‘cellphone crazy planet’
The Australian technology newsletter “ITWire” reports that “61 percent of global population now using mobile phones“.
The International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure has announced that the total number of worldwide mobile cellular subscribers will reach 4 billion before the end of 2008.
Or, to put it another way, that means a global penetration level of 61 percent for mobile phone subscriptions. Compare that to a figure of just 12 percent in the year 2000 and you can appreciate how we have become a cellphone crazy planet in a very short time indeed.
That’s a social, technological and economic revolution that dwarfs most of what we read on newspaper headlines every day.
Now you know why fring has such an international focus!
BTW- The ITU, the UN’s International Telecommunications Union, has their own Youtube Channel. Another Youtube channel worth exploring is fringland’s channel. When we tell you we’re fringing everywhere, we mean it!
where it all began
The first wireless phone calls were made by Alexander Graham Bell in June 1880 here.
Washington DC plaque honouring Bell and the first wireless phone call
Bell considered his “photophone“, a light based phone system, more important than the now ‘traditional’ telephone he is usually remembered for. Readers of the fring blogs will recall Simon from fring’s South Africa blog discussing recent experiments with what may be the world’s fastest wi-fi connection. The technology used in that experiment is directly descended from Bell’s photophone. So, who knows, maybe someday history will concur with Bell’s own assessment. Of course, Bell’s photophone is really the grandfather of fibre optics, the technology that carries over 80% of the world’s data and voice traffic (including mobile phone traffic between cells and the rest of the network). So maybe the history books just haven’t caught up to Bell yet.
fring, of course, works great with the world’s most popular wi-fi technology. I think Bell would enjoy all this!
local councils get the message
As mobile phones become nearly ubiquitous, new applications are emerging all the time. Here’s an example, at least one Sydney local government district, now provides information on road works, garbage pick ups and sporting field bookings via SMS text messages. Residents sign up on-line and get updates of major local council works in their locality. See here.
SMS is a great technology and Australians, in particular, love it. My guess is that love affair will blossom with the whole range of mobile chat and messaging technologies. And this is a field that fring is especially strong. So how long will it be before we can subscribe to chat or ‘micro-blogging’ services from, say. local councils?
here come the androids!
The first “google phone” is on the market. At least on the US market. HTC’s G-1.
Have a look…
And have a look at other phone geeks having a look…
I must say I think I prefer the mix of touch screen and keyboard controls. The best of both worlds?
One of the key features of Android is an open architecture that encourages third party developers to build new phone applications. Here is an example of one that mightn’t be popular with retailers.
Want to know more? The Sydney Morning Herald’s ‘Digital Life’ column recently did an interesting piece on Google, the Android and how it stacks up to the iPhone.
fring to the rescue
Twitter has recently delivered some bad news. They are reducing their SMS messenger service for Twitter users outside of the USA.
You can read the bad news here.
But there is good news too. fring’s support for Twitter provides a low cost alternative for Twitterers wherever in the world they are.
iPhone deal?
ITWIRE reports what might just be the world’s cheapest iPhone plan.
And another great thing about the iPhone. It runs fring.
motion to energy
The Gigaom blog reports that a Boise company M2E Power will start selling a mobile phone charger “…that can convert six hours of everyday movement…into one hour of talk time..”
(Source)
The new technology is called “motion-harvesting” and should be able to convert walking, shopping and commuting time into talk time.
How’s this for an idea? A wi-fi smartphone with motion-harvesting, and fring. Maybe the lowest cost of operation phone setup of all!!
cop 2.0
Dick Tracy used his wristwatch phone to fight crime. Well comic book characters shouldn’t have to carry the whole burden of fighting crime. Cameraphone users are now being enlisted into the fight. At least, in New York City. In this report from the BBC, NYPD’s commissioner Ray Kelly says..
“It’s a fact of life. Everybody has a camera in their telephones. When people can record an event taking place that helps us during an investigation..”
When crime fighting cameraphone wielding citizens are not out about keeping the city safe, they can catch up with what’s happening back in the station house. The NYPD has it’s own podcast.And it’s own YouTube channel.
love me, love my phone network
Sydney’s commuter newspaper “MX” featured a report from The Australian Interactive Media Industry Association’s ‘Mobile Lifestyle Index’.
The report gives a fascinating insight into the marketing, and indeed the sociology, of mobile phones. The report found single people more likely to sign up with Optus, married people with Telstra and de facto couples were more likely to use “3″.
Of course fring loves them all!
fight roaming charges with fring
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that global roaming is costing Australia travellers away from home… the earth! (See story here).
“The financial advisory service KPMG also found retail margins were excessively high on roaming calls, with the average call costing $2.75 a minute while the wholesale cost was only 46 cents.”
Ouch!
Here’s a way to fight back against excessive roaming charges. When you fly abroad don’t forget to pack your fring!
