e-wot?

8 Things That Suck About the iPad – apple ipad – Gizmodo. I don’t mind the bezel, but I agree with everything else. I mean, what? No camera? No Flash?

But it still looks pretty awesome.

A site for people who want to develop stuff for mobile phones.

click for dev.mobi

We’re becoming increasingly reliant on technology to remember things. The UK’s Telegraph reports:

“As many as a third of those surveyed under the age of 30 were unable to recall their home telephone number without resorting to their mobile phones or to notes.

When it came to remembering important dates such as the birthdays of close family relatives, 87 per cent of those over the age of 50 could remember the details, compared with 40 per cent of those under the age of 30.” click for Mobile phones ‘dumbing down brain power’

I read something interesting somewhere about memory a while ago, but I forget what it was 

Nokia has launched a service, Mobiledu, that enables people in China to download English lessons using their mobile phones.

The story first emerged in the Wall Street Journal on Monday. They explain:

“The service, which includes both audio- and text-based lessons, aims to capitalize on China’s enormous language-learning market, which has been growing quickly as Chinese embrace global business and prepare for an influx of foreign visitors during next year’s Olympic games in Beijing.” link

The report goes on to point out that China’s fast-growing market for language learning is expected to be valued at $3.9 billion annually by 2010, citing estimates in a Lehman Brothers report in February. China has 480 million mobile phone users.

Nokia will charge users about US$0.26 per download for the audio and text-based lessons. In addition to mobile language training, Mobiledu will provide career tips and ‘how tos’, shifting the focus away from learners in schools and on to working adults and adopting an “anytime, anywhere” learning mode.

Nokia has partnered with China’s English language teaching organisation New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc in this project. New Oriental runs China’s biggest chain of English learning and test-preparation schools. StreetInsider.com reveals:

“Michael Yu, New Oriental’s chairman and chief executive, said in an interview that the lessons his company has supplied to Mobiledu fit easily into cell phone learning. They include audio clips to improve oral English and text-based lessons on grammar and sentence structure, rather than graphics-heavy materials that often are required for test- preparations.” link

StreetInsider goes on to quote Joseph Kauffman, New Oriental’s assistant vice president for business development, who admitted:

“Mobiledu won’t boost New Oriental’s revenue much in the next three years, but that joining the service was a strategic decision. “We’re looking into the future. One day, people will be using phones as a learning tool, rather than a mobile phone,” he said.”

A spokesman from Nokia was quoted as saying that Mobiledu “is a Chinese service at the moment, but there is no limitation”.

click for Nokia launches English learning mobile service

Some interesting articles and presentations base on research carried out globally on mobile phone use.

click for Jan Chipchase – Future Perfect Archives

click for more articles from Nokia

click for BBC article on Jan Chipchase’s research