Positive Technology Journal

researchers at Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) have developed a mobile application, called Magitti, that uses a combination of cues - including the time of day, a person's location, her past behaviors, and even her text messages - to infer her interests. It then shows a helpful list of suggestions, including concerts, movies, bookstores, and restaurants

http://www.news.com/2300-1039_3-6210534-1.html

Via Textually.org

a Bang & Olufsen's music phone, called Serenata.

"The phone can store up to 1,000 MP3 tracks in its 4GB, plus 25MB of memory, and can handle AAC and WMA audio tracks too. The phone's high resolution also enables it to display album artwork, B&O says."

As with any Bang & Olufsen product, style is the watchword here. Inhouse designer David Lewis said his inspiration came from the smooth pebbles he used to see on seaside walks as a child. The result is a smooth, horseshoe-shaped phone with a clickwheel at the top. This is paired with a 'sensi-touch' 2.4-inch colour screen below."

Link 

Via Textually.org (Gizmodo)

"a cellphone concept design by Peter Lau enables blind users to easily dial numbers and make calls. It doesn't rely on Braille, but instead has differently angled keys that users can learn to recognize".

Microvision announced that they have signed an agreement with Motorola to put their PicoP projector into future Motorola products. The PicoP is an ultra-miniature laser based display that enables a "big screen" viewing experience from mobile devices.

By projecting content displayed on the device screen onto a wall, object or even a curved surface, mobile users could easily share Websites or multimedia applications such as movies, personal videos, mobile TV, photographs and presentations with friends or business colleagues.

Press Release [Microvision]

Global mobile phone use to hit record 3.25 billion ( i.e. half world population )

From Textually.org

The Cell Freak reports on a cell phone experiment by 27 year-old Luke Johnson from Arizona, solliciting calls to his cellphone through a video published on YouTube.

 

"The idea is to find out how many people will call me if I post my cell phone on the Internet for the whole world to see. Call my cell phone. I don't care why you call or what you say. .. Meanwhile, I'm going to keep track of how many calls I receive to find out how many strangers will call someone they've never met before in their entire life."

So far 11,914 people have taken Luke Johnson up on his offer, some from as far away as Japan, Thailand, and South Africa and and his social project has been picked up by CNN.

Re-blogged from Textually.org (via Yanko Design)

A wearable mobile device for enhanced chatting, by Designer Sunman Kwo.

"A new wearable device that anyone can communicate with that is easier and lighter in mobile circumstances corresponding to the 3.5G, 4G communication standard. Human hand is the most basic communication method.

For easier and simpler controls, it uses the instinctive input method "finger joint". Excluding the thumb, each finger joint makes up twelve buttons, with "the knuckle button", using the cell phone's 3X4 keypad, likely being the most popular input method."

breathtaking :-@

Engadget Gizmodo

Via Textually.org  [Tokyomango]

A breathalyer from Japan.

From Textually.org (via Designboom) 

Yang Shi Wei and Shawn Wein Shin from Taiwan have designed "Talking Space", a lampshade that creates a space to close off voice during phone conversations

In the designers' own words:

People enjoy the feeling at party. We always hear much sound about laugh, games, music or play... It's good!! Let we relax and excite. Everything is fine. Playing with your friend. But now, your phone is ringing. It maybe tells an important message to you. Can you talk with the other side on noisy place? You need to leave, and try to find another place to close off voice. Going to outside ?! It's just one of way to solve problems. Have another way?

Re-blogged from Pink Tentacle

Oki Electric announced the development of iris recognition technology for camera-equipped mobile phones. Unlike Oki’s previous iris recognition technology that relies on infrared cameras for the iris scan, the new technology uses ordinary cellphone cameras. With plans to make the technology commercially available in March 2007, Oki hopes to boost the security of cellphone payment systems. According to Oki, any camera-equipped cellphone or PDA can perform iris recognition once the special software is installed. Identification accuracy is said to be high, with only 1 in 100,000 scans resulting in error, and the system can tell the difference between flesh-and-blood eyes and photographs.

From Textually.org

According to Tokyomanga, "Japan's Ministry of Health just launched a major collaborative effort with 10+ companies and research institutes to create highly exportable, high-tech devices for people with hearing and vision disabilities, including one that will instantly translate spoken words into cell phone text messages for the hearing impaired"