Don’t get worried-sick. Let these “Big brother” shoes watch over your kids

Coming in the wake of numerous children abductions and wayward kids, we may have finally found a solution. Though not entirely foolproof, it really does have a high success rate. Inspired by an engineer’s personal experience, Isaac Daniels designed the line of sneakers that comes fitted with a 2 x 3 Inch Global Positioning System (GPS) chip. Luckily for him, his kid was safe, but the incident spurred him to develop this remarkable device.

The wearer of the shoes unknowingly activates the GPS device, which will then transmit location information for as the long as the battery remains active. At the moment, there are some accuracy issues since the GPS device taps into very few satellite systems. However, the technology is improving rapidly. A fair amount of information can be transmitted from enclosed areas, though a clear view of the sky is required for optimal performance. An SMS alert message is sent to your phone when the GPS signal is lost.

The charge on the shoes is capable of lasting several days. They come in six different designs and closely resemble running shoes. Plans are underway to introduce the same in military boots. It is expected that the shoes will be of great assistance when tracking movement and location. That may include curbing lies from errant kids. Who knows, maybe even those cheating spouses claiming to be working late or are out of town on business trips. If you can get your kids to wear these kicks, you need not worry should they outgrow them. The chip can be embedded in larger shoes that are compatible with the device.

Unfortunately, here comes the challenge. You can expect plenty of stiff resistance from your fashion-conscious kids. As for your spouse, better not make it seem too obvious. Moreover, the shoes have a limited production and are pricey, ranging from $325 to $350.

Capture the magic and glamor of Bollywood on mobile

The 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona is awash with mind-boggling tech marvels and ingenious innovations. Someone just stole the limelight from the Nokia-You Tube partnership. There is little doubt that the next untapped goldmine is the so called “fourth screen” (read mobile phone). So what happens when we have on our hands the world’s second most populous nation, which is home to the most prolific movie industry, the fourth largest mobile phone market plus the fastest growing entertainment industry? Add to that a fast-growing cinema industry (roughly 3.5 billion movie ticket sales) that is now making huge waves in North American and European markets, accounting as much as 17% of total share. Err… the math is pretty simple; Umm, something in the range of about 2.6 billion mobile phone screens. Let’s not even think about the possible revenue figures in the offing. Ok, I might have overestimated, maybe by a “few” hundreds of millions.  At least you get the idea.

That is precisely what Bollywood and Hungama’s Mobile Company of India are bent on doing, and they are very serious about the whole thing. The groundbreaking deal will be steered by Roamware, a global leader in the field of mobile communications solutions. It will make use of Media Call Technology from Roamware which facilitates the incorporation of movie content into mobile telephony. Moreover, it also allows for sharing of video clips. From my deduction, this will ultimately elevate the concept of viral video marketing a notch higher. Just to prove that these folks are not bluffing, two Bollywood films, “Zahir” and “Matriomony” have already premiered at the conference.

The movie initiative will definitely give our friends from Tinsel town something to ponder about. This is a pioneering combination of three bigwigs who are global forces in their respective industries. We are talking of a movie industry that is never shy chalking up over a thousand films each year, a telco which is the largest developer cum publisher of Indian entertainment and the fast-rising global leader in roaming & value-added solutions.

With all these rumblings and goings-on coming out of the Barcelona congress, we may have to think of an appropriate name for our dearly loved mobile phone.

Make FREE Internet calls from your mobile phone

Courtesy of a ground-breaking service from Challenger Mobile, Nokia Eseries owners can now make free internet calls from anywhere on the globe.

What is Challenger Mobile? It is a revolutionary mobile telephone service, still in beta stage, which provides free internet calls to all those subscribers with phones that support internet calls. How does one get hooked up? Well, that’s pretty simple. All you need is a Nokia Eseries phone and a free Challenger account which you can sign up from Challenger Mobile and you’re ready to go. They have a very friendly and easy-to-use online system which guides you in adjusting your phone to enable internet calls. They will also offer some useful tips and assistance. The free internet calls can be made when you are within a WiFi zone.

This sounds a bit make-believe. Free Internet calls worldwide, No roaming charges, no recurring fees and free sign up. So what’s the catch? We don’t know but who cares anyway. According to Carl-Johan Grund, Vice President of Mobile Business Challenger which owns the service, they aim to “happily surprise the entire mobile community” with this mobile telephony freebie over the Internet. Beta service was launched in December 2006, and already customers from over 100 countries have signed up with their service. Based in Sweden, Mobile Business Challenger has been a rising force in Internet Telephony services. The company is also expected to launch the service on other mobile devices that support internet calls.

Broadcast yourself on Mobile coz Nokia & YouTube got a fine thing going on

Check out the latest bigwig, after NBC and The Google, to have fallen for the alluring charm of video swapping craze? From the 3GSM forum, Nokia has announced its impending partnership with YouTube. The pioneering deal will enable Nokia users access YouTube video content via a web browser courtesy of YouTube’s mobile site.

The Finnish mobile phone maker will soon launch the N77 multimedia phone which comes equipped with a DVB-H TV broadcast receiver that will greatly enhance this concept.

I reckon this would make a great travel companion and help kick any dreadful boredom. Tired of the usual stuff, like arming yourself with a portable music player or some other tech travel gadget? You can now dawdle your precious time while on a long-haul trip by watching a myriad of funny and hideous videos from your phone.

I wonder which other tech big shot is lies in wait on YouTube’s growing list of suitors.

Samsung Ultra Edition II: They just keep getting powerful and slimmer

In a spirited bid to dominate the fast-paced mobile telephony industry, Samsung has once again outdone itself by brandishing the revolutionary Ultra Edition II. What better arena for Samsung to flaunt their newest products than at the 3GSM forum in Barcelona? The ultimate Ultra super-slim phone is the 5.9 mm U100. Other phones unveiled were the 9.6 mm U300 (slimmest clamshell), the ultra-remarkable 10.9 mm quad-band U600 slider (dubbed the “crown jewel”) and finally the 12.1 mm U700 3G slider (slimmest 3 MPl slider). All the phones come with 2.2 inch TFT display, Tri-band GSM, 3 Mega pixel camera and Bluetooth functionality.

This second installment of the Ultra collection exemplifies Samsung’s dedication towards meeting growing consumer needs for smarter, simpler and thinner phones. According to Mr. Kitae Lee, President of Samsung’s Telecommunication Network Business, it’s not merely a question of slimness. In his words, the company strives to personify that seamless blend of simplicity, classiness, comfort and first-rate functionality.

Amazon Unbox Video on TiVo set to rock your living room

Seems like the latest fad is streaming digital content to TV, and in the process plunging the digital downloads wars straight into the living room. Amazon.com Inc and TiVo Inc, have now teamed up to unveil the “Amazon Unbox on TiVo” service which enables users purchase and download full-length movies & TV shows to their TiVo DVR. The product is currently undergoing testing with an unspecified number of TiVo subscribers who have their DVR on a broadband home network. Company officials have declined to give an official release date for the full service.

The service is expected to offer a vast collection of media content from leading networks, namely Universal Studios, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate, CBS, and Fox Entertainment among others.

Amazon Unbox Video download service, which was launched late last year already offers thousands of movies, TV Shows and other media content ready for download to PC and WMV compatible devices. The new feature greatly improves the earlier downloadable service by integrating broadband video with regular TV programming. To access the service, TiVo subscribers on broadband service will simply log onto the Amazon website and establish a connection to the Unbox section using a TiVo Series2 or Series3 box. The price of TV episodes will be $1.99 and movie prices between $9.99 and $14.99.

Unbox Video on TiVo joins a growing list of online download services. The recently launched Apple TV as well as Wal-Mart Inc online download store, MovieLink and CinemaNow are probable competitors. However, at the moment, Unbox Video on TiVo appears to have distinct advantage for the following reasons:
• No additional equipment is needed if you are a TiVo subscriber with a broadband home network connection. Rather than spend $300 for an Apple TV box, the only additional cost will be movie or TV show prices.
• Unlike most online download services, Unbox Video on TiVo delivers high-quality movies and TV shows directly to your TiVo for viewing on television, and not to PC.
• Integration of digital broadband video content and TV programs, giving the consumer plenty of navigation and playback options.
• Collection of downloadable digital content set to increase with a number of major studios and networks (Sony and Disney) expected to join the bandwagon upon its rollout.
• Video downloads can also be sent to portable devices.
• Unbox video downloads can always be downloaded again after purchase, and will therefore not need to be stored permanently.

The entertainment industry is flooded with countless online download services, but few are expected to rival this revolutionary feature. TiVo have decided to take the Amazon route and ditch their earlier deal with NetFlix. With this outstanding deal, Amazon.com and TiVo are bent on grabbing a significant share of the lucrative online download industry estimated at roughly $ 4 billion. The onus is now on you Apple TV, Wal-Mart Inc stores and co.