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Virgin tries text Q&A for in-flight spunk
If you're in the 99+ percent of folks on non-WiFi-enabled flights, and are well aware that cellphone use while in-air is probably coming later rather than sooner, Virgin Atlantic is hoping to grab your attention. As airlines helplessly grasp at off-the-wall gimmicks to acquire more non-ticket sales and provide a more luxurious and exciting experience to the customer, Virgin seems to think it has a hit on its hands. The London-based company has stated its plans to introduce the "world's first in-flight texting service," that has nothing at all to do with SMS; rather, passengers will be able to text any fathomable question from their seat-back television screen to an existing "land-based text answer service" that supposedly will answer any queries "within minutes" -- not a bad feature to have if trying to brush on a language before arriving in a foreign country or scouting out the nearest Engadget reader meetup. The company has suggested interrogations could arise about popular entertainment in cities, how to survive jetlag, or cabin conversation starters. While there may be more thrilling ways to get to your destination, sometimes a good 'ole fashion plane ride is inevitable, but at least Virgin's Q&A game can help you ignore your boredom (or the awful in-flight movie) when flying the friendly skies.
Alltel rolls out LG AX490 with Fastap
Ah Fastap, it's been a minute since we heard from you -- glad to see you've stuck around to find your way into a US release. The unique layout, which squeezes a mind-boggling array of keys into an area the size of a traditional keypad in an effort to simplify text entry, has never managed to break into the States -- though it's previously come as close as Canada. Alltel will do the honors here, getting Fastap on its new Bluetooth-enabled LG AX490 clamshell, "designed with the racing enthusiast in mind" featuring NASCAR-themed ringtones, games, and graphics. If texting on a good, old fashioned 38-key keypad and NASCAR are your two passions in life, expect the AX490 to drop for $59.99 after rebate on a two-year contract starting this Thursday.[Thanks, Peter]
8 year old succumbs to texting-induced RSI
In a possible sign that the end-times are near, grade school students in the UK are said to be developing repetitive stress injuries from incessant texting. Gradeschooler Isabelle Taylor, who seems more fit for a textless Migo than the old-school Nokia she's toting, was diagnosed with tendiopathy after complaining of pain in her wrists and fingers. Sadly, little Isabelle took a cue from her hopelessly addicted BlackBerry-wielding elders: "I'm not going to stop. Me and all my friends talk to each other with texts, so I can't not text them." Her chiropractor says he sees "two cases a month" like Isabelle's, and stories of SMS RSI are nothing new -- but by golly, eight years old?[Via textually.org]
Does depression lead to cellphone addiction, or vice versa?
In another classic "chicken-or-the-egg" type of conundrum, a newly released study is claiming that instead of a so-called "cellphone addiction" causing people depression and lower self-esteem, as we'd previously heard, the supposed addiction may actually be triggered by those very same negative feelings. In a study of school-aged South Korean children, Dr. Jee Hyan Ha found that those students who used their phones the most (90 or more times a day, including SMS) also tended to score higher on a psychological test intended to measure a person's level of depression. Although none of the students' scores reached the level of clinical depression, the heaviest users were observed to have significantly more self-identity issues than average, suggesting to researchers that communicating via cellphone made the "addicts" feel popular. So which is it: does heavy cellphone use lead to depression, or does depression lead to heavy cellphone use -- or is it just a vicious cycle with no end and no beginning?[Via textually]
Study likens cellphone dependence to an addiction
A recent study by the Queensland University in Australia discovered what we've already pretty much known from several years of smartphone ownership, which is that people's reliance on their cellphones can often take the form of an addiction. Diana James and her colleagues analyzed the behavior of mobile owners 45-and-under in situations where they were separated from their phones, and found that many displayed the same withdrawal symptoms common to smoking, gambling, or eating addictions: lower self esteem, nervousness, and in some cases, even deep agitation. Besides emotional problems, excessive calling and texting can lead to steep cellphone bills and even the occasional repetitive stress injury, warns James, who says that if you're using your phone to make yourself feel better at the expense of your job or your health, then you may have a problem. Don't worry, though, you're not alone...[Via textually]
eBay launches PayPal Mobile for impulse buying IRL
So PayPal Mobile -- not to be confused with Papal Mobile, the MVNO for the active-lifestyle Pope on the go -- is finally getting off the ground today, bringing a whole generation's eBay buying addiction to bear in the real world. We're just excited to finally put an end to certain restaurant leechers (you know who you are) who never seem to "remember" cash, but won't have as much of an excuse with their phone sitting right there in their pocket. PayPal hopes to work with brick and mortar stores, charities, and media outlets to nab those impulse buys from people who might not be carrying a credit card, or don't want to take the time to make a regular physical transaction. To make payments you first need to activate you phone at the PayPal website, and then you just text message PayPal a product ID number, or an amount and a recipient. PayPal will then call you to make sure the purchase is legit -- they require a unique PIN number to confirm. After that PayPal will pay the recipient, and even specify shipping info with what is currently listed on your account. Current retailers that are slated to work with the service include 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Bravo, MTV, and the NBA Store.[Via CNNMoney.com]
Forty Three Kix delivers movie info to your cellphone
Finding out movie information on-the-go just got a little bit easier with the launch of a new service called Forty Three Kix that responds to texted queries with movie locations and showtimes based on the user's location. The free service works on any SMS-enabled handset from all of the major carriers, with support for regional networks promised at a later date, and requires only partial movie titles (even misspelled ones) or select keywords in order to supply a result. Forty Three Kix, who seem to have adopted their name based on their phone number (43549, or 43KIX) as opposed to vice versa, also offer an online movie "blog" where film buffs can submit what we imagine will be rather humorous reviews via SMS ("OMG! garfield2 t0tally 0wns garfield1!!!"). Additionally, the company offers a subscription service for automatically delivering new release info to your phone, and allows you to forward showtime information to friends so they can discover how bad your taste in movies really is.[Via Yahoo!]
