In our gadget driven country, are we no better prepared for disaster than without we were before we had these gadgets? According to Homeland Security, in the event of a tornado or terrorist attack, we are not set up with a better emergency information communications system than before all the cell phones.

US Government wants mandatory TV receivers in cell phones

How can this tech-driven country be in this position? The 3rd world countries like Haiti were only without cells for a short time and had an emergency broadcast texting system in place within 2 days. (See my blog, “Cell Phones in Haiti are key to emergency services.”)

A former NBC News vice president has the “fix.” “This homeland security communications problem can be remedied by a simple requirement from the Federal Communications Commission that all mobile devices include a tiny digital television receiver that would work alongside the current broadband connections,” writes Tom Wolzien. “Since most mobile phones get traded in every two to three years, on average, almost every one of the 280 million mobile subscribers would have the emergency capability in a half decade or less.”

What about the potential of the new Smartphone networks? Wolzien isn’t impressed. “The risk to homeland security… is apparent to anyone who has tried to use a phone—cell or wireline—during a large scale emergency like a hurricane or crisis like 9/11,” he writes. “Because there are intentionally not enough circuits to go around, the system slows or shuts down. Mobile calls don’t connect.” The “worst risk,” Wolzien adds, is for mobile phone users not at home during a crisis. “There is no economic incentive for mobile phone companies to provide emergency capacity to permit all mobile phones or data connections to work at once, even if the bandwidth were available.”

So what to do to prepare for an emergency? Should we have a mobile phone TV tuner mandate? What SHOULD we do for emergency and disaster communications? Is the idea of a mandated TV tuner in cell phones just another way for the cell phone manufacturers to make money? What’s your take on it?

BlackBerry cell phone maker, Research in Motion, is set to buy QNX Software Systems, which was acquired by Harmon, which makes audio and entertainment products. The partnership would allow Research in Motion, QNX and Harman to build a better system between Smartphones and audio and entertainment systems in vehicles.

BlackBerry Music Quality to Improve?

iPod has been the dominant device to interface with car stereo systems, but with BlackBerry rising to the occasion, we may see the market share shift. Depending on the quality BlackBerry shows us, iPod may be in trouble (NOT). It is still inconvenient to have your phone hooked into your stereo when receiving an incoming call.

Will I rush out to get a new BlackBerry when the new technology arrives? No. I have a car stereo with a USB port and use a flash drive. It solves all my musical challenges in my car. My Moto Q cell phone allows me to listen to music and hook up to the car, but I prefer the flash drive. I have the iPod for “out-of-car” music. BlackBerry? Nope. What about you?

Microsoft has entered the phone market! The new phones, Kin One and Kin Two will hit the US market in May through Verizon, and through carrier Vodafone Group PLC (which owns Verizon Wireless in partnership with Verizon Communications Inc.), in Germany, Italy, Spain and The United Kingdom later this fall. Microsoft did not mention a release date for Canada.

Microsoft unveiled two new Smartphones on Monday

At a press event in San Francisco on Monday, Microsoft’s Robbie Bach and Derek Snyder unveiled the Kin mobile phones. Based on the Windows 7 operating system, the new Smartphones will have extensive social networking built in and will also be able to access the Zune music service. There are some other cool features. Both Kins are black with screens that respond to multiple finger gestures, similar to the “multitouch” technology on the iPhone. The shorter Kin One has a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the bottom, while the Kin Two has a full QWERTY keyboard that comes out from its side. Both include Wi-Fi access and cameras capable of taking higher-resolution photos than most handsets. The Kin One will include a 5-megapixel camera, while the Kin Two will have an 8-megapixel camera. The Kin Two will also be capable of shooting HD-quality video.

The Kin handsets will not be obviously branded as Microsoft products. They will sport a sizable “Kin” logo on the back and, in smaller type, an indication that they are Windows phones from Verizon and Sharp. Another thing to be wary of is that the Kin devices won’t allow you to download add-on software applications. You will be stuck with whatever Microsoft deems necessary.

Am I rushing out to buy one? Not likely. I am more interested in the Droid technology. But for teenagers and those totally addicted to social media networking, these Kin phones may be an affordable way to go. Of course Verizon’s subscriber service will be very costly since in addition to the unlimited talk and text access ($89.95 per month), you will need to subscribe to their $29.95 per month data subscription. This can run about $120 per month, so parents beware! Without the unlimited subscription service, most teens will “overshoot” their monthly plans, costing even more.

So what about you? Ready to become a Kin user?

New comScore data reports that Facebook and Twitter use on mobile devices is growing exponentially while MySpace use is declining. Facebook now sees 25.1 million mobile users as of January 2010, more than double the users in January 2009. Twitter grew to 4.7 million, which is 4-times what it was last year. MySpace has lost 7% of its users in that same time period.

New report shows Facebook and Twitter use soaring!

In addition, the report shows that 30% of Smartphone users access social media sites using their devices, up 22.5% from last year. With the new trend of connecting through social media networking, more and more emphasis is being placed on Smartphone apps and accessibility to Facebook and Twitter. What about you? Do you Tweet? Do you go to Facebook from your Smartphone? If not, why not? Aren’t you concerned you may be falling behind and will be left in the dust? If you are among the millions of Facebook users connecting through your Smartphone, do you find it easy, necessary, valuable, and most of all, FUN?

I have heard reports that Facebook for Android is sadly lacking compared to the iPhone access. What’s up with that? Why can’t there be equality? I am a little tired of falling short compared to the iPhone. My locality doesn’t have good AT&T coverage so I am limited to not having an iPhone. Let’s hope the Android and other Smartphones get it together and upgrade their interfaces soon!

The Industry analyzers Canalys, reports that the purchasing trend of mobile users is leaning more and more towards touch screen phones. The study does not differentiate between devices with just touch screens or those with keyboard interfaces so it is hard to say if the touch screens alone are the big seller.

Cell Phones with Touch Screens Sell More

The big cell phone manufacturers are all releasing new touch screen phones in 2010, perhaps a result of their own independent studies. Most notably are the iPhone and the Android phones, (HTC Bravo and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 are new this year.) With the growing trend for these new touch screen Smartphones, watch for more to be released in the coming months.

Devices that offer both the touch screen and the keyboard are also highly in demand. Personally I like the combo effort. I find it easier to text on the keyboard. What’s your preference?

Motorola is looking to bring its new Motoblur UI to the cable TV world. If your cable TV interface is like most, it is only a step up from DOS. Motorola plans to change the look, feel and use of the cable TV interface with their new Smartphone, Motoblur, already shipping pre-loaded on the new Cliq XT and BackFlip Smartphones.

New Cell Phone User Interface for Cable TV Boxes

Motorola has long been the giant in cable TV set top boxes. According to the Wall Street Journal, now with the new Android platform, Motorola plans to merge the two divisions and create a spin-off company. Look to the near future for Google’s Android platform to run your cable TV set top box.

Imagine being able to remotely program your cable TV while at work or school when you hear of a new show. This could revolutionize cable TV. Perhaps the future will show us watching cable TV on our cell phones.

Toshiba is developing a technology that will make your cell phone act like your own personal secretary. The cell phone will notice your behavioral patterns to display things like train schedules, recommended nearby favorite restaurants, and other frequently used sites. It will supposedly learn the ins and outs of your lifestyle, and help by displaying this info to you when prompted.

Cell Phone Personal Secretary from Toshiba

Is this similar to the MotoBlur that Motorola is shipping pre-installed on the new Cliq and BackFlip Smartphones? (See my blog Motoblur enhances social networking and more.) Will the new technology offered from Toshiba and Motorola really act as a personal assistant? How much privacy do we sacrifice to have this service?

Perhaps Quentin Tarantino will do one of his hilarious video ads for this service…

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.

5 Billion Cell Phone Subscribers in 2010

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) also said the mobile broadband subscribers would reach 1 billion this year, after reaching 600 million last year. They attribute this to the expanding growth of the Smartphone market.

Even in 3rd world countries, the rise in cell phone usage is amazing. Recently in Haiti, cell phones were instrumental in providing necessary disaster relief (see my blog Cell Phones in Haiti are key to emergency services.) More and more services and applications are being developed for Smartphones, making communication easier.

Face it. We are driven by instant communication. Is it any wonder cell phone usage is growing? This seems to be a no-brainer. And personally, I am thrilled. I know it makes my life easier. How about you?

Motorola is shipping Motoblur pre-loaded on the Cliq, Backflip and several other coming Smartphones. It is noticeably missing from the Droid phones however. Hmmm… wonder why? Is there a problem we aren’t aware you yet?

Motoblur enhances social networking and more

Motorola has said that Motoblur will evolve over time, and is not necessarily just social networking. Motoblur also backs up your data to a Motorola-hosted cloud (virtualized data centers), allows you to track a lost phone using GPS and even allows you to remotely wipe the device should it be stolen.

Remember there is no such thing as privacy in this Big Brother World. Some are concerned that while you’re aggregating data from elsewhere, Motorola is aggregating data from you. This is not new for people used to social networking. FaceBook is notorious for this.

Motorola has targeted the business user with the Motoblur. The phones come preloaded with free QuickOffice, an application usually sold separately that allows for viewing and editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the go. The downside to Motoblur is that until there is a new release, it won’t be compatible with upgrades for Google apps until Motorola develops the fix.

Do you want one? Are you willing to take a chance it will be compatible down the road? Are you worried about data gathering software?

Smartphones and other data-intensive devices have been taking down the service provider networks right and left. With more and more Smartphones (Droids and iPhones) being sold, cell phone service providers are understandably concerned. But not Verizon….

Verizon confident in its network

Verizon is very confident in its infrastructure. Verizon’s chief executive, Ivan Seidenberg, assured investors regarding this issue. “To the extent that usage picks up, I think our guys have done a very good job in making sure that we stay in front of that issue,” Mr. Seidenberg said. “And I know most investors are worried about that. But over the course of the last 10 years, this is what we pride ourselves on doing. So I’m comfortable that we are in good shape on this.”

“Can you hear me now?” Verizon has the best coverage in our neighborhood but still drops calls in isolated spots on the highway. We can only hope that with the higher usage coming with the Smartphones, Verizon will continue to give us fairly dependable coverage.

Verizon may soon carry Apple’s iPhone. Although the Droid ads have poked fun at the iPhone, Verizon has hinted that it plans to sell the iPhone as soon as AT&T loses its exclusivity. I am still undecided if I would rather have an iPhone or a Droid, but until Verizon actually starts selling the iPhone, it’s a moot point.