Mobility Watch

What can make the mobile phone extra special for the traveler? The XS2TheWorld.

The XS2TheWorld is the very first of its kind in the whole industry of mobile phone applications. This gadget, once you own it, is going to be your lifeline especially if you are always touring other nations on leisure or on business. You see, this mobile phone supports seven languages and it contains around 300 of the most used phrases. Just find your phrase and it will speak out the phrase for you in the language you want.

Invented by Sander Munsterman, the XS2TheWorld seems to be totally exciting. The inventor shares, “Phrase books are dead. Even if we can find the words we need in a phrase book, trying to ask where is the nearest cash machine is in Mandarin is beyond most of us. The ability of the mobile to speak clearly for you has shown some amazing results. People warm to you. It becomes a point of interest and communicating and getting what you want much simpler.�

[Via Hexus.lifestyle]

[Image from MobileCowboys.nl]

People who use make-up are sometimes annoyed with those consultants you find at departments who seemingly would “help� you out find the make-up color that would complement your complexion. As much as you need their help in choosing the right one, they can sometimes get too pesky.

If you need help and yet you don’t need them consultants, you can be happy to learn about this new kind of technology from Hewlett-Packard (HP) which could help you choose which make-up is going to suit your complexion - all right through a mobile phone technology.

Your mobile phone camera would take your picture while you hold this special color chart. Then the photo would be sent to a service. After a few seconds, you would then be receiving a message telling you which make-up would look good on you. Nina Bhatti, the main person behind this, shares, “For those who shop for cosmetics, this technology gives them a virtual beauty consultant in the palm of their hands.�

[Via Information Week]

[Image from Aida’s]

Now that would be good news for me. I mean, if we can have directories for the landline, why not for mobile phones?

At least in Britain, they are now going to have a directory for mobile phone numbers. This directory would be made available before this year ends and it would be holding around 40 million numbers. And yes, this is going to be the very first of its kind.

Connectivity would be the one behind such a service. It would be working like the directory services that we are used to. You call up a number, a representative answers your call. You ask for the number of the person you are looking up. The representative looks up the name and gives you the number. Yep, just like that. However, you would be paying for such a service.

Now that would be pretty okay, if you ask me. A complete directory would be a really big help for those mobile phone owners.

[Via Times Online]
[Image from UTSA Today]

I got this forwarded e-mail from a friend. I think you may want to read this through and see if this is a mere urban legend or if it is really true.

Be careful how you list names on your cell phone.

This lady has changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag which contained her mobile, credit card, purse, etc. was stolen. 20 minutes later when she called her husband from a pay phone telling him about what had happened, her hubby says ‘I’ve Just received your text asking about our PIN number and I’ve replied a little while ago.’

When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The pickpocket had actually used the stolen hand phone to text ‘hubby’ in the contact list and got hold of the PIN number. Within 20 minutes, he had withdrawn all the money from the bank account.

Moral of the lesson: Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, sweetheart, Dad, Mom etc. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked thru texts, CONFIRM by calling back. Also, when you’re being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don’t reach them, be very careful about going places to meet ‘family and friends’ who text you.

So what do you think?

[Image from AsianWeek]

Xiao Jinpeng, a Chinese man, lost his life when his mobile phone exploded. According to reports, the mobile phone was in his chest pocket. Xiao is a metal welder and he was working in the Yingpan Iron Ore Dressing Plant when the incident occurred. Some people at the scene said that it just seemed like the mobile phone just exploded.

Of course, the company who created the mobile phone, a Motorola unit, was asked for their opinion on the said case. However, a spokesperson from the company did state that they are in doubt whether it was really the mobile phone which was at fault here. They even did disclose that they are looking at a fake battery which may have been used on the device. This, of course, may be true for there are already reported cases of mobile phones that exploded because of fake batteries. Said a company’s spokesperson, “We are aware of an accident that occurred in Gansu at a welding operation. Up to now, preliminary evidence suggests it is highly unlikely that a cell phone caused this accident. We are working with the Chinese authorities to determine and investigate the root cause.�

[Via cellular-news]

[Image from City of Westminster]

For all YouTube and gadget lovers out there, you would love this piece of news. See, LG Electronics and YouTube had just signed a deal. Together, they would be working on creating a mobile phone that would be able to accommodate and allow owners to use YouTube. Imagine that. All the videos you can watch straight right to your mobile phone.

The mobile phone maker also did say that they are planning to develop the phone so that its users can not only view YouTube videos but they can also share and upload their own minivideos. “LG Electronics will unveil a mobile handset that fully supports the YouTube service for the first time in Europe in the second half of this year,� the company explained.

Now this I gotta see. After all, I, myself, have been quite fascinated with YouTube and there are tons and tons of videos to view at that site. I hope this project goes well. I may be one of the very first in line to acquire this one.

[Via Forbes.com]
[Image from vnunet.com]

July has been branded as the National Mobile Phone Courtesy Month. So it is essential that to make such a campaign work, we go ahead and review some of the things that we need to keep in mind when it comes to using our favorite communications (and entertainment) gadget.

Jacqueline Whitmore is the person behind such a campaign and this she started back in 2002. She shares, “Wireless phones and other electronic devices have become so important to keeping people in touch with information they want and need. It’s important to educate people about the proper way to use these devices so that they’re still in touch but not annoying those around them.” Since founding National Cell Phone Courtesy Month, Whitmore has partnered with Sprint to help educate the public about the importance of wireless phone etiquette.â€?

Here are some of her tips that we might just to follow:

1. Don’t make mobile phones your life. When you are attending to something (like a lecture, attending a play, or being in a meeting), make sure that you focus on what is currently going on. You can use your mobile phone’s silent mode or put the gadget on vibration alert.
2. Keep your cool when using your mobile phones.
3. When in a call, please refrain from using a higher volume of voice.
4. If you are with somebody or attending to something and an important call comes in, please have the courtesy of excusing yourself to take the call.

[Via PR Web]
[Image from Silicon Valley Sleuth]

“If you buy a stolen mobile phone, you’ll waste your money and look foolish.�

Now that is the main message that the UK government is sending out to all consumers. And this is part of the whole campaign that the government is doing so as to tell consumers that purchasing stolen mobile phones is wrong.

The whole campaign costs £500,000. And for that huge amount of money, the UK government is spreading the ads through various means and uses the text (SMS) language to catch the attention of mobile phone users. The ads are spread as mobile phone messages and they are also displayed on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

Of course, it is important to note that if you do purchase a stolen mobile phone, you would only be wasting your time and your money on it. You see, in the UK, the industry can now block all mobile phones which have been reported to be stolen. And they can do this within a period of 48 hours.

[Via Cellular-News]
[Image from Gizmodo]

He is 28 years old and he is already the creator of a mobile phone virus. However, his luck ran out for just recently, the police have caught up with his games in Valencia, Spain. The name of this virus creator was not disclosed though.

This mobile phone virus creator was the person behind different versions of CommWarrior and Cabir - both affects units like the Nokia 60 series as well as other units using Symbian OS. According to reports, this is the very person behind 20 different variations of mobile phone viruses. These viruses are spread through Bluetooth but the owner of the mobile phone receiving the virus had to download it first. When it works its way through the unit, it can totally shut down the mobile phone, start sending messages to contacts stored in the unit, or it can also delete all information contained in the address book.

This mobile phone virus creator may have had a great mind but he used it the wrong way. Too bad.

[Via InfoWorld]
[Image from BBC News]

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) - AT&T’s service plans for the Apple iPhone will cost $59.99 to $99.99 a month, the companies said Tuesday.

The monthly fee is on top of the phone’s price $499 for a model with 4 gigabytes of storage and $599 for one with 8 gigabytes. The phone is slated to go on sale at 6 p.m. local time Friday at Apple and AT&T stores as well as Apple’s Web site.

Apple claims the iPhone which combines the functions of a cell phone, iPod media player and Web-surfing device will be easier to use than other smart phones because of its unique touch-screen display and intuitive software that allows for easy access to voice mail messages, the Internet, and video and music libraries. AT&T is the gadget’s exclusive carrier.

The $59.99 monthly plan includes 450 minutes of voice time; a $79.99 plan includes 900 minutes; and a $99.99 plan includes 1,350 minutes. All three offer 200 text messages, unlimited data services, minutes that roll over month-to-month and mobile-to-mobile calls. There also is a $36 activation fee.

Customers will be able to activate their wireless service from home through Apple’s iTunes software, the companies said.

Skeptics question whether even the most innovative product can live up to the iPhone’s lofty expectations. Scrutiny of the product is so great that any small disappointment could send Apple’s stock plunging, analysts say.

Apple shares fell $2.69, or 2.2 percent, to $119.65 Tuesday. Shares of AT&T gained 21 cents to $39.29.

Andy Hargreaves, a Pacific Crest Securities analyst, said Apple shareholders have run the stock up in anticipation of the iPhone’s release, and they don’t feel it will go much higher after the product is available, he said.

”I think expectations are very, very high and some people are taking some money off the table ahead of the launch,” WR Hambrecht analyst Matthew Kather said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

No? Well, would you be willing to give up your mobile phone for some cash? And I mean a huge amount of cash. But you would not have to use a mobile phone for the rest of your life.

Well, questions like that have been asked by Mobile Life in their survey of mobile phone users in Britain. A third of the whole lot disclosed that they would rather be with their mobile phones than be given $2M. And some 16% said that it didn’t matter how huge was the offered amount. They still would not exchange their mobile phones for cash.

The whole survey had 24 people as participants and the survey was just a part of some study. They started by taking the mobile phones for a whole week. The participants had to do a video journal and then after the week’s up, they then answered the survey questions.

Hmmm… looks like we have all been quite dependent on our mobile phones!

[Via abc News]
[Image from Moore’s Lore]

This is going to be the very first of its kind. Yes, this Wi-Fi mobile phone and the entire industry is surely looking up to Malaysia as the producer of such a gadget.

Comintel Bhd, one of Malaysia’s companies, has already had an agreement with the Gupp Technologies Inc. They had agreed that they would be working together so as to build the very first WiFi centric mobile phone in the entire world. This new gadget would be Linux-based. It would also be coming as a smart phone and would be made available using VoWiFi (that’s Voice Over WiFi for you).

A spokesperson for Comintel did state, “These smartphone will be able to seamlessly switch between Wi- Fi and Standard GS networks facilitated by its Linux system, maximizing on cost efficiency.�

Now, people are already saying that even if this one has not yet been released in any way, the upcoming WiFi centric mobile phone is going to make it big in the industry.

We’ll see.

[Via People’s Daily Online]
[Image from Teledex]

We have previously tackled clothing brands and companies venturing into the mobile phone business. And it just simply is quite understandable for we know that mobile phones also carry a sense of style and fashion - very much just like clothing. And to keep the clothing names always hip and cool, dipping into the mobile phone business could certainly bring in the bucks for them.

And Levi’s is joining in the trend. It would certainly not just be dwelling on jeans and pants but it would also be selling the Levi’s Mobile Phone.

This mobile phone is currently undergoing the process of development and production under ModeLabs Group. The company, Levi’s, did also mention that come September, the mobile phone would already be ready for the market. You can choose from a variety of metallic colors - silver, black, brown, sand, and copper.

I also heard that you can own the mobile phone and get a chain which you can use to attach the gadget to your jeans. Something like a fashion statement of sorts.

[Via SlipperyBrick]
[Image from Edelman]

If you thought that owning a mobile phone would keep you safe from ads and all other types of commercials, then you thought wrong. Very wrong. You see, in Australia, Acision, one of the well-known telecomm companies in the country, would be sending out advertisements straight right to your phone. Well, that is if the plan becomes reality.

Bill Dekker is the VP for sales of Acision and he asserts, “Ninety percent of the population in Australia is already using one of our services in some way, whether it be SMS, MMS, or something else. We did some research and 75 to 80 percent of people surveyed said they wouldn’t mind receiving advertisements in this way, if they were non-intrusive, were tailored to suit their interests and needs, and if it meant they could receive a reduction on the cost of their phone bill.�

Would that be a wise move? Well, we all would have to see about that.

[Via ITnews.com.au]
[Image from The Raw Feed]

Honestly, I love YouTube and I am addicted to it. I know most of you are too.

So what if I told you that I heard that one of the co-founders of YouTube is now promising the public and all of its users that it would soon be giving access to the site to mobile phone users and their gadgets. Nice, huh?

Such an announcement was given by Steve Chen in Taipei. He mentioned such during a talk he gave at a forum of web enthusiasts focusing on Internet development. And he also did say that such a service would be available soon. How soon, you ask? I’ll let you in on a secret: it starts next year!

He also was proud to mention that there would be different types of videos from YouTube that one could access. If you were taking a short commute, you may want to watch those short clips that could range around 30 seconds to a minute. But if you are on a long journey, there are those 10-minute clips that you could enjoy.

[Via TMCnet]
[Image from SXSWi Community Blog]