Soft touch Philips Research displayed prototypes of its photonic textiles - fabrics that double as light emitting diode (LED) displays - at the Internationale Funkaustellung in Berlin last week. The prototypes include the SMS pillow and a backpack, which display text messages sent to them from a mobile phone. Philips said its researchers had integrated flexible multicoloured LEDs into the fabrics without compromising their softness.
Mazda magic Mazda's latest concept car, on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, uses a USB drive as its ignition key. The Sassou B concept car was a small hatchback aimed at the youth market, the firm said. It uses a USB 'key' and interface port that lets drivers program and load files on to the car's hard drive.
Solar power Vodafone has launched a solar charger for mobile phones, a product which could appeal to users in countries blessed with large amounts of sunshine. In addition to mobile phones, the device will also charge PDAs, MP3 players and digital cameras. 'About 10,000 customers using the charger for a year on solar energy alone would prevent the atmospheric discharge of eight tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is one of the main causes of global warming,' the firm said.
On the muvee Budding filmmakers with Oscar ambitions can start with two contests open to amateurs in Asia. Software maker muvee Technologies will give away dual-core Pentium-based computer systems in a contest co-sponsored by Intel. Entrants must edit their films using muvee's autoProducer software, available at click.muvee.com. In a second contest sponsored by Discovery Asia, entrants could win up to US$10,000. They must submit a brief written description of what community 'icon' is most meaningful to them. Finalists win a Nokia N90 mobile phone and a trip to Singapore to take part in a filmmaking class.
Phone users linked to TV expected to hit 65m by 2010 The number of mobile phone users subscribing to streamed or broadcast television services is expected to reach 65 million worldwide by the end of 2010, according to Juniper Research. In a new study, Juniper senior analyst Windsor Holden said streamed services were expected to account for the majority of customers (56 per cent) and revenues (51 per cent) by that time. Broadcast TV services are expected to have been launched in 21 markets by 2010, with the largest number of users in Japan (8.68 million) and the United States (7.97 million). But even when the commercial networks have become established, participants must be prepared to wait for several years before seeing any return on their initial investments.
CPS wins mainland patent for its Matrix technology With an eye on the world's largest wireless communications market, mobile location specialist Cambridge Positioning Systems (CPS) has secured a first mainland patent for its Matrix high-accuracy location technology. CPS chief executive Chris Wade said Matrix was selected by partner Sichuan Yingda Technology to drive new location-based services with Sichuan Unicom, part of the China Unicom network. 'We now have patent protection for a seamless transition of our technology from GSM through to 3G technologies, including China's own variant which is now gaining market acceptance,' Mr Wade said. 'With significant growth in customer numbers and an increasingly sophisticated consumer and enterprise market, we see very strong demand for our technology and already have deployments under way.' The Matrix technology makes use of the signals radiated by cell towers to locate the position of a mobile phone.
