Cell Phone Gaming Taking Off

According to a new consumer study conducted by research firm Information Solutions Group on behalf of casual games publisher PopCap Games, 57% of AT&T wireless subscribers play mobile games.

The advent of the iPhone and its App Store have made the download and usage of mobile games easier than ever, and the mobile gaming industry is expected to grow more than 10% per year to hit $6.3 billion in user spending by 2011, according to a report from Gartner.

52% of gamers cited 'distraction from daily life issues' as the top benefit derived from mobile gaming, followed by 'relaxation and stress relief' (40%) and 'improved mood' (12%)--in addition, 52% of gamers said they play mobile titles during work hours, and 14% selected 'during my work day, when I need a short break' as the time when they most often play games on their phone.

60% of all mobile gamers cited 'while waiting for an appointment' as a time when they play mobile games, with 'during the day on weekdays' selected by 34% of respondents and 'when traveling on vacation' and 'on the weekend' tying for third at 25% each.

The Information Solutions Group study reports that 59% of AT&T gamers play games on their phone at least once a month, and 40% said they play weekly or more often--41% said they played less than once per month. 91% of mobile gaming sessions last fewer than 30 minutes, and 62% extend fewer than 15 minutes. In all, 71% of mobile gamers play games on their phone for less than an hour per week, although 52% of those who play daily said they play for three or more hours per week.

Asked to name 'games you enjoy playing on your cell phone,' 20% of AT&T gamers cited Tetris, followed by Bejeweled at 18% and Solitaire at 17%. Puzzle games topped popular genres at 66%, followed by card/casino titles at 51%--board games earned 15% of the vote, with action/adventure trailing at 11%.

86% of mobile gamers also play video games on one or more other devices, with 76% of gamers playing on computers, 41% on consoles and 24% on handheld game devices.

17% of mobile gamers consider their mobile handset their primary gaming device.

TextGuard makes spam text message blocking easy for SmartPhone users

Spam text messages can be a problem for mobile phone users. Just like annoying marketing calls, you can receive text messages from different companies on your mobile phone at odd times. If these unwanted text messages start coming regularly, they can be a real pain. Most service providers provide call blocking capabilities, but they do not provide services which can help you block spam text messages. This is when mobile phone users look for alternatives which can help them block unwanted SMS Text messages and spam text messages.

Mobile phone users may also need to use a phone utility to help them block unwanted SMS text messages from an ex or from an annoying co-worker. In other cases, a parent might be interested in blocking unwanted text messages on their kids mobile phones to guard against bad influences or to protect them from spam messages which could be harmful to them. Companies can also use these mobile phone utilities to monitor the activities of their employees and to block unwanted text messages on company provided mobile phones to save on mobile phone bills.

TextGuard is a handy mobile phone utility which allows SmartPhone users to effectively block unwanted text messages on their mobile devices. The utility has been developed for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry users to help them secure text messages which are sent and received on their mobile phones. The utility monitors and tracks all messages and archives them on a central server, which is accessible for later retrieval through a website admin panel. TextGuard offers 3 different plans designed for individuals, businesses and corporations.

Once you download and install the utility, you can login to the website with the provided user name and password and access your account. You will see a record of all incoming and outgoing text and email messages saved on the server. Call records are also saved on the server, allowing users to block certain numbers if they do not want to receive text messages or calls from them. The server provided easy access to all the information, which can be organized and retrieved later on. Users can quickly and effectively block any numbers to stop communicating with the. The utility is not only handy in terms of blocking unwanted spam text messages, but it can also help you keep backup of all your communications, which makes it extremely useful for businessmen, who might want to keep a backup of all their daily activities. The archived data also acts as a backup and can help you in cases like mobile theft or lost or stolen mobile.

Users can register online on the website at www.TextGuard.com and download the 30 day free trial of the software.

How to Stop -- Or Live With -- Global Warming

According to research at Princeton, current technologies are capable of stopping (or at least slowing) the rate of global warming by 2050 if properly applied. Using a mix-and-match approach, students who participated in a game-like experiment found that the current portfolio of energy-saving policies and technologies (flourescent bulbs, nuclear power, wind turbines, reducing deforestation, etc.) could indeed keep global greenhouse gases constant over the next 50 years. The trick is to apply these solutions to developing countries, where rapid industrial growth will put them on track to overtake the developed world in greenhouse gas output within the next several decades.

Meanwhile, Live Science has a top-10 list of side effects of global warming, such as more severe allergies, more sinkholes from permafrost melting, a less dense upper atmosphere that will affect how satellites orbit the earth, more forest fires and rapid deterioration of ancient ruins. Perhaps the strangest prediction of all: mountains that lose their glaciers and permanent snow caps will actually 'grow' as the weight on them decreases.

Self-Healing Plastic

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have developed a nanotechnology polymer that can 'heal' itself by filling in cracks and tears automatically. Although self-healing plastic is not an entirely new concept, the UIUC material is different because it can repair itself multiple times without any intervention.

The material could have important uses where making repairs is difficult, where materials are under enormous stress and/or where material failure would be catastrophic -- such as in implanted medical devices, airplane and spacecraft components, and microprocessors. The UIUC researchers emphasize, however, that practical applications are years away, and that initial products will be highly expensive.

Source: MIT Technology Review

Marketers Have to Take Mobile Seriously Now

Interesting article on Mobile Advertising in BusinessWeek that is worth a read.

The article talks about Pandora - a nine-year-old, free online service that lets users design 'radio stations' based on their musical preferences. Pandora has become a very popular mobile app as well and advertisers like Best Buy, Dockers, Target, and Nike have started to buy ads on Pandora to experiment with what remains a cheap advertising medium.

'We've reached a tipping point,' says Domino's Pizza advertising executive Rob Weisberg. 'Marketers, especially consumer brands, have to take mobile seriously now. You have to be where your customer works, lives, and plays.'

Pandora mobile advertisers are seeing pretty solid response rates to their ads which bodes well for the medium.

iPhone Game Review - Parachute Panic

I was poking around the iTunes AppStore this week and took a $.99 chance on a recently launched game from FDG Entertainment called Parachute Panic.

This fun casual game requires you to successfully land a host of parachutists into passing boats while trying to avoid obstacles such as helicopters, U.F.O´s, sharks and thunder clouds.

The game play is reminiscent of the vintage Nintendo Game & Watch handheld parachute game that I used to love to play back in the early 80's.

The game has very cool hand drawn graphics, smooth animations, catchy music and awesome sound effects. The game has been getting good reviews in the App Store and I have to agree - it is very well done and lots of fun.

Check out a video of the game here.

The only slightly negative comment I will make is that this game is not easy. It takes a little while to get used to the controls and even after mastering the techniques, the action picks up fast and furious. My 7 year old lost interest pretty quickly as it was too hard, but personally, I love the game, and for a buck it's well worth it. Click here to get it now.

Mossberg Reviews the Palm Pre

Walt Mossberg does a great review of the Palm Pre today. If you're considering the device or just curious, you should read it here.

Couple highlights:

'But on June 6, Apple will get a powerful competitor in this category. It's a beautiful, innovative and versatile hand-held computer that's fully in the iPhone's class. It's called the Pre, and it comes from Palm, the company that pioneered the hand-held computer in the 1990s. I've been testing the Pre for a couple of weeks, and I like it a lot, despite some important drawbacks that will have to be remedied.'

'All in all, I believe the Pre is a smart, sophisticated product that will have particular appeal for those who want a physical keyboard. It is thoughtfully designed, works well and could give the iPhone and BlackBerry strong competition -- but only if it fixes its app store and can attract third-party developers.'