photo credit: Is Microsoft sinking?

Microsoft may need to buy a cell phone maker in order to compete in the highly volatile market. Although Microsoft has announced the new platform, Windows Phone Series 7 (WinPho 7), it may need to buy RIM BlackBerry or possibly Nokia to stay in the game. (Experts think it would be cheaper to buy HTC, however, with more marketability.) Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: Snack Logo

Hasbro and Glu Mobile are launching a Transformer game for your cell phone. You can battle evil by playing as the main character, Optimus Prime. In addition, fans can customize their wallpapers, screensavers and voicetones on their cell phones with sounds and images from the summer blockbuster movie. Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: Cell Phone Causes Sterility

Carrying your cell phone in your pocket is like carrying around a mini-microwave. GQ Magazine posted a story that research shows carrying your cell phone in your pocket may make you sterile. Does this mean we have the answer to overpopulation? Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: Cuffed While Texting

Authorities in Iowa City, Iowa, reported that a man was arrested for “liberating” a cell phone from a gym and sending unauthorized text messages from the stolen device. In the 18 hours the alleged thief had the phone, he sent 500 text messages. That equates out to sending a text message every 2 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: Cell Phone Cubby

Schools are looking to purchase cell phone signal jammers. The misuse of cell phones during class is causing the teachers to fight back. Not only is it a huge distraction during class while teachers are trying to actually teach, but there is also concern that cheating is more prevalent with the ongoing texting. Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: Google’s Nexus One

Apple, Google, BlackBerry, Nokia and Palm are all fighting for the number one spot. With more and more demand for content rich apps on Smartphones, the very competitive market is the driving force for these companies. So how is the Smartphone war going? Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: Versace Designer Phones

Versace has announced that it will design and release a designer cell phone this spring. Donatella Versace created this new mobile phone with French manufacterurs ModeLabs Group SA. It will reportedly retail for more than Christian Dior’s 2008 cell phone, which costs €3,500, or about $5,000. Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: ITU Mobile Usage Chart

An unbelievable 2/3 of the planet’s population uses cell phones. At the end of 2009, 4.6 billion people were cell phone subscribers. This is up from 1 billion users in 2002. Even in developing countries the number of cell phone users was up to 50% of the population.

67% of all people on Earth use cell phones!

The ITU (International Telecommunications Union) predicted we would reach 5 billion cell phone subscribers by the end of 2010. (See my blog 5 Billion Cell Phone Subscribers in 2010.) And according to the ITU, the cost for cell phone service has become less expensive, dropping by about 15% globally between 2008 and 2009.

Also included in this report were statistics for Internet usage. While cell phone subscriptions are rising rapidly, Internet access is not rising as rapidly. At the end of 2009, 25.9% of the population had broadband Internet access. Compared to the 67% using cell phones, Internet access isn’t spreading as quickly. The exception to these statistics is China, which accounts for about one third of people in developing countries with Internet Access.

I have said it before. The trend is for people to ditch their land line phones in favor of only having cell phone service. With the dropping prices from the major cell phone service providers, it only makes sense to keep the mobile phones over the stationary land lines. (See my blog New MagicJack for Cell Phones.) And with the growing popularity of Smartphones that provide effective Internet access, I see the numbers of cell phone subscribers rising even more rapidly.

photo credit: 5 Billion Cell Phones

5 billion cell phone subscribers by 2010 was the announcement made last week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the industry’s biggest trade show. We had 4.6 billion in 2009, so the prediction isn’t a wild guess. Read the rest of this entry »

photo credit: Jammed Cell Phone

The FCC not only regulates cell phone signal boosters, but also regulates the cell phone signal jammers. The way the law reads now, jammers can only be sold to federal authorities. In October, the US Senate passed the Safe Prison Act, allowing prisons to apply to deploy a cell phone jammer to block wireless coverage in the prison. This holds true for state prisons as well as federal prisons. Read the rest of this entry »