Mobility Watch

This mobile phone accessory may have already been around. In fact, I am speculating that it has been in the market only a couple of months just right after the very first mobile phone was sent out. The thing here is though, this mobile phone ankle strap is really cool and really fashionable. Just the right kind of accessory for all fashionistas out there.

Fashion experts do say though that despite this cool invention made just for the mobile phone, it is also important to keep in mind that using this one would work out well if you were having a mobile phone that was slim and really trendy. You wouldn’t want to be hauling those large models on this one.

Don’t worry. These mobile phone ankle straps can be used not just for your ankles. You see, you can also use it on your arms or on your wrist, depending on what kind of fashion statement you would want to tell the rest of the world.

[Via Mobile Magazine]

Many people own mobile phones. There are plenty of expenses connected to owning and using mobile phones and Motorola, Inc. wants to help out Third World owners lessen such expenses. This is through the newly released cellphone charger which is powered by a bicycle.

Ed Zander, chief of Motorola, says, “For people living in emerging markets, energy is a scarcity. In Southeast Asia, rural China and Latin America, we can actually put this in, hook it up, and charge this device while we are riding a bike.� Zander shared this during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

The head honchoe of Motorola also did express that they are offering such a kind of alternative means of charging up mobile phones to help out owners. After all, with the new kind of charger being, people at Motorola do think that this kind of gadget could really help mobile phone manufacturers’ and companies’ sales.

[Via The Gazette]

[Image from eBay.at]

You just bought that mobile phone. It is trendy. It has got the sleekest design you have ever seen. It has got also the best combination of features you thought one mobile phone would hold possible.

But as luck would have it (and as your knowledge of cameras go), your new mobile phone just does not have the right amount of luster when it comes to taking photos. Sure, they can capture those memories but they are just not right enough. The photos just seem to pixelize and look not so pretty when you try to zoom the pictures in. In fact, you are not even so sure if your mobile phone has the capacity to zoom up pictures.

If this is your dilemma, then you would most certainly be loving this $19 telescope lens or telephoto lens. You can use this one for a couple of Nokia models or Sony Ericson models. All you need to do is strap the lens right onto the camera lens of your phone and you get a photo that has got a higher quality.

[Via Pop Gadget]

Every time someone tells me they’re about to announce the “next big thing”, I say to myself, “Yeah, sure!”. 

Unless it’s coming from someone responsible for the last big thing.  Someone like Steve Jobs.

So here’s another “next big thing”.  And Stevie has nothing to do with it.

The concept:  In-car WiFi.

AutoNet Mobile, the “first ISP for cars”, is creating a black box device that’ll hook up to your car’s cigarette lighter, assuming it isn’t already crammed with other device chargers or portable GPS units.  It’ll get third-generation (3G) high speed broadband hookups via both Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and distribute them to all the laptops, handhelds and other WiFi devices in your car.

Price:  $399 for the box, $49 a month additional for the service (even if you already have a broadband card from Sprint or Verizon).

I have two takes on this.  Take one:  Unless you have three kids in the back, each with a laptop, wanting Internet access at the same time, getting a simple broadband card directly from the wireless carrier would seem to make more sense.  Hmmmmm.

Take two:  It’s reported that this system will be made available in some Avis rent a cars for $11 a day.  That could make some sense, for travelling business people.  And there will be mobile-based businesses which will get some use of it.  Along with police, fire, disaster relief and other government agencies that operate on the go.  One rolling WiFi unit could theoretically connect an entire remote command center.

This “next big thing” will be demonstrated - where else? - at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas next week.  Where so many “big things” happen.

Mobile WiFi, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Consumer Electronics Show, AutoNet Mobile

[via AutoNet Mobile, ComputerWorld]

 

With the new year, lawmakers are coming back to work.  Passing laws, all over the place.  Including the ever-more-popular no-holding-a-cell-phone-in-your-hand-while-driving laws.  The Texas legislature may go in that direction this year.  This will cause more cell phone owners to scramble for hands-free devices. 

So here comes this press release about “free” hands-free headsets for your cell phone.  Free, not counting the $3.94 “shipping and handling” charge.

An offer to get something “free, just pay shipping and handling” always makes me wonder what’s going on.  Usually it’s an offer for a second free Ginsu carving knife, to slice tomatoes razor-thin.  Or for a free sample of, what do you call them?  Memory pills!  That’s it.

The “free” headset deal is from freeheadsets.org.  In spite of the .org on the website, this is NOT a non-profit organization.  It’s owned by a company called Casslin Data Systems based in San Diego.  So we figure Matt MacAdams, the owner, is making a little something on each headset.  

Most cell phones these days come with hands-free devices included by the manufacturer.  But a lot of people toss them in the trash along with the box and the packing material and the owner’s manual.  So when a law gets passed requiring hands-free cell phone use while driving, these folks have to go buy one. 

And $3.94 is probably not a bad deal for a wired headset.  The website makes it easy for technophobes to figure out which headset they need for their particular phone.

(But you won’t catch me ordering one.  I got one of those Motorola $9.95-after-rebate Bluetooth specials at Radio Shack on Black Friday.  And there is no freebluetooth.org - I checked.)

freeheadset.org, Casslin Data Systems, Matt MacAdams, hands-free cell phone use, Bluetooth, Motorola, Radio Shack

[via Fast Pitch]

Consumer electronics giant Hitachi Displays, Ltd. would be giving all mobile phone users a new kind of experience. Many have tried to find ways of how to further enhance the screens of their phones. Some have succeeded while some still remained dissatisfied.

That is why Hitachi is informing all those who would like to have a new kind of mobile phone screen to bid their QVGA screens goodbye. The company does claim that this product of theirs would be the very first of its kind in the industry. Their product? A mobile phone display panel that measures some 800 x 480 which creates an LCD panel of 2.9 inches.

This LCD panel uses the liquid crystal technology display developed by the company called the IPS. With the use of this panel, mobile phone users are promised that they would be able to view wider angles and get a higher quality of images.

[Via Laptop Logic]

Cingular says it’s “just in time for the holidays”.

Just barely is more like it.  But here it is - something new in a Bluetooth headset.

Jawbone promises to improve sound quality both ways - by subtracting background noise in the wearer’s environment, and by boosting frequencies that allow the wearer to hear the person he’s speaking with more clearly.

Jawbone has what manufacturer Aliph calls a “proprietary voice activity sensor” that is supposed to separate your voice from any background noise.  So if you’re wearing this Bluetooth headset in a noisy environment, this puppy promises to digitally filter out that noise, as your voice is fed down the line. 

(The technology was originally developed for DARPA - The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - the outfit the Pentagon calls on, when it has trouble figuring things out.)

The wearer is also supposed to benefit from frequency enhancement that will allow you to hear the caller better, which, if you’re in a noisy environment, can be a challenge.

And it has to be one of the most distinctive looking Bluetooth headsets around.

If you’re serious about giving it as a gift, we’re told it’s “exclusively” available at “select” Cingular Wireless stores nationwide, at about $120. 

By the way, the one Cingular is selling is silver.  If you want red or some other color, Jawbone’s website is taking advance orders.

Jawbone, Cingular Wireless, Bluetooth Headset, noise reduction, DARPA

[via Cingular Wireless]

 

There was a time, wayyy back before rotary dials (remember those?) when phones were made mostly out of wood.  These antique wooden wall phones are still available, for about $650.  One of these pictured on the left, hooked up to a landline, would still work, at least for incoming calls.  Dialing out might be a challenge, however. 

This Hulger Bluetooth handset (pictured below, on right) is a 21st century approach to retro styling.  It will work with any cellular or VoIP phone that’s Bluetooth compatible and give your desk or car (Rolls Royce?) a classic “woody” feeling. 

And when the jar of wax (included) runs out, a spritz of Lemon Pledge will probably do the trick. 

This bit of retro chic will run you about $3,850 US dollars. 

Hulger, antique wall phone, Bluetooth

[via Slashgear]

 

 

 

This is irresistible if you know someone who’s more addicted to their smartphone than, let’s say, chocolate.  Or someone who’s been asking for a smartphone as a holiday gift.

The Marziphone is made by Niederegger which is, we’re told, the Rolex of marzipan candy.  At 100 grams it’s not the lightest weight smartphone around, but unlike other smartphone purchases, a bigger Marziphone is better than a smaller one.

With no 2-year commitment or data plan required, the Marziphone works equally well no matter which wireless carrier you use.  At about 15 euros, it’s good for more than a few laughs.

By next year, maybe we’ll have a Marzi-bluetooth to go with it?

smartphone, marzipan, Marziphone, Niederegger

[via Pocketland]

Call this Fantasy Land not because it’s a bad idea, but because it’s still just an idea, not quite ready for the real world yet.  (Even the picture you see here is just a prototype.)

Here goes.  Wouldn’t you love to get rid of all those pesky adapters for your PDA, cell phone, laptop, Bluetooth, iPod? 

Well, now you can!  That is, you can if this new invention actually gets manufactured.  WildCharge is a single device that transmits power wirelessly to all of your other devices, by magnetic induction.  Read the exciting, futuristic company poop sheet here.

Here’s the catch - your devices would have to have little faceplates attached to them that could receive the power and funnel it to the batteries to charge them.

The developers are assuming that devices like our cell phones and laptops can be retrofitted with these faceplates, but somehow it seems a better idea to  start designing them into new products, going forward. 

The developers of the technology are making noises about rolling out the product early next year - and promising a big whoop-de-doo display at next year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where gambles like this one happen every day.

universal power adapter, charger, WildCharge, induction, Consumer Electronics Show

[via WildCharge, CrunchGear]

Anybody remember Tupperware?  (It’s still out there, of course.)

Tupperware is a 20th century creation that had a coolness factor with women.  Going to Tupperware home “parties”, buying nifty plastic Tupperware storage containers that kept food sooo fresh, it was fashionable. 

What Tupperware was to 20th century women, cell phones are to 21st century women.  Or, so the Washington Post suggests in a front page piece today.

“Girl Talk Comes With A Bling Tone”, the headline reads.  The Post’s picture (reproduced here) is an example of self-help - the owner of this phone applied the fake diamonds herself. 

The article cites Motorola’s Dolce & Gabbana model and T-Mobile’s Furstenberg Sidekick as examples of how manufacturers and providers are catering to women, in ways that the consumer electronics industry never has before. 

And why is that?  Because, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, women are outspending men 3 to 2 on purchases of technology for themselves and their families.  Motorola, for example, is designing its cell phones meant for women with longer fingernail clearance, surfaces that don’t trap makeup, and features that make them easier to find in a purse. 

I will resist, with every ounce of my being, the temptation to make a lame joke about the contents of women’s purses.  But why don’t cell phone manufacturers design them for the needs of men, too?  How about a cell phone with surfaces that don’t trap the contents of my burrito, which I’m likely to spill on my cell phone at any moment?

Men and women are different??  Stop the presses!  Who knew?  Will the Washington Post be doing a piece next week on how Hollywood creates “chick flicks” that are meant to appeal to women?  I guess the Post is just tweaking the stereotype about technology being a man’s domain.  Does this mean Verizon Wireless should hire a woman in place of the geeky guy in the commercials?  Or shouldn’t they at least find him a geeky girlfriend?

Women and technology, cell phone, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Motorola, Tupperware, Washington Post

[via Washington Post]

Last I heard, mobile phone accessories that make use of Bluetooth technology is now ready and available to be distributed in the Canada market. And one company is very much proud to announce that it has been the appointed and chosen one to be the distributor of such products.

So what companies am I talking about here? Well, the Bluetooth mobile phone accessories are from the Parrot range while the chosen distributor is Innogo Technologies, Inc.

Anyhow, both these companies would surely be gaining a lot in sales in the Canada market. Who certainly would not? Many mobile phone owners who have tried out these accessories from Parrot have attested to the right kind of quality and features that these products have. And because these products use Bluetooth technology, mobile phone owners can now communicate without having to use their hands.

One of the neatest and most interesting ones in the Parrot line is the MiniKit Bluetooth hands-free kit and you may want to watch out for it, Canada!

[Via marketnews.ca]
[Image from foneshop.com]

I certainly hate it when my mobile phone just runs out of memory. And I also just despise it as much when I transfer my mobile phone’s information to another device and then I cannot update both at the same time.

Well it looks like there is one small USB device that is going to help out mobile phone users like me. This one is called the CellStick. I found out that this nifty little thing would allow any mobile phone user to use the CellStick to do various stuff – backup data, enter data, edit data, and transfer contacts to and from your mobile phone.

Purchasing the CellStick would also come with the CellStick Central PC application which would be useful when you need to add, delete, and even edit your contacts.

The CellStick would also come quite handy when you lose your SIM card or even your mobile phone.

[Via Slippery Brick]
[Image from Gizmologia]

So you had been eyeing this mobile phone with all the sparkling diamonds. But please. You just so thought that spending your life’s earnings into this one mobile phone would not be the solution to that craving you have when you think of that phone.

But there is always some other way for you to own a mobile phone that looks as if it had diamonds in it without actually having to purchase one that is worth thousands and thousands of dollars.

So you like a sparkling mobile phone?

Then you can start using mobile phone jewels from O2. They come in different designs and colors and they sure do mimic the kind of sparkle that diamonds have. And yes, the best part is that, each set would cost you a mere £2.99. Top that.

Did I also mention that you can also just take the whole lot off if you think that the design is just too corny for your tastes? Just get a new set with a new design and you get a new look to your mobile phone.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

There are various types of consumers in the market. There are those who go for quality. There are some who go for products that offer a wide variety of features. Some people go for price while some go for appearances.If you belong to the latter then you are helping businesses get tons and tons of revenue. You see, the mobile phone accessory business is benefitting a lot from you.Mobile phone accessories make your mobile phone look quite different in design and style. And along that line, many consumers are opting to purchase accessories rather than purchase new mobile phones.

The range of mobile phone accessories are so wide. You can choose from the simplest to the most complicated. They also come in various colors – from blue to pink to red to purple to white to black to technicolor. There are also charms, crystals, stickers and cases among many others.

[Via Chron.com]
[Image from Bean World]