Mobility Watch

This should be one of the first I’ve ever heard about although I know that paying your train ticket or your airplane ticket via your mobile phone is possible. But this one is kind of different.

Highway tolls in South Korea can now be paid via mobile phone and that is because of the service called PassON which was created by LG Telecom. According to statistics, when people use PassON, they get to reduce the time that they spend at the gates by 7%. And, they also get to help save the running expenses of a toll booth by 23%.

IntoMobile talks about the PassON system saying:

The system is linked to the “high pass� service of the Korea Expressway Corporation and when a car with OnBoard Unit passes toll gates, the toll is automatically subtracted from “high plus card.� To use PassON, Koreans should get the mentioned OnBoard Unit which is linked with the phone using the standard Bluetooth technology…

[Via IntoMobile]
[Image from Textually.org]

For the past months or so, I have received one or two forwarded SMS saying that we should not be using our mobile phones in hospitals. And the reason for this is that the messages say that our mobile phones can actually interfere with hospital equipment.

I first thought that it was just another one of those urban legends which people spread around like wildfire and yet there is no truth to that. However, there seems to be some scientific studies done so as to prove (or disprove) the matter.

Around 50 incidents were already recorded regarding mobile phones interfering with hospital equipment and this has been noted by a couple University of Amsterdam researchers. The interference happens when a mobile phone is used near sensitive hospital equipment like syringe pumps and external pacemakers. The researchers also found out that “critical care equipment is vulnerable to electromagnetic interference by new-generation wireless telecommunication technologies with median distances of about 3 centimeters�.

I didn’t know our mobile phones could be that dangerous.

[Via IntoMobile]
[Image from Cambridge University Hospitals]

Those who use their mobile phones regularly seem to have a slower brain activity. Well, this is according to yet another study done by a group of Dutch scientists. The study has been done by Radboud University in Nijmegen with the help of Brainclinics Diagnostic (who comes as a group of scientists from the Netherlands who work on brain research).

According to the results of the study, despite a slower brain activity, regular mobile phone users also do have this certain higher capacity to “focus on specific issues�. So with the disadvantage, there is still a certain advantage to mobile phone use.

As part of the study, the scientists came up with three groups of people with a hundred members each. One group had members who frequently used their mobile phones. Another group was composed of those who did not use mobile phones. And the last group was made up of people who did not use their mobile phones that much.

[Via Earthtimes.org]
[Image from MedicineWorld.org]

While learning more about the links between mobile phone use and cancer, I came across yet a very interesting piece. A timeline of the research done to check just how our mobile phone use affects our health. And I’d like to share that with you.

• May 2000: Parents left confused after an official report, chaired by Sir William Stewart, then chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), concluded that there were no proven health risks associated with mobile phones but that children should minimise their use as a precaution.
• Feb 2001: The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme (MTHR) set up to encourage further research into potential health hazards of handsets and masts.
• May 2001: Research in America suggested children’s brains absorbed 50-70 per cent more radiation from handsets than adults because their skulls were smaller.
• Oct 2004: Swedish research concluded that those who used mobiles for 10 years were almost twice as likely to develop an acoustic neuroma - a tumour on a nerve connecting the ear to the brain.
• Jan 2005: Chairman of the Health Protection Agency advised parents not to allow children under nine to use mobiles because of potential but unproven risks.
• Dec 2006: A Danish study of people with brain tumours concluded there were no increased risks for heavy users.
• Jan 2007: A study in Finland of people with nervous system tumours called gliomas found no link with mobile use until it separated out long-term, regular users. It was concluded that they were 39 per cent more likely to get a glioma on the side of their head where they held their handset.
• Sept 2007: MTHR expected to present final report, including results of several unpublished studies. Prof Lawrie Challis, the chairman, expected to say there are no proven risks from short-term use, but to announce large-scale monitoring of health of handset users over 10 years.

[Via Telegraph.co.uk]
[Image from Ask Bob Rankin]

Next month, a final report on mobile phone use and cancer done by UK’s government would be presented. This is the report done after the six-year study known as the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme is over.

The report may still be released next month however there are already some disclosed information on a couple major points in the study. One of the main findings of the study is that a user that is exposed to mobile phone signals in just a short span of five minutes actually has his cells stimulated. These cells split in two.

Now that splitting of cells happens naturally when our tissues grow or when they are renewed. However, too much of that is one of the major happenings during cancer development.

What the group of researchers did was they exposed cells of rats and humans to electromagnetic radiation which is at around the same frequency as that on mobile phones. And after 5 minutes, that was when they found the cells producing natural chemicals that stimulate cell division.

[Via Telegraph.co.uk]
[Image from Free Ringtone News]

The world of pocket gaming and of mobile phones seem to be quite abuzz with a rumor that quickly spreading. This is about that piece of information that says there is soon going to be a PlayStation phone.

During the Leipzig Games Convention, people were quite interested to learn more about the rumor. And when Peter Ahnegard, the head of games for the company behind the PlayStation, appeared, attendees were itching to ask him to tell all about the rumor. Of course, we all would want to know if it’s just another rumor or if it’s something we should all look forward to.

You know what he said?

“It’s obviously something that we’re looking at, but right now I can’t really comment. Before Christmas, certainly… but exactly which Christmas I can’t confirm!â€?

Now that answer is really something! I mean, it’s got wit. It’s got humor. It’s got this little hook which still takes away the attention of listeners and gets them speculating. Still.

[Via PS3]
[Image from Register Hardware]

Have you ever had that feeling that you just wanted to throw your mobile phone? You know. Out of anger. Or frustration. Or despair. Or irritation over that message you just received.

Well, then maybe you may be interested to learn about a contest in Savonlinna, Finland. You see, here, interested mobile phone users took hold of their mobile phones and joined the 8th Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships that is held annually. Of course, Finns were not the only ones there. There were also some who joined who came as far as Europe, Canada, and the US.

It was Finland’s own who took home the gold medal for the men’s competition. Tommi Huotari was able to throw his mobile phone to a distance of 89.62 meters. Just imagine, that would be just six feet short of how wide a football field is.

On the side of the women, Eija Laakso, another Finn, took home the gold. She was able to throw her mobile phone to a distance of 44.49 meters.

[Via USA Today]
[Image from textually.org]

We all know that the phenomenal iPhone has been secured so much so that a user can only use the phone for AT&T services. Other than that, the phone is locked and won’t work to whatever network.

But that does not seem to be the case for George Hotz, 17 years old. Hotz was able to unlock his iPhone.

Well, he had made a deal with CertiCell, a mobile phone company who does repairs in Kentucky. Of course, if that company knows the ins and outs of the iPhone, they could start out to earn more by offering unlocking of iPhones.

Hotz was quite successful in that task. He shared with the blogging world his experience. He also disclosed that he swapped his unlocked iPhone with “a sweet Nissan 350Z and three 8GB iPhones�. He also writes, “This has been a great end to a great summer.�

I wanna learn how he does it.

[Via Scotsman.com]
[Image from Los Tiempos]

When nothing much is going on, people in the industry would rather speculate and talk about what could be happening in the future. And right now, one of the newest talk I’ve heard is about Google’s mobile phone. Rumors are going around right now that the mentioned mobile phone is going to be launched soon enough.Of course, people are saying that this Google mobile phone is going to take on the challenge of the iPhone. I believe they are calling it as the gPhone. In two weeks time, we might be able to see if all the rumors are true - or if such talk is just plain hearsay.

Some reports also do mention that the launch of the Google gPhone is going to be done simultaneously in Europe as well as in the United States. There are also reports saying that Google is already in the process of working out deals with mobile phone companies in India to do whatever work still needs to be done on the phone.

[Via PCWorld]
[Image from Google Mobile Phone]

Yesterday, I received an SMS from a friend. Here’s what it said:

Save your EARS.
When you try to call someone through your mobile phone, don’t put your mobile closer to your ears until the recipient answers. This is because directly after dialing, the mobile phone will use its maximum signaling power (i.e. 2 watts =33 dbi).

Save your BRAIN.
Use your left ear when calling. Studies have shown that using your right ear has a direct effect to the brain. Also, never put your mobile phone near you when you sleep. It can trigger brain cancer.

Please pass to people you care about.

So okay. I did not forward the message. Not that I did not have any people that I cared about. I just figured that maybe there was no truth to what the message was saying. All I do know though is that there are still studies being conducted right now and one of those says that long-term mobile phone use could cause hearing loss. But as per the hearing loss thingie, there was no mention about the maximum signaling power bit.

What do you think?

[Image from iStockphoto]

Do you love those wide-eyed nocturnal birds? If you do, you might be interested in this post.

There is this professor, Eben Goodale, who calls owls by making his mobile phone ring. And according to some experts and researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, such a habit could help them learn more about owls and just how many owls are currently still thriving.

What Goodale does is he starts to make a call - he is actually calling those mobile phones that he has put in the forest with speakers. Those mobile phones come with owl calls (like whistles and hoots) and some of the owls respond. The hoot is recorded by the phones and the data is sent to the project’s site online.

Goodale is currently in Sri Lanka. He uses his data to find the location of some of the great horned owls and just how many are still around in the forests.

[Via Telegraph.co.uk]
[Image from Cartoon Stock]

We have already tackled about a fertility mobile phone. Now one of the most recent piece of news that I have come across is that Samsung is now trying to get a patent for such a mobile phone.

This Samsung fertility mobile gadget would not only allow you to send SMS or take calls or maybe even take pictures. According to the company, this one would be able to take the basal body temperature of a woman and it would do the measurements and inform the user when she would be fertile.

Of course you may want to understand a little on how the gadget could tell if a woman is fertile or not. Here’s a little piece of Samsung’s documentation as published by IntoMobile:

…when the woman’s menstruation period is set between 28 to 30 days, the days may be divided into a low temperature period and a high temperature period, based on the ovulation day. In this instance, the low temperature day indicates around about 14 days from a first day of menstruation to the ovulation day. During the low temperature period, the woman’s temperature falls and the endometrium gets thicker due to acts of ovarian follicle hormones to be ready to receive a fertilized egg. A body temperature may significantly fall for a certain period before changing from the low temperature period to the high temperature period. The woman ovulates at any time between the certain period and two or three days before the high temperature period. The ovarian follicle after the ovulation becomes corpus luteum and LH is produced, which makes the endometrium softer so that an egg may be easily implanted. During this period, the body temperature rises… the fertile period may correspond to 7 days before the ovulation day and 4 days after the ovulation day.

Hmmm… Mighty interesting.

[Via IntoMobile]
[Image from Robin Good]

Of course we have heard about human-powered mobile phone chargers. And there’re those solar powered ones. But this is going to be the first time that I have heard of a mobile phone charger that uses the power of the wind.

But believe it or not, there is going to be one and it is going to be from Orange, a telecomm firm that is based in the UK. They have recently informed the public about their gadget named as The Orange Mobile Wind Charger.

This gadget is like a mini turbine. It is mounted on the top of a tent. That turbine stores all of the wind’s power. Now all you need to do is plug in your mobile phone and let it take in the juice that the mini turbine has stored.

Hattie Evans is the head for sponsorships over at Orange and Evans shares, “It is important that we continue to innovate and demonstrate how mobile technology can make festival life a bit easier.�

[Via ComputerWorld]
[Image from gadgetcentre]

To whom?To the Nokia N95 mobile phone!

Nokia is so proud to announce to the entire planet and to anyone who would listen that their creation, the Nokia N95, has just gotten the most number of votes so as to be named the European Media Phone of the Year (2007 to 2008). This award from the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) was given to the Nokia unit which acts like a multimedia computer.

EISA really did love the Nokia N95. They said that the gadget had “practically every feature one could imagine in a mobile deviceâ€?. They even did continue to share, “It’s no mere mobile phone and no mere status symbol. Pick up a Nokia N95 and you hold in your hands a state-of-the-art communication tool - the ideal way to remain permanently in touch and on track with the world that surrounds you.â€?

Kudos to you Nokia!

[Via CNNMoney.com]
[Image from Zone-Numerique]

According to a new report from TechDigest, more and more parents are getting concerned that their kids are using mobile phones too much.

A research was done by several groups and one of the most recent ones have declared that in Britain, 81% of the surveyed parents have become worried that their children might be communicating with strangers. This lot also worries about having their kids’ mobile phones stolen as well as thinking about if their children might already be victims of bullying over cyberspace.

However, a big chunk of the whole lot of respondents comprising 71% say that mobile phones have become quite essential in the lives of most people and even in kids. They say that the mobile phone is going to be one very important tool especially during cases of emergencies.

The researchers also did ask children about their views on mobile phones and more than half with 58% of the children disclosing that they would hate it if their parents would take away their mobile phones.

[Via TechDigest]
[Image from BBC.co.uk]