Line2 Adds a Second Line to Your iPhone

The Line2 mobile application from Toktumi adds a second phone line to your iPhone.
(http://www.line2.com/)

From ABC News:

iPhone App Lets You Place Calls Without Using AT&T Minutes.

Line2 is a mobile app from Toktumi that's a refreshing option for iPhone users who need to maintain a separate personal and a business phone number.

It's also useful — and potentially revolutionary — for iPhone owners who want to cut down on their monthly voice minutes by allowing them to place calls over Wi-Fi as well as over 3G Voice Over IP (VOIP).

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Smartphones Will Shake Up Paid Content Debate

The new Samsung 'Wave' smartphone is seen during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona February 14, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Albert Gea

From Reuters:

(Reuters) - Media companies longing to bring a paid-for culture to the Internet might just get what they want if they pay more attention to the smartphone revolution that is changing the way people access the Web.

Huge numbers now use mobile phones instead of desktop computers to get online -- a development that has spawned whole new business models in China, the world's biggest Internet market.

Paying to read content on the Web, an outlandish idea as recently as a year ago, is slowly but surely establishing itself as the next business model in the Western media mainstream, spearheaded by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSA.O).

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How Safe Is Your Cell Phone?

Illustration by Jane Hong for TIME

From Time Magazine:

It takes a little extra work to get in touch with Andrea Boland. The Maine state representative answers e-mails and lists her business and home phone numbers on the Web. But unlike many politicians surgically attached to their BlackBerrys, she keeps her cell switched off unless she's expecting a call. And if she has her way, everyone in Maine — and perhaps, eventually, the rest of the U.S. — will similarly think twice before jabbering away on their mobiles.

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Apple Patent Case 'Could Affect All Android Phones'

Photo: HTC was the first manufacturer to use Android in its phones

From The BBC:

Apple's legal action against HTC may have "wider implications" for all phone makers using Google's Android operating system, an analyst has warned.

Ian Fogg of Forrester Research said that the case against HTC, in which Apple alleges infringement of 20 of its patents, could be the first of many.

Although Apple has not named Google in the suits, many of the named patents relate to operating system processes.

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Mobile Operators Join Forces To Develop Open Apps Platform

From Wall Street Journal:

BARCELONA—Twenty-four mobile operators Monday said they had formed an alliance to build an open platform to deliver applications to all mobile phone users, in an attempt to emulate the runaway success of Apple Inc.'s App Store.

The initiative shows how even fierce rivals are coming together to try to capture the mass market in mobile Internet services.

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The Science Behind The Cell Phone Cancer Scare

There are theories of how cell phones may cause cancer but
studies have yet to find a link. Credit: Stockxpert

From Live Science:

Do cell phones cause brain cancer? There's no good reason to think they do.

But if we are to believe the gospel truth delivered by physicists that radio waves from cell phones simply aren't powerful enough to break chemical bonds, the trait of all cancer-causing mutagens, why then do very smart people — smarter than me, for sure — continue to investigate this matter?

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Camera Showdown: Nexus One Vs. iPhone 3GS

The Nexus One's 5-megapixel camera also has an LED-powered flash.
(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

From CNET:

Rumors cropped up last week that Apple had put down a big order for LED flashes, something useful for one thing, and one thing only: a digital camera. It doesn't take much to figure that the next iteration of the iPhone is likely to be packing one of these, since many of the latest cell phones--including HTC's recently released Nexus One, now have them included.

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2010: The Year Of The Mobile

From Times Online:

The trend to smaller connected devices will continue this year, as the likes of Nokia, Google and Apple deliver their new products.

Desktop computers are so last decade. 2010 is shaping up to be the year when internet users move decisively away from bulky machines to the mobile web.

The trend towards portable, mini-laptops and devices that allow you to surf the web on the go will accelerate in 2010 as companies slug it out in the key battleground of smartphones, analysts predict.

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Billions Face Identity Fraud Threat After Hackers Crack Secret Mobile Phone codes Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1239298/E

Danger: There are fears half the world’s population could be left
vulnerable to crime including identity fraud

From The Daily Mail:

Billions could have their mobile phone calls intercepted and recorded after computer hackers cracked the secret code used to protect 80 per cent of the world’s users.

The code was posted on the internet by German scientist Karsten Nohl, who said he organised the breach to demonstrate the weakness of mobiles’ security measures.

He claims an eavesdropper could be listening to calls within 15 minutes with just a laptop and two network cards.

Read more ....

The Real Reason Cell Phone Use Is Banned On Airlines

From Live Science:

Airline passengers who sneak in cell phone calls, play with gaming devices or listen to their mp3 players during takeoff or landing probably won't cause a plane crash, but they may risk a confrontation with flight attendants. Federal agencies and airlines typically err on the side of caution — even though researchers and aircraft companies have found almost no direct evidence of cell phones or other electronic devices interfering with aircraft systems.

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Texting Now More Popular Than Cell Calls

Photo from AP

From CBS News:

(AP) R u kidding me? Americans punched out more than 110 billion text messages last year, double the number in the previous year and growing, as the shorthand communication becomes a popular alternative to cell phone calls.

The nation's 270 million cell phone subscribers each sent out an average of 407 text messages in 2008, according to government statistics released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. That's more than double the 188 messages sent by the average cell subscriber in 2007. The figures did not break down the texting by age, but the overall numbers understate the thousands of texts sent each month by many teens - balanced out by older folks who don't text as much.

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More Homes Seen Dumping Landlines

Photo: From iStockphoto

From CBS News:

Age And Location Biggest Factor In Decisions To Abandon Landlines.

(AP) The number of households with cell phones but no landlines continues to grow, but the recession doesn't seem to be forcing poor cellular users to abandon their traditional wired phones any faster than are higher-income people.

The finding, from data compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggests that when it comes to telephone habits, peoples' decisions are affected more by age and where they live than by their economic situations.

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15% Of Teens 'Sexting' On Cells, Study Says

From San Francisco Chronicle:

About 15 percent of American teenagers have received nude or sexually suggestive photos on their cell phones, and that percentage doubles as teens get older, according to a study released Tuesday about the tech-fueled trend called "sexting."

Boys are as likely as girls to send sexts, while teens who pay for their own cell phone bills are more likely to text salacious shots, according to the study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project of Washington.

The study does show the vast majority of teens aren't sexting, with 4 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds admitting to sexting photos or videos of themselves.

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Will The Google Phone Change the Mobile Game By Being Entirely Ad-Supported?

Google NexusOne, Built by HTC As leaked to Engadget

From Popular Science:

Which may sound altogether unappealing, until you realize it could be how Google plans to give away their Google Phone for free and potentially shake up the whole mobile industry in the process.

The last few days have seen Google's perceived positition regarding a Google-branded Android phone do an almost complete 180. Contrary to their previously publicized lack of interest in releasing a phone of their own, the Wall Street Journal this weekend reported on details of the Nexus One, a phone to be marketed directly to consumers as the "Google Phone" in the first quarter of 2010.

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Four-Country Study Finds No Cancer Link To Cellphone Usage

From USA Today:

A large new study is the latest to find no link between rising cellphone use and rates of brain cancer.

Researchers in four Scandinavian countries found no increase in brain tumor diagnoses from 1998 to 2003, when cellphone use in those countries grew sharply, according to a study published online Thursday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Five Ways To Teach Your Old Phone New Tricks

From The Christian Science Monitor:

This summer was a big season for smart-phone lovers. Apple unveiled a new iPhone with built-in video camera, compass, and online movie rental store. Palm released a worthy rival, the Pre, which lets busy multitaskers flip between e-mail, spreadsheets, and, of course, phone calls. And several touch-screen and next-gen smart phones are on the way.

That’s great news for gadget geeks ready to spend $90 a month (or more) on their cellphones. But what about the rest of us? Even simple mobile phones are capable of a lot these days, thanks to text messaging and a slew of services designed for the average phone. Here are a few tricks to get your plain ol’ cellphone acting like a smart phone.

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Researchers Seek Funds To Study Cell Phone Safety

From CNET:

Are cell phones safe? For years, studies have provided conflicting conclusions. Today, there is still no clear answer. But experts agree on one thing: more research is needed to find out the answer.

In an effort to raise awareness among consumers and to urge government leaders to allocate more funding for research, an international group of researchers is gathering in Washington, D.C. later this month to present study findings and to lobby government officials.

Read more ....