SMS Weblogs / Textually / 2004 / 04

Mangalore-based Corporation Bank has launched a new product called 'Corp Mobile Recharge', which enables the Bank's customers to recharge their 'prepaid mobiles' at any of the Bank's ATMs, according to The Times of Indi

The 2004 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, starting this weekend, has definitely got the messag

This shocking headline is being picked up by the Australian pres

European Union regulators are asking Olympic Games broadcasters and organizers for assurances that mobile phone and Internet operators are treated fairly during the bidding process for rights to show live images from this summer's Athens sports events, according to the WS

The Economist has very interesting article on how "cellphones are now the dominant technology with which young people now define themselves and how in many respects, mobile phones are replacing cars

Wireless operator Vodacom today launched the Vodafone Developer Zone, an Internet-based SMS and MMS application development platform, providing a unique environment for developers, entrepreneurs and businesses, according to Wireless Developer Networ

The global market for mobile telephones exploded in the first quarter of 2004, with sales up by an annual 40 percent to 153 million units according to a study published by Strategy Analytic

TF1 producers of "Star Académie", the French version of "American Idol" TV show, never thought of this one: An official "American Idol" phon

In India, the Chennai City Traffic Police introduced a new SMS service and a caution chalan system for those violating traffic rules, reports News India Toda

According to ITU's latest publication, mobile subscriber numbers in Africa have increased by over 1 000% between 1998 and 2003, to stand at approximately 5

Ahem, a pleasure hunt where textual entries are part of the gam

Mobiles phones are not usually seen in the West as a way of keeping in touch with Go

Textually's new weekly listing of SMS related domain names that have come up for sale and are available to the public agai

Transport for London (TfL) has struck a deal with Orange to offer mobile services allowing consumers to see when service is disrupted on specific tube lines, reports Silico

One of the (many) reasons given for the decimation of the habitat of the eastern lowland gorilla - cutting the apes' population by more than 70 percent in the past decade - is attributed to "the spread of small-scale mining for gold, precious stones and columbine tantalite, a mineral used to make cell phones and other high-tech gadgets", according to NYNewsda

Recent research from analyst firm IDC says that the arrival of mobile phones incorporating hard drives will "require a number of further evolutionary steps" before such technology is good for consumers, according to PC Worl

Mark Lane for New

Primary school youngsters are becoming a Mini-me generation using mobile phones and body spray, reports The Mirro

Good news! Visitors to Tokyo will now be able to rent cell phones at Narita International and Kansai International Airport

Two cases made the newspapers in the US, on sexual harrassment and sex charges involving SMS:

From the Home News Tribun

A concept that's fast gaining ground is 'polyamory', or 'loving more than on

Monique Van Dusseldorp for E-Media Tidbits describes how Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia will offer readers an entertaining way to learn more about the Forum 2004 - by text messagin

To help raise funds for The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign “Muscles for Muscles Week” is encouraging people to exercise their thumbs, Mike Grenville reports on this new SMS fund raising campaign in 160character

The Queensland Government has issued tough new guidelines to control the growing use of mobile phones by school students, reports New

SMS as an alibi

In Austrlia, a murder supect allegedly used mobile text messaging to create a false alibi - that he was with a prostitute while his family was being murdered, according to New

mCasino technology is intended to give casinos a way to keep customers happy -- read: playing and betting -- even when they're away from the tables, reports Daniel Terdiman for Wire

The Legoland theme park in Denmark has launched a wi-fi based kid-tracking system - developed by wireless application firms Bluesoft and KidSpotter - allowing parents to track the location of their children while in the theme park, according to DMEurop

Carlo Longino for TheFeatur

UK text messaging figures for March 2004 reached

A morse cellphon

British consumers can now send and receive text messages from their fixed-line home phones following the soft-launch of BT Text, according to newmediazer

AT&T Wireless is waving a white flag on the walkie-talkie front, according to TheStree

The cinema release a children’s movie called ‘TOOTH’ about a feisty tooth fairy is supported by an SMS text-and-win promotion, reports 160character

A judge in the Northern Italian city of Vicenza has banned two Italian young men - who abused their ex-girlfriends by telephone - from using their mobile phones, according to Prosperity

In a drug case wideley reported by the Australian press, it turns out the star witness of the case was released on bail provided he keep in touch with authorities via text messages and e-mail

Maariv International lists all of the Olympic torch lighters this year, marking Israel's greatest sporting achievements and achiever

Following Sunday's story on India launching a speech-based application for cell phones, electricnew

The Collector, Atul Anand, of Theni District, on Saturday said candidates and party functionaries should not use mobile phones in polling stations, according to The Hind

Spanish heartthrob singer Enrique Iglesias has arrived in South Africa on a leg of his world concert tour and will promote his SMS fund raising campaign, according to the Cap Time

In India, if you are you can't read but want to use a mobile phone, not to worry -- help is at hand, courtesy Reliance Infocomm, reports redif

Story Hunters reports that the latest fashion is for pre-teens to have a cell phon

With the spread of mobile phones, it's never been easier to stay in touc

In Australia, NSW Health is trialling an online quitting program in which smokers can sign up to receive personalised text messages and emails to help kick the habit, according to sm

The Wall Street Weekend Journal has published a get-away-from-it-all vacation guide of hotels and resorts, with little or no mobile-phone coverag

Text messages, email and the push for faster and more efficient communications are taking their toll on grammar, language experts believe, reports sm

Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate Simon Hughes launches a mobile campaign, "Text Simon", enabling voters to text him their questions, concerns and ideas for London, according to a press releas

This is just gossip reall

China is expected to export more than 100 million mobile phones this year, up from 90 million in 2003, according to a recent Global Sources survey of China’s handset producers, according to DigiTime

Britain's storied telephone booths -- the classic red version and its drab glass cousin -- are fighting for their lives in what looks like a losing battle with the cell phone, according to the Tri-Valley Herald Onlin

What is said to be Australia's first solar powered mobile phone base station has started transmitting from Roebuck Plains in Western Australia's Kimberley region, according to AB

The multiple ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns by SMS for the referendum to reunite the Greek and Turkish sides of the Mediterranean island is starting to aggravate mobile users, according to the Cyprus Mail "For the past three days, people have been receiving SMS messages promoting political views on the referenda and advising them to vote either ‘no’ or ‘yes

Youths with a small or holiday job can ask the Dutch tax agency for a tax return form by SMS, according to Dutch Telecom Paper (paid subscription

In a heart warming story, the BBC reports on an Essex man who has taught himself to use text-messaging at the age of 81, so that he can communicate with his daughter who is deaf and has no speec

A spectacular mobile phone operated light sculpture by a Penzance artist has become the centrepiece of a Cleveland town, according to the BB

Colly Myers, founding CEO of Symbian, has launched a new startup in the UK, called issuebit

Johannesburg - Cellphones can now double up as panic buttons - thanks to a new SMS emergency system, according to News2

A way to read text messages just by touch has been developed by researchers in Germany, reports the BB

US Legislation that would make it illegal for 16- and 17-year-old drivers from using cell phones while driving a car passed a key California Senate committee by a 7-4 vote Tuesday, making it the first bill limiting cell phone use by drivers to advance in the Senate, reports the San Jose Business Journa

China agreed on Wednesday to give up a plan to impose its own standard for wireless technology, essentially agreeing to join the rest of the world rather than dividing it up, reports the NY Time

Teaming up with the BBC, Trace a Mobil

We have reported before on companies in the UK, Australia and South Korea firing hundreds or thousands of employees by text messaging, but sacking a prime minister by SMS is a first!

South Africa's Independent Online reports that Swaziland's King Mswati fired former prime minister Sibusiso Dlamini last year via a text message on his cellphon

Here goes anoter gossipy story, but as you may have noticed, human interest stories related to text messaging are what I love mos

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo admitted to Malacañang reporters that she used text messaging to run the government, according to inq

Buoyed by an insatiable public interest in the Beckhams and other celebrities, Hello Magazine's website is celebrating its third birthday with soaring traffic and plans for new features including SMS celebrity update

Beginning this month, Cingular will offer customers throughout Alabama a new service that essentially puts management of personal account information in the hands of its wireless customers, according to a company press releas

The New South Wales Government has accused the Federal Government of blocking a trial of mobile phone jamming in the State's jails, reports AB

The reason people find mobile phone conversations so irritating could be down to human curiosity, say researchers in the UK, reports the BB

An interesting post on the advances in mobile ubiquity from blog pal Anil de Mell

Nearly one-third of kids in the United States have their own mobile phones, while 48 percent of European kids said they own mobile phones, according to a new study by TNS, reported by RCR Wireless New

At Milan Design Week, glimmering in a black warehouse, an Art Deco falling spiral chandelier had crowds of party-goers mesmerised as they sent text messages to the light and watched their SMSs trickle through the crystal strands like a luxurious ticker tape, reports Reuter

Mattel chief executive Robert Eckert is adding more features to Barbie, Mattel's 45-year-old American icon, including giving Barbie text-messaging capability after losing more than 20 per cent of the $US

Dodgeball, the social networking tool for mobile phones, is expanding past NYC this weekend, becoming available in SF, LA, Boston, and Philadelphia as well, according to 3G porta

mediapost guest columnist Courtney Acuff, manager, mobile marketing, SMG IP, the digital and interactive unit of Starcom MediaVest Group is responsible for evaluating mobile marketing opportunities and coordinating research for a variety of clients including Kellogg, Nasacort, and Allstat

The Cleveland Public Library is among the first national network of public libraries to add Mobipocket eBooks to their download libraries, according to TMCne

Vodafone, France Telecom and several other European mobile-phone operators are teaming up to provide a single set of standards to handset-software suppliers, according to the WS

About 90 rural cell phone service providers missed last week's deadline to introduce a system for emergency workers to find cell phones dialing 911, according to the Federal Communications Commission, according to New

Data use is surging ahead in the US, finall

Text messaging has definitely acquired a patent of nobility (in French lettre de noblees) as Malaysian science fans can participate in The Nobel Prize SMS Quiz Master challenge, where the grand prize winner will get a 10-day all-expenses-paid trip to Stockholm, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark, according to Star Tech Centra

Paul Brownfield for the LA Times via azcentral reports with humour and uncanny insight on how acceptable cellphone use has become in public spaces; "how many people talk and order, talk and shop, talk and drive

Mike Grenville for 160character

Realising the significance of this mode of marketing, Indian marketers are increasingly opting for mobile marketing techniques to connect with their target audience—directl

There doesn't seem to be much written about Canadians sending text messages, so this article on politicial parties reaching out to young voters by SMS is welcome new

On Saturday hundreds of mobile phones were bombarded with SMS messages, targetting Verrappa Moily and Moodbidri sitting MLA Abhaychandra Jain, according to newindpres

Desperate to avoid a repeat of the panic and confusion that followed the bomb blast at the 1996 Atlanta Games, Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said every Australian competitor will be contactable via SM

Macro Kiosk Sdn Bhd plans to launch its SMS QuickPay service by the end of this month, for some three million MasterCard holders, according to the Star Onlin

Visitors to trade shows in Australia can use barcodes sent to their mobile phones via text messages as entry tickets, reports ZDNe

Rachel Bilson, star of FOX's popular prime-time drama "The OC," challenges young Americans to get educated, get informed and get engaged in the 2004 presidential election by joining in a new effort by Rock The Vote and Motorol

Oneline dating, email correspondence, text messaging and instant messaging take the place of phone in today's dating environment, according to Lesbian author Kristin Cranford who tells what it's like from the gay woman's perspective in her book entitlted «You've got Fe-Mail!

Sending flirtatious emails or phone texts behind a partner's back is just as damaging as a "real life'' affair, according to new research, reports the Independan

Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos in a televised address two weeks ago urged his people to vote oxi (Greek for no) in the April 24 referendum on the latest United Nations plan to reunite the Greek and Turkish sides of the Mediterranean island, reports Time Europe Magazin

New Delhi: Mobile phone operators are all set to do their bit as far as corporate social responsibility is concerned, by reminding their subscribers, via SMS, to exercise their franchise on the day of polling, reports the Economic Time

This was actually written up last January by Smart Mobs and The Guardian, but somehow I missed i

I've just gotten back from a two week trip (2 days in Tokyo and 12 days on a boat off the islands of Palau in Micronesia - fabulous!

Cell phones may not be so popular within the Beckham household at the moment given the recent controversy over their private life, according to the Belfast Telegraph, as evidence of text messages were used to support claims that David Beckham had an alleged illicit affair with his former personal assistant Rebecca Loo

According to a recent survey conducted by IDC, women in India are the most "vocal" group when it comes to using the SM

Telecom Italia Mobile's subscribers can now send, receive, forward and reply to SMS messages from their MS-Outloo

Using avatars, that is, something I've ridiculed in the pas

The numbers are beginning to align for

Yes, simple as tha

Following the David Beckham controversy, fresh concerns over the security of mobile phones were sparked today in UK, by the news that technology which intercepts and records text messages could be available as early as next wee

No, I'm not rantin

Well, Telstra in Australia has finally admitted it: Telstra has been storing millions of its customers' personal text messages and mobile phone photographs on its computers for up to 28 day

Seems like texts to gets train infoormation and timing is becoming popula

Now it is possible, in UK, thanks to B

What else, SMS poetry competitio

This will give your thumb a snooz

That will be possible in Japan, in about a year from no

I am pretty sure this is not the first company to offer tickets through cell phone

A very interesting art project, akin to listening to the sound inside the sea-shell

Thought this is relevant, since the biggest sector was wireless content and related technologie

This is a slightly offbeat use of SMS by a newspape

A survey by the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) recently showed Germans send a whopping 200 million messages a year, which was nearly three times as many as the Finns, in second place at 75 million or Britons at 70 millio

Well, sort

Australian restaurants which use mobile phone numbers taken to confirm bookings could be fined more than AUS $1 million if they use them to send promotional text message

An NYT story on cell phone jamming in

Oh well, this had to happen: The first 10 commandments were written by the finger of God and handed to Moses on Mt Sinai, the 11th has been sent to the Methodist Church in Britain by text message from a pu

A French MEP, William Abitbol, has translated the first part of the draft Euroepan Union Constitution into "text message language", used by young people around the world to abbreviate words when sending SMS by mobile phon

Another detailed report on how political parties in India are using texting as an effective campaigning method for the upcoming national election

That's the mantra of Indian political party, the Congress Party, in the upcoming elections in that countr

As if we didn't have enough of this Friendster thing, along comes a phone spamming location-based servic

UK's biggest mobile phones retailer Carphone Warehouse can now browse and shop for mobile content from their handset, including polytones, textones, voice alerts, Java games and wallpaper

By the way, this is already happening in U

Vodafone Group will distribute outside the United States cell phone games, screen savers and ring tones based on Warner Bro

Not in the way you thin

In Philippine, of cours

Very funky: Runners in the 2004 Flora London Marathon will be able to keep their friends and family updated with their progress with a free automated text message service, reports 160Character

Wippit, the

That's the lesson from this Virgin's tric

Sorta: Networks undergo major spring clea

After cutting deals with MSN, AOL and three cable ISPs, ML

This is our (MocoNew