Dr Martin Sonnenschein of consultants A.T. Kearney estimates that the 3 billion GSM / UMTS subscribers in the world consume between 0.5% and 0.55% of the world’s electricity needs, just in using their phones! He’s worked out that this is about the output of 10 average European nuclear power plants. Martin comments “the ensuing CO2 output amounts to 36-40 million tons and is equivalent to the exhaust produced by approximately 20 million compact cars.” So, for the first time as part of its 14th annual awards, the GSM Association –the world’s more than 750 GSM mobile phone networks in 218 countries – is including an award for “Green” initiatives. And A.T. Kearney is sponsoring the award. As Dr Sonnenschein says, the awards provide an opportunity for companies in the mobile industry to gain independent recognition for their work, noting “with the Green Mobile Award, the GSMA is sending a critical message to the communications industry. We are happy to sponsor the award, especially as it is in keeping with our firm’s own sustainability strategy.” The independent panel of analysts, journalists and specialist experts will select the winner at the GSM Mobile World Congress in Barcelona...

  In mid February, the jury will announce its verdict, on which is the World’s “Best Mobile Handset or Device”. These are the models that have been shortlisted for this prestigious award: • Nokia E 71 • T-Mobile G1 • INQ1 • RIM Blackberry Storm 9500 • LG KS360 There’s some pretty good reasons why each and every one of these has been shortlisted. If you are a fan of one or can’t stand another, you’re going to have to be patient till they announce the winner at the GSM Association’s annual exhibition and conference in Barcelona from February 16th to 19th.   

  Forget the Oscars! In just a few days’ time in Barcelona, the mobile phone industry will select its “Best Game 2009”. And instead of Meryl Streep getting nervous about winning another acting award, it’s the developers of the following games who have been shortlisted: • gameloft: Real Football 2009. • Digital Chocolate: AvaPeeps: FlirtNation • MTS: MTS-City • Turkcell: MobiWar • CAPCOM: Biohazard 4 Mobile Edition One of these will be selected at the Global Mobile Awards which take place at the GSM Association’s annual event, the GSMA Mobile World Congress. Let’s hope that the winner is better at making their “Thank You speeches” than Kate Winslet!    

  General Mobile, a cellphone manufacturer, is going to announce a handset that runs Android OS and supports 2 SIM cards. The new handset called DSTL1 features a large 3” touchscreen TFT display, a 5 MP camera with a LED flash and 4 Gb of onboard memory. The phone runs on a 624 MHz Marvell CPU. As for connectivity, the handset packs Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0. DTSL1 is the first handset of the king and is slated to hit the market in Q3. General Mobile doesn’t report all specifications – we will learn them at the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona.  

  If you think that the poor quality of the photos is the biggest problem with a camera phone, Pete King, a member of Congress, thinks differently. Lately he introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would oblige everybody not to use silent mode when taking a picture. The bill called The Camera Phone Predator Alert Act would "require any mobile phone containing a digital camera to sound a tone whenever a photograph is taken." Moreover, the bill would prohibit camera phones from being equipped with an option of muting the tone. The text of the bill is short but well-reasoned and states that "Congress finds that children and adolescents have been exploited by photographs taken in dressing rooms and public places with the use of a camera phone."    

  While others are announcing lay-offs, mobile imaging experts Scalado have announced that they have doubled their staff in the last 12 months, as a result of doubling their revenue in the same period. This is because Scalado’s CAPS™ imaging Software Development Kit (SDK) is now being used in more than 300 million mobile phone handsets, compared with 150 million at this time last year. Scalado already lists four out of the five top tier-1 mobile phone manufacturers as its licensees, with Scalado software included in several new handsets to be launched at the Mobile World Congress and throughout the year. They say that they are making imaging on mobile phones more efficient – bringing higher usability for end-users and cutting hardware costs for handset manufacturers who are increasingly having to compete with products which can offer phone, email, camera, and music functions in a single device. "Without a doubt, the excitement of having a single mobile device like the IPhone is really capturing the public's imagination," says Scalado’s CEO Mats Jacobson. "As a result, many handset manufacturers want to defend their market share from competitors like Apple, and are therefore looking to companies like us for...

  The company remains without its CEO now, when it is well-positioned and ready to new achievements. Yesterday Steve Jobs, who is 53, said that he was taking a medical leave through June and added that his health-related issues were more complex than he originally had thought. Within minutes of the interview, Apple shares dropped 10%. Apple will not be the same company without Steve Jobs. He was kicked out of Apple in 1985 and came back in 1996 when the company was nearly bankrupt, and helped it to improve. Steve Jobs is leaving his duties to Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer.    

  Motorola is really going to reduce its workforce by 4,000 positions. Approximately 3,000 of them will be associated with the Mobile Devices business. The company also reports that the workforce reductions will begin immediately. These workforce reductions are expected to save $700 million in 2009, and other cost-reduction initiatives – $800 million more. Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive officer of the company, says that these actions will position Motorola for improved financial performance in 2009, when the company is going to develop new smartphones.    

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has expanded its line of entry-level model tachfonov Samsung C3510 (who previously appeared in the news as Corby Pop). Tachfon offers users a simple and convenient interface, supports widgets for social services functions for sending instant messages. New enclosed in sleek black with silver multifunction buttons and rounded corners and edges of the model. Rear panel is decorated with textured pattern, and at the end of the device, there are additional buttons and a slot for memory cards. Samsung S3510 is created on a processor Samsung DNSe, supports memory cards up to 8 GB and has a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera with the ability to capture photos and video. The model has a standard input for headphones 3,5 mm and can listen to music in the background while using other applications simultaneously. Available as FM-radio with RDS. By the beginning of February affordable touchscreen phone Samsung C3510 will ship in Russia's market, so soon and in Ukrainian. Approximate cost of the device is $ 200. Source: GSMPress...

  Ericsson and TeliaSonera companies today announced that they have signed an agreement, according to which Ericsson will build a 4G network covering Sweden’s capital Stockholm. It will be the first experience for Ericssson in building a commercial LTE network. The agreement also includes a long-term partnership of companies aimed at the joint development of mobile broadband.  Source: GSMPress ® in cooperation with Ericsson

  German researchers have found out they were wrong saying that regular cell phone use leads to a type of cancer called melanoma of the eye. A repeated study with 1600 people hasn’t given any results confirming the existence of a link between regular cell phone use and the occurrence of the disease.  

  Skype launches a lite version of Skype™ client that can be downloaded to Android-powered and Java-enabled cell phones. The lite version of Skype is now available for the T-Mobile G1™ and is expected to work on other future Android-powered devices. The ‘thin’ client also works on more than 100 Java-enabled phones from Nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson.  

  The National Safety Council, which campaigned to enforce seatbelt laws, started a campaign to ban the use even of handsfree cell phones while driving. Up until now, it was considered that talking on the phone while driving is dangerous only because a driver can’t use a hand holding the phone, that’s why many states have laws requiring the use of a handsfree cell phone while driving. However, recent studies show that a driver is distracted no matter if he uses a hadsfree cell phone or not. It should be mentioned that it is less dangerous to talk to a live passenger because he “provides another pair of eyes on the road”. This is also confirmed by respective studies. A team of researchers has come to a conclusion that the use of a cell phone on the road increases the probability of a car accident four times because a driver is distracted as if he is drunk. According to a study from the Harvard Center of Risk Analysis, 6% of car accidents happen because drivers are talking on the road. These 6% equal 636 thousand accidents with 330 thousand injuries and 2600 deaths in USA per year. There may be many people doubting the reasonability of a complete cell phone use ban and saying that a cell phone isn’t the only thing that...