E.P.A. Seeks New Life for Old Cellphones
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The E.P.A.  is launching a public education campaign aimed at getting consumers to recycle their old phones.
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Long gone are the days when it was enough for a mobile phone to simply be a phone. Ever since the technology began to emerge to transform handsets into handheld media players, phone manufacturers have been producing these multimedia marvels in droves.
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Company says it might consider busting into pieces to revive its ailing cell phone business. But is it the right move?
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Although it may be five or more years behind similar capabilities in Europe, the US is finally getting technology that would allow consumers to use their cell phones as a way to pay for consumer goods.
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The fat phone book, a fixture of the urban American household in the last century, is losing some of its girth as more people give up their land lines for cellphones.
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The search juggernaut's thirst for ad dollars could rebuild the mobile-phone industry from the bottom up.
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The U.S. may still lag behind much of the world in regulating e-waste, but the good news is that there are new solutions out there for responsibly disposing of your outdated equipment.
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Although mobile phones have long been a part of the business community, they are quietly becoming entrenched in personal lives.
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(InfoWorld) - SkypeÂ is looking to a 1968 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to open up the country's mobile phone industry for "unlocked" devices and third-party applications -- such as Skype. The eBayÂ unit, a pioneer in peer-to-peer VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol), petitioned the FCC this week to affirm that the landmark Carterphone decision applies to the cellular world. That ruling, which involved an early type of wireless handset, said carriers couldn't stop consumers from attaching any device to the wired telecommunications network as long as it couldn't do any damage. Letting any device connect to cellular networks would gradually open the door to a wide range of new choices for consumers, including handsets that use VOIP for voice calls over operators' 3G (third-generation) data networks. Almost all cellphones in use on mobile networks in the U.S. are sold by the operators and locked so they can't be used on another provider's network. But Skype's proposal also would stop carriers from blocking or forbidding applications on 3G networks -- again, as long as those applications can't damage the network. The plan cuts to the heart of mobile operators' revenue stream, which still predominantly comes from voice calls and also depends on exclusive ringtone, music, video, and other services offered by the carriers. But there's no reason the earlier ruling on the wireline phone network shouldn't apply to mobile, according to Christopher Libertelli, Skype's senior director for government and regulatory affairs. In addition, preventing carriers from blocking outside applications is in keeping with the FCC's policy on network neutrality, he said. Cellular providers have always had closed networks, but the rollout of 3G makes possible many more uses of those networks, he said. "What we're trying to do is get in front of that trend so that policy is set in the correct way," Libertelli said. In addition to the new rules, Skype proposed an industry forum to determine what types of devices are harmful to the wireless network. The mobile industry promptly slammed Skype's petition. It would freeze innovation, according to a statement by Steve Largent, president and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), an industry group. "Skype's self-interested filing contains glaring legal flaws and a complete disregard for the vast consumer benefits provided by the competitive marketplace," Largent said. Skype's Libertelli said the company has a big job to do in educating cellular companies and others but believes the change would help carriers by creating new uses for their networks. It's hard to predict how the FCC may respond to Skype's petition, said Johna Till Johnson, president of Nemertes Research, in Mokena, Illinois. In recent years the agency has been alternately supportive and wary of disruptive technologies, she said. It might even drag its heels on making a ruling, not wanting to be drawn into a big political fight. It's most likely to come down somewhere in the middle, Johnson believes. Though the cost of phone calls might fall if Skype won, there could be a downside: Without the incentive of selling their captive services, cellular companies might be less motivated to upgrade their networks, Johnson said. Skype expects the agency to put the petition out for public comment and response, a process that would take several weeks.
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The former World Class product-of-the-year PDA gets a much-needed upgrade.
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A campaign begins to collect old mobile phones and convert them into alarms for women who are attacked in the home.
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A group of cellular operators have joined up to help guide next-generation mobile technology.
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Cellphones are becoming ubiquitous and the Nielsen Company, the longtime monitor of television consumption, wants in.
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Elements from more than a dozen different countries go into that magical comm unit in your pocket. Discover the origins of your orphaned mobile. By Se&#225;n Captain from Wired Test.
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Many people are just getting used to snapping pictures, listening to music, watching videos, sending text messages and getting e-mails over their cell phones. It turns out the phones can handle much more.
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The memory developer is looking beyond games to HDTV, mobile phones, and other electronics.
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In advanced countries, someone whose cell phone breaks down or becomes outdated usually tosses it and gets a new, fancier model. Ditto for the DVD player, Sony PlayStation, and even radios and watches.