The idea of 3D cinema has been around a long time and the occasional movies have been used as oddities to scare the viewing public with larger than life monsters and out-reached hands.

But things have moved on and now 3D televisions have received rave reviews from the latest techno shindig at Las Vegas, CES 2010.

Indeed, Best in Show gong was awarded to the Panasonic VT25 television. Now LG, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba were all showing off 3D TVs, but Panasonic got the accolade, mainly because it not only does the business, but it’s about to ship, meaning it could be in a home near you (if you live in America of course), by the spring. And as such, it will be one of the first 3D, flat-panel HDTV’s available in the US market.

Now, once it reaches across the pond, don’t go expecting Phil’s next fight at the Queen Vic to be in glorious 3D, because as with all such technologies, the device is only part of the story. There isn’t much 3D content around at the moment and as happened with HD television, the availability of 3D programming could be on the low side for a bit.

The other downside of course is that watching 3D television requires you to look like Mr Magoo wearing his best set of lenses. Special glasses have to be worn if you don’t want to be sick watching a fuzzy image and although the Panasonic comes with a complimentary pair, other members of the family will either have to ask for the sick bag, or buy their own.

Now, in case you’re interested, the Panasonic glasses use an active LC shutter system which means that the two lenses darken and lighten very quickly – not discernable with the human eye - whilst the TV picture synchronously displays the corresponding left and right eye specific images. This results in what Panasonic call the Full Monty (or Full HD 3D to be precise). In techno blurb, it’s full-resolution 3D content, which preserves all 1,920 x 1,080 pixels for the left and right eye. Bingo.

Okay clever, but how long before you can view such 3D images on your mobile phone? And how long before those phones end up in the hands of the mobile recycling fraternity? The answer, on both counts, is quite some time.

People would prefer to give up almost anything before letting go of their mobile phones and broadband.  In these recessionary times, mobile phones, television subscriptions and broadband services rank higher in many household budgets than holidays, eating out and home improvements.

That’s the finding of telecoms regulator Ofcom. In their sixth Communications Market Report (August 2009) into the £52 billion TV, radio, broadband, telecoms and mobile industries. Ofcom research discovered that when asked which items consumers were likely to cut back on in the recession:

• 47% said they would choose to cut back on going out for dinner;
• 41% said DIY;
• 41% said holidays.

This compares with:

• 19% who would cut back on mobile phone spending;
• 16% on TV subscriptions;
• 10% on their broadband services.

Perhaps unsurprisingly though, people are paying less for their communications services, even if they are using them more. Average household spend on internet services fell in real terms from £11.37 in 2007 to £10.71 in 2008. Whereas in May 2009, consumers spent an average of 25 minutes a day online at home – up from nine minutes in 2004.

Consumers are increasingly seeking out cheaper deals. The demand is more time at less cost. In the first three months of 2009, 46% of consumers are taking a bundle of services (two, or more services such as telecoms, broadband and TV) from one operator, up from 39% 12 months previously. 25% of consumers said they would be more prepared to shop around now for their mobile phone service and broadband provider than a year ago.

In terms of mobile phone contracts, longer tie-ins are also becoming increasingly popular as consumers give greater commitment in return for lower monthly fees and inclusive, or heavily discounted, handsets. In the first quarter of 2009, 13% of new mobile contracts were for a 24-month period, compared to only 2% a year previously.

Peter Phillips, Ofcom Partner, Strategy & Market Developments said: “Despite the recession, people are spending more time watching TV, using their mobile phone or accessing the internet. They would rather do without meals out or holidays than give up their phone, broadband or pay TV package.

“Meanwhile, we are becoming more canny about the way we pay for these services. Almost half of us economise by taking a bundle of communications services from a single supplier, while one fifth opt for cheaper mobile contracts which don’t include an expensive new phone.” For those that what the full facts, go to: The Communications Market 2009 (August).

When it comes to taking their medicines on time, the Chinese are being encouraged with free mobile phone credits, meaning that when it comes to a mobile phone trade in, they’ll be wanting to keep up with the latest models.

A new strain of drug resistance tuberculosis (TB) is getting a grip in China and sufferers are being offered free mobile credits if they text their health centre with a unique code proving they have taken their medicine.

It is estimated that there are over nine million new TB cases every year and that some 5% are drug resistant. And with these cases, a cocktail of drugs are needed to be taken at exact times in order to fight the disease. This amounts to around 20 tablets to be taken every day for some six months. And what worries doctors is not so much that an individual might not take his drugs, but that the strain carried by that individual, if not cured, could be passed on again to someone else and so perpetuate a particular strain.

The mobile texting incentives was an idea originally conceived at the Massachusetts Institute of technology in the U.S. And it’s not just China that is under threat from medication-resistant TB. The World Health Organisation recently held a conference for 27 nations which were under threat, warning that if concerted action was not taken, then the consequences for the global spread of TB could be dramatic.

Patients in China have to take their own urine sample using test strips which, if they have been taking their medication properly, reveals a code which they then text to their health centre. If they have taken the drugs correctly, then they will receive their free credits.

And in rural China, where mobile phones are an everyday part of life, the free credits are seen as a major incentive. The scheme is partly funded by a £23 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which focuses on using technology to combat disease. And the Chinese themselves are planning to dramatically improve their health service with a £90 billion spending plan.

So, what with free mobile credits and an incentive to combat disease, it’s a fair bet that a major mobile phone trade in scheme will follow soon.

If you fancy walking away with some of the £400,000 prize money being offered for the design of a new, secure handset – and help the cause of mobile phone recycling at the same time – then you should submit your application by the closing date of 22 May, 2009.

Created by The Design Council and backed by the Home Office, the competition is focussed on mobile phone security. The Design Council’s Chief Executive Officer David Kester is concerned that mobile phone designers are too driven by a product’s good looks and consumer appeal. This, in turn, he says, makes them more attractive to criminals, putting users at risk from attacks and muggings.

The Design Council highlighted the fact that the average teenager can be walking around with nearly £200 of accessories, making them viable and easy targets. And products which are naturally attractive to criminals, because of their cool appeal, are known as criminogenic. Which basically means if you covet an Apple iPod, then so does the mugger stopping you in the street

So, The Design Council wants a change of mindset, bearing in mind the enormity of the task when trying to down-play a product, yet still make it commercially successful. Their criteria for the challenge is in three parts:

1. how to make a mobile harder, or less desirable to steal;
2. how to make personal data more secure;
3. how to make online and mobile transactions more secure.

The Design Council emphasised the last point, given that handsets are going to be increasingly important when M-commerce – banking by mobile – takes off. So, if you fancy designing a terrible phone, then contact The Design Council. Also, make sure that your handset is compatible with the mobile phone recycling ethos which, arguably, is a bigger problem facing mankind.

Given a chance, prisoners would love to be able to consider one of the mobiles for cash schemes.  For a number of Brazilian prisoners, it seems the mobiles at any cost are the order of the day. In a desperate attempt to join the cell phone boom, these guys are employing pigeons to fly in their mobiles.

The prisoners desperate, or ingenious plans, whichever way you want to look at it, were foiled when guards apprehended two birds on their way to Sorocaba Prison, some 60 miles from Sao Paolo.  The birds were caught red-clawed carrying a small bag each, containing a mobile and charger, although the weight of such items must have proved quite a challenge for the birds.

The birds were stopped on two consecutive days, although Brazilian prison authorities were not sure how many phones might have got through using such methods. But how many Brazilian prisoners will take part in the mobiles for cash schemes in the future, remains to be seen.

Via.