A few years ago texting was the bomb. It was quick, easy, way better than having to open yourself up to an actual back-and-forth conversation with someone, and perfect for surreptitious communication in class or meetings or whathaveyou. That said, I’d be glad to never get a text message ever again. More »
Probably the worst part about all the great technology we use to communicate with one another is the ability it gives us not to communicate with one another. Rarely will a text message accomplish what a conversation can. Which is why you should never, ever, not ever break up with somebody via text message. (There are a few possible exceptions to this rule.) More »
Long before cell phones gave us the ability to share pictures with the tap of a button, Polaroid was synonymous with instant photography. In his new book Instant: The Story of Polaroid, Christopher Bonanos explains how that little one step camera paved the way for sexting as we know it: More »
AT&T’s already working on an app to keep folks from texting while driving, but earlier this month it gave folks at a Los Angeles hackathon the chance to develop their own solution. David Grau, a creative director and designer at an interactive agency, and 11-year-old Victoria Walker were awarded $20,000 by Big Blue to bring their smartphone application to the public. Dubbed Rode Dog, the prize-winning software allows friends and family to organize themselves into “packs” and monitor their text messaging habits. Watchful users can spot when a fellow group member is texting and initiate a barking noise on the offender’s phone. Much like squawking seat belt systems, the app is designed to remind drivers of their wrongdoing and doesn’t stop the ruckus until they acknowledge it. If you’d rather have a chicken or other animal grab your attention, the duo crafted an in-app shop that offers other wildlife sound sound effects. Rode Dog isn’t expected to hit iOS, Android and Windows Phone until its fully polished, but you can sign up to receive word of its launch at the second source link below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile
11-year-old wins $20,000 at AT&T hackathon for creating app that discourages texting while driving originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 05:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
The Verge | 
Los Angeles Times, Rode Dog | Email this | Comments
Allegations of misleading advertising practices among Canada’s big telecom companies has been a recurring subject for some time, and it’s now been brought to the fore once again in the form of a multi-million dollar lawsuit. The country’s Competition Bureau announced today that, after a five-month investigation, it has decided to sue all three carriers and the industry group that represents them over ads that promote so-called premium texting services. In addition to demanding that such ads stop, the government agency is seeking full customer refunds for any charges incurred and a $10 million penalty from each carrier, plus an additional $1 million from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. For its part, the CWTA has unsurprisingly taken issue with the lawsuit, saying in a statement that it reached out to the Bureau last year to discuss the issue, and that its actions today “could disrupt the text message services, such as severe weather alerts, charitable donations, flight status updates or sports scores, on which millions of Canadian consumers depend.” You can find that full statement, and the Competition Bureau’s announcement of the lawsuit, at the links below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Canada’s Competition Bureau sues Bell, Rogers and Telus over alleged misleading advertising originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Competition Bureau, CWTA | Email this | Comments
Verizon’s certainly at the forefront when it comes to involving text-based emergency services with mobile devices in the US, and thus it’s natural for rival AT&T to have to keep up in this department — much like with those Long Term Evolution rollouts. The good news is that AT&T has announced it’s partnering with the Tennessee administration in hopes of taking advantage of the state’s “next-generation” 911 IP infrastructure; one which has been in the works for a few years now. Naturally, the trials are limited to AT&T subscribers in The Volunteer State, and for those folks the text-to-911 process will be as self-explanatory as it sounds, with the Rethink Possible carrier taking care of all the backend work by sending such messages to emergency call services. While it’s indeed only a small chunk of the country, it’s definitely a step in the right direction — that said, only time will tell how efficient this solution can be.
Continue reading AT&T teams up with the state of Tennessee to start text-to-911 trials
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
AT&T teams up with the state of Tennessee to start text-to-911 trials originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 05:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | AT&T | Email this | Comments
You spend all this time taking the most strategic and appealing photos of yourself, to send to…whomever is in your life to get them, but what if you don’t want to give too much away too early? More »
Text messaging is arguably the most casual form of communication available—and, back when we all first began to text on our dumbphones, the sort of shorthand style that developed was perfectly reasonable. Why strain to type out full words, when a universally understood abbreviation could do the job just as well? More »
Sometimes you just have to send out that text. This Syrian rebel, photographed by C.J. Chivers, seems to be in that position. According to Chivers, even though there’s a war on, a lot of the countryside has cell service, and many fighters spend a lot of time texting, and trying to figure out how they can charge their phones. More »
Maybe you compose dirty prose. Maybe you snap nude shots to send to your crush. Maybe you have a few faves you keep on hand in the event that a dirty pic is needed ASAP. Maybe you do all of the above—or maybe you do none of it. More »
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
