Mobile

There have been a few dozen good responses to the post I wrote about new technologies or services that could help find people who get into trouble while traveling. See A Webware challenge: Make cell phones better lifelines.

It begins with notification. You don't send out rescue parties until you know someone is lost, and my initial proposal simply allows the alarm to be raised earlier. Several people rightly commented that it would be difficult to create a "flight plan" system that people would actually use. But I will not dismiss this idea just yet; some of … Read more

Shortly after we got the crushing news of James Kim's death, I received an e-mail from a human resources person here at CNET. She wrote, "I would love to see a Web site dedicated to the safety of employees. Employees should be able to submit their travel routes and whereabouts. Whether it's on a road trip or visiting an apartment listed on Craigslist, providing information on where employees are and the related circumstances may be extremely helpful in the event that an emergency or dangerous situation occurs."

I forwarded this idea to several people who run … Read more

Opera Software has released the next generation of its mini mobile browser, Opera Mini 3. I gamely attempted to review the free release, interested to see if the new and improved features boasting faster speeds, secure Web page support (for safely accessing eBay and e-mail), and RSS capabilities satisfied the hype. I was also keen to check out content folding, a unique feature that reformats Web pages by heading, using an expandable tree form (more in the full review). Sounds great, right?

I dove in, originally intending to compare Opera Mini 3's performance on a variety of devices. Yet … Read more

Honda is looking at another creative application of navigation 2.0--our phrase for Internet-connected driving. According to the New Scientist, Honda has filed an application for a patent for a system that affixes numerous Webcams to a car's rear-view mirrors. These cameras would then use a cellular connection to relay images--as well as their respective speeds and GPS coordinates--in real time to a central server, which could then be accessed via the Internet by other motorists interested in the current traffic situation. The patent application says that the service would enable drivers "to take virtual trips along predetermined … Read more

"I'm so tired of people talking about Web 2.0," says Sarah Meyers with a forced sigh. That's a lie, judging by her on-camera bouncing--platinum wig and bustier and all--as an unwelcome guest at a fete full of venture capitalists. Clearly she's relishing the access, the attention, and the ability to mock the scene while quaffing free cocktails and climbing into the cockpit of a parked miniplane.

You can watch Meyers's silly, party-crashing adventures at D7TV.com, a start-up that serves original micromovies to a Web browser or mobile phone. You can even hang … Read more

Jaguar is the first auto manufacturer to offer its customers internet tracking of their cars. Sourcing the technology from MicroTRAKgps (a company that may one day be known more for testing the envelope of English language capitalization than for GPS technology) Jaguar will offer "JaguarWatch" as a dealer-installed accessory. It uses a combination of GPS and GSM cellular technology.

Jag owners go to a personal portal to find their car, setup alerts for keyless movement, browse its speed and location history or set a "GeoFence" which will alert them when the car leaves or enters certain … Read more

As any regular partygoer can tell you, mobile phones are an essential part of the nightlife experience. You can use them to text-message from noisy dance floors, quickly grab the digits of cool new people you meet, and even find out where all your friends are thanks to social networking services like Dodgeball. But with a new service called PartyStrands, you can use your cell phone to actually shape the party.

Last Thursday night, I had the opportunity to hang out at the TechCrunch 8 Meetup party at BED (see photo), a pretty cool nightclub in NYC's Chelsea neighborhood. … Read more

After hosting a panel on mobile Web access at the Under the Radar conference on mobility last week, I moderated the digital imaging session, where four CEOs showed off what they can make camera phones do.

Daem Interactive makes a system that lets camera phones recognize images in the real world. Primarily designed for advertisements, the idea is that if you see an ad in the wild (like on a billboard) that's part of a special promotion, when you snap a picture of it and MMS it to the system you'll be rewarded with content, a prize, or … Read more

At the Under the Radar conference on mobility yesterday, I hosted two panels on mobile apps. Execs from cellular phone carriers judged company pitches. I'll report later on the very cool session on digital imaging. But first, here's the rundown on four mobile Web access companies.

4Info is a mobile search service. Via SMS, you can query it to give you weather, movie times, stock prices, and so on. Just send simple words, such as movies, to 4Info (44636). The latest feature is a somewhat open platform that lets publishers quickly add content (such as blog feeds) to … Read more