iPhone apps cupcakes

Spotted on Shiny Shiny and stuff. Related: -- iPhone cake -- iPhone cupcakes permalink (March 26th, 2009)

iPhone Wedding Cake Makes Geek Happy

Spotted on Gizmodo, an iPhone wedding cake. Links to other iPhone and cell phones cakes. permalink (January 14th, 2009)

iPhone Cupcakes

Spotted on Gizmodo, iPhone cupcakes. How cool is that? [via Laughing Squid] permalink (September 16th, 2008)

Nun the wiser: mobile phone found in jail birthday cake

The chaplain of Mountjoy Jail in Dublin was used unwittingly yesterday in an attempt to smuggle a mobile phone into the jail -- in a birthday cake. The Belfast Telegraph reports. "... Since x-ray machines were introduced, the smuggling of drugs and mobile phones into Mountjoy through visitors has ceased and the price of purchasing a phone in the jail has jumped dramatically. Officials said this incident showed prisoners were becoming desperate to find other ways to bring in the contraband. "This is a classic case," one official said last night. "It's like a plot out of an old English film, made in Pinewood studios. But in this case, heavenly intervention was on our side." It is a criminal offence to smuggle a mobile phone into a jail, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. " permalink (July 23rd, 2008)

Bride and Groom Toppers take the cake

Spotted on Geeksugar, the perfect bride and groom wedding cake topper. permalink (April 12th, 2008)

Turning your cell phone into a wedding cake

NTTDoCoMo is selling DIY cell phone decorating kits with different custom designs for each model, writes Tokyomango. The one shown above that looks like a wedding cake is called "The Rose Kit " and works with DoCoMo 903i model. permalink (February 4th, 2007)

Moon Cake Cell Phones

With China's Moon Cake Festival coming up - also know as the Mid-Autumn Festival - Nokia is is bundling cell phone moon cakes with their handsets Taiwan, according to phonemag. "These limited gifts are to give away by 8 October with purchase of any nokia music phones at appointed retailers. " The Chinese Moon Festival is on the 15th of the 8th lunar month. Just like Christmas and Thanksgiving in the West, the Moon Festival is one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese and is an occasion for family reunions. When the full moon rises, families and lovers get together to watch the full moon, eat moon cakes, and sing moon poems. ... The moon cake is the food for the Moon Festival. The Chinese eat the moon cake at night with the full moon in the sky. Click here to view pictures of the typical moon cake. [via About Chinese Culture] Other edible phones: -- Nokia's Valentine's Chocolate -- Mobile Phones Candy -- Cell Phone Rice Cake permalink (September 24th, 2006)

Illegal cell phone jammers sell like hot cakes on NY street corners

The New York Post is reporting that illegal cell phone jammers are "selling like hotcakes" in New York City. The jammers are sold by street vendors or in the back rooms of spy shops. [via Mike's List] "I bought one online, and I love it," said one jammer owner fed up with the din of dumb conversations and rock-and-roll ringtones. "I use it on the bus all the time. I always zap the idiots who discuss what they want from the Chinese restaurant so that everyone can hear them. Why is that necessary?" He added, "I can't throw the phones out the window, so this is the next best thing." Online jammer seller Victor McCormack said he's made "hundreds of sales" to New Yorkers." Jammers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from portable handhelds that look like cellphones to larger, fixed models as big as suitcases. The smaller gadgets emit radio frequencies that block signals anywhere from a 50- to 200-foot radius. They range in price from $250 to $2,000." But don't expect to find jammers at the local Radio Shack — they're against Federal Communications Commission regulations because they interfere with emergency calls and the public airwaves. They are illegal to buy, sell, use, import or advertise. A violation means an $11,000 fine, but the FCC's Enforcement Bureau has yet to bust one person anywhere in the country." permalink (February 21st, 2005)

Opening Office Celebration with Rice Cake of Cell Phone

Techno Mart - a 10-story shopping and entertainment complex in Seoul - is holding an extraordinary office opening ceremony on January 5 for the launch of a new “010 service”, reports donga.com. Though this article doesn't specify what the service is for, it's launch is extremely cool. "The cell phone manufacture company's staff and sales people are celebrating the new “010 service” with a rice cake shaped as a huge cell phone along with models with body-painting wishing for the customers' luck". permalink (January 5th, 2004)

The secrets on your smartphone

Hang on to your handset ... smartphones are a goldmine of information for thieves, writes The Sydney Morning Herald.

... While many mobile-phone SIM cards might contain contacts and texts deleted from years ago, experts agree that it is the vastly improved data and storage capacity of the new generation of smartphones that presents the most potent risk to their owners. ... “It may not be what's recoverable from the phone that is valuable but what can be further discovered online, by ringing around and using the easily accessible information,” Kim Khor, director of Khor Wills & Associates says. Mobile phone forensics comprise an important part of crime detection and corporate security, but they are increasingly playing a role for private detectives investigating marital or work disputes.

Read full article. Related: -- Mobile forensics turns up heat on suspects - How forensic science is developping new tools to investigate cell phone data - even when deleted - and solve crimes. -- Fighting Crime With Cellphones' Clues - Extracting clues and leads from mobile electronics is no cakewalk. -- Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes - Logicube has developed a portable kit which can extract data from over 160 handset when needed by the police and forensic staff. --Digital evidence is increasingly crucial to criminal investigations - Cell phones have become the new "smoking gun" for prosecutors and police in the Twin Cities and around the world. -- UK police making Gil Grissom jealous... - The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a mobile laboratory which will travel to crime scenes and carry out real-time forensic investigation and analysis. -- The field of Cell Phone Forensics - Modern detectives are now using cell phone forensics to capture more and more criminals. -- Police turn forensic skills on handhelds - Handhelds are likelier to lead to handcuffs for techie criminals following the release of a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. -- Mobile phone forensics 'hole' reported - Police investigations are being hindered by the use of proprietary mobile phone technologies, say forensics experts permalink (November 21st, 2009)

Oven sends a Tweet when done

Make your oven send a tweet to all your followers when your apple and cinnamon cake is done with BakerTweet. The first BakerTweet device has been installed at the Albion Cafe on Boundary Street in Shoreditch, London. To find out what's cooking follow @albionsoven on Twitter. How does it work? In simple terms it's a bakery-proof box that sends messages wirelessly to Twitter. The clever bit is that the baker can update their messages and things they're selling using a simple web interface. Obviously not something that you'd do mid-bake but it's an important feature for future-proofing the device. [via Publish2.com] permalink (September 5th, 2009)

iHappyBirthday app

I'm a day late with this, but it was released in time for Steve Job's birthday on February 25th, the iHappyBirthday app. You can chose a cake, light the candles with your fingertip and blow them out. While "Happy Birthday" plays in the background. Don't bother going for the Lite version, it only displays a cake and plays music. permalink (February 26th, 2009)

UK Police make new mobile checks

UK Police forces are being equipped with a new generation of data extraction devices to accelerate the downloading of pictures, personal information and numbers from seized mobile phones. The Guardian reports.

The hand-held machines can override password protection systems and are increasingly being used by hi-tech crime units and intelligence agencies. Their spread, however, has raised concern from the human rights groups Liberty about the potential for intrusive searches and prompted the Information Commssioner's Office to warn about the need for appropriate security safeguards. Drug dealers and paedophiles have used untraceable handsets to disguise trading. Terrorists have used them to detonate bombs remotely. ... The Information Commissioner's Office said it was not opposed to the use of such equipment for the detection and prevention of crime. but warned that "proper safeguards" should be in place to ensure that information was not abused.

Related: -- Mobile forensics turns up heat on suspects - Forensic science is developping new tools to investigate cell phone data - even when deleted - and solve crimes. -- Fighting Crime With Cellphones' Clues - Extracting clues and leads from mobile electronics is no cakewalk. -- Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes - Logicube has developed a portable kit which can extract data from over 160 handset when needed by the police and forensic staff. --Digital evidence is increasingly crucial to criminal investigations - Cell phones have become the new "smoking gun" for prosecutors and police in the Twin Cities and around the world. -- UK police making Gil Grissom jealous... - The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a mobile laboratory which will travel to crime scenes and carry out real-time forensic investigation and analysis. -- The field of Cell Phone Forensics - Modern detectives are now using cell phone forensics to capture more and more criminals. -- Police turn forensic skills on handhelds - Handhelds are likelier to lead to handcuffs for techie criminals following the release of a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. -- Mobile phone forensics 'hole' reported - Police investigations are being hindered by the use of proprietary mobile phone technologies, say forensics experts. permalink (February 10th, 2009)

Seriously Shiny & Expensive Cell Phone Bling

Over-the-top, blinged out cell phone covers found by Tokyomango in Odaiba last week. "For just under $300, you can turn your handset into a diamond-studded American flag, or a happy place with rainbows and peace signs. The one in the bottom row with the cupcakes is kinda crazy." permalink (February 20th, 2008)

Text Messaging celebrates 15th Birthday

In December 1992, Airwide Solutions was responsible for delivering the first ever SMS. The message, delivered on the Vodafone network, said 'Merry Christmas"and the man who sent it, Neil Papworth, is still working as an engineer for Airwide today. ... To celebrate fifteen years of SMS, Airwide last night hosted an industry party in London, which included a panel discussion on the evolution of SMS and the future of mobile messaging. The panel focused on what growth potential remained in mobile messaging and how consumers will adapt to new messaging formats. The panel agreed that text culture is here to stay and, with applications such as mobile advertising, mobile internet, payments and location-based services, text messaging will continue its growth even in a mature market. There was unanimous agreement that global mobile subscribers will drive the continued growth in SMS and, as new messaging technologies are developed, it is the consumer who will decide which format will be successful in fifteen years time. [Press release] permalink (December 5th, 2007)

Happy Birthday SMS

The Short Message Service Centre (SMSC), the principal application behind text messaging, celebrated its 15-year anniversary on 23 July, according to Mobile Messaging 2.0, reports ITWeb. Acision evolved the SMSC infrastructure from a basic ‘SMSC box' to a complete next-generation, IP-based SMS architecture, centred on Acision's IP SMSC. This enables text management, a range of differentiating service scenarios and a single rack capacity of 16 000 messages per second that can grow to virtually unlimited levels. More history, less technical: On December 3, 1992, an engineer named Neil Papworth sent the very first SMS with "MERRY CHRISTMAS" on it, to his collegeagues at Vodafone in Great Britain. But it was 7 years later that texting really took off. Why did it take so long? Because for the first 7 years, cell phone users could only send an SMS to someone using the same operator. It wasn't until 1999 that short messages could be sent between different networks. According to Andrew Bud, managing director of SMS transmission company mBlox, interviewed in the BBC, texting really only took off when it found its natural market — teenagers —attracted to pre-paid phones. "These pay-as-you-go users found their money went further with texting - which some networks originally neglected to charge for". The technology was actually created by an Anglo-Dutch information technology firm called CMG, as reported in The Guardian. According to Cor Stutterheim from CMG, "It started as a message service, allowing operators to inform all their own customers about things such as problems with the network. When we created SMS (Short Messaging Service) it was not really meant to communicate from consumer to consumer and certainly not meant to become the main channel which the younger generation would use to communicate with each other," added Stutterheim. permalink (July 24th, 2007)

Bangkok Nail business extends to cell phones

Jan Chipchase noticed a nail shop in Bankgok that has extended its services at the bequest of customers to include customising mobile phones. [via Future Perfect] Related, sort of: - Turning your cell phone into a wedding cake permalink (March 26th, 2007)

Mobile forensics turns up heat on suspects

Textually has picked up on these kind of stories before, I find them so interesting, how forensic science is developping new tools to investigate cell phone data - even when deleted - and solve crimes. There's an interesting piece in The Register today. "The latest version of the top computer forensics package will be the first to include a mobile phone component. The move signals how vital mobile data has become to many prosecutions. ... A police source told us: "It's [a suspect's mobile phone] one of the first things we look for in serious crimes these days." Brian Karney, Guidance's product management director, told El Reg: "Your whole life's on there. Everything about you. The SIM card, the memory, it's all in there and we can go in and get." The package allows access to call logs, stored files, SIM information, JAVA programs, and crucially, deleted data." Related: -- Fighting Crime With Cellphones' Clues Extracting clues and leads from mobile electronics is no cakewalk. -- Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes - Logicube has developed a portable kit which can extract data from over 160 handset when needed by the police and forensic staff. --Digital evidence is increasingly crucial to criminal investigations - Cell phones have become the new "smoking gun" for prosecutors and police in the Twin Cities and around the world. -- UK police making Gil Grissom jealous... - The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a mobile laboratory which will travel to crime scenes and carry out real-time forensic investigation and analysis. -- The field of Cell Phone Forensics - Modern detectives are now using cell phone forensics to capture more and more criminals. -- Police turn forensic skills on handhelds - Handhelds are likelier to lead to handcuffs for techie criminals following the release of a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. -- Mobile phone forensics 'hole' reported - Police investigations are being hindered by the use of proprietary mobile phone technologies, say forensics experts permalink (February 12th, 2007)

The Marziphone

We're used to chocolate phones, candy phones, moon cake cell phones and cell phone rice cakes, but this is the first cell phone we've spotted - thanks to Uberphones - made of marzipan. "Made from 100 grams of the best marzipan available from marzipan legend J.G. Niederegger - who set up shop in Lübeck - located on Germany's Baltic coast - in 1806 and delivered goods to the Russian Tsar. The Marziphone was manufactured via an exclusive handmade form and is dipped into fine chocolate on the underside for the perfect bite." permalink (December 9th, 2006)

Mobile phone forensics 'hole' reported

Police investigations are being hindered by the use of proprietary mobile phone technologies, say forensics experts, reports ZDNet "Law enforcement is at the mercy of mobile phone manufacturers, according to University of Cambridgeresearchers. Unlike PCs, where "deleted" data can still easily be accessed, information wiped from a mobile phone's internal memory can be almost impossible for the police to recover, according to Tyler Moore, a researcher at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. This can hinder police investigations due to a lack of evidence. "Standard forensics tools don't address the less popular types of phone," warned Moore, speaking at the Workshop on the Economics of Information Security in Cambridge on Monday. "Sixteen percent of phones are not accessible beyond the memory on the SIM card. This is a consequence of using proprietary as opposed to open standards," Moore told ZDNet UK. ... Interface commands of proprietary phone technologies also vary widely, which means it isn't economically viable to make forensics tools for less popular types of phone. Related: -- Fighting Crime With Cellphones' Clues Extracting clues and leads from mobile electronics is no cakewalk. -- Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes - Logicube has developed a portable kit which can extract data from over 160 handset when needed by the police and forensic staff. --Digital evidence is increasingly crucial to criminal investigations - Cell phones have become the new "smoking gun" for prosecutors and police in the Twin Cities and around the world. -- UK police making Gil Grissom jealous... - The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a mobile laboratory which will travel to crime scenes and carry out real-time forensic investigation and analysis. -- The field of Cell Phone Forensics - Modern detectives are now using cell phone forensics to capture more and more criminals. -- Police turn forensic skills on handhelds - Handhelds are likelier to lead to handcuffs for techie criminals following the release of a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. permalink (June 26th, 2006)

Haagen-Dazs Launches Flavored Stamps

Not related to cell phones, but how cool is this? Ice-cream maker Haagen-Dazs and the Austrian Postal Service have launched a limited edition series of authentic postal stamps that featured original Häagen-Dazs artwork and flavor! "They infused flavors like Cookies & Cream, Macadamia Nut Brittle and Strawberry Cheesecake into the adhesive on the back. As you lick the stamp, you actually tasted the flavor!" [via TBWA via MIT Adfvertising Lab] Even more fabulous, and just as unrelated to cell phones as the above, the Full Motion Stamp that was sold (out - immediately) in the Netherlands. The stamps use twelve successive original television fragments of the winning races of Ard Schenk in Sapporo (1972) and Yvonne van Gennip in Calgary (1988). permalink (May 16th, 2006)

Fighting Crime With Cellphones' Clues

" Cellphones are everywhere and they are playing ever larger roles in the lives of almost everyone — including criminals. Drug dealers, rapists and murderers across the country have been caught based, at least partly, on the electronic gadgets they carry around. The New York Times reports. "But extracting clues and leads from mobile electronics is no cakewalk. Unlike personal computers, 90 percent or more of which use the Windows operating system, cellphones rely on a confusing jumble of software that varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and even phone to phone. Data is often hidden or encrypted. And as long as a phone is connected to its cellular network, there is always a chance that its call histories and text messages will be erased, deliberately or otherwise. Police departments have only recently begun training investigators in the delicate art of mobile-electronics forensics. ... With a court order, investigators can usually get a code from the manufacturer that unlocks the PIN. Inside the phone, there is often an astounding amount of information: deleted text messages; lengthy call histories; pictures and movies taken so long ago that the owner may not even remember taking them". Related articles: -- Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes - Logicube has developed a portable kit which can extract data from over 160 handset when needed by the police and forensic staff. --Digital evidence is increasingly crucial to criminal investigations - Cell phones have become the new "smoking gun" for prosecutors and police in the Twin Cities and around the world -- UK police making Gil Grissom jealous... - The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a mobile laboratory which will travel to crime scenes and carry out real-time forensic investigation and analysis -- The field of Cell Phone Forensics - Modern detectives are now using cell phone forensics to capture more and more criminals. -- Police turn forensic skills on handhelds - Handhelds are likelier to lead to handcuffs for techie criminals following the release of a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. permalink (May 4th, 2006)

Australia. Total ban on mobile phones in state jails

The The Courrier-Mail reports that staff, contractors, police officers and even dignitaries will be banned from taking mobile phones into Queensland prisons under a security crackdown. "The ban was issued following concerns prisoners may be able to take advantage of new technology which allows people to e-mail and access the Internet from mobile phones. Prisoners are already banned from having mobiles but bans will now be extended to anyone entering a prison including staff, management, contractors, visiting police officers and dignitaries such as the Premier to reduce the risk of them falling into the wrong hands. These people had previously been able to seek permission to take a phone into a jail, but this will now be denied. Anyone caught trying to take a mobile phone into a Queensland prison faces a maximum penalty of two years' jail. .. Mobile phones were a growing problem in jails worldwide. cf Inmates and cell phones category in textually.org ... Prison authorities across Australia have found mobile phones hidden in body parts, in tins of baked beans, cakes and blocks of cheese. Several years ago, ministers considered blocking mobile phone reception in jails after NSW authorities found 35 mobiles had been used to make more than 56,000 calls. " permalink (October 14th, 2005)

R U Registered 2 Vote?

Mike Grenville for 160characters.org, reports on a billboard campaign launched in San Francisco to get young Chinese americans to register to vote using SMS. "The campaign aims to register voters in San Francisco using Mobile Voter's text messaging service in association with the Chinese American Voter Education Committee (CAVEC). By texting a keyword such as "ivote" to 80837, voters will be able to request registration forms to be sent to them and instructions as well as voting reminders prior to upcoming elections. "As the first of its kind in the U.S., this campaign is an experiment" said Ben Rigby from MobileVoter. "We'll be evaluating the effectiveness of different outreach methods including billboards, taxi-top, and magazine ads." The next phase of the campaign will be to enlist local establishments to give away their goods (muffins, ice-cream, dim-sum, etc) when people use Mobile Voter at their location. For example, at a bakery we'll place a poster that encourages voter registration and promises a free cake to everyone who texts "cake" to 80837. The user can text-in while waiting in line and show a "redeem-code" to the cashier by the time they reach the end of the line." permalink (October 11th, 2005)

Tease not sleaze on mobile phones

A reality check from The Guardian on mobile porn in the UK. "For customers who want them, there are wallpapers, screensavers, videos, animated scantily clad women and even "moantones" for those who find that Crazy Frog just doesn't do it for them. But the figures do not match the hype. In its report into the mobile entertainment industry last month, industry expert Informa predicted that the market for erotic content for mobile devices will be worth $2.3bn (£1.3bn) by 2010 compared with just under $1bn this year. Within five years there will be more than 114 million regular users of adult services compared with 65 million now. They may look good, but these figures are dwarfed by the overall mobile market. There are already well over 1 billion mobile phone users, and by 2010 that will have passed 3 billion, according to research by Gartner. Informa's prediction for the entire mobile phone content market, including music and gaming, is $43bn by 2010. Adult services will account for just 5% of the market. Graeme Oxby, marketing director of 3, the UK's newest mobile phone operator, admits: "It is not very important in terms of the volume of usage. It is dwarfed by music and football and comedy. "It was massively important on the internet partly at a time when next to nothing was charged for apart from access. For mobiles it is just a bit of the cake. ... "Operators are saying that it is not the big revenue driver, but they cannot be seen to be promoting adult content because it affects their brand as a mobile operator," she says. The mobile phone operators' biggest fear is that adult content will be viewed by children". permalink (August 24th, 2005)

Mobile Phones Candy

I can't rememberd how i stumbled on these mini mobile phone jelly candies. But looking for more information about them on the internet, I discovered the elegant Candy Filled Mobile Phone. Each mobile phone plays sounds when the keyboard is pressed and is filled with dextrose candy! If it opens up your appetite for cell phone delights don't miss the cell phone cheesecake, the Nokia cell phone cake, the rice cake of cell phone and the cake for launch of GSM in Baghdad. permalink (August 8th, 2005)

Cell phone costume covers, the new craze

Since yesterday's post on Vodafone Japan's fanciful costume covers (forms and shapes include a bull and cheese!), I've come across two articles today on how successful these new covers are in Korea and India. One article is from delightful Telecoms Korea, mentioning how two companies presenting covers at the Expo Comm Wireless Korea held in Seoul, attracted attention: -- Tucen displayed one-tone and two-tone coloring, gradation coloring and real image printing for 5,000 won to 40,000 won ($5 to $40). Picture left. -- Cozip introduced PhoneZiggy cases for popular models from Samsung, LG and Motorola not only protect cell phones from damages but also provide them with different colors and beautiful designs. Click here to view. The second article is from newindpress.com, reporting that "fancy and colourful panels seem to be the order of the day and are selling like hot cakes at mobile phone servicing centres and on roadsides. Cartoon characters, space animals, dizzy designs and 3D images are the concepts, which lately are dominating the mobile panel market." permalink (May 20th, 2005)

Textually.org / picturephoning / ringtonia celebrate first birthday

Textually.org celebrates it's first birthday online. Launched in March of 2003, the objective of publishing specific blogs on cell phones, covering text messaging, picture phones and ringtones was to reach a wider English speaking readership, extending my coverage of a daily Chronique SMS in French, online since 2001. Page views have increased every month since the launch last year, reaching a new high in February, with a total (for all blogs) of 562'249 page views. Best day ever: 70'737 pages views on February 11, after the AP published a an article on cameraphones linking to Picturephoning - which was picked up by dozens of local US newspapers. permalink (March 1st, 2004)

New Disruptive Political Texting Tools From Philippines?

Howard Rheingold in Smart Mobs reports on an interesting article on texting in the Phillipines. Of particular interest, the quote about texting and vote-counting:

"Next year in the 2004 elections, I've already seen software that integrates text messaging into a database in computers, so you could instantly have a quick count of the number of votes which are cast in a certain precinct. The maker of the software says his product is selling like hotcakes."

Read also last week's related post in Textually.org, Politics and the new media, where the Manila Times speculates on how the Philippines may make media and political history again with the coming presidential election in 2004

permalink (October 7th, 2003)