyeurism crackdown

-- Singapore laws adequate to deal with cameraphone misuse

Virgin Mobile UK Promotes Camera Phones With 'Dog Judo'

With two humorous videos (and two more to come) created by 12foot6 and distributed virally by DMC, Virgin Mobile is promoting its camera phones for Christmas.

"The "Dog Judo" series features two dog characters - "Ruff" Rex Hunter and "Barking" Bob Bones - in highly snap-able situations that build on their rivalry and dry sense of humor over several episodes.

The animated clip exists both on the Dog Judo microsite and as a standalone file that can be passed around. The file invites viewers to click through to the microsite and sign up to be emailed when new episodes are released. Episode two can be viewed there as well.

Visitors are encouraged to sign up to be notified when new episodes are released."

[ reBlogged from Adrants ]

Indian Movie to Debut on Cell Phones

An Indian cellular phone company plans to air a new Bollywood movie on mobile handsets for free and in full Thursday in a bid to promote its video-streaming service, reports the AP.

"Rok Sako To Rok Lo," or "Stop, If You Can," will be available to Bharti Tele-Ventures customers in 11 Indian cities, provided their phones have the supporting technology.

Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd will be "the first cellular service in the world to premiere a full-length movie on mobile phones," Bindal said. "I am certain that this service will add a whole new dimension to the concept of mobile-based entertainment.

The Hindi movie, a teenage romance, was directed by Arindam Chaudhary. Bollywood star Sunny Deol (news) is the only name in a cast of virtual unknowns. It is scheduled for general release in movie theaters on Friday.

A maximum of 200 people will be able to connect and watch the movie simultaneously, and the movie cannot be copied or replayed."

Open registration for «.MP» (mobile phone) domain

Open registration for dotMP commenced on December 1st and a wide spectrum of business and personal users from Europe, America and Asia have registered their .mp domain names and published mobile content on their dotMP sites.

In their own words:

"«.mp» is the only domain for the mobile Internet. Your «.mp» domain name is unique and tells everyone that you're on the mobile Internet.

It's the first complete domain name, Web site and mobile site package available. No programming or site authoring is needed. dotMP comes with everything you need and is ready to go immediately after your complete the sign-up process.

It's all about you, your friends and what you want to put on your dotMP. Your photos, rants, blogs entries, diaries, wishlist, - whatever. Putting stuff on your dotMP is a snap. Use a computer or your mobile phone. You can even upload photos directly from your camera phone !

[Press Release]

Ads are coming to your mobile

As much as it pains most people to hear it, mobile content will soon include advertisments. This may make the content cheaper, or it may make the telcos richer - or both, reports James Pearce for MocoNews.

In this article for ZDNet, Pearce details some of the latest developments in bringing ads to your mobile, and why you might welcome them. An important article for anyone following cell phone trends. Some excerpts:

"As evidence of the increase in the mobile content market, and therefore the desirability for advertisers, UK mobile internet portal Boltblue will use Accipiter's ad trafficking services to serve up to 20 million rich media ads. “The move is in intersting one in that is signifies an increasing maturity in the mobile media space, in the context of steadily increasing WAP page impressions.

[...] One system being looked at plans to take advantage of a new service known as 'video shortcuts', developed by MSTelecom. It allows 3G mobile users to dial a shortcode, opt for a video call and receive streamed video content to their mobiles. 3UK, the British version of Australia's first 3G mobile operator, has already launched the new service.

[...] Some ads can be very entertaining and people want to watch them for that reason - consider the existence of TV shows like "World's Best Ads". The ads could offer a payoff to the viewer, with special offers or content the person wants to see. The first advertisers are predicted to be music and television companies, who could offer previews of music videos or cult TV shows designed to promote their product.

[...] More subtle is the idea of 'contextual marketing'. Web-browser company Operahas created a Web browser that runs on BREW enabled phones. The benefit for carriers is that it offers services based on what the consumer is doing at the time. For example, if the user is checking the latest basketball scores the browser can offer a basketball game for the mobile, or perhaps a basketball-themed screensaver and ringtone. This will especially appeal to telcos which have avoided the "walled garden" approach, and allow their users to roam the World Wide Web.

[...] And there are plenty of opportunities for companies to take advantage of current technologies, opportunities which so far haven't shown up on the radar but are technically possible. For example, screensavers and backgrounds on mobile phones. The most popular screensavers currently tend to be based on movies and TV shows, and are effectively advertisements keeping the show in the consciousness of the consumer."

[...] Ringback tones also offer an advertising opportunity. Ringback tones can be purchased by mobile users to replace the normal ringtone people here when they call the phone.

A Library and Cinema in Your Pocket

Doreen Carvajal for The New York Times looks into "phone soap operas and made-for-mobile dramas that can be absorbed in less time than it takes to flick through a book introduction".

-- One pioneer is Media Republic, an Amsterdam company that is successfully reaching young women with the mobile equivalent of the French "roman photo," a sentimental genre of romantic still photos and text that dates to the postwar period.

-- Dutch users register their mobile phones to follow the adventures of the hormone-driven characters of "Jong Zuid," or "Young South," which is now in production for its fourth season. Customers receive two episodes daily, each with six photographs of well-known Dutch actors and text describing the travails of glamorous young people seeking their fortune in the big city.

-- Media Republic and a partner are to produce a similar English-language version, which will start appearing in Australia this month, using local actors and scenes. Called "My Way," it is calculated to appeal to young women, as did the Dutch phone soap, which attracted 78,000 subscribers, 68 percent of them women, with an average age of about 18.

-- The giant British mobile-phone company Vodafone has struck a partnership with 20th Century Fox to create a made-for-cellphone video series, based on the television show "24," which will start appearing next month in the first of 13 countries.

-- In Japan, major publishers like Shinchosha and Kadokawa Shoten have created Web sites to offer telephone reading material. Japan is also home to probably the most successful telephone venture. Earlier this year a mobile novel jumped from phone screens to the silver screen, evolving into a feature film, "Deep Love."

-- This month Langenscheidt started offering a phone-size flirting dictionary that is its way of promoting international understanding. For about $5, the service offers 600 or so phrases in the chosen language, and practical advice including phonetic pronunciations of polite brushoffs.

-- Related articles on mobile Soap Operas

-- Related articles on SMS novels

LG Successful in Demonstrating Terrestrial DMB

LG Electronics, which developed the world's first terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) phone last November, demonstrated its DMB phone in Paris to 100 businessmen and government officials of Korea and France.

LG's 8 inch terrestrial DMB TV , which was displayed in the demonstration, also drew keen attention, LG said.

LG said that the success of the demonstration will make it a leader in terrestrial DMB technology in Europe."

by Seong-ju Lee for Telecoms Korea.

Related articles:

-- More on LG Electronics New Broadcast Phone

-- LG Unveils New Broadcast Phone

Hard drives, telephoto lenses meet cell phones

While Samsung's hard-drive phone isn't out yet, and the phone with the telescopic lens is only available in Korea, both products portend what is coming for the rest of the world. New cell phone features are often tested first in Korea and Japan before being exported to the rest of the world, reports Asia C/Net.

"Next year, for instance, Samsung, LG Electronics, Sanyo and others will release phones capable of receiving satellite TV so you can watch a number of channels relatively cheaply on the go.

The capabilities on phones are growing so fast that during the next two years, phones will take over much of the low-end of the digital-camera market, according to Shyam Nagrani, an analyst at iSuppli.

The ability for handsets to incorporate these features is partly the result of Moore's Law, which dictates that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every two years. More transistors mean more capabilities or greater performance for the same or less money. "