The Mobile Power of Solar

Two words that strike fear into modern society could soon be a thing of the past.  That’s right, ‘low battery’; will no longer be a problem, if an idea born in Serbia, goes global.

A group of Serbian university students have created the world’s first public solar-powered mobile phone charger and it stands proud in a town just outside Belgrade.  The team won a prestigious European Union prize in April for their efforts, despite being the youngest team in the competition. 

Their invention, dubbed, The Strawberry Tree, has sixteen wires capable of charging all phone models, and has enough energy stored for a month should the sun disappear.  It’s a simple idea that uses natural renewable energy to power modern technology cleanly, and we love it!

Pedestrian’s banned from using Mobile Phones

Under new laws being discussed by local politicians in America, New Yorkers may be banned from using their mobile phones or iPods while crossing the road. 

In an attempt to deter the city’s streets of joggers and commuters from wearing electronic devices due to fears about safety, those caught breaking the rule would face a fine of $100 (£63) and a court summons. 

Carl Kruger, a Democratic state senator, said the new law was necessary to prevent accidents being caused by people locked in the "deceptive serenity" of their phones or music players.

The Governors Highway Safety Association says that pedestrian deaths account for 12 per cent of fatalities on US roads, and that numbers increased last year after being in decline for several years.

Here in the UK, the emphasis has been on preventing drivers from using their mobile phones when behind the wheel, but should we put more emphasis on distractions that affect pedestrians?

Goodbye Credit Card, Hello Mobile Wallet

More than forty years since we were introduced to the credit card, a new revolution in shopping is bubbling under the surface.  As early as this summer, we could be paying with a simple wave of a phone.

The technology will allow consumers to make purchases by waving their mobile phone over a till scanner. Barclaycard and the UK’s biggest mobile phone network, which includes Orange and T-Mobile have signed a partnership to bring the system to 40,000 tills.  Mobile phone networks and banks are in talks with the manufacturers including Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia about incorporating the technology into their devices. 

The system uses a tiny chip and antenna built into the phone, which links the handset to the owner and their credit card or bank account.  The antenna sends a radio signal to a till scanner which recognises the handset, authorises the payment and then deducts the money from the owner’s account.  Customers will be able to increase their security with an optional PIN.  Initially there will be a £15 cap on transactions but the banking industry expects this to rise. 

Are you comfortable with another move towards the mobile being a must-have tool in modern life?  Handsets have already gone beyond calls and texts with video, music and internet access, but are you ready for a virtual wallet?

Mobile Phones seen as Art

Cellphone's with Grid
and Binary Code

Rob Pettit is an artist that uses mobile phones as a medium for much of his work.  He feels that we have become a technology-dependent generation, completely entangled with technology.


"What used to be simple smoke signals used by our cavemen ancestors have grown to alphabets, letters, telegraphs, and now telecommunication. Mobile phones used to be a fad, now it has become a commodity. With human culture leaning more towards globalization and a fast paced lifestyle, mobile phones will become a more prominent part of our existence."

Source:  http://www.robpettit.com

The mobile phone that goes around your wrist!

They have been around for a few years, but were never taken seriously enough for the mainstream. However, it seems 2010 could be the year of the SWAP phone, as a renewed interest and a great performance at this year’s Gadget Show Live at the NEC has got people talking about them.

The Smart Phone and Watch (SWAP) may look like something straight out of James Bond but this is a new concept in mobile communications and is far less fantastical than it was.

They boast a plethora of features that you might find on an ordinary smart phone such as Bluetooth, high quality digital still and video camera, MP3 and MP4 compatibility, text and calling facilities.

At a UK retail price of £300, the watch is marketed as more of a gadget than a handset replacement. The success of the notepad, the iPhone, the iPod shuffle shows that we like to slim our lives down, we would much rather carry one gadget rather than a separate phone, camera, computer etc. But do we really our phones strapped to our wrists? Is that really practical? So is it a must have or just an object of desire?

I’ll leave you to decide. Before you do, bear in mind that they are bringing out a range of new designs later on this year!

Google set to take on the digital book giants in 2010!

According to Analysts at the Yankee Group have predicted that the US ebook reader market is "about to catch fire sparking from $1.3bn (£0.86bn) in revenue in 2010 to $2.5bn (£1.65bn) by 2013".

Currently Amazon’s Kindle is leading the market, but is only able to link to it’s own store it’s the same story with their closest rival’s Apple and Apple’s iBookstore.

Google is set to join the party as they have announced that they are going to launch their own online e-book store later on this year. However, Google Editions books will not be tied to a specific device. They will be readable on any web enabled device from a mobile phone to a netbook and from a tablet to a desktop, the implications are clear for e-book stores tied to a single device.

Google said it would make "millions of books searchable via the web", which in the past has got them into legal difficulty as critics have long claimed Google's deal with US publishers and authors would give them a monopoly over online book sales.

Watch this space!