During this year’s annual full sessions of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, mobile phones have played a role in promoting “democracy with Chinese characteristics,” reports Xinhuanet.

“For several consecutive days, we were seeing a dozen mobile phone messages coming in every second through our platform,” [...]

Japanese scientists have invented a pair of intelligent glasses that remembers where people last saw their keys, handbag, iPod or mobile phone, reports The Daily Mail.

“The spectacles – which come with a built in camera, display screen and computer brain – can even identify unfamiliar plants or faces.
In fact, the only thing it can’t [...]

SMS Demo is a new service which enables anyone from their cell phone anywhere in the world, to send a text message to another cell phone, landline phone, email, or fax and have It automatically translated in over 30 languages in both text and audio.
Free trial applications and video demos are available here.</p

According to a recent study from Solutions Research Group, 27% of Americans feel “acute” anxiety when disconnected from the Internet or their mobiles; 68% feel some level of anxiety. [via BizReport]
“This goes for both mobile and computer connections. More than 80% of those surveyed reported that their mobiles are always with them and always [...]

A neckband that intercepts nerve signals allows you to talk on the phone without emitting a sound.New Scientist reports.
“With careful training a person can send nerve signals to their vocal cords without making a sound. These signals are picked up by the neckband and relayed wirelessly to a computer that converts them into words spoken [...]

Mobile phone operators in Afghanistan have begun to switch off their networks during the night following threats from the Taliban, reports the BBC.

“Ten mobile phone masts were attacked in recent weeks, the latest on Tuesday night, the Afghan government says.
Last month the Taleban threatened the companies, alleging that the networks were being [...]

Apple has announced that more than 100,000 copies of the iPhone SKK software platform were downloaded in the first four days since its launch on March 6.

[via Cellular News]

According to the AFP, the simplicity of obtaining SMS loans in Sweden is increasingly luring youths into debt.

“The first (SMS) loan was given in the middle of March 2006,” said Janne Aakerlund, a spokesman for Sweden’s debt recovery agency Kronofogden, adding that the first bill collectors were sent out just three months later.
Since then, [...]

An MIT materials scientist’s research on abalone sea snails has helped transform battery technology and may end the era when cell phones die if they’re dropped and PDAs must be replaced if they get dunked in the tub. [via MIT News Office]

“Thanks to those sea snails and a eureka moment, Angela Belcher, [...]

Everyone’s buzzing today about Eliot Spitzer, the governor of New York suspected of ties to a prostitution ring who hase been tripped up by text messages. The Detroit Free Press reports.

“And once again, the issue has everyone wondering: Just how do authorities get text messages?
In the case of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who [...]