Youth & Family
Dazed and Confused Turns to Teens [PSFK]
Dazed and Confused is asking teens to submit their stories about what it’s like to be young in the UK for the magazine to bring to life. Their favorites will be made into features with the help of Dazed’s editorial staff and photographers.
The Family That Twitters Together, Stays Together [Ars Technica]
Some people see technology as divisive, but a new study suggests that it may actually help bring the American nuclear family closer together. According to Pew, spouses, parents, and kids all manage to stay connected by cell phones and the Web during the day when they are separated, and are more likely to share moments with other family members online.
AmberWatch Mobile Hero [TrendCentral]
Child safety group The AmberWatch Foundation has launched a mobile service that uses GPS to help parents track their kids 24/7. Basically it sounds like a Whitelabel version of Autodesk’s Family Minder, which Disney Mobile had. It will be interesting to see if the non-profit name helps spur adoption.
Wildlife
Wayward elephants send text messages when they go astray [Dvice]
Elephants in the Kenyan wildlife conservatories are now geotagged so that whenever the animals try to leave an area cordoned off by a virtual fence, a text message is sent to rangers. The elephants will then be rounded up before they can do any damage to nearby villages or unlucky passersby.
Politics
The New Vote
The ITP-ers behind The New Vote are out to fix our broken voting system with mobile. The idea: you text your voting intention, plus a picture of yourself voting, thus affording a more accurate representation of results. Need proof that the young vote is Democrat? As of now, Obama tallies over 92 percent of the site’s users.
Celebrity
Tweet me, baby, one more time [CNET]
Would young fans follow Britney Spears anywhere? Even onto Twitter? That’s the big question now that the transformed teen-pop idol is microblogging on it. Keep an eye on Twitterholic…
Perez Hilton Goes Mobile [Fierce Wireless]
Brittany isn’t the only one getting upgraded. Perez Hilton, celebrity gossip extraordinaire, recently upgraded to a mobile account, giving his fans access to the most salacious news anywhere they can get a signal.
Emerging Technology
Connecting Online and Off RFID for the Masses [Springwise]
There’s been lots of talk about “hyperlinking the real world” through shortcodes, barcodes, and image recognition. Tikitag is making the experience click-free using RFID technology: Just wave your phone over an enabled sticker and pull up info on your device.
AT&T has a new division – AT&T Emerging Devices [Into Mobile]
Now that you can Skype from your PSP and email from your iPod, AT&T is forming a new division called “AT&T Emerging Devices,” with the idea to “introduce wireless capabilities into a wide variety of emerging wireless devices beyond the traditional handset.”
Search
NearU Search gives small businesses a voice [Mobile Marketer]
NearU Search is integrating SMS-based mobile coupons for small, local businesses.Just use your phone to check out places near you and get some good deals via text.
Health 2.0: Got Mercury? Cellphone Tool For Fish Fanatics Like Me [Shaping Youth]
GotMercury.mobi is an extension of the GotMercury.org Web site which informs you of the mercury content in your seafood. Enter your weight, type of seafood and amount of seafood and the site will calculate mercury content based on the updated EPA and FDA data.
Let Your iPhone Do the Searching While You Do the Shopping [CNBC]
Slifter announced that iPhone users can now download their application, the first local product search tool available in the App Store that allows consumers to search and share products and promotions at local retailers.
Handsets
Motorola AURA cell phone has a circular display [Mobile Crunch]
Motorola is looking to make some cash money with the new AURA handset. With it’s switchblade design, it may cut like a knife - but will it feel so right?
