Mobile

The Department of Transportation (DoT) is calling on automakers to disable technologies that allow someone to send text messages while driving. However, the DoT is only making recommendations and cannot yet force automotive firms to follow its ... advice. The new guidelines are based around electronic devices that are built directly into vehicles, such as GPS navigation devices and communications tools. The DoT has two main recommendations. The first is that such equipment should never force a driver to stop looking at the road for more than two seconds at a time to carry out an action. Officials ... (view more)

A team of PhD students from IT University of Copenhagen has developed new software that eliminates the need to physically touch a mobile device in order to perform simple tasks, like scrolling up and down a web page. Instead, the new technology uses ... eye movements to perform these same functions. The students initially pursued their idea -- which has since been branded "Eye Tribe" -- as a collaborative submission for their European StartupBootcamp accelerator program back in 2011. The team has since grown into a small startup company, including twelve full-time employees who continue to build ... (view more)

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S4 smartphone may be one of the most anticipated non-Apple mobile devices, ever. Setting this smartphone apart: a unique camera system, global LTE roaming capabilities, a new scrolling feature, and impressive gaming ... support. We recently reported on the Galaxy S4's ability to scroll around based on the movement of a user's eyes. But that's not all that's drawing attention to this device. In fact, consumers are buzzing about the Galaxy S4 for many other reasons. For one, the new Galaxy will feature front- and rear-facing cameras that can be used at the exact same time ... (view more)

The days of repeatedly sliding or tapping your thumb to read longer web pages on a smartphone could be coming to an end. Samsung is reportedly getting ready to debut a phone that you navigate with your eyes. According to a New York Times report, the ... feature will debut on Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S IV smartphone, which is expected to become Samsung's highest-profile handset. (Source: nytimes.com ) The feature will reportedly track a user's eyes as they read a lengthy page. Once the phone detects the user is looking at the bottom of the screen, it will automatically scroll the page down to ... (view more)

Mozilla plans on making a splash in the mobile market this summer with the release of its very own Firefox operating system (OS). It's the first time ever that Mozilla has ventured into this highly-competitive sector of the consumer technology ... market. Mozilla says the Firefox OS will be a smartphone operating system based entirely on HTML 5, which is widely considered the most advanced web browser programming language. HTML 5 Could Present Problems The advantage to using HTML 5 is that there are many developers willing to build HTML 5-based applications. The downside is that HTML 5-based ... (view more)

Spanish researchers say they've found a way to drastically improve the accuracy of GPS-based satellite navigation. They believe they can track a vehicle's location to the nearest six-and-a-half-feet, down from a current radius of nearly fifty feet. ... The improvements might not only allow drivers to get more accurate directions, but could even increase the viability of cars that can drive themselves. The research was carried out by two departments at the Carlos III University in Madrid: the Applied Artificial Intelligence Group and the Systems Intelligence Laboratory. Researchers Remove GPS ... (view more)

California officials have overturned a ban that prevented a smartphone app-based taxi-style service from legally operating. The case was prompted by a smartphone app called 'Uber,' which allows customers to summon a luxury car and driver to their ... location at the press of a button. The cost of the ride is automatically charged to a customer's credit card. The service was a welcome idea for customers who wanted to avoid trying to hail a cab. Unfortunately, Uber initially ran into problems with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). California Officials: Uber a Taxi Service Why? ... (view more)

Canada's Research in Motion (RIM) finally unveiled its BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system (OS) on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the company's stock value plunged in the hours that followed, indicating that investors don't believe the new OS or a ... fresh range of smartphone devices can save the struggling firm. RIM showed off BlackBerry 10 (BB10) in a highly-publicized event on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. The new mobile OS is specially designed with touchscreen devices in mind and reflects RIM's decision to enter market space previously dominated by Apple's iPhone and a wide range of Android- ... (view more)

It appears that one of the technology industry's most troubled companies may soon be staging a comeback. BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM) has just announced that its newest mobile operating system, BlackBerry 10, will begin to ship to ... consumers by late January, 2013. The news has led to a remarkable spike in RIM's recently languishing stock price. 2012/2013: Years RIM Would Like to Forget The last two years have represented a tough period for Canadian firm Research in Motion, which produces the BlackBerry smartphone. The formerly-innovative firm has struggled to prevent its customers ... (view more)

A US Senate committee has approved the Location Privacy Protection Act. It's a bill that would ban the smartphone tools which allow people to track others without their knowledge. The act, introduced by Senator Al Franken, would force companies ... offering smartphone apps to get a phone user's permission before collecting or passing on data about their location. The new rules would also explicitly ban any application that tracked locations without the phone user's knowledge. (Source: govtrack.us ) According to Franken, such measures are necessary to prevent cases of people secretly installing a ... (view more)