A Cell-Phone Tower for Your Pocket

The signal your cell phone receives typically comes from a large microwave transceiver a few miles away. Now it can be supplied—over a short range, at least—by a device the size of a USB memory stick.

Two U.K. firms—PicoChip and Ubiquisys—have developed such pocket-sized, USB-powered devices, which connect to nearby cell phones using the same frequencies of a conventional tower. The gadgets use the Internet connection of a computer or other device to link back to the wider cell network and relay calls or data. PicoChip's is the size of a USB stick, while Ubiquisys' design is the size of a small cell phone

Continue reading technology review published by MIT

iPhone Users Bandwidth May Not Be The Real Issue

Ars Technica over the weekend published a fascinating piece which theorizes that a lack of raw bandwidth may not be the real issue behind the trouble the Apple (AAPL) iPhone is creating on the AT&T (T) network in densely populated areas like New York and the Bay Area.

The real problem, Ars Technica says, is that the iPhone - and other modern smart phones - disconnect from the network whenever possible to save power.

“The fact that almost all of the complaints from iPhone users come from the U.S. suggests that AT&T’s network is at least partially to blame,” the story asserts. “In fact, users in other countries have told Ars that they don’t experience the kinds of problems that U.S. users often report. Well, other countries except one.”

Continue reading Apple: Bandwidth May Not Be The Issue For AT&T iPhone Users By Eric Savitz

Why I Dumped My Palm Pre Plus After A Month

JOKE OF THE WEEK: Microsoft Plans To Charge For Its Mobile Operating System

Crazy Russian Girl's Butt Photo Meme Takes Russia by Storm

According to English Russia, this Russian whale tailing (where girls take pictures of themselves in the mirror with their heads down and their bottoms up in the air) is taking the country by storm! It all started after a blonde woman posted her photo in Russian social network and then for some reason, countless females are followed up!

Read More at Gizmodo & Geekologie & EnglishRussia

Why Japan’s Cellphones Haven’t Gone Global

LG Decoy?

TOKYO — At first glance, Japanese cellphones are a gadget lover’s dream: ready for Internet and e-mail, they double as credit cards, boarding passes and even body-fat calculators.

But it is hard to find anyone in Chicago or London using a Japanese phone like a Panasonic, a Sharp or an NEC. Despite years of dabbling in overseas markets, Japan’s handset makers have little presence beyond the country’s shores.

via thread bombing

“Japan is years ahead in any innovation. But it hasn’t been able to get business out of it,” said Gerhard Fasol, president of the Tokyo-based IT consulting firm, Eurotechnology Japan.

The Japanese have a name for their problem: Galápagos syndrome.

Japan’s cellphones are like the endemic species that Darwin encountered on the Galápagos Islands — fantastically evolved and divergent from their mainland cousins — explains Takeshi Natsuno, who teaches at Tokyo’s Keio University.

Read the full New Your Times story by HIROKO TABUCHI

The World's First Solar-Powered Waterproof Cell Phone

"Ever find yourself with a water-soaked low-battery phone? Sharp and Japanese network KDDI have a solution: the world's first solar-powered waterproof cell phone. The phone, scheduled for a June release in Japan, can nab one minute of talk time or two hours of standby power from ten minutes of sun. The phone can derive 80% of its charge in total from solar power. It's not a fast enough charging time to change anyone's life, but it's ideal for afternoons in the park or on the beach."

read more | digg story