Skyfire mobile browser app brings Flash video to iPhone/iPad

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Experience one of the the world's best mobile browser with Skyfire 2.0 for iPhone ($2 app). This is a concise overview of some of the browser features:

- Adaptive streaming technology ensures optimal utilization of network and processor bandwidth (preserves battery life)
- Sharing to Facebook and Twitter
- Facebook Quickview - Check your Facebook News/Wall without opening another app or page
- Intuitive and finger friendly user interface for easy browsing experience
- Load full desktop webpages on your mobile device
- Multi-tab browsing - open up to eight windows and browse simultaneously

References:
Skyfire Plays Flash Video on the iPhone, Is Now Available in the App Store

SkyFire Pulls In Nearly $1 Million In Its First Weekend On The App Store http://goo.gl/QkwLu

Updated: 11/10/10

Days of flat-rate mobile data rates drawing to a close

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From the NYTimes:

The days of flat-rate mobile data rates are rapidly drawing to a close.

All-you-can-eat plans — as they are known in the industry — were introduced when the mobile Web was in its infancy and demand was profitable and manageable.

But with traffic booming, reflecting the growing popularity of smartphones, social networking and downloading music and video, network operators fear that flat-rate plans will eat into profits or even fail to cover costs.

The result is likely to be higher prices for consumers.

Instead of all you can eat, the new industry mantra, she said, is: “You get what you pay for.”

References:
Getting What You Pay for on the Mobile Internet - NYTimes.com.

Employing their phones as flashlights? I don't think so.

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From the NYTimes:

"In India, Reliance Communications sells handsets for less than $25, with one-cent-a-minute phone calls across India and one-cent text messages and no monthly charge — while earning fat profits. Compare that to iPad buyers in the United States, who pay $499 for the basic version, who might also have a $1,000-plus computer and a $100-plus smart cellphone, and who could pay $100 or more each month to connect these many devices to the ether.

In Africa, the cellphone is giving birth to a new paradigm in money. PesaPal and M-Pesa in Kenya are working to make the cellphone the hub of personal finance. M-Pesa lets you convert cash into cellphone money at your local grocer, and this money can instantly be wired to anyone with a phone.

Mobile phone - In 1987, when Michael Douglas famously carried one in “Wall Street,” it was an exorbitant gadget for high rollers. Now it’s more common than a toilet."

References:
Where a Cellphone Is Still Cutting Edge - NYTimes.com.

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Google Sync for your phone

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Google Sync for your phone generally works very well and makes switching phones at the end of your contract as easy as possible.



Google Sync for your phone
http://www.google.com/mobile/sync

As with any service using push technology, Google Sync increases usage of your device's battery. On most devices, Google Sync uses the Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® protocol. When setting up a new Exchange ActiveSync account on your device, existing data may be removed from your phone (it did not in my case however). Please make sure to back up before you set up Google Sync.

Here are the instructions for Windows Mobile:

Mail, Calendar & Contacts Sync: Setting Up Your Windows Mobile Phone for Google Sync

New mobile phone allows bosses to monitor staff movements and type of activity

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From BBC:

"Japanese phone giant KDDI Corporation has developed technology that tracks even the tiniest movement of the user and beams the information back to HQ.

It works by analysing the movement of accelerometers, found in many handsets. Activities such as walking, climbing stairs or even cleaning can be identified. "When applied to the issue of telemedicine, or other situations in which remotely monitoring or accessing an individual's personal movements is vital to that service. But there will surely be negative consequences when applied to employee tracking or salesforce optimisation."

For example, the KDDI mobile phone strapped to a cleaning worker's waist can tell the difference between actions performed such as scrubbing, sweeping, walking an even emptying a rubbish bin.

Truck drivers are regularly monitored through mobile phones in Japan, while salespeople have been regularly tracked by their employers using GPS since it was introduced to Japanese mobiles in 2002."

References:

Mobile that allows bosses to snoop on staff developed. BBC.

Note: Motorola Droid shown in the Amazon ad does not have the functions described in the post.

Rapid Rise of Children With Cellphones

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21.8 percent of girls have them, compared with 18.3 percent of boys. Most of the children surveyed who had cellphones were 10 or 11 years old; Mediamark reported that 36.1 percent of children in that age range had phones.

References:

Rapid Rise of Children With Cellphones. NYTimes.

Comments from Google Buzz:

Vamsi Balakrishnan - Maybe now would be the time to apply for a grant to do a study following a random group of 10,000 kids and see cancer rates in terms of cell phone usage, blue tooth usage, etc.?

Ves Dimov, M.D. - Who knows... May be Bluetooth causes blue tooth... :)

Vamsi Balakrishnan - I have this image in my mind of a tooth turning blue slowly depending on usage. Or if the person has an incoming call.

A slight off shoot of the tattoo and contacts that have been postulated for diabetics that would change color depending on glucose levels. If only the future was here now. :(

Related:

Hard drive in the cloud: Use Google Docs to upload any file up to 250 MB

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From Google Docs Blog:

Google Docs we will be rolling out the ability to upload, store and organize any type of file in Google Docs. You'll be able to upload and access your files from any computer -- all you need is an Internet connection.

You can upload to Google Docs any file up to 250 MB. You'll have 1 GB of free storage for files you don't convert into one of the Google Docs formats (i.e. Google documents, spreadsheets, and presentations), and if you need more space, you can buy additional storage for $0.25 per GB per year.

Combined with shared folders, you can store, organize, and collaborate on files more easily using Google Docs.


Video: Google Docs in Plain English.

I frequently use Google Docs for a variety of projects. It has some limitations but overall is a very useful service. Recommended.

References:
Upload and store your files in the cloud with Google Docs

Direct comparison: Nexus One vs. iPhone (CNN video)

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Related:

AP Video: Google Nexus One Phone Based on the Latest Android OS

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Google showed off the features of its new Nexus One mobile phone at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Some analysts say it could challenge Apple iPhone's market domination.

See more at google.com/phone