Omio

The Ring Heard Round The World

By MattyBcloseAuthor: MattyB Name: Matt Bortone
Email: matt.barr@trafficbroker.co.uk
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: I've been a fan of mobile phones...since the beginning. Being a poor sharecropper's son, I'm less gadget-obsessed than some of our reporters who seem to have developed an unhealthy attachment to the idea of the HTC Diamond. Instead, I'm interested in the way mobiles have changed our lives at work, at home and anywhere else that people cooler than me go.See Authors Posts (60)

If you’re running out of phone-related television to watch, don’t blame Canada. CBC recently produced a documentary subtitled ‘The Ring Heard Round The World’ all about the the latest trends of the gadgets we love.

If you can stand the rather over-the-top narration, it’s a good chance to see some technology in action. There’s even a quiz, should you want to boast about your cellphone knowledge (I got 8/10, in part because I didn’t know how many mobile phones we Brits lose down toilets every year).

Visit CBC to watch.

R U THR GD? ITS ME, MRGRT

By MattyBcloseAuthor: MattyB Name: Matt Bortone
Email: matt.barr@trafficbroker.co.uk
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: I've been a fan of mobile phones...since the beginning. Being a poor sharecropper's son, I'm less gadget-obsessed than some of our reporters who seem to have developed an unhealthy attachment to the idea of the HTC Diamond. Instead, I'm interested in the way mobiles have changed our lives at work, at home and anywhere else that people cooler than me go.See Authors Posts (60)

With many headlines about “religious texts” after announcement that Pope Benedict XVI is sending inspirational SMS-texts during Australia’s Catholic World Youth Day, it’s worth considering the cell-phone habits of other religions. Mike Elgan of Computerworld recently profiled three different faith-based phones, each with our own interesting peculiarities:

1. The ‘Kosher Phone’. Mirs Communications, a subsidiary of Motorola, designed a handset specifically targeting ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews (about 7% of the population). The Rabbinical Committee for Communications approved this barebones handset which lacks even basic SMS functionality and automatically blocks over 10,000 numbers related to sex and dating. Per-minute charges are reduced when phoning a fellow phone-owning believer, but don’t try to call on the Sabbath or you’ll have to pay $2.44 a minute.

2. ‘The Muslim Phone’ (pictured). The Ilkone I-800 lets owners know exactly when to start the traditional five prayers each day, even pointing towards Mecca and playing recorded prayers via speakerphone. The Quran is built-in, in Arabic and English). This handset has proven so successful it will be debuting in Europe and the US shortly.

2. ‘The Buddha Phone’. Just a modified Nokia N70 at heart, this China-only phone is a lot more opulent than its competitors. Allowing to watch Buddhist videos with the press of a jade button, this gold-plated phone, which plays music and the 12 sutras, might just be good enough to sway even the atheists onto their side.

No ‘Snake’ In Graz

By MattyBcloseAuthor: MattyB Name: Matt Bortone
Email: matt.barr@trafficbroker.co.uk
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: I've been a fan of mobile phones...since the beginning. Being a poor sharecropper's son, I'm less gadget-obsessed than some of our reporters who seem to have developed an unhealthy attachment to the idea of the HTC Diamond. Instead, I'm interested in the way mobiles have changed our lives at work, at home and anywhere else that people cooler than me go.See Authors Posts (60)

While Australia is in love with the mobile, its semi-namesake Austria is making up for it with an anti-phone backlash, so if you’re heading there for a summer vacation get in all the games of ‘Snake’ you need before you go.

Siegfried Nagl, the mayor of Graz, Austria’s second largest city, said “I know I insulted the cell phone goddess a little,” for his attempt to crackdown on public phone usage. All commuters must now keep their phones on silent mode to stop irritating ring-tones and unnecessary chatter. While France’s SNCF rail company has operated “zen zones” in select compartments aboard intercity TGV bullet trains (similar to the “quiet carriages” on Virgin Trains in the UK), this is one step further.

Given that Sweden’s ‘cell phone free zones’ were scrapped after 10 months, it’ll be interesting to see how long this initiative can last.

NB: Any search for a light-hearted image from the terms “austria” and “evil” failed, so here’s a jolly picture of an actual Austrian, presumably having gone a bit crazy due to the lack of phones in his little town.

Advance Australia’s Fares

By MattyBcloseAuthor: MattyB Name: Matt Bortone
Email: matt.barr@trafficbroker.co.uk
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: I've been a fan of mobile phones...since the beginning. Being a poor sharecropper's son, I'm less gadget-obsessed than some of our reporters who seem to have developed an unhealthy attachment to the idea of the HTC Diamond. Instead, I'm interested in the way mobiles have changed our lives at work, at home and anywhere else that people cooler than me go.See Authors Posts (60)

Strewth! Its a well-known piece of trivia that Australia has more sheep than people (possibly up to 10 times as many) but now mobile phones are starting to overtake the population size too.

If you head to the land down under you’ll find over 21.26 million phones in a population of 21.29 million. But if you want to use a public phone, you’ll be sharing with around 400 other people. Experts and sly cell-phone promoters accredit this growth to the rise of 3G services (plus the deactivation of many remote phone booths).

Meanwhile, China’s mobile phone user-base reached over 574 million this March. Mobiles are officially taking over the world.

Gleaming The Cuban

By MattyBcloseAuthor: MattyB Name: Matt Bortone
Email: matt.barr@trafficbroker.co.uk
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: I've been a fan of mobile phones...since the beginning. Being a poor sharecropper's son, I'm less gadget-obsessed than some of our reporters who seem to have developed an unhealthy attachment to the idea of the HTC Diamond. Instead, I'm interested in the way mobiles have changed our lives at work, at home and anywhere else that people cooler than me go.See Authors Posts (60)

Cuba has the lowest mobile phone usage in Latin America. Individuals could only get mobile phones through their jobs or foreign carriers. Now that Castro has retired, this is set to change. Today his brother Raúl Castro, Cuba’s new President, has ended the restriction. Cuban telecommunications monopoly ETECSA, a joint venture with Telecom Italia, has said that they will begin to sell services within the next few days. I wonder how long it will be until the other big names in mobile communications come rolling in? Source: Reuters

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… CY: wait… I: wait… L: wait… YCat: wait… I: wait… Top: wait… I: wait… L: wait…

High Speed To China

By MattyBcloseAuthor: MattyB Name: Matt Bortone
Email: matt.barr@trafficbroker.co.uk
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: I've been a fan of mobile phones...since the beginning. Being a poor sharecropper's son, I'm less gadget-obsessed than some of our reporters who seem to have developed an unhealthy attachment to the idea of the HTC Diamond. Instead, I'm interested in the way mobiles have changed our lives at work, at home and anywhere else that people cooler than me go.See Authors Posts (60)

As mainstream media gears up to cover the Beijing Olympics, many of the more nomophobic have expressed concerns that China’s famous technological censorship will impact their freedom (and their regular Fark browsing).

Hoping to allay these fears, China Mobile will being public commercial testing of its 3G network tomorrow, 4 months before the Olympics begin. Users in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, and Qin Huangdao will be given new numbers as part of a trial, in exchange for a 50% discount on their mobile phone bills. Though this is a step in the right direction, there will still be likely only 360,000 terminals by the end of April to cater for an nationwide audience of 7 million.

And if you were wondering, that scary-looking phone at the top of the post is an exclusive China-only ‘Fuwa HuanHuan’ Olympics mascot themed handset.

Source:VDUNet

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… CY: wait… I: wait… L: wait… YCat: wait… I: wait… Top: wait… I: wait… L: wait…

New Release - LG Touch Web

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (212)

South Korea is getting a very nice handset from LG. The LG-LH2300, colloquially known as the Touch Web phone, will ship in April. It’s available exclusively in South Korea and there are no plans for a worldwide release.

The LG Touch Web has a 3-inch touchscreen display (800X640), 3 megapixel camera with autofocus, and a MicroSD memory slot. It’s expected to retail at 700,000 KRW (£350).

Source: Article 33

zzzPhone - Bespoke Mobile Technology

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (212)

Custom built hardware is no new idea. Dell have let you select what you do and don’t want on their computers for years. Why hasn’t this concept been applied to mobile phones?

The zzzPhone is the first custom-built handset. Each phone is made to order in a factory in China. The idea was announced back in February, and the first handsets are now appearing. As CrunchGear found out, it’s not a scam. However, there were some problems with the manufacturer, and the phones won’t work in the US at the moment.

The newest generation should be on its way soon. The OS has yet to be confirmed, but it could be Symbian or Windows CE. Android is also a possibility for upcoming models, as is Skype.

The zzzPhone is a fascinating piece of kit. It has eight motherboards to cope with all the customisation. It includes a 20 minute internal backup battery. This means it will work without a battery for 20 minutes. It also has two SIM card slots so you can combine work and play in the one phone. Prices start at $149 (£75) for the 3 megapixel camera version.

Nearly half of Japanese bathe with their mobile phone

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (212)

A survey released today revealed that 41.2% of people in Japan have taken their mobile phones to the bathtub to make calls, type emails, listen to music or play games. The most common reason for risking their phone’s life was to type emails, closely followed by listening to music.

The results of Sega’s survey will come as no surprise to Japanese handset manufacturers, some of which already advertise that their phones are safe for the bath.

Japan has one of the world’s most advanced mobile networks in the world, with nearly 85% of users carrying third generation handsets. These are handsets which allow for internet access and other interactive features.

Source: Yahoo! News

Samsung Miniskirt 2 out in South Korea

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (212)

The Samsung Miniskirt 2 is out, in a variety of slightly repulsive colours. The slider phones are also known as the SCH-C225, the SPH-C2205 and the SPH-C2225. They have a Smile Shot function (enables automatic shots of smiling faces), 2 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth, a vibrating keyboard and a dictionary.

Source: Akihabara News