Egypt launches code ethics for mobile phones

According to the BBC, Egypt's official telecoms regulatory body has launched a code of ethics for the use of mobile phones.

The 16-point guide includes advice about when to switch phones off and warns against annoying others with ringtones and loud conversations.

Hugh Jackman embarrasses audience member for letting phone ring

Joining a growing list of people publicly humiliated for letting their cell phones ring while in an audience, TMZ has posted a video of Hugh Jackman's reaction to the ringing of a phone while on stage with Daniel Craig in a performance of their play "A Steady Rain" Wednesday night in NYC.

Related:

-- Giuliani humiliates woman who's phone rang during speech

-- Stage Actor Richard Griffiths berates young man in audience for cell phone disturbance

-- Richard Griffiths Actor wins ovation as he stages attack on phone offender

-- President Obama Interrupted By 'Duck Ringtone' During Speech

Bad text messaging, e-mailing manners can be costly

One of the newer forms of poor office etiquette -- paying more attention to a hand-held device than to a conversation or business meeting -- happens so frequently that businesses are complaining it upsets workplaces, wastes time and costs money. Reuters reports.

A third of more than 5,000 respondents said they often check their e-mails during meetings, according to a March poll by Yahoo! HotJobs, an online jobs board.

Such habits have their price, said Tom Musbach, senior managing editor of Yahoo! HotJobs.

"Things like BlackBerries fragment our attention span, and that can lead to lost productivity and wasted dollars because people aren't focused on their work, absolutely," he said.

A call for draconian new laws in India for cell phone rudeness

A huge rise in mobile phone usage has stoked an unacceptable surge in public rudeness, and the most annoying offenders should be sent to prison, according to India's equivalent of the House of Lords reports The Times Online.

The country's 277 million mobile users “often create nuisance”, the Committee on Petitions, an influential panel of the Rajya Sabha, parliament's upper house, decreed. “They need to be educated where and how to use the device without annoying others,” it added, while endorsing a call for draconian new laws to do just that.

The comments came in response to a petition filed by Gurjit Singh, a member of the public whose demands include making carrying mobiles at funerals and temples illegal and the installation of mobile phone jammers on school buildings to stop students making calls.

Mr Singh also wants phone companies to deploy equipment to disable mobiles on the roads to avoid traffic accidents, and is calling for a law under which civil servants could be imprisoned if they make personal calls on their handsets during office hours.

His final demand is that mobile phones fitted with cameras be outlawed “for the safety of women”.

The measures may appear extreme but have already won significant backing, including from The Times of India, the country's most-read English language newspaper.

Read full article.

Shouting on Mobiles is Still Most Annoying Trait

According to a new survey, speaking too loudly on mobile phones remains the most irritating thing about people using them in public. Cellular News reports.

The easyMobile.com Modern Mobile Manners survey reveals that more than half of those questioned found loud talking more annoying than ringtones or even taking calls while at the dinner table.

Nearly two thirds of those researched ignored calls from people when they saw who it was that was calling – with more than 80% lying about it afterwards. And more than three quarters regularly answered calls while having a meal with friends and colleagues – despite 60% of those same individuals thinking this was a sign of bad manners.

Related: - Businesses putting lid on cellphone chatterboxes

Cell Phone Model Made of Meat

Spotted on Trendhunter among other gadgets, a cell phone replica made of meat. Really.

Mobile Phones Hazzardous to Haircuts?

Are mobile phones hazzardous to haircuts? One barber thinks so and had a special sign made up for his shop.

[via Blackberry Today]

UK Theme Park to Ban Smartphones

This is wild. UK theme park resort, Alton Towers is piloting a "PDA Free Zone" during the May school holiday, to encourage parents to disconnect from the office and reconnect fully with their families. Cellular News reports.

There's more. "PDA police will be onsite to enforce the ban and any adult caught using a PDA whilst at the Resort will be asked to report to one of five "PDA Drop Off Zones" where they can safely leave their smartphones for the day."

Vigilante etiquette justice over cellphone yapping in subway

The Village Voice reports on a lawsuit brought on following an incident in a subway where 60-year-old cop-turned-lawyer Clifford assaulted a 19-year-old student for talking on his cell phone.

The New York Post described the incident thusly:

Clifford waved his hand at the kid, snapped his fingers in the kid's face, and started cursing loudly, all agreed.

Clifford really blew a gasket - screaming "F- - -ing faggot!" - when the kid then suggested, comically, that Clifford himself not blow his nose and rustle his newspaper so loudly.

Clifford won his case, despite the judge's admonition that his vigilante style of etiquette justice is inappropriate (not to mention homophobic.)

This reminds me of a reverse incident that occured on a Japanese bus, when a young man observed that the middle-aged person in front of him was talking too loud on the mobile telephone. So he tapped the man's shoulder and asked him to keep the volume down. The man went bonkers. The video uploaded on YouTube has close to 2 million views.

'Manners police' hit Japan metros

Badly behaved commuters riding on Yokohama's public transport will soon be risking a dressing-down, reports the BBC.

"Newly appointed "etiquette police" or the Smile-Manner Squadron, will be asking travellers to turn down their headphones and give up their seats for their elders and betters.

The move comes amid growing concern that etiquette is losing its hallowed place in Japanese society.

This perceived lapse included failing to offer your seat to pregnant and elderly people, chatting loudly on mobile phones, applying make-up in public, and listening to music on "leaky" headphones.

A prime hang-out for violators was identified as Japan's jammed commuter trains.

... The mile-Manner team is mostly made up of over-60s, well acquainted with the standards of conduct associated with the "old Japan".

But many of these enforcers will be accompanied by younger bodyguards, should their etiquette advice - diplomatically given, of course - not prove welcome. "

President Sarkozy advised to watch his texting manners at Windsor

According to The First Post, French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been advised to behave in a more statesmanlike manner, starting with his visit to Windsor on March 26 as a guest of the Queen.

"No more Ray-Bans and jogging shorts, no more public kisses and cuddles with new wife Carla Bruni, and definitely no more texting on his mobile while in meetings with heads of state - all of these are high on the list of his advisors' new do's and don't's.

... Text-messaging has been one of his more shocking habits: he did it during an audience with Pope Benedict, and then again in a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. "It is embarrassing and extremely discourteous," said a French diplomat unused to such casual behaviour from the president."

Cell Phone Sign From Soho Café Window. Be Warned.

A sign in the window of a Soho café. Spotted on Smart Mobs via Blackbelt Jones.

Hush booths

Spotted on Jan Chipchase - Future Perfect, pictures of a mobile phone booth at the SAS lounge of the airport of Copenhagen, which conveys a "subtle reminder of the social norms for this space".

Device Lets You Report Noisy Audience Members

CBS reports that Regal Entertainment Group, which owns several Chicago area theaters, is offering a device to enable audience members to rat on those talking/texting on their cell phones, or filming the movie.

"Using a device the size of a cell phone, certain patrons will be able to push a button to alert the management to somebody else's rude behavior, or even a problem with the movie.

The device, called a “guest response system,” has four buttons corresponding to problems; one is to report piracy if you see someone recording a movie with a camera.

The devices are now in use at just over 100 locations nationwide and could be headed for Chicago in the near future."

Why subway cars in Japan are more quiet than in the US

Why subway cars in Japan are more quiet than in the US.

A screen capture from the video of Nokia's Younghee Jung presentation entitled “Insight and Innovation” at the 2007 New Yorker Conference.

[Updated] Ten commandments of cell phone etiquette

InfoWorld has updated their original 10 Cell Phone Commandments. Amusing and to the point.

1. Thou shalt not dial while driving

2. Thou shalt not wear thy earpiece when thou art not on thy phone

3. Thou shalt not speak louder on thy cell phone than thou would on any other phone

4. Thou shalt not grow too attached to thy cell phone

5. Thou shalt not slam thy cell phone down on a restaurant table just in case it rings

6. Thou shalt not make the cell phone more important than the company thou art keeping

7.Thou shalt not leave the cell phone ringing just to show off the "cool" ringtones or refrain from answering for that same reason

8.Thou shalt turn off thy cell phone at funerals, weddings, yoga class, and anywhere it would be unacceptable to bring a screaming child

9.Thou shalt not have a message intro lasting more than 15 seconds

10.Thou shalt never answer your phone while you're in the bathroom.

Norway Study. Rude mobile phone use

A new survey of Norwegian mobile phone habits reveals that many people have received sex messages via their cell phone and even more take photos of people without permission. Aftenposten reports.

"The survey of 1,900 persons - carried out by Perduco for operator NetCom last November - shows that the spread of personal and often sensitive content via mobile phones and the Internet is widespread, and unsurprisingly, younger phone users are most irresponsible.

Thirty one percent of those under the age of 30 interviewed said they have used their phone's camera to take pictures of people who were not aware of being photographed. Only 13 percent of the total group surveyed gave the same answer.

Nineteen percent of mobile phone users under the age of 30 have received text or multimedia messages with sexual content, compared to 13 percent for the survey group as a whole."

Military cell phone regulations can keep calls waiting

Driving while using a cell phone is illegal on every Navy installation worldwide. But what about texting and chatting on foot? Stars and Stripes covers the military's position - which is more about common sense than imposing new rules.

"Sailors can wear a cell phone while in uniform , but walking and talking on it is generally discouraged unless you’re talking shop.

“There’s nothing officially prohibiting talking on the cellular phone in uniform (in fact the Navy's new dress code includes cell phone wear), but we tend to discourage it because it doesn’t project a crisp military image, it's largely a leadership call", said Yokosuka Naval Base commanding officer Capt. Greg Cornish."

Text-messaging teens asked to leave their seats at the movies

This past weekend, teenagers were escorted out of a movie theater in Arlington Texas, for reading a text message on their cell phones, according to the The Star Telegram.

“All we’re promoting is a distraction-free environment,” said Nate Reid, the theater’s general manager. He added that the policy has been enforced since the theater opened in 2002. “We have a very high teenage audience. It really is a problem with the teenage audience.”

“They had their phone on silent. It was a text message so no talking, no noise. A uniformed policeman said the theater has a very clear policy on no cell phones and they had to leave, walked them to the door and told them to not come back that night... Police were escorting teens out of the theater through the whole movie.”

The Cellphone Age

Jason Fry's three-year-old son may never answer a phone that's not ringing specifically for him. And he may go his entire life without changing his personal number. As cellphones replace landlines, telephone habits and etiquette are taking turns into the unknown. [WSJ]

A Flight Attendant’s 12 Tips for Cell Phone Use on an Airplane

Cell phone etiquette gets specific with a flight attendant's recommendations on how to behave on a plane, as "traveling can occasionally bring out the worst in people, resulting in the frequent “it’s all about me” syndrome. " [via Flyaway Café]

1. Don’t use your cell phone while boarding
2. Don’t stop in the middle of the aise to send a text message, or to continue your conversation
3.Don’t try to talk to the flight attendants about a problem while you’re talking on the phone
4. When you are asked to discontinue use, do so
5. Turn the power off when asked to do so
6. Take off your head set
7. Don’t shout
8. Consider the content of your conversation
9. Watch your language
10. Eliminate the “Can you hear me now syndrome”
11. Don’t try to talk over the background noises on the plane
12. Keep your cell phone handy if you want to use it taxiing in. That's OK.

Sydney Pollack Teams With Cingular to Promote Cell Phone Courtesy at the Movies

This July, a public service trailer directed by and starring Academy Award winning filmmaker Sydney Pollack in cooperation with Cingular Wireless, will debut in movie theaters nationwide. The trailer promotes of all things -- silence.

The scene opens with a man in the midst of conducting a personal phone call. Pollack then appears with script in hand, providing stage direction to the caller, who is clearly annoyed that the filmmaker has disturbed him. "Oh, I'm sorry -- is my directing interfering with your phone call?" asks Pollack, with more than a hint of sarcasm. "How rude of me!"

The trailer concludes with the following message: We won't interrupt your phone calls. Please don't interrupt our movies. Silence your cell phones. [via Cingular Media Room]

Stage Actor Richard Griffiths berates young man in audience for cell phone disturbance

Actor Richard Griffiths - up for a Best Actor Tony for playing an unconventional teacher in a British high school in "History Boys" and known for his roles as Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films - berrated a young man in the audience, the third time a cellphone rang out in the theater.

Interrupting his performance, he clamored: "Okay, I am not going to compete with these electronic devices. You were told to turn them off by the stage manager, you were told it was against the law, and you heard two phones go off already before this.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Griffiths continued, in a fit of ring rage. "Now I'm going to exit, and we're going to start this scene again, so tech stand by ... and I assure you if we hear one more phone go off we'll be in our right mind to quit this afternoon's performance ... you have been warned."

In a previous London show, " Heroes ", Griffiths asked the woman in the audience who's cell phone rang, to get up and leave - which she agonizingly did while the audience gave her a standing ovation.

Related article: - Actor wins ovation as he stages attack on phone offender

Arrested for asking for quiet in cinema

Pauline Clayton , an Australian tourist has been charged with assault after telling a Texas woman to stop talking on her mobile phone at the movies.

All Ms Clayton did was touch her arm to get her attention. The woman accused Ms Clayton of "invading her private space" and filed a complaint of assault because Ms Clayton had touched her.

[via The Daily Telegraph via digg]

Cell phones versus silence: commuter battle heats up

All Maggie Bergara wanted for Christmas was a quiet car, explains Record Online. As the woman began fantasizing about buying "one of those zappers" in October, she wondered: "Can we do this?"

The Federal Communications Commission has some objections. "If it were only that easy, we'd probably be buying them by the case," sighed Dan Brucker, a spokesman for Metro-North. Cell phone abuse is still among our top quality-of-ride complaints."

It's a crime to jam or block radio signals. And the prohibition extends to making, importing, selling or operating devices that do that. Remember "importing" when you're surfing the Internet and comparing prices.

The transit agencies say the actual number of complaints, however, has fallen over the past three years as cell phones have become commonplace and businesses of every description have devised policies regarding their use.

"The coolness of cell phones is so over," said Dan Brucker, a spokesman for Metro-North. "Cell phone abusers have become the new smokers. People feel empowered because there's a consensus now about how they should be used in public places so they're quick to confront and ostracize abusers."

"But I think it's a little harder to misbehave on the bus because the driver is right there," said Christine Falzone, at Short Line. "And our customers know if a passenger misbehaves, the driver can - and will - pull over to the side of the road and put the passenger off the bus. You can't do that with a train."

At NJ Transit, cell phone abuse is still enough of an issue among commuters that the agency is exploring the possibility of introducing quiet cars.

LG ties up with government for teaching people Mobile etiquette

With nearly every person having a mobile phone in Taiwan, it has become more of a nuisance to travel by public transport and see that most people have no basic mobile etiquette. [Phoneyworld]

"To tackle such problems and educate people about mobile etiquette, LG has embarked on a program along with the support of the transport authority in Taiwan.

The mobiquette movement has been based on 4 points and Lg hopes that people will respond positively to the same."

Steve Martin fights rude mobile phone users

According to Contact Music, funnyman Steve Martin has filmed a new public service announcement in a bid to urge filmgoers to turn off their mobile phones at the movies.

The actor recreates his recent role as bumbling detective Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther for the new big screen advertisement, which will be shown at cinemas across America this Christmas.

In the public service announcement, Martin's Clouseau complains when a cell phone starts ringing while he's watching a movie, and then realises it's his. He then switches his phone to vibrate and receives a shock every time it goes off.

The short ends with the line, "Don't be a Clouseau, get a clue. Please turn your cell phones off and refrain from talking during the movie."

Urinating while making a mobile-phone call

An entertaining piece wirtten by Stuart Jeffries for The Guardian, who ponders the merits of multitasking and recounts an incident involving a cell phone.

"It is one of the great lies of modern society that only women are good at multitasking. Consider what I saw in the gents last week. A man was urinating with one hand and making a mobile-phone call with the other. Lots of questions arise from this. Should he have told the person on the other end of the line what he was doing? Or should he have spared them? Could he do his flies up mid-call? How? Should he have washed his hands and then his mobile phone? Should I have frowned at him? Or applauded?"

... In their trenchant 2003 paper, Mobile Technologies and Boundaryless Spaces: Slavish Lifestyles, Seductive Meanderings, or Creative Empowerment?, two marketing professors, Nikhilesh Dholakia and Detlev Zwick, write: "According to the instrumental theory of technology, mobile technologies - what [Marshall] McLuhan refers to as electronic prostheses - promise opportunities for greater freedom, creativity, leisure and productivity by enhancing organic bodily functions."

Stuart Jeffries takse this to mean that you can go to the loo and remain in the loop.

Related article: - Flush cells in stalls

Actor wins ovation as he stages attack on phone offender

The actor Richard Griffiths has launched a furious tirade against mobile phones after ejecting a member of the audience from his West End play when her ringtone sounded for the third time. The Independent reports.

Griffiths, known for his roles as Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films and Uncle Monty in the cult hit Withnail and I, was somewhat less than avuncular when his lines in the tense penultimate scene of the play Heroes were interrupted by the mobile phone call on Saturday.

He stopped mid-scene and asked: "Could the person whose mobile phone it is please leave?"

When he pinpointed the female offender, he addressed her directly, saying: "Is that it, or will it be ringing some more? "The 750 people here would be fully justified in suing you for ruining their afternoon."

As the woman left the auditorium at the Wyndham's Theatre, the audience gave Griffiths a standing ovation before the play, also starring John Hurt, continued."

nophones.com

nophones.com promotes good mobile manners with some common sense reminders on cell phone etiquette.

1. Learn mobile phone etiquette
2 Learn the basic features of your phone
3 Obey the bans and signs
4 Consider other people before using your phone
5 Consider the safety of yourself and other people while using your phone

Above driver bumper sticker comes from their store. Something which will hopefully catch on.