Month: March 2012

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From Droid Life: Google Discusses Google Voice Integration with Other Carriers Beyond Sprint

When Sprint announced that they had formed some sort of partnership with Google to allow easy Google Voice setup on their phones, I was jealous. Google Voice is easily one of my favorite apps, something I have mentioned a handful of times now. But with Sprint’s partnership, Google has given their customers an MMS option that normal GV users do not have access to. As most GV users know, the only real downside to the service is the fact that picture and video messages (MMS) cannot be sent or received. Sprint users can though, in a round about way through their email.

So when we heard today’s news that Google is in talks with other carriers to offer a similar partnership, we couldn’t help but get a little excited. Well, not too excited. As you may recall, Google said that they were in talks with other carriers back in October to allow for MMS-to-email forwarding, only we have yet to see the service work on any other device besides one that is connected to Sprint.

The SMS and MMS game is nothing but pure profit for carriers, and Google Voice is something that could serve to cut those down dramatically. I’m not saying that I don’t believe that we will have GV on a variety of other carriers with MMS support in the near future, but it would surprise me a bit. So cross some toes and hope that Google and others can come to agreement. In the mean time, thank Buddha that carriers haven’t chosen to block the service like they have done with Google Wallet.

Via:  CNET, Phandroid

from Droid Life

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From Business and financial news – CNNMoney.com: Phone customers ditch carriers faster than ever

Verizon… are you reading this?!  My loyalty to you is now on a timer!!  Better treat us better…  I have been very unhappy with them recently… I’m just waiting for that one mistake from them that will make me move…

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The average cell phone customer now switches carriers as soon as his or her second two-year contract is up. That startling decline in loyalty is causing wireless companies to rethink the way they do business, according to a new study released Monday.

from Business and financial news – CNNMoney.com

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From Engadget: AT&T Labs, Carnegie Mellon research haptic-feedback steering wheel for turn-by-turn directions

A force-feedback steering wheel. It’s quite literally the stuff of racing games, and AT&T labs, along with Carnegie Mellon, is researching the possibly of throwing similar tech into your real-world whip. MIT’s Technology Review recently highlighted the project, which uses 20 vibrating actuators shoved inside of a steering wheel to create a variety of patterns — a counter-clockwise sequence could indicate a left turn, for example. As you might have guessed, one of the goals is to keep drivers less distracted by the likes of visual turn-by-turn GPS navigators and more focused on the road. While it’s currently being tested with driving simulators, the results are positive so far, if a bit modest. When supplemented with typical audio / visual navigation, folks near the age of 25 kept their eyes planted on the asphalt for 3.1 percent more time than without it. Notably, the improvement wasn’t found with those over 65 in the aforementioned instance, however, supplemented with just the audio, the vibrating wheel had them focusing on the road by an increase of four percent.

According to Technology Review, this isn’t the first time haptic feedback has been tested as a driving aid, although past tests have, notably, resulted in “fewer turn errors” by those behind the wheel. Best of all, the tech is capable of sending more than just navigation cues — it could certainly be useful in a Telsa. So when can you expect to find a force-feedback steering wheel in your ride? Technology Review cites Kevin Li, an AT&T Labs researcher on the project, who says the main hurdle is making something that people will just “get,” and that it’s still “years” away from becoming a possibility. While there’s no photos of the setup just yet, a full report on the research will get release in June. Hey, there’s always Forza and Gran Turismo, at least for now — right?

 

from Engadget