Consumers Turn To Prepaid Phones In Economic Downturn

According to the New York Times more and more consumers are dumping their cellular phone plans for prepaid phones in order to save a few dollars. "Although prepaid phones remain a fraction of the overall mobile phone market, sales of the category grew 13 percent in North America last year, nearly three times faster than traditional cellphone plans, according to Pali Research, an investment advisory firm. For the first time in its history, T-Mobile has been signing up more new prepaid customers than traditional ones." Depending on your calling habits, prepaid phones might very well be the way to go, they certainly take the element of surprise out of the billing and can save you considerable compared to what you'd pay over the life of a phone contract.

Cellular Systems To Take Hit During Inauguration

With throngs of people descending upon the US capital for a chance to see the Inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama, cellphone carriers are urging their customers to go easy on the system by delaying making calls, sending photos or text messages. “If some of these estimates come true, people should anticipate delays with regards to sending text messages or making phone calls or getting onto the Internet,” said Joe Farren, spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. “We can only bend the laws of physics so much,” Mr. Farren said. Sort of sounds like a Scotty remark to Captain Kirk!

Interestingly, Verizon has several mobile units known as COWs and COLTs (for cells on wheels and cells on light trucks) in it's inventory that it plans to deploy to alliviate some of the anticipated strain on it's system. Carriers also have “sat COLTs,” which carry satellite dishes to send signals independent of terrestrial networks and power supplies. “You drive it where it needs to go, park it, push a couple of buttons, the mast will deploy, the dish will deploy and our generator and satellite ensures we’re fully self-contained and independent,” said Tanya Lin, manager of emergency response team operations for Sprint.

Source: NYTimes

Radiation And Your Cell Phone

The jury is still out it seems on the affects of using a cell phone and / or any links that this may have with brain tumors or other ailments. If you are concerned then you may wish to consult this handy reference guide to cell phones and the amounts of radiation that they emit. CNET has compiled a list of phones by 10 Highest US Models, 10 Lowest US Models, and a run down by manufacturer. Fear not, if you are looking for the iPhone on the list it's grouped under Other Manufacturers. Oh, and CNET has the following to say about how you should interpret their publishing of the lists: " It's important to note that in publishing this list are we in no way implying that cell phone use is or isn't harmful to your health. While research abounds and some tests have shown that cell phone radiofrequency (RF) could accelerate cancer in laboratory animals, the studies have not been replicated. Cell phones can affect internal pacemakers, but there is not conclusive or demonstrated evidence that they cause adverse health affects in humans. Conversely, there is not conclusive or demonstrated evidence that they don't cause adverse health affects in humans. So, in short, the jury is still out, research is ongoing, and we will continue to monitor its results."

Vital signs collected and transmitted by your cellphone!

Researchers in Edmonton, Alberta are teaming up with cellphone maker LG Electronics to test a new device that can detect a patients temperature, pulse, and blood pressure and transmit the data via cellphone. Plans are to build the device into a cellphone and include further vital signs such as glucose levels and other blood chemistry readings. According to the CBC, "the device could help people with conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, that require frequent home-care monitoring, as well as seniors or patients who live in rural areas." The Province of Alberta is committing $1.5 million to the joint project by LG, Capital Health and the University of Alberta. It just makes good sense to collect this data at home using a single device and the infrastructure that is now in place to support it. The only negative that I see in the remote monitoring of patients is the inability to see physical changes in those being monitored, in particular the elderly. I'm sure regular visits to or by a health professional are also part of the program, it would be a mistake to rely completely on the technology... in my mind.

RIM opens BlackBerry Store

Research In Motion has opened it's first BlackBerry branded store in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The Waterloo Ontario based cellphone producers plans to sell BlackBerry handsets, accessories and software, as well as service plans from all the major U.S. providers. The move is not unique to the industry but it's a growing trend that has the providers taking notice. "If you're Verizon and you're carrying the BlackBerry today, when you see one of these exclusive stores, obviously you're not going to be too thrilled about that," said retail consultant David Ian Gray in a National Post interview. According to the CBC "RIM is said to be earning around $10 per BlackBerry customer from Canadian cellphone providers" perhaps this is why the move was made in the US and not home in Canada?

$85,000 Cellphone bill in a little over a month!

A 22 year old Calgary, Alberta man got the surprise of a lifetime when he found out that he owed Bell Mobility $85,000 in data charges on his new cellphone plan! The Globe and Mail has this story which highlights the need to read the fine print... it seems that Piotr Staniaszek believed he could use his cellphone as a modem with his $10 a month unlimited mobile browser plan when in fact he was being charged by the kilobyte. Bell offered to reduce his bill to $3,243 which reflects the rate that he would have to pay under the terms of their best data plan but Mr. Staniaszek has decided to fight the charge. That's a heck of a lot of bit torrents! Interestingly an unlimited data plan from US carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. would cost about $70.19 a month according to the article.

Japanese cellphone maker targets kids & parents with alarm and phone home features

Japanese cellphone maker NTT DoCoMo has developed a cellphone that features an alarm and location identification that will alert a parent, or whomever, that a child is in trouble and will forward the location of the phone via messaging. According to the CBC "The FOMA F801i produces two types of alternating noises when its alarm function is switched on, as well as emitting a bright light that is visible to nearby onlookers. The phone can be set to notify loved ones when the alarm is set off, as well as provide the handset's location, DoCoMo said Monday." It appears as though there are mixed feelings about such a device in Japan... one reviewer asks "Are you seriously thinking of the well-being of our kids, like my daughter, with this kind of product, or are you just trying hard to generate more money..."

Europeans dropping the land lines, many homes use mobile phone only

According to this report on the BBC News site article, Europeans are shedding their land lines in favour of their cell phones. The statistics are quite interesting, in particular the number of cell phones per 100 persons... the EU average is 95 but Luxembourg leads the way with 158 mobile subscriptions per 100 people! "Lithuania heads the nations who have turned against landlines with 48% of households replacing a fixed phone with a mobile. Finland was second with 47%." I'd really be interested to see what the numbers look like in Asia! I'll bet they are even more in favour of the mobile, on a trip to Hong Kong in 2000 I was amazed by how many people I saw carrying two cell phones!

Lightning strikes intensified by mp3 players

Both the Globe and Mail and the CBC are running this story and the main message is don't listen to your mp3 player outdoors during a lightning storm. The doctors are not necessarily saying that the devices, including cell phones and pagers, attract the lightning strike but rather the affect, on your body, of a strike nearby will be intensified by the metal in the devices and could cause greater injury. It is also noted that change in your pocket will have the same unwanted affect, but even so it's probably just good practice to put the devices safely away and head indoors if possible. The consequences chronicled in the news articles above sound rather unpleasant.

iPhone battery praise

In a move to either promote the upcoming iPhone release, just ten days away, or to quell any questions about the highly anticipated device's battery life, Apple has released a statement on it's web site that boasts the longevity of the iPhone's battery charge. Apple's device, according to the manufacturer, outlasts it's competitors by 2 times. A chart on the site compares the iPhone to the Nokia N95, Samsung Blackjack, Blackberry Curve 8300, and Palm Treo 750. Besides battery life they compare screen size, display surface and Wi-Fi support. Some reports have stated that Apple has already received a million inquiries for the device and apparently one desperate consumer has offered $10,000 on Craigslist for the device. The iPhone hits the street in the U.S. on June 29th, no release date available for Canada yet.

Leopards lured by ringtones

According to this CNN/Reuters story, forest guards in India are employing new methods to trap leopards who wander too close to villages. The resourceful guards are placing cell phones in cages and playing ringtones of cows mooing, goats bleating, and roosters crowing to lure the animals into their trap. So far 5 leopards have been caught and reintroduced to the wild, safely away from humans. The method is being heralded for its safety to the animals involved as the previous method involved live bait and covered pits that obviously put the bait at risk and the leopards in jeopardy from the fall. The question is, are the leopards fooled by the ringtone or are they just annoyed by the cellphone interrupting their meal?

Crackberry generation

Are we all becoming addicted to technology? This CBC article asks "Are cellphones and the internet rewiring our brains?". I know that I, for one, have multiple e-mail accounts for different purposes and at least a few of them are checked obsessively! This is an interesting read...

Ads on your cell phone

Is nothing sacred? Looks like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL are lining up to serve us ads on our cell phones. With a number of start up purchases and some home grown applications the big guys are seeing big bucks in our small screens. Business 2.0 has the story here.

De-vice

It appears as though school boards everywhere are facing new challenges in their efforts to thwart cheats, and have been developing policies to ban or at least control the use of electronic devices in the classroom. One would expect those who are inclined to take the easy way out to quickly grasp the concept of texting but the little cheats are apparently more creative than I would have given them credit for... apparently some have taken to recording notes on their mp3 players and hiding their ear buds in the sleeve of their hoodies, placing their hand near their ear to listen to recording at the appropriate time. Even more ingenious is the use of the mp3 files tags to hide notes in a songs data for display on the screen... now that's using your brain! If only they would put those brains to good use and do a little studying.

News Release - Eastern School District - April 19, 2007 (pdf)

CNN article