Hmmm...an interesting article for all cellphone addicts out there:

"London - Is the "X" that ends a letter as good as a kiss? Of course not.

So why imagine that trading messages online constitutes a thriving social life?

With luck, people won't for long.

February marked the welcome end of an era of naivety about Internet socialising.

First came the ballyhoo about Facebook's apparent decision to claim ownership of users' content. For ever. Even if users' accounts are deleted.

Then the Institute of Biology issued a health warning for social networkers.

I've just read this article on the IOL Technology website, and I thought that you might find this interesting:

"Mobile VoIP (mVoIP) is about to become mainstream. Skype, Fring, Nimbuzz, Truphone and others are all offering mVoIP through your cellphone's Internet connection.

"Classic voice over IP (VoIP) is old technology (although we waited a while for it to be legal in South Africa because Telkom couldn't work out how to monopolise it), and the next generation is poised to free users up even further by linking the technology to existing cellphone connectivity. It is global, ready-to-use, slick, good quality and, best of all, it's mostly free.

I submitted a blog post about Facebook issues a while back. Well, Facebook has finally spoken about their redesign troubles:

"Washington - Faced with a torrent of complaints over its latest redesign, the social networking hub Facebook has vowed a series of "improvements" to eliminate clutter and make the website more user friendly.

"Since we launched Facebook's home page design, we've received thousands of emails, Wall posts and comments from you along with direct feedback from all of our friends and family," said product director Christopher Cox.

Cox pointed to several areas "where we're focusing on improvements immediately and over the next several weeks," after the site introduced a busier, twitter-like feed on its popular networking site earlier in March...."

I saw an ad on TV yesterday for a cool new game show from Vodacom in association with Samsung Mobile. I then googled thumbwars and found that they are currently recruiting participants!

Entries close on 15 April and the show is set to air on SABC 2 from 4 June 2009. From what I gather Vodacom Thumbwars is set to be something fresh and exciting on SA TV this winter.

Go to- http://www.vodacomthumbwars.co.za/vodacom/content/index.asp to watch the promo and enter if you meet the requirements! ;)

I have noticed that MXit has been having a lot of down time lately. This doesn't normally happen.

Has anyone else noticed this change? Can anyone tell me why this is happening?

Recently, TV channels have seemed to be flooded with ads for SMS subscription, be it for ‘Love Tips’, ridiculous ringtones, or weekly mobile games to be sent to your phone. Now besides the general irritation these ads cause during every ad break, I find them particularly disturbing for another reason altogether.

Watching cartoons on TV on a weekday afternoon, these SMS subscription ads seem to pop up during every single ad break. The content advertised is often obviously not suitable for the audience at that time of the day- school-going kids- and, kids may be conned into subscribing to something that they may not be able to get out of, or a gimmick of sorts.

Venezuela has plans underway to start selling a cellphone in May that's said to be one of the world's cheapest. The mobile phone will sell at a whopping price of $14 (approx. R140)!

The handset includes an MP3 player, radio and camera.

The phone dubbed "El Vergatario" was unveiled on Thursday by President Hugo Chavez. El Vergatario will be produced by a joint Venezuelan-Chinese firm and marketed across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Handsets like this are being developed around the world today. These mobile phones are aimed at the huge market of poorer consumers who are unable to afford the more expensive, feature-packed cellphones.

India has already developed a device called "the people's phone" which is sold at around the same price of the "El Vergatario".

I found this article about mobile phone batteries online, and I would like to share it with you:

"Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a way to charge lithium batteries in a couple of minutes rather than hours, opening the door to a generation of fast-charging mobile phones.

Current batteries made of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) can store large amounts of energy but stumble at releasing it.

They are better at dispensing the power in a steady flow than at discharging it or gaining it in a sudden burst.

Until now, the blame was on the charged lithium atoms. These ions, along with electrons, move too slowly through the battery material before arriving at the terminal to deliver their charge -- or so it was thought..."

We've always viewed the mobile phone as a device used for work and entertainment. However, there's much more to this device. Do you know that the cellphone has played a vital role in the saving of peoples lives? The healthcare fraternity has benefited greatly from the mobile phone.

A unique system which uses a mobile phone to transmit a person's vital signs, including the complex ECG heart signal, to a hospital or clinic anywhere in the world has been developed at Loughborough University a few years ago. Now, doctors are going to use the mobile phone to send patients' medical information to each other using the mobile phone. Also, there is something called e-prescribing. It works in the same way as a normal prescription but it's more convenient and it's easier.

In today’s world ‘Impossible is nothing!’ or so it seems anyway. There is a solution for every mobile gripe we have, and if there isn’t one already, it’s on its way- you can be sure of that.

So too for those of us that hate talking into machines when we can’t get hold of the person we were calling in the first place- the dreaded Voicemail. If there is one thing I hate it is leaving a message after the tone. And listening to voicemail messages left for you is none the better!