CES 2009 is buzzing with techie news and announcements that are impacting the mobile landscape and beyond. One of those happens to be Skype’s announcement of their Lite app for Java enabled phones, bringing VOIP calling to your mobile phone.
According to CNET, Skype is now submitting the app to the Android Market, which would hopefully get approved by Google within a few days.
Stay tuned and we will update this post when Skype Lite becomes available on the Google Android Market!
Attention mobile developers — the Rough Cuts version of the Android Development book from O’Reilly is now available. I was a bit ignorant on exactly what ‘Rough Cuts’ meant, so I checked it out on the O’Reilly site. Here is their official description:
When you buy a book on the Rough Cuts service, you get access to an evolving manuscript. You can read it online, download as a PDF, or print. Once you’ve purchased a Rough Cuts title, you have a chance to shape the final product – you can send suggestions, bug fixes, and comments directly to the author and editors.
You have your choice in the Rough Cuts program of purchasing just online access, just the print book when it releases, or the best of both worlds – online access immediately and the print book later.
A second O’Reilly book covering the Google mobile development platform, titled Hello Android, is supposed to be available any day now.
So if you’ve got a few days off to sit around and eat, you can at least sneak a few pages in during commercials. With only one Android phone available today, you still have time to build a great Android App get it into the Android Market before so many Google loyalists herd over to that platform.
As those of you following us on Twitter may have already seen, the Estonian parliament passed a law Thursday allowing voters to vote by mobile phone. The law will be in effect for the country’s 2011 parliamentary elections.
Here in the States, we cannot seem to pull off an election using basic touch screens or even paper voting cards. And except for absentee ballots, the large majority of voters must be present to vote. I cannot imagine the day the U.S. tries push this concept through.
Estonia must not have as many lawyers as we do.
What do you think? Good idea or bad? Will it fly in your country?
We here at MobileMammoth have been enjoying time with family, friends, and food, and will resume our writing about mobile websites and iPhone & Android apps on Monday, December 1.
We hope you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend!
Mobile Industry Review has a great drawing underway between now and December 10. Donate a small amount of money ($10 or 5 pounds) to either of two charities, and you are entered to win a mobile handset or accessory. What can you win, you ask?
Here’s their latest prize list:
An Apricot Picobook Pro Netbook
Sony Ericsson C902 Titanium – O2 ‘Quantum Solace’ Special Edition
2 x Nokia 6650 – T-Mobile exclusive
Sony Ericsson W595 – Three exclusive
Jabra BT8030 bluetooth headset / speaker combo
Jabra BT2050 mini bluetooth headset
SuperTooth Voice In-Car bluetooth speaker
5 x Free Spinvox accounts
It’s a small amount to donate, it’s tax deductible, and you can win a great prize. Now go on over and enter today!
JumpTap and Zogby decided to spend money to poll Americans who use the mobile web on their cell phone to determine which presidential candidate they plan to vote for.
Hmm. The suspense is killing me. I wonder who could be winning the popularity contest among the mobile web population. I don’t even have to share the answer, because we all already know who it is. So why the need for the poll?
JumpTap is a very respectable company, and I truly admire what they have done in mobile marketing thus far. I’m going to assume that maybe the Zogby folks talked them into this pointless poll.
Google open sourced their Android mobile platform yesterday, and despite the stock market tanking yet again today, the mobile world is abuzz over Android. So, if you haven’t gotten around to writing that mobile multi-player action game for the Android platform just yet, get your feet wet first by checking out Google’s Android resources we’ve collected below.
(Did you notice how many different Android sites Google itself is hosting? Would you believe it’s 100??)
Well, it’s not quite 100 – yet. But here are the first several they have started:
Android SDK Site
This Google site provides educational information about the mobile operating system, including plenty of videos, and links to FAQs, documentation, and of course, the SDK itself.
There are two important sections within this site to point out. First, this Android overview is a great starting place to understand the platform. The second section of note is the one covering the Android emulator. A solid, working emulator is critical to Android application development and testing.
Android Market
Just Open today! With roughly 50 Android applications currently available, that number is expected to skyrocket next week when Google starts allowing developers to upload their applications. There will be a one-time charge of $25 per person, which will provide clear ownership regarding of the submitted applications. Once that fee is paid, those individuals can upload as many applications as they want.
Android – The Open Source Project
Download the source code, read the docs, subscribe to mailing lists, contribute code, participate, and chug the Android Kool Aid.
Today is Blog Action Day 2008, and the topic this year is poverty. So let’s dig right in!
Did you know there are a number of small, impoverished communities around the world that are starting to become more self-sufficient and productive through the use of mobile phones?
Just consider these facts:
According to a study on the impact of mobile phone use by developing countries by the London Business School, an increase of 10 mobile phones per 100 people boosts the economy’s growth rate by 0.6%.
Uganda’s economy has been helped by the emphasis on mobile phones and other technologies by both the government and the private sector. One important factor in their economic growth: between 1996 to 2004, mobile phone subscribers increased from 3,500 to 987,456. Wow.
(Our favorite) In Kenya, mobile phone users can buy talk-time and then send those minutes to a relative or friend. And because so few people have access to bank accounts, they can cash in the unused minutes at local stores. Mobile phone minutes have become currency.
Think about how powerful that last one is. There are plenty more interesting statistics out there, as many of our readers are well aware.
So what can we do to help fight poverty? Get involved.
Here are a few suggestions, and some of them have nothing to do with phones or the mobile web:
Want more ideas? Go check out all the other great posts on fighting poverty at the Blog Action Day website.
NOTE: To do our part, MobileMammoth will fund a project in a developing country through the Kiva microfinance service. Then we will post about that project’s progress as we learn about it. We can’t wait to see how it goes!
Mobile browser SkyFire has been collecting rave reviews for it’s stability and speed, and is a solid alternative to IE and Opera. Check it out for yourself in the video below!
After venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins launched the iFund back in March, they received a ton of plans and have witnessed major developments in the mobile services and applications market.
The iFund is a VC fund which invests in mobile services and applications for the iPhone and iPod touch platform. The company has already invested over $30 million from that fund.
Go check out the first post on their blog and catch up on who’s hot in the ‘open mobile ecosystem’.
Attention mobile developers — the Rough Cuts version of the 
