The changing shapes in over 30 years of mobile phones

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BBC News Technology

UK's first mobile phone user remembers his call 30 years on

Thirty years ago, just before midnight on New Year's Eve, Michael Harrison slipped away from his family's party at home in Surrey and was driven to Parliament Square.

There, he made history - by making Britain's first mobile phone call to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, the chairman of a new firm called Racal Vodafone.

Vodafone was one of two firms given a licence to operate a new cellular phone network - and it was in a race to beat its rival BT Cellnet to get up and running first.

It succeeded - Cellnet's first call came a few weeks into 1985.

In an exclusive interview, Michael Harrison recalls that historic moment to BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.

Link to Article and Video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30430475

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My First Phone Looked Like This



My phone was one of the first brick phones in England

Everywhere I went people wanted to look at it and hold it

If I received a call people asked if they could listen

I cannot remember how much it cost but something around a small fortune

Calls were charged by the minute and also cost a small fortune

Now I have unlimited calls unlimited texts and unlimited internet for £15 pcm

My baby flip-phone fits unseen in the palm of my hand:

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I will of course be buying one of these:

LG Fx0 Firefox OS 2.0 Smartphone With Transparent Body Launched
by Robin Sinha



LG, Mozilla and KDDI have launched Japan's first Firefox OS smartphone, the Fx0, which will go on sale Thursday.

The LG Fx0 smartphone running Firefox OS 2.0 has been designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, a noted artist and designer. The front, side and back panels of the device are completely transparent and the home button of the smartphone is printed with a golden Firefox logo. The LG Fx0, though smaller in size, takes most of its design clues from LG G3.

While the Firefox OS smartphones that launched in India over the past few months fall in the entry-level segment, the LG Fx0, being a design statement, is a mid-range smartphone priced at JPY 50,000 (roughly Rs. 26,300). Offered exclusively by KDDI, the handset's limited sale will commence on December 25 followed by a wider release in Japan starting January 6 next year. There are no details for the handset's availability in other regions as of now.

The Firefox OS-based LG Fx0 features a 4.7-inch IPS display (unspecified resolution) and packs a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8926) processor with 1.5GB of RAM. The handset also includes 16GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable via microSDXC card (up to 64GB). An 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2.1-megapixel front facing camera are also housed inside the smartphone.

Backed by a 2370mAh battery, the LG Fx0 smartphone measures 139x70x10.5mm and weighs 148 grams. The device, besides featuring the usual connectivity options, also comes with 4G LTE and NFC support.

"We are very pleased to bring the first Firefox OS smartphone, based on Web technology standards, to the Japanese market today," stated Takashi Tanaka, President of KDDI on the Mozilla blog post. "KDDI hopes to build the new era of the Web through Web of Things, enabling everyone to create custom connected Web experiences."

The Mozilla blog post added, "This launch makes a total of 16 Firefox OS smartphones available in 29 countries, showing strong momentum for Firefox OS as 2014 comes to a close."

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/lg ... hed-639132

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I already have one of these:



The ZTE FireFox Open



The main joy of a firefox phone is that the apps are FREE

There are countless numbers of apps written in HTML by programmers who do it for fun

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I know that you dear reader will hardly be able to suppress your excitement when I show you my new phone

So here it is in all it's glory

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I had the black - I had the white - now have the purple

It is just the right size for putting in a pocket or in my handbag

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After I have bought one of these:



I want one of these:



Yes it really is a transparent smartphone

http://bestsmartphone2015.net/transparent-smartphone/

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Ubuntu smartphone offers alternative to apps



The handset's operating system connects different services to create theme-based cards

An Ubuntu-powered smartphone is coming to the market a year and a half after a previous attempt to launch a model via crowdfunding failed.

The Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu edition relies on a card-like user interface that is not focused on apps.

Unlike the original proposal, the handset does not become a desktop PC when plugged into a monitor.

It is initially being targeted at "early adopters", who developers hope will become advocates for the platform.

The British company Canonical, which developed the Linux-based operating system, said it hoped to emulate the success of Chinese companies including Xiaomi with its launch strategy.



This will include holding a number of "flash sales" in Europe beginning next week, in which the device will be sold for short periods of time - giving the developers an opportunity to gauge demand and respond to feedback before committing to a bigger production run.

"It's a proven model - we're making sure that the product lands in the right hands," Cristian Parrino, vice-president of mobile at Canonical, told the BBC.

"We are way away from sticking this in a retail shop in the High Street. [But] it's where we want to get to."

Millions of PCs used by schools, governments and businesses already run the desktop version of Ubuntu.

"The Ubuntu fan base will clamour to buy the phone just because they will be curious to see what it is, how it works and how they can develop for it - they'll want to be one of the few that have it," said Chris Green, from Davies Murphy Group Europe.

"But for the broader, more mainstream, early adopter market, I think demand will be constricted because people are more app-focused."
Scope cards

The Ubuntu handset can run apps written in either the HTML5 web programming language or its own native QML code.

However, its operating system effectively hides them away. Instead of the traditional smartphone user interface - featuring grids of apps - it uses themed cards that group together different facilities.

Canonical calls these Scopes, and they are reminiscent of the swipe-based card system used by the Google Now personal assistant.



Device owners can configure the Scopes to add the services they prefer

The phone's home screen is the Today Scope. It presents a selection of widgets based on the user's most frequent interactions on the phone.

These can include the local weather forecast, the headlines of the day from third-party news services, Twitter trends and a list of the owner's most commonly contacted friends.

By swiping to the right, the owner can make a call or access some of the other default Scopes, including:

A Music Scope, with favourite tracks sourced from Soundcloud and other streaming music providers, as well as offering details of forthcoming concerts via Songkick
A Video Scope, which presents clips from YouTube and other services
A Photos Scope, which collects together images stored on the phone as well as pictures stored on Flickr, Picasa, Facebook and elsewhere
A Nearby Scope providing location-specific details, including traffic conditions, public transport options and restaurant recommendations
An Apps Scope, which provides access to the camera, calendar software and programs from other companies

Users can create and configure their own Scopes, and individual services can also be set to have Scope cards of their own.

Mr Parrino suggested that the benefit to the user was an "unfragmented" experience, while developers would gain by being able to make their products available via Scopes at a fraction of the cost of creating full apps.

"If you come out with a new [OS] that's based on apps and icons then you're just a 'me too' platform," he said.

"You'll only be as relevant to developers as the number of users you can bring to them, because you're adding the burden of supporting a new platform. And for users you'll only be as good as the apps that you have.

"We've had to switch that model around and deliver an experience that is valuable in its own right - clearly the more services that plug into it the better it becomes, but it's not fully dependent on them from day one, and for an early adopter audience it's a great product."

Certain services will, however, be missing at launch, including Whatsapp, Skype and several of Instagram's core features.
'Stopgap' features

Canonical makes money by charging organisations for support services.

The phones themselves are being made and sold by a Spanish company, BQ, which already has an Android variant of the hardware.

They include an eight-megapixel rear camera, a 5MP front one and one gigabyte of RAM memory. They will cost about 170 euros ($195; £127).

"It's a good-looking device and a very slick interface at a realistic price," commented Mr Green.

"Scopes are an interesting stopgap between a full third-party app environment and a fixed feature phone.

"However, they are just that - a stopgap. They will interest very early adopters and the Ubuntu faithful in the short term. However, it won't take long before people start wanting a full add-on app experience akin to the other existing platforms on the market today."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31148661

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I wonder what will happen next

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Is the Apple Watch where progress stops?

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Google Files Patent For A Watch That Kills Cancer

If it actually works



When it comes to smart-watches, Google may not be the first company that comes to mind. With the launch of the new Apple Watch, all eyes in the tech world have been firmly glued to the iPhone manufacturer. However, Google has just done something that is sure to bring an onslaught of attention from not only the tech world, but the health community as well.

Google has filed a patent application with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for a watch worn on the wrist that could destroy cancer cells in a person’s blood. The patent application is titled “Nanoparticle Phoresis,” and it describes a wrist-worn device that “can automatically modify or destroy one or more targets in the blood that have an adverse health effect.” According to Google’s new patent application, the device destroys enzymes, cells, proteins, hormones and other molecules that can negatively affect the health of an individual by transmitting energy into the body.



What kind of energy? Experts are indicating that the energy from the Google device could be in the form of a radio frequency pulse, an acoustic pulse, an infrared or visible light signal or even a time-varying magnetic field.

Sound incredible? Absolutely. However, consider this: Google has been focused on finding a cure for cancer for years. Surprised? In 2014, a research division of Google called Google X revealed that it was developing a pill that could detect cancer cells and other nefarious diseases. The pill effectively “paints” the cells with nanoparticles, making them in a way, magnetic. The idea of the watch patented by Google may be to draw in those magnetic particles – and the cells that they are attached to – via the bloodstream to the wrist where they will be destroyed by the watch.

The head of Google’s investment division, Bill Maris, has revealed that Google has been hiring scientists as partners to identify bio-business start-ups that are focused on curing cancer. Maris also made the claim that, in the near future, current cancer treatments would be looked back upon as “primitive.”

“There are plenty of people, including us, that want to invest in consumer internet, but we can do more than that. There are a lot of billionaires in Silicon Valley, but in the end, we are all heading to the same place. If given the choice between making a lot of money or finding a way to make people live longer, what do you choose?”

It is currently unknown just how close Google is to releasing the cancer killing product, that, if it is successful, could result in a paradigm shift in how we deal with cancer and similar diseases.

http://www.inquisitr.com/2057077/google ... ls-cancer/

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BBC Tech News

Lenovo phone features virtual keyboard


The built-in projector can be flipped to display images on a table top

Chinese electronics giant Lenovo has unveiled a phone with a built-in laser projector that can be used to display a virtual keyboard or display.

The interactive display can replicate the phone's touch screen, a full-size computer keyboard or even piano keys.

The laser projector can also be used to beam images and videos onto walls.

The Smart Cast phone was unveiled at the company's Tech World conference in Beijing, where the firm also unveiled a new type of smartwatch.

'Headline-grabbing'

The laser projector measures just 34mm by 26mm by 5mm and, said Lenovo, does not need focussing to project sharp images onto walls or other flat surfaces.

A video showing the Smart Cast in action shows how twisting the mounting for the device's lens turns it from a standard wall projector into "surface mode" that beams the display on to a table top.


The Magic View watch reveals a second "private" projected screen when the device is held close to the face

A kickstand mounted on the back of the phone keeps the device upright while the virtual keyboard is in use.

At Tech World, Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang used the virtual keyboard to play a version of The Entertainer.

Mike Lowe, reviews editor at gadget site Pocket-lint, who has tried out the phone said there was far less delay using the virtual keyboard with the Smart Cast than was apparent on other devices with similar input systems.

"The history of the projector phone is hardly rosy," he said. "Samsung launched the Galaxy Beam in 2012 and that bombed. It's not been a booming industry for any other manufacturer since."

Mr Lowe said his experience with the phone did not convince him that the Smart Cast would break that cycle.


Lenovo suggests that its Smart Cast phones' projected images could be used to play music and games

"It's fun, but ultimately a gimmick," he said. "It's hard to be accurate with the increased scale of the keys for starters, plus the demo was in a dimly-lit room."

In a separate demonstration, he added, Lenovo showed ways to use the interactive projected display to play games.

"It's fun, it's headline-grabbing, but it's also impractical, not coming to the UK and well, just isn't a product anyone is likely to genuinely need," he said.

Tech World also saw Lenovo show off a smart watch, called Magic View, that has two screens.

The device has a standard "public" screen viewable by anyone and a second "private" projected screen only visible when the watch is held close to the face and at a specific angle.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32914764

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W O W

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