For Photographers, the Image of a Shrinking Path

An interesting read from The New York Times on how amateur photographers are undercutting professionals by selling stock photos cheaper.

Amateurs, happy to accept small checks for snapshots of children and sunsets, have increasing opportunities to make money on photos but are underpricing professional photographers and leaving them with limited career options. Professionals are also being hurt because magazines and newspapers are cutting pages or shutting altogether.

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Blockbuster offers movies on your cell phone

On Wednesday, Blockbuster released an application that allows users to watch movies on a mobile phone. [via Bits]

The application will make the Blockbuster’s digital catalog of roughly 10,000 film titles available for rent or purchase on the move. Rental prices start at $1.99, with newer releases like “The Hurt Locker” typically costing $3.99 to watch over a 24-hour period. Purchase prices will be comparable to prices in stores, the company said.

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Fox Mobile rolls out subscription TV for smartphones

Fox Mobile Group on Wednesday unveiled a new wireless video subscription service called Bitbop, which it plans to launch in the spring. The LA Times Blog reports.

Bitbop will offer on-demand access to cable and broadcast TV shows from Fox's cable networks and NBC Universal for a $9.99 monthly fee.

By offering the mobile application as a free Internet download, Bitbop will be able to deliver mobile entertainment to any of the most popular mobile devices, including RIM's BlackBerry Curve, Apple's iPhone 3G and Motorola's Droid, regardless of which mobile phone carrier the subscriber uses.

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Hello! Your Psychiatrist Will Skype You Now

Telepsychiatry is a growing trend in mental health, reports TIME, quoting Dr. Kathleen Myers, who treats a teenage age patient up close and personal despite the 75 miles between them.

As director of the telemental health service at Children's Hospital, she points to one of the benefits of a videoconference: unlike a phone call, it allows doctors to observe a patient's facial expressions and body language. "You can talk back and forth in real time — it's off by a millisecond — so you get immediate reactions.

... So far, anecdotal evidence indicates that virtual psychiatry visits work just fine for children and adolescents. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, an era in which teens feel more comfortable in front of a camera than they do face to face.

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Related: - Phone Chats During Therapy

Company Sees Leap for Cellphone Cameras

Mobile photographers could soon have much better cameras on their cellphones, thanks to technology known as quantum dots. The New York Times reports.

... According to Jess Lee, chief executive of InVisage Technologies, with such technology, the current three-megapixel camera found in the Apple iPhone could be turned into a 12-megapixel camera that works better in varying light conditions.

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MobiTV Now Letting People Store TV Offline On Their Phone To Watch Whenever They Want

From mocoNews:

No word on when customers will have these options, but it comes just as viewers have tons of options for watching video on mobile phones, from free YouTube clips to even more professional content.

To name one, CBS Mobile gives away a smartphone app called TV.com that lets users watch full episodes from many of its properties, including CW, Showtime and CNet. Likewise, Qualcomm’s FLO TV subsidiary offers broadcast TV on limited phones on both AT&T and Verizon’s networks.

MobiTV currently provides subscriptions for $9.99 a month for several mobile applications that include more than 35 channels like NBC, FOX News, ESPN, Mobile TV and Comedy Central Channel.

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X-Ray Vision for Cell Phones

According to Top News , the University of South Australia and Nokia, the giant manufacturer of mobile phones, have joined hands to develop an application that would allow users of mobile phones to see through walls.

The technology is looking to make the system work by overlaying graphics atop real-world video images.

The newly developed technology has been made available in three different versions - X-ray Vision, Meltvision and Distortvision.

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Kenya farmers get low-tech micro-insurance

Drought usually spells disaster for small-scale farmers in Kenya. Innovative low-threshold technologies for the first time are empowering farmers to lower their weather risks by purchasing cheap micro-insurance policies. Afrol News reports.

The programme, called "Kilimo Salama," which in Kiswahili means "safe farming," is a partnership between the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, UAP Insurance, and telecoms operator Safaricom.

... Agro-dealers have been equipped with a camera phone that scans a special bar code at the time of purchase, which immediately registers the policy with UAP Insurance over the Safaricom's mobile data network. This mobile phone application then sends a text (SMS) message confirming the insurance policy to the farmer's mobile phone.

Read full article. Image from Kiwanja net.

Cameraphones: Are the Megapixel Wars Over at Last?

Exactly what's causing the apparent ceasefire in the cameraphone megapixel wars? Top 10 Mobile Phones' Joe Minihane investigates. Check it out.

RFID connecting in 2010

According to new ABI research, the RFID market is set to make comeback over the next few years. The Inquirer reports.

After a tough 2009, whereby ABI ended up having to adjust previous forecasts downward, the company reckons that the global RFID market is set to hit around $5.5 billion this year and will grow steadily for the next five years, reaching over $8.25 billion in 2014.

Automobile immobilisation is the biggest application, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of the market. ... The report mentions RFID being used in security, animal ID, asset management, baggage handling and cargo tracking.

GestureTek to Let You Interact With Images Projected From Your Phone

Late last year, LG launched a phone with an optional projector attachment that lets you project images from the phone to a larger surface. Now, Canadian company GestureTek says it’ll go one better: It promises to project images from your phone that you can actually interact with.

[via VentureBeat]

Facial recognition phone application described as a 'stalker's dream'

Swedish software developer, The Astonishing Tribe, is testing a iPhone application called Reconiizr that will enable the user to find names and numbers of complete strangers. The Daily Mail reports.

The user simply has to take a picture of a person and hit the 'Recognize' button.

The photo is then compared to shots on social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter before personal information, which can include phone numbers, addresses and email addresses, is sent to the user.

The app works on phones with a camera of five or more megapixel resolution.

Mobile cameras increase surveillance at LA port

The Port of Los Angeles Police Department, responsible for protecting a complex mix of assets on land and in the water, has teamed up with Reality Mobile and SAIC to equip their field personnel in better responding in real-time to emergency situations. Cellular News reports.

Officers will be equiped with software enabling them to capture live video using their cell phone cameras. Reality Mobile says the ability to record and share video instantly with other officers will help raise everyone's level of awareness during an emergency.