HOOKED ON MOBILE

The iPhone is a wonderful device. I use it so much throughout the day that sometimes I feel like is an extension of myself. Sadly the batteries don’t last longer than 3 hrs. Apple has a few recommendations on how to make the most out of it (http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html). Not enough if you ask me.

A couple of days ago, a virtual friend (Miss Mobile) was twitting about about going out, but not before recharging her iPhone that she had been using throughout the day. I imagine the battery was almost dead for this heavy user who also happens to be on the road a lot…

I installed an TV from Telekom on my iPhone a few weeks ago. So far the only one watching the stuff is my 8 year old son. As it turned out, there are a couple of channels (like Cartoon Network) not available by our current cable provider. Honestly I installed the app just to test it, but I realized how handy it becomes on the train when I am embarking on long trips.

The only thing I can do with my iPhone in Prague is call and send SMS for an astronomical price. I mean really… Mobile operators are making a fortune for something that doesn’t really cost as much as they claim. 51 cents a minute is just plain stealing!

Happy slapping is nothing new. We’ve seen the documentaries, heard the stories and read the articles about it. What is surprising to me is how it keep spreading like a bad cancer among the young population around the world. Only a combined effort of equal intensity between citizens and organizations (governmental or not) will help find a solution for this criminal activity that is everything but happy.

Probably the toughest phone around, the S1 from Land rover. If Lara Croft, Rambo or Indiana Jones had a phone this would be it.

A few days ago I couldn’t help noticing a woman at Maximilianstrasse in Munich (the street with expensive fashion labels) using her mobile phone. The device was covered in pink leather, flashing a GUCCI logo on the back of it. My first reaction was: “Oh, GUCCI has also a phone just like PRADA… Of course!…” Later I realized it was just a leather case for a regular mobile phone. However, that kept me thinking about how we tend to turn simple electronic devices into symbols of status or simply customize them so tat they can somehow reflect our personalities.

Iranian citizens have turned to the use of non-traditional media (blogs, twitter, youtube…etc) to broadcast the truth to the world. The mobile phone has become an instrumental part for reporting events as citizens use it to take pictures and record videos that find their way to the internet in a matter of minutes.

Click-to-Call or CTC is a model that started first on the internet and then evolved into a more literal use of its name, meaning click to make a call. While browsing the net on your mobile phone you can see how phone numbers are higlighted (like a link), upon clicking the number will be automatically dialed.

In an industry dominated by SMS campaigns, MMS, shrunken banners mimicking the ones on internet, ring tones and some other primitive forms of marketing gave the mobile phone the reputation of been the underachiever of the media world. Undeniably, the introduction of the iPhone changed the way we think about mobile phones, the way we interact with them and what we expect from our devices. We are now living what is been called by some the “Post iPhone era” and every new smartphone that comes out in the market is expected to be better or at least have the same functionalities. While innovative and cool, advertisers are worried that an offer that can’t be streamlined and sold by the pound is unlikely to happen with this current innovative climate. Just like the early days of the internet a lot of experimenting is going on, but defined formats are not well established yet.

The MSM (Maverick Secure Mobile) is a security application for your phone in case you lose it or it gets stolen. It sits quietly and invisible to the untrained eye on your phone. With it you can track the location of your phone and remotely retrieve the contents and disable it just by sending an SMS from a different device.