Driving and Texting is Worse Than…

Once again cell phone use while driving is in the news. This time it’s because of a study that found that you are more likely to be in an accident if you are sending text messages while driving. It’s not just a little more likely, it’s something like 23 times more likely. This isn’t the first study done about the dangers of cell phone use while driving. The popular TV show Mythbusters did an episode that determined that it was more dangerous to talk on the cell phone while driving that it was to drive drunk. There are dozens of studies done on this, and lots of real world examples. There is no question in my mind that it’s flat out stupid. You’re going to get in an accident, it’s just a matter of when and how bad.

Cell phone use in the car is getting a lot of attention now from the media as well as the government. So much so, that laws are being introduced that will make using a cell phone while driving illegal. While I agree that you shouldn’t be using the phone while driving, I don’t see the need for a law specifically to deal with cell phones because that’s saying that reading the newspaper is ok, or that putting on make-up while driving is fine. When the reality is that neither of those are acceptable. Any laws created should address anything that takes the drivers attention away from the task of driving. It doesn’t matter if it’s eating a burger from a fast food restaurant, reading the newspaper, putting on make-up, shaving, browsing through music on your MP3 player, talking / texting on your cell phone, or anything else. If it takes your attention away from the task of driving, it should be illegal.

The only things that come out of creating a law to address cell phone use while driving is short-sightedness and the need to create a new law in a couple years when the next-great-thing is found to cause a distraction to drivers. Get it right the first time and deal with all the distractions and not just cell phones.

Race To Market Contest for Windows Marketplace for Mobile

Microsoft has opened the doors for application submission for it’s upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile. If you’re a Windows Mobile application developer, or you have an interest in writing for WinMo, now’s the time to get your application coded and submitted. Why should you bother? Well, you’re application will get listed in the Marketplace when it goes live reaching 30 million customers. And if that wasn’t reason enough, you could win one of four Microsoft Surface Tables! That’s one really cool trophy – you’ll be the only person around with one of these in your living room.

Microsoft’s on-device application store will be coming to Windows Mobile 6.5, 6.1 and 6.0 devices. It will be pre-loaded on 6.5 devices and will be available as a download for 6.1 and 6.0 platforms.

For those developers that don’t already have Visual Studio and are looking to get started with Windows Mobile development, you’re going to find that Visual Studio Express doesn’t allow for Windows Mobile development. You’ll need to buy the full version or download the 60 day trial version.

The Race to Market Challenge runs until Decemeber 31, 2009. But don’t wait and forget about this unique chance. Submit your application now. You can read more information about the Race to Market Challenge and what you need to do over at www.MobileThisDeveloper.com and on the Windows Mobile Team’s blog post here.

Rogers is First with HSPA+ in North America

Today, Rogers has officially launched its HSPA+ network and is able to claim the bragging rights of being the first in North America.

“Rogers Wireless today announced it has begun the Canada-wide deployment of a 21 Megabits per second (Mbps) high-speed HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access Plus) wireless network, following the successful expansion and doubling of speed of its high-speed network to 7.2 Mbps last year. Starting in August, Rogers will progressively increase wireless network download speeds up to 21 Mbps in the Greater Toronto Area, and expand quickly over the coming months to other cities across the country.”

While this is wonderful news for Rogers, as far as marketing is concerned, I have to wonder how much it is needed by consumers. Of course, we ALL want faster everything, including faster wireless internet access but I gotta think that more customers would be pumped about properly priced data rather than fastest in North America. This “successful launch” comes at a cost and on the backs of customers that have no choices in Canada.

Here’s an idea; offer plain old 3G at reasonable rates and charge a premium for HSPA+.

Still, if you are one of those with either Rogers shares or money trees this is certainly good news for you. Like I said, we all want faster wireless.

The War for Canada’s Wireless Customers

When it comes to a competitive marketplace for wireless in Canada, there has been a serious void for many years. Bell, Telus, and Rogers have managed to keep prices high, contracts long, and light on choice. It got so bad that Canada decided to restrict the big 3 from bidding on the new spectrum that was auctioned off last year. It was made available to new companies that are looking to setup camp here in Canada.

Sadly, winning that auction doesn’t mean you’re going to be greeted with open arms. Telus (along with Bell and Rogers) are now taking action to slow the introduction of another wireless carrier. Its to the point now that they are accusing Globalive of cheating the Canadian ownership requirements.

This article, over on the National Post, outlines what Canadians have had to deal with for far too long – high prices for little services. I’m less than thrilled to read that wireless penetration has actually dropped in recent years. Then again, how surprised can one be when carriers are offering 3 year contracts and still charging top dollar for their devices. To be fair, once the wireless auction was completed last year, the big 3 did start to improve their prices and customer support. Has true competition scared them into changing or would these changes have happened regardless? Either way, it’s going to be interesting to watch things play out over the next 6 months.

The Cell Phone Evolved

I’ve had my fair share of cell phones over the years and it’s always fun to compare new devices with old units.  Design and functionality are always changing. New devices are considerably smaller than just a year earlier. Well, here’s a pretty cool site that covers off some of the more popular and unusual mobile devices between 1983 and 2009. There a couple places where the timeline jumps a little, but it’s pretty cool to scroll through all the different devices. Of all the phones I’ve had, it’s still a small number compared to the number of devices on this list.  Check it out and let us know your thoughts.  How many have you owned?

Understanding Vanity Dialing in Samsung Smartphones

Samsung has included a feature in their phones called Vanity Dialing. As the name implies, this feature will allow you to dial those ever popular vanity numbers like 1-800-Flowers or 1-800-Samsung. You can find Vanity Dialing on the new Samsung Jack, Propel Pro and even the older BlackJack II devices under Start / Settings / Key Settings / Vanity Dialing. After turning this on, you will need to reboot your phone before you can use the feature.

Now that you have turned this on, you can easily dial vanity numbers without trying to remember what number M, or I, or K, or E. You can use your QWERTY keyboard to enter the full word easily and the smartphone will automatically replace the letters with the correct numbers. To use the feature, start entering the number as you normally would. When you get to the letters, press the function (Fn) key and then type the word using your keyboard. For example, if you wanted to dial 1-800-MobileJaw, you would press 1, 8, 0, 0, Fn, M, o, b, i, l, e, J, a, w (without the comma’s). That’s easy enough, right? So get out there and dial those vanity numbers!

Google Targets Netbooks with Chrome OS

This week, Google announced that they plan to release an open source operating system to power netbooks around the middle of 2010. The new OS will be called Chrome OS and will be a light weight linux install that runs Google’s Chrome browser. While some see this as the start of the end of Microsoft, I have to disagree. People have an expectation of their home computers, and that expectation is that they can run all the same programs and do the same tasks as what they do in the office. If they bring home an office document and when they open it in Google’s Doc’s only to find out that they have a fraction of the features and functionality, the computer will be marked as a failure.

I think Michael Gartenberg has it right in his article – Chrome OS is not a threat to Windows. Only time will tell for sure, but I think for now, Microsoft doesn’t have to worry. Although, the addition of another OS is a great way to motivate Microsoft.

What I find interesting about this announcement, is that Google didn’t feel that Android could make the cut to be a desktop/netbook OS replacement. Word on the street is that Acer will be shipping netbooks later this year that include Android as their default OS and not the new Chrome OS. So why not take those efforts with Android and create an Android OS that can work on Netbooks. This would create one platform that would be easy for developers to target their applications for all devices with a single code base.

What are your thoughts on all this? It will be very interesting to see how things unfold, but I can’t see Chrome OS making any significant inroads for a while.

Rogers Introduces Canada’s First 3.5G Embedded Netbooks

Rogers has just announced their HP Mini netbook offering with embedded 3.5 wireless:

“The HP Mini 110 netbooks now available include embedded mobile broadband technology to connect to the Web over Rogers 3.5G wireless network across Canada – three times faster than any other – offering customers the freedom to choose when and where they enjoy a true broadband Internet experience. With download speeds up to 7.2 Mbps, Rogers mobile Internet ready netbooks deliver the ultimate convenience and productivity for work or play online with just a few clicks – no need to search for WiFi or wired access.”

Now, if they would only listen to users about the sky high cost of wireless…

Hard Reset the Samsung Jack

Sometimes there is a need to start fresh with your device.  Perhaps you just picked up the Jack from eBay or maybe you’re getting ready to list it for sale and want to clear off any personal details from the phone.  Or maybe, you’ve installed something and it’s your device un-usable. That should never be the case, but you never know, right?  If you want to start over, you need to perform what is called a "Hard Reset”.  This will wipe your device clean of any personal information and revert the device back to factory settings.  There are a couple ways to do this on the Samsung Jack.

Just to be clear, this article is talking about the AT&T Samsung Jack (SGH-i637) smartphone, also known as the Omnia Pro B7320.  If you are using a Rogers or Fido Samsung Jack, then and need to look at the hard reset instructions for the BlackJack II, which can be found here.

On the Samsung Jack, there are 2 types of reset options, Master Clear and Master Reset. The Master Reset function will reset the phone back to factory settings. The Master Clear option will reset the phone and wipe clean the user storage locations.  To access these options, you need to hit Start / Settings / Security and then select the reset method of your choice.  You will then be prompted for a reset password. Unless you have changed this value, the default is 0000 (four zero’s). Enter the reset password and you will be prompted to confirm the reset. If you picked the Master Clear, you will be prompted to select which user storage will be wiped.

If the Samsung Jack won’t boot or hangs just after booting, you can still perform a hard reset on the device.  From a powered off state, press the power button while holding down the “F” key on the keyboard. Keep holding down the “F” key until you see the format menu.  Here you will be prompted on which type of reset you are looking to do. Select 1 for Master Clear, or 2 for Master Reset and the device will be wiped accordingly.