Mobile

Sony Ericsson plans to introduce the W595, a new-age mobile phone that will feature a "YouTube Uploader" button. The phone, expected to debut on the Italian mobile market first, will make videos shot on the W595 available to millions of YouTube ... watchers instantly, at the literal push of a button. Perhaps no other website is more recognizable right now than YouTube. For some, the popular online destination is seen as a bastion for anyone wanting to shape and create their own form of entertainment. For others, YouTube presents the perfect platform for some people to jump from "nothing special" ... (view more)

You are walking along, listening to the sounds of nature when all of a sudden you feel a slight rub or a tap on your inner thigh coming from inside one of your pant pockets. Don't worry. You are probably not the victim of a pickpocket. It's only ... your mobile phone informing you of an incoming call. Microsoft Research is currently working on mobile phone settings that are a little more "hands on" than previous features used for identifying an incoming call. Among the traditional "silent" and "vibrate" modes will be two new additional methods of transmitting information: moving a small ball or ... (view more)

Feel like all those warnings about cellphones giving you cancer is just a load of baloney? You're probably right. However, dermatologists now warn that at the very least these mobile devices can cause awful skin breakouts! B.A.D., the British ... Association of Dermatologists, are now actively warning physicians in that country to be aware that "mobile phone dermatitis" is for real. The breakout appears as a rash that usually develops across the face and/or fingers. The ailment, which can be frighteningly red and painfully itchy, is actually caused by consistent contact with shiny cellphones. ... (view more)

On September 12, the west coast was rocked by the worst train accident in fifteen years. Twenty-five people died that day, with another 135 injured. Now that a few weeks have passed since the disaster, investigators are starting to piece together ... just what might have caused the tragedy. In case you missed it, on September 12 a Metrolink commuter train slammed into a Union Pacific locomotive in Chatsworth, California. Since that fateful day, the National Transportation Safety Board has desperately searched for answers that might explain the kind of event that doesn't happen very often -- ... (view more)

Once the king of illegal file-sharing protocols, Napster operated in the law's gray area for a few years before 'going legal' not long ago. The firm's owners have now cashed in on their reputation -- good or bad -- after being bought out by Best Buy ... for $121 million. Napster became known as the leading file sharing site for music in 2000. While the software could be used for any files, the comparative lack of broadband connections at the time meant it was mainly used for single songs rather than albums or movies. It met with widespread legal opposition at the time, the most prolific coming ... (view more)

Research In Motion (RIM), creators of the popular BlackBerry mobile device, are launching a more direct challenge to cell phone producers. The firm's newest model includes a flip-down keyboard, making it the first BlackBerry in the traditional phone ... shape. Previously, the BlackBerry had been available only as a flat-one piece device. Marketed primarily as a way to access emails wirelessly, its telephone functions had been seen as of secondary importance. For this reason it's generally been viewed as a business tool rather than a consumer device. The new BlackBerry Pearl is the first flip-down ... (view more)

The number of text messages sent by US phone users has more than doubled in the past year. However, an influential politician is asking questions about suspiciously similar price increases among leading politicians. The mobile phone trade body CTIA ... has just reported a record 75 billion text messages were sent during June, up from 28.8 billion in the same month last year. The same survey found 260 million people use some form of wireless communications device. That certainly raises questions as it would mean an average of 10 text messages per user per day, which sounds remarkably high. CTIA ... (view more)

Japanese mobile phones consistently deliver high-speed connections, digital television broadcasts and super-fast video downloads. It's not that Japan is hoarding the technology; the country is very willing to share their innovations with the global ... market. Still, some Japanese products (despite their efficiency) continue to fair poorly in North America. A number of Japanese manufacturers are once again venturing westward in the hopes of financial success. Their North American promotional tour will be headlined by the "wallet phone". Don't let the name fool you. The "wallet" tagline does not ... (view more)

The Olympics are not the only thing rocking Asia this past few weeks. In South Korea, Samsung is set to reveal their latest entry in the field of environmentally conscious mobile phones, known throughout the industry as "eco-phones". The Samsung ... E200 Eco contains parts that are made from bioplastics, that is, materials extracted from corn. Amazingly, it is not the first mobile phone to contain such materials. It is the first, however, in which the entire phone casing is made from bioplastic materials. (Source: reghardware.co.uk ) But what features does a phone made from corn have to offer? In ... (view more)

Grameen Solutions, an affiliate of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has teamed with Obopay, a mobile payment company based in California, to provide banking to a billion people using cellphones. The service targets customers who wish to send money to ... friends and family, charging 10 cents for every transaction. Obopay is already very active in the United States. Once an account has been opened, the user can transfer money between bank accounts, credit cards and even other mobile phones via text messages. When we really think about it, we are lucky to be living in a part of the world that offers ... (view more)