Richard Smith's blog

If your phone has a camera, and you point it at something you're curious about, can it help you with that? Not yet? Perhaps you haven't tried the new MARA phone demonstrated by Nokia Research Labs' MARA project.

I first heard about it in a Technology Review article this afternoon, but apparently the technology was demonstrated down in LA back in October.

Sort of a heads up display (HUD) for the mobile average person, we can imagine a million possibilities this type of technology might bring.

Network operator "3", a global provider of mobile phone services based in the UK, is about to make a leap into the world of flat rate pricing. Here is a quote from their press release:

The X-Series from 3 will be priced like fixed line broadband. It will offer use of mobile internet services free at the time of use, for a flat fee.

Does that sound revolutionary? Do you think people will like that? Hmmm. I wonder? It sounds sort of like that "internet" thing that people have been talking about....

You can read more about the pricing plan, and some of the strategic thinking behind it, on ajit's blog.

I bet you've been wondering about the future of cell phones and wishing you could talk to Bob Iannucci, head of the Nokia Research Center (NRC), in Helsinki, Finland. Right? Well, thanks to Technology Review, you can come close. They have an interview with Bob in their most recent online issue. The link to the article is http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17734&ch=biztech&sc=&pg=1

One of the interesting things in the article (to me) is his comments about simplifying phones. I can certainly see the merit in that. Not only do I have a pretty complex phone right now (the N80) but I also spend about 90 minutes in a phone store recently - don't ask - and got to see many, many people coming and going asking questions about their phones. Most were totally confused.

I might be cranky because Rogers has retrieved their promotional SIMS and cut me off from free phone and data service - and who can blame them, since all I did was whine about the price even while I was enjoying the service for free - but I have to say I am excited to hear about this development:

Rogers Lights up HSDPA Network

That's right, we Rogers (and Fido, presumably) customers finally see some 3G, if we visit Southern Ontario, anyway. The WirelessWeek story linked above has some sketchy details, but there isn't much. One of the ironic things about this is that Rogers, not having had a 3G network up til now, doesn't have any 3G phones to sell people (yet).

A recent post over at RCR Wireless News provides details of a recent industry meeting, the Third Screen Festival in Los Angeles, CA. The tenor of the meeting seems to have been very welcoming to so-called "made-for-mobile" video clips. Here is a quote: