10 things your phone can do
1 Keep an eye on the elderly SeNCit sits in the hall of an old person's home. If it doesn't sense any movement in the house, if the temperature drops below a certain level, or if the front door is opened when it shouldn't be, it sends a message to your mobile.
http://www.sendtech.co.uk/SeN-Cit/
2Save your life The iStethoscope App uses the microphone of an iPhone as a stethoscope. To buy the conventional medical equipment would cost about €2,000. This app costs 79c.
www.peterjbentley.com/ istethoscope.html
3 Open your car All you need is someone with a mobile and spare keys. They press the fob close to their mobile while you hold your phone by the door.
4 Vote Estonia leaves Bertie Ahern in the ha'penny place when it comes to election innovation. In 2011, you could e-vote and m-vote, via mobile. Voters received a PIN via SMS.
5 Avert a nuclear disaster Researchers at Purdue University in the US are perfecting a system for using phones to detect radiation. http://news.uns.purdue.edu
6 Write a book The phenomenon of writing for mobiles has gone viral in Japan. www.booksinmyphone.com www.mangafox.com/manga/koizora/
7Pull a sickie Many BlackBerrys can connect to your office via (BlackBerry Enterprise Server and you can use remote file management so it seems like you're at work when you're at home working on that hangover.
8Get arrested Your mobile phone sends out a locator signal every 10 or 15 minutes, even when it's switched off (as long as it has battery power), so law enforcement agencies can track you.
9Buy better food Location-aware apps can send you coupons relevant to where you are in a supermarket. There is also already an iPhone barcode scanner that gives you extra information about the product that you are about to buy.
10Manage your home Korean company LG are a leader in the field of smart-home devices. Already you can turn on the heating or let someone in at your gate by texting a code. Sky and UPC subscribers can also set their boxes to record via mobile phones. www.lg.com/www.sky.com/www.upc.ie
Irish Independent
