MobileDog

Tamagotchi for mobile phones, including location base and interaction between users!

MobileDog, a project by Juliana Chan, allows you to own and interact with a dog from your mobile phone. Sending sms messaging will allow you to feed, train, and play with your dog. And your dog will send messages telling you how it's feeling. A mobiledog can also interact with other mobiledogs. You send the word 'play' to play with your dog, 'feed' to select which kind of food will make the dog happy, 'train' to train your dog. etc. The system will send you reminders of the dog status and give you hints of what you should do at each stage.

Toyota dives back into mobile TV

Toyota Motors North America plans to expand its mobile marketing efforts with a new wireless TV series from Fun Little Movies, reports RCRNews.

"The automaker is sponsoring “The Pool,” a made-for-mobile comedy series that is being promoted with broadcast television commercials on major networks including ABC, Fox, BET and UPN.

Toyota is sponsoring the offering to showcase its 2007 automobiles, and the series will be available through FLM partners including Sprint Nextel Corp., Bango, SmartVideo and other distribution channels."

WeatherBug launches citizen video site

WeatherBug has launched a beta test of a new community video site in which anyone can upload weather videos. [via Cyberjournalist]

Citizens blogging the weather stories

-- Hurricane Victims, a.k.a. Amateur Journalists

-- Moblogging the hurricane

Other Weather Related Mobile Services:

-- WeatherBug will offer WeatherBug Mobile for Java via wireless carrier Sprint

-- Mobile Phone Offers Video Weather Report

-- Weather girls team up for cell-phone news

-- Weathernews names 6 Japanese casters for new mobile phone service

-- Aspiring cell phone weather presenters gather for Kanto auditions

-- Meteo Sam, your virtual mobile weather caster

Color Flash Cube to shoot in the dark

Greenbulb offers several add ons to cameras and cameraphones to take better pictures: [via PopPhoto]

-- Color Flash Cube, which enables users to take better pictures in a low light environment, thanks to color filters.

-- The SS Mirror, designed for camera users to take better self portraits with more accuracy. The mirrors are compatible on mobile phones, cameras, and digital cameras.

All it takes are 3 simple steps to apply the mirror onto any flat surface of your camera. The SS Mirror uses 3M removable adhesive tape, therefore, if you no longer wish to have a SS Mirror on your phone or camera, it can be safely and easily removed leaving no scratches or sticky glue behind.

Video-Sharing Sites Unfiltered Images of War to the Screen

From the Huntington News. "Julien created BloggingBeirut.com 18 months ago as a romantic pursuit _ a way to share the beauty of his native Lebanon with a woman he met in graduate school in New York. That relationship dissolved, but last week BloggingBeirut was getting 400,000 hits a day after Julien, who asked that his last name not be published, posted video shot on cell phones of his beloved hometown now ravaged by war.

In a town in northern Israel last week, 16-year-old Guy Naveh posted footage on the video-sharing site YouTube.com that he shot with a digital camera from the balcony of his family's apartment. He wanted friends in other parts of Israel and relatives in the United States to sense the panic people feel when an air raid siren blows. More than 9,000 people have seen Naveh's video.

Video-sharing technology is revolutionizing how people far from the battlefield understand the latest Middle East war. Experts predict the edgy, personalized clips being passed around worldwide soon will influence traditional broadcast news by infusing it with the passion of citizen journalists, who are reporting as rockets crash onto their neighborhoods".

Image left of video on YouTube posted by zah2an.

For more videos search "Beirut", "Lebanon", "Israel" on YouTube .com

Australia. New laws to crack down on voyeurs

Voyeurs who snap pictures up women's skirts and down their blouses will be the subject of new national laws as part of a crackdown on people taking invasive and unauthorised photos for sexual gratification, reports The Australian.

"The laws will be debated at today's meeting of attorneys-general in Melbourne, along with draft laws removing the Family Court's role in authorising the sterilisation of girls and young women with intellectual disabilities."

Barcodes show up under black light

IBM Japan and Connect Technologies co-developed a system for printing and capturing/decoding "invisible" 2D barcodes using special ink that responds to black light. Yes, the barcodes show up only when they are exposed to black light.

In their usage scenario, they talk about a cell phone that has a camera and a blacklight LED for lighting.

reBlogged from wonderful RFID in Japan

CNN is solliciting citizen cameraphone shots

CNN is sollicting citizen cameraphone shots. [via Umediated]

In their own words: Is news happening in front of your eyes? Pull out your camera and I-Report it for CNN. Use the form on this page to send files from your computer. Send cell phone video and photos to ireport@cnn.com.

Cell Phone Picture Called Obstruction Of Justice

Neftaly Cruz, 21, was handcuffed and arrested outside his home in Phildaelphia for taking a picture of police arresting a drug dealer with his cell phone, according to NBC news.

"Police threatened to charge ho, with conspiracy, impeding an investigation, obstruction of a investigation. … They said, 'You were impeding this investigation.'

Cruz's famly said it has filed a formal complaint with the police department's Internal Affairs division and are requesting a complete investigation".

Other incidents where law enforcers or authorities stepped in on cameraphoness, based on privacy issues or civil rights:

-- Police officer orders camphone shot to be deleted

-- Student accused of violating bus driver's civil rights for recording his behaviour

Souvenir camera from Paris

Not a camera phone. Just a camera. But things are slow and this is great. It's almost as much fun as the Elivs Camera - which automatically inserts your image next to The King on every shot. [via [BB-Blog]]

A disposable camera that contains 27 undeveloped souvenir shots of Paris photographed by up-and-coming artists. Every camera is different.

From uptoyoutoronto.com.

Special episodes of Lost produced for cell phones

If you don't get enough of the ABC show Lost on TV, soon you'll be able to watch a series of special episodes on your phone, according to ABC

"The plan is to create 13 two-minute mobile phone episodes -- or "mobisodes" -- on Verizon."

Open ban on mobile phones unlikely despite concerns

The death of a spectator from a heart attack is one reason cameraphones will probably not be banned from the Open championship, reports the Scotsman.

"Winner Tiger Woods complained about the number of times he or playing partner Sergio Garcia were distracted in the last round at Hoylake.

But David Hill, director of championships for the Royal and Ancient, said that while the situation will be examined, the incident on one of the practice days will make them think long and hard about a future ban.

You have to consider that people like to have mobiles with them for matters of urgency and have needed to get medical attention quickly. We have considered electronic screening. It's a step we would prefer not to take, but if the committee feels we have got to the stage where we have to do it we will. It would mean delays at the gates, but we will certainly be looking at it."

Related articles:

-- Tiger snaps at fans taking photographs

-- Woods Experiences Golfing in China: Click, Ring, Take a Swing

-- Golf Rules leave fans pining for phones

-- Call for Cameraphone ban on Golf Tournaments

Wristwatch reads/writes of RFID Tags

Welcat Inc., a maker of bar code and other wireless devices, has begun marketing a reader/writer for RFID tags that a user can wear on the wrist just like a watch, reports Nikkei.net.

"The WIT-150-T can read information on an RFID tag or enter data into one when the user brings it close to the tag, significantly improving the efficiency of warehouses, for example.

The firm expects the device to be especially useful in manufacturing plants, warehouses and distribution centers, as well as for handling labor management work."

By using a mobile phone compatible with the Bluetooth wireless communications standard, data read by the device can be sent to a personal computer or server at a remote location."

Tiger snaps at fans taking photographs

British Open champion Tiger Woods complained about the amateur photographers he and playing partner Sergio Garcia had to contend with during Sunday’s final round, reports MSNBC.

"We had it at every hole,” Woods said after a closing 67 gave him a two-shot victory over Chris DiMarco and the 11th major of his career. “We had never seen anything like it before. It wasn’t the professional photographers, it was the gallery. They had cameras or camera phones.”

Woods said he and Garcia, who finished with a disappointing 1-over 73, were constantly distracted.

“The cameras kept going off while we were over the shot or preparing to hit the shot, or even hitting the shot they were going off,” said Woods, who also won the British Open at St Andrews in 2000 and 2005."

Its not the first time Tiger Woods or other golf tournaments have been plagues by cameraphones. cf related articles:

-- Woods Experiences Golfing in China: Click, Ring, Take a Swing - Golf and golf etiquette is so new in China, and the sport's fans are so crazy about Tiger Woods, that the The HSBC Champions Tournament in Shangai was quite a scene.

-- Golf Rules leave fans pining for phones - At a golf tournament, silence is not only golden, it is mandatory.

-- Call for Cameraphone ban on Golf Tournaments - Officials at this year's US Masters introduced airport-style metal detectors and bag scanners at the main entrance to Augusta and confiscated all mobile phones and cameras.

MobileSnoops

Pentrix Systems and Network of Nigeria have launched their own agency for citizen journalism called MobileSnoops. They're looking for newsorthy stories and cameraphone shots.

"We are really looking for fresh news, reviews, columns, features and community oriented articles from members of the public in the form of stories, audio, images or videos taken by camera phones

More on Citizen Journalism

Song fuer C

In cooperation with Vodafone R&D germany , Marc Weis, Martin DeMattia and the Mobile Application Design Department of the University of Zurich have produced an interactive crime tale exclusively for mobile phones, entitled "Song fuer C".

The film has its world premiere today at the Munich Film Fest.

Vodafone installed a DVB-H environment expressively for the premiere, which will be tonight 8pm. the movie will be viewable on siemens DVB-H prototype handsets.

Song fuer C will also be featured at Ars Electronica in Linz in september.

Pictures and some scenes (in German) are available here.

The story draws the actual audience, namely the mobile user, into an interplay of different, authentic-looking messages (such as SMS and MMS), film broadcasts and clues, turning him into an active „voyeur“ of developments.

When the project is broadcast in real time, it is to go on the air step by step over a period of two weeks. For the premiere at Munichs Filmfest, the individual instalments will be condensed into a performance about fifty minutes in length".

Concept and direction: M+M
Screenplay: Helmut Krausser
Actors: Stephan Bissmeier (father)

Current Mobile TV requesting citizen cellphone videos

Following ABC 's call for citizen videos to enhance it's TV news program, USA Networks, Fox and NBC 's new shows featuring the most popular video shorts circulating on the Net, Current TV is requesting viewers to send in their cell phone videos for $ 500. [via mopocket]

"Current TV, a U.S national cable and satellite channel dedicated to bringing the peoples voice to television (founded by former Vice-President Al Gore) has launched Current Mobile, sponsored by Sony Ericsson, a new program that showcases video from cell phones".

In their own words:

Current is looking for exciting, bizarre, beautiful and captivating "mobile moments" caught with your cell phone's video camera. Going to a summer festival? Always spotting funky street fashion? Chatting up the hipsters at a cool nightspot? Whip out your cell and start shooting..

More wonderful barcodes

A video of whimsical barcodes from Japan's Design Barcode, Inc. that won the Titanium Lion for Design at the Cannes Lions 2006, 53rd International Advertising Festival. [via digg]

As of today, 15 companies are utilizing Design Barcodes in their packaging, and approximately 60 kinds of Design Barcodes are circulating in the marketplace. There have been zero instances of false readings resulting from these barcodes.

Other wonderful barcodes: ColorCodes and 2D Barcodes.

Peeping Tom filter lets phones see through bikinis

Fun. Another camera lense for cell phones that allows you to see through clothes!, and with perfect timing because it's summer, it's reportedly particularly effective on dark bikinis. [via Silicon.com via digg]

"Yamada Denshi, has developed an add-on to Vodafone handsets, intended to be used as a night filter to allow Big Red's customers to take pictures with their phones in the dark.

Unfortunately, the night vision camera has an unexpected side effect - in the right circumstances, it allows users to see a lot more than they bargained for.

The handset most often used with the £100 filter - the V602-SH - is only available in Japan.

According to a Vodafone spokeswoman: "We would never go to market with a phone with any kind of capacity to see people naked."

Other related voyeur devices:

-- Israeli researchers combine IR camera, cell phone -A joint study out of Israel has demonstrated that it is technically feasible to integrate an infrared digital camera into a cell phone.

-- See under clothes via camera lens - The KAYA 37mm PF4, a camera lens that allows to see under clothes.

-- Mobile cam sees through clothes - A new mobile phone gadget has raised fears it will be a perverts' dream. The £100 add-on will turn camera phones into X-ray specs which can see through clothes.

MMS Usage Up 40% In The US

Messaging company Mobile365 says the number of mobile-originated MMS messages it processed in the US increased 40% from the first to the second quarter, a pretty significant jump. [via MobHappy]

Tiny radio chip can stores video clips

A "Memory Spot" no bigger than a grain of rice offers greater memory and faster transfer speeds than RFID tags – and could be read by a cellphone, reports New Scientist.

"The chip, called a Memory Spot, is small enough to be attached to a postcard or a photograph and could be used to append video, audio or hundreds of pages of text to all sorts of everyday objects. In hospitals, for example, the chips could allow doctors to add detailed medical records to a patient’s plastic wristband.

A Memory Spot can be read by a specialised device or an appropriately modified cellphone or PDA. It does not require a battery as it draws power from the reading device's radio field."

Discovery Channel goes Mobile

Discovery, which has nearly 700 million television subscribers worldwide will be offering a mobile version later this year, reports The Washington Post.

"Discovery will fill the small screens with its own mix of facts, travel news and bloody animal fights. ... From travel to health to fun facts and great video about the world.

... Instead of a two-hour documentary on zebras in the Serengeti, animal footage is more likely to take the form of "Top Five Takedowns," which lets viewers vote by text message on their favorite clip of predators attacking prey."

Big Eye Arney streams CCTV pictures direct to your mobile

"Big Eye Arney" (Babelfish translation) is a home security CCTV-like camera that streams images to your mobile phone upon request.

Simply dial Big Eye Arney's phone number, and whatever's in the camera's field of visions is instantly streamed to your 3G phone. [via Mobile Mentalism]

Qatar. Mobile phones keep women away from salons

The fear of cameraphones which can take pictures of a woman on the sly, is keeping Qatari women away from beauty salons, reports The Peninsula via Smart Mobs.

"Women now mostly prefer free-lance beauticians to visit their homes so they can avail their services in the privacy of their homes."

Citzizen Journalism Awards

A picture taken moments after a bomb exploded on a number 30 bus in London's Tavistock Square on 7 July 2005 has won the first Citizen Journalism Award, reports the BBC.

"The person who took the Tavistock Square photograph elected to remain anonymous and asked for the prize to be donated to one of the London bombings charities.

Second prize went to a shot of the Buncefield oil terminal fire taken by a passenger in a plane.

The awards, set up by Nokia and the UK Press Gazette, aim to highlight images shot by citizens witnessing events."

Police issue speed craze warning

Police have warned that a sickening new speeding craze is putting lives at risk, reports Channel4.

Young drivers are posting footage of themselves on the internet racing through busy streets while their stunts are filmed on mobile phones.

The craze has been sweeping the US, Japan, The Middle Eastand police have promised a crackdown before it takes hold in the UK.

Related:

-- Rebels Without A Cause in Saudia Arabia captured by cameraphones - Young people illegally road racing in the Middle East and how spectators gather to catch the races and crashes on their videophones.

Rocketboom 2.0 and Info on Ad rates

Rocketboom succesfully re-launches as Rocketboom 2.0 with Joanne Colan. There is definitely life after Amanda Congdon, who get's an elegant invitation to come back anytime.

MIT Advertising Lab links to Rocketboom's ad rates and Andrew Baron discusses advertising prospects following the departure of its star host.

Cingular Brings “Entourage” to the Mobile Screen in Your Pocket

Cingular Wireless said Wednesday that cable channel HBO has produced a special mobile miniseries based on the popular show "Entourage" that extends the story beyond what is shown on television. CNN reports via Mobile Crunch.

"The wireless company said it would also show full-length episodes from the first season of "Entourage" and from other popular shows such as "Sex and the City" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Taking Photos Through a Burka

A cellphone camera squeezed between nose and mesh captures a woman's blurry view from behind the veil. [via USAToday Tech Space]

Sara Terry in The Christian Science Monitor reports on her five-week assignment to shoot photos for a humanitarian organization.

"I was dismayed to realize that I wasn't going to be able to move freely. There was a standing threat against Western women working for aid organizations - prime targets for kidnapping and sale to the Taliban. Understandably enough, the organization restricted my movements, rarely allowing me out on the street unless I was in a car - and never allowing me to go anywhere alone.

So, I began eyeing those voluminous blue burqas, still ubiquitous in Kabul. I wondered if I could "hide" underneath one and find a way to work comfortably on the street.

[via USAToday Tech Space]

(Picture below) A cell phone camera hidden under a burqa, giving a unique view of the streets of Kabul.

Smart dressing mirror and fitting room

Researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute of Textiles and Clothing have recently developed "An intelligent Simulator for Cross-selling & Up-selling using Smart Fitting Room & Smart Dressing Mirror". [via SFL.org via digg]

"This system uses RFID technology to detect items brought into a fitting room or placed in front of a dressing mirror. When an item is picked into the fitting room or placed in front of a dressing mirror, the product ID will be immediately detected and transmitted to the system through the antennae and reader.

The mix-and-match database of the system will then deliver recommendations to the customer through a touch-screen LCD monitor or projected screen. In the fitting room, if the customer is interested to pick the recommended mix-and-match items, he/she can make their choice by clicking the items shown on screen.

The salesman in the shop counter will thus be informed, through the intercom system, of the additional items required by the customer inside the fitting room."