Wacky Gadgets for Those Who Like to Play By Themselves.

Posted November 13th, 2008 by Luke McKinney in Mobile Technology

We’ve all seen people walk into each other/poles/traffic because they thought their phone was more interesting than politeness/spatial awareness/survival, but some devices are even more intent on cutting you off from the world. Here we see gadgets that make the average person phoning in the cinema look like a Buddhist monk at one with the universe.

1. One person karaoke

In what can only be a first strike in a War Against Humanity, Tomy have unveiled the “One person Karaoke system“. So either they don’t understand that karaoke is a group activity, or we don’t understand how much they hate us.

A small, portable device which enables people to inflict karaoke at any location with no warning: … continue reading "Wacky Gadgets for Those Who Like to Play By Themselves."

Peculiar Power Packs - Ingenious Ways to Charge Your Phone

Posted October 13th, 2008 by Luke McKinney in Mobile Technology

Every mobile phone user has attempted to harness their psychic powers: staring intensely at that flashing empty battery symbol, focusing their mental energies to keep those last few electrons struggling out of their lithium-ion container long enough to receive that vital call. There are times you’d give up the electricity in your own brain to get in touch with work or, far more importantly, not-work. Here are some less extreme options:

1. Coin op charger

The fine folks at Metro Charger realised that where there are people in desperate need, there are ways to make money from them. The coin-operated Metro Charger is a big rack of cables and connectors - the thing could likely charge a porcupine if it had to, though that’s probably not the sort of thing you should do in public. You pervert. … continue reading "Peculiar Power Packs - Ingenious Ways to Charge Your Phone"

Vintage Era of Mobile Phones

Posted October 1st, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Technology

The iPhone did not just magically appear in the hands of Jonathan Ive - the path was first forged by far uglier, bulkier and more expensive phones.
Lets take a step back in time to look at the vintage designs that paved the way clear for today’s modern handsets:

1920 - Payphone

Here’s the founding father of telecommunication which for many of us was the only way we could keep in touch whilst on the move until the mid 1990’s, however that familiar figure in the distance kept us mobile rather than the other way round.

More information: Wikipedia

What else was released this year? - The tea bag is invented by Joseph Kriege

1964 - Motorola: Motorola H12-16 ‘Handie-Talkie’

Now this is a true work of art. Forget the immense weight and dangerously dangling cord, this phone should have ‘timeless classic’ etched into the side. This 2 way radio was key in pushing the communication industry forward towards true mobility. However it might have taken a while to perfect the art … continue reading "Vintage Era of Mobile Phones"

People Want Mobile TV But Don’t Want to Pay For It

Posted September 25th, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Technology

Being able to watch television on your mobile phone is something that consumers have been interested in for years. It is also something that has been successful in some parts of the world but which has seen barriers to development throughout most of the globe. Many of those barriers have recently been lifted and new trials of mobile TV technologies have been launched. However, many of those trials have failed to be as successful as they were originally anticipated to be. This is not due to the fact that people aren’t interested in mobile TV services because that interest remains high. Instead, it appears to be due to the fact that people don’t want to have to pay to be able to access television shows on their mobile phones.

A Brief History of Mobile TV Services

Mobile TV services have been around for a few years now although they are more successful in some countries (like Japan) than in other countries (like the U.S. and the U.K.) There was a brief surge in interest in mobile TV in … continue reading "People Want Mobile TV But Don’t Want to Pay For It"

Femtocell Technology is Moving Forward

Posted September 15th, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Technology

Femtocell technology is a type of wireless phone technology that can be implemented in the home or office in order to improve the call quality of mobile phones in indoor locations. In addition to reducing the problem of poor indoor call quality, femtocell base stations have the potential to reduce the drain on capacity that advanced mobile phone services (such as mobile broadband) place on carriers. 2008 was predicted as a year that femtocell technology was going to begin to move forward and those predictions seem to be correct. Advances are being made in femtocell technology that are bringing products based on this technology to the market this year. However, it likely to be another year or two before the market for this technology really peaks.

Femtocell Trials

There have been a number of trials taking place in the last year or so which have been designed to test out femtocell-based products in the market. Limited-area testing has allowed carriers to determine whether or not the products are going to be … continue reading "Femtocell Technology is Moving Forward"

Watch Out For Mobile Video Messaging

Posted September 2nd, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Technology

If you’re the kind of person that wants to be on the cutting edge of mobile phone technology then there’s no doubt that you’re already well-versed in the art of text messaging. You probably also know all about sharing photos with others via your phone and you’ve at least tried to get on board with the new mobile Instant Messaging features made possible by mobile VoIP and mobile broadband technologies. But have you gotten on board with mobile video messaging yet? It’s not something that’s new but it’s something that’s just started to get some serious attention and it’s something that you’ll want to start trying out if you’re going to remain on the cutting edge of cell phone trends.

What Is Mobile Video Messaging?

Mobile video messaging is exactly what the name suggests; it’s the sharing of information with others via … continue reading "Watch Out For Mobile Video Messaging"

What WiMax Means for Your Mobile Phone

Posted June 25th, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Technology

Anyone who pays attention to the latest in wireless news knows that there’s a big buzz about the relatively new telecommunications technology known as WiMax. This technology is intended to increase bandwidth and broadband connectivity on both mobile and fixed devices in use around the world. To date, it has primarily been used to bring faster Internet speeds and better connectivity to economically challenged countries. However, it is also being explored as a high-speed mobile wireless option that could support the consumer’s growing interest in accessing large amounts of data on the mobile phone. Whether or not this will happen depends greatly on the success of WiMax trials that are currently in place as well as the development of other types of high-speed wireless technology that currently pose a competitive threat to WiMax. Only time will tell whether or not WiMax is going to be an important part of your future mobile phone.

What is WiMax?

The WiMax Forum (a group that focuses on promoting and developing this technology) defines WiMax as “a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSLâ€. In other words, WiMax is a technology that provides high-speed Internet access to both fixed and mobile devices in order to offer consumers the ability to access large amounts of data (such as video) at fast speeds whether they are at home, in the office or on the go.

History of WiMax to Date

WiMax has primarily been used so far as a means of increasing … continue reading "What WiMax Means for Your Mobile Phone"

The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of Mobile TV

Posted June 10th, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Technology

Do you love the idea of being able to watch television from your mobile phone? Were you among the people who got really excited about the rise of mobile television services that happened around 2006 in some parts of the world? If so, you probably already know that those services faded as quickly as they hit the market and companies have been trying ever since to find a way to really make mobile TV work. Advances in mobile technology are making it look like we’re going to see mobile TV take off (again, and perhaps for real this time) in the very near future.

The Global History of Mobile TV

Mobile television is something that the world has been interested in for a long time. Some parts of the world seem to be doing better with realizing this technology than other parts. For example, people living in Japan and South Korea have had very little trouble accessing mobile TV for several years now. In Europe, Italy and Switzerland have led the way in this area and people there are generally comfortable with getting mobile TV on their cell phones. However not all countries have been so successful in rolling out mobile TV. Both Germany and the UK saw a brief love affair with mobile TV back in 2006 but failures in the technology prevented it from developing a widespread following and eventually caused it to fade away. Germany had a five channel mobile TV service that ended shortly after it launched and the UK launched a service through BT which didn’t even last a year. Over in the United States, the technology had been mostly ignored until recently where it’s finally starting to take off. People around the globe hope that the launches happening now are going to last longer than the initial jump in 2006.

Barriers to Mobile TV Development

The reason that the world has had some trouble getting mobile TV off the ground isn’t a simple one. Instead, it’s due to a combination of different barriers which have made it a difficult process to date. Some of these barriers include: … continue reading "The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of Mobile TV"

You’re About To Want Mobile Instant Messaging

Posted June 9th, 2008 by Kathryn in Mobile Technology

Was there ever a time when you thought that you would never get interested in SMS text messaging? When SMS messages first became a service available on mobile phones, plenty of users thought that they’d never have any use for sending a message via text when they could simply dial the phone and call the intended recipient of the message. Over time, of course, we’ve come to realize the value of the text message as a supplement to the voice call and as such it has become a standard feature of the mobile phone plan that almost all mobile phone users make use of at least part of the time. That’s likely to be the same case with Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) which some people currently say that they aren’t going to be interested in but which is rapidly starting to emerge as the latest way to communicate from your cell phone. … continue reading "You’re About To Want Mobile Instant Messaging"

Active Matrix OLED Displays and 5 Cool Devices That Use Them

Posted May 8th, 2008 by Patrick in Mobile Technology

Active matrix organic LED displays have been appearing in a number of prototype and production devices recently thanks to their superior viewing angles, refresh rate and low power consumption. The use of OLED displays in mobile phones … continue reading "Active Matrix OLED Displays and 5 Cool Devices That Use Them"