Woogie, The Huggable Case for iPhone

Spotted on Mobile Behavior, Woogie, the ultimate (iPhone) child companion.

Woogie is 50% stuffed animal for your kids and 50% protective case (for your iPhone or iPod touch). A protective pocket velcroes shut to hold your iPhone or iPod touch secure, while a touch-through screen protector lets you choose movies, apps, or music for your child.

Woogie even has its own App to preview Sesame Street digital books and more.

[via CoolHunting]

'One app for all' effort launches

A European project lead by The Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (Fokus) in Germany, dubbed Webinos is working on an application environment for every internet-connected device has received 10m euros in funding. The BBC reports.

The project aims to sidestep operating systems and proprietary app stores by providing a web-based approach.

The idea would enable a given app to work, for example, on a web-ready television, in a car and on a mobile, no matter the makers of the devices.

However, industry insiders say the idea is unlikely to get off the ground.

Read full article.

Smartphones Begin to Replace Hotel Keycards

Read Write Web reports on Holiday Inn hotels texting iPhone, Android and Blackberry smartphones as room keys, meaning guests don't even need to stop at the front desk on their way in the door.

With the new system, which will be in testing through December, hotel guests can reserve their accommodations online. A text message is sent to their phone on the day they reserved with a room number and a link to unlock the door.

Read full article.

Buyers Send iPhones on a Long Relay to China

Demand for Apple gadgets has created a system for buying iPhones in New York and reselling them in China. The New York Times reports.

Participants in New York and Shanghai say the process works like this: People wait in line at an Apple store to buy the newest iPhone for $600, paying a premium to skip the AT&T contract. They then sell the phones to middlemen, usually at electronics stores in Chinatown, for about $750.

The phones are shipped off to China, where the iPhone 4 is not yet on sale, and are distributed to local shops and e-commerce sites, where they sell for as much as $1,000. Once the phones have been “unlocked” to break their ties to AT&T, they can be used with local carriers.

But a change to this practice is coming. On Saturday, the iPhone 4 will go on sale in China, priced at about $750 for the 16-gigabyte version.

Read full article.

Related: Gangs buying apple iPhones 4 to sell abroad.

Zuckerberg opens up about Facebook's mobile strategy

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in a half-hour interview this week with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington and staffer Jason Kincaid that his company is working on mobile phone software - not a Facebook phone. The Los Angeles Times reports.

The idea is to have a mobile platform, not just a service or an application. Facebook is modifying Google’s Android software.

Our goal is to make it so that we can design the best integrations in the widest variety of phones,” Zuckerberg told TechCrunch. “We’re trying to build a social layer for everything. Basically we’re trying to make it so that every app everywhere can be social whether it’s on the Web, or mobile, or other devices.”

Read full LA Times article and TechCrunch's Interview With Mark Zuckerberg On The “Facebook Phone”.

Pay for the Subway Using Your iPhone

Visa has just rolled out a new pilot program that allows New Yorkers to pay subway, bus and train fares with a wave of their iPhones. Mashable reports.

Visa is testing both payment cards and Visa payWave-enabled smartphones. Rather than having to buy or refill a Metro card, travelers can just wave their phones in front of a contactless reader.

Read full article.

Mobile Application Reconnects Refugees with Loved Ones

In support of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled from conflict and disaster areas, Ericsson and Refugees United, in partnership with the UNHCR and mobile operator MTN in Uganda, have launched the first project to locate and reconnect refugee and IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) families through the innovative use of mobile phones and internet.

The program enables refugees to use mobile phones to register and search for loved ones via an anonymous database, and subsequently reconnect using mobile text messaging (SMS) or the Internet. The information registered may be accessed by refugees and NGOs caring for displaced people, and used to quickly put them in touch with their families.

Presented to governments and business leaders at the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York today, the initiative started with a pilot deployment in northern Uganda at the beginning of September. The application is now being extended to other camps in Eastern Africa.

Today more than 4,500 refugees have registered, a considerably higher number than possible with traditional methods.

Read full press release.

Previously: - Refugees in Uganda use mobile phones to trace family

The Ultimate Text Messaging Infographic

Spotted on Gizmodo, the ultimate text messaging infographic via The NextWeb and cellphones.org.

Via: CellPhones.org

Ayodhya verdict: Bulk SMS service banned, media cautioned

Ahead of the Ayodhya verdict Sep 24 - sealing the fate of the 60-year-old civil case for the title of the disputed 16th century Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh - the central government Wednesday banned bulk SMS and MMS services till Saturday to check rumours and a group of editors asked the media to refrain from sensational reporting on the matter. Sify reports.

'All mobile telecom services providers in the country have been asked to ban bulk SMS and bulk MMS in all service areas with immediate effect for the next 72 hours,' said an official statement by communications and information technology ministry.

Pointing out that there may be more than one judgements Friday on four different lawsuits on Ayodhya issue pending with the Lucknow bench of the high court, Home Minister Chidambaram said: 'The issues involves complicated questions of fact and law.'

... Stressing on the need to maintain peace ahead of the verdict, the home minister said: 'It would be inappropriate to reach any hasty conclusion that one side has won or that the other side has lost.'

Read full article.

Related: - With technology comes responsibility

Australia. Mobile 'free call' racket 'puts lives at risk'

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, suicide prevention and crisis support lines for children say price gouging by mobile phone companies on calls to their helplines is putting lives in danger.

Crisis lines such as Lifeline and Kids Helpline say a large and increasing portion of their callers are on mobiles and the exorbitant fees are discouraging and preventing people from seeking help.

Consumer groups ave lodged a joint so-called "super complaint" over the matter with the communications watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Read full article.

Yes, It’s True: The Internet Makes You Happier

A new British study released Tuesday found that access to the Internet and the web, and especially to social networks such as Facebook, can improve people’s levels of happiness. The New York Times reports.

The study found that Internet access improves the overall well-being of lower-income users, those with less education and women — particularly those in developing countries — by giving them a sense of freedom and control over their lives.

The report, which was prepared for the former British Computer Society — now known as BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, with 70,000 members in over 120 countries — found what it calls a “statistically significant, positive impact on life satisfaction” as a result of having access to the Internet.

Read full article.

Rite Aid pharmacists communicate with customers via SMS

The drugstore chain’s new program lets customers know when prescriptions are ready, and more. Internet Retailer reports.

Rite Aid customers who opt in to the pharmacy alerts system will receive text message notifications when their prescriptions are ready to be collected, as well as refill and will-call reminders and other status changes.

Read full article.

India Introduces Securities Trading Through Mobile Phones

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), India's oldest exchange, has introduced mobile trading in India, potentially increasing the number of retail investors in the country, reports PCWorld.

Under the new service, orders submitted by clients on their mobile phones or other wireless devices will be sent through the brokers' servers to the stock exchange, BSE said.

Read full article.

'Distracted driving' warning labels on cell phones?

At the opening of the US Summit on Distracted Driving held yesterday in Washington, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he will be working with industry leaders to consider a warning label for cell phones: "Do not use this device while you're driving".

[via the AP]

Jewish Burial Society launches an SMS grave-locator

The Tel Aviv based Chevra Kadisha, or Jewish burial society, is leading the way with an SMS grave-locator which allows visitors to SMS the name of the deceased and a prompt reply will tell the visitor the location of the grave of the deceased. The Jerusalem Post reports.

Other projects include a PDF rentable while at a cemetery and a GPS grave-locator for mobile phones. Both of which are intended for the larger cemeteries like Holon, that has over 220,000 graves.

“After decades and centuries it piles up,” Rabbi Wein told The Media Line. “Many times the people who are coming to the cemeteries are grand children or great grandchildren with no concept of where to look.”

Read full article.

Mobile Messaging as a Surveillance Tool During 2009 H1N1 Pandemic in Mexico

Cell phone technology was used for surveillance of influenza outbreaks during the outbreak of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Mexico.

You can read full reports of study here (pdf).

[via @mobileactive]

Mobile Phones Connect Farmers to Agricultural Information

The Community Knowledge Worker program brings "relevant, actionable information" to poor, remote farmers in Uganda, according to David Edelstein, the Grameen Foundation's technology center director. TMCnet.com reports via @mobileactive.

The program started in 2009 in Uganda's Bushenyi and Mbale districts. Trusted local residents, such as farmers, agriculture extension workers, shopkeepers and school teachers, were trained to disseminate and gather information about agriculture using mobile phones.

The workers help the Ugandan farmers treat not only sick goats, but also blighted bananas, coffee berry bacterial infections, discolored tomatoes and other plant and livestock problems. In addition, the mobile phone-equipped workers have put farmers in touch with markets and weather forecasts.

"What we have seen so far is really encouraging," Edelstein said. "Farmers have seen their crop yields rise. They have learned better planting techniques by the phone. They have been able to diagnose problems with pests and diseases. They monitor market prices by phone. The mobile phones enable them to bargain more effectively with middle men." "In the past, some guy pulls up in a truck, puts 100 head of cabbage in the back, pays off the farmer and drives away.

"Now, with the Community Knowledge Workers helping, the farmers can combine their cabbages into a single batch and force the buyer to pay a better price," Edelstein said.

Weather forecasts are another element of the information service that farmers value. "Farmers are able to avoid planting seeds or applying fertilizer just before a storm hits and washes everything away," Edelstein said.

Read full article.

10 Unbelievable SMS Texting Stories

QSkan has published a wonderful recap of 10 amazing text messaging stories. [via @kiwanja]

1. A British doctor volunteering in DR Congo used text message instructions from a colleague to perform a life-saving amputation on a boy.

2. A tow-truck driver crashed into a car and ended up in a swimming pool.

3. 15-year-old Kate Moore won $50,000 in a fastest-texter competition.

4. A novel in which the entire narrative consists of mobile phone text messages was published in 2007 in Finland.

5. Travis teen trying to walk and text-message at the same time fell into an open sewer manhole -- the manhole was left uncovered and unattended.

6. Deepak Sharma went on record with the Guinness Book for having sent the most SMS messages in a single month: 182,689.

7. Ten skydivers for Samsung Mobile attempted to set a Guinness World Record for fastest text messaging while skydiving.

...

Read more.

Fewer Deaths From Distracted Driving Reported in ’09

Here's some good news. The number of deaths attributed to distracted drivers fell 6 percent in 2009 from the previous year, the Transportation Department said in a report released Monday.

The US Department of Transportation is organizing a Distracted Driving Summit which will be held today in Washington.

[via The New York Times]

Texts From the Lifeguard Chair Are Raising Concerns Over Safety

It's a good thing summer is over. According to The New York Times, lifeguards have been increasingly texting on the job.

This issue has really come out for us this year,” Bernard J. Fisher II, the director of health and safety at the American Lifeguard Association. said, adding that he had heard several dozen complaints about the practice this summer, compared with none in 2008. “Lives are being endangered, if not already lost, because of text messaging.”

Read full article and horrifying stories.

Iowa high school uses cell phones in classroom

Students at North Scott High School at Eldridge in Iowa are texting to practice science via a website called polleverywhere.com. [via the AP].

...The idea for using the phones stemmed from a push to use laptops in the classroom more often. There are a limited number of laptops, but a survey showed 98 percent of the student body had cell phones.

Read full article.

Related:

-- Teaching by Texting

-- Mobile phones boost school standards

-- Phone a friend during exams

Gangs buying Apple iPhone 4s to sell abroad

Professional gangs of traders are buying up contract-free phones from Apple Stores to sell abroad, writes The Telegraph and if Apple stores' sales policy is the same in other countries as in Switzerland, I'm sure they will have success in selling them to disappointed customers.

Here in Geneva I have been to the Apple store over 20 times since the iPhone 4G launch July 30th. Not wanting to wait in the long line on launch date, I walk in the store twice a week and ask if they have stock. The store either does not have stock or they have stock but you have to pay full price, you can't benefit from your operator's plan. Why? Once their computer system was not working, once "just because". A couple of weeks ago there was a line again. What for I asked? We have iPhone 4Gs in stock.

I'm not waiting in line for hours nearly two months after a launch date. I will probably some day just cross the street to the Swisscom store and place an order and wait the 5 weeks lead time. Probably the only way I will be able to get an iPhone 4G here.

For Deaf, Wireless Devices A New Portal To World

Quietly over the last decade, phones that make text messaging easy have changed life profoundly for millions of deaf people. CBS News reports.

For the first time, a generation of deaf people can communicate with the world on its terms, using cell phones.

Read full article.

Related links to articles on how SMS is helping people with hearing impairments.

T-Mobile USA Sued for Blocking Text Messages

T-Mobile USA is facing a lawsuit after blocking text messages which has raised issues of freedom of speech in the USA. The company is accused of blocking messages sent by a New York based bulk messaging company, Ez Texting after it claimed one of the clients provides information on how to use marijuana for medical purposes.

[via Cellular News]

Facebook Phone: Poke to Unlock

Spotted on LaughingSquid, a leaked photo of the new Facebook phone posted by Sean Percival.

The Texture Message Dress

Spotted on Gawker, the Texture Message Dress (far right). The same store also features the "Blog Writer Dress" and "Blog Editor Dress."

That's silly. Everyone knows women bloggers work in their pijamas.

Winston Churchill joins Facebook, Twitter and the app store

Following the news of Jackie Kennedy's Twitter page, The Telegraph reports that a Sir Winston Churchill Twitter page has just launched, to "bring the former Prime Minister’s “wit and wisdom” to a wider audience".

Its' part of a broader campaign that also includes a Facebook profile and an iPhone app that will go on sale for £1.19 ($1.85), with all proceeds going to the Churchill Estate.

Churchill's Wit & Wisdom app includes:

-- Over 250 of Winston Churchill's most powerful, pithy and witty quotations, all verified and dated.

-- 16 excerpts from Churchill's greatest speeches.

-- A full biographical timeline providing historical context to the quotations and speeches.

-- Red Herrings: the true sources and stories behind many of the famous sayings falsely attributed to Churchill.

Jacqueline Kennedy's Twitter Feed, courtesy of the JFK Library

.

This is actually quite amazing. The JFK Library is using Twitter as a channel to revive interest in history, a technology used in essence for immediacy of ground breaking news or trivia.

Follow Jacqueline Kennedy's Campaign Wife newspaper column -- 50 years later on Twitter.

FootPrint Feed

Footprint Feed takes checking in and sharing your location to a new and automated level.

According to ReadWriteWeb:

Footprint Feed is a mobile app that lets you set up feeds to share your location with people you know through Facebook, Twitter, RSS or specific people via text message or email. "Death to the check in," said Director Rob Cleghorn. "Set-up some feeds and forget about it."

Read more.

Campaign donations on cell phone?

According to Politico, a text message could be the next big thing in campaign finance.

Cell phone carriers are seeking to get approval to let customers make small donations to a political party or candidate via text messages.

CTIA, the wireless industry's main trade association, has asked the Federal Election Commission for approval to collect and deliver donations of around $10 from customers who want to give to a particular federal campaign, Politico has learned.

Aggregating small donations from thousands of supporters can add up to big dollar amounts for campaigns - as Barack Obama found with online donations during the 2008 presidential campaign.

It can also be a bonanza for cell phone carriers, who collect a small fee for each transaction. The most recent example of the market power of cell phone users was the mobile charitable giving in response to the earthquake in Haiti, which raised more than $30 million in January.

Read full article.

emily | 1:53 PM | permalink

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