Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment

Our peeps at Hack A Day just came across this sweet mod that combines a cell phone with a VCR — you know, the one you’ve been keeping on the off-chance that you might want to watch that tape your parents shot of your vacation to Sea World back in ’85. We’re not sure if it’s the VHS nostalgia or classic Ericsson, but something about this rig really makes us want to put away our mobile-enabled TiVos and Media Centers, and get back to basics recording our shows the hard way. It’s just more rewarding that way, ok?

[Via Hack A Day]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

---

SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Culture, Messaging

You’ve probably considered it, you may have even given it a whirl just to see if it’d fly; using technology to your advantage in testing situations is most often regarding as cheating, as was the case when proctors recently busted a ring of Vietnamese test-takers attempting to cheat on their college entrance exams. More than 20 hopeful students paid between $1,250 to $3,125USD to get wired up with wigs and shirts that would allow them to communicate questions and answers via mobile phones without being discovered. The potential gain was apparently worth the risk, especially since only 10 percent of applicants in Vietnam get accepted to universities. Once again we see that crime doesn’t pay, but we can’t help but give props to the high-tech hijinks.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Multimedia, Misc

If you’re looking for the most high-tech way to win a trip to Costa Rica, we think we’ve got your answer right here. Starbucks’ Summer Pursuit game uses trivia questions sent via SMS to weed out contestants — nothing too interesting there, but answers can be sent with a reply text or by MMSing a picture of the answer to an email address. Seems a bit dangerous to us, since we’re guessing the recognition rate isn’t 100% and we Americans sure do like to sue when things don’t go our way — but if it means we can snap a pic of “triple Venti extra-hot sugar-free hazelnut soy latte” instead of typing it in via T9, we’re all for it.

[Via textually.org]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Messaging, Misc

Although the nuclear war for which it was designed thankfully never happened, the US’ Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) soldiers on, occasionally interrupting our Wheel of Fortune viewing with disconcerting bloops and bleeps. FEMA, recognizing that the mobile phone now easily outstrips traditional media for reaching the uninformed masses in the event of a crisis, is finally turning to text messaging to give us a heads-up on air raids and the like. A system for distributing emergency text messages from the nation’s digital TV stations to carrier networks has been in testing since 2004 and is getting ready for its public debut in the Gulf area by the end of the year, with rollouts in large cities nationwide thereafter. Apparently, the texts do little else but tell you to flip on your TV — and you’ll be able to opt out if you so choose — but if we can track down that frighteningly dissonant EBS tone to use as our incoming message indicator, we’re all for it.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, Others, GSM

As you may recall, we touched on the m300 GSM watch a couple weeks ago with a healthy dose of skepticism, but it now appears the device is more than just vaporware. SMS Technology, the m300's manufacturer, did us the favor of sending along a handful of in-the-flesh pictures along with a detailed account of its development. Apparently, the m300 owes its existence to another Australian product -- MTrak -- a kevlar-strapped GPS bracelet designed for tracking children. MTrak evolved into a CDMA watch phone, and then on to its current GSM incarnation. Packing the GPS proved too bulky for a mainstream watch, though, so the December '06 delivery date is giving SMS some additional time to engineer that part of hardware out of the platform. The result is said to be roughly the size of a TAG Heuer, supports speech-to-text for messaging, and rocks both Bluetooth and a speakerphone -- not shabby specs for a phone the size of a few coins. The company claims to have some 1.2 million Australian orders alone on tap, so hats off to these guys for giving it the old college try, eh? More wrist-talkin' eye candy after the break.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture

It's no secret that China is rockin' some serious server power dedicated to filtering its SMS airwaves of unthinkable topics like Taiwan, democracy, and pornography, but other countries are getting in on the action, too. Belarus and Iran have both been called out in recent months for listening to its citizens' texts, and in Belarus' case, sending them as well. Although the technology for real-time filtering by keyword is largely homegrown (or so we hope), predictive text manufacturers like Tegic (disclaimer: Tegic is owned by Engadget's parent company's parent company, AOL) are receiving pressure from handset manufacturers to double- and triple-check their dictionaries for words that could be considered distasteful in countries with more oppressive governments than our own. Personally, discovering a word missing from T9 has never prevented us from typing it manually, but nonetheless -- between this and M-Track, we're about ready to head down into the Engadget bunker with a year's supply of Spam and just ride this whole thing out.

[Via textually.org]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, Samsung

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) has just announced their IDEA 2006 awards for excellence in design, and paddle-shaped phones appear to be all the rage this year -- Samsung has been tapped in the "Design Explorations" category with their oddball Touch Messenger device for the blind. Typically, SMS-capable devices for the blind have involved text to speech, which, as IDSA points out, is a bummer for privacy not to mention generally defeating the purpose of text messaging to begin with. No word on production prospects, but IDSA does mention that the Touch Messenger "gives blind users in China an affordable, user-friendly cell phone experience on par with sighted users," so it sounds like we can expect this or a similar device in the pipeline -- at least for China.

[Via Telecoms Korea]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture, Messaging, Studies

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, Pantech, GSM

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture, Messaging

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Messaging, Sprint-Nextel

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture, Messaging

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Handsets, Messaging

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Misc

As the site clearly indicates, “The purpose of this circuit is to make the human life better and easier,” and we couldn’t agree more. If you’ve got an ancient Ericsson lying around that would otherwise be ready for the recycle bin, this circuit gives your faithful friend a new lease on life as an SMS-actuated IR sender capable of controlling up to eight devices, depending on how you opt to build it. A simple 8-digit text message to the phone is all it takes to send the appropriate ON or OFF signals, and as an added bonus, the author shows you how to wire the phone directly into the circuit so a battery’s no longer required. A better and easier human life, indeed.

[Via Make]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture

While Aussies are still debating whether or not texting should be a recognized subject in school, New Zealanders apparently have no qualms with the so-called “extension of the English language.” High school students in New Zealand will be able to use “text-speak” on this year’s written national examinations if they so desire, which should send old-fashioned scorers into fits of rage while trying to wade through a myriad of words lacking vowels. New Zealand’s Qualifications Authority said that it still strongly discourages students from using anything other than “full English,” but that credit will be given if the answer “clearly shows the required understanding,” even if the students uses “lol” and “CU” to get there. It was noted that grammar-based sections would require actual words to be spelled out, removing that competitive advantage where it probably matters most. Nevertheless, it’s yet another small step for texting, and a giant leap for the English language — right?

[Via Textually]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.