Tech Thursday: Smartphones in Cars

A recent Business Week article on smartphone apps in cars covers ground we at FIWK have already been over, but it's still interesting to consider.

Below is a CNet Car Tech video which covers another really interesting way for smartphones to communicate with cars - especially electric cars. Ford is displaying the ability for an app on your phone to set the charging parameters and features on your electric vehicle remotely (starting about halfway through the video):



This is a great integration of phone and car technology, right?

In a related story, the grill on the Ford Focus electric is one of the best examples of robot mouth in automobile history.

Tech Thursday: The Economist's Babbage Blog

For reasons unknown, The Economist website is not loading for me. But that won't stop me from recommending their weekly technology column and accompanying podcast called Babbage. For fans of Tech Thursday, I would strongly recommend downloading Babbage as part of the Economist podcasts available for free on iTunes.



This week Babbage discussed 3D Printing, which I didn't know much about beforehand. Now, I think it's awesome. Check out this article and video for an example of why it's awesome. Seriously, watch that video and try to tell me that's not awesome. IT IS AWESOME.

Weekend Comedy 3/13

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Tech-Talch - Chatroulette
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Honorable Mention for this week's comedy goes to this Craigslist post, which had me cracking up

Haiti and the Emergence of Mobile Payments

First: we here at FIWK send our thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the earthquake that struck Haiti a few days back.

I wanted to use this space to bring up a topic we've already discussed twice here a FIWK (here and here): mobile commerce. We spent a good bit of time last week discussing the craziness that is the current technology sector, and what we thought the Telecom landscape might look like in 2020. However, I don't believe we once noted mobile payments - a concept that has blown up surrounding The Red Cross' relief efforts in Haiti (to the tune of $2M). The company responsible for the technology used by the Red Cross is mGive, and it's CEO noted that their Haiti effort could be a tipping point for mobile giving.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Americans are more likely to use such a service for normal payments now that they've seen how easy the process is?

The Wild Wild Tech

Network World posted a report today outlining the 10 toughest rivals Google will meet in the coming years. Being a part of the mobile industry has given me great exposure to the Smartphone battle that has been shaping up since the iPhone burst onto the scene back in 2007 (Google launched the Nexus One yesterday as it's latest foray into the tech world). Network World's article is a fascinating look into how unique and rapid Google's rise in the otts has led them to have a rather odd list of key rivals.

Find a quick rundown and some thoughts after the jump...

Japan - The Next Galápagos?

A friend just linked me to this New York Times Article describing why Japan's smartphones haven't gone global, and I was particularly amused by the Galápagos reference - seems appropriate, no?