Mobile Remote Control
Before long, your cell phone will also be your wallet, keys, and garage-door opener. These mobile applications transform cell phones into life management devices.
Information finder
4INFO
www.4info.net
This Palo Alto startup offers sports scores and stats, stock quotes,
flight information, price comparisons, Wi-Fi hotspot locations, and even
package tracking, all via basic text messaging.
www.google.com/mobile
Check your Gmail with your
phone, search the Web, or look up local businesses.
JumpTap
www.jumptap.com
A Cambridge, Mass.-based startup, JumpTap was chosen in September to be
Alltel’s search partner.
Loopt
www.loopt.com
Find your friends fast. That’s the premise and promise of this
Palo Alto startup that relies on phones with GPS devices.
Medio Systems
www.mediosystems.com
Verizon Wireless chose this
Seattle-based search provider to help users find games, ringtones, and
graphics.
Promptu
www.promptu.com
Promptu’s Spoken Search lets users find ringtones, songs, games,
and other content just by asking for it out loud.
V-Enable
www.v-enable.com
A provider of voice and text-based mobile search based in San
Diego.
VoiceBox Technologies
www.voicebox.com
No more triple-tapping your
keypad. That’s the promise of VoiceBox’s conversational
search technology.
Yahoo! Mobile Search
mobile.yahoo.com/search
Search the Web or use SMS
to find local listings and other info.
Entertainment hub
MobiTV
www.mobitv.com
With a reported $100 million in funding, MobiTV promises live television
anywhere anytime.
mSpot
www.mspot.com
Sprint recently launched a pay-per-view streaming movie service, the
first of its kind in the U.S., powered by Palo Alto-based mSpot.
Eyeka
www.eyeka.com
Eyeka fosters a community of users sharing their photos online and on
their mobile phones.
Remote control
AT&T Remote Monitor
www.attrm.com
For a one-time charge of $99 and
$9.95 a month, subscribers can monitor their homes, receive security
alerts, and even turn lights on or off.
SoonR
www.soonr.com
Connect to your PC, including applications such as Outlook and Skype,
using your cellphone’s Web browser.
Medical monitor
Alive Technologies
www.alivetec.com
This Australian
company develops wireless health monitoring systems for a number of
conditions.
American Telemedicine Association
www.atmeda.org
This organization promotes medical
care that uses telecommunications technology.
HealthPia
www.healthpia.us
HealthPia
has come out with a diabetes-monitoring phone with a built-in glucose
monitor.
Wallet
MobileLime
www.mobilelime.com
This upstart, based in
Watertown, Mass., lets consumers pay for purchases using their mobile
handset—and facilitates rewards marketing programs.
Obopay
www.obopay.com
“Use any mobile phone to get, send, or spend money.” Obopay
even allows users to send money to friends.
The Near Field Communication Forum
www.nfc-forum.org/home
This non-profit industry
association supports a standard that will be key to the development of
mobile commerce.
