iPhone, uCompute

So O2 has won the franchise to sell iPhones in the UK. O2 (actually a Spanish owned company) will retail the phone at the princely sum of £269 (and don't forget the VAT, Darling). New and proud owners of the device - which is a hybrid phone containing a touch-sensitive screen, and an a built-in iPod media player and wireless media browser - will be able to access over 7,000 wireless hotspots around the UK. But caveat emptor! unlike most modern phones the iPhone can't access high-speed 3G networks. The BBC news item posted today carries the full story, and an additional news item of interest from Web User is also available. Ubiquitous computing and handheld technologies .... is anytime anyplace learning a step closer?

Mast hysteria?

Two interesting articles about wireless technologies grabbed my attention this week. The first warns about the dangers of children using wi-fi laptops. Professor Lawrie Challis (University of Nottingham) suggests that teachers should discourage children from sitting with wireless laptops on their laps in much the same way that they should be discouraged from holding mobile phones to their heads for prolonged periods.

Sounds like common sense to me, but what he doesn't say (at least in the BBC news report) is that non-ionising radiation from mobile phones and wi-fi laptops target two of the most sensitive, high fluid content organs in the body - the brain and the gonads. How serious is that, and what will be the long term effects? Well, not many people have paid serious attention to the issue, mainly because the mobile phone companies have a vested interest in making sure it is not an issue (But check out George Carlo's research, for an alternative perspective).

The second item of news, found in the Guardian Online, argues that mobile phone masts have been responsible for the disappearance (read 'deaths') of Britain's sparrow population. Got me thinking... what other things are fast disappearing as a result of more than 35,000 mobile phone masts in our society? How about a top 5?

• Accurate spelling for those under 25


• Unspoilt British countryside


• Local Government integrity (hmmm....)


• Peaceful rides on public transport


• Uninterrupted meetings, cinema shows, concerts, theatre .....

Want to add some more?