MobilePhones
Latest
SK Telecom hooks up Korean fishermen
Instead of tracking kids with cellphones, some folks in South Korea want to track those caught fish. That's right -- SK Telecom is enabling fishermen to keep tabs on the fish they're trolling for using a float-shaped ultrasonic transmitter tethered to a cellphone and a fishing line. The phone then shows the lowdown on just what's happening underseas, including water depth and fish location. Should be an interesting niche for SK Telecom to recruit the high-tech fisherman that was just waiting for a solution like this.
iPod owners want iPhones
In a completely unsurprising survey, employed adult mobile-phone users who already own iPods are the most likely demographic to consider purchasing an iPhone. Cellular News reports that 20% of those adults surveyed would consider purchasing an iPhone. That number rose to nearly 50% when iPod owners were questioned. On the whole, Nokia emerged as the clear leader among the "next purchase" crowd. Also, more than half of the European consumers surveyed expressed an interest in mobile TV, particularly for sports matches and reality shows. Consumers requested both a watch-able form factor, which the iPhone looks ready to deliver, and long battery life, which is still unknown as far as the iPhone is concerned.
Salling Clicker v3.5 brings new Front Row controls, device support and much more
One of the major things I miss about switching away from a Windows Mobile or even Sony Ericsson mobile phone is Salling Clicker - just about the best darn software I've ever seen for controlling your Mac with a mobile phone or PDA. Clicker offers a wide array of customizable controls with which you can enable your device to control everything from iTunes to Keynote, and even do things like pause music when a call comes in or lock your display if you walk too far away from your Mac. While I cross my fingers that Salling Software can create a BlackBerry client sooner than later, the rest of you can enjoy today's v3.5 update which ushers in a slew of new features and wider support for yet more devices.At the top of the feature list is support for Front Row, potentially eliminating the need to pack an Apple Remote when venturing out. Other new features include: improved iTunes functionality with quick access to current playlists and more browsing options, support for Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian 9.x devices, much easier Wi-Fi connections for Symbian and WinMo devices, improved Keynote and PowerPoint functionality and much more (I should also note that Salling Clicker for Windows now supports Vista as well).Check out the main product page of Salling Clicker for Mac if you're new to the possibilities of this excellent software, or take a look at the v3.5 press release to get a look at what's new for you seasoned clickers. A demo is of course available, while a license costs a mere $23.95.
Kyocera develops ultrathin FWMG0-03 mobile WiFi module
We've got all sorts of incredibly tiny chips serving very unique purposes, but Kyocera has developed a 10- x 8-millimeter wireless LAN wafer that should feel right at home in those oh-so-cramped innards of certain diminutive mobiles. The FWMG0-03 module comes in at just 1.25-millimeters thick, and provides full support for 802.11b/g protocols; aside from mounting all of the circuity on a single side of the board, compactness has been aided by the low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) used, "resulting in an enhanced bending strength of 400 MPa which is approximately double that of the general LTCC." The chip draws just 0.85 milliwatts while in standby, 550 milliwatts when transmitting data, and 291 (802.11b) / 345 (802.11g) milliwatts when receiving. While we aren't sure which cellphone manufactures are vying for batches of these minuscule modules, we do know that a trio of operating voltages will be available when these start "volume production within 2006," and SDIO / SPI will be the supported interfaces.
Tomb Raider: Legend, Pandemonium coming to mobile phones
Alongside the Tomb Raider: Legend content that should be appearing on the Xbox Live marketplace anytime soon, Eidos announced today that they're working on a 3D mobile phone version of Tomb Raider: Legend. Apparently the title will feature a new movement system and back to basics gameplay; a given considering the technological limitations of mobile phones. Eidos also announced a mobile phone version of Pandemonium: a platform adventure game where the lead character Nikki can shape-change from an invulnerable duck and cover turtle to a fire-blasting dragon. Both titles will be distributed via QUALCOMM's "BREW" solution which will apparently make it easy for gamers with 3G phones to download the game onto their handset.
