Friday, March 22, 2013

Week 7: Other Types of Mobile


Thing #17 Cameras

You may already use your smartphone to take pictures and e-mail or post them to the Web, but many digital cameras are now able to use wireless connection to upload or e-mail photos and videos as well. They usually use a “Share” button so that you can go to your saved photos, click on the one you want to send, and hit the “Share” button to bring up options for e-mail and the Internet. Some examples are:



·         Nikon: http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/coolpix/style/s5200/ (offers the option to transfer pictures to your wireless devices)

Thing #18 GPS and Mobile technology in cars

Your car might already have an auxiliary jack, which can be used to connect your mobile device to it and listen to music. But some cars also have touch screens right on the center console that act like little computers. Think about it: If you had a spare $100,000 or so lying around, you too could buy a sweet ride that includes Internet access and hands-free calling along with heated and ventilated seats!

What might this look like in the near future? http://www.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/trends-innovations/5-future-car-technologies.htm#page=0 -- Cars that communicate with each other on the road, self-driving cars, and self-stopping cars!

Thing #19 MP3 players

One of the oldest mobile devices is the MP3 player. The MP3 format was originally a CD format, a method of compression used to fit hundreds of songs onto a single disc. Nowadays, the MP3 player is smaller than your phone, and can hold several thousand songs, photos, and videos. Check out this site for an explanation of the types of players available: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000263181

Thing #20 Smart Tables

Listen, people, every day I discover some inanimate object that’s smarter than I am! Smart phones, smart cameras, smart cars, and now smart tables! Actually, there are libraries that use the children’s versions of smart tables to promote interactive games, puzzles, or reading (http://smarttech.com/table). They can also be used in office environments and for conferencing (http://www.smarttable.org/), and in classrooms (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_FRmYXtneQ).

Thing #21 Urban Gaming

As we’ve seen, mobile devices can be used for a variety of learning and fun activities. Urban Gaming is sort of the geek version of this – “gaming” but with real life, like LARPing (Live Action Role Play), is very big right now. Check out this link to get an idea of what this looks like: http://www.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/urban-sports/urban-gaming3.htm. You may have heard of geocaching projects, which are ways to use GPS devices to go on a high-tech scavenger hunt. This is all a part of Urban Gaming.

No comments:

Post a Comment