MetaFilter posts tagged with cellphones and mobiles

The Inconsiderate Cellphone Company

kenneth — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 08:37:32 -0800

Ringtones are a growing concern and not just when people don't shut them off. Jamster is a weekly ringtone subscription that advertises to kids on channels like Nick and MTV. Kids are attracted to crazy frogs like a magnet and are using the service without parental permission. Now Britain is launching a new inquiry into Jamster's business practices. And lawyers in California filed a class action lawsuit against the company. But Jamster isn't just some fly-by-night operation trying to milk as much money from kids as they can before regulators crack down. Jamster is owned by VeriSign.

It's also a fair question whether it's worth paying 3 bucks for a few seconds of a song that sounds like a player piano, when it costs less than a buck to get the whole thing on the web (especially now that that crazy frog is a single). Why can't you just pay the 99 cents or whatever to get the song on your phone?

Just Keeping Track

DrDoberman — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 05:45:56 -0800

The Army are tagging honey bees to find UXBs. Now technology lets you silently locate mobile phones in the UK. Now you don't need to be 007 or Austin Powers to track someone. Is tagging offenders the soft option? How could someone already be watching you?

Sky Ear

schoolgirl report — Fri, 09 Apr 2004 07:20:11 -0800

Sky Ear will be a one-night event in which a glowing "cloud" of mobile phones and helium balloons is released into the air so that people can dial into the cloud and listen to the sounds of the sky. The cloud will be made of one thousand large helium balloons each responding to the electromagnetic environment (created by distant storms, mobile phones, police and ambulance radios, television broadcasts, etc.) with coloured blue, red and yellow lights.

mini-movies

Grod — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 15:56:37 -0800

Coming to a phone near you. The creative entries you'll see here fit not only the small screen size, but the on-the-go nature of mobile use. Entries typically run up to 3 minutes. All are sized and purposed to work in small handheld formats. Flash, live action, 3D animation, its all here at the World's Smallest Film Festival.

Can you hear me now?

riffola — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 10:20:25 -0800

Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships You can register either in Freestyle or Original (the traditional over the shoulder -style). Alternatively, you can register as a team (max. three persons / team). There's also have a Junior category for competitors of under 12 years. Grading in Freestyle is based on style and aesthetics, whereas in Original the grading is purely based on length and style. In both categories theree prizes will be awarded. The current Ukranian record is 57 metres.

Vibrating cellphones of love!

theplayethic — Tue, 21 Jan 2003 03:27:31 -0800

Vibrating cellphones of love! "Within a year you could be able to "touch" someone over your mobile phone", says the BBC. Some people have been waiting for this for quite a while - and dreaming up VERY specific applications.

boneybaloney — Tue, 30 Oct 2001 02:49:26 -0800

Virgin Mobile Phone Records Which Map Users Whereabouts Kept Indefinitely. Admittedly, this data is only accurate to within a few hundred metres at the moment, but 'When the new breed of 3G - third generation - phones comes on stream, probably next year, they will enable the users' location to be pinpointed to within a couple of metres'. I know the current climate is increasingly pro-identity cards, pro-police state, but this can't be right, surely? Why do they want to keep this information indefinitely?

skallas — Thu, 06 Sep 2001 17:36:47 -0800

Burn peanut butter not fossil fuels. Great little piece on a new cell phone charger that you windup to recharge and the promise of a windup charger any application. I always thought the windup flashlights were great but the windup radios with one speaker leave a lot to be desired.

jennak — Mon, 02 Jul 2001 09:30:31 -0800

9 out of 10 Brit Kids Have Cell Phones... and 8 out of 10 have tumors the size of oranges above their right ear. Beer with school lunches and now cell phones for kids?

What happened to tying up the phone line for hours and hours til mom turns red?

physics — Thu, 08 Feb 2001 19:21:18 -0800

Never go skiing with a mobile phone. Or rather never try to search for persons burried in an avalanche with your mobile phone turned on. Sad but true.

quirked — Mon, 04 Dec 2000 06:50:50 -0800

Filipinos, in their fight against Philippine President Joseph Estrada, have turned to their cell phones. (Real Audio from NPR) Activists are using the technology to organize rallies with thousands of people in days or hours instead of weeks. They are sending 30 million cell phone text messages a day, more than all of Europe combined. Cheap and difficult to censor. I wonder if this will catch on in China?

john — Thu, 16 Nov 2000 11:41:09 -0800

Can a mobile phone help get you laid? Then it makes sense that they should be for adults only, but 1 in 5 US teenagers own one and it's not just the radiation that is dangerous.