Cell Phones

Cell Phones

Five Bits of Technology for Mobile Phones

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The first generation of mobile phones dates back to the 1970’s when bulky hand-held mobile radio devices were first developed. Since this time, mobile phone technology has expanded exponentially. Here we look at just five pieces of mobile phone technology that have changed the way we use our phones.

Batteries and Technology for Mobile Phones

Battery technology has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years and has contributed to the constantly reducing size of the phones. Traditionally, the batteries were made from nickel but more recently these batteries are being made from lithium, which is famously the lightest metal known to man. These are lighter and can hold their charge for longer, which make them an ideal candidate for mobile phones. The future of phone battery technology is thought to be in solid-state batteries and the race is on to create one that can be mass produced. These would potentially massively increase the length of charge that a phone battery could hold and greatly decrease the manufacturing costs.

Liquid Repellent
There is now technology for protecting mobile phones from the effects of liquids. Much like waterproof watches, these range from those that can withstand a few splashes of water, such as being caught a light rain shower, to being resistant to being completely submerged in deep water for long periods of time. This technology is a godsend for many people. For example, anyone who works in the great outdoors, sportsmen and women and boaters, amongst many others. These phones are currently being made by several of the most well-known mobile phone manufacturers, including Nokia and Samsung, and it is very likely that more will join them. The phones are made water resistant using advanced nano-technology and coating them in a chemical water repellent substance that does not add weight or change the look and feel of the phone.

GPS
One greatly used piece of technology in mobile phones is GPS or ‘global positioning system’. Many people are familiar with GPS, a technology that has been used for many years to provide reliable location and time information on the go in mobile phones. Using satellites phones with GPS can pinpoint your location anywhere in the world very accurately, up to around 10 metres. More and more phones have included GPS and many can now double up as satellite navigation systems in cars. This ability to have an accurate worldwide map in your pocket, with your precise position at any one point is a much over-looked piece of technology.

Technology for Mobile Phones photo
Photo by mikecogh

3G and HSDPA
Many phones now use 3G technology, the third generation of wireless technology, which allows high-speed transmission, worldwide roaming abilities and enhanced audiovisual streaming on the previous 2.5G technology. Recently, HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) has started to replace this technology in more advanced mobile phones. It has also become known colloquially as 3.5G or turbo 3G due to its significantly faster download speeds with a massive theoretical maximum speed of 14.4Mbps. In effect this maximizes productivity without requiring a wireless network to connect to.

Touch Screens
Ever since Apple brought their massively successful iPhone to the market, touch screens on mobile phones have become more and more popular. There are two types of touch screen typically found on mobile phones – capacitive and resistive. Resistive touch screens work by sensing pressure on the screen, whether that is from your finger or a stylus. Capacitive, the newer technology, uses electrodes that sense the conductivity of your finger when placed against the screen. Each has their pros and cons, the ability to use a stylus means that you can make more accurate selections on the screen, whereas capacitive screens are typically more intuitive and sensitive, requiring only the gentlest touch or swipe. Users have enjoyed using touch screens in new and inventive ways, from pinching the screen to zoom out to ‘double clicking’ to select and copy text. This technology is changing the way we interact with our phones forever.

Article by P2i.com – Market leaders in nano-technology and water repellent coatings.

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Mobile Apps Meet Privacy & Security Concerns Among Consumers

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Geolocation sharing services like foursquare, MyTown, Loopt, and others have been getting a lot of press lately in marketing circles.  Geolocation is still in early adoption stages, but it is growing rapidly among mobile users.  Unfortunately, privacy concerns are growing with it.  You might think that the eagerness of location sharers to distribute data about their lives to other users and to companies is a sign of ignorance or unconcern, but it is neither.  These users are choosing to accept a certain loss of privacy in return for certain benefits. But, they expect certain boundaries to be observed.

Below you can see the results of a study by privacy services TRUSTe and Harris Interactive.  The smartphone owners they surveyed stated that they were most concerned about their privacy.

The reason that these users agree to participate in many apps with advertisers is because they still feel as though they understand the agreement and are in control of the situation.  In fact, 36% of the survey participants said that they felt in control of their personal information.  How do participants assure themselves?  By setting strong passwords and by reading privacy policies thoroughly before opting in or signing up, users feel safe.

Even though other surveys show that many mobile device users could potentially be interested in opting into advertisements which target their location based on tracking data, three quarters of the population surveyed in this study indicated that tracking by advertisers disturbed them.

Mobile Apps Meet Privacy
Photo by IntelFreePress

White iPhone 4 displayed at a Softbank mobile store in Omotesando, Tokyo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mobile privacy and security issues will only continue to receive more attention and press as mobile location sharing services grow into the mainstream, particularly with the opening of Facebook Places, which is introducing location sharing to more and more users.  Just a couple weeks ago, there was a lot of press surrounding a log file that tracks and records the movements of the iPhone it resides on.  If a person should acquire the iPhone, he can view all this tracking data unencrypted, and discover the movements of the iPhone (and its user) since the log file was introduced onto the device.

In reality, this problem has been in existence for a long time.  In the past, it was revealed that government agencies make regular use of these types of log files in mobile phones to find out where users have been and what they have been doing.  These searches are often conducted illegally without a warrant.

When a user signs up for an app and reads the privacy policy, it may include an agreement to be tracked by the company.  What it does not include is an agreement to submit to illegal search and seizure by the government.  These are the kinds of fears that permeate the consciousness of a mobile user though, and not unreasonably.

What this means is that until these broader legal dilemmas are more resolved, mobile users will be concerned about privacy and security issues; tracking in particular.  This doesn’t stop a lot of people from signing up or opting into apps with companies which track movements though.

If you are starting a geolocation campaign, it is crucial that you understand the privacy and security concerns of your patrons and that you take steps to protect their privacy.  Make it very clear in your user agreement what your policies are and how you are protecting the security of mobile users.  Let them know that you share their concerns.

Mobile users can benefit from geolocation targeted advertising.  The tricks is to make sure that they are benefiting from it, will ensuring their data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Spencer Belkofer is a blogger, researcher, and follower of anything related to Internet marketing. He recently founded Lumin, an Alabama-based Internet marketing firm. Lumin has recently included infographic design as one of it’s service offerings.

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Five iPhone Apps to Help in Addiction Recovery

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Technology has proven itself useful in many areas of human healing, including addiction recovery. While they not to be used as a replacement for treatment, several iPhone apps can be a handy means of support for someone right when it is needed most.

Pocket Sponsor The Pocket Sponsor is an iPod application that offers wisdom, inspiration, and hope. Daily support alerts arrive automatically, but the user can also read additional support messages with a simple tap of the screen. The app provides 31 days of unique morning and evening routines that develop emotional stability and calm. These routines involve meditations, positive mantras, and supportive messages that can be used throughout the day. There will be times when the addict cannot reach a sponsor or other trusted support person, but the Pocket Sponsor will be there day and night.

addiction recovery photo
Photo by JoeInSouthernCA

iPromises

This iPhone app provides three separate features. First, it allows the user to track his or her recovery with journals and charts that document accomplishments, challenges, triggers, and time spent sober. For many users, the ability to document there feelings in a readily available journal provides great motivation. The second feature is “One Day at a Time.” Users can use these daily messages to build unique recovery programs based on which messages speak to their hearts. The final aspect of iPromises is the Geo-Positioning feature. The iPhone’s built in GPS makes finding a nearby meeting easy.

12 Step Programs Ann-e creates several apps designed to help addicts stay connected to others who understand their struggles. An application exists for all 12 step programs, broadening the sphere of support beyond individuals to reach the entire recovery community. The app offers tree types of communication, including anonymous peer-to-peer instant messaging, connecting anonymous users by phone with conference bridges, and facilitating personal meetings between trusted peers.

Guided Mediation Apps There are numerous apps for the iPhone that assist in guided meditations, an important part of maintaining a calm mind during recovery. Apps generally provide various themes such as “Mindfulness” or “Being Happy” with multiple sessions ranging from 2 to 20 minutes. Those in recovery can download a single meditation or acquire a small collection to find those most useful in stress management.

Cognitive Therapy Apps Cognitive therapy helps addicts reprogram their negative thoughts and behaviors to create a more positive mindset going forward. These apps typically include a journal for users to write down negative thoughts and behaviors as they notice them. They can then notice patterns of thought and behavior that can be corrected and improved. The journal is also helpful during therapy sessions, allowing the user to more readily communicate issues with the therapist. Unlike a traditional notebook, the cognitive therapy apps have locks to protect the user’s privacy.

Jessica Bosari writes for TherapistSchools.com, a site that helps students find the right therapy education, whether they seek behavioral, physical or addiction therapy schools.

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Five Occupational Therapy Apps for iPhone

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Occupational Therapy Apps

Technology available for the iPhone can be a boon for occupational therapists and their patients. But with Apple supporting over 140,000 applications, how can you wade through the trash to find the treasure? We have put together a list of the five best apps available for the iPhone that can be of tremendous value to therapists, doctors, and patients.

MedAlert – $0.99

This app is perfect for anyone who has trouble remembering to take their medications due to ADHD, the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, or simple forgetfulness. Fully programmable and customizable, you can input the drug name, patient, and the dosing schedule for multiple users. When it’s time for medication, the iPhone will alert the user. Therapists can recommend this app to patients who they suspect are missing doses, even if they will not admit it. This happens most often with elderly Alzheimer’s patients who try to avoid letting their symptoms show for fear of being taken from the home setting. Setting up this app for a patent allows them a greater sense of security and personal dignity in a difficult situation. The app is designed to be easy to use to avoid overwhelming the patient with new technology.

SoundAMP – Price Varies By Features

Not everyone with hearing loss is ready for hearing aids, but many still need help with clarity in certain situations, such as crowded areas. This app helps the hearing impaired by letting them record and playback. It also offers sound magnification, which is an excellent substitute to hold patients over until they can replace a lost hearing aid or dead battery. Therapists can suggest this app to anyone suffering from an auditory processing disorder or hearing problems.

Locabulary – Free

People who are deaf, stutter, or otherwise have difficulties speaking may benefit from this free app. It helps them communicate when they need assistance, instructions, or need to make simple statements. Through a menu of customizable simple phrases, the patient can tap the appropriate phrase and the app will speak on the patient’s behalf. The patient can also input the phrase to speak, making communication easier for the patient wherever he or she may go.

Occupational Therapy Apps
Photo by Carolyn Coles

Accessibility

This is already included with the new iPhone 3GS. This feature, available in 21 languages, speaks aloud to tell the user what each button or option on the screen will do. The patient need only touch the button to hear the function. This is great for anyone with vision problems, and also works with text input.

Islet Diabetes Assistant- $2.99

Therapists can recommend this handy app for anyone with diabetes, especially for the newly-diagnosed. This program allows the user to enter their blood sugar levels, insulin dosage, exercise, and carbohydrate intake. The results are then placed on a graph that can be shared with healthcare professionals. This method is far better than keeping hand-written logs or making unreliable guesses.

Jessica Bosari writes for TherapistSchools.com, a site that offers tips and advice for becoming a therapist and finding the best Occupational Therapist Schools. The site also helps students in other therapy fields such as Child and Addiction Therapies.

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My Fitness Pal Smartphone App: An Electronic Weight Loss Coach

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So, you have decided to lose those few flabby pounds you’ve gained over the holidays. Good for you! Admitting that you have a problem is the first step to the solution. So let me congratulate you a little further by recommending a little guide that will help you along your path. It’s called “My Fitness Pal” and this app is on both iPhone and Android.

First off let me start by saying that the app is free. Yes, it’s free. Free as in beer. Free is a good thing. And for the quality of this app that is a great thing. Now let me say that this is not a full weight loss coach. You will need some determination and will power to use this app. But congrats for even starting your journey!

Lets get started!

Let’s begin taking a look at this. My overall impressions of the app were great. It’s functional, easy to use, and feature rich. My Fitness Pal really has the potential to help keep you on the proper path. My biggest issue is that ads displayed in the app. It is an Ad supported app, so if this bothers you then you may want to look elsewhere. On a larger screen phone it’s easily ignored but on smaller screens it could take up precious real estate.

So, we start the app and you’re asked if you are a current member or want to register. My Fitness Pal records all of your progress to their website. Since you are reading this I am going to assume that you are a new member. So go ahead and create your account. You’ll enter the standard username and password, email, password, height and weight, sex (yes, is not an option), and lifestyle activity, and so fourth and so on.

The app will also ask for the amount of exercise you get and how much weight you want to lose each week without giving snake oil promises of 30 pounds in two weeks. I appreciated this because proper and healthy weight lose must be achieved with a pound or two a week, not fifty.

I would recommend after entering your profile, and being pushed to the main screen, you have a look around and get the hang of the app. At first it’s slightly confusing, but it grows on you rather quickly. The app is well laid out but throws a lot of info at you quickly.

Have you been naughty or nice?

On the main screen you will find your daily digest of information. This shows many calories you are allowed to eat for the day, how many were taken in by food, exhausted by exercise and what’s left. If you want you can also take a peak at your total nutritional intake for the day. You’ll be presented with a chart that looks very much like the back of food label. I went into information overload the first time I read this. But it’s nice to see what I’m doing with myself. A healthy diet consists of getting the proper nutrients as well, not just limiting calories.

My Fitness Pal Smartphone App
My Fitness Pal Smartphone App

On the same screen you’ll have access to enter information into your daily diary of food and exercise. Simply click the Add to Diary button. From there you can enter food and exercise info. I’ll start with the food. My Fitness Pal breaks your entries into breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can search for foods, select recently used items, or select from a custom made food or meal list. If you decide to eat more then carrots for lunch you can also add multiple items as well.

My favorite feature though was the barcode scanner. Not sure what you just ate? It’s OK. We all have those moments. You can scan the barcode with your camera and the app will do it’s best to find the nutritional information via the world wide intermaweb. It doesn’t do a half bad job either.

Now, like I believe I said, I don’t like exercising all that much. It’s not like I don’t like it really, it’s just that I don’t have time. You know, like you do… But anyway, I pretended like I had time, just for you, to try this out. Adding any exercises works much the same way that adding food to your diary does. The only issue is, if you can’t remember what that exercise is called that the guy just taught you in the park that made you bend like a trifold pretzel door, then you’re stuck browsing through every exercise to find the correct information. There is no barcode scanner for that. Sorry.

Your daily diary

Next we go to our daily diary. Here you can see how bad or good you’ve been. A full breakdown of what foods you ate and what exercises you’ve done will be listed here. Basic information like calories eaten, calories burned, and remaining are displayed in this list as well. Access is granted from here, as well, to add to or edit your diary.

And then the last tab. Your progress tab gives you a nice little line graph over a period of time to track progress and goals. It can be somewhat gratifying and self-rewarding to see that line move down. I was impressed that it tracks not only your weight, but your neck, waist, and hip measurements as well. It’s nice to see a little diversity and something extra with this app considering there is so many like it all over the market now.

My Fitness Pal Smartphone App
My Fitness Pal Smartphone App

And last, but not least, is the options tab. Pretty self explanatory. You can change your profile or any of app your settings here.

I suppose it should be mentioned that you can view any of the information online via the account you created when you first started the app. Your daily diary and progress can be tracked there. I never utilized this much because I like the info in my pocket on the go. Also the last thing I want to do is sit and track my weight when I get to work or when I have a few minutes of downtime at home.

Conclusion

Over all I liked the app. It’s well designed and laid out. My Fitness Pal has a few nice features that set it self above other apps, like the barcode scanner. The app is intuitive and easy to use. It’s limited on features though. I would have liked to see more integration online with the app, maybe something with the community or access to the forums, or maybe some social networking integration.

The price is perfect considering it’s free. With it being an ad driven app though you may have issues with screen real estate on smaller devices. Larger screens were not bad. The app is also pretty stable. I didn’t see any force closes on any platforms or devices.

So, would I recommend it? Yes. Counting your calories is a fundamental aspect of weight loss, whether you are on popular diet program (i.e Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Diet to Go, etc) or a self-made diet plan.

Give it a shot and see how you like it. But give it a week or two before you start investing your time heavily recording information with it. Make sure you like the app and it feels fluid to you. If it doesn’t, move on to the next, because after all there are more apps that operate exactly like this one. It’s simple, polished, and easy to use with a couple nice extra features but nothing innovative whatsoever.

Guest author Matthew is a health advocate who is fascinated by how Smartphones have not only improved the way we communicate but also increased the information we have access too. Matthew researches and makes available Nutrisystem discount deals for 2011 and eDiets coupons and discounts, for dieters who want to save on these two proven weight loss programs.

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Review of a Popular Weight Loss and Fitness App for Smartphones

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Weight Loss And Fitness App

Perhaps you’re an always on the go kind of person with a few flabby pounds you can’t seem to get rid of. Maybe you just want to watch what you eat or you want help maintaining that perfect weight you’re at now. Perhaps you’re just too embarrassed to seek help. Whatever the reason may be, I think I may have something to help with that.

Recently I took a look at an Android app called “Diet and Food Tracker” by Sparkpeople.com. It’s certainly a worthy app for a few minutes of your time. It’s a well-organized and easy to follow diet and health planner.

So what makes this app so interesting? It does more than calorie counting. The developer of this app was nice enough to factor in and encourage a daily dose of exercise as well, which can be a very important part of any health regimen.

Oh, the Settings…

So let’s take a look at the app. Congrats, you decided to take the plunge and download it. It’s easy to find on the android market, and best of all, it’s free! When you start the app you’re greeted with the introduction screen. The app will ask a basic set of questions like your age, weight, health conditions, weight goals, gender, etc. I was impressed that Diet and Food Tracker didn’t set unreasonable goals with snake oil promises of 20 pounds in two weeks. They limit your weight loss from half a pound to two pounds per week. Losing too much weight to fast can be seriously unhealthy, so I appreciated this.

Weight Loss and Fitness App

If you need help or want a second place for your data you can also link the app to your Sparkpeople online account, or simply use it standalone. The decision is up to you. In this case I choose standalone. I am a very on the go person and when I finally hit a computer the last thing I am doing is checking my weight and diet. I’d rather have all that info in my pocket.

After setting up your account you’re sent to the “Today” screen. Here you’ll see some nice articles to read for your morning constitutional, the calories eaten today, and the calories burned. You get your info served to you with two nice line graphs and some simple text. Overall it’s easy to follow and to see what’s going on for that day.

Food for Thought

Now, you’re getting the nibbles and you need to get something in your stomach. Before launching towards the fridge like a mad cow you might want to check out the “Food” tab. Here is where you will log your daily eats. It’s a tad confusing at first glance but you get over it quickly after you realized how it’s designed.

This tab is best used if you plan ahead. You can select and add the foods you are planning to eat along with the calorie count and dosage for each meal. The developer was even nice enough to include a snack time. Adding food is cumbersome though. You search and find what food you will be eating, how much, what brand, and so forth, and add it to your daily meal. Hence, planning ahead… Adding your meal and foods can be a tad annoying and does take time. If you decide you enjoyed what you ate though, you can always copy the meal to the next day. There are only so many days I can stomach the same thing meal though. This process is a necessary evil for the app. It certainly isn’t my favorite part.

Feel the Burn!

Next we continue our journey on over to the exercise part. Are you excited? Are you pumped!?

Weight Loss and Fitness App

After clicking on the fitness tab you’re greeted with the daily push-ups you’ve done. Not terribly exciting. But you’ll also get a run down of the time spent moving and calories burnt. Just like the “Food” tab, you enter in you exercises done and how long you did them and the app will guesstimate from there. Straight forward but it takes a couple seconds. Rinse wash and repeat day after day.

Weigh in Time Boys

The last important stop is the weigh in tab. Like a wrestler on game day, the app has you check your weight religiously. Step on the scale, shriek in horror, input your numbers, peek at your graph, rinse, wash, and repeat, next day… With any luck you’ll be watching that little blue line on that nice simplistic little graph going down in no time.

Of course, if you so choose, you can always adjust your options and settings later on. The “more” tab stores all this info. Curiously there is also some mysterious water setting I couldn’t figure out. I leave this as a mystery to you. The app isn’t clear at all what to do with this. But, anyway, you’ll have the options to change your personal info and settings, view your reports, and share your progress so far.

Conclusion

All in all in the app isn’t bad. It’s free so the price is great. The colors are very pastel and easy to read. I didn’t really experience any force closes across multiple devices, which is such a great thing on a hardware-fragmented platform like android.

I also had no trouble multitasking with the app as well. The information was harder to read on smaller screens though. There is some info to plug in to the app. In fact, get in the same mentality as your birth control; you’ll need to do it everyday.

Would I recommend this app? Yes, I would. Whether you are on a commercial weight loss program (i.e Weight Watchers, Medifast, Atkins, BistroMD, etc) or you are following your own diet plan, the Diet and Food Tracker by Sparkpeople can be a valuable tool. Not all people like to count calories, though. Play with it for a week and see how it feels with you. If you don’t get your mojo going from it, then move on. There are similar apps on the market.

Guest author Matthew is a Smartphone lover and technology addict who enjoys reviewing fitness and weight loss related apps. In his blog, he reviews weight loss programs and features discount offers for Medifast and Bistro MD coupons for 2011, two proven meal replacement and food delivery weight loss plans.

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