VMN Croaks Mobile News

Enough! Fed Up With The Event Market

2008-12-14T11:00:00.000+01:00

As of December 2008, we will discontinue working on our global mobile event calendar. We rather prefer to go out of business than further continue this nightmare. There's no reason to continue in such a bad and unprofessional environment where nothing works as expected.

Affiliate programs and Ticket organizations don't provide data in well structured format;

Affiliate programs and Ticket organizations don't allow to "spider" a site for missing data (server issue);

Some sites are asking up to $50,000 annual fee to grab events (*);

Cultural organizations give no shit to third parties, only interested in their own "sponsored" living. The subprime crisis should at least clear all that mess;

Last but not least, we are fed up struggling with our developer Sergey Skripkin. Just a crook you should better avoid.

Bye Bye the Web.

(*) The case with temps-libre.ch (Switzerland) or Viafrance.com (France). Since when do we have to pay to promote cultural events?

Google Chrome for Windows. Just too Minimal!

2008-09-03T11:52:00.016+02:00

A very disappointing experience. Okay, it's beta but we give NO excuse to Google who worked on Chrome for more than two years!!! A minimal design with minimal sophisticated technology (many bugs, errors, etc), minimal plug-ins (none at all), minimal WAP mobile access (can't read wml - not smart enough), minimal intuitiveness and last but not least, fast but not that fast. Much ado about a poor clone of Safari and Opera web browsers. Don't waist your time giving a try. It's just too minimal!

Client-ID
Chrome creates a unique ID through which a user theoretically can be identified

Timestamp
Chrome remembers up to the second exactly when the software was installed

RLZ-Tracking
Chrome-function transmits information in encoded form to Google

Minimal Creativeness

Something much more innovative grab our attention: forget chrome. Go Pogo. Awesome!

Build a Widget from our RSS Feed

2008-08-29T16:04:00.031+02:00

Post Events in your City and share them anywhere.

GLOBAL RSS FEED
From Firefox, Safari or Opera web browsers:
... open www.viewmynews.com/pda,
... select a city of your choice,
... click on the RSS icon and copy the Feed.

Add a feed to your widget: WidgetBox, SpringWidgets, ...

VMN City News Historical Versions

2008-07-20T17:08:00.014+02:00

Version 2.1 beta Google Maps
During the publishing process, if Google can't locate the exact address of your event, just drag & drop the marker to update your location.

From what we read, Google seems to use four servers (mt0, mt1, mt2 and mt3) and two different algorithms to encode and load the tiles (each tile is a 256x256 PNG picture - btw, couldn't images be smaller guys?). Although multiple hostnames are just used to speed up loading heavy images and some js files, we wonder why websites appear to load slower than the google base map. It's a detail but we like fast environments. Did you ever notice that server issue? No? ... so don't miss the "bad" loading performances of mt0.google.com, mt1.google.com, mt2.google.com, ... next time you load a google map :)

Version 2.0 Reshaped
New Site + Cool Features: Join Me (meet new friends during a next event), Vote for a restaurant (Must GO or Never Again!), Autofill data during publishing, Book My Room (rent single/double bedroom or exchange free home), Post Crunch Coupons, Jump easily from event to event, Mobile version totally naked (emojis and small icons removed to WAP even more cost effectively).

What's Cooking?
Affiliate: looking to play with local event portals or global AAA ticket providers. Data in a xml format.

Easily fork out up to 1 million events at a turbo speed.

Submit your Event Feed
Contact us! We will make the hard work.

Nouveau Site + Fonctions Sympas: Join Me (rencontrez de nouveaux amis lors d'un prochain événement), Votez pour un restaurant (Must GO ou Never Again!), Autofill vos données lors de la publication, Book My Room (louez un lit simple/double ou échangez votre maison gratuitement), Publiez des Coupons Crunch, Sautez facilement d'événement en événement, version Mobile toute nue (emojis et autres icônes enlevés pour WAPPER encore meilleur marché).

KesKon Cuisine?
Partenariat: nous cherchons à jouer avec des portails locaux ou des organisations de billetterie AAA. Données dans un format xml.

Enfourchez facilement jusqu'à 1 million d'événements à une vitesse turbo.

Soumettez votre
Flux Evénementiel
Contactez-nous! Nous ferons le boulot difficile.

Version 1.3 beta
Find last visited city bookmarked on top of your mobile, 1 lazy mouse click to open/close full screen images, Search by zip codes, Add City News to My Agenda without leaving your page, 1 friendly cookie to never login to your mobile account from the web again.

Retrouvez la dernière ville visitée sauvée sur votre page perso, 1 clique pour ouvrir/fermer des images plein écran, Recherche par code postal, Ajoutez vos City News à My Agenda sans quitter la page, 1 cookie sympa pour ne plus jamais se logger à votre compte mobile depuis le web.

Version 1.2 beta
Fixed syntax errors (encoding sessions now fully kosher and hallal guaranteed), email alerts with direct link to new posted City News, email best restaurants, add best restaurants to My Agenda, search best restaurants by whole regions or by keyword (street, wifi, brunch, etc), full screen images, "Last-In, First-Out" publishing method, scrollbar works with IE, Opera and Firefox web-browsers (Safari bugs - as usual), click [X] to delete your City News and best restaurants bookmarked in My Agenda, PDA version with the smallest ever made country flags.

Réglé erreurs de syntaxe (sessions d'encodage maintenant garanties 100% kasher et hallal), alertes email avec lien direct aux nouveaux City News publiés, emailez des bons restos, ajoutez vos bons restos à My Agenda, recherchez des bons restos par régions entières ou par mots-clés (rue, wifi, brunch, etc), images plein écran, publication de type "Last-In, First-Out", la barre de déroulement fonctionne avec les navigateurs Web IE, Opera et Firefox (Safari bug - comme d'hab), cliquez [X] pour deleter vos City News et bons restos sauvegardés dans My Agenda, Version PDA avec les plus petits drapeaux jamais créés.

Frogs Croak Mobile

2008-06-27T12:59:00.000+02:00

In many cultures, frogs feature prominently in urban myths and fairy tales such as "The Frog Prince" where a frog turns into a handsome prince once kissed. Frogs are so popular subjects that they are seen everywhere: in movies, literature, music, video games if not served as a dish.

With over 6,000 described species, they are among the most diverse groups of vertebrates. Many things make a frog unique and unusual: they have a semi-aquatic lifestyle, can swim and move easily on land by jumping from city to city, have a permeable skin to let oxygen pass through, change color for better camouflage, and some of their croaks (calls) are so loud that they can be heard up to a mile away.

The main reason to croak has always been to allow males to attract a mate. But today, frogs of all sex and color found another reason: they croak City News to meet new friends during a next event (join me). Do you Croak?

Make a Frog Happy - Drop a Penny - Save a Frog

Les Grenouilles Coassent Mobile

Dans beaucoup de culture, les grenouilles sont fréquemment utilisées dans des mythes urbains ou des contes de fées comme "Le Roi Grenouille" où une grenouille se transforme en un Prince charmant suite à un baiser. Les grenouilles sont des sujets tellement populaires qu'on les retrouvent partout: au cinéma, dans la littérature, la musique, les jeux vidéo si pas servis comme plat.

Avec plus de 6000 espèces répertoriées, elles représentent le groupe de vertébrés le plus diversifié. Beaucoup de choses font que les grenouilles sont uniques et inhabituelles: elles mènent un mode de vie semi-aquatique, peuvent nager et évoluer facilement sur la terre ferme en sautant de ville en ville, ont une peau imperméable qui laisse passer l'oxygène, change de couleur pour mieux se camoufler, et peuvent émettre un coassement (son) tellement puissant qu'il peut être entendu à plusieurs kilomètres.

La raison principale à coasser à toujours été de permettre aux mâles d'attirer une concubine. Mais aujourd'hui, les grenouilles de tout sexe et couleur ont trouvé une autre raison: elles coassent des "City News" pour rencontrer de nouveaux amis lors d'un prochain événement (join me). Est-ce que vous Coassez?

Rendez une Grenouille Heureuse - Jetez une Pièce - Sauvez une Grenouille

Reviews, Voting & People Photos

2008-06-26T13:15:00.002+02:00

Who the hell still reads reviews?
Reviews are worthless. After a while, you will stop reading them. Half of the authors think exactly the opposite (of the other half). Thanks guys. It's funny but we always found bad opinions more credible than good ones. How come?

Frogs never post reviews

Who still votes like a dummy?
Nearly everybody uses a 5-star rating system. Very few, like Google Page Rank, uses 10-figures. We like ratings that are much more brutal: either we like or hate. A restaurant rated 4/10, 5/10 or 6/10 has no meaning to us. A good rating system shouldn't request users to break their brains to get the difference beween (I love it - 5 stars) and (I like it - 4 stars). There's no.

Frogs rate restaurants either Must GO or Never Again!

Who has the guts to post a picture of himself?
It's funny to see how many people fear to post a picture of themselves. In the US, most people don't care. In Europe, somewhat less. People rather prefer to hide (from the police?) or post a picture of their cat. They think a nice description will be enough. Enough for what? To request a picture by email? Hmm... what a waist of time.

[Bad News] we do not allow descriptions
[Good News] there's a cool way to post a picture of yourself without to fear for being recognized by the police: post a close-up of your face :)

Frogs post pictures of themselves. Join and Meet New Friends during a Next Event!

Commentaires, Votes & Photos de Gens
Qui diable lit encore les commentaires?
Les commentaires et autres "reviews" sont totalement inutiles. Après quelque temps, vous vous arrêterez de les lire. La moitié des auteurs pensent exactement le contraire (de l'autre moitié). Merci les amis. C'est marrant mais on a toujours trouvé les mauvaises opinions plus crédibles que les bonnes. Comment ça se fait?

Les grenouilles ne publient jamais de commentaires

Qui vote encore comme un idiot?
Presque tout le monde utilise un système de notation de 5 étoiles. Rares sont ceux, qui comme Google Page Rank, utilisent 10-chiffres. Nous aimons les systèmes de rating qui sont beaucoup plus agressifs: Soit on aime soit on déteste. Un resto noté 4/10, 5/10 ou 6/10 ne signifie pas grand chose à nos yeux. Un bon système de notation ne devrait pas casser le cerveau des utilisateurs pour comprendre la différence qu'il y a entre (j'adore - 5 étoiles) et (j'aime - 4 étoiles). Y'en a pas.

Les grenouilles notent les restos soit Must GO ou Never Again!

Qui a le cran de publier une photo de soi-même?
C'est drôle de voir combien les gens ont peur de publier une photo d'eux-mêmes. Aux Etats-Unis, la plupart s'en fiche. En Europe, un peu moins. Les gens préfèrent en général se cacher (de la police?) ou publient la photo de leur chat. Ils pensent qu'une jolie description sera suffisante. Suffisante pour quoi faire? Pour demander une photo par email? Hmm... quelle perte de temps.

[Mauvaise Nouvelle] nous n'autorisons pas les descriptions
[Bonne Nouvelle] y'a une façon cool de publier une photo de soi-même sans craindre d'être reconnu par la police: publiez un gros plan de votre visage :)

Les grenouilles publient des photos d'elles-mêmes. Rejoignez et Rencontrez de Nouveaux Amis lors d'un Prochain Evénement!

Starbucks Free WiFi

2008-06-04T13:37:00.007+02:00

2 hours of WiFi a day for free (only available during one session). You will need to have a Starbuck card, purchase an item or load a balance once every 30 days. You also must agree to receive up to four emails per month from AT&T.

Will this incentive increase sales? At $3-6 a cup of coffee, a little gift makes no harm. People are already feeling the pain of gas prices that are taking the elevator.

4.5 Hours per month browsing on smartphones

2008-05-25T21:27:00.002+02:00

Americans spend more than 4.5 Hours per month browsing on smartphones, nearly double the rate of the British “A primary factor in the discrepancy in the duration of time spent browsing between British and American smartphone users is the relative popularity of flat-rate data plans in the United States, where 10.9 percent of users have an unlimited data plan versus only 2.3 percent in Britain,” commented Paul Goode, senior analyst, M:Metrics.

Top Domains by Time Spent Browsing per Month: United States
craigslist.org, ebay.com, myspace.com, facebook.com, go.com

Top Domains by Time Spent Browsing per Month: United Kingdom
facebook.com, three.co.uk, sky.com, live.com, bbc.co.uk

Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31st March 2008.

Mobile Messaging, Social Networking and Bluetooth

2008-05-07T14:21:00.066+02:00

The mobile messaging market is in a perpetual state of change that has taken directions few could have predicted. The result? Users are discovering new ways to communicate with others. Mobile Messaging 2.0 technology is transforming the one-size-fits-all short message service (SMS).

Free web based messenger that enables you to chat with your MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, Skype, ICQ, etc can be used on your mobile since a while. You just pay for data transfer. WAP over GPRS costs about the same price than a SMS but instead of 160 characters, you can send 4,000. Totally free over WiFi (for the only few).

So far, so good. But when it comes to build a social network around Instant Messaging, we just wonder if it's really worth making so much ado about nothing. Most of the time, people are offline...

Our JOIN ME feature let users meet new friends during a next event. The old-fashion way: by email. No Java applet to download. It's that easy!

Maps & Bluetooth
Something cool however grab our attention from all that mess: you can detect people that are nearby your location. On the move. Mobiluck, Aka Aki, Loopt are using a Bluetooth-based cellid detection system. Pretty smart. Just don't forget to turn it ON.

"There are 2 billion devices with Bluetooth technology in the marketplace now. What started with mobile phones and headsets has spilled over into nearly every industry from gaming and cars to clothing and toys" said Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG).

Bluetooth looks hot. We just don't think maps are very relevant to locate people nearby. Beside, better have an unlimited data plan to use such kind of service on your mobile. Maps weight a lot. In the US, you get unlimited data without even asking for. In Europe, it's far not the case. So, please stop putting maps everywhere. We can't (and won't) use them!

The biggest con of bluetooth is juice. We are just not ready to turn it to ON/OFF, ON/OFF, ON/OFF, ... 10 times a day. What a pain for lazy geeks!

75% Users Have an Ordinary Mobile Phone

2008-04-17T16:45:00.063+02:00

AdMob Mobile Metrics Report shows that 25% users surfing the web from their handsets have a smartphone while 75% have an ordinary mobile.

With hundreds of different handsets in the market today, AdMob also reveals some interesting stats regarding screen sizes: 60% mobiles have Small (128x160) to Medium (176x208) screens while 40% range from large (240x320) to X-large (320x320). Contrary to a popular belief, screen size doesn't matter to experience the web from one's handset.

Google has made banners available in four sizes, from the smallest at 167 pixels wide by 30 pixels tall to the largest at 305 pixels wide by 64 pixels tall, plus medium size banners of 215 by 34 and 192 x 53, all of which are likely to occupy a fairly large portion of the typical mobile device screen, which is 320 x 200 pixels.

Although AdMob does not claim that these informations will be necessarily representative of the mobile internet as a whole, it gives matter to think, discuss and share views (AdMob currently serves more than 2.5 billion ads monthly).

Mobile Growth Slower Than Expected

2007-12-20T12:28:00.005+01:00

[MSearchGroove] Google doesn’t understand yet how to build mobile applications, so there is potential for early failure because they don’t have the right application. What Google’s got to understand is that people don’t want to navigate on the phone, said Kenneth Dulaney, VP of research firm Gartner Group.

To add to the drama is a raft of stats about mobile search and advertising in one place, suggesting that growth in this sector may be much slower than many have predicted: 1) More than one-half of mobile phone owners said that nothing would motivate them to use Web-based services on their mobiles 2) Only 3 percent of mobile users use mobile search 3) Only 10 percent of teens access the Web via their mobiles 4) In the U.S., 16 percent of cell phone owners regularly access the Internet from their mobiles, increasing to 28 percent in 2012 (Jupiter Research).

This is the kind of stat we pretty much love but it's not only Google that doesn't understand how to build mobile apps. Apple too. Let's hope Kenneth will at least croak (share) his views about HOW to help Google and Apple make it better :) On the other hand, when it comes to mobile Web use and the slower than expected mobile growth, analysts explained that "most consumers avoid accessing the Internet on their cell phones because it's expensive, slow and difficult". Hmm ... might be a reason but we have a better one: 90% of mobile services are still just crap! This explains that.

Google Maps with My Location (beta)

2007-11-28T22:06:00.000+01:00

See your location on the map, with or without GPS.

WOW! 1MB download but this is damn HOT. 100% accuracy on our first try, then (after a refresh) 1000m from our current position :( all this without GPS :) Cool. Now, to make My Location a killing application "over GPRS", we would suggest to (a) let users install a map - at least 1 city - and (b) overlay map with diet information (tiny markers + text only) we could WAP on-the-fly ... and cost effectively. Frogs hate to swallow up to 200KB each time they have to view/refresh a Gmap on their mobiles. Make it even smarter guys!

ToDo List & My Idea Box

2007-11-24T11:49:00.096+01:00

Drop ideas, feebacks, bugs, etc.

Jetez vos idées, feedbacks, bugs, etc.

My ToDo List

Facebook
Add events to Facebook by the click of a link

Flag it!
Let users report abuse about events + update Best Restaurants.

Laissez le soin aux utilisateurs de rapporter des abus à propos d'événements + modifier Bons Restos.

Google Maps
:) We like GM very much but will try to make something cool that works fast and everywhere. Gadgets such as streetview, panorama, weather or get directions might be added at any time.

iPhone Web App - Just for the Design
Make it work properly, even on a toy. Safari browser doesn't behave the same way as one would expect on the iphone.

Tiny bug ? *#~!%
We killed them all already. Drop us a note if you are able to find only 1 nasty bug. We hate bugs.

On les a déjà tous tués. Ecrivez-nous si vous êtes capable de trouver rien qu'1 seul petit bug. On déteste les bugs.

Tested on Ready.Mobi. We set XHTML to Mobile 1.0 (as suggested) but IE couldn't read it. Anyway, we pretty much like the estimated cost/speed charts. Very interesting and useful. Thanks guys.

Google Ads JavaScript
Find a way to desactivate GoogleAds on smartphone and PDA browsers. Clear 21.3 KB junk per pageview.

Sell Tickets
We welcome AAA (local/global) ticket organizations to play with us. Chinese events would be cool. We just don't want to make it the easy way as so many are doing on the web: just provide a title and a date. This is worthless. And don't think ticket organizations provide well structured data. They don't. Better be a smart coder to put some order in all that mess. Now we better understand why this market is dominated by 2 big players only: Zvents and Eventful. There should be room enough for us.

Nous invitons les organisations de billetterie de 1er plan (locales/globales) à jouer avec nous. Des événements en chinois seraient assez sympa. On ne veut simplement pas faire les choses aussi faciles que le font déjà la majorité des sites sur le web: fournir une date et un titre. C'est totalement inutile. Et ne pensez pas que les billetteries fournissent des données bien structurées. Non. Soyez certain d'être un programmeur de talent pour mettre de l'ordre dans tout ce bordel. Maintenant on comprend un peu mieux pourquoi il n'y a que 2 grands acteurs sur ce marché: Zvents et Eventful. Il devrait y avoir de la place pour nous.

142 Swiss McDonald's with WiFi

2007-09-10T22:32:00.001+02:00

Monzoon has equipped all 142 Swiss McDonald's Restaurants with WiFi.

Finally enjoy a cheeseburger with 30 minutes free WiFi thanks to Orange. Free is not in the word-list of Swisscom (Switzerland's "leading" and most controverted telco).

Monzoon a équippé tous les 142 Restaurants McDonald's en Suisse avec du WiFi.
Maintenant, vous pouvez enfin profiter d'un cheeseburger avec 30 minutes d'accès WiFi gratuit grâce à Orange. La gratuité n'est pas dans le vocabulaire de Swisscom ("leader" Télécom très contesté sur le marché suisse).

Mobile users not interested in using mobile TV

2007-08-17T13:04:00.000+02:00

[Silicon] It seems mobile phone users aren't that interested in using many of the advanced features, such as mobile TV, downloading & sending video and subscription-based text information services that operators have been pushing.

Mobile users are not the "silly milk cows" Telcos wish they would. In our opinion, 80% of users never surfed the Web from one's mobile, 15% are not ready to pay data traffic for 99% pure rubbish content and 5% have corporate subscriptions (they don't care about money). Interest is thus not the key point. People have to be educated first. And the best way to educate people is to offer a 1MB free monthly WAP access. But how long will it take for greedy Telcos to understand that?

[Silicon] Il semblerait que les utilisateurs mobiles ne soient pas très intéressés à utiliser les nombreuses options avancées qu'offre un mobile, comme la TV mobile, télécharger/envoyer des vidéos ou souscrire à des infos "texte" que les opérateurs poussent à utiliser.

Les utilisateurs mobiles ne sont pas des "vaches-à-lait idiotes" comme le voudraient les opérateurs Télécoms. A notre avis, 80% des utilisateurs n'ont jamais surfé sur le Web depuis un mobile, 15% ne sont pas disposés à payer pour du transfert de données alors que 99% du contenu n'est que foutaise et 5% ont des abonnements entreprise (l'argent n'est pas un problème). L'intérêt n'est donc pas l'élément clef. Les gens doivent d'abord être éduqués. Et la meilleure façon pour éduquer les gens est d'offrir 1MB de transfert WAP gratuit par mois. Mais combien de temps cela prendra-t-il pour que les opérateurs radins le comprenne?

Mobile WiMAX in Russia

2007-07-12T13:16:00.000+02:00

[iTWire] Russian telco, Synterra, has chosen Alcatel-Lucent to deploy a mobile WiMAX network in more than 1000 Russian cities (with an average population of 100,000 inhabitants) by the end of 2008.

Looks very challenging :) Price only will make it a success ... or not. "And here comes a Blackberry with WiFi. All I can say is better get your credit card out, because you’re going to pay, and pay, and pay again" (Five Reasons Why The Mobile Web Sucks). How do you translate "Croak City News" in Russian?

Opera Mini 4.0 Beta

2007-06-19T21:42:00.001+02:00

Opera Mini 4.0 Beta looks great but still bugs. We just don't like Opera's compressing method as it slows down pretty much our browsing experience on VMN City News. Anyway, iphone is facing new competitors sooner than expected. Ever heard about Deepfish for windows mobile?

Opera Mini 4.0 Beta est vraiment cool mais bug encore. Nous n'aimons simplement pas la méthode de compression d'Opera car elle réduit considérablement notre expérience de navigation sur VMN City News. Bref, iphone voit des concurrents arriver plus rapidement que prévu. Déjà entendu parler de Deepfish pour windows mobile?

10 reasons not to buy iPhone

2007-06-08T21:48:00.016+02:00

Who said Steve Jobs was a mobile-geek?

(1) 2 crappy mp camera. What about video recording? (2) Poor non-removable $85 battery life / June 18: Battery Life Improved; Shares jumped 2.6% - LOL (3) Google Maps & YouTube "cool" features boost data traffic (4) Closed system (you can't install additional third-party apps) NO Instant Messaging, NO mp3 ringtones, NO Flash, ... (5) Newspapers' headlines are barely legible in portrait orientation (6) Lack of a tactile click feeling (7) Touchscreens are greasy + the screen uses a chemical deposition (life expectation=?) to provide touch sensitivity based on heat. No stylus :( ever (8) Edge is not fast enough for heavy maps (9) Not carrier independent, AT&T monthly Plan starts at $60 up to +$200. Wow! Why pay for unlimited data traffic to never watch YouTube on your iPhone? Silly (10) Runs OS X + iTunes sync. Weird. Wait for the newer version or competitive ones (Meizu MiniOne, Nokia S60 Touch, etc - They understand what mobile means). We won't buy iPhone, though we love innovation. Sheeps will. Maybe less than 10mio.

Note (Sept 5, 2007): Shares fell $7 on iPhone cut price. LOL. There's no price cut. Apple is just giving 4GB away for free, which costs a few bucks only. Still not a buy. Basic features are missing. Hard sell in Europe is guaranteed.

Note (July 11, 2008): iphone v2 or iphone 3G has been released at a 50% cut price. At this speed, we will wait another 1-2 year before buying this toy for as low as $99. And still no FM radio and a 2 mpixel camera. 6 mio sold instead of 10 promised. Did you hear it during the show? It was scarcely audible :)

Note (August 10, 2008): If you bought your iphone outside the US, you will find less iphone apps available on iTunes-store. So weird. Apple also forbids some iphone developers from improving some fundamental feature-sets. "Apple's restrictions are aimed at reducing potential security hazards as well as ensuring solid stability". What a joke! By controlling the development and selling process, Apple is just killing himself. Are you still an Apple Fan? Jailbreak your iphone to discover a whole new world.

Not all mobile services are just crap!

2007-06-06T12:54:00.037+02:00

After testing so many things that were just crap or sooo buggy, find a list of what we think is worth using (if not on this list = not adopted)!

Pas tous les services mobiles ne sont que foutaise!
Après avoir testé tellement de choses qui se sont révélées n'être que de la foutaise ou bourrées de bugs, veuillez trouver une liste de ce que nous pensons valoir la peine d'utiliser (si pas sur cette liste = pas adopté)!

Mobile BarCode Reader for Lazy Geeks
Use Quickmark with your mobile-camera to capture the URL from the screen. Generate 2D barcodes of any visited web page with Firefox. Never Use Your Phone Keypad Again!

Lecteur Code-Barre Mobile pour Paresseux
Utilisez Quickmark avec votre caméra-mobile pour saisir l'URL depuis votre écran. Générez des codes barres 2D de n'importe quelle page web visitée avec Firefox. N'Utilisez Plus Jamais le Clavier de votre Mobile!

Access WAP Sites from your PC
Install Firefox wml plug-in or download Opera web browser to view mobile WAP sites such as

www.viewmynews.com/mobile

Accédez à des Sites WAP depuis votre PC
Installez le plug-in wml pour Firefox ou téléchargez le navigateur web Opera pour visionner des site mobiles WAP comme

www.viewmynews.com/mobile

Mobile Instant Messaging
Tomorrow, nobody will use SMS anymore. Try Nimbuzz. Free to use if you can find a free WiFi hotspot (good luck). Otherwise, WAP over GPRS has a cost (however 125 times cheaper than a SMS. Instead of paying 160 characters by SMS, WAP offers 20,000 for the same price).

Messagerie Instantanée Mobile Demain, plus personne n'utilisera les SMS. Essayez Nimbuzz. Gratuit si vous arrivez à trouver un accès WiFi gratuit (bonne chance). Sinon, le WAP via GPRS a un coût (toutefois 125 fois plus économique qu'un SMS. Au lieu de payer 160 caractères par SMS, le WAP en offre 20,000 pour le même prix).

Send Free Text Messages
One of the very few worldwide free SMS service that works just great. Limited to 2 SMS a day.

Join Emoze Revolution
The Free Blackberry-like Push Email Service on Your Mobile Device

Feed2Mobile offers a bridge between Web-based RSS and Mobiles.

Feed2Mobile offre une passerelle entre du RSS et les Mobiles.

Skype for windows mobile. Good luck to find a free WiFi hotspot while on the go...

Skype pour windows mobile. Bonne chance pour trouver du WiFi gratuit en chemin...

Never Miss the Road Again! Thanks to GPS mobile mapping services. TomTom is reknown, GPSTuner is less expensive. With a bluetooth GPS receiver (i.e. GlobalSat BT-338 or SDIO), you make navigation work on a mobile or a PDA. It's magic!

Ne Manquez Plus Jamais la Route! Grâce à un système de navigation via GPS. TomTom est connu, GPSTuner est moins cher. Avec un récepteur GPS bluetooth (comme GlobalSat BT-338 ou SDIO), vous naviguez depuis un mobile ou un PDA. C'est magique!

Is that all?
Well... did we miss something?? Croak a suggestion :) BBC is worth to mention as well (technically excellent).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

C'est tout?
Ben... on a raté un truc ou quoi?? Coassez une suggestion :) On peut encore mentionner la BBC (techniquement excellent).

My iPhone (Web) Apps

Mobile WiMAX voice services

2007-03-17T13:29:00.000+01:00

[Juniper Research] JR predicts that Mobile WiMAX services will "skyrocket" to 21.3 million subscribers worlwide by 2012. WiMAX will be primarily data driven (voice services reaching less than 10%) ... North America will be one of the largest markets for Mobile WiMAX voice services (32% of the total market).

Why use WiMAX for voice only? (no man, we are not speaking about VOIP). In North America, mobiles are working as bad as ... walky-talkies (networks are using CDMA rather than the GSM technology used in Europe. Wasn't smart). This explains that. Although most calls are free when using a same network (good point), mobile users (even in New York) are still learning how to send SMS. Wow, wake up America! Mobile phones can do much more than just talk.

World's largest WiFi Communities. Join them!

2007-02-12T22:33:00.000+01:00

Take advantage of GPRS for access on the move or free WiFi connectivity for broadband speeds when available. WAP over GPRS shouldn't cost more than USD 3 for at least 3 MB data transfer a month. If you can't WAP at this price, don't wait for Telcos to wake up. Join the FON community to become foneros-froggers!

Les plus grandes communautés WiFi. Rejoignez-les!
Profitez d'un accès GPRS en chemin ou d'une connexion haut-débit WiFi gratuite lorsque c'est possible. Le WAP via GPRS ne devrait pas coûter plus de EUR 2 pour au moins 3 MB de transfert de données par mois. Si vous n'arrivez pas à WAPPER à ce prix, n'attendez pas à ce que les Opérateurs Télécom se réveillent. Rejoignez la communauté FON pour devenir des foneros-froggers!

WAP users grow speedily in China

2007-01-25T13:49:00.000+01:00

[iResearch] The number of domestic WAP users will grow speedily in China. By 2008, Chinese WAP users will reach 230 million, thanks to China Mobile who started decreasing its service fee for WAP Internet access. WAP is currently actively used by 100 million of the 450 million mobile users in the country.

Gosh, it's time for European Telcos to wake up!

Map Middle East (City Coverage)

2006-12-11T23:26:00.003+01:00

Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Kuwait, UAE

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What is WAP, 2G, 2.5G and 3G?

2006-12-11T22:01:00.025+01:00

Introduced in 1998, WAP over GPRS (2.5G), UMTS (3G) or Wi-Fi (4G) gives access to Web-based data like text, ringtones or images on mobile phones or PDAs (smartphones, pocket computers). Contrary to a popular belief, WAP is certainly not crap. The only problem with WAP is that there is not enough good content to attract consumers.

At first glance, there is no reason to surf the Internet from one's mobile, as never Web content has been built for such small displays. VMN City News has been designed to take full part of mobility over 2.5G, a mass market technology that works easily, even on top of a mountain!

A Pizza with 2G, 2.5G or some 3G?
There are 3 major Generations (G) of fast wireless data transmissions.

2G=Modem: GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is the world's most popular wireless technology. Data speeds of 9.6Kbps to 14.4Kbps. SMS are sent via 2G.

2.5G=ISDN: GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) can transfer data up to 115 Kbps, though 50 to 60 Kbps is more likely in practice. Far enough for our mobile service. You'll see: it's fast!

Low-fat content (2.5G) runs everywhere like hell. Speed is KEY!

3G=Cable or ADSL: UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephony System) provides expected data speeds of 128Kbps to 384Kbps. With 3G, users get even more bandwidth to download huge files such as MMS or video, but it's also much more expensive. Still ready to pay the bill? We definitely are not...well, since the iphone, pricing is dropping. Finally. Thanks Steve!

When 3G is unavailable in your area, your mobile connects to GPRS on-the-fly. Internet everywhere but not always at a turbo speed.

And 4G=WiMax? Oh man, this is hot. 4G data transmission rates are planned to be up to 20 megabits per second. Excellent for a video that melts like butter. But don't expect 3G Telcos to play the game so soon. They wasted enough money in building nothing.

Qu'est ce que WAP, 2G, 2.5G et 3G?
Introduit en 1998, le WAP via GPRS (2.5G), UMTS (3G) ou Wi-Fi (4G) permet d'accéder à des données basées sur le Web comme du texte, des sonneries ou des images depuis un téléphone mobile ou un PDA (smartphones, pocket pc). Contrairement à une croyance populaire, le WAP n'est certainement pas de la foutaise. Le seul problème avec le WAP c'est qu'il n'y a pas assez de bon contenu pour attirer les consommateurs.
Au premier regard, il n'y a pas vraiment d'intérêt à surfer le Web depuis son téléphone puisque jamais contenu Web n'a été construit pour de tels petits écrans. VMN City News a été conçu pour bénéficier de tous les avantages d'une mobilité via 2.5G, une technologie pour un marché de masse qui fonctionne facilement, même au sommet d'une montagne!
2G, 2.5G, 3G ... c'est du chinois!
Il existe 3 Générations (G) de transfert de données rapides pour téléphonie mobile.

2G=Modem: GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) est la technologie sans-fil la plus répandue dans le monde. Vitesses de transfert de données de 9.6Kbps à 14.4Kbps. Les SMS utilisent le 2G.

2.5G=ISDN: GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) peut transférer des données jusqu'à 115 Kbps, bien qu'en pratique c'est plutôt entre 50 à 60 Kbps. Amplement suffisant pour notre service mobile. Vous verrez: c'est rapide!
Du contenu basse calorie (2.5G) fonctionne partout à une vitesse turbo. La rapidité est ESSENTIELLE!
3G=Cable ou ADSL: UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephony System) offre une vitesse de transfert de données estimée entre 128Kbps à 384Kbps. Avec le 3G, les utilisateurs reçoivent encore plus de bande passante pour télécharger de gros fichiers comme les MMS ou la vidéo, mais c'est aussi beaucoup plus cher. Toujours disposés à payer la facture? Nous, certainement pas... quoique depuis l'iphone, les prix commencent à baisser. Merci Steve!
Quand le 3G n'est pas accessible dans votre région, votre mobile se connecte au GPRS automatiquement. L'Internet toujours dispo mais pas toujours à une vitesse turbo.
Et le 4G=WiMax? Oulàlà, ça c'est chaud. Les données transmises par du 4G sont prévues d'atteindre 20 megabits par seconde. Excellent pour une vidéo qui fond comme du beurre. Mais n'espérez pas voir les opérateurs 3G jouer le jeu de si tôt. Ils ont trop investi dans un mirage aux alouettes.

Map Northern Europe (City Coverage)

2006-12-02T16:05:00.003+01:00

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland

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