Early Devices. The Lumaphone was developed and marketed by Atari and Mitsubishi in 1985. The project was started by the Ataritel division of the Atari Video Game Company in 1983, under the direction of Atari’s Steve Bristow. Atari then sold its division to Mitsubishi in 1984. The Lumaphone was marketed by Mitsubishi Electric of America in 1986 as the Luma LU-1000.

THE latest news in the mobile world is that research has now proved that cell phone radiation causes cancer. A group of international scientists released a report last week that again raised concerns about cell phone usage and brain tumours, noting that one recent Swedish study saw a 400% increased risk for teenage cell phone users.

SZIA READERS (Hungarian). Wish you a happy Vighnaharta Lambodar Chaturthi. Congratulations to Dr. Subodh Kerkar for refusing to bow down to the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. I must admit, however, though I immensely dislike the HJS just as I hate fanatics of all religions, the depiction of the Swami wearing a suit made me uncomfortable - he was a true yogi and not a fake. Otherwise, I loved the Ganapati Bappa sketches. Those were really ‘Kool’.

AI HIND readers. Yeah, I didn’t wish you a happy independence day last week, but I have to ask are we really independent? Sixty-two years have gone by since our country attained so-called independence and it has been 47 years since Goa attained liberation from the Portuguese. How many of us can speak the truth or dare to without the fear of getting victimised? How many of us can say our mothers, sisters, daughters, wives really feel safe when they move out for work, school, college or any other purpose like going to the market, without being eve teased? Do you all really think women feel secure in Goa itself, leave alone India?

Some GPS phones use wireless-assisted GPS to determine the user’s location. In wireless-assisted systems, the phone uses orbiting GPS satellites in conjunction with information about the cell phone’s signal. Sometimes called enhanced GPS, wireless-assisted GPS can often get a fix on the user’s location faster than a GPS-only receiver. Some wireless-assisted systems can work inside buildings, under dense foliage and in city areas where traditional receivers cannot receive signals.

A cell phone is basically a sophisticated two-way radio. Towers and base stations, arranged into a network of cells, send and receive radio signals. Cell phones contain low-power transmitters that let them communicate with the nearest tower.

But suppose you use your phone for another purpose: to figure out exactly where you are and to get turn-by-turn directions to where you’re going. New phones that include Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers can do exactly that. With the right software or service package, they can pinpoint your location, give directions to your destination and provide information about nearby houses. In this article, we’ll review the basics of how cell phones and GPS receivers work.

We all access the web on our systems, but what about accessing the internet on mobile phones? Heard of mobile Internet or mobile web? The mobile web refers to browser-based web services such as the World Wide Web, WAP and i-Mode (Japan) using a mobile device such as a cell phone, PDA or other portable gadgets connected to a public network. Such access does not require a desktop computer or a fixed landline connection. The total number of mobile web users grew past the total number of PC-based internet users for the first time in 2008 (according to the Tomi Ahonen Almanac 2009).

MOBILE TV is a technology that allows people to view regular live television content on their mobile phones or other mobile devices through a service provider that they get through traditional cable or pay TV subscriptions at home. Television data can be obtained either through an existing cellular network or a propriety network. This is often referred to as “live” or “real time” TV. This is one of the features provided by 3G phones.

Although I’d love to write a column on the party and the wonderful people I met there, my strict instructions are to restrict myself to mobiles! So, moving on from Bluetooth (you thought I’d never end that topic, am sure), let’s concentrate on other forms of communication methods.