Engadget reports on the growing increase in mobile phone ownership across the world.
…the United Nations communications chief has boldly predicted that half of planet Earth’s population will be hooked on some sort of mobile phone before 2009 dawns.
Though how many of those subscriptions will include unlimited data I suspect will be very small and I suspect an even smaller number of those phone users will be using them for learning.
I did say in my previous post.
I wonder how long it will be before it comes to the UK.
Well according to the BBC it will be in the UK in time for Christmas on T-Mobile.
The T-Mobile G1 handset will be available in the UK in time for Christmas.
The first device to run the search giant’s operating system will feature a touch screen as well as a Qwerty keyboard.
It will be available for free on T-Mobile tariffs of over £40 a month and includes unlimited net browsing.
Other features include a three megapixel camera, a ‘one click’ contextual search and a browser that users can zoom in on by tapping the screen.
I think it has potential, but is it going to match the iPhone?
I don’t think it will have the buzz that the iPhone had. However the applications that the Google Phone could have and the way that they are installed on the phone means that it may have more potential as a learning device than the iPhone.
Well it’s out there now.
Google unveiled their phone, it will be from (in the USA) T-Mobile and is made by HTC.
Not much to look at is it?
The key with this phone, is don’t look at the phone, look at the operating system.
Images from Engadget who attended the event and who say:
We finally, finally got our mitts all over the very first Android device, the T-Mobile G1 — hanging out in the crowd, waiting for the official announce, naturally — and so far we like what we see. The phone is surprisingly thinner than we thought it would be, and it feels pretty solid in your hand (though they’ve opted for an almost all plastic device, no metal here). The keyboard seems usable and reasonably well thought-out, and the slider action is like butter, with a nice little swoop for good effect.
I wonder how long it will be before it comes to the UK.
Think of the potential of learners being able to use Google Docs whilst on the move.
In the US today sees the unveiling of the widely anticipated Google Phone.
The BBC reports that
The first mobile telephone using Google’s Android software is due to be unveiled on 23 September.
It will be available on the US network of T-Mobile and is expected to be on sale in October.
The first device to run the search giant’s operating system will be a handset from Taiwanese firm HTC called the “Dream”.
No price for the phone has been given yet but it is expected to be below the important $200 (£107) price point.
So why the interest in the phone?
Well as the BBC article goes on…
Google announced its plans for the Android phone software in November 2007 with a declared aim of making it easier to get at the web while on the move.
More and more people are using their phones less for making phone calls and more for using the web whilst on the move. Apple’s iPhone showed that you could use the web on the move, will Google’s Android do more than just the web?
Bill Thompson has written an excellent column on the BBC news website.
Suggestions that content-hosting sites like YouTube and Flickr should review material before they were posted were especially ridiculed. Observer columnist John Naughton pointed out that at Flickr, “uploads have been between 1,400 and 4,500 images a minute”, making the task somewhat less manageable than the committee seemed to realise.
But a couple of weeks later telecoms regulator Ofcom has agreed that content delivered to mobile phones should continue to be restricted. It suggested that although the current self-regulatory scheme managed by the Independent Mobile Classification Body is working it could be made a bit stronger in some ways.
Filtering just does not work, as Bill says
web filtering does not work. The filters either let through material that we would like blocked or, far more often, block material that is perfectly acceptable
It annoys me for example that Vodafone Content Control blocks Flickr, but does not block YouTube! One day I must get those blocks removed.
From an FE perspective, filtering though blocks a lot of undesirable content, is more often used to block social networking sites, or video and image sites such as Flickr and YouTube.
I would never say that these sites are free of undesirable content, but wholesale blocking often can remove many potential assets and resources which can be used for learning.
An astute institution will realise that filtering content is only one thing that needs to be done and that educating students on using the web safely is equally if not more important than jsut relying on technological blocks.
Sony have announced a new version of their PSP portable gaming console.
Key difference will be that it will have a microphone allowing you to use it with Skype to make (internet) phone calls.
It also has a better screen.
BBC News on new PSP (and new PS3).
Ofcom have published a report, according to a BBC article, on the use of communication in the UK.
Britons are spending more time using communications services but paying less for them, says an Ofcom report.
Every day in 2007, the average consumer spent 7 hours and 9 minutes watching TV, on the phone, using the internet or using other services, it says.
Since 2002, mobile use has doubled and PC and laptop use has grown fourfold, says the watchdog’s annual review.
Though with falling costs of internet and mobile phones, though the UK is using more comms stuff, it is in fact spending less…
But the average UK household spend on communications in 2007 was £93.63 a month – a fall of £1.53 on 2006.
This certainly reiterates that our learners are well versed in the use of digital communication tools and therefore would probably be quite at home using them for learning.
Photo source.
It’s the summer break here in the UK for FE, so as a result I expect posts to this blog to be less over August. However I will be back in September.
So let me guess your college or university has spent thousands if not hundreds of thousands of pounds on computers?
Why not get a bundle of typewriters?
According to a BBC news item, a fair few people are doing just that.
They’re clunky, dirty and can’t access the internet, yet every year thousands of people buy typewriters when they could probably afford a computer. Why?
Well it’s individuals getting typewriters, not colleges!
So would you use a typewriter instead of a computer?
It’s difficult to blog with a typewriter mind you!
Photo source.
From BBC News
Dell is joining the burgeoning ranks of companies offering cut-down laptops, called netbooks, aimed at the developing world and general consumers.
The laptop was shown by Michael Dell to the editor of website Gizmodo at the All Things Digital Conference.
Read more.
Dell is the biggest PC maker in the world and the fact that they have entered the market shows how big and how serious this market is to PC makers.
For a lot of consumers this is their second computer, their main computer is a desktop machine which sits at home. The micro-laptop (umpc) format allows them to have a second computer which is very portable. Though similar or slightly more expensive “proper” sized laptops are available, it is the extreme portability of these laptops that are one of the main attractions. The fact it has a proper keyboard is another feature which other UMPCs and portable devices lack and it would seem people like a proper keyboard – even if it is on the small side.
From an e-learning perspective this is a device (format) which I know learners like (from our MoLeNET experiences) and I would suspect that a lot of learners in FE will start buying (or will be bought) these computers. At a price point not much more than a gaming console (or even less) it might be seriously considered as a present for someone attending an FE College.
Also with the growth of student wireless networks in FE, this will allow internet connectivity which turns it from a “dumb” computer to a connected internet device. Even in those institutions without the bandwidth for a student wireless network, those learners may consider getting a 3G USB dongle.
Already I have “caught” a learner in our Library, using an Asus EeePC with a Three 3G USB dongle for learning!
Thanks Gary.