Mobile phone a 'life-saver'

Mobile phones can issue life-saving CPR instructions thanks to a new animated download launched by the Red Cross on Sunday, reports The Syndey Morning Herald.

"The technology, available through any Australian mobile phone service, is an animated program with an audio voiceover that gives a detailed overview of steps required for CPR.

Although the Red Cross warns that the content is no substitute for first aid training, Robert Tickner, chief executive said it would "literally put the ability to save a life in the hands of all Australians with a mobile phone".

Rift delays official release of study on safety of cellphones

For 10 years, scientists have been waiting for the outcome of a global examination of the habits of thousands of brain cancer patients to explore whether there are links between cellphone use and brain tumors. The IHT reports.

"But now the findings of the €15 million, or $24 million, Interphone study are stalled, caught in an international rift among prominent cancer researchers who are divided about how to interpret the risks of radio-frequency radiation emitted by mobile telephones.

Some of the researchers are barely on speaking terms, according to some participants. And there is the prospect of further delays because of an ongoing general debate about whether or not cancer patients accurately report their mobile telephone use.

... Until the Interphone study is published, institutions like the World Health Organization and the European Commission have cautioned that conclusions about possible cancer risks cannot be drawn."

Cell phones tracking nightlife activity

Citysense is software for Blackberry phones (and soon the iPhone) which shows you where the wild things are happening in your own town. Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trend reports.

Citysense uses advanced machine learning techniques to number crunch vast amounts of data emanating from thousands of cell-phones, GPS-equipped cabs and other data devices to paint live pictures of where people are gathering. Citysense is available today in San Francisco before being soon deployed in Chicago and five other U.S. cities.

But read more...

Mobfindr gets your phone to text home

Navizon's Mobfindr lets you find the location of an iPhone just by sending an SMS to it.

In their own words:To set it up, just install the latest version of Navizon and enter the passphrase that will need to be sent in order to access the location. Turn the service on... and that's it.

If you plan on giving this passphrase to other people, make sure it is different from your Navizon password. Otherwise, if it's just for you, it can be just anything.

[via engadget:mobile]

Cell phones make the world a happy place

A new television spot for U.S. Cellular opens by depicting the world as a bleak and toxic place. All is black and white, and everyone is miserable. Then a man answers his cellphone and the city streets come alive with colorful joy. And as he walks along, smiling and talking, it makes everyone who sees (and hears) him unable to resist smiling themselves.

A “pretty ludicrous premise,” Tim Nudd writes at AdFreak.com. Hamilton Nolan at Gawker.com agrees. “Just makes you hate cellphone yakkers more,” he concludes.

[by Dan Mitchell for The New York Times]

Subversive bathrom scales sends SMS with your weight

Core77 writes up 3 subversive bathroom scales designed by Alice Wang, a recent graduate of RCA.

On "White Lies", the further back you stand, the lighter you become on the digital display. On the "Half-Truth" scale, your partner becomes responsible for deciding whether to lie or come clean, since the display is on the front face of the device, out of the subject's view.

And relevent to this column, "Open Secret" reveals your weight every time you weigh yourself by sending a text message to a desired mobile phone.

Wang offers that "the receiver is then responsible to reveal the answer immediately, or the next time you two meet.

All of these projects were conceived as a reaction to Isaac Asimov's 1st law of robotics: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."

Quarter of EU homes use mobile phones only

A quarter of European Union households use mobile phones only, with a fifth now making calls over the Internet. Reuters reports.

"The European Commission's survey of 27,000 homes in the 27-nation bloc found that 24 percent were using mobiles only.

The figure in the 10 ex-communist new member states was 39 percent as governments there found it cheaper to make the leap to mobile rather than upgrading old fixed-line networks.

But Finland -- home of handset maker Nokia -- came in at 61 percent."

iPhone 3G with MMS?

According to Information Week which has knowledge of an internal AT&T memo, the iPhone will be getting picture messaging functionality, a feature disapointingly missing from both the original and the new 3G model.

"For the moment, neither AT&T nor Apple have officially said anything about the iPhone supporting MMS.

Gizmodo has a screen shot but it may not be the real thing,

SMS Heat Wave Alerts

Spain is getting prepared for high temperatures of up to 40 degrees today and over the weekend, reports Typically Spanish and the Government will be ending advisory SMS text messages and emails to inform those at risk from the high temperatures, especially pensioners, the chronically ill and those who work in the fresh air.

University to give iPhone to freshmen

Abilene Christian University has decided to give all 2008 incoming freshmen an iPhone with 15 web apps pre-loaded by the University which will enable the students to locate professors' offices, answer in-class surveys, check schedules...

According to NewLaunches, the idea is to bring new technology and resources to students.

"Because 93 percent of ACU students bring their own computers with them to college, we are choosing to take them to the next level by providing converged mobile devices," says ACU.

Social Networking Site for Cell Phones

Mobile Phone Users Social Networking is a social networking site for mobile phone users and fans to discuss all issues related to cellular phones.

Users can post questions, make friends, write reviews, submit pictures taken with mobile phones to evaluate the quality of the cell phone cameras.

Barack Obama 'monkey' phone advert row

A mobile phone advert apparently portraying Barack Obama as a monkey has provoked a new row about racial depictions of the Democratic candidate, reports The Telegraph.

"The commercial, for the Japanese firm EMobile, shows a monkey (the company's mascot) in a suit addressing an election rally.

The word “change” features prominently on screen and on posters in the crowd, leading to complaints that the animal is a depiction of Mr Obama, whose campaign slogan is “Change We Can Believe In”.

There is no suggestion that the EMobile intended the advert as a racist slight."

French Firms Plan to Fight New TV Tax

President Nicolas Sarkozy's proposal to ban advertising from state-owned television channels is touching off a battle with France's biggest media and telecommunications companies.

"... Private TV companies slammed the new tax, saying it would essentially force them to subsidize their state-backed competitors. Telecom companies complain that they are being unfairly singled out to shoulder the extra cost for ad-free public TV.

The companies said they now plan to lobby French and European Union politicians against Mr. Sarkozy's plan, which needs to be drafted into law and presented to Parliament."

Nokia Naming Explained

The Gadget Blog has explored something I've always been curious and annoyed at. How Nokia names (numbers) it's cell phones. OK, clearly there is logic . Just one thing. No one remembers these numbers!!

Pantech's Emotion Phone: The Love Canvas

Faareastgizmo writes up a new Pantech touch screen "emotion-phone".

"Called Love Canvas, the phone allows users to send texts, pictures, emoticons and vibrations expressing the sender’s emotional status. you can draw and send the shape of heart that conveys the feeling of love.

When you write “I love you” on the screen, the receiver can read the same phrase on the screen of his or her own mobile phone. You can also send various emoticons and vibrations by touching the screen.

When you write “I love you” on the screen, the receiver can read the same phrase on the screen of his or her own mobile phone. You can also send various emoticons and vibrations by touching the screen."

Chrysler to turn vehicles into wireless hotspots

Chrysler is introducing technology that turns their vehicles into rolling wireless Internet hotspots, reports Detroit News.

"Using Wi-Fi and cellular technology, passengers will be able to access e-mail, music and online gaming as they cruise down the road."

So much for keeping your eyes on the road...

EU plans new push to cut mobile charges

The European Commission plans to use new administrative powers to push national regulators to lower the fees that mobile operators can charge each other to connect calls between their networks. Much of the savings would be passed on to consumers.

[via IHT]

Internet telephone encryption stumps police

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, German police have been unable to decipher the encryption used in the internet telephone software Skype to monitor calls by suspected criminals and terrorists.

"The encryption with Skype telephone software ... creates grave difficulties for us," Joerg Ziercke, president of Germany's Federal Police Office (BKA) told reporters at an annual gathering of security and law enforcement officials. "We can't decipher it. That's why we're talking about source telecommunication surveillance -- that is, getting to the source before encryption or after it's been decrypted."

Burma blocks emergency telecoms

Two teams of foreign aid workers dedicated to delivering emergency telecoms in disaster areas have been forced to leave cyclone-hit Burma, reports the BBC.

"The members of Téécoms Sans Frontières left the country after attempts to reach affected areas were blocked.

The charity, which described the situation as "unprecedented", said it had no other choice but to leave. "

France To Tax Mobile, Internet And TV Revenues To Fund Public Broadcaster

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made good on his promise to shake up the country’s media industry. Starting on January 1 next year prime-time advertising on public television will be phased out, with the lost revenues to be replaced by taxes collected from internet, mobile phone and commercial broadcasting companies, Sarkozy announced yesterday, reports Bloomberg via mocoNews.net.

"Internet and mobile operators will have to stump up a tax of 0.9 percent of sales—which could raise up to 380 million euros ($595 million), in support of the state-owned France Televisions, which controls the country’s four public channels. A further 80 million euros ($125 million) will come from taxes on commercial broadcasters."

Telefonica Gets 300,000 Pre-orders For 3G iPhone

Telefonica SA has received 300,000 pre registrations in the U.K. and Spain to buy Apple Inc.'s new third- generation iPhone, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

[Techmeme via CNN]

Spider Man Cell Phone Car Holder

Something really silly yet clever. Spotted on Gizmodo: A spider man cell phone holder for your car.

China's mobile phone users reach 592 mln by end of May

The mobile phone subscribers in China soared to 592 million by the end of May, nearly half of its 1.3 billion population, reports China View.

Carrier pigeons fly cell phones into jails

A sharp increase in drugs and cellphones found inside a Brazilian prison mystified officials -- until guards spotted some distressed pigeons struggling to stay airborne, writes Reuters.

"Inmates at the prison in Marilia, Sao Paulo state had been training carrier pigeons to smuggle in goods using cell phone sized pouches on their backs, a low-tech but ingenious way of skipping the high-tech security that visitors faced.

... Officials said the pigeons, bred and trained inside the prison, lived on the jail's roof, where prisoners would take their deliveries before smuggling the birds out again through friends and family."

More states say cellphones and driving don't mix

On July 1, California will become the largest state to ban unlimited cellphone use by drivers. The law prohibits drivers under 18 from talking on the phone, and it requires older drivers to use a hands-free headset.

A similar law goes into effect the same day in Washington state. Legislation has already been passed in New York, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere — and more laws are pending.

[via USA Today]

Yahoo And Publicis Work Together On Mobile Advertising Initiative

Today, Paris-based ad holding company Publicis Groupe formed an ad network spanning all four major ad serving systems—Microsoft, Google/DoubleClick, Yahoo and AOL - to tightly coordinate campaigns across these platforms.

The announcement also included an additional deal with Yahoo for mobile advertising, which aims to help brands reach mobile consumers more easily.

[via MocoNews]

Scots face jail for textual harassment

A revision of sex crime laws in Scotland could mean stiff penalties for scottish texters who send unwanted sexual content via SMS or email. [via Pocket Picks]

"In the recently published Sexual Offences Bill, sending sexual language or imagery in a text or email could carry a sentence of up to 10 years if the court finds that the content was designed to give the sender sexual gratification or todistress or humiliate the recipient."

World's first iPhone 3G on sale in New Zealand a day before the US

According to engadget:mobile - and because o the time zone - the world's first iPhone 3G will be on sale at 00:01, Friday July 11th, in New Zealand -- that's still Thursday, July 10th at 5:01 in the AM in Cupertino or 13:01 hours in London.

In the US, the iPhone is expected to go on sale at 8:00 am on July 11th. The original iPhone for some reason went on sale at 6 pm.

Homeless Man Living on Roof of T-Mobile Shop

A man in the US city of Boulder has been arrested after he was found to have been living on the roof of a T-Mobile retail store. He has apparently been living there unnoticed by T-Mobile staff since last December.

[via Cellular News]

Cellphone Keyboard Morphs to Fit Tasks

Motorola's ROKR E8 is a head-turning phone with many built-in advances that give it a smarter interface than basic cellphones. Its standout feature is its keyboard, which dynamically changes to accommodate whatever you're doing - using it as a phone, music device or camera.

[via WSJ]