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No not quite; but it's up there.
The Japanese have come up with robot patients to help train dental students. While I suspect our students have to make do with a fake head with gaping mouth, the Japs get what looks like a real person. It's only a matter of time before a student develops an unnatural fondness...
Definitely handy as fake passengers in those 'two or more persons' traffic lanes. Credit goes to Idiot Toys blog for discovering this gem.
Oh my God.
Last week I was invited to 3 for a group briefing, part of which included a strong message to all the journalists present to get agitated and write about the scandal of number portability.
We were left in no doubt that this is a subject that 3 feels strongly about.
But little did we know that behind the scenes 3 had already started legal action that plays for very high stakes - namely action that centres on a claim that a conspiracy existed that consistently restricted the ease with which the public could transfer to 3.
The story has been broken by The Times this morning with the headline 'Mobile phones dispute goes to high court as 3 seeks £250m damages'.
The story reveals that 3 has resorted to the high court after many months of wrangling;
Next week’s hearing is known as a preapplication disclosure claim. It is the first time the sides will meet after months of correspondence between all the parties. 3 will await the outcome of the hearing before finalising its claim form. A full hearing may still be months away.
It will be a miracle if a conspiracy is proven - even if one exists it will take some serious heavy lifting to join all the dots - but 3's actions prove that it is happy to spend a lot of money to bring this subject under greater scrutiny.
And pigs will fly
Oftel has ruled that number porting (transferring a number to a new phone) should take place in two hours, down from the current five day limit.
That's great news for the thousands who swap networks each week, but the bad news is it won't be inforced until September 2009, and, judging by the lack of enforcement of the current five day maximum it looks unlikely that all operators will hit that target.
Truphone is the company that offers software to enable users of some Nokia phones to make Voice over IP calls when within range of a WiFi hotspot. The big deal is of course free or cheap calls instead of your usual calling rates.
So what's it like?
Truphone sent me a Nokia N95 preloaded with the latest version of the software, Version 3.3, so I promptly nipped up to my local Cafe Nero to do a test. I chose Cafe Nero because Truphone recently signed a deal to allow users to use the Surf and Sip WiFi for free in Cafe Nero - in addition to locations that have The Cloud (the same WiFi used by iPhone users incidentally).
Other than The Cloud and Surf and Sip you have to rely on free WiFi at places like MacDonalds, some hotels and bars, and of course those provided by free-hotspot.com. Naturally its designed for connecting to a home or office WiFi as a starter for ten.
Making a VoIP call was a doddle as the Truphone icon appears on the standy applications list at the top of the phone. You just toggle onto it to activate. This then reveals a list of WiFi access points in the vicinity of which Sip and Surf was one. I selected Sip and Surf and watched as the phone automatically connected - a lot easier than if I were connecting to a private network with security settings. The words 'Truphone: Connected' appear to show you that all is well.
Once connected I was able to make calls over the Truphone network at a fraction of the normal cost. The call quality is only slightly degraded in my view, and not really an issue. My only gripe is that the icons used to indicate status are very small and some are very similar - making them hard to see at times. That will of course depend on the phone you are using too.
OK, this is a very limited test at one location, so that I could give you a quick review. I will take the phone on the road to test it more thorougly soon and report back.
Meanwhile here are my pros and cons:
Pro: This is an easy to use, free application that will save you money on calls, particularly good for calling from abroad if you are near WiFi. The documentation is very thorough showing that Truphone have put a lot of thought into helping new users. Easy to set up dedicated connection for your home and/or office WiFi. Easy account management via the Web.
Cons: You get yet another number to deal with (Your Truphone number), so if you become a serious user you are going to have to find a bit more space on your business card. Currently limited to Nokia E series and N series phones with WiFI capability. Can be frustrating to be near a hotspot but unable to use it due to lack of subscription. Tiny status icons are hard to see.
Comparisons: Truphone competes with the likes of Fring and Skype. All charge pretty much the same. Skype has the benefit of being available in a dedicated phone (SkypePhone) being sold by 3UK.
Verdict: Truphone is easy to use and saves you money. The downside is it won't work on most phones because they aren't WiFi enabled - something of a pity bearing in mind the amount we all waste by not transferrring to VoIP calling. No wonder a hybrid like the SkypePhone is trying to gain an edge in the meantime.
But the bigger problem is that those who most need to save money on calls are on tariffs that discourage them from using VoIP through attractive bundles that erode the benefits of making less calls. It is clear that the battle between the operators and the likes of Truphone is far from over.
(Ken Young)
The application called 'My Location' requires the user to press the zero key on the handset to make their location visible on Google Maps for Mobile. The application even works indoors.
To allay privacy concerns the application does not collect identity linked to location and it can be turned off at any time.
Though the system uses less battery power than GPS it is less accurate - to within one quarter or three miles in some instances. In addition the database supporting the service is under construction so it will sometimes draw blanks in the same way as occurs on Google Maps.
Twenty countries are covered so far, including United States, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and Taiwan.
Carphone Warehouse salespeople have been caught making false claims about insurance needed for the iPhone, according to the BBC.
In 3 out of 5 stores tested salespeople told shoppers that if they lost their phones they would have to take out a new contract - unless they bought insurance.
This is in fact untrue.
The story will be covered on BBC Watchdog aired tonight.
Full story here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7115830.stm
O2 fleshed out the details of the phone/mobile wallet/Oyster pilot this morning.
It's based around a Nokia 6131 that uses NFC (Near Field Comminications) technology and a 'wallet' containing the electronic cash needed for tube travel and low value payments at retailers.
The trail will see 500 punters using phones credited with £200 over a six month period, but a proper launch isn't due until end 2008 or later.
The launch was as much an attempt to garner interest from retailers who are needed to come on board to make a proper launch viable.
The project is backed by a large consortium: Nokia, Barclaycard, Transport for London, O2, Transys, Visa Europe, and AEG.
The downsides at present appear to be the need to carry ID to prove it is your phone, the scarcity of retailers accepting contactless payment, and the hassle of using a phone as a swipe mechanism as opposed to the Oyster card.
But on the upside the consortium claim that the plan is to offer the facility on more phones - eventually.
Much will depend on the success of the pilot and public demand for contactless payment on mobiles with all its inherant security concerns.
(Ken Young)
I'm off to the 10am O2 press event in a black cab that is racing through the back streets to get me there - as I tap away on a BlackBerry. Ah mobile working eh.
Not sure if the event is to launch Stellar, talk about iPhone, or something else.
Londoners may hate the congestion charge but it really does make a difference. We are even overtaking bicycles now. Shame they always seem to catch up when we hit the lights.
3 miles to go with ten minutes left. I think I am going to have to make one of those embarassing late entrances. Should have got up earlier etc.
(Ken Young)
This isn't how it was supposed to be.
Apple has sold over a million iPhones in the USA, but over here UK sales look sluggish at best. One publication claims Apple has only sold about 23,000 so far. Apple has declined to comment.
Launching a phone these days is increasingly like launching a film - risky and unpredictable.
Could Apple have done better? Will things pick up during the Xmas buying season?
Yes and no. What we learnt from the US sale was that Apple prefers to risk a high price to test the market to ensure the phone keeps its exclusive tag and to ensure a chunky margin for a period of time.
But that approach has hit a brick wall in the UK, with many buyers baulking at the high tariff in addition to the high phone cost.
No doubt a price cut will be needed to ignite sales, but once again Apple risks annoying the early adopters and will not want to be humbled into giving them cashback as it did in the US.
Apple is between a rock and a hard place.
The longer it waits to cut the price the more time it gives competitors to get their iPhone killers to market. As the weeks go by each one of its unique features are being eclipsed by competitors. Soon the only real uniqueness will be the fact that its an Apple - something some buyers will always walk that extra mile for - but not many.
It looks like Apple has underestimated the built-in giveaway culture of the mobile phone market here. Punters are prepared to pay a premium tariff but they expect a free phone in return, and a decent upgrade in a years time.
No wonder it is spending millions showing its sexy iPhone ads on telly right now. It needs to use the power of mass persuasion to get those wallets opened.
O2 will be hoping for a branding link with the night sky rather than an increasingly downmarket lager, but punters will hopefully ignore the froth and concentrate on its array of must-have features.
It's a touch screen Xda with a stylish sliding keyboard and tilting screen. As well as the on-board GPS, Windows Mobile 6 (supporting Microsoft Direct Push Email) and WiFi, it is Quad Band, 3G and has a 3 mega-pixel camera and MP3 player.
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