Mobyko backs up your mobile numbers for free

AS ANYONE who's lost a mobile phone knows, losing all the numbers in the contacts book is a pain in the butt. New portal, Mobyko, offers a free cure.

Mobyko's addressbook backup service isn't a new idea, nor is it unique. But the service is very easy to use; very sophisticated; and it's free.

The INQ tried Mobyko out on a Nokia 5500 Sport and the instructions were very easy to follow. The system sends you a number of text (SMS) messages to setup the handset correctly.

Then after a very short data (GPRS) session, all your contacts have been uploaded to the Web. You can edit them, search them and if you need to restore them.

To entice you to further utilise the service, it's also possible to upload your own photos, videos and text messages. The site is still in 'beta' so there's the odd mistake.

Mobile application for weight control developed

HELSINKI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Finnish research group with participants from Technical Research Center of Finland and Nokia Research Center has developed a new personal health diary for the mobile phone, according to Technical Research Center of Finland on Monday.

The Wellness Diary application has been developed to facilitate everyday management of personal well-being. The application is based on simple self-observation and feedback, through which the user can monitor personal weight, eating habits, exercise, blood pressure or stress level.

The Wellness Diary has been designed on the basis of a psychological model that has proven successful in weight control. It is used via a mobile phone - a personal, trusted device that is always with the user and always connected.

Stanley Bing mocks the use of cell phones on airplanes

This is the statement of the foreman of the jury that recently rendered its decision in the trial that resulted from the events that took place on Flight 14 from New York to Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2011. I thought it best to get the facts on the record, since the controversy after the trial, and the hysterical way it was covered in the media, might distort what exactly happened and why we reached the verdict we did.

On the evening in question, Flight 14 was at 37,500 feet over Missouri, about three hours into a six-hour flight scheduled to land at 8:25 P.M., West Coast time. Night was falling. The flight was full, and most people were reading, sleeping or watching personal DVDs. Drinks and dinner service had been completed in business and first class, and the movie was up on the screens.

Disney Mobile gives new meaning to 'Family Plan'

Purpose: The kids want a cell phone but are they too young? With Disney Mobile, parents can control usage and track the whereabouts of phone's (i.e. the kid's) location.

The lowdown: The idea that someone is watching me through my cell phone is creepy. But if I was a kid and that someone was my parents, I'm sure my parents would have loved that.

Disney Mobile, which launched last June, lets parents do just that. It is one of those Mobile Virtual Network Operators. MVNOs turn popular brands into cell phone services that runs on a more traditional cellular networks. Disney, for example, uses Sprint. But Disney added parental controls and tracking services.

The phones we tested, a set of red LG's DM-L200, are solid pieces of hardware (Disney also offers two phones from Pantech in Cypress.) The LGs include a 1.3-megapixel camera with flash, Bluetooth, speaker phone and Web access.

Legislators Barring Electronic Distractions

Since 1997, when North Dakota state senators pioneered a ban on the use of electronic devices while official deliberations were underway, the parliamentary rules of more and more legislatures require cell phones, computers and other electronic distractions to be turned off or left at the door.