Newest Cell Phone Features

Watch original programming, pay for meals, and more options you may or may not want.

James A. Martin

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Feature: Wireless Wonders

By now, few people would raise their eyebrows at the thought of shooting pictures and short video clips with a cell phone. And no one, with the possible exception of our great-grandparents, would be shocked to learn you can play games or send e-mail on a cell phone.

But did you know the Twentieth Century Fox-produced show 24 Conspiracy--a spin-off of the hit show 24--can be seen only on some Verizon Wireless cell phones? Or that later this year, you might use your cell phone to pay for a meal?

Keep reading for a look at some surprising things you can do now--and in the near future--with your wireless handset. Along the way, I'll offer reality checks to keep all this excitement in perspective. Also, this week's Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips section focuses on the latest in wireless voice and data technologies.

Watch Original Programming

Verizon Wireless's mobile video service, V Cast--home to 24 Conspiracy--is considered the most ambitious of its kind. Currently, subscribers pay $15 a month (on top of the cost of a voice plan) to view short video clips streamed to compatible phones.

Some videos are produced especially for V Cast, such as the 1-minute-per-episode 24 Conspiracy. Subscribers can also watch music videos, CNN news segments, excerpts from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and other short clips on their wireless handsets.

Other wireless service providers such as Sprint offer the competing MobiTV video-on-demand subscription service. But V Cast runs on Verizon Wireless's third-generation EVDO network, which is reportedly faster than the 3G networks that Sprint and other providers currently offer. (I haven't tested Verizon Wireless's EVDO network.)

Reality Check: Be careful what you view on V Cast, as some content requires an additional pay-per-view fee of up to about $4. Also, V Cast is currently limited to 30 U.S. markets.

View Original Artwork

Nokia has commissioned a handful of artists to create videos especially for its cell phones. The videos, each about half a minute long, are high-concept art, as opposed to plot-driven shows like 24 Conspiracy. If you have one of eight Nokia cell phone models, you can download the video art for free.

Reality Check: You can't copy or forward the video art. And the art is designed to be "exclusive," meaning that each video can be downloaded only about 3000 times.

Talk on Your Cell Phone--Over a Wi-Fi VoIP Connection

What if your cell phone worked on a wireless Voice over IP connection as well as on a cellular network? You'd have the convenience of using the same handset and phone number just about anywhere. And you'd save money.

Here's the deal: When at home or in the office, you could use your cell phone to make calls over a VoIP service running on a Wi-Fi network. Some call this convergence of technologies VoWiFi.

Theoretically, a VoIP service can be used anywhere there's a fast Internet connection. If you have the right handset, therefore, you could use your VoIP service on your home wireless network as well as with a Starbucks or other commercial Wi-Fi hotspot.

The advantages of VoWiFi: Calls on VoIP services are much less expensive than land-line or cell-phone calls, because they travel cheaply as data packets over the Internet. (Some VoIP services are even free.) At the same time, you'd reduce your cell phone costs, as you'd need to use your plan minutes only when a Wi-Fi hotspot wasn't nearby.

Several companies are developing or have introduced wireless handsets capable of automatically handling calls from either VoIP or cellular services. For example, Motorola's MPx can place calls on cellular networks and VoIP services via Wi-Fi. Also, Skype Technologies' VoIP software is now available on Carrier Devices' I-mate cellular/Wi-Fi-equipped handsets.

Reality Check: Don't get too excited about VoWiFi phones and services just yet. Some kinks need to be ironed out before this technology is ready for widespread use. For example, VoWiFi devices must be able to automatically detect networks and switch from one network type to another. And carriers must put into place extensive infrastructures and roaming agreements that support call transfers between different--and sometimes competing--networks. Still, VoWiFi appears to be gaining momentum.

For more information about VoWiFi convergence, read "Mobile Internet Telephony Visibility Increases."

Buy a Bucket of Chicken

Will cold, hard cash become as extinct as the phone booth? Probably not. But soon you could be paying for some items, such as a bus ticket, a fast-food meal, or a hotel room, with your cell phone.

Nokia, Philips Electronics, and Sony last year formed a nonprofit industry association designed to advance a technology called "Near Field Communication." The technology will allow you to securely use credit or bank card information stored on your cell phone or PDA to beam payment to a vendor. In other words, one day you could be using NFC at your local KFC.

Reality Check: NFC-compatible phones and services are beginning to show up in Europe, but don't expect to see them in the U.S. or Asia until spring or summer. For more information, read "Nokia's New Phone Doubles as a PDA."

Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips

Tip: Call Your Cell Phone and Get a Cab

According to taxicab companies around the world, mobile phones, PDAs, and notebooks are often forgotten when passengers leave the vehicle. In Chicago, for instance, more than 85,000 cell phones, 21,000 PDAs, and 4500 notebooks were found in taxis over a six-month period.

What can you do about this? Well, there's the obvious: Look before you leave. But if you forget, you can call your cell phone number and see if the driver answers. Also, always ask for a receipt from the driver. A receipt usually includes the taxi driver's name and the cab number, which makes it easier to later track down anything you've left in the vehicle.

Wireless News: Surfing in the Back of a Taxi

Interactive Taxi plans to install wireless touch-screen multimedia computers in the back seats of some 600 cabs in Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, the company says. The device, located in the partition between the driver and the back seat, offers news, movie trailers, and restaurant listings. Every 5 minutes, the computer receives wireless updates.

Wireless News: Sony Ericsson's Walkman Phone

Remember the Walkman? Sony's once-ubiquitous portable music player is making a comeback, of sorts, as a cell phone. Sony Ericsson is expected to introduce a mobile phone/digital music player (for MP3 and AAC files) in March dubbed the Walkman Phone.

VoIP Review: Lingo Service Excellent, But Slightly Muffled

PC World Senior Editor Aoife M. McEvoy's new column, Net Phone Zone, gives readers the 411 on Internet telephony. In Aoife's debut column, she reports on her tests of the Lingo VoIP service.

Lingo's overall quality is excellent, Aoife says, though conversations sounded a bit muffled--which is often the case with Internet calls. For $8 per month, you can call other Lingo subscribers for free; other calls, to the U.S. and Canada, cost 3 cents a minute. There are several service plans available; read "Lingo Is Affordable and Reliable" for details.

Wireless News: Cell Phones Coming to an Airbus Near You

For some, the use of cell phones in flight would be a dream come true. For folks like me, it would be a nightmare. (I imagine myself sitting for hours next to a chatty teenager, who says things such as "I'm like, and she's like, and then I go, and then she goes...") But regardless of how you feel about it, get ready: In-flight phone chatter could be coming soon.

Airbus, the European aircraft maker, announced it will include an optional voice/data system in its new A380 super-jumbo planes. The system will allow passengers to use their mobile devices in flight for voice calls and Internet access, the company says. The service should be commercially available next year.

Smart Phone News: The Latest PalmSource Software

PalmSource recently showed off new mobile phone software. Among the new applications is MBrowser, a Web browser optimized for handhelds that can access any Web content, the company says. PalmSource also said it is partnering with Qualphone to offer push-to-talk software for Palm OS phones. Read "PalmSource Shows Off New Software" for more about these and other Palm OS smart phone software tools.

Suggestion Box

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