Syber News

No, GI doesn’t mean gastrointestinal. No, in text-message speak, it means “Good Idea,” and this is one of the better Gmail Labs ideas of late. Google has added SMS chat to Gmail.

Google started rolling it out last night. Being a Labs feature, you’ll have to turn it on in your Labs settings, not normal Gmail settings. To do so, got into Settings, then Labs, and enable it. Go into Chat, type in a phone number, and you’ll see an SMS option.

While you could email a user and have it result in a text message to them (such as using the address phonenumber@txt.att.net), that would only create a temporary identifier for that “session.” A friend couldn’t use that to text you back, at least “much” later. This feature adds the added convenience of giving them a permanent “number” they can text you back at.

The “number” will have a 406 area code. Once you use Gmail chat to send an SMS, that number will be associated with your Gmail account permanently. Your friends can then text you back and initiate SMS chats at that number.

Google lists it on its “What’s new in Gmail” page but no official blog post anywhere — yet.

Text messaging in chat (US phones only for now)

AOL’s Instant Messenger already supported SMS messaging in chat, so it’s good for Google to play catch-up with this. For me, since Gmail is my email of choice (I redirect other email addresses to Gmail as well), it makes Gmail even more of a Swiss-Army knife.

http://technologyexpert.blogspot.com/2008/10/gi-gmail-adds-sms-chat.html

It’s been about two years since millions of Sony notebook batteries across many different OEM lines were recalled, due to overheating — and fire problems. Hopefully you haven’t forgotten about that, because here we are again.

Here’s hoping this isn’t the beginning of another long list of recalls involving Sony batteries. At any rate, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the recall on Thursday.

According to the recall,

There have been 19 reports of the batteries overheating, including 17 reports of flames/fire (10 resulting in minor property damage). Two consumers experienced minor burns.

Check out the full list below. It’s pretty long, bug only consists of about 35,000 batteries — for now. Let’s hope it stays that way.

http://technologyexpert.blogspot.com/2008/10/sony-does-it-again-more-notebook.html

Yes, the recently introduced LG Lotus is a rather strange-looking phone. It’s a square clamshell phone measuring 2.4″ x 0.7″ x 3.3″, and weighing 3.7 ounces. Once you flip it open, you’ll see a 2.4″ 240 x 320 diagonal screen and a QWERTY keyboard.

The LG Lotus comes in either purple or black, but I’ll warn you: the purple version has floral engravings, so I’m guessing most guys will pass on that color.

The unusual shape of the LG Lotus, designed by Christian Sirano, means it’s a bit wide, which makes it a little uncomfortable for those with smaller hands. It does mean, however, that you get a wider-than-average 1.4″ external display.

But while a square-shaped flip is unusual, the LG Lotus itself, when in use (and with appropriately-sized hands), isn’t really that bad a phone.

The LG Lotus has all the typical features that cell phones today have, along with a 2-megapixel camera, GPS, and it comes with Sprint’s new One Click navigation interface.

One Click consists of eight shortcut tiles along the bottom of the home screen, and each tile can become any of 15 shortcuts to applications. Sprint calls it a sort of “carousel,” if you can visualize it.

The LG Lotus is a messaging phone, though, so the big question is: how is the keyboard. I liked it. As more and more manufacturers squeeze QWERTY keyboards into slimmer (width-wise) design, spacing has become a premium. In this case, the keys are well-spaced, so errors weren’t as frequent as with recent phones I’ve tried like the Treo Pro or Nokia E71.

After all, we know texting is the cash cow of carriers, so they’d better get it right.

I’ve never been that big a fan of Sprint’s coverage in the SF Bay Area (there are a lot of holes), but for testing purposes, it was fine. Nothing was wrong with call quality or Bluetooth connectivity. Sprint says the phone has up to 5.5 hours of continuous talk time. Overall a decent phone.

The LG Lotus’ current price on Sprint’s site is $150 including a two-year contract and the normal “instant savings” of $150. Of course, comparing it to an iPhone at $199 (though the lower-end model), you might think twice about it.

http://technologyexpert.blogspot.com/2008/10/lg-lotus-strange-but-true.html

You’d think that the majority of iPhone buyers would be in higher income ranges, and while that may be true, a new study by market research firm comScore indicates that low(er) income folks are adopting the iPhone, using it as a sort of Swiss-Army Knife in terms of gadgetry, while cutting back their spending on standalone electronics.

The iPhone could be used as a phone, a music player, a camera and a way to connect to the Internet. Of course, without a tethering app, you’re stuck looking at the Web in a relatively small screen — OK for short sessions, but it would drive me crazy if that’s all I had.

The study reports on the demographics of iPhone users for the first time. While 43% of iPhone owners earn in excess of $100,000 annually, the study indicated that the strongest growth in users is coming from those earning less than the U.S. median household income.

iPhone adoption since June 2008 rose 48% among those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 annually and by 46% among those earning between $25,000 and $75,000. According to comScore, this is 3x the growth rate for those making more than $100,000 annually, while overall, iPhone penetration grew 21%.

Jen Wu, senior analyst, comScore, the report’s author said:

“As an additional household budget item, a $200 device plus at least $70 per month for phone service seems a bit extravagant for those with lower disposable income. However, one actually realizes cost savings when the device is used in lieu of multiple digital devices and services, transforming the iPhone from a luxury item to a practical communication and entertainment tool.”

The study tracked changes in comScore’s monthly online survey of 33,962 mobile-phone users. It should be noted that while the 48% jump in the 25 – 50K range is big, the sheer numbers themselves, 266 – 394, are not.

Also among the 25 – 50K range, however, the number of people accessing news and information via their mobile browser grew by 5% since June, while the overall market grew by 3%. comScore also reported, among that same 25 – 50K range, a 6% growth in mobile e-mail usage (vs. 8% overall) and 5% growth in mobile music consumption (vs. a drop of 0.3% overall).

Mark Donovan, senior analyst, comScore said:

“These data indicate that lower-income mobile subscribers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to access the Internet, e-mail and their music collections. Smartphones, and the iPhone in particular, are appealing to a new demographic and satisfying demand for a single device for communication and entertainment, even as consumers weather the economy by cutting back on gadgets.”

http://technologyexpert.blogspot.com/2008/10/comscore-lower-income-households-turn.html