Cell phones got game

 Want to share details of your life with the world? Think a blog, or online diary, isn't personal enough? Soon you might be able to post photos of your every activity on the Web using only your cell phone.

It works like this: Use a camera-equipped cell phone to snap a photo. Send the photo to a blog address via the phone's e-mail service. A blogging program posts it on the Web. Voilà! Instant blog.

"It's like a mobile reality show," says Reinhard Seidel of UCP Morgen, which is developing blog technology. Firms like UCP Morgen say to expect cell phone blogs soon.

It's not a phone

At No. 1 cell phone maker Nokia, any employee who calls the new N-Gage video game device a "phone" has to pay an office fine of $1 or 1 euro, whichever has the highest exchange rate, says Nokia executive Nada Usina. That's because the N-Gage, with its bright screen and hefty processing power, is more Game Boy than phone.

Using a cell phone connection, two N-Gage owners can remotely play video games against each other. But making a call requires a headset, unless you want to hold the bottom of the taco-shaped N-Gage to your face.

Play away

For years, you've been able to play video games on Sony Ericsson cell phones. But using the phone's tiny keypads to maneuver is tough.

So Sony Ericsson created a gizmo that looks like a controller for a video game. Snap your cell phone into the middle of it and use the gizmo to play. Several of Sony Ericsson's cell phones will fit the controller, expected to be released later this year for $50 to $75.

No plan needed

For the hip-hop fan in your life, consider an MTV cell phone from Kyocera Wireless. To dial, you slide the front panel of the pager-sized phone to reveal a tiny keyboard. Owners can download special MTV ring tones, graphics and other music-themed features.

But forget about buying a monthly service plan. The MTV phone is offered only by Virgin Mobile. Its customers pay upfront for minutes, starting at 25 cents, and buy more when they run out. It's not cheap, considering long-distance minutes via a regular phone often run 5 to 7 cents.

New business lingo

During the tech boom, the industry coined "b-to-c" for businesses that sold to consumers and "b-to-b" for businesses that sold to businesses. Now comes "m-to-m."

It stands for "machine-to-machine" and refers to equipment that can automatically send status reports, usually via a cell phone text message. A street-corner newspaper rack, for example, could notify a distribution center that it's empty. Or a swimming pool could let cleaners know bacteria levels are high.

Although m-to-m technology has been around for years, improvements are now making it easy and cheap. Nokia just released a matchbook-sized device that can be installed in a vending machine, for instance, and call if the machine is short on Doritos.

"All the pieces of the puzzle are there," says Michael Lang, CEO of m-to-m developer Airdesk.

"We just need to put the puzzle together."

John Doe :
John is a Web developer, writer and columnist.
When he's not writing about tech stuff he's usually playing football or hanging out with his friends.
email@here.com
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