Mobile quit smoking service reaches SA

QuiText has launched its text message support programme in South Africa. Now smokers trying to give up will have no place to hide…

South Africans now have success to QuiText’s SMS support programme for smokers wanting to quit.

Smokers in South Africa today are facing unprecedented pressure to quit the habit from advertising and social peers and a gradual shift in global awareness. Many smokers have either tried to quit or want to, but many attempts end in failure due to busy lifestyles, lack of preparation or support. According to QuiText founder, Chris Jones, many people who want to quit are simply put off by authority telling them what to do all the time.

"As an ex-smoker, I can sympathise with what many smokers who want to quit are going through. It can be truly exhausting trying to rationalise why you continue to smoke in the face of overwhelming evidence that shows it's really a bad idea." Jones said.

"At QuiText we're trying to cut to the chase and provide a simple, optimistic approach to quitting which doesn't conjure up the feelings of dread many smokers feel when seriously considering giving up. It's about starting afresh and not looking back."

QuiText is based in Sydney and was founded in 2007. The QuiText website and text message service provides smokers with the motivation and support they need to quit smoking and embark on a smoke-free life.

For more information about QuiText, visit its website at www.quitext.com.

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A tiny player with a big sound- Sandisc Sansa Clip

SanDisk Corporation, the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, has introduced the colourful Sansa Clip, a tiny MP3 player that boasts an array of cool features, as well as distinctively big sound for its small size.

SanDisk Corporation, the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, has introduced the colorful Sansa Clip, a tiny MP3 player that boasts an array of cool features, as well as distinctively big sound for its small size.



Perfect for the fitness buff or traveler, the compact Sansa Clip comes with a fashionable clip for wearing, FM radio with recorder, microphone, long-lasting rechargeable battery and a bright screen for exceptionally easy navigation of tunes. The Sansa Clip is expected to be available at manufacturer's suggested retail prices of R699.00 for a 1 GB player and R999.00 for the 2GB unit.



"Don't let the Sansa Clip's size fool you," said Keith Washo, SanDisk retail product marketing manager for the Sansa Clip. "This tiny player packs a powerful, feature-rich punch. We're excited to bring music lovers a new, cool-looking player with great sound and audio offerings in a body that's smaller than a match box."



Consumers can also show off their style by choosing from an array of colors. The Sansa Clip comes in sleek black, candy apple red, hot pink and ice blue.



The Sansa Clip is loaded with exceptional features:

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Superior sound - one of the best sounding MP3 players on the market.
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A fashionable wearable clip for hands-free portability and effortless enjoyment of digital music on the go.
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Large, bright (OLED) screen with a simple user interface that makes it easy to choose playlists or songs sorted by title, artist, album, genre.
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FM tuner and recorder with 40 presets for listening to sports, tuning in at the gym or your favorite music station.
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Built-in microphone to record thoughts while exercising or on the go. Rechargeable battery with up to 15 hours of life2 - one of the most competitive battery performances for a MP3 player of its size on the market today.
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Solid state flash memory for skip-free playback of music

The Sansa Clip supports many music download and subscription services, including Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic and others. It's designed to work seamlessly with a wide range of popular music formats such as MP3, WAV, Audible (for audio books) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) in both unprotected and protected files (such as those WMA files purchased from music stores). The Sansa Clip can also play "DRM-free" MP3 downloads.


The player is expected to be available from retailers in the U.S. and Europe in September 2007, with other regions to follow shortly thereafter.

Source : http://www.gadget.co.za

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Gumba Gumba shares your music in bed or on the go

In South Africa it’s called a Gumba Gumba, township lingo for the Boombox. The portable player with big sound has been around for a long time, starting with the cassette tape, and then including a CD player. Now Philips has reinvented the boom box for the digital age, with their AZ1330D.

A while ago my trusty and somewhat dated bedside clock radio went up in smoke. This started me searching for a more up to date replacement. When I went looking, I could find some really good but very expensive alternatives. Much to my amazement, there were no simple, well-priced units of reasonable quality out there. A Tivoli unit was considered as the sound was great, but no alarm and the high price decided me against it.

And then, along came Philips with a new range of units, from sleek mini hi-fi to Boombox style units, all with alarm clocks, radios and, best of all, a dock for my iPod. The unit I favor is the AZ1330D.

More and more most of us are storing their music on our computers and using some type of iPod or MP 3 player for when we are on the move. So, simply put, all my favorite music is on my iPod and, being able to dock the iPod and listen when I want, where I want, is really useful.

The Philips unit has a built-in iPod dock, with adaptors for all iPods, both current and older, as well as a digital AM and FM radio, along with a CD player for those of us who still buy CDs. One useful feature: the CD player will play MP3s as well as Microsoft’s proprietary WMA format. So it’s a universal player if ever there was one. All of this is a sleek and fairly compact unit.

How does it fare on the Gadget 5-question User Test? Let’s take it for a run:
Is it ready to use?

The unit is well packaged with simple instructions. Plug it into the wall, select radio and you are ready to go. To insert the iPod, you need to find the correct adaptor from among the box of adaptors supplied. The instructions are clear but, like most men, I fiddled with the gadgetry until I found one that fitted my iPod.
Is it easy to use?

Once plugged in, use is really simple, as all controls are large and well marked. Operation is intuitive and simple, and the supplied remote works well. The unit uses 6 D cells to keep it portable, and again these are easy to install. The manual is a little dense but well numbered and logical, for those who read those things.
Does it deliver on its promise?

Gumba Gumba oh yes. Loud and clear, the Philips sounds good. It’s not audiophile quality, but really decent. It has bass boost for those that want big bass, and a relatively clear and honest sound. It does not play extremely loud without distorting, but is more than good enough for most of us. The radio performs well on FM, with good discrimination between close stations. On AM, for those who want it, it’s fine with little interference. The CD player and iPod dock operate as expected and make the unit really versatile.
Is it innovative?

The world is full of multipurpose iPod docks with radios and other features. A portable radio, CD, and dock is nothing really new. However, Philips has put together a high quality, logically set up, and well-specced unit that I enjoyed using. In short, not innovative, but a good example of blending new digital technology with useful features.
Is it value for money?

The street price is in the region of R1000. At this price, taking into account the features and the options, as well as the decent build and sound quality, I would say that this Philips unit is very good value for money. It sounds nearly as good as the expensive iPod dock’s out there and has some useful features that most don’t offer, such as the built-in CD player.

My search for a replacement bedroom radio alarm and music player has just ended. The Philips will replace my old smoking radio alarm, which will now retire after 20 some years of good service, and yes it was also a Philips.
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LGE launches Dual HD Player in SA

LG Electronics will be launching the “Super Multi Blue” dual-format, high definition disc player in South Africa during the third quarter of 2007. The disc player blends the latest technologies, offering unprecedented flexibility to consumers who seek the convenience of both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD content.

The advanced dual-format high-definition disc player, (BH100) has already been launched in the US market and is the world’s first player with the capability to play both next-generation disc formats, addressing the challenge of the current format war. The player is ideally suited to LG’s expanded lineup of Full HD 1080p plasma and LCD HDTVs, delivering the best video possible in the highest display resolution format.



“We have developed the Super Multi Blue Player to end the confusion caused by the current competition between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Customers are no longer forced to choose between the two formats,” said Charlie Kim, Product Manager, Digital Media, LGE South Africa. “As Full HD TV is already gaining significant ground, we are hoping that the Super Multi Blue Player will play the trigger role in expanding and advancing both Full HD TV and high-definition DVD market volume together.”



In addition to offering Full HD 1080p picture quality from high-definition discs, the player incorporates interactive functions based on BD-Java, which allows advanced menus and functions to be displayed over the video of Blu-ray discs. It is also capable of accessing and playing audio-video content from HD DVD discs in full HD resolution. Users will still be able to access LG’s software-based advanced menu for HD DVD. Regardless, the capability to play movies in both formats is a huge consumer benefit.



The introduction of the Super Multi Blue player will ultimately eliminate the end consumer confusion and hesitation in the high-definition disc marketplace. The LG unit supports various A/V formats, including MPEG-2, VC-1, H.264 video, MPEG1/2 audio, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital+, DTS and DTS-HD audio, and includes multiple inputs/outputs such as HDMI out, component / composite video outputs, and optical / coaxial / discrete 5.1 channel audio outputs, among others.



The unit incorporates elegant backlit touch sensor buttons along with an ergonomic remote control that gives the user command of the next-generation home entertainment experience.
Source :http://www.gadget.co.za

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Richard Branson foreword

The patience of the cellphone networks’ customer is being tested, says Sir Richard Branson in his foreword to Arthur Goldstuck’s latest guide to the hi-tech world, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Going Mobile, launched this month.





Arthur Goldstuck, founder and editor-in-chief of Gadget, has released his latest guide to the hi-tech world, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Going Mobile. The book follows in the tradition of his previous books in demystifying an increasingly complex world, and includes a foreword by Sir Richard Branson, head of the Virgin empire.

In this case, it is the world of the cell phone, the laptop computer and all the wireless connectivity options that connect the two with the rest of the world. Goldstuck highlights the extent to which the cellphone has changed our lives, yet keep becoming more and more complicated to use.



He says in his introduction, “The humble cellphone was easy to use in the beginning, but it has evolved in the opposite direction to that of the Internet. It has become the ‘smartphone’, which really means that you have to be pretty smart to get it to operate in a smart way. Or at least, you need to be pretty patient.”



The same applies to dealing with the networks, on whom we depend for our communications lives.



As Sir Richard Branson says in the foreword to the book, “Every second South African has been able to become a cell phone user despite all the odds and despite even the most optimistic forecasts not anticipating such widespread uptake. And despite numerous obstacles, ordinary South Africans have found a way to make the mobile world work for them.”



Branson continues, however, to say that “The complaints and protests that have come from so many sources should long ago have been a warning signal to the industry that the customer’s patience is being tested. What has worked until now is not going to work as well in the future. Because the customer knows: there is always a better way.”



Goldstuck’s book is geared towards showing users of mobile technologies just how to achieve that better way, with guidelines on how to choose phones and laptops, how to set up wireless networks at home and in small offices, and a directory of WiFi hotspots around the country – including a listing of free hotspots, where laptop users can connect to the Internet at high speed at no charge.



Mobility 2006, the research project that Goldstuck led for his company, World Wide Worx (http://www.therworx.biz), informed much of this book, by provided him with a broad understanding of the needs, expectations and experience of South African businesses and individuals, as they attempt to go mobile.



Funded by First National Bank, Virgin Mobile and Verizon Business, Mobility 2006 confirmed what many have suspected for a long time: South Africans do want the latest communications technology, but not for its own sake. It must offer them an easy, convenient route to their destination, and the destination is effective and efficient communications. This book aims to provide a roadmap to help reach that destination.
Source :http://www.gadget.co.za

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iPhone Madness Hits US after Gadget Launch

The Apple iPhone, the most-anticipated gadget debut in years, went on sale Friday in the United States, with thousands of impatient buyers streaming into stores.

In the five months since Jobs announced Apple's move into the mobile phone business, the iPhone has become the most widely-anticipated product launch in recent memory.

The phones, which retail for USD 499 for 4 gigabytes of storage or USD 599 for 8 gigabytes of storage, meld a phone, Web browser and media player.

Apple, which was to begin selling the phone online late Friday, has said shoppers will be limited to two devices apiece. AT&T, the exclusive carrier, plans to sell one iPhone per customer and at company stores only.
Source :http://www.novinite.com

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Apple iPhone launch draws gadget geeks, hired help

Kristian Gundersen flew from Norway to New York to be among the first people to buy Apple's media-playing iPhone. He described the day as one of the best of his life.

"It's a dream come true. ... It's Christmas, birthday, New Year's all rolled into one," said the 23-year-old graphic designer who lined up for nearly 12 hours to buy the music and video playing phone.

"I'm a Mac addict," he said, referring to Apple Inc.'s trademark computers. "I got on a 10-hour line for the 'Lord of the Rings' (movie), but it is nothing compared to this. This is a historic event."

Gundersen was among several thousand people who lined up -- some for up to five days -- outside U.S. Apple stores and outlets of AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier for the next two years. Stores opened at 6 p.m. local time in each U.S. time zone.

The iPhone melds a phone, Web browser and media player and costs $500 or $600, depending on the amount of memory.

Technology gurus have praised the gadget as a "breakthrough", but questioned whether people would be put off by its use of a smooth touch-screen instead of a keyboard, and its relatively slow Internet connection.

Albert Livingstone's wife thought he was crazy for lining up overnight in Chicago outside the Apple store.

"It's the newest toy. I'm 62 -- I don't have much time left to buy toys," said Livingstone, who stood in line with his friend Mark Stevenson, 50. They rented a room across the street and took turns to sleep.

But not everyone could understand the excitement.

"It's just a phone!" a San Francisco construction worker, driving by the Apple store in his pick-up truck, yelled at the waiting crowd.

Despite a limit of two iPhones per person, Grant Johnson, 41, managed to get his hands on three when the doors opened at the Apple store on New York's Fifth Avenue. He had asked a girl in front of him to buy an extra one.

"I'm keeping one and selling the other two, I'm trying to get $1200 for them," said Johnson, who had queued up for 25 hours. "I haven't slept in a day and a half," he said. "I need a nice hot shower and a bath."

"WE STINK"

On a mild summer's day in Chicago, 50-year-old business consultant James Budd joined the line at dawn to buy an iPhone for himself and for his 95-year-old grandmother because he hoped it would be "simple enough" for her to use.

But other high-flying professionals who couldn't escape work paid others to do it for them.

A tongue-in-cheek Citigroup research note on Apple even gave tips on how "to obtain an iPhone ASAP on Friday," advising clients to "send whoever is the newest and most junior at your firm to stand in line."

Young entrepreneurs sought to make a quick buck.

In Walnut Creek, California, a group of college students arrived at the Apple store at dawn on Wednesday to nab the first 10 spots to sell on Web site www.iwait.org.

"We're exhausted, we're having trouble speaking -- and we stink," said 18-year-old organizer Josh May.

Terry Austin, a 23-year-old New Yorker, waited in line for 27 hours outside Apple in New York.

"I feel good, it was fun," he said when he walked out clutching his purchase. When asked if it was worth it, he answered: "We'll find out."
Source :http://in.today.reuters.com/

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Sony Ericsson's iPod nano nobbler?

Today's onslaught of slick Sony Ericsson phones continues, with this monster 8GB Walkman phone squaring up to Apple's top-end nano in the storage stakes.

A beast of a blower, the new W960 isn't holding back memory-wise, with enough space to crowbar in a serious portion of your digital music collection - you're looking at around 700 albums if you encode your tunes in the eAAC+ format. Plus, Sony Ericsson is ensuring it's a slick experience, by chucking in a big-boy 2.6-inch touchscreen, enabling you to use your finger or the stylus to flick through album art as well as perform more old fashioned searches.

3G equipped and Wi-Fi'd up to the eyeballs, the W960 is an online maestro, encouraging you to access music and media online. It's no slouch on the imaging and movie fronts either, boasting an impressive 3.2-megapixel shooter and able to playback video at a super smooth 30 frames per second.
Source : http://gadgetshow.five.tv

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King of Cyber-shot callers

Sony Ericsson has unveiled its most striking and serious camera phone yet, in the form of the snaptastic K850 Cyber-shot mobile.

Set to shoot onto UK shelves in the Autumn, this smartly green-flecked Cyber-shot phone is packing a jumbo 5-megapixel digital camera. Like it's lesser-megapixelled sibling, the K810i, it's equipped with zippy auto-focus skills and a Xenon flash. Plus, it's packing all the old favourites functions-wise, including Sony Ericsson's slick BestPic talent, which cleverly starts taking shots before you hit the shutter (while you're auto-focussing, it's not magic), and takes a series of pics after you

hit the button, enabling you to select from a series of nine shots.

It promises to be fast on the draw too - tap the camera button and the lens cover automatically whips open, ready to shoot.

The K850 is HSDPA equipped, meaning faster online access verging on broadband speeds, so you can access your favourite photo sharing site in a blink. Uploading your pics straight to the web is simple too, and doesn't take too long via standard 3G upload speeds.

Stay tuned for the first review, coming soon.
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Eyes wider open

Samsung has wheeled a whopping 70-inch high-def LCD into the frame, packing some enlightening telly talents.

This beast of a big-screen has just hit shops over in South Korea, making it one of the world's largest commercially available LCD goliaths. Word has it the 70-incher could be stomping its way onto UK shores, although no official announcement just yet. Here's hoping.

Sure, its super-size dimensions put it on the global map, but Samsung's titan telly promises to be equally as impressive in the picture quality stakes. Its guts are loaded with the latest image enhancement tech, including an LED backlight with a smart 'local dimming' feature that basically means it automatically turns off dark image areas to create an awesome amount of contrast to create a more realistic and dynamic picture. Stat fans, we're taking a contrast ratio of 500,000:1 - put that in context, the latest and greatest sets are pumping out around 20,000:1. Of course, it's not going to be (one sec, while we get the calculator), er, 25-times better by any means, as unfortunately it ain't that simple, but it should spit out a fantastically deep and vivid picture nonetheless. You just might need to get a flip-top house to fit it in your lounge.

Using an LED backlight also means its more energy efficient and eco friendly, so bravo to the big fella.
Source :http://gadgetshow.five.tv

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Bluetooth b-boy headphones

Nokia has stepped into the circle with a jumbo pair of music-focussed wireless cans.

Not merely a dab-hand cooking up killer phones, Nokia has turned its talents to Hi-Fi headphones in the shape of these burly Bluetooth ear goggles. Designed for wireless music, the BH-604 headset encases your ears with padded cups for more immersive sonics, and lets you remotely control your mobile's built-in music player via its embedded media keys. Plus, just as with regular ear-clip headsets you can answer incoming calls with a single jab.

Design-wise they're not too shabby either, definitely borrowing some style cues from Nokia's chunky Xpress Music handsets, what with that robust over-the-head frame, simple lines and over-sized buttons.

We care because...
Bluetooth hi-fi headphones, that's slick for tunes or just answering calls.

We want one...
UK launch TBC
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Haptic Clock Tells You the Time via Vibrations

If you ditched your watch because you carry a phone around with a built-in clock, but are sick of pulling your phone out every time you want to check the time, you should check out this Haptic Clock. It's a small program for Java phones that tells you the time through a series of vibrations, allowing you to keep your phone in your pocket.

Simply reach in your pocket and hit the 5 key to get it to tell you the time. How does it tell it to you?


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Sexy Lingerie Cellphone Strap

If there's one thing we never thought would be a cellphone strap, it would be lingerie. Well, never count out a horny Japanese businessman, we suppose.

For about $9, you can get your own bra or panties to attach to your cellphone. It's just a gimmick, and it's tiny, so it's probably the only lingerie your wife will permit you to have that doesn't belong to her. Unless, of course, you've been fucking a midget on the side

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Transformers Plushies That Actually Transform

This is something we didn't expect. Unlike Optimus Prime, these Transformer gadgets and a crazy Hong Kong man, these transformers plushies don't cut you up when you rub your face on them. If the cartoons in the '80s taught us anything, it's that robot aliens from another galaxy enjoy being used to prop up a woman's ass during intercourse

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USB Ass Cooler 2007 Edition

Thanko's usually known for their heating gadgets, but cooling's just heating in reverse. In the case of this USB ass cooler 2007 edition, Thanko's improved on the 2006 edition by making it black and, uh, we're not sure what else.

Still no clue whether they solved that fart potential blowing up into your face problem though

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Wireless Gadget Charger Coming Next Month

Wireless technology sure is hot right now. As customers and companies realize how well WiFi and Bluetooth work, people start asking why we need pesky wires and cables at all. Well, until those MIT scientists figure that whole wireless electricity thing out, we've got to deal with interim solutions, like wireless gadget charging. At least this tech isn't years away; in fact, we don't even have to wait another month.

Arizona-based WildCharge says they'll begin selling their WildCharger on July 7, and if works as advertised, it'll be a must-have for most gadget lovers. Essentially, it's a small mat that plugs into an outlet and charges any WildCharge-enabled gadget that's placed on it, be it a phone, mp3 player or handheld gaming device. How do you make your devices WildCharge-enabled? Well, for now, you buy an adapter. But if this technology catches on, the hope is that companies will start selling gadgets with this capability built in. Imagine coming home at night and just dropping your phone and iPod on the table; when you rush out the door the next morning, just pick them up, and they're fully charged. You get the idea. It couldn't be much more convenient.

No details about price yet, and the website doesn't even have pictures of what the adapters look like, but stay tuned to Gearlog. When we know more, so will you.
Source :http://www.gearlog.com

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ATI's Mid-tier Cards Bring HDMI and 1080p Support

ATI's new Radeon HD 2400 and HD 2600 cards are hitting the streets today, bringing DirectX 10 and 1080p support to your desktop. The cards, which are clocked from 525MHz to 800MHz, range in price from $99 to $199. They also pack ATI's Unified Video Decoder, which helps decode high-def 1080p video. The cards are out now and will soon be available on pre-configured systems. Price-wise, they're not a bad way to give your system's graphics a kick.


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Camera-phone pioneer considers gadget’s impact

The chilling sounds of gunfire on the Virginia Tech campus; the hateful taunts from Saddam Hussein’s execution; the racist tirade of comedian Michael Richards.

Those videos, all shot with cell-phone cameras and seen by millions, are just a few recent examples of the power now at the fingertips of the masses. Even the man widely credited with inventing the camera phone in 1997 is awed by the cultural revolution he helped launch.

“It’s had a massive impact because it’s just so convenient,” said Philippe Kahn, a tech industry maverick whose other pioneering efforts include the founding of software maker Borland, an early Microsoft Corp. antagonist.

“There’s always a way to capture memories and share it,” he said. “You go to a restaurant, and there’s a birthday and suddenly everyone is getting their camera phones out. It’s amazing.”

If Kahn feels a bit like a proud father when he sees people holding up their cell phones to snap pictures, there’s good reason: He jury-rigged the first camera phone while his wife was in labor with their daughter.

“We were going to have a baby, and I wanted to share the pictures with family and friends,” Kahn said, “and there was no easy way to do it.”

So as he sat in a maternity ward, he wrote a crude program on his laptop and sent an assistant to a RadioShack store to get a soldering iron, capacitors and other supplies to wire his digital camera to his cell phone. When Sophie was born, he sent her photo over a cellular connection to acquaintances around the globe.

A decade later, 41 percent of American households own a camera phone “and you can hardly find a phone without a camera anymore,” said Michael Cai, an industry analyst at Parks Associates.

Market researcher Gartner Inc. predicts that about 589 million cell phones will be sold with cameras in 2007, increasing to more than 1 billion worldwide by 2010.

Mix in the Internet’s vast reach and the growth of the YouTube generation, and the ubiquitous gadget’s influence only deepens and gets more complicated – so much so that the watchful eyes on all of us may no longer just be those of Big Brother.

For the past decade, we’ve been under surveillance under these big black-and-white cameras on buildings and at 7-Eleven stores. But the candid camera is wielded by individuals now,” said Fred Turner, an assistant professor of communications at Stanford University who specializes in digital media and culture.

The contraption Kahn assembled in a Santa Cruz labor-and-delivery room in 1997 has evolved into a pocket-friendly phenomenon that has empowered both citizen journalists and personal paparazzi.

It has prompted lawsuits – a student sued campus police at UCLA for alleged excessive force after officers were caught on cell-phone video using a stun gun during his arrest; and been a catalyst for change – a government inquiry into police practices ensued in Malaysia after a cell-phone video revealed a woman detainee being forced to do squats while naked.

On another scale, parents use cell-phone slideshows – not wallet photos – to show off pictures of their children, while adolescents document their rites of passage with cell-phone cameras and instantly share the images.

One of the recipients of Kahn’s seminal photo e-mail was veteran technology consultant Andy Seybold, who recalled being “blown away” by the picture.
“The fact that it got sent wirelessly on the networks those days – that was an amazing feat,” Seybold said.

Kahn’s makeshift photo-communications system formed the basis for a new company, LightSurf Technologies, which he later sold to VeriSign Inc. LightSurf built “PictureMail” software and worked with cell-phone makers to integrate the wireless photo technology.

Sharp Corp. was the first to sell a commercial cell phone with a camera in Japan in 2000. Camera phones didn’t debut in the U.S. until 2002, Kahn said.

Though Kahn’s work revolved around transmitting only digital still photographs – video-related developments were created by others in the imaging and chip industries – his groundbreaking implementation of the instant-sharing via a cell phone planted a seed.

“He facilitated people putting cameras in a phone, and he proved that you can take a photo and send it to someone with a cell phone,” Seybold said.

Kahn, 55, is well aware of how the camera phone has since been put to negative uses: sneaky shots up women’s skirts, or the violent trend of “happy slapping” in Europe where youths provoke a fight or assault, capture the incident on camera and then spread the images on the Web or between mobile phones.

But he likes to focus on the technology’s benefits. It’s been a handy tool that has led to vindication for victims or validation for vigilantes.

As Kahn heard the smattering of stories in recent years about assailants scared off by a camera phone or criminals who were nabbed later because their faces or their license plates were captured on the gadget, he said, “I started feeling it was better than carrying a gun.”

And though he found the camera-phone video of the former Iraqi dictator’s execution disturbing, Kahn said the gadget helped “get the truth out.” The unofficial footage surreptitiously taken by a guard was vastly different from the government-issued version and revealed a chaotic scene with angry exchanges depicting the ongoing problems between the nation’s factions.

Kahn also thinks the evolution of the camera phone has only just begun.

He wouldn’t discuss details of his newest startup, Fullpower Technologies Inc., which is in stealth mode working on the “convergence of life sciences and wireless,” according to its Web site.

But, Kahn said, it will, among other things, “help make camera phones better.”
Source :http://www.nashuatelegraph.com

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The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Amp'd Mobile filed for Chapter 11 late Friday night.

I'm not all that surprised, especially given the crazy amounts they've spent on advertising when compared to their relatively low 200,000 subscriber count. Was their mobile multimedia focus ahead of its time, or just not in line with consumer tastes?


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Apple TV Getting AT&T IPTV? We're Skeptical

Engadget's got a tip from one of their sources that AT&T and Apple are working together to embed IPTV capabilities into the Apple TV by 2008. We're skeptical.

Apple TV? Not doing so hot. IPTV? Not doing so hot. Apple TV and IPTV together? What makes you think that this will be hot?
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