All posts in Mobile

Traffic cops on lookout for mobiles and seatbelts

Cape Town traffic officials are on the prowl for any drivers who are on their mobile phones or not wearing their seatbelts. It has been said that drivers using their mobiles are less capable of driving than someone who is drunk and this has boosted the concentration of traffic officials.

I must admit, since I got my new car, I’ve started using the handsfree kit and it’s definitely a lot safer than holding the device to your ear and working the steering wheel and gears with just one hand. The number of times I’ve seen drivers swaying across lanes or doing silly things because they’re on their mobile is second to nothing.

car-crash

I think it’s a good campaign, hopefully one which will lower the number of irresponsible drivers on the road!

Your mobile needs to chill out too

Your cellphone is a trusted friend. It has been there for you when you needed a ride, felt lonely, or just had to talk to your mom. All it has asked in return is the occasional charge. Your phone loves you, so it’s about damn time you did something nice for it. You can start with a nice place for your phone to sit.

This diminutive beanbag chair is just the thing. Scientifically proven to be the most comfortable cellphone chair on the market. Ergonomically designed to eliminate pressure points that can bruise or cause extremities to go numb, this beanbag chair rests your cellphone in the most neutral position possible. 9 out of 10 cellphones agree, this is the best cellphone beanbag chair ever made!

cellphone beanbag chair

Sure, some may laugh at you, but your buddy deserves the best. You owe it to your phone to make his downtime the most comfortable possible. The beanbag cellphone chair is so comfortable, your phone is guaranteed to remain seated until someone picks it up again.

You can buy it from ThinkGeek (where else? ;))

[Thanks Johan]

Android mobiles get Google Earth

With the release of Google Earth for Android, Google is also introducing the Roads layer, a very popular feature of the desktop version of Google Earth. Now you can get a better sense of where you are with road labels drawn on top of the satellite imagery.

google-earth-android

In addition, Google has taken advantage of the integrated voice recognition capabilities of the Android platform to provide the best Google Earth experience yet – a pocket globe that responds to your every command. Try speaking “Eiffel tower” or “best burrito Mission district of San Francisco.” Maybe you’re trying to find some nice lodging for an upcoming getaway to Lake Tahoe. Just say “romantic getaway Lake Tahoe.” With Google Earth for Android, they have brought together the convenience of Google Search by voice with the power of Google Local Search to make it easier than ever to navigate the globe and find whatever you are looking for.

google-android-earth

Download Google Earth for Nexus One today by searching for Google Earth in the Android Market.

Other Android Apps:

I don’t have an Android phone, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Google Earth application!

Vodacom iPhone Visual Voicemail

Vodacom have just launched visual voicemail for the iPhone! What does this mean you ask? Well, in a nutshell, for just R9.99/month you’ll be able to see who left you voicemail.

Let me paint a scenario: Yesterday I was talking to someone at work and was telling her that I got an important voicemail, which I needed to listen to, but I knew that I had 50 odd voicemails before that which I hadn’t listened to. In other words, I’d have to listen to 50 before getting the one I wanted!

Well, this is where Visual Voicemail comes into play, On the iPhone, visual voicemail lets you see a list of your messages and allows you to choose which ones to listen to or delete, without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions – how totally fly is that?!

Take a look:

iphone-visual-voicemail

Just like text messages, unheard voicemails have a blue dot next to them, you can simply tap the play button next to a voicemail to listen to it.

If you ask me, this is a service that we’ve all been waiting for, for a number of years and I’m stoked that it’s Vodacom who’ve done it!

To activate the service you need to SMS “VVM ON” to 123. To deactivate the service, you can SMS “VVM OFF” to the 123.

Mobile phones don’t emit ionizing radiation

After my article on a device which stops iPhone radio waves from melting your brain, Haydndup, an avid iMod reader decided that it was time to explain something about mobiles and radiation.

Cell phones don’t emit ionizing radiation, and are therefore unable to cause mutations in human cells.

Recent studies agreed:

Because widespread cell phone use is little more than a decade old, there
has been limited opportunity to examine its long-term health effects.
However, large case-control studies and cohort studies have compared cell phone use among brain cancer patients and people without brain cancer. In each of the case-control studies, patients with brain cancer were compared to people free of brain cancer, in terms of their past use of cell phones. If the patients reported more cell phone use than those in the study who did not have brain cancer, and if no other differences between the 2 groups could account for the brain cancers, these observations would provide evidence of a possible link between cell phones and brain cancer. The majority of case-control studies have yielded similar results:

First, the patients with brain cancer did not report more cell phone use
overall than the controls. This finding was true when all brain cancers were considered as a group, when individual types of brain cancer were
considered, and when specific locations within the brain were considered. In fact, most of the studies showed a tendency toward a lower risk of brain cancer among cell phone uses, for unclear reasons. were considered. In fact, most of the studies showed a tendency toward a lower risk of brain cancer among cell phone uses, for unclear reasons.

Second, none of the studies showed a “dose-response relationship” — a
tendency for the risk of brain cancer to increase with increasing cell phone use, which would be expected if cell phone use caused brain cancer.

The side of the head on which the brain cancer occurred and the side on which the cell phone was used.

Thanks Haydndup, you’re knowledge is grately appreciated here!

Handle multiple Gmail accounts with iPhone application

Whether you have a single Gmail or Google Apps for your Business account, or several, Mailroom makes your Gmail experience on your iPhone incredible. Now, I use the built in mail application on my iPhone and it handles multiple accounts, but this application does sound promising.

With seamless integration between Gmail’s world class mobile interface and familiar iPhone conventions, Mailroom gives you access to your local iPhone Address Book, attachment viewing, and more.

Have more than one account? Mailroom’s “TrueNew” message count badges tell you not just how many unread messages you have, but how many are new since the last time you loaded the app. No more unread message anxiety thanks to Mailroom!

iphone-mail-application

Features:

  • Multiple Gmail or Google Apps for Business accounts, easy switching between them
  • Gmail’s built in threaded conversations!
  • “TrueNew” message count badges show total unread counts and the number of new unread messages since you last opened Mailroom
  • Add To:, CC:, and BCC: recipients from either Google contacts or your native iPhone Contacts address book
  • Attachement viewer supports .pdf, .doc, .docx, .htm, .html, .pdf, .txt, .xls, .xlsx, .jpg, .tiff, .gif, .mp3, .aac, .mp4 files and more
  • Built-in web browser lets you view links in you email without leaving Mailroom
  • Built-in web browser will allow you to view links in Safari with the touch of a button

Grab yourself a copy of this iPhone application from iTunes, here or $2.99.

Windows Phone 7 Series

Go ahead and stare the user interface of the Windows Phone 7 Series deserves it. Thats the reaction we got at Mobile World Conference in Barcelona when we revealed this new holistic design system that brings together form and function based on key principles — informing every aspect of the phone. See what everyone is talking about by checking out this video..

I am still yet to see a phone that operates as well as the iPhone; I’ve had plenty of mobile devices in my life, hell, I even worked at a mobile development company, which owned hundreds of the devices, but nothing performs like an iPhone and I don’t think anything will for a very long time.

Nice try Microsoft :)

Sausage stylus for your iPhone

Alright, hypothetical situation. It’s cold outside, so cold that you don’t want to remove your gloves. You get an important text on your iPhone and need to respond immediately. You’re also in a huge hurry, thus you can’t stop anywhere warm to shoot off a quick response to your text. What do you do?

sausage-fingers

Obviously, you’re going to use one of the individually-wrapped sausages that you have in your coat pocket. Everyone knows that such meaty products are perfect substitutes for your own digits, so why not keep one in your pocket for emergency texting? I can’t seem to think of a single reason why that would be weird. Obviously the citizens of South Korea can’t either.

via

Don’t let iPhone radio waves melt your brain

Worried about radio waves from your phone melting your brain?

pong-iphone-case

The Pong Anti-Radiation iPhone Case ($60) is here to help. Designed for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, this unique accessory features an integrated Pong-developed Gold PCB module to redirect cellular radiation away from your head, while the silicone case protects your phone and ensures maximum signal strength thanks to its special silicone blend.

via | buy here

iPhone screen cracked

If this has happened to you..

iphone-screen-cracked

.. you’ll know that most places quote a fortune to get them fixed. Long story short, there’s a place called iFix, which will repair your iPhone screen for R1600.00 in Cape Town. They also have shops in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Hope this helps!