Text can help save lives with meningitis alerts

People are being urged to be on their guard against meningitis and septicaemia with the help of text messages, reports lep.co.uk.

As early recognition and treatment provide the best chances of recovery, UK National charity Meningitis Research Foundation has launched a text messaging short code to receive symptoms by SMS. Users simply text "MRF" to 82088.

Naked conference calls

Businessmen and women take part in telephone conference calls wearing pyjamas, underwear - or nothing at all, according to a new study conducted by BT.

[via Ananova]

Great white sharks tracked by SMS

More than 70 great white sharks have been tagged in Western Australia in a world first trial that will send beach lifesavers a text message when one of the predators swims close to the Perth shoreline. The Telegraph reports.

The text messages will be triggered less than two minutes after a shark swims over any one of 18 acoustic seabed receivers.

Read full article . Image from Shark Posters.

engadget gets an iPhone app

engadget 's free iPhone/iPod app has just been released by the Apple store. Yay!

In their own words:

Engadget is the definitive source and final word for news on gadgets and technology. The site's team of expert editors and columnists cover the world of consumer electronics with unmatched passion and an obsessive attention to detail. From the latest smartphone news, to reviews and hands-on looks at laptops, HDTVs, gaming, and more, Engadget brings you all the tech news you need. The engadget app delivers that experience straight to your iPhone or iPod touch, instantly.

Terror concerns over mobile phones in prison

A scary article from The Telegraph, linking mobile phones in prison to terrorist activity.

Mobile phones smuggled into British prisons could be used by Islamist militants to spread their extremist ideology and threaten national security, Conservatives claimed.

Hamas To Build 'Independent Phone Network'

Hamas is being accused of attempting to create its own communications network in an effort to avoid eavesdropping and attain greater autonomy. AHN reports.

... Informants allege Hamas is using Iran-sourced equipment smuggled into Gaza through tunnels.

The project is reportedly an emulation of the independent telephone network Hezbollah set up in South Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut in 2007. The alternative phone system was dubbed illegal by Lebanon's government and a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty.

Revelation of the network sparked street riots as many Lebanese saw it as evidence of Hezbollah creating a 'state within a state.'

Read full article.

Related:

-- Cellphones put to 'unnerving' use in Gaza

-- Text messages and phone calls add psychological aspect to warfare in Gaza

-- Palestinians Get Cell Phone Network

Iranian protesters use Twitter, YouTube to broadcast violence

From The Daily News:

Dozens of videos, many shot with cell phones or digital cameras, have been posted to YouTube (and aggregated by Frontline's Tehran Bureau). Twitter users apparently based in Iran, like "Mani" and "Sootak", are tweeting photos of the chaos. Because it is so difficult for mainstream journalists to report out of Iran, news agencies such as the BBC, ABC and The New York Times have made use of such videos and photos in their reporting, and CNN has been actively soliciting citizen reports from Iran via Twitter. Since photos and videos are frequently reposted by activists, it is often difficult to identify the original producer of the material.

Read full article. Photo via FreeeIran on Twitpic. Police car on fire. #Iran #Ashura #Iranelection

Related:

-- In Iran, Cameras Held High

-- Iran: Twitter focal point of protests

-- Iran Protests: Tech Tools at Work

-- No Tweets in Iranian Election

-- SMS system down in Iran just hours before election

String trio iPhone app turns your iphone into an air violin

With the StringTrio iPhone app, you can air play three string instruments, violin, viola and cello.

The music loads in, plays based on the strokes of the virtual 'bow'. String Trio uses the motion sensor in your iPhone to detect the angle and length of your strokes, and adjusts the playback of the music accordingly.

[Technabob via Techeblog]

Related: - Cellphone app will get air guitarists wailing

Watching a movie at home? Grab your iPhone

DVD sales tumbled this year as the weak economy and competition from the Internet soured consumers on buying new discs. What's a movie studio to do? Look to the iPhone to goose sales. USA Today reports.

NBC Universal and 20th Century Fox have launched interactive apps that tap into DVD or Blu-ray discs to augment viewing. The apps provide information about the film and stars and connect you with friends to chat about the movie while you watch.

Fox's FoxPop uses the microphone on your iPhone, or your laptop, to "hear" the audio signal from the movie you're watching, then responds with pop-ups about the movie. It also intersects with Facebook and Twitter for movie chats.

Universal's Pocket Blu is just for the iPhone. It turns the device into a remote control for the movie if you watch on a Blu-ray player (it doesn't work with traditional DVDs or computers) and plays trailers for upcoming movies.

Read full article.

Apple Censors Dalai Lama IPhone Apps in China

Apple appears to have blocked iPhone applications related to the Dalai Lama in its China App Store, making it the latest U.S. technology company to censor its services in China. PC World reports.

Those apps, which appear in most countries' versions of the App Store, do not currently appear in the Chinese version. Another app related to Rebiya Kadeer, who like the Dalai Lama is an exiled minority leader reviled by China's authorities, is unavailable in the China App Store as well.

The apparent censorship comes after carrier China Unicom launched iPhone sales two months ago, making regulatory approval of the phone's contents in the country necessary for the first time.

Read full article.

Phone box has new life as library

A traditional red phone box has been recycled into one of the UK's smallest lending libraries - stocking 100 books.

[The BBC via BB-Blog]

Related: - Phone booths as smoking rooms.

Mobile Phone Repairing English-Chinese Dictionary

Spotted on future perfect.

Iran: Twitter focal point of protests

Amid renewed clashes between the Iranian authorities and the reformist Green Movement, social networking sites such as Twitter have again become a focal point of the protests against the Islamic regime, writes The Guardian.

With foreign media facing tough restrictions by the Iranian authorities and state-controlled media mistrusted by much of the country's population, these posts on Twitter – although often difficult to verify – provide a vivid insight into the chaotic situation on the streets.

Read full article.

Previously:

-- Iran Protests: Tech Tools at Work

-- No Tweets in Iranian Election

-- SMS system down in Iran just hours before election

1.5 Million Items Bought on eBay via Mobile & iPhone App

eBay saw a surge in buyers tapping their eBay iPhone app and other eBay mobile applications. Wireless and Mobile News reports.

-- The number of items bought via eBay mobile apps this year was triple last year's holiday volume.

-- In 2009, eBay buyers and sellers are generating more than half a billion dollars of transactions via mobile, with strong momentum this holiday season.

-- Nearly 6 million people have eBay on their iPhone and shoppers are making 750,000 unique visits a day to eBay via mobile apps.

-- Mobile purchases this season range from designer handbags to a $75,000 1966 Chevrolet Corvette.

-- Users from more than 165 countries visited the eBay mobile Web site and iPhone application.

-- 1.5 million items were bought on eBay using mobile phones worldwide this holiday season.

-- Interesting, In the U.S., the early adopters in mobile commerce are the Texans.

More numbers and facts.

Previously:

-- EBay Translates the Auction Experience to Cellphones

-- Shoppers spent $400 million with eBay's iPhone app

Transforming Phone Booths Into Smoking Booths

Spotted on PSFK, phone booths as smoking rooms. Redesigned by Dutch telecoms operator KPN.

Next Nature shares some thoughts on the transformation:

Nonetheless, it is kind of fascinating that ‘calling’, which used to be constrained in fixed lines and locations, is now entirely mobile and it is now socially acceptable to call almost everywhere: restaurant, train, toilet, airplanes, operahouse, etc. While smoking, which used to be mobile and done everywhere, is becoming increasingly limited to designated locations.

Free yourself from oppression by technology

An interesting read in New Scientist on how a fast paced connected and gadget filled life does not bring happiness. Nothing that has not been said before, but I like the term "The age of melancholy", coined by psychologist Daniel Goleman.

"The age of melancholy" is how psychologist Daniel Goleman describes our era. People today experience more depression than previous generations, despite the technological wonders that help us every day. It might be because of them.

Gunman app lets you "finally shoot people with your iphone :)"

Is this a disturbing trend? War apps used by the military - but also available to everyone else - and now an augmented reality game app called Gunman.

In their own words, from the appstore page of Gunman:

YES, THIS REALLY WORKS. YOU CAN FINALLY SHOOT PEOPLE WITH YOUR IPHONE :)

The game is played in three modes:

One on One: Anyone is fair game. Specify your enemies shirt color and go wild. Our enemy recognition technology will take care of the body count, you take care of the shooting.

Multiplayer: A free-for-all WiFi bloodbath. It's you versus the world. Take out rogue agents in the local area and show them no mercy. The score matters, so watch your back.

Pro Mode: For experienced players who are too awesome for enemy color detection. In Pro Mode, your first thirty shots are saved for your review at the end of the match regardless of whether they are hits or misses, so make sure they are good ones.

I was horrified years ago when my teenage son enthusiastically showed me how he played "Grand Theft Auto" and I have to agree, he hasn't grown up to be violent. But I continue to find all these shooter games very disturbing.

[via IntoMobile]

Cellphone Companies Rush to Sue One Another

According to most recent financial reports, nearly all cellphone makers are suing or being sued.

[The New York Times]

Xmas Airline terrorist Sent Strange SMS To His Family

LeadershipNigeria investigations showed that Alh. Umar Mutallab, former chairman of First Bank and father of the alleged terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - who tried to blow up blow up a transatlantic flight on Christmas Day - had alerted the CIA, INTERPOL and the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) to his son's weird behaviour, especially after he sent a disturbing text message from Yemen.

[via RightPundits]

Soldiers in Afghanistan use iPhone app to kill Taliban fighters

According to The Mirror, soldiers in Afghanistan are using an iPhone war app called BulletFlight to kill Taliban fighters.

... It is one of dozens of iPod Touch and iPhone "apps" - or software applications - endorsed by the US military for use in Iraq and Afghanistan, including maps, survival books and tactics guides.

Created from computer game technology, BulletFlight helps sharpshooters work out how the wind and the rotation of the Earth will affect their bullet - and even predicts the wounds the enemy will suffer if it hits him. Snipers are using the ballistics program downloaded on to their iPhones to target the enemy over long distances.

Related: - Military Could Use iPhones to Track Friends, Enemies in War

Sex Position iPhone App "to instruct, not titillate"

The Sex Position iPhone app made it through the Apple store's approval process because developers used graphical illustrations that are meant to “instruct and not to titillate".

Comes with a ‘select’ tool that guides you to positions based on your energy level, desired intimacy, who’s-on-top...

[via IntoMobile]

Swype vs. Tiki'Notes

Swype, the new text input technology that allows mobile phone users to enter text with the "swype" of a finger rather than the traditional tap is being challenged by a French startup called Tiki'Labs says that its Tiki'Notes text input technology is actually faster.

And it produced this YouTube video to prove it, comparing Swype's keyboard and the Tiki6Keys' keyboard.

[via TechFlash]

Passengers praise British Airways for SMS Following Terror Alert

Passengers flying to America from London's Heathrow Saturday praised British Airways for ensuring they were not adversely affected by a step-up in airport security following the terror alert. The Daily Mail reports.

People boarding flights to the US this morning were sent text messages ahead of travel warning them the hand baggage allowance had been reduced to one item.

Read full article.

TapTap Revenge 3 Downloaded 300,000 times

Tap Tap Revenge 3 was downloaded 300,000 times the first 24 hours after going free.

[via TechCrunch]

Nutcracker Audience Encouraged to Turn Cell Phones On

During several performances of "The Nutcracker" at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, audience members will be encouraged to turn their cell phones on. KYW NewsRadio 1060 reports.

The "Turn Your Cell Phone On" campaign will encourage audience members to turn their cell phones on during the intermission and the end of the Nutcracker performances December 26th through the 31st. Those participating will be asked certain questions, like what was your favorite scene, to encourage audience participation.

Related concerts with audience cell phone participation

-- Chicago Sinfonietta ringtone concert

-- Dialtone Concernts

SafeSexting iPhone app

Teenage sexting has gotten a lot of attention from educators and the media and one company, MountainDev, has adressed the problem with a new iPhone app. Safe Sexting offers a way to edit then send a sexy picture. Users can show as little or as much of a picture as they want and chose one of four different ways to block part of a photo.

According to krapps which gives the app a full review:

Safe Sexting … which will automatically open up a safe sexting camera with four options to censor you naughty bits: Small Box, Large Box, Head Box (for the introverts) and a teasing semi-transparent Red Silk.

Philippine Congress Backs Off From Text Tax

With elections for Congress coming up in May 2010, the Committee on Ways and Means of the Philippine Congress is backing off from a plan to tax text messages. Groups opposed to the bill have threatened to vote against congressmen who would vote for the text tax. All Headline News reports.

The proposed text tax is 0.1 cent for every text message. The measure could have raised $430 to $775 million based on an average 10 SMS sent per day by 70 million Filipinos using prepaid subscription. The Philippines is considered the texting capital of the world.

Read full article.

Relatled:

-- SPECIAL REPORT: Efforts to pass a law taxing text messages in the Philippines are not new

-- Philippines. Scientist computes the real cost of a text message

-- Philippines. House retreats from text-tax bill

-- Philippines. SMS is tax goldmine

-- Philippines. "No to Text Tax!" campaign

-- Online campaign launched vs. text tax in the Philippines

-- Philippines. House body OKs tax on text messages

-- Related attempts to tax SMS around the world

Santa iPhone felt case

Santa iPhone felt case on Etsy.

Merry Christmas everyone.

HBO launches iPhone app

Cable Network HBO launched an iPhone app yesterday.

With the HBO app, you can watch and share behind-the-scenes videos, upcoming episode previews and bonus content from your favorite HBO shows.

Purchase your favorite HBO episodes with direct links into iTunes.

Sign up for SMS schedule reminders of your favorite shows.

[via Appmodo]

Jordan- Water authority to send conservation message via SMS

Over two million Jordanians will soon start receiving text messages urging them to ration their use of water and giving advice on ways to help conserve the precious resource, officials said on Wednesday, reports Menafn.com.