Blog | News & Information on Wireless Services & Telecommunications
Posted: 07/27/10 by Mobile Future Team
Birthdays and anniversaries are inherently times of reflection and celebration. Which is most likely why Mashable, a news site celebrating its 5th birthday this year, decided to take a quick jaunt down memory lane to show us just how far mobile technology has come over the last half-decade.
Suffice it to say that if the majority of human relationships were as successful as that of consumers and the wireless industry, the markets for chick-flicks and online dating may cease to exist-- because this romance is nothing short of a fairy tale.
The expansive and swift proliferation of mobile broadband. The shift from feature-based flip phones to smart mobile devices operated over user-friendly interfaces like the touchscreen. The real-time social capabilities offered through new media sites like Facebook and Twitter. The emergence of apps for, well, just about everything.
And thankfully, there is no end in sight for this climate of consumer-driven innovation. We appreciate Mashable for highlighting how wireless continues to serve as a true American success story, and, as always, we look forward to exploring new unchartered horizons in our mobile future.
Posted: 07/26/10 by Jonathan Spalter
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 — landmark legislation that ensures equal opportunity and accessibility for the 54 million, or one out of five, Americans living with some form of a disability. We have seen terrific progress over the past twenty years and there is still much work to be done.
One bright spot where new tools are being developed to help increase opportunity and independence for those with disabilities is in wireless. With technology leaping forward at warp speed, mobile innovators are developing new products, services and applications to both anticipate and meet evolving consumer demands and particularly the needs of those with disabilities.
For example, a smartphone uses voice activation on a mapping application to guide a visually impaired person walking down the street. Mobile screen readers narrate everything from the day's newspaper stories to email messages. And new mobile tools help distinguish between $5 and $10 dollar bills and cans of peas or corn on the pantry shelf.
Mobile Future's recently released white paper titled, "Mobile Ability: The Transformational Impact of Wireless Innovation for People with Disabilities" takes a closer look at how wireless technology can improve the quality of life and enhance inclusiveness for individuals with disabilities. The report explores how important the intersection of mobile innovation and broadband technology is for people with disabilities in the areas of employment, health care, education and emergency response.
Mobile technology has revolutionized communications worldwide, and in doing so, has reshaped the way society functions as a whole. Robust investment in wireless has allowed innovators to dream big and invent affordable and accessible technologies that provide consumers with advancements and opportunities never dreamed possible.
The ADA was a beacon of hope for millions of Americans and led to countless opportunities. But while we celebrate this monumental legislation this week, we must not forget that there is still more policymakers can do.
To help spur even more potential mobile solutions for those with disabilities, we must free up more spectrum to accommodate the looming mobile data crunch. We also need to remove barriers to technology like high taxes and fees on communications services. We must continue to encourage the strong collaboration between innovators and the disability community on mobile technologies. And, finally, policymakers must support efforts to modernize local 911 infrastructures.
As the FCC and Congress move forward to implement the National Broadband Plan, policymakers must strive to keep the goals of the ADA in mind and continue to uphold the wise regulatory policies that fuel innovation, competition and a consumer-driven mobile future for all.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 07/23/10 by Jonathan Spalter
Lost your home to flooding, a tornado or other disaster? If you have a smartphone and a wireless connection, help just got a lot easier.
This week, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) unveiled an addition to its mobile site allowing disaster victims to apply for assistance directly from their smartphone. FEMA's rationale is clear: In a life-threatening emergency, seconds count. Residents are more likely to have a mobile phone on their person, or may have just enough time to grab one before heading to safety.
"More and more, I think we are reorienting our focus... to really developing tools that are useful to you in a mobile environment," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told Politico's Morning Tech.
(You can watch him run a demo of the new mobile site on multiple PDAs here.)
Fugate added that FEMA is exploring additional ways to deliver services via mobile and GPS technology. The agency already processes an average of about 40 percent of disaster applications online; this seems like a common-sense way to further streamline FEMA's operations.
Furthermore, FEMA's announcement is a timely reminder of the lifesaving capabilities of mobile communications. Five years ago next month, Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana. The government's disjointed response in assisting the maintenance and repair of mobile communication links contributed significantly to the extended chaos.
Three years later, look at the improvement: During Hurricane Gustav, wireless technology provided real-time communication links vital to the rescue efforts. Among the examples, Tulane University kept more than 10,000 students aware of storm developments through Twitter. Mobile users accessed Gustav-related pages on social network sites such as Ning for real-time news alerts, on-site posts, and videos.
Looking to the future, mobile platforms are already linking voice, video, IM, and other data for first responders at federal, state and local levels. Just think how first responders could use mobile phones and GPS to organize a large-scale rescue operation with a location-based networking application (example: BrightKite), which would allow authorities to divide a region into smaller areas, directing volunteers in each one as necessary.
This would be particularly helpful in the aftermath of a serious earthquake. As reported last week in The Orange County Register, a new early-alert system in the O.C. could give residents up to 70 seconds warning of a major San Andreas earthquake. Through the use of mobile apps, that would be enough time to slow high-speed trains, shut down power plant generators and take other precautionary steps.
The augmented incorporation of mobile technologies into government-led relief efforts is already saving lives and resources. In the five years since the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, wireless has grown up as an industry, with the government recognizing the powerful organizational capabilities immediate access to mobile technology affords Americans stuck in disaster areas. FEMA's recent addition to its mobile site is one of many demonstrations that the government takes seriously the positive ramifications of amplifying its use of mobile devices, which are now inextricably linked with the day-to-day lives of Americans.
This article was orginially published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 07/14/10 by Mobile Future Team
The wireless industry reached an impressive benchmark last Thursday, with the number of wireless service subscriptions surpassing 5 billion globally. After taking into account individuals with multiple subscriptions, the number, which is up from 720 million in 2000, suggests just under 5 billion of the world’s 6.9 billion people are connected wirelessly. Furthermore, Ericcson, the company who first released the estimates, predicts at the current rate of 2 million additional subscriptions per day, we will see 50 billion connected devices by 2020. The popular and expeditious transition to the mobile Internet shows the demand for wireless devices is here to stay, with consumers realizing more than ever the benefits of mobile connectivity.
To read more about Ericcson's findings, click here.
Posted: 07/07/10
The Pew Internet and American Life Project today released a comprehensive and compelling report on Mobile Access in 2010, highlighting American adults' increased adoption and usage of wireless technologies over the past year. Such data is the greatest exemplifier of the consumer-driven nature of the mobile marketplace, as more and more users realize the benefits wireless technologies afford their day-to-day lives. So naturally, we highly encourage you to take a look!
Posted: 07/06/10
When AT&T and Apple debuted the original 2G iPhone on July 1, 2007, the most expensive 8GB model cost a whopping $599. Just three short years later, the most sophisticated 32GB iPhone 4 is available for $299, while consumers can snag the 8GB 3GS model for $99. There’s no denying that increasingly sophisticated operating systems combined with significant price decreases equals a consumer-friendly marketplace, and Americans have responded to these positive trends with insatiable demand.
But perhaps what is most exciting is that the price of today’s most basic iPhone is not the floor as far as smartphones are concerned. In fact, manufacturers are rolling out smart devices for as low as $70—a far cry from the $599 number that seemed justifiable in the industry such a short time ago.
For example, last week Qualcomm focused a sizable portion of its Uplinq annual developer conference on Brew MP software designed to proliferate mass-market smartphones. Qualcomm anticipates the technology will have massive implications in both domestic and international markets, driving the cost of multiple smartphones well below $100 when models running on Brew MP software are released either later this year or by early 2011.
These models will join other newcomers—like Nokia’s Nuron and E73 Model, which are available through T-Mobile and cost around $70 each—in a new family of smartphones that reach broader demographics and bring these devices’ life-changing capabilities to an increased number of consumers. For more information, check out “The Race to the $70 Smartphone” in Forbes.
Posted: 07/01/10
Fire up your grill and set your Pandora to patriotic tunes—July is upon us and the 4th is only days away. While live fireworks and flag cakes continue to rule the skies and spreads, we are here to point you to some festive applications that will catapult you to the rank of uber-patriot among your peers come Sunday. Conveniently, eweek.com has profiled nine such applications here, ranging from faux fireworks (in case Rover’s sensitive ears can’t handle the real deal) to American trivia to vintage mobile screen savers and e-greeting cards that will inspire your gang to be at their Yankee Doodle Dandiest all weekend.
Aching for some day-to-day wisdom from a Founding Father? Always a pioneer, it seems George Washington has found a way to Tweet. Follow him today and arm yourself with the perfect inspirational line to toast America’s birthday.
And with that, happy Fourth of July!
Posted: 06/21/10 by Mobile Future Team
Whether you use your mobile device to work, play, or a little (or a lot) of both, you are undoubtedly one of millions who has taken to tapping and typing away on your phone to communicate. Well users, before you get too comfortable with your tap-to-type lifestyle, check out this YouTube of Swype, a new way to craft messages on touch screen phones. The technology is the brainchild of research scientist Randy Marsden and inventor Cliff Kushler (Kushler is the same man who revolutionized our last century lives with T9), and is already available on seven smartphones across the US and through all major wireless carriers.
With Swype, users no longer type a word letter by letter, but rather slide a finger across the screen’s keyboard to spell words, thereby slashing their overall text-time from 20 to 30 percent. For a more detailed look at Swype, visit Jenna Wortham’s article in Sunday’s New York Times, or just head directly to the official website.
Posted: 05/25/10 by Mobile Future Team
If you didn’t catch 60 Minutes on Sunday night, you missed an amazing segment on how mobile apps will revolutionize our lives. The show profiled Marty Cooper, grandfather of the cell phone, who at age 81 is still among the top futurists of our mobile future.
Take mobile technology and healthcare. As Cooper told Morley Safer:
“Healthcare is going to be revolutionized because you will have sensors at various points on your body measuring different things. And a computer somewhere or maybe a doctor will be examining you all the time…. If you could measure [vital signs] all the time, you could predict heart failures. You could predict diabetes. And you could prevent all these things.”
In one sense, the mobile healthcare revolution has already started. See here and here as examples. But as everyone from Marty Cooper on down would agree, mobile technology has only started to scratch the healthcare surface.
For two-minute version of the 60 Minutes show on YouTube, click here. For the complete 60 Minutes interview, click here.
Posted: 05/19/10 by Mobile Future Team
With the school year winding down and temperatures heating up, it’s clear that summer is upon us. And for many Americans, the coming months are among the most popular for travel. Whether you’re “stay-cationing” close to home or planning an international adventure, mobile applications in conjunction with popular travel guides are making it easier than ever to plan the perfect getaway.
As discussed in an article by the Associated Press , publishers are moving more and more content online and working to develop a greater number of applications to provide travelers with a more tailored on-the-go experience.
For example, Eyewitness Travel Guides publisher Dorling Kindersley recently launched a user-centric site that allows visitors to create their own guidebooks and download them free of charge. Popular location-based applications—like maps, suggested points of interest, and restaurant recommendations and reviews—continue to orient travelers frequenting new locations.
Unsurprisingly, such services have gained the most traction among domestic travelers, as many Americans are reluctant to abandon their guidebooks overseas only to be hit with increased roaming charges. Nevertheless, if your flight to Norway is rerouted thanks to that pesky volcano and you end up in St. Tropez, your smartphone can ensure you still have the vacation of your dreams (starting by directing you to the nearest retail center so you’re not stuck sporting a cold-weather wardrobe…).
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Tags: Applications, Broadband, Competition, Consumer Benefits, Mobile Applications, Mobile Broadband, Mobile Phone, Mobile Video, Smartphone, Social Networking, Wireless Innovation