From the Article:

Can a language stay relevant if it isn’t used to send text messages on a cellphone?

Language advocates worry that the answer is no, and they are pushing to make more written languages available on cellphones.

Texting is the cheapest and most popular mode of cellphone communication in most of the world, and last year text messages topped voice calls even in the U.S. The world’s three billion cellphones far surpass the Internet as a universal communications medium, and they are vital to business development in less-developed economies.

But companies that develop predictive text say they have created cellphone software for fewer than 80 of the world’s 6,912 languages cataloged by SIL International, a Dallas organization that works to preserve languages.

One key to using the languages is the availability of a technology called predictive text, which reduces the number of key taps necessary to create a word when using a limited keypad. Market research shows that text messaging soars after predictive text becomes available.

Source: Wall Street Journal

From the article:

CTIA has laid the groundwork for Enhanced Messaging, which is similar to SMS but enables users to include sound, animation, and presence in messages.

Source: Information Week

From the InfoToday News Break:
Dow Jones & Co. (www.dowjones.com) announced its new mobile application, Dow Jones Sales Triggers for iPhone and iPod Touch, available on the Apple App Store. Dow Jones Sales Triggers gives mobile professionals access to up-to-the-minute intelligence about business changes such as management moves, mergers, and new investments. This is particularly advantageous for sales professionals who need to stay on top of prospects and customers in their territories

Source: ITI

From the report:

Fast facts

- In its final State of the Mobile Web report in 2008, Opera reviews the top sites and top phones for Opera Mini in both Europe and North America. Russia and Ukraine lead Europe, followed closely by the United Kingdom. The full report is available from http://www.opera.com/smw/.

- Released by AT&T in early November, the BlackBerry Bold made an immediate impact and is high on the list of top handsets preferred by Opera Mini users in the US.

- Facebook and MySpace are locked in a battle for mobile social networking supremacy in the United States. For the first time this year, Facebook has surpassed MySpace on the top 10 list in the U.S.

- Facebook is also successful in Europe, where other social networks such as Nasza Klasa in Poland and vKontakte in Russia and Ukraine, are consistently the top sites in their respective countries.

- Opera Mini users viewed more than 5.7 billion pages in November. Since October, page views have gone up 12.1%. Since November 2007, this number is up 303%.

- Data transfers also increased in line with page views. In November, Opera Mini users generated more than 82.9 million MB of data for operators worldwide. Since October, the data consumed went up by 12.5%. Data in Opera Mini is compressed 90% on average. If this data were uncompressed, Opera Mini users would have viewed over 829 million MB of data in November. Since November 2007, data traffic is up 463%.

Direct to Full Text Report

Source: Opera Software

From the blog post:

PG Mobile is going to be a new addition to gutenberg.org, which will allow mobile/cell phone users to download and read eBooks. The files will be available on the normal download page of any PG eBook.

Source: Project Gutenberg News (via Library Stuff)

From the news report:

The volume of U.S. wireless subscribers who accessed social networks via mobile device increased 182 percent between September 2007 and October 2008 according to a new consumer study conducted by research firms The Kelsey Group and ConStat. In all, 9.6 percent of U.S. subscribers ages 18 and over connected with a social network via mobile handset in October 2008, compared to just 3.4 percent in September 2007.

Source: Fierce Mobile Content

US EPA launches new site, making environmental information available to reporters on the go

Need to find environmental information right away? Now your can — even when you’re away from the computer. Whether you’re researching background information on environmental issues from the field or initiating an interview request with a local expert, the EPA is making it easier. With the launch of its new site, the EPA is making it almost effortless for media professionals to immediately access environmental information and EPA’s media contacts from the field.

The site has been tailored to load fast on a small screen, providing EPA information that visitors might need when they are away from their large-screen desktop computers. Services available on m.epa.gov include:

• Past and present EPA news releases
• How to contact EPA – national and regional offices
• Environmental information by ZIP code
• EPA’s Greenversations blog, including the question of the week
• Links to other government mobile websites.

The new mobile site is one of the first government web sites tailored specifically for cell phone users. Send it to your phone now, and next time you’re in the field you may be glad you did: http://m.epa.gov.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

MIT Creates Version of Its Web Site for Smartphones (and Plans to Share Code)

Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who want to use their iPhones to look at course syllabi or check the campus-shuttle schedule can now surf to a version of the MIT Web site designed especially for cellphones. And officials plan to let other colleges use the Mobile Web project software.

The goal of the project is to create MIT Web pages that load quickly and look good on all kinds of Web-capable cellphones, often referred to as smartphones. Most college Web sites are designed for big monitors and fast Internet connections, but those pages are often hard to navigate on smartphones. So MIT officials are now encouraging cellphone users to use the new mobile Web site, at m.mit.edu, when visiting the Web site from their phones.

Source: Wired Campus (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Pervasive Media: Delivering ‘the right thing in the moment’

21st Century lifestyles and business practices demand value delivery on the move and in many situations. An explosion in mobile services is being fuelled by the availability of powerful media-rich mobile devices and pervasive networking. Successful solutions in this high growth area will be those that can deliver ‘the right thing in the moment’. That is, high value services will be those that are tuned to the user’s situation and so deliver the best experience. Delivering the right thing in the moment changes the way content is consumed and the timing of its availability. It changes the use of space and time and so: the way the creative industries think about delivering content, the way advertisers think about just in time messaging and tracking; and the way information is accessed throughout an organization. This paper considers the implications for technology and application research. We describe the need for: an extensible and scaleable context framework with privacy, trust and security policies embedded; new modes of interface between the physical and the digital environment; and a programme that builds expertise amongst practitioners as the technology develops in its early stages.

+ Full Paper (PDF; 99 KB)

Source: HP Labs

Lightbulbs Could Replace Wi-Fi Hotpsots

Boston University’s College of Engineering is launching a program, under a National Science Foundation grant, to develop the next generation of wireless communications technology based on visible light instead of radio waves. Researchers expect to piggyback data communications capabilities on low-power light emitting diodes, or LEDs, to create “Smart Lighting” that would be faster and more secure than current network technology.

This initiative aims to develop an optical communication technology that would make an LED light the equivalent of a Wi-Fi access point.

“Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires,” said BU Engineering Professor Thomas Little. “This could be done with an LED-based communications network that also provides light - all over existing power lines with low power consumption, high reliability and no electromagnetic interference. Ultimately, the system is expected to be applicable from existing illumination devices, like swapping light bulbs for LEDs.”

Source: cellular-news

From the article:

A recent study suggests that mobile Web sites need to make improvement to satisfy mobile surfers.

Source: ZDNet

Sprint’s New Wireless Service May Throttle Internet Traffic

Sprint Nextel’s new XOHM wireless service includes a clause that allows the company to limit consumers’ access to content and applications on the WiMAX network. According to XOHM’s “network management” policy, Sprint “may use various tools and techniques designed to limit the bandwidth available for certain bandwidth intensive applications or protocols, such as file sharing.”

+ XOHM’s network management policy
Source: Free Press

From the article:

Nokia, the world’s largest handset maker, today offered a glimpse into its ambitious vision for the mobile Web.

In a presentation here at the Web 2.0 Expo that was equal parts a roadmap for Nokia’s Symbian strategy and a sales pitch for its S60 platform, Nokia senior product marketing manager Oren Levine emphasized the convergence of technology and convenience that has long been the talking point of mobile Internet evangelists.

Source: InternetNews.com

From the article:

Location-based mobile and Web services are increasingly delivering value and gaining adherents as service providers devote greater time and resources to developing them further. For example, Sprint’s Xohm wireless broadband unit is working with a group of leading mobile Web application development companies to develop a set of personalized “geobrowsing” services.

Source: TechNewsWorld

From the news release:

Following closely on the heels of its widely praised iPhone application, Truveo, the leading video search engine, today announced that it has launched a public beta of its new mobile video search site. Truveo Mobile Video Search makes it easy for users to find and view videos from across the Web on popular mobile phones.

Direct to Public Beta

Source: News Release