MobiK lets you send free SMS messages from your PC or your mobile to your friends. In addition it also lets you earn “K dollars” for every friend that you refer. You can exchange your K dollars for mobile services and a huge range of really cool mobile phones, music players etc.
The signup process is pretty simple and involves sending a verification code to your mobile phone. Once you complete the initial signup process your account has 100 K dollars by default. Then you can download the application to your mobile phone and use it to send SMS to your friends. In order to send SMS from your mobile phone , you need have a mobile phone which supports Java. A really nice thing is that your friends need not have the application installed on their cell phones in order to receive messages sent by you.
Every time you invite a new friend, MobiK gives you an additional 100K. Inviting friends is easy too, simple import your friends from the several social networking/email sites which they support and send an email invite. Future plans include surveys and contests, which bring in more K dollars to your account.
So what does MobiK get out of this? MobiK earns its revenue from small ads delivered along with the SMS message that you send. So if you don’t mind those, you can have a real fun time and save a lot of money too.
You can register for a MobiK account here.
MobiK - Free SMS from your PC or mobile phone
Zone Tag = Flickr + location tagging!
Zone Tag is a freeware, location aware mobile application from Yahoo! Research Berkeley which provides seamless Flickr integration and location tagging. You don't need a GPS enabled cell phone in order to use Zone Tag, it identifies the location based on the cell tower your phone is connected to. If you do have GPS then it can be setup to use the GPS coordinates too! Cool! Alternately you can explicitly specify the location under "options" in case you are at a location where no Zone Tag user has been before.
Zone Tag not only suggests tags which are suitable based on the current location but also provides a way to set the privacy level for each photo. In order to use Zone Tag, you need a compatible Motorola/Nokia phone, a Flickr, Yahoo and Zone Tag account and a suitable data plan. Phew! Thats a big list!
In addition Yahoo! Research Berkeley has also developed Zurfer, which shows you photos taken around you and exposes interesting 'local highlights'. Zurfer also gives access to the latest photos from your Flickr friends and allows you to follow recent comments on your photos.
There are quite a few different applications which provide such facilities but Zone Tag and Zurfer seem to be nice applications. For details on the other applications, keep watching this blog :)
Download here zonetag.research.yahoo.com.
Fring - Free voice calls and more...
Fring is a really cool mobile VOIP application which lets you make voice calls, exchange instant messages and get real time presence information about friends, wherever you are.
It currently supports messaging and making calls to your Skype®, MSN® Messenger, Google Talk™ , Twitter and fringsters friends! The application setup is pretty simple. Fring supports EDGE, GPRS, 3G and Wifi and the call quality is decent even on EDGE data connections . The application is available for free from the fring site http://www.fring.com/.
Fring does not require any proprietary hardware or airtime, and works with phones purchased through any mobile operator. Fring also supports SkypeOut and hundreds of SIP-based services such as GizmoProject, VoipCheap, VoipStunt, Free World, even from non-SIP enabled handsets, enabling cheap local and international VoIP calls to contacts’ PCs, mobile phones and landline numbers.
Fring claims to use very little data over the network. The one for symbian phones consumes ~8MB for a 60 min mobile-VOIP call with just 0.05KB fring overhead per instant message and and ~10KB per hour connectivity.
Wwigo- Webcam Wherever I Go
Wwigo is a cool application that lets you use your mobile as a webcam. It consists of two components; one that resides on the mobile and the other on the PC. Not only does it allow you to use your phone in all popular clients such as skype, yahoo messenger, windows live messenger, youtube etc but it also allows you to save the videos taken.
The clarity of the video is comparable to that of a webcam (or sometimes even better!) . Lots of Symbian v2.0 and 3.0 mobile phones are supported. Check if your mobile phone is supported over here.
Nokia mobile maps-Smart2go
Smart2go is a compact programme for your mobile that allows you to load maps from around the world. Discover interesting places with ease, highlight them and get the route.
The interesting thing about this application is that it is not necessary to have a active GPRS connection prior to using the maps. The maps can be loaded directly into the phone from the PC using Maploader. This is quite unlike other applications like MGMaps or Google Maps where an active connection is necessary to view the maps. The application also warns when the user moves to the network of a different network provider and has maps for lots of different places. For a complete list of supported regions, click here.
The application is currently free and supports a fairly limited range of devices. Only the E61, E70, N73, N80 and N93 are currently supported along with Windows Mobile 5.0 based mobile phones. Hopefully a newer release should support other phones as well.
Additional navigation upgrades and guides can be installed to get routes displayed in 2D or 3D along with detailed guides about different cities. These additional features however are not available for free.
Netvibes2Go - Netvibes for your mobile
Netvibes.com is a custom made web 2.0 home page solution which provides users the ability to create a personalized page with content they like. It provides a simple and elegant way to organize all your feeds at one place.
For those of you who have been using Netvibes on your computer, this service is now also available on your mobile. Simply type m.netvibes.com on your mobile web browser and then enter your email id and password to login into Netvibes2Go. Currently, one cannot update the list of feeds from the mobile version i.e. you can only view your current list of feeds. The interface is very simple and can be accessed from all mobiles with a web connection and xhtml compliant browser.
Other RSS readers for your mobile:
Google Reader
Bloglines
Llama - Location based Mobile Application
One of the first location based freeware applications which has earned a place for itself on my phone, Llama, provides a simple interface to perform location based activities.
Llama lets you define events which perform actions based on conditions specified by you. So depending on your settings, it lets you set actions such as changing your profile automatically, displaying a reminder, changing bluetooth settings, or even sending an sms when you enter/exit a particular location (network cell). The actions can also include additional conditions based on time and day and activity associated with that area.
The interface is pretty simple to use, but could use a little improvement. Overall its yet another great application to use. Llama can be downloaded from here.
Now i can easily attend meetings without worrying about my cellphone ringing and waking me from my sleep :)
Apple iPhone launched!
The much awaited iPhone has finally been launched by Apple!
The iPhone is a combination of a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod and an internet communcation device. Just like any other Apple product, the iPhone is designed to simplify the way people use their cellphones. It introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display which lets you control everything with just your fingers.
The iPhone lets you enjoy all your content — including music, audiobooks, videos, TV shows, and movies — on a beautiful 3.5-inch widescreen display. It also lets you sync your content from the iTunes library on your PC or Mac. And then you can access it all with just the touch of a finger.
The iPhone features a 2-megapixel camera , voicemail and a predictive QWERTY soft keyboard that prevents and corrects mistake while you type your emails/sms. Although it supports Edge and Wi-Fi, it lacks 3G capabilities.The iPhone features a rich HTML email client and Safari and also a range of other widgets and applications. As of now the iPhone currently lacks business applications. The iPhone is based on OS X Operating System.
The iPhone also introduces a totally new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and innovative new software that lets you control everything using only your fingers. So you can glide through albums with Cover Flow, flip through photos and email them with a touch, or zoom in and out on a section of a web page — all by simply using iPhone’s multi-touch display.
With a storage capacity of 8GB (also available in a 4GB version) and a battery with 16 hours of audio playback capability and an excellent interface, the iPhone may redefine the way we use our cellphone.
More information about the iPhone can be obtained from the Apple site.
