Mobility Watch

I noticed that more and more of my friends are accessing the web via their mobile phones. And it seems like even in other countries, the trend is catching on as revealed in a survey done by the Kelsey Group. The survey also did disclose that users are also clamoring for an even speed-ier internet connection on their mobile phones.

“The combination of unlimited data plans and next-generation Internet-enabled mobile devices, like Apple’s iPhone, suggests mobile Web access will grow to become ubiquitous. Growing mobile Internet usage and increased satisfaction with mobile Internet applications are among the converging factors that we believe point to a breakthrough year ahead for mobile ad adoption,â€? proclaims Matt Booth, the senior vice president and program director for interactive local media over at The Kelsey group.

Other than that, the survey also revealed that because of the capacity to access the net easily via mobile phones, the respondents are also looking for better mobile phones that could allow them to do more online via their mobiles.

[Via Information Week]
[Image from Yahoo! Mobile]

If you love designer mobile phones, then you may want to try take a look at the product of the joint project of Samsung and Bang & Olufsen. The new mobile phone is called the Serenata and some say that it looks like an iPod.

Anyhow, one of the major features of this mobile phone is its speaker which is just so good at projecting sound that you’d feel like the sound doesn’t even come from the phone itself. Bang & Olufsen is saying that such speakers (integrated into the mobile phone itself) are capable of “delivering distortion-free� sound.

The scroll wheel is what draws people to say that the phone looks like an inverted iPod. But the gadget also has a keyboard on the screen itself which now reminds me of the iPhone.

If you’ve gone tired of listening to the blasting music, then you can just plug in your headphones and enjoy the crisp and clear sounds from the phone. You can also plug the gadget right to your stereo if you’d like to.

[Via Register Hardware]
[Image from Gizmodo]

Our mobile phones have somehow become our best friends. In fact, they accompany us wherever we go. We are so used to hearing about the advantages that it gives us. However, have you ever heard of instances when these gadgets bring about trouble?

Did you know that you could go to prison if you misused your mobile phone? In what instance you ask? Well, let’s say you are at the hearing of an important case when suddenly your mobile phone blares out with its comic ringtone. The judge could be vexed by that and send you off to several hours (or days) in prison.

You could also be arrested because of your mobile phone. Take for example that student who downloaded some very important documents to his mobile phone. Of course, we all know that when a student takes some important school documents, he may use it against the school or to pass a course. Either way, it’s wrong.

Other types of trouble that your mobile phone could bring you would include getting fired because of using your mobile phone while at work, missing your bus stop because you were too busy playing your games on your mobile phone, and getting run over by a vehicle while you were crossing the street.

How about you? Any other stories on what kinds of trouble mobile phones could bring?

[Image from CarPages]

Parents were quite alarmed when one expert in cancer disclosed that children who are 14 years old or younger may contract cancer if they use mobile phones. The expert, Dr. Fareed Khalifa, continued that this is because children of that age are more vulnerable compared to adults.

Khalifa continued to share, “I do not recommend mobile phones for children because they are growing and their risk to prolonged exposure is higher. The impact is bigger on them because they are growing … so they are always more susceptible to disease at that age.â€?

Of course, he still has not yet put a period to his claim. In fact, he also added, “Studies have not found a direct link between cancer of the brain or the ear so far, but we cannot conclude they are safe until we have repeated studies.�

And so all we can do now is wait and see what these experts can discover. I do hope that they complete their studies early so we all could have peace of mind.

[Via gulfnews.com]
[Image from Telegraph.co.uk]

Different studies. Different claims. Will long term use of mobile phones really cause cancer?

This time, I came across another study that says mobile phone use does not cause cancer, much less slow down your brain. This study has been done by the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) program and it is currently known as the largest effort to look into the effects of mobile phones to users.

At present, the people behind the study have sent out a report wherein they have mentioned: “None of the research so far suggests that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radio frequency exposure from mobile phones. Reassuringly no epidemiological association was found between short-term and long-term mobile phone use (less than ten years) and cancers of the brain or nervous system.�

I won’t be surprised if one of these days this matter heats up and causes debates all around.

[Via PC World]
[Image from Brainethics]

Once upon a time…

Unlike Disney movies and stories, their mobile phone service isn’t going to live happily ever after. Especially now that the Walt Disney Co. has already announced last Thursday that by the end of this year, such a service would no longer be operation. Those who have been using the service would, of course, not be happy about it for it allows parents and children to have constant communication. The service also teaches the young ones how to use mobile phones responsibly.

Mark Donovan is the senior analyst of M:Metrics Inc. which is a mobile phone research firm based in Seattle. On this update from the Disney service, he shares, “It’s a very expensive and formidable challenge, and it’s a losing proposition unless you can quickly get to scale.â€?

The Disney Mobile, as it is called, came into the knowledge of the public last June 2006. Aside from communication, parents can also track where their children are with GPS. Now, that service is going to say bye-bye.

The end.

[Via Los Angeles Times]
[Image from Mobile Phones Reviews and Tips]

Those who use their mobile phones often do have a higher risk of suffering from hearing loss. This is according to a research done by Naresh K. Panda. Panda is the chair of the department of the ear, nose and throat at Chandigarh, India’s Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.

Of course, the study is still fairly small and he shares that the study still needs a far larger number of patients. He also did say that their claim has been done for educational purposes and that their “intention is not to scare the public�.

The researches did discover that those who could have a high risk of suffering from hearing loss had been using mobile phones for more than four years and had been using the device for more than an hour each day. They also found out that those who did found it difficult to differentiate the consonants f, s, t, and z.

[Via CBS News]
[Image from Hearing Conservation Education]

You may have ringxiety and yet you may never have realized it. Yet. Now, you may learn more about this phenomenon.

This is when you start to think that your mobile phone may be ringing. However, upon checking your device, you see that it has been silent all along. It was just your imagination, you think. But it does not mean that you are going crazy.

You see, a study done by David Laramie who’s from the California School of Professional Psychology in the Alliant International University of Los Angeles says that that phenomenon is what you would call ringxiety.

According to Laramie’s study, the more that a person used their mobile phone, the more that he/she suffers from ringxiety, or what they also termed as the ‘phantom ring’. That has been concluded after studying participants 18 to 26 years old.

The study also continued to disclose that 67% who have ringxiety also had higher monthly bills, used up more air time and sent out more SMS.

[Via techshout.com]
[Image from rb.trends]

A research was currently done by the University of Sydney, University of Utah and the Transport Research Laboratory of Berkshire. And the results showed that using your mobile phone while driving is just the same as drunk driving. The research continued to state that even hands-free mobile phone sets still give drivers a high risk of being involved in crashes. In fact, the study disclosed that people using mobile phones when behind the wheel have around a 30% slower reaction compared to those who drink and drive.

“We would like to see the launch of a campaign that urges drivers to switch off their mobile phone before setting off on a trip so that messages can be received by voicemail,� proclaims Paul Purdy who is a spokesperson for yesinsurance.co.uk.

Purdy continued to say, “The research indicates that the combination of visual, auditory, mental and physical distractions caused by using mobile phones can cause a severe deterioration in the ability of the driver to react quickly to changing conditions.�

Better get your hands off that mobile phone now.

[Via Telegraph.co.uk]
[Image from Kent Police]

The radiation emitted by mobile phone base stations have been one of the concerns of citizens around the globe and this is also the same situation in Bahrain. And to keep the peace, the general director of the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Alan Horne, met up with an expert on radiation levels.

This expert is Paolo Vecchia, the chairman of the International Commission on Non-Ionised Radiation Protection and is also a professor. Vecchia has been visiting the country and has also been checking out the radiation of these mobile phone base stations. He tackled points on just how much radiation is emitted and how they could affect the health of the citizens.

He also did disclose, “All studies that have been conducted so far conclude that there is no scientific evidence of harm to human health as a result of exposure to radiation from mobile handsets and base stations.�

[Via Gulf Daily News]
[Image from BBC News]

Google Adsense allows advertisers to buy ads on web sites. Now, Google is going to change that. With their AdSense for Mobile, owners of web sites made for mobile phones (from 13 selected countries) can display advertisements on their sites. This was announced just last Tuesday.

Dilip Venkatachari is the product manager at Google and on this development he shares, “The mobile market as a whole is growing quite rapidly. A good number of these people are using cell phones to access information and that’s where we come in.â€? He also furthermore explained that web site owners, if they choose to display the ads, would be having ads that are relevant to the content of the site. These ads do take up only around three lines and would not use up the entire screen.

Google Adsense for Mobile is actually an extension of a parallel service which has been used by many site owners since 2003.

[Via The China Post]
[Image from The Raw Feed]

Yes. That is according to a study done by a group of researchers from the Netherlands, Australia, and England. These researchers took hold of 300 people and from where they learned that using mobile phones causes our brains to function slower than usual.

This study was done by the group for more than 2.4 years. The results and findings were published in this month’s issue of the International Journal of Neuroscience. However, the article published in that journal also did disclose that the researchers are still going to develop their study more by making the subjects total to 17,000 instead of just 300. The time period of the study would also be lengthened.

Martijn Arns is one of the heads of the study and he says, “In Alzheimer’s dementia you also find a severely slowing of brain activity. However, the slowing found in this study, with mobile phone users, can still be considered within ‘normal’ limits.â€?

[Via PC World]
[Image from Never Lose Hope]

Basil Shaaban is a driver of a race car in the United Arab Emirates. Now, he is claiming that if the citizens in his country help out in an environmental program, it would be a great opportunity to speed up environmental awareness. This environmental program? Collecting old and broken mobile phones which would then be sent for recycling.

Shaaban says, “I’d like to see many more people, particularly young Arabs, supporting this campaign and doing more to protect the environment they live and work in. We’ve lagged behind in environmental responsibility for too long in this part of the world. This campaign can do a lot to raise awareness and accelerate the process by which people generally take better care of the environment.�

This racing driver is aiming at becoming the very first Arab racer to battle it out in Formula One. He is also aiming at spreading out environmental awareness through the program called the EnviroFone campaign.

[Via Al Bawaba]
[Image from coolsmartphone]

As each year goes by, the entire world starts to accumulate more and more e-waste. Of course, we know that e-waste includes not only our beloved mobile phones but also other gadgets and devices like computers, printers, television sets, and CD players.

Most of these are dumped in landfills. However, that should not be the right way to dispose of these. In New Zealand, they are having an eDay and that is when people can drop off all their waste in one place and the people behind the program would be the ones to find the right ways to dispose of the unwanted junk.

Laurence Zwimpfer is the organizer of eDay and on the amount of junk they had accumulated at eDay last year he says, “With that many computers becoming redundant, and the options to dispose of them very limited, it is important that equipment is recycled or reused wherever possible.�

[Via stuff.co.nz]
[Image from Econbrowser]

After the iPhone made pretty big waves in the US mobile phone market, it is now set on conquering yet another industry battle. It is now dead set on setting out for the United Kingdom and take full charge of the mobile phone market there.According to the creators of the iPhone, Apple Inc., they are going to send the iPhone to the UK and it would be O2 Plc which would be the service provider for the gadget. O2 is based in Madrid and it is the second largest telecomm company in Europe.

Starting November 9, the iPhone would be available in the UK. Including taxes, it would cost around $536.

Gene Munster is an analyst from Piper Jaffray & Co. and on this change, he says, “For the iPhone to be a success, it needs to be a hit in Europe. The good news is Europeans are willing to spend money on phones.�

[Via Bloomberg]
[Image from Gadgettastic]