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Verizon takes the lead on text to 911 services
The FCC first outlined its intention to allow texting to emergency services back in 2010, and since then despite more talk of accepting photo and video messages, nothing official came to be. This week, however, Verzion has taken the initiative, and announced its own plans to enable text to 911 for its customers. Working with TeleCommunication Systems, the big red hopes that it can facilitate the sending of SMS messages to emergency call-centers as soon as early 2013. Texting isn't just about adding communication options, it also provides a valuable tool to the deaf, hard of hearing and situations where talking is dangerous, or not possible. The service will use existing CDMA and SMS networks, and therefore should be available to all customers once finally rolled out.
Did you fire off a bunch of texts this Christmas? Welcome to the museum
Finland might be the spiritual home of the SMS, but it also proves that this ancient form of communication is going the way of the rune stone. A mere 8.5 million texts were sent over the country's Sonera network on Christmas Eve, versus 10.9 million on that festive day in 2010. The same trend was spotted on other Finnish networks and also on the other side of the world: Christmas Day texts in Hong Kong were down nearly 14 percent on the year before, and Telstra in Australia experienced a nine percent year-on-year decline over the whole of 2011. Things are different in America, where texting has continued to grow, but that growth seems to be slowing down and some analysts expect "SMS erosion" to hit Verizon and AT&T by 2014. The obvious culprit is mobile internet: social networking apps, BBM, iMessage and a host of other 'free' options, but you won't find carriers complaining -- data contract ARPUs suit them just fine.
FCC looking to accept 911 texting, MMS, and even streaming video
Texting has taken over mobile networks, and now it's destined to overwhelm our emergency responders as well. According to Wired Epicenter, the FCC is looking to follow in the footsteps of those trailblazing Iowans and expand its 911 services to allow emergencies to be reported via text message, and while at first glance that may sound silly, we can think of some times when it could make a lot of sense. Let's say there's someone in the house and you don't want them to know where you are -- texting is a lot quieter than talking. Or let's say the aliens are attacking and you don't have time to stop running -- a text is a lot quicker, too. The FCC is also apparently looking at receiving MMS and even streaming video so that you could send pictures and footage of their hugely advanced tactics. If these efforts are successful perhaps we can survive the coming trans-dimensional menace for just a little longer.
'Road SMS' encourages you to text while walking
We haven't actually seen it for ourselves, but we're hearing the Samsung Galaxy S can download an interesting little app. Called Road SMS, the basic idea is that the phone's camera constantly runs to let you see through the screen, while a virtual keyboard allows your fingers to safely text whomever you want. Needless to say, it's a very bad idea for number of reasons -- not least of which the fact that thumbs will always obscure the screen -- but we'll leave discussion of the pros and cons for the comments below. To be frank, we don't think folks will use this app seriously. We're just hoping someone will develop an augmented reality joke version that, ever so often, generates ghostly images of high speed oncoming traffic. And remember kids, don't text and drive.
Simavita's electronic underpants TXT you when they're wet
People like to joke about incontinence when it happens to someone else, but for nursing staff or those taking care of the elderly it's simply another duty that must be managed. The SIM cycle system from Australian company Simavita makes things a little easier with text messaging. The system, which is now being deployed at nursing homes following successful clinical trials, involves a replaceable pad with electronic leads that detect moisture. Those leads are run to the SIM box, which sends a text message to the resident nurse when it's, uh, changing time. This should enable the staff to spend less time peeking in unsightly places and more time helping those who need it. Meanwhile, reports can be generated from the system to keep track of incontinence problems -- which could also be useful for parents trying to monitor their kids' World of Warcraft marathons.
