cells

Helio, that virtual carrier that doesn't call itself a phone company, has partnered with Obopay, a new mobile peer-to-peer payment system. With Obopay on your Helio device, you can get, send, and spend money directly from your cell phone via a prepaid account. You can also get an Obopay Prepaid MasterCard account that can be managed on your Helio phone. With Obopay in Helio's stable from the get-go, Helio is furthering its standing in the young-and-hip demographic. It'll be interesting to see how popular Obopay gets in such a niche market.

Officer, I swear, I wasn't talking on my cell phone while driving; I was looking at the map...on my cell phone...while driving.

Samsung Electronics has released the SPH-B5800, a cell phone that offers real-time traffic maps as well as info on where to find places to eat. Technical Resource likes the fact that people can compare routes and decide which road is the one less traveled by.

The Samsung SPH-B5800 is available in Korea for about $600.

Instead of using GPS, the phone works by TPEG, a transportation broadcast service offered in Korea over its new Digital Media Broadcasting (… Read more

In response to the Webware Challenge to make cell phones into better lifelines, many (hundreds) of people added comments and wrote to me personally to say the main solution to finding people who are lost or stranded should be better cellular phone coverage, cell phones with emergency satellite radios, or dedicated emergency locator beacons. I support all of these ideas, but as I said in a previous post, I still think we could use a "fail-safe" notification system that alerts friends, families, or authorities when a person goes missing. If a person is unable to make a call … Read more

Everyone has seen those arm straps to hold your iPod, but a company called JAMinnovations also makes arm/wrist straps to hold your cell phone or smart phone. The straps will hold handsets of all different designs, from tiny flip phones to clunky candy-bar models. They even have a strap for Treos and other smart phones.

No doubt, having a cell phone on your morning jog would be convenient in an emergency, but otherwise the straps border on the land of "things you don't need" (at least in my opinion). And what's more, they just seem … Read more

As far as we're concerned, the new year can't come too quickly. Not only does it mean some time off, but it also puts us closer to Macworld, where hopefully all the iPhone speculation will be put to rest. After months of gossip and a gallery of iPhone "photos" ranging from the silly to the just plain ugly, we're getting the tiniest bit sick of it all. Unfortunately, the Steve Jobs love-fest is at the same time as CES, but if we see something substantial next month, we'll be ecstatic. Of course there's … Read more

Lest there be any doubt about the convergence of digital technology and the human body, consider this: a "bio-inkjet printer."

Carnegie Mellon scientists working on stem-cell research have developed a printer that uses "bio-ink," which Popular Mechanics describes as "solutions of hormones that alter cell behavior." In an article that sounds like natural sci-fi fodder, the magazine says the machine uses a custom-made nozzle that prints highly accurate patterns "to create a blueprint for cells to grow and differentiate into the various types that scientists want to create."

And why not? Manufacturing … Read more

Following the introduction of its 2007 Altima Hybrid, which we saw at this month's LA Auto Show (and which makes use of Toyota's hybrid drivetrain technology), Nissan has outlined plans to introduce a car using its own hybrid technology in 2010.

The announcement is part of the Nissan Green Program 2010, which also includes plans to introduce an original hydrogen fuel-cell car incorporating an in-house-developed stack, and a "three-liter car"--a car that gets gas mileage of 100km per three liters of gasoline (around 79mpg)--both by 2010.

Nissan's news is the latest in a … Read more

Automobiles have paved the way for hybrid and alternative energies in transportation, but other vehicles are quickly following their tracks. We've seen trains, golf carts and even wheelchairs running on non-fossil power sources in recent months alone. But one there's one category we hadn't anticipated: toys.

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies first made headlines with its hydrogen-powered "H-racer" remote-controlled miniature car, which Gizmag says is the "best-selling fuel cell product in the world." Now, Horizon has developed what it calls the "H-cell" power source, which it claims allows miniature cars to reach … Read more

If you're an "America's Next Top Model" watcher who can't get enough of the CW network reality show, you might be interested in this. Thanks to a new tie-in, you can play your own version of the game on your cell phone. It's a product of CBS Interactive, the new-media wing of CW co-parent CBS; and Hong Kong-based avatar and mobile-game company Artificial Life--yes, the creator of the V-Girl cell phone girlfriends. (Artificial Life also created the far awesomer V-Penguins.)

But the "ANTM" collaboration doesn't seem to be a virtual-girlfriend … Read more