SMS Weblogs / Textually / 2003 / 08

I'm guest blogging on Smart Mobs for a couple of week

According to a new survey of the

Most spam articles related to cell phones focus on unsollicited text messages being sent to users, but an interesting article by Ross Rubin for Wireless Ziff Davis looks at another hasard, checking your mail on your wireless devic

Officials at Fife Council Scotland are hailing as a success, an experiment in which tenants behind on their rent payments were sent reminders by text messaging, according to the BB

Push-to-talk (PTT) could be the biggest upgrade to mobile phones since wireless service first became affordable a decade ago, according to Mike Langberg for the Silicon Valle

Mobile Tracker reports on what could be the next big thing in cellular networks—modified balloons that double as cell tower

The BBC’s Watchdog programme made history this week, becoming the first British television programme to gauge public opinion by text messag

The spread of rumours of arrests by pagers and text messaging following the riots that rocked Mumbai on Monday has become a matter of concern for the Indian polic

The BBC covering The Game Developers Conference Europe in London, describes some of the mobile games being showcased, with insights into the sort of things keeping Japanese thumbs bus

Setting its eyes on India's growing mobile phone user base, China's largest mobile phone manufacturer, Bird, today entered the Indian market with the introduction of four cellular handset models, according to Mid Da

According to Per Helmersen, Senior Research Psychologist at Telenor, Norway's two MMS service providers, MMS use has exploded in Norway this Summer - 160,000 messages in May, 550,000 in June and

The new Nokia 2300 launched yesterday at events in Moscow, Russia, and New Delhi, India is the first Nokia phone to enable users to filter out junk text messages from unwanted number

Soon, you will be able to detect if the person you are talking to on your mobile phone is telling the truth or no

A Brazilian telephone company is offering a helping hand to Latin lovers who are lacking inspiration with animations of sexual positions based on the Kama Sutra flashed directly to their mobile phone

Amongst the recommendations made to Palestinian militants forced to go deeper underground after Israel has warned that they are marked for death: shaving off their beards, slipping into women's robes and turning off their cell phones, reports Charleston Ne

James on MMS Memo, publishes a (rare and baffling) negative review of Nokia's N-Gage which he received in a newsletter, the author of which James feels, has missed the point that that online ubiquitous gaming is in fact - nothing short of a revolutio

Mobile gaming is seen by many as the next big thing, as phones become more powerful and come with colour screens, according to speakers at the Game Developers Conference Europe on in London this wee

After enabling viewers to vote by SMS in immensely popular programs such as Pop Idol, Fame Academy and Big Brother, the next step in interactive gaming will allow viewers to shoot, kick or punch other people on screen over a mobile handset, reports the BB

There are two million diabetics in France, of whom 10 percent have type 1 diabete

Just as travellers thought that cell phones had finally saved them from outrageous phone rates when staying in a hotel, The Daily Record exposes a mobile phone jamming scam in Scotlan

This appears to be the first case of extortion by text messagin

The excellent TheFeatur

The Yankee Group report entitled "Latin American Handset Market in Transition" predicts handset sales will reach annual sales of 22 million new units by 200

US Senator Charles

While society relentlessly pulled families apart during the past century, new technologies are binding us together again in this on

Mobile services provider Vodafone claims it is providing a "first" to Dutch mobile users in offering SMS and MMS interoperability with all three other Dutch mobile operator

In a rare accident in Amsterdam last week, a mobile phone exploded in a woman's face causing burns to her face and nec

James on MMS Memo, shares his experience of playing chess with a real person in Italy, on his Nokia 365

Upwardly mobile China added nearly five million new cellphone users in July, taking its total to 23

During last week's massive power blackout in the Eastern US, mobile phone service was unavailable for many -- but according to this article, text messsage services remained largely functional:

"Even when phone calls fail to get through, text messages can make their way over the network

Tech design guru Jakob Nielsen's latest column, Mobile Devices: One Generation From Useful, explores usability factors in mobile devices:

New mobile devices show a huge improvement over previous generations, but they're still not good enough to score a real wi

British mobile services company Inspire Infrastructure just announced the launch of a new SMS directory service touted as the cheapest and most reliable way for mobile users to get a number from directory inquirie

Dutch police freed a Canadian woman kidnapped in the Netherlands when she texted a call for help to a friend, according to this AP story:

"'After receiving the message the friend went to the Canadian police who in turn informed international police organisation Interpol (and they) sent a fax to the police on Monday,' said Carel Bouman, spokesman for police in the southern Dutch town of Tilbur

On Techdirt Wireless today:

"Korean engineers have created better microphones to pick up whisperin

The Netherlands brings us the first MMS Soap, Jong-Zuid, starring famous soap opera actor

All it takes is a smuggled cell phone or a friendly warden for gangsters lodged in jails to continue with their criminal activities, reports the Dehli Newslin

X-Cube Cor

A no-frills Malaysian airline has launched the world's first SMS ticket booking service, and reportedly plans to expand the service to 10 million mobile device users:

"AirAsia chairman Pahamin Rajab said the move followed its success with its Internet ticketing service, which recorded over 80 million ringgit ($21 million) in sales since May last yea

According to this BBC story, many Chinese people consider the number eight to be lucky, because in Cantonese, it sounds like the word for "get ric

This Associated Press story estimates that up to

I wrote an article for Wired News about SIPphones, the latest venture from serial entrepreneur Michael Robertson (MP

In Kenya, a court has sentenced two men to death by hanging after finding them guilty of stealing a cellphone:

"John King'ori Wachira, alias Manga, and John Maina Mwangi, alias Blackie were found guilty last week of breaking into a home, terrorizing the owner and stealing a mobile phone and about US$7 in cas

LA Times article on the impact of SMS and other forms of mobile messaging on opening weekend box office receipts for major feature films:

"Fatima Bholat stepped into the summer sunshine, fresh from the darkened theater where she'd just seen "The Hul

The LA Times looks at how word of mouth has long been an element in a film's success or failur

Two of Scotland’s top technology entrepreneurs, Kevin Bradshaw and Jim Woods, will launch the world’s first publishing house for mobile phone games on Monday, called Rocket Dog, at the Edinburgh International Games Festival

The Dundee company plans to release one mobile phone game every mont

In a pioneering initiative by the Staffordshire Police, fans attending a major rock festival - in the UK which is expecting more than 70,000 people over the weekend - can report crimes to the police via anonymous text-messaging, according to the BBC (thanks Petri!) Uh, anonymous text-messaging?Text before marriage a no-no

In what was supposed to be the "cricket wedding of the year," the bride-to-be of Test cricketer Damien Martyn called off the wedding after finding text messages from another woman on her fiancé's mobile phone, reports the The Age from Australi

Hundreds of mobile phone users in the UAE have complained of nuisance text messages sent by companies promising logos, competitions, ringtones and picture

Nothing quite beats the January 2001 campaign by The UK National Blood Service, inviting students to come kiss a vampire (aka Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of TV cult series "Buffy and the Vampires") but the "Be a blood donor — Save a life" campaign launched in Chennai India aims to get donors to sign up by texting in their blood type to a designated short code, according to the The Hindu Business Lin

The cell phone industry has drawn criticism for its networks' performance after the blackout, particularly in comparison to the land-line telephone system, which generally stayed in service according to The NY Time

Christine Nuzum for the WSJ, analyzes the

During Thursday's blackout that darkened parts of the Northeast, most cell phone subscribers were unable to make calls when they reached for their handset

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) has released a unique new glossary of terms defining the mobile entertainment industry, reports 160character

Following Verizon Wireless launch of a push-to-talk (PTT) service, Nextel has decided to sue them for trademark infringemen

This makes so much sense it's surprising it has not come up befor

Stereotypes looks like a fun new MMS service according MMS Mem

Summer vacationers around the world are switching from postcards to SMS, according to this Telegraph UK article:

"It is enough to bring tears to the eyes of a donkey in a sunha

According to this CNET story, Korea is among a growing number of nations backing an Internet address standard that could eventually give everyone a Web presence through a phone number:

"The simpler Internet electronic numbering system, known as ENUM, was first conceived in Europe and allows people to use one identifier for many different purposes, including mobile phones, e-mail, instant messaging and faxe

On Thursday, Yahoo! sees big mobile opportunities in India, according to an announcement by the Internet giant Thursda

Competition at last: Verizon launches a push-to-talk service rivalling that of Nexte

A new student SMS information service has been implemented at 50 Universities and Colleges across the U

UK Mobile carrier mm02 expects record SMS volume today when British students text each other to compare A-level exam results:

"Rampant growth in the use of short message service (SMS) texts has slowed, and heavy texting is now led by special events and holiday

Arnold Schwarzenegger, film star and California gubernatorial candidate, is a significant investor in the Israeli mobile tech start-up CellGuide, according to an LA Times story published Monday:

"CellGuide was founded in November 2000 by Israel Military Industries graduates CEO Joseph Nir, CTO Baruch Shayevits and R&D director Hanoch Cohe

The color BlackBerry with a new UI will delight die-hard fans of the popular texting device, according to MSNB

Text-messaging saved the life of a skier who became lost on a cross-country ski trip in Australia yesterday: "Ken Corcoran, 59, from the Townsville suburb of Mundingburra, endured near-freezing temperatures and snowfalls after he became lost in Perisher Valley overnigh

Australian IT professionals were alerted of the "Blaster" worm's attack this week via text message, instead of e-mai

A survey of teens in the UK by mobile messaging provider Freever reveals that about a third of 18-year-olds would rather receive A level or GCSE exam scores by text messaging instead of postal mail:

"While 98 per cent of 16-23-year-olds own a mobile phone, just 20 per cent of 16-year-olds wanted to get grades by text rather than having them posted, and only 26 per cent of 21-year-olds wanted to get further education results sent to their mobil

A cab driver in the UK was suspended from his job when a passenger caught him in the act of texting while driving his ca

Interesting feature in the Boston Globe about the cultural, economic, and political role of text-messaging in the Philippines:

"Talk isn't cheap in the Philippines; there are only about

Chocolate maker Cadbury and wireless carrier BPL Mobile have announced the launch of SMS-enabled chocolate vending machines in Indi

India's state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) telecom provider will soon offer SMS via conventional landline to increase the utility of conventional phone network

As of Monday and for the next couple of weeks, I am really pleased to announce that blog star Xeni Jardin will be posting on textuall

See My SMS, a Paris based mobile content editor who is single handedly raising the level of quality for content on mobile phones -- cf previous post on this favorite company -- will be launching in November, in the Nokia boutique of Parisian Left bank department store Le Bon Marché, exclusive cards offering contemporary artists which can be downloaded onto cell phones; Jeanne SUSPLUGAS, Anne DELEPORTE, Sam SAMORE, Susan SHUP et François-xavier COURREGES have all created original artwork for this projec

Mobile phones made with platinum that use fuel cells instead of batteries are expected to become available in 2004, according to an announcement by Japan's DoCoMo, according to Cellular News via boingboin

A UK-based company, M-Spatial, is offering a new localisation service called MapWay to to Vodafone customers living in Europ

Bob Bowman, who oversees Major League Baseball Advanced Media, says his goal for next season is letting fans get into ballparks without tickets, according to USA Toda

MMS Memo Blog Editor James Corbett picked up these comments from Smartphone Thoughts "Somewhere Along the Way, Mobile Phones Became Real Computer

Exchange & Mart and Auto Exchange are launching a new mobile internet service that will enable prospective car buyers to browse a database of over 150,000 cars on their mobile, in a bid to add new revenue streams, according to Netimperativ

Virgin Blue has plans to launch an SMS service that will allow customers to check in using their mobile phone

The fear of being caught with a love letter and the hazards involved in its safe delivery are now things of the past as text messaging has become the most reliable and quickest tool of exchanging sweet nothings -- be it college or work place, reports Sify News from Indi

An SMS-enabled (Cadbury) chocolate vending machine launched today in Mumbai, India, reports The Hind

From the NY Times via Gizmodo: To US citizens going abroad, hear hear: Leave your regular cellphone at home and avoid all those roaming charge

Name-that-tune music company Shazam Entertainment is continuing its aggressive roll out, inking deals with mobile operators in Austria, Italy and Finland to expand its reach further into Europe, reports Netimperativ

Officials said evidence at the scene showed that the bomb that blew up outside Jakarta Hotel was detonated by a mobile phone, the same method allegedly used by the terror group Jemaah Islamiyah in last year's Bali bombings, according to ABC New

The WSJ reports on how colleges and universities are losing revenue from long-distance phone charges in dorm rooms as students increasingly favor cellphone

Norwegians sent

To mobile users in the Philippines who have been wondering why their text messages have not arrived in Brunei, a SMS system failure may have been the reaso

In a study on distracted drivers released Wednesday by AAA, the auto club, and researchers at the University of North Carolina, cell phones were NOT the major distraction, the study foun

About 186 million new cell phone subscribers will sign up every year between now and 2007, bringing the global total to 2 billion, research firm In-Stat/MDR said in a study released Wednesda

The Philippine government has just launched, a centralized emergency and crime reporting service by SMS, called Text 117, reports abs-cbnnew

Mobile phone users worldwide will soon be able to dial-a-dolphin if a scheme to record their underwater conversations proves a success, according to CN

Compulsory hands free kits and a restriction on masts are among a raft of new public health measures announced by the French government to combat the potential dangers posed by mobile phones, according to The Mercury New

Sailors in the world's longest running race are taking part in a new technology experiment that could change the traditional course of communicatio

Sailors in the world's longest running race are taking part in a new technology experiment that could change the traditional course of communicatio

Mobile Tracker comments on a Wired article on something most people already knew—the amount of people who have had enough of landline

Infomatch, provider of domestic and global inter-carrier wireless data solutions, has launched a service enabling mobile subscribers to exchange MMS messages with mobile subscribers on different carrier network

A policeman really blew a drug bust in the Philippines after he mistakenly sent an SMS to a suspect, not the other cops, according to New

The Homeland Security Department is advising the nation’s airlines and airport

The Muslim court may fine husbands who divorce their wives by SMS RM 1,000 (US$26

With the rise of people using electronic communication over old-fashioned letters and the way these technologies work, it results in people talking faster and with more slang, according to the BB

BT has developed new technology that takes mobile messaging to a new level where "actual emotions can be conveyed between family and friends in a physical and tactile way", according to the The Registe

Iridium Satellite, a provider of satellite phone services, is just now offering text messaging services between Iridium customer

Test your knowledge of text messaging with this basic quiz on SM

Camera phones equipped with barcode-reading functionality are likely to open up some new business opportunitie

This is a first, a dry cleaning business which operates by text messagin

In the past 10 years, the Japanese communication industry has seen enormous chang

Fans of the Hollywood blockbuster "X-Men 2: X-Men United" don't have to wait for the DVD to come out to satiate their thirst for more adventure

The Mercury News looks into the advantages of pre paid phone cards, enabling people to call across the globe for a fraction of the rates charged by traditional long-distance companie

In a bid to cut the thousands of hours wasted in Scottish courts each year and put hundreds more officers back on the beat, plans are being drawn up to issue police witnesses in court cases with a mobile phone to summon them to the witness stand just before they are needed with a simple text messag

Amber Alerts, a US nationwide network to help find missing children, should go nationwide by next year, according to a a Justice Department officia

US network, Verizon Wireless ranks highest in network quality performance among the top seven largest US wireless providers, according to a new study, reports Cellular New

Manilla Police Chief, Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco, issued a statement to the people Saturday, following last week's Armed Forces mutiny, cautioning them not to believe in text messages reporting another cou

cf post in Picturephonin

Sprint PCS on Thursday launched a gadget that it says will convert cell phones into wireless gaming console

Celcom and TMTouch kicked off yesterday a campaign to enable their customers to pay tribute to Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad by SMS through Sept 1

Thieves not to bother stealing mobile phone

A dating agency SMS ad — asking users to text back "Go" if they want to sign up or "Stop" if not - has been sent to random mobile phone users in Edinburgh and is being investigated by industry watchdog, ICSTI