Mobile Devices

There are already a number of laws on the books in various states designed to thwart so-called distracted driving and teens and texting. But one California lawmaker thinks those laws must change to keep up with technological developments. Under current California law, drivers younger than 18 are already prohibited from talking on their mobile phones, even if they use a hands-free device or mobile service device. Another state law already prohibits texting while driving. But California state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton)

Might we see iPads popping up in the hands of hospital staff? Well, it depends. Ottawa Hospital in Canada, is distributing hundreds of iPads to doctors and nurses to view X-ray and MRI images and access other medication information, according to "The electronic health record meets the iPad" posted by IT World Canada. However Dr. Satish Misra, writing earlier this year for iMedical Apps, expressed concerns about the use of iPads in hospitals: Can they be properly disinfected?

SAN JOSE -- Samsung wants you to know it isn't a copycat. "Samsung's not some copyist, some Johnny-come-lately that's doing knockoffs," lawyer Charles Verhoeven said during the company's opening statement in federal court Tuesday. During his 90 minutes addressing the jury in federal court in San Jose, Verhoeven repeatedly insisted that an average person could tell the difference between Samsung's mobile devices and Apple's, and said Apple "had no right to claim a monopoly" on a rectangle with a large screen.

Add diagnosing soft-tissue injuries to online banking, e-mail, video games and thousands of other applications available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The Food and Drug Administration ushered in the era of mobile diagnostic radiology Friday, approving software for viewing images and making medical diagnoses from MRIs and CT, PET and SPECT scans on several of Apple Inc.'s popular hand-held devices. The FDA reviewed image quality and checked studies with radiologists under variable lighting conditions and determined that the Apple devices running Mobile MIM software offered clear enough images for diagnostic interpretation.

The Federal Communications Commission is stepping into the simmering privacy debate over location data collected through cellphones and mobile devices, announcing a forum next month on the issue that could lead to rules governing the coveted information. The FCC has authority over cellphone towers, which Apple Inc. and Google Inc. said they used to help pinpoint the locations of users. Such data are valuable to retailers and advertisers to pitch services and deals near a customer at any given moment.

Nokia, the world's largest cellular phone maker, and consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. said they will work together to create a set of open standards for interoperability between mobile devices. At the Comdex technology trade show in Las Vegas, Sony President and Chief Operating Officer Kunitake Ando said the two sides will seek to create standards for content downloads, user interfaces, digital rights management and messaging services.

Nine television broadcasters said they formed the Open Mobile Video Coalition to accelerate the development of programs for mobile devices. The broadcasters represent more than 280 TV stations and reach 95 million U.S. households. They include Belo Corp., Fox Television Stations, Gannett Broadcasting, Gray Television, ION Media Networks, the NBC & Telemundo Television Stations, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Broadcasting, the coalition said.

In a direct attack on Silicon Valley rival Google Inc., Apple Inc. unveiled its new mobile advertising system Thursday and promised to deliver a new generation of compelling interactive ads to its devices. Chief Executive Steve Jobs announced Apple's iAd advertising network as one of a raft of features coming later this year to its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch line. By building an advertising system into its products, Jobs said, Apple is hoping to tap into a nascent but potentially lucrative market: the growing number of consumers who are picking up a cellphone when they want to access the Internet.

Wristwatches are ticking back to life. For years, doomsayers predicted the death of the watch as clock-equipped cellphones exploded in popularity. Some said watches would eventually go the way of VCRs and the Sony Walkman. Not so fast. After a drop during the recession, watches are experiencing a renaissance. Bulky ones have shown up on red carpets and runway shows. Retro styles have popped up on TV shows such as "Mad Men" and"Boardwalk Empire. "And watch companies are rushing out with bright colors, new designs and high-tech varieties to suit every taste.

Most people take a vacation to get away from their jobs. Cyriac Roeding took a vacation for his job. Instead of relaxing on a beach, Roeding -- a mobile technology expert and enthusiast -- took a 'round-the-world odyssey to see how the rest of the world uses cellphones. He saw parking meters that talk to phones in New Zealand, teenage text-messaging monks in a Himalayan monastery and cellphone-charging stations along the Ganges River in India, right next to a raging funeral pyre.