Hasta La Gadget!

In a report released last week, the National Safety Council is recommending that top U.S. legislators pass a nationwide law to ban the use of any and all cell phones and accessories while driving.

According to the New York Times, the council mostly based its report on a 2003 study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, in addition to an eye-opening study from the University of Utah. The latter suggests that hands-free gadgets cause as much of a distraction for drivers as using a cell phone with your hands for calls or texting.

The NSC is emphasizing findings that suggest hands-free laws and Bluetooth devices do more harm than good, serving as a psychological placebo for drivers. They say Bluetooth devices lull drivers into a false sense of security and actually make people call more than if they were just calling one-handed.

When confronted over the possibility that talking with a passenger might offer the same challenge as talking over a Bluetooth device, an NSC rep mentioned that a passenger’s awareness was more likely to help out a driver by censuring himself during a dangerous course than a remote speaker.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is backing up the report and will likely use it to pressure local governments into creating tougher laws over the next year. Currently, laws that govern transportation in this country are determined by individual states.

The National Safety Council is a 96 year-old non-profit that works
on behalf of more than 55,000 companies in the U.S. and focuses on
issues such as traffic and workplace safety and emergency preparedness.
It is also a part of the World Health Organization’s Safe Communities
program.

If you’re a huge talking and driving multi-tasker and think there’s
no way a single non-profit will take your Bluetooth-enabled earpiece
from your cold dead ear, think again. The NSC was one of the driving
organizations behind the spread of tough (and mostly successful) laws
against drinking and driving.

The growth of cell phone usage over the last decade has led to more
and more people using them on the road. The NIH has said that over
2,600 deaths are caused each year due to calling and driving, as well
as 636,000 crashes, costing over $43 billion yearly. In the last year,
many states passed laws banning the use of cell phones without
hands-free devices, including California.

I’d like to put this one out to the readers: Do you feel more in
control of a car if you’re completely silent, or does a Bluetooth
device make no difference in your driving habits?

Photo: Theo Moudakis

President Barack Obama is determined to bring his BlackBerry with him
to the White House, whether his subordinates like it or not.

"I
think we’re going to be able to hang onto one of these," Obama said in
a recent CNN interview. "I want to be able to have voices, other than
the people who are immediately working for me, be able to reach out and
… send me a message about what’s happening in America."

Before
the president was sworn into office Tuesday, reports said the U.S. Secret
Service would force Obama to give up his BlackBerry once he began his
term. That’s because in theory, a hacker could potentially break into
the president’s device, gaining access to highly confidential
information — perhaps data about national security, including the exact location of the president.

Rumor has it that Obama’s BlackBerry model is the 8830 World Edition, which has GPS features, according to the Globe and Mail.
And while BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion heavily advertises
encryption services for its smartphones, no technology is
hack-proof.

Typically, the U.S. Secret Service prohibits the
president from carrying any sort of cellphone in order to minimize
security risks. And by law, all the president’s e-mails must be
recorded and made available to the public if requested.   

Many agree that stripping Obama of his BlackBerry would make his
transition into office extremely rough. Obama is recognized as the
most tech-savvy president to date. Using the internet as a fundraising
and
organizing tool, Obama’s presidential campaign was the most digitally sophisticated organizing apparatus of any presidential campaign in history. 

Obama suggests that despite security concerns, he will likely be taking his coveted BlackBerry to the Oval Office.

The
decision on Obama’s BlackBerry is awaiting final approval, but the
president has received support from John Podesta, co-chairman of the
Obama-Biden Transition Project.

"An off-line Obama isn’t just bad for Barack," Podesta said in an opinion column published in LA Times.
"It’s bad for all of us. The president’s ability to reach outside his
inner circle gives him access to fresh ideas and constructive critics;
it underscores the difference between political "victories" and actual
solutions; and it brings the American people into a battle we can only
win by working together."

Do you think Obama should keep his BlackBerry? Vote in the poll below.

See Also:

• President-Elect Obama Must Surrender His BlackBerry, Says Gov’t
• The Vast Differences Between Obama and McCain on technology policy
• Propelled by Internet, Barack Obama Wins Presidency
• Obama Campaign Mocks McCain’s Computer Illiteracy

Photo: BohPhoto/Flickr
 

Email and texting gadget Peek has a special all-inclusive offer on. The company is making the device available for $300, which includes the handset (normally retailing at $100) and lifetime subscription fees (otherwise pegged at $20 a month).

Though the offer is just for a day, Amol Sarva, CEO of Peek, says the company is considering giving up completely on the subscription fees for the device and making it available at one-time upfront cost for users.

"We have been very impressed with the demand today. The numbers are pretty good," says Sarva. "My mind is totally blown and we are totally willing to consider giving up on subscription fees."

It could be a smart move for the company as consumers tend to be averse to ongoing monthly fees, especially in a troubled economy.

Peek launched in September as a device for people who don’t want a smartphone full of features but just want to check email and text friends. After makes its debut in Target stores nationwide, Peek is now available through Amazon.com and Costco.com

The company is looking to expand its retail access and add new features, says Sarva. "Peek’s going to keep doing more and more. We are enthusiastic about experimenting," he says.

Photo: (kukkurovaca/Flickr)

Two months ago, when Australian phone company Kogan Technologies said it would launch the second Android mobile operating system-based handset called Agora it came as a surprise to industry watchers.

The announcement from a hitherto unknown company from Down Under was on the heels of the October launch of the first HTC G1 phone.

Now Kogan’s founder Ruslan Kogan says the Agora phone will be "delayed indefinitely due to potential future interoperability issues."

"The Agora reached a very late stage of development, manufacturing
had commenced and we were within days of shipping the product to
customers. But it now seems certain the current Agora specifications
will limit its compatibility or interoperability in the near future,"
Ruslan Kogan said in a statement.

Still, the cancellation of the Agora phone, which was supposed to start shipping later this month, should not be a setback to the fledgling Android OS movement. It is also unlikely to slow down the momentum of new Android-based handsets in the market, says one analyst. 

Major cellphone makers including Motorola and Sony Ericsson are betting on Android and are likely to release Android devices later this year.

Kogan itself has been seen as an unlikely candidate to create a new phone. The company has no experience in making cellphones and is known in Australia for selling LCD TVs and cameras at much lower prices than competitors but eschewing the retail store model for online sales.

Cellphones, however, are much more complex than LCD TVs and more difficult to pull off for a new company.

"I think the idea of someone no one ever heard of picking up Android and
making their dream device was such a techno-romance story, that it
really captured a lot of imaginations," says Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research on his blog. "In the end, it’s a lot harder to
get into the handset business even with an open source mobile platform
to build on top of."

Meanwhile Kogan’s customers who had pre-paid for the Agora will be offered a full refund, said the company. And the phone is expected to undergo
a significant redesign "in order to ensure its compatibility with all
future Android applications."

"One potential issue is that developers may create applications for
the Android operating system at a higher resolution and screen size
than the Agora provides in its current form," said Kogan.

A redesigned Agora may never make it to the market but for Android lovers its not the end of hope. Bigger cellphone makers are waiting in the wings to pick up the slack.

See also:
Aussie Googlephone announced
T-Mobile Store Opens Doors to G1 Phone

Photo: Kogan Agora Pro (momentimedia/Flickr)

Inevitably destined to be called the oPhone, this cheapo handset from Kenyan manufacturer Mi-Phone is branded with Obama propaganda. The President elect is apparently a popular figure in Kenya due to family ties, and this phone is there to cash in on that (or offer a way for supporters to, erm, show their support).

As you’d expect of a $30 phone, it does almost nothing. No 3G, no touch screen, no nothing. Well, almost nothing. There’s an FM radio and a flashlight, both handy additions for the target market. The best part, though, comes from the description — the color is listed as "Black and Obama Color". The President Elect has now clearly claimed both red and blue as his own, much as Deutsche Telekom patented Engadget Blue.

Product page [Mi-Phone via Cellular News via BBG]