Camera phone delays Bellamy case

The assault trial of Welsh international football player Craig Bellamy was briefly halted after a claim that photographs were taken of him in court. The BBC reports.

"The Wales and Liverpool star is on trial at Cardiff Magistrates Court, where he denies assaulting two women.

The case was halted after the judge was told an usher had seen a mobile phone's camera being placed against the window of the court door. "

Video-sharing makes move to TV

A TV satellite channel dedicated to user-generated content has been launched on the UK-based Sky platform, reports the BBC .

"The Sumo TV channel will show clips from the Sumo TV website.

Every time a clip is broadcast, the originator of the content will receive a percentage of the revenues generated. "

... Participants who upload video clips to the Sumo TV website will have a chance for them to be broadcast on national TV.

Which clips are broadcast will be down to how popular they prove online. All content will be closely monitored by Cellcast, the interactive TV company behind the channel.

Viewers of Sumo TV will also be given the chance to participate in live TV shows, via text messaging, webcams, video messaging and 3G streaming. "

Related:

-- Current Mobile TV requesting citizen cellphone videos

-- ABC requests citizen videos to enhance it's TV news program

Panoramas on a Camera Phone

Photo software company, Scalado has launched a software package for camera phones which enables them to take wide panorama photos by stitching together several photos in sequence, reports Cellular News.

"Scalado's software features a smart stitching technology, which sews numerous images together in order to create a single, specialised photograph in a click of a button on the handset.

The result is a perfect panoramic photograph that is produced automatically and within seconds."

Related: PanoMan software enables users to generate 360° panoramas with a mobile phone

Footprints interactive installation celebrates feet as mobile symbol

Footprints is a camera phone based interactive installation proposed for the Art Center Nabi for Mobile Asia Competition 2006. It celebrates mobility and diversity of the connected community through digital technologies. Feet are a symbol of being mobile.

The installation consists of multiple screens displaying images of different pairs of feet embedded in the floor. The images are from one perspective, that is the top-down, self point-of-view portrait of one's own feet at a particular location.

... The audience are asked to participate by uploading their top-down feet images from their camera mobile phone via MMS, email, this website, or wireless connection at the installation site. The images rotate around the grid to show as many images as there are in the system.

[via we-make-money-not-art.com]

Private lives exposed by net video

A thoughtful piece on the BBC by Internet law professor Michael Geist, on private lives exposed by video in today's world - going over some the most recent events which made headline news (all previously covered in this blog)

"... The emergence of an always-on video society raises some difficult questions about the appropriate privacy-transparency balance, the ethics of posting private moments to a global audience, and the responsibility of websites hosting the clips.

... With built-in video cameras on laptop computers, portable devices and cell phones, and widespread internet access, the clip culture is rapidly morphing from bits of favourite television shows to videos of our friends, neighbours, and even ourselves."

Verizon Wireless to offer YouTube on cell phones

Verizon Wireless said on Tuesday it would deliver selected video clips from YouTube to cell phones starting in December in a bid to increase subscriptions to its mobile media service. [via Reuters]

Friendstribe.com

Friendstribe.com is a mobile social network that works anywhere in the United States, offering the best way to stay in touch with your friends.

Friendstribe.com lets friends know where users are; tag favorite restaurants, clubs and other spots. Upload and share video and pictures from the last party or hot spot, directly from a phone. Friendstribe users can create their own events, invite friends with an invitation directly to their mobile phone and let them RSVP from the phone.

Friendstibe.com was developed by Luxinteract, Inc. a privately held company headquartered in New York, NY, specializing in delivering entertainment and media solutions.

Hyperlinking Reality via Phones

Nokia researchers are working on a system that allows physical objects to be identified and connected to the Internet through mobile-phone screens. Technology Review reports via Smart Mobs.

"A Nokia research project could one day make it easier to navigate the real world by superimposing virtual information on an image of your surroundings. The new software, called Mobile Augmented Reality Applications (MARA), is designed to identify objects viewed on the screen of a camera phone."

How it works:

If the absolute location and orientation of a camera is known, along with the properties of the lens, it is possible to determine exactly what parts of the scene are viewed by the camera.

The MARA prototype application uses accelerometers in all three axes to determine orientation, a tilt compensated compass for heading, and GPS for positioning.

Since these sensors give the (approximate) location and orientation, it is possible to annotate the viewfinder screen with information about real world objects, once the device is focusing on those objects.

Online video 'and eroding TV viewing'

The online video boom is starting to eat into TV viewing time, an ICM survey of 2,070 people for the BBC suggests, reports the BBC]

"Some 43% of Britons who watch video from the internet or on a mobile device at least once a week said they watched less normal TV as a result.

And online and mobile viewing is rising - three quarters of users said they now watched more than they did a year ago."

Borat goes mobile

Something to look forward to.

Technology and marketing company Blue Star Mobile has created mobile phone content for Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

[via The Guardian]

X-Series Blog

To get the inside scoop on 3’s X-Series - 3 Group's partnership with Skype, Sling Media, Yahoo!, Nokia, Google, eBay, Microsoft, Orb and Sony Ericsson - which will bring the internet via mobile broadband, bookmark their X-Series Blog.

In their own words:

We'll be writing on a range of subjects from how to do cool stuff with your X-Series mobiles, to what's coming next in the world of the mobile internet. And we're not just restricting contributions to 3 people ... you're more than welcome to contribute stuff too.

Sunday 26 November is National Camphone Day in Holland

Sunday 26 November is National Camphone Day in The Netherlands. Everyone with a camera phone and a Dutch mobile number is invited to MMS one or more photos to 06 - 137 610 99. The photos are immediately shown on flickr.

The photos that are viewed most ofter during three days, are nominated for great prizes like a Nokia N73, a Sony Ericsson K800i and a Samsung E500.

The Dutch entry to "Nationale Fotomobieljtesdag" is www.fotomobieltje.nl.

The event marks the launch of the book "Photography with a camera phone" by Dutch writer and photographer Peter de Ruiter.

Teacher's angry outburst filmed and posted on YouTube

Gatineau (Canada) school officials are considering banning the use of cameras and cellphones in all classrooms after two students secretly recorded their teacher's angry outburst and posted three clips on YouTube, reports Canada.com.

..."The teachers' union, the Syndicat des enseignants de l'Outaouais, has asked the board to ban cameras and camera-equipped cellphones in all classrooms within its jurisdiction because they can can be used to invade the privacy of teachers and students.

Union vice-president Louis Belcourt said the students caused a disturbance throughout one class and recorded the teacher's reaction on a tiny digital camera when he ordered them to leave. School board officials said the camera was small enough to escape the teacher's notice for about 50 minutes.

"The classroom is a private place owned by the school board, not a public space where you can photograph someone. It is very serious for the teacher because his privacy was violated and I don't know how long it will be before he can work again."

Related Incidents from around the world:

-- Student films teacher berating classmate (2003) - In a junior college in Singapore, a student reportedly used a camera phone to film a teacher berating a classmate for a poorly written paper, and tearing up the student's work.

-- Video of teacher's outburst is on Web (2005) - A videotape showing a US High School teacher screaming at his students to show respect for the national anthem — and then pulling the chair from underneath one student who refused to stand — was posted on several independent Web sites.

-- Teachers shun phone-photo pupil (2006) - Teachers in Newcastle (UK) have voted to boycott a pupil who secretly took a photo of a female member of staff's cleavage.

Racy videos prompt call to ban cell phones in school

According to Radio Jamaica,the teachers unions in Trinidad and Tobago have called upon the Ministry of Education to implement a ban on cell phones in schools.

"The calls follow reports that school children in Tobago were caught filming themselves in graphic sexual acts on cell phones. Those reports are being investigated by police."

Cameraphone Photographer of the Year

The search is on to crown the UK's Cameraphone Photographer of the Year, 2006. The Times Online reports.

"Winner shots will be printed in The Times and be displayed in a top London gallery, The Air Gallery in London', along with other finalists from the competition. Winners will spend a day with a Times photographer to learn tips from a master. And, what's more, they'll also win an all-expenses-paid trip to capture their very own news shots.

In addition, the winner will be given the chance to represent the UK as their shot will be entered into Sony Ericsson's International Cameraphone Photographer of the Year competition.

The competition's open until November. Between now and then, The Time's panel of influential news and photography judges, including the Times Picture Editor, will choose the best photo every week. This will displayed in The Galleriy . From these weekly top shots, a monthly winner will be chosen. They'll appear in The Times' T2 supplement on Monday. And they'll also receive a Sony Ericsson cameraphone."

Picture above, Winner, week five: the newly built Sage Gateshead, photographed by Alan Reynolds

Related post:
Time's Cameraphone Photographer of the Year Contest

Police: Amateur videos often incomplete, unfair

A thoughtful piece by the AP on how a tiny part of an event - shot on film - can't tell the whole story and cites the resent examples of police brutality (UCLA student tasered by police) taped by citizens armed with cameraphones - but do serve to keep the police on it's toes.

"Amateur videos of police using force on suspects have sparked varying degrees of outrage from California to Philadelphia and Europe after onlookers captured incidents on cheap cameras or video cell phones and posted footage on the Internet.

Some law enforcement officials worry about the effect, arguing that footage notable leaves out what happened before the tapping. They also fear widespread exposure of such video clips might give officers pause in the future, even when force is justified, and that could put people in danger.

... Civil rights attorney Connie Rice acknowledges the images may "polarize and politicize police investigations," but she said they also force the LAPD to look inward. "Without them, there is no pressure at all for police to examine use of force, and they are not policing themselves," said Rice, who was appointed by the Police Commission to examine the LAPD's response to allegations of officer abuse. "

Image from truthdig.

3's mobile phone TV service could land users in trouble

Users of 3's just-announced mobile television service will break TV licensing laws if they view the service on a mobile while it is plugged in at unlicensed premises. While the phone runs on its own batteries it does not need its own licence, reports Register.

"Users of the service also run the risk of violating the terms and conditions of broadcasters if they use the service. Terms and conditions for a subscription to BSkyB's Sky satellite television service, for example, forbid the viewing of the content outside of the registered address.

... The TV Licensing Authority said that a user's home TV licence would cover users while watching on a handset that was battery powered. As soon as that handset is plugged into the mains electricity, though, a TV licence must exist for the premises supplying the electricity or the user has committed an offence."

Using Cell Phones for Food Traceability

World Changing reports on how food traceability - thanks to RFID or QR codes and cameraphones - is becoming more and more common in Japan and that consumers are chosing and purchasing these products over others.

"The Japanese Food Safety Commission, which was established in 2001 after a Mad Cow Disease outbreak, has been working to put food safety in the hands of the consumer by tagging products (even fresh farm produce) with RFID or QR codes that can be read with a cell phone.

The Food Safety Commission has found that Japanese consumers are choosing to purchase local food over imported food primarily because of the improved ease of traceability.

For foreign food producers who want to capture the Japanese market, the ability to offer a backstory through technology increases their chances of success."

Related:

-- Saitama supermarket tries out online vegetable info system

-- Nokia camera phones for grocery shopping

-- Camera phones let you know if brocoli is fresh

-- Traceabili-Tea

-- Fish bar code system under development

-- KTF to Trace Imported Beef with RFID

-- RFID Tracks Shrimp

-- Reading the wine label with your camera phone

-- Japanese Use Cell Phone QR Bar Code Readers to Check Food Safety

Mobile Crunch explains Veek the Vote's success

Mobile Crunch reports on the success of Veeker's Veek the Vote campaign - which they attribute to it's ease of use.

"Like a number of other groups including Rock The Vote’s (Why Vote) Campaign and Video the Vote , Veeker encouraged people to participate in the political process using their application. Unlike the other two programs which were heavily promoted for weeks in advance of the election, Veeker’s “Veek the Vote” project had just three days from launch until the polls opened.

The power of the blogosphere multiplied by the power of an easy to use application and resulted in massive adoption. The figures don’t lie. While Rock The Vote had 24 submissions and Video the Vote had 96, Veeker’s Veek the Vote delivered a whopping 750 mobile videos - a landslide blow-out demonstration that a market will adopt a solution they find simple, easy, and dare I say it FUN to use.

... It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the months and years ahead. With the easy group messaging and sharing features, Veeker could actually be used very effectively by either political party to rally people to a cause or against one for that matter."

Samsung promotoes Fantasy Film ‘Eragon’ on cell phones

Samsung is cooperating with film producer Twentieth Century Fox to promote the fantasy film Eragon, on mobile phones. [via Sawf News]

"Eragon, the Christmas blockbuster includes such actors as Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Robert Carlyle and Sienna Guillory , begins in cinemas in mid-December.

Samsung mobile phone users in Europe will be able to exclusively receive free mobile contents such as film trailers, screensavers and wallpapers before the movie premieres as they download from the website at eragon.samsungmobile.com."

Kramer's meltdown captured on cellphone video

When ex-Seinfeld actor Michael Richards' stand-up routine was interrupted at The Laugh Factory in West Hollywood last Friday night, he responded with an offensive racist tear - caught by a member of the audience with a video cellphone. And, after footage was posted on the internet, it wasn't just his audience that was left shocked. The Independent reports.

"Last Friday night, Richards took the stage at the Laugh Factory, one of the most prominent comedy clubs in Los Angeles, and suffered what might very politely be described as a total sense of humour failure. To put it more bluntly, he went on a monstrously offensive racist tear that first stunned his audience and then prompted most of them to walk out in disgust.

Thanks to an audience member who captured the tirade on a video cell phone, and thanks more particularly to the cable-news media which has replayed the incident endlessly over the past 48 hours, we know in almost excruciating detail what exactly he said - even if we, along with the rest of the world, remain clueless as to why he said it."

Mobile TV, Personal Experiences

Learn ten things you didn't know about Mobile TV in this essay by Jan Chipchase.

"In September 2005 a team of researchers from Nokia Cui Yanqing, Younghee Jung and myself worked with students and a professor from Yonsei University's HCI Lab - Boreum Choi, Jinwoo Kim, Inseong Lee and Jieun Yoon to conduct a field study in Seoul, South Korea to explore actual usage of TU Media's (then) recently launched broadcast Mobile TV service.

-- We explored people's motivations to use Mobile TV, documented contexts and barriers of use, carefully noting user behaviors within these contexts and design implications for future products and services."

... As always I won't cover anything directly related to new products. Since the research paper goes into the details of the study I'll focus on ten things that stood out for me personally:

1. Surprisingly for a portable device home use is a strong use cases for Mobile TV
2. Factor in what happens before, during and after watching
3. Accessories designed to enhance the watching experience
4. The posture for watching Mobile TV will vary
5. Whilst an immersed, sensorially engaged TV watching experience is possible we need to ask whether it is desirable?
6. Interactive experiences require interaction
7. Some modes of watching would benefit from a remote control
8. Shared used is possible with up to 4 people
9. Personal device ownership makes it possible to enjoy
10. Secret Use became our unexpected fourth use case

Helmet cameras to help police

Not related to cameraphones, but interesting. A team of eight Metropolitan Police officers in north London are to be equipped with head-mounted video cameras to help in the fight against anti-social behaviour, reports The Guardian.

"The tiny cameras, each the size of an AA battery, will be fitted onto the side of the officers' headgear. They record high quality digital images, which are then fed back and stored in a special utility belt.

The cameras can record for up to 12 hours - the maximum length of any police officer's shift

Police say the cameras are clearly visible and that they hope they will act as a deterrent, as well as an evidence gathering tool."

According to the BBC the cameras have been trialled in other areas including, Teesside and Berkshire in the last two years."

Image from Westminster International Security.

Radar.net for mobile socializing. Pics and videos

Radar.net, a mobile photo sharing application, has just introduced a video version.

As with the main service -- and unlike its rivals -- it's designed for sharing only among a select group of friends -the company is betting that in the long run more people might want to use it for the privacy issues alone.

When you sign up, you get a unique Radar.net email address to send your images to - you can then invite friends to view your pictures and comment on them. You can use Radar on the web, or view the mobile version on your cellphone.

John Poisson, Founder and CEO of Tiny Pictures, says, "Video clips in Radar work just like pictures: shoot a video with your phone and post it to your Radar, where your invited friends can see it and leave comments. Video clips become part of an ongoing visual conversation with your friends."

[reBlogged from Popgadget]

movy.tv: mobile media sharing website

Movidity Inc. has just introduced movy.tv, a mobile video sharing web service.

As with other popular video sharing websites, such as Youtube, movy.tv will allow members to share video/audio media with other Internet users.

movy.tv allows practically anyone to upload and share media with mobile devices worldwide. movy.tv empowers users to mobilize practically any archived or live video/audio content across a wide range of mobile devices.

[via Fierce Mobile Content]

MySpace sued by Universal Music

Universal Music Group is suing MySpace - claiming the online social network site is encouraging its users to illegally share music and music videos. The BBC reports.

"It accuses MySpace of allowing people to illegally upload videos and of providing the technology for users to share the content with others.

But MySpace said it acted legally and dismissed the "meritless litigation". It added that its procedures for removing illegal downloads were good, and that it fully complied with copyright laws.

We have been keeping Universal closely appraised of our industry-leading efforts to protect creators' rights," MySpace said. "We provide users with tools to share their own work - we do not induce, encourage, or condone copyright violation in any way."

But Universal's lawsuit, lodged in a US district court, claims that MySpace "encourages, facilitates and participates in the unauthorised reproduction, adaptation, distribution and public performance".

... The issue of copyright on sites such as MySpace is a hot topic."

BBC to pay for viewers' pictures

The BBC is to pay viewers who send in user-generated content, but only for material that is "particularly editorially important or unique", MedianGuardian can reveal.

"New guidelines tell BBC staff they can make payments to members of the public who send in footage from mobile phones or cameras, but "audiences should not be encouraged to think that payment is the norm".

The new guidelines on paying for content are a departure for the BBC.

The BBC is following in the footsteps of other broadcasters which have asked viewers to send in their own content. Channel Five recently announced it would pay viewers £100 for contributions it used on air."

The above image left is from this week's selection of citizen submitted pictures to the BBC ", under the heading Your perspective on the world"

French video site takes on YouTube with local offering

The Times Online gives Paris based Daily Motion a write up.

"French video-sharing website Daily Motion is taking on the might of YouTube by offering content which caters specifically to local viewers - an area the internationally-minded YouTube may have overlooked.

The majority of the videos on the site are French but the site also has posts in English, German, Spanish and Italian.

Users were also likely to be drawn to the site’s unique features, such as the ability to stream directly from a webcam - a capability YouTube doesn’t have - and upload videos from mobiles."

Business Week in a related article, also ponders whether Daily Motion - already reaching 16 million page-views a day - could challenge YouTube.

And not mentioned in either of these articles, is Daily Motion's cult appeal to European fans of American television series, as the latest episodes of some of the most popular series (Weeds, Desperate Housewives, The OC, Nip/Tuck, Prison Break, The Shield, Heroes, Entourage), are uploaded for streaming right after they are broadcast in the US. This has tremendous appeal as most of the popular shows are scheduled on French or Swiss TV six months to a year after you've seen them in the US.

Camera phones focus on police use of force in L.A

Once regarded as a toy for rich teens, the ubiquitous camera cell phone is becoming a powerful community tool in the debate about police (mis)conduct, according to Reuters who reports on three police brutality events captured on cameraphones in the last few weeks.

-- "One cell phone video shows Los Angeles police beating a man repeatedly in the face.

-- Another shows a handcuffed, homeless man being blasted with pepper spray in Atlanta.

-- A third grainy video has campus police using a Taser stun gun on a student who refused to leave a Los Angeles university library.

... The images recall the 1991 beating of black motorist Rodney King by four police officers, which was caught by on home video by an Argentine plumber."

Other incidents captured by citizen reporters which made headline news:

-- Amateur Videos Are Putting Official Abuse in New Light - Malaysian Police misconduct captured on tape with a cameraphone - of the humiliating and degrading treatment of Hemy Hamisa Abu Hassan Saari, an innocent woman - circulated to other phones, was posted online and ended up on national television news. High-level government inquiries into the scandal extended as far as China.

-- Police brutality captured on cameraphone in Italy (?) -A video of of purported police brutality where three strong police officers show undue force against someone wearing only his undwear.

-- Geneva has a "Rodney King" racial brutality scandal on their hands - The Geneva Police Department has a "Rodney King" racial brutality scandal on their hands, documented by an a eye-witness with a camera phone. The video has been broadcasted on all the TV news stations.

-- Cell Phone Video At Center Of Police Controversy - Bringing to mind the Rodney King beating videotaped by an amateur, an incident in Chicago involving police brutality of a traffic violator was recorded by a witness through the video of a camera phone.

-- Citizen captures police act of racism on camera phone - A blatant act of racism by the Portland police was snapped by a "citizen reporter" armed with a camera phone. The story and the photos were published in the Portland Tribune and broadcasted on television.

Watch cable TV on your cell phone? Soon.

European wireless provider 33 Group will be launching a new service in Britain December 1st, enabling customers watch their home cable TV on a cell phone if they also have a device called the Slingbox, reports the Associated Press.

"Two new handsets running on 3's next-generation wireless network will feature the Sling application, which customers can use to watch any channel available on their cable TV at home.

The phones also can be used to control a digital video recorder at home, pausing and rewinding live television, playing previously recorded shows, or setting up the DVR to record a program."