Mobile Devices

Study: Mobile phones are more distracting than chatty passengers

Paul Mah — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:06:33 -0500

In the past, we have reported on studies concluding that chatting on mobile phones slows freeway traffic. Well, yet another study, this time conducted by researchers at the University of Utah, finds that mobile phone calls are just plain distracting to drivers. Admittedly, the sample size consists only 41 adults, with 41 of their passenger friends. What is interesting about this study though, is that it pits drivers having conversations using hands-free mobile phones against drivers maintaining in-car conversations with their passengers.

The study noted that drivers on their mobile phones tended to drift in their lanes, and were four times as likely to miss pulling off the highway at a prearranged location. Drivers maintaining conversation with their passengers apparently fared much better. A plausible reason for this is that the in-car passengers actually supported drivers by their talking about surrounding traffic.

No word yet on the effects of texting while driving, which was implicated in a train crash just a few months ago.

For more information:
- check out this Reuters article

Man runs up £27k mobile bill in a month

Molly Bernhart — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:37:28 -0500

It's always important to read the fine print, and Ian Simpson, 29, of Yorks, England can tell you this is especially true when it comes to mobile phones. What was supposed to be a £41.50-a-month deal ended up costing him £27,322, for just four weeks.

The Mirror reports that Simpson wired his mobile phone to his laptop in order to download TV shows, but his plan didn't include unlimited web use. Just how many downloads did it take to produce such an expensive bill with his Vodafone Anytime 800 contract?

"I probably downloaded 20 or 30 TV shows and four albums. I assumed it'd be OK, but they cut me off. I rang up and they said I owed them nearly £30,000. If I'd known it would cost so much I wouldn't have done it," says Simpson, who had added £7.50 inclusive Internet deal to his plan to let him use his phone for surfing the net.

Vodafone claims their web plan has a limit of 120 megabytes of downloads and is designed for the more casual web user.

For more:
- read the article

Related Articles:
Vodaphone news from FierceMobileIT

Nokia shows off traffic monitoring application

Paul Mah — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:05:00 -0500

Despite its recent announcement to lay off 600 employees, Nokia has been hard at work cooking up the next innovation. The world's largest mobile phone maker is working together with GPS map maker Navteq--which Nokia acquired last year--to help drivers get a more accurate picture of traffic information. The idea is that real-time data can be anonymously collected by handsets equipped with GPS in order to provide up-to-date traffic information. Currently, a pilot project involving more than 10,000 handsets has already been launched in the San Francisco Bay Area. Moving ahead, this technology could really shine if it is able to react to current traffic conditions to recommend the best route for any given destination.

To read more:
- check out this article from Ars Technica

Related Article:
Nokia to lay off 600 employees

Google releases Gmail for mobile 2.0

Paul Mah — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:44:41 -0400

Google has released version 2.0 of Gmail for mobile devices. Designed for devices with J2ME support and BlackBerry Smartphones, the new version is touted as faster and more reliable. Article

Facial rashes linked to mobile phones

Paul Mah — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:02:39 -0400

Skin experts from the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) have revealed that some heavy mobile phone users have experienced allergic reactions manifesting in a rash on and around where their handset touches their face. Published cases tell of rashes in inexplicable regions such as the ear, cheek, and even on the fingers. These cases have been linked to allergic reactions stemming from the presence of nickel, which is used during the manufacturing of the casing and keypad buttons, on mobile phones. Indeed, this is supported by a U.S. study conducted earlier this year that tested 20 phones; the study found that more than half had traces of residual nickel. Those with a known allergic reaction to nickel in jewelery should be particularly cautious. Time to get earpieces, perhaps?

To read more on allergic reaction to mobile phone:
- check out this article at The Tech Herald

U.S. Congress debates the risk of developing cancer from mobile phones

Paul Mah — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:10:12 -0400

Cancer researchers are giving their testimony to a House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy with regards to the potential dangers of mobile phone use. Calling for more research, two experts giving testimony--while agreeing that the rise in temperature caused by holding an active mobile phone beside one's head isn't significant--argue that more subtle forces could be at work. An unusual comparison with tobacco was cited. It was noted that before its link to cancer was proved, tobacco actually was thought to be safe. One of the experts, Dr. David Carpenter of the University of Albany, was more pessimistic in his outlook, warning that an epidemic of brain cancer was in the making because of "uncontrolled" use of mobile phones.

For more about this article:
- check out this article from The Register

A look at a showcase of some cool cell phone concepts

Paul Mah — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:07:36 -0400

Crave hopped on a flight to Ceatec 2008 in Japan and reported on some really cool cell phone concepts on display there. While nothing more than wild ideas at this point, cell phones in the future might well feature disparate pieces that can be snapped together into various configurations by magnets. Article

Motion-powered mobile charger coming next year

Paul Mah — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:38:05 -0400

An Idaho-based company called M2E Power is poised to sell a kinetic-based charging technology for cell phones early next year. The pocket-sized charger is said to be capable of producing a charge equivalent to 60 minutes of talk time for every six hours of motion. The technology uses motion-produced electromagnetic fields that are harvested and converted to electrical energy. A quick check showed that this is a commercialization of earlier work done at the Idaho National Lab by inventor Eric Yarger and his team to address the U.S. military's "mobile power crisis." The technology is supposed to resolve, or at least alleviate, the U.S. military's heavy dependency on batteries. M2E holds the global exclusive license and continues to further refine and develop this technology for various applications.

To read more about this kinetic charging technology:
- check out this article from InformationWeek

Curtain goes down on Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine

Paul Mah — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:10:02 -0400

It was with some nostalgia that I read of the decision by the publisher of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine to suspend publication after 11 years in operation. The reason appears to be a lack of advertisers, as Microsoft steered its Windows Mobile operating system from being a PDA-only platform. The paradigm is different in mobile land, it seems, and advertising revenues from phone companies and OEMs are just not forthcoming despite coverage of their products.

Beyond the confirmation of just how mobile technology has changed the rules of the game, I think this is a somber reminder that information technology, and mobile technologies in particular, is in a constant state of flux. Indeed, just like how the affordability of the once exorbitantly expensive personal computer created a society where utilizing IT is no longer a competitive advantage, but something that is completely necessary; so too is the pervasiveness of always-on, high-speed mobile data access shifting the landscape.

Already, software makers like Intuit are offering online and smartphone-accessible features. Traditional newspapers like the Washington Post have not just embraced the web, but recently released a free BlackBerry application to access its content.

Of course, FierceMobileIT does owe its existence to the advent of mobile devices. Hopefully, we have added value with our enterprise-centric view of mobile devices and technologies, specifically on how to leverage wireless to benefit your organization.

In the meantime, we will continue to serve you by keeping an eye out for the latest mobile-centric developments. As the old saying goes, change is the only constant. - Paul

Apple iPhone less stable than Windows Mobile

Paul Mah — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:41:12 -0400

The Mobile Gadgeteer of ZDNet, Matthew Miller, rants about a number of issues he experienced with his recently purchased iPhone. Probably the chief among them would be "major issues" relating to the native Safari web browser that "I never see on Internet Explorer Mobile or Opera Mobile on Windows Mobile."

Other issues include various problems related to the installation of applications. Miller went on to lament on the number of resets he had to do on his iPhone 3G to get it working stably. If you have ever been a Windows Mobile user like I was, you will know that is saying a lot by itself. Still, it is really only Apple's second mobile device out the door. It's not like Microsoft's Window Mobile was perfect a few years go either. Let's just sit back and see what the iPhone 3.0 will offer.

For the low-down on the iPhone 3G:
- check out this ZDNet blog