cell phones

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Battery Breakthrough Could Recharge Phones in Seconds

Scientists believe super-fast ion transfer will let technology charge ahead

(Newser) - MIT scientists have developed new battery technology that could potentially recharge a cell phone in seconds and an electric car in minutes, the Boston Globe reports. The researchers, who say the breakthrough could revolutionize technology and even lifestyles, have created a coating that speeds the transfer of ions into and...

Spokane School Jams Cells During Class

District consulting with FCC on legality of jamming

(Newser) - Students in Spokane, Wash. couldn't could call or text during class for 3 whole days, KHQ-TV reports. A school there recently tested a cell phone jammer to get kids focused on academics, but admitted the move may not be legal. They're checking with the FCC. "We just thought it...

'Twitter Rescue' Fails Snowboarding Music Man

Twitter leads to two men missing in Alps whiteout, one dead

(Newser) - The first-ever "Twitter rescue" saved the life of a snowboarder in the Swiss Alps, but failed a 29-year-old British music entrepreneur whose body was found at the foot of a 66-foot cliff, reports the Daily Telegraph. Cheery "tweets" from a female companion noting "am having the best...

Free Market Rings Up 4B Cell Phones Worldwide
Free Market Rings Up 4B
Cell Phones Worldwide
ANALYSIS
Mar 3, 2009 2:37 AM CST

Free Market Rings Up 4B Cell Phones Worldwide

6 in 10 connected, thanks to private biz

(Newser) - The global explosion in cell phone use is a timely reminder of what free markets can achieve, David A. Gross writes in the Christian Science Monitor. There are now more than 4 billion mobile connections worldwide, two-thirds of them in developing countries, according to a new UN report. This leap...

Universal Phone Charger Coming

(Newser) - This should make it easier to charge your phone: Most of the big players in the industry said today they will work toward a universal charger by 2012, Wired reports. That means a standard USB cable will do the trick, no matter the brand. However, Wired notes one notable absence...

Microsoft Muscles Into Cell Market With New OS

Firm will offer Windows Mobile on 50 smartphones

(Newser) - Microsoft is pushing deeper into the cellphone market with a deal to put a new operating system on 50 LG smartphones, the New York Times reports. The company unveiled a more user-friendly OS—"We were dinged for not having a friendly consumer interface," an exec says—and...

Amid Cell Boom, Colleges Yank Land Lines

Cell phones have rendered costly phone lines unnecessary

(Newser) - US colleges are ripping phone lines out of dorms—and not to encourage students to study, the San Jose Mercury News reports. It’s recognition that mobile phones have become as ubiquitous as textbooks among students. “Demand has dropped, and it’s a costly service,” says an official...

Exploding Cell Phone Kills Man
 Exploding Cell Phone Kills Man 
Feb 3, 2009 4:57 AM CST

Exploding Cell Phone Kills Man

Chinese cops suspect counterfeit battery may have caused phone to blow up

(Newser) - A man in Guangzhou, China, was killed last week when his cell phone blew up and severed an artery in his neck, the Times of London reports. The young shop clerk is believed to have put the phone in his breast pocket straight after charging a new battery before it...

Dell May Launch Smartphone
 Dell May Launch Smartphone 
Jan 29, 2009 9:42 PM CST

Dell May Launch Smartphone

(Newser) - Dell is considering a move into the smartphone business, the Wall Street Journal reports. The computer company has had engineers working on models for more than a year and could launch a competitor to the iPhone or Blackberry as early as next month. CEO Michael Dell also could pull the...

Sprint Nextel to Cut 8K Jobs
 Sprint Nextel to Cut 8K Jobs 
Jan 26, 2009 8:13 AM CST

Sprint Nextel to Cut 8K Jobs

3rd-largest wireless outfit has lost millions of subscribers

(Newser) - Sprint Nextel is eliminating about 8,000 positions in the first quarter as it seeks to cut annual costs by $1.2 billion. The third-largest US wireless provider said it will complete the layoffs, about 14% of its 56,000 employees, largely by March 31. About 850 of the reductions...

Top Kitchen Gadget ... the Cell Phone?

It won't make coffee or dice, but can download recipes, call Mom

(Newser) - Forget about trying to buy newlyweds the ultimate kitchen appliance: They almost certainly already have two. For both everyday cooks and professional chefs, the cell phone has become the go-to gadget, the New York Times reports. What other tool could combine the functions of timer, measurement converter, recipe generator, shopping-list...

DC Cell Phone Calls: Maybe We Can
DC Cell Phone Calls:
Maybe We Can
Jan 19, 2009 3:40 AM CST

DC Cell Phone Calls: Maybe We Can

Inauguration throngs threaten to overwhelm networks

(Newser) - Throngs of people at the inauguration threaten to overwhelm the cell phone system with a massive number of calls, texts, tweets and emails, reports the New York Times. Major cell phone companies are scrambling to upgrade and add capacity, but no one knows how the system will respond to the...

Boost's $50 Prepaid Cell Plan Could Trigger Price War

Monthly fee for unlimited calls, text and data marks new low in wireless service

(Newser) - A new prepaid calling plan from Sprint’s Boost may spark a price war in the wireless market, USA Today reports. Boost will offer unlimited calling, texting and web browsing for a flat $50 a month fee. The plan may prove so attractive to cash-strapped wireless customers Boost could start...

Self-Portraits of Teens Spur Kid-Porn Charge

Nude photos shared by phone could make senders sex offenders

(Newser) - Pennsylvania teens are in trouble over child-porn photos—of themselves. Three girls who took the pictures, and three boys who got them via cell phone, have been charged, Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV reports. A student was caught with one of the phones in school in October, prompting a police investigation. But...

'Bored' Teen Sends 15K Texts a Month

Dad had unlimited plan, but still plans crackdown

(Newser) - A California dad whose teenage daughter logged an astounding 14,528 text messages in one month was tickled at first, the New York Post reports. “I laughed. I thought, ‘That’s insane, that’s impossible,’” said Greg Hardesty. “And I immediately whipped out the calculator...

Palm Pre Gets Big Thumbs Up
 Palm Pre Gets Big Thumbs Up 
PRODUCT REVIEW
Jan 9, 2009 4:54 AM CST

Palm Pre Gets Big Thumbs Up

Demo of new smartphone has revi

(Newser) - Palm's new Pre smartphone is the hottest product at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show by a long stretch, a smitten Lance Ulanoff writes at PC Magazine. Ulanoff heard a lot about the Pre before yesterday's rollout, but was still blown away by the smartphone's impressive specs, fresh interface, and groundbreaking...

Cool Tech at CES, But It's Useless
 Cool Tech at CES, 
 But It's Useless 
OPINION
Jan 8, 2009 2:39 PM CST

Cool Tech at CES, But It's Useless

3-D TVs, wristwatch cellphone are among the excellent gadgets

(Newser) - The 2009 Consumer Electronics Show is full of “incredible technology,” Larry Magid writes for CNET. Problem is, it’s all “in search of a practical purpose,” making this year the “year of the gimmick.” Magid runs down a few wowee gadgets of dubious usefulness....

Texting Could Save Dying Languages
Texting Could Save Dying Languages
Jan 2, 2009 8:25 AM CST

Texting Could Save Dying Languages

Linguists push to get more of them on cell phones

(Newser) - Linguists trying to save the world's endangered languages believe cell phones—more specifically, texting—can give them a vital boost, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, but predictive text software currently exists for just 80. Experts believe developing the technology for more tongues will...

Cell Phone Use Linked to Heart Disease

Study finds average American owns 2 cell phones

(Newser) - Add another ill to the cell phone pile: Using one may cause heart disease and kidney stones, researchers have found. The radiation emitted by the phones causes red blood cells to leak hemoglobin, which can lead to heart and kidney problems. An earlier study reported this same radiation can also...

Cell Phones Taken to the Grave
 Cell Phones Taken to the Grave 
Dec 17, 2008 6:15 PM CST

Cell Phones Taken to the Grave

And call me later

(Newser) - Rest in peace? Some would rather have eternity interrupted by their ringtone—by taking their cell phones with them to the grave, a trend that many in the funeral industry say is on the rise. A UK survey ranked being buried with a cell phone the No. 2 funeral rite...

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