Common Paradox Tech Blog

We’ve seen increased efforts lately to push greater cell phone adoption into developing nations, and the latest to enter the fray is a low cost handset powered by commonly available AAA-sized batteries. Called the "FrvrOn," short for "forever on," Indian mobile phone company Oliver Telecommunications also outfitted its mobile phone with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, but has good reason for including an AAA compartment.

"We have electrification all across the country but the power supply is erratic," marketing manager Ravi Perti told AFP. "With our phone, all one needs to do is pack a few extra cells (batteries) if one is traveling in areas where one expects power supply disruptions."

Perti says, the phone can run for up to three hours on the stock lithium-ion battery, and another hour on a single AAA battery.

According to government figures, there are 10,000 impoverished Indian villages with access to grid electricity. Even still, India represents the world’s fastest-expanding mobile market, adding an average of 15 million customers every month.

Image Credit: Olive Communications

Good news for those of you who are fans of Motorola’s Backflip and its somewhat funky form factor. AT&T now offers the backward flipping smartphone for $99 through its website.

There are a couple of caveats, of course. To get below the $100 price point, you’ll have to play the mail-in-rebate game, which comes in the form of an AT&T Promotion Card "valid wherever VIsa is accepted, and for 120 days after issue date." You’ll also need to commit to a 2-year service agreement and $30 per month data service.

What you get in return is an Android 1.5-based smartphone capable of being upgraded to Android 2.1. The Backflip also sports a 5MP camera with 4X zoom, 3.1-inch touchscreen with a 480 x 320 resolution, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card expansion up to 32GB, and a 1380 mAh battery Motorola claims amounts to up to 6 hours of talk time and 13.5 days of standby.

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Image Credit: Motorola

FCC commissioner Clyburn is none too pleased with Verizon right now. Big Red’s response to the inquiry about the new $350 early termination fee for advanced devices was sent off last week. The FCC had asked Verizon to explain why they increased the fee assessed to customers that leave their contracts early, pointing out that customers still had substantial cancellation charges even near the end of a contract. Verizon said it was only to recoup the costs of the more expensive phones they sell, and in the long run would keep prices low for people wishing to buy inexpensive handsets.

The FCC response was vaguely threatening, calling the Verizon response, “unsatisfying and, in some cases, troubling.” The commissioner also scolded Verizon for denying they charge customers who inadvertently launch their web browsers. Clyburn cautioned that ETFs were not to be used to cover the costs of doing business. The commissioner’s statement closes with a promise that, “I look forward to exploring this issue in greater depth with my colleagues in the New Year.” Now that’s how you threaten someone.

It’s getting to be the time of the year when iPhone rumors start showing up. Sure enough, DigiTimes is reporting that the next generation of Apple’s successful smartphone will rock a 5 megapixel autofocus camera. The current 3GS model has a 3.2 megapixel sensor. DigiTimes was also responsible for breaking the news of the 3GS camera this time last year.

The hardware will reportedly be supplied by OmniVision, just like the current sensor is. The 5 MP sensor should be the same size as the 3.2 MP version in use, about 1/4 inch, but have better low-light performance. This particular camera hardware is also capable of taking full 1080p video at 30 fps. This is a massive jump over the VGA resolution video in the current iPhone. But remember, just because the hardware is capable, doesn’t mean Apple will enable it in the final product.

The buzz word of choice these past few months when it comes to teens and technology has undoubtedly been “sexting” — and now a new study from The Pew Internet & American Life Project, titled “Teens and Sexting,” indicates that the problem is about as large as many a teen’s phone bill.

According to the study, 4 percent of teens 12-17 who own cell phones have sent nude or nearly nude photos of themselves to others via text, and 15 percent admit that they have received these scandalous snaps. And in a country in which 58 percent of 12-year-olds and 83 percent of 17-year-olds own cell phones — that’s a lot of flesh flashing across iPhone screens.

So why the urge to take it off for the lo-res cameras? According to Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist and author of the report:

“Teens explained to us how sexually suggestive images have become a form of relationship currency. These images are shared as a part of or instead of sexual activity, or as a way of starting or maintaining a relationship with a significant other. And they are also passed along to friends for their entertainment value, as a joke or for fun.”

The report goes on to explain that sexting occurs in one of three scenerios:

1. Exchanges of images solely between two romantic partners

2. Exchanges between partners that are then shared outside the relationship

3. Exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but where often one person hopes to be.

Regardless of reason or method, the issue remains: No one is taking this practice lightly. In fact, teens have found themselves in hot water legally for sexting — kids have been charged with everything from disorderly conduct to sexual abuse of children.

You can find the report in its entirety here. Take a look and join in on the conversation. Do you think sexting is worth all the sound and fury, or is it just another incarnation of teenage sexuality?

[img credit: ydhsu]

Tags: cell phone, iphone, Mobile 2.0, Pew Internet & American Life Project, sexting, social media, teens

Even if you’re not the type who typically sports a tin foil hat, you’ve probably spent a bit of time wondering if all that cell phone radiation we subject our brains to is safe. Could cell phones be the cigarettes of the modern age in disguise? Apparently not if you heed the results of a new Scandinavian study which has carefully reviewed the effects of wireless phone radiation on the brain over a 30 year period, and claims cell phones are completely harmless.

The study was performed by the Danish Cancer society and was documented in the National Cancer Institute Journal which looks at brain cancer trends in Scandinavian countries. Of course some people will never be convinced cell phones are truly safe regardless of how much evidence comes to light, but for those of you still on the fence, this is a bit positive news that should put your mind at ease.

Even though they claim its safe for the brain, I would still suggest holding onto your solid lead underwear if you’re going to keep carrying around a cell phone in your pants. I haven’t seen any studies on the effects of radiation on the wedding tackle, but I’m not taking any chances.

Verizon fired the first shot in its media war against AT&T, but many were left wondering how and when the competition would ever respond. Playing to its strengths the AT&T marketing department is finally bringing its guns to bare on Verizon, and speed will be the battleground on which they shall wage their bloody campaign.  

Its a gutsy move for AT&T to pit their network against Verizon on national TV, but its bound to work better than chest thumping, lawsuits, and irate fist pumping I’m willing to bet.

The AT&T’s ad features actor Luke Wilson trying to download a copy of himself over both networks, and much to my shock and amazement, the company that paid for the ad won the contest. AT&T might edge out ahead of Verizon in raw speed tests, but I think we would all rather see some of this ad money go into a few more cell towers wouldn’t we? Arguably that would do an even better job of putting the kibosh on those pesky Verizon ads.

What do you think?

Dell wants everyone to know this whole smartphone thing isn’t a joke. After officially announcing the Dell Mini 3ix Android phone for Brazil, the computer maker is forming a dedicated mobile division under the control of Ron Garriques (formerly of Motorola). The group will focus on developing hardware and software for future Dell phones.

Dell was once the dominant PC maker in the world, but has recently faltered, falling behind both HP and Acer. By getting into the smartphone race Dell may be trying to catch up to its rivals, both of which make phones as well as PCs. There are currently no official plans to bring a Dell smartphone to the US. If the bizarrely under equipped Chinese 3i and slightly better Brazilian 3ix do well, the company may feel confident enough to enter the US market.

Most would agree that early termination fees are a drag, not to mention a serious gut punch. Long term contracts typically hold consumers liable for anywhere from $150 to $350 to ditch a carrier before the service agreement expires, and according to some in Congress, that just isn’t fair.

Enter Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who today introduced a bill to set limits on early termination fees cell phone carriers are able to charge. Klobuchar, along with Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Jim Webb (D-Va.), and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) say the fees are "budget-busters."

"Changing your wireless provider shouldn’t break the bank," Klobuchar said. "Forcing consumers to pay outrageous fees bearing little to no relation to the cost of their handset devices is anti-consumer and anti-competitive.

Begich added that "in these tough economic times, the last thing consumers need is to see rates doubled for no apparent reason." His remarks are in reference to Verizon recently increasing the early termination fee from $175 to $350, a policy which became official in mid-November.

Not surprisingly, Verizon sees things a bit differently. Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson points out that consumers can always opt to purchase a cell phone at full price without a service agreement.

"A broad array of Americans who might not otherwise be able to afford broadband connections to the Internet with a home PC, or by paying full price for a smartphone, have an affordable way of participating in the online world when they choose a subsidized option," Nelson said.

Image Credit: eHow.com

Enterprises take note: According to a survey from ABI Research, cell phone security for enterprise devices is seriously lacking, and a little misunderstood as well.

ABI Research pinged 250 senior executives in the U.S. and found that while 41 percent said they believe mobile phones are more at risk to interception than email and 39 percent believed the risk was the same, relatively few of them reported having adequate protection, such as encryption, in place.

"Effective email security has become routine but our research shows most businesses do ont apply anything like the same level of robust security to cell phone calls," Stan Schatt, an analyst with ABI, wrote in the report. "Equally concerning is that a significant number of people who identified themselves as being responsible for cell phone voice call security incorrectly believe the organizations’ mobile calls have been protected when they have not."

What’s frightening about all this is that according to the survey results, some 79 percent of organizations admitted to talking about sensitive or otherwise confidential information over the phone at least once a week, and more than half on a daily basis, but only 18 percent have "explicit mobile voice call security solutions in place."

Image Credit: right4america.org