Google finally made its move into the mobile phone industry earlier this year with the release of Android, and open source operating system for mobile phones based on Linux operating system.

With the release of Android, Google have firmly shot down the rumors regarding the G Phone. Nevertheless Google’s Android platform promises great things for the future of mobile phone software.

Due to open nature of the platform, the development of software and applications for Android has only just begun.

To encourage developers to come up with unique and innovative ideas, Google are offering 10 million dollars in donations which is to be split amongst the best 50 applications.

The winners have already been announced so if you are interested in finding out who will be responsible for the new generation of Android applications, jump on over to Google to get the latest news.

For those of you who are interested in developing software for Android, the software development kit SDK, is available to download from Google. The SDK includes everything you need to start developing your own applications including, development and debugging tools, a set of libraries, a device emulator, documentation, sample projects, FAQs and a bunch of tutorials.

With most of the population owning a cell phone, the numbers of text messages flying around the airwaves has drastically increased over the last 5 years. And with spammers try to expand their audience, text messages have become fertile territory for malicious spam adverts.

Estimates vary greatly regarding the exact percentage of spam text’s out there, however Clouldmark - a San Francisco company that makes anti-spam software for carriers – claim that the problem is on the increase with numbers expected to quadruple by the end of the year.

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A Japanese company recently unveiled a new device that will allow people “speak” through their ear so they can use their mobile telephones in noisy places.

The device - named “e-Mimi-kun” (good ear boy) - doubles as an earphone and a microphone by detecting air vibrations inside the ear, developer NS-ELEX Co. said.The ear piece and the accompanying device can be connected to a mobile phone, or wirelessly to a Bluetooth handset, so users no longer have to cover their mouths when speaking in a loud environment.

“Exterior noise is reduced six-fold by the ear piece, while a chip developed by Sanyo Electric for the accompanying device reduces sound levels ten-fold.”

NS-ELEX believes the product would be useful for people working in places such as factories, restaurants and amusement parks.

With the rapid growth in small electronic devices such as mobile phones that are required to work both indoors and outdoors, the risk of water ingress and damage to these high value items has grown enormously. Now a new military technology may be able to protect these valuable electronics from the risk of water damage.

Ion-mask, as the product is known is being developed by a company called Hi Tec and is able to modify the surface of virtually any material, applying a protective layer, just nanometers thick, over the surface of the object by means of an ionized gas or “plasma”.Ion-Mask works at a molecular level, binding invisibly to the surfaces of products, giving them an extraordinary ability to repel most liquids. Ion-Mask is transparent and invisible to the naked eye and the treatment not only coats the external surfaces but also the inside without damaging precision circuitry.

The technology was originally developed to protect soldiers from chemical attacks but is beginning to show its many uses. Apart from increasing the protection of smaller items, ion-mask can also be used to ensure that larger, more complex items are given an additional level of protection.

There seems to be a lot of hype surrounding the newly released Apple iPhone. Boasted by Apple as a “Revolutionary Mobile Telephone” the iPhone packs new technologies never seen before in a cell phone. well, this isn’t entirely true. Sure the iPhone has Wifi capability and uses Safari explorer to access the web as if using your home PC or Mac but it certainly has its limitations, with the phone only available on contract for 1 year from AT&T and add-ons and widgets only available from registered suppliers and manufacturers, hackers are desperately trying to crack the iPhone to open up its capabilities.

Enter the OpenMoko Neo 1973(pictured:above left, against the iPhone:above right), first seen last November the Neo 1973 shares a lot of similarities with the iPhone except one very important specification, the Neo 1973 is the only cell phone based on open hardware specifications, this means that all the hardware and software code is open to developers, engineers and designers to build on and potentially create things even far more exciting than the current Apple iPhone. Upgrading your phone applications becomes as simple as downloading a new ring tone or installing new software on your PC or Mac. (Click Here To Read More…)