FrontLine SMS

A lack of communication can be a major barrier for grassroots non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in developing countries. FrontlineSMS is the first text messaging system created exclusively with this problem in mind.

By leveraging basic tools already available to most NGOs — computers and mobile phones — FrontlineSMS enables instantaneous two-way communication on a large scale. It’s easy to implement, simple to operate, and best of all, the software is free.

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Witnessing the Human Face of Mobile (cell phones) in Malawi

Friday, June 27, 2008 12:50 PM PDT

It may not seem like much to you and me -- indeed, it's unlikely to make a lot of sense -- but for the person who sent it, and more importantly the one who received it, it represents the dawn of a new era in rural health care in the region.

The first message read, "Ineyo ndinayenda mapesent awiri sakupeza bwino amenewa ndiavuto lakhasa," meaning, "There are two patients, very sick of cancer." It was quickly followed by another. "Mai laulentina adamwalira pa sabata kwa chamoto omweanali pa pa h.b.c." This one - "Laulentina, a patient in the Home Based Care program, died on Saturday." These messages, in Chichewa -- the local language -- represent the beginnings of a new mobile-phone-based health care initiative, centered around the humble SMS (short messaging service), which is set to revolutionize communication for doctors, nurses, staff and volunteers working to improve the health of a quarter of a million Malawians within a hundred-square-mile radius of St. Gabriel's, the hospital running the pilot.

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My cellphone as a flashlight

Of course you have seem images of participants at music concerts or other public demonstrations who hold their cell phones up...opened...to create a similar effect as a candle.

So why shouldn't my cell phone truly be... in addition to all its other potential functions... a 'flashlight.'

I have seen my plumber use his cell phone to illuminate a wiring connection in the depths of a circuit panel that he could not see with his naked eye. Using the cell phone was quicker than finding his flashlight. But the backlighted screen isn't as good a flashlight as is possible with some innovation.

I think a series of LEDs would suffice to create enough light and demand power within the capacity of the cell phone battery to provide... for short periods at least.

Update: (7/19/08) An application available free from the Apple App store for the iPhone is 'Light'...which simply creates a bright white screen that in fact provides a substantial amount of light. Its not as good an LED light might be but at least my original request does not seem so bizarre now.

Using a cellphone as a remote video camera and microphone

http://www.ateksoft.com/webcamplus.html

Well I had decided to try to develop an Android-based software application that would enable a smartphone...runing Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, iPhone OS etc.

It looks as if someone beat me to it.

I haven't tried the software but I intend to soon. I'm intrigued that it permits connection to the internet via bluetooth channel, WiFi, or GPRS.

However, it appears to be limited to Windows Mobile OS...maybe there's a Linux version. iPhone of course is problematic since it includes no native video capture capability

Well here's a complete remote surveillance camera package using celluar network

http://www.smartscouter.com/ssDefault.aspx

This camera appears to be modified cell phone and I have no idea why I can't find this setup except as an aid to deer hunting but that's it...and its expensive...but conceptually this is exactly what I have in mind as a perfect remote surveillance cellphone-based camera.

But this package (without the wireless subscription and web site...better would be to use your own subscription or a new one and your own web page) is exactly the ticket...that is..a long life battery, the ability to control the camera from a PC or cellphone and most important that uses the cellular network to receive instructions and to send images.

Singapore Telephone offers an interesting service that uses cellphone as a remote video camera

Read about this service and device offered by Singapore Telephone:

http://home.singtel.com/consumer/products/mobile/value_added_services/mobile_livecam_overview.asp

I have not discovered a similar service anywhere else.

But the concept makes complete sense. The easiest way to obtain remote video surveillance is to use a cellphone with camera and video recording. The cellphone needs to be 3G and to use a 3G service otherwise the large #s of images would clog the system.

Its possible to put together a configuration of equipment:

1. a video camera

2. a wireless receiver/transmitter

3. a battery power

4. A photovoltaic power source to charge the battery

5. A PC with proper software

But a mobile (cell) phone already includes all the functions above except the power source to charge a battery. But small photovoltaic 'setups' are readily available so even an amateur could easily install a remote battery powered surveillance camera that could be controlled by another cell phone and which would use the cell phone network to transmit images and to receive instructions from the an owner via another cell phone.

One solution to a no landline all cell phone home

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-TH1211-Expandable-Bluetooth-Convergence/dp/B00138FPY4 This Panasonic bluetooth-enabled technology is actually quite a neat solution. It has a couple of potential negatives...it is not an answering machine so one must use cell phone voice mail... so if the system is set up to manage ...for example two cell phones ....then some confusion can exists about how to check messages that would be taken if ..say..late at night you had set all phones to silent. This may sound trival but if in fact the idea is to eliminate a landline entirely the cell phones will be quite often in the cradle not being carried about. But this very reasonably priced solution manages the basic problem..how to add more easily managed cordless phones as extensions of a cell so that when employed say at home, a cell phone can be placed in its charger and left until the owner leaves but calls be be answered and initiated using bluetooth as the communications channel between the cell phone and the cordless base station and the handsets.

I want to drop my landline service and rely on cell phone only...but...!

Many people do this already and manage by just keeping their cell phones with them wherever they are in their living space. Others (like me) who don't like to carry a cell phone around at all times and who live in spaces with multiple rooms or floors know that cell phone service is often unavailable depending on physically where you are at the moment. So I want a solution something like this: 1. A cell phone charging cradle that connects to cordless (meaning wireless) phones that just plug into an electricity socket for power. These phones will most likely be left over from a previous land line setup. 2. The cradle can be located in my space where cell reception is best. 3. The cordless phones can be located in convenient locations throughout. One cordless phone is connected to the cellphone cradle by 4 pair telephone cable with RJ-45 jacks so it must be nearby the cradle...not the best. (Or alternatively and better...requiring at least one new cordless phone with bluetooth... the first cordless phone would be located within bluetooth range of the cell phone cradle and then communicate with the other cordless phones utilizing the normal cordless frequency band.) 4. When a call comes in on the cell phone...all phones ring (or not depending on a mute switch on the cordless phone) 5. Calls can be originated from the cordless phone but travel on the cell phone selected network. 6. All cell phone features such as call waiting etc would be available on the cordless phones. XLink has a partial but expensive (to me) solution. I am relying on the review. I have not actually tried XLink. It uses bluetooth to connect the cell and cordlesss.) http://www.osnews.com/story/19593/Review:_Mobile_ Phone_Signal_Amplifier_and_Bluetooth_Gateway/ Heres the XLink web ref: http://www.xlinkgateway.com/bt.html This device is for someone who wishes to eliminate a landline entirely. XLink has a similar device for someone who wishes to retain a landline. 7. Last I would like the bluetooth channel to connect to any WIFI within range. (This is a function listed in the original specifications of a 'perfect cellphone' that chooses any WIFI for the communications channel if it make sense..of course this requires a VOIP function but then this is a blog about the 'perfect' hand held digital device.) I would want a software function on the cellphone, based on parameters I provide, to use WIFI as the communications channel rather than the cellular network, if a call characteristic matches a criteria ...for example if a call is out of the boundaries (to another country) of my unlimited cellular plan. Here's an About.com FAQ on the issues involved in settling on the use of a cell phone only. Here's a recent update about the choices being made to eliminate landlines and manage only with cell phones

Ray Kurzweil does it again ..a cell phone reader for the blind

http://www.letsgomobile.org/en/3521/phone-blind-people/

A nifty scheme for tracking a stolen GSM cell phone

http://www.gadgettrak.com/products/phonebak/

Elsewhere I list as a desirable cellphone function a mechanism that beeps a keychain watch fob when the cell phone and key fob are more than a certain distance apart.

This function is to reduce lost cell phone that are misplaced but not stolen.

The 'gadgettrak' function described in the web link is for stolen GSM phones.

Maybe the most important cellphone/PDA function is voice recognition

http://jott.com/jotters/index.php/blackberry

This link describes the voice recognition function provided by JOTT for blackberry users.

A similar function... however provided...by web service or native-to-the-device application.. is much more efficient than a keyboard or thumb board or hand writing recognition or touch technology for controlling the device or transferring information normally provided by text.

http://jott.com/jotters/index.php/blackberry

Air France enables flight boarding cards on mobile phones

AIR FRANCE REACHES TARGET OF FULL ELECTRONIC TICKETING Tuesday, June 03, 2008 Starting 1 June 2008, all Air France tickets will be electronic, in compliance with recommendations stipulated by IATA (International Air Transport Association) which represents 94% of airlines. E-ticketing*, which Air France has been gradually implementing on its entire network over the past few years, marks an important step for the air transport industry. At home, at the travel agent's or wherever there is Internet access, passengers can print their boarding card at airfrance.com and choose their seat from 30 hours before departure and up to the latest check-in time. *e-tickets contain all travel information for one or more passengers memorized in an airline's data base, once the booking has been made and paid for. Simple and easy to use, passengers no longer run the risk of losing or forgetting their ticket. The next major innovation: In June 2008, Air France will be offering passengers traveling between Paris and Amsterdam, without a connecting flight, the possibility of receiving their boarding card on their mobile phone. Customers can access http://mobile.airfrance.com on their mobile phone, choose their seat (aisle or window) and they will be sent an SMS, MMS, or an e-mail at the end of check-in, depending on the type of phone they have. The message received contains a bar code containing all the information written on a traditional boarding card. The mobile phone boarding card is another example, together with the e-ticket, of the «paperless» objective at the airport.