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Rather than take the view that doctors should not be allowed to have a social life, perhaps it would be better if the electromagnetically shielded cinemas and restaurants (I'm not sure why restaurants BTW, most people do not want to eat in silence) had picocells that only relayed SMS messages, not voice calls.

But you can already get "just a phone."

My old LG TouchPoint 1100 finally broke a hinge last week, so I had to give in and buy a replacement. Unfortunately, I need a phone without a camera, and I wanted something cheap and basic.

I was impressed to find the LG LX150 available. This is as close to "just a phone" as you're going to get - no camera, no mp3, no wifi, no memory card slot - just a phone with bluetooth, the usual polyphonic sound, and minimal game and internet support. So far, I'm really impressed with the usability, and the reception (it's as good as my old phone with an external antenna).

I thought it was really funny because the saleswoman said she had never sold one of these, because everyone wants a camera. THAT'S the reason why you don't have a huge selection of "just phones" anymore.

But there's another problem with using sign language via cell phone. Look at the screen mock-up on that page - it shows the signers from the waist up. If your phone is far enough away that it can capture your whole body, how are you going to see the screen?

Also, they claim "The current wireless telephone network has inadvertently excluded over one million deaf or hard of hearing Americans", but it's easy to get a cell phone that supports TDD, just like a wired phone.

This has already been done:

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=513

The Wildseed Identity phone was innovative in many ways; putting the keypad on top was just one. Unfortunately, Wildseed never really got off the ground on their own. I think AOL snapped them up.

I repeat: go to any cell phone store and ask to see a smartphone; they won't just point you to the $20 phone with a built-in calendar.

Of course not, but I ask you again -- what core functionality does a Blackberry or Treo have that an iPhone does not? Other than the ability to install 3rd party software or to interface with specific software (i.e. Exchange servers) there's nothing.

As for the RAZR: running third party software isn't the only requirement of a smartphone, it's just one of them.

Well, then give me a definition of smartphone that includes a Treo and a Blackberry but not an iPhone or a RAZR that doesn't rely on whatever a salesperson steers you towards. Salespeople are not usually considered the rod to measure a standard by. Furthermore, it's going to be very hard to find a salesperson that going to have the option of steering you towards an iPhone on display for several months, now isn't it?

None of these definitions seem to exclude the iPhone. This definition doesn't seem to conflict. Neither does this one. Nor this one. Not this one either.

In fact, I'd say that if none of the definitions on the first page of a Google search for "smartphone definition" manages to turn up a definition that matches your concept, then I'd say that the common definitions of a smartphone include the iPhone. Admit it; you just have a feature wishlist that the iPhone doesn't meet. That in no way means that it isn't a high-end model that provides more than enough functionality to be considered a smartphone.

Who would want to run 3rd party apps on http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=315th is?

The link in the article points to Techdirt : http://techdirt.com/articles/20061219/092747.shtml ... which links to another of it's own articles : http://news.techdirt.com/news/wireless/article/622 8 ... which finally links to the actual article on PhoneScoop : http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=1502

Is someone from Techdirt trying to increase their hitcounter?

OK, so I looked at the article which was about a paragraph and linked me to another article which was about four lines long and linked me to another article, again about a paragraph long, linking to a "full story which gives a 404 error.

Of course, this being slashdot, I know better than to be suprised by this.

The chinese article is only three links deep and is actually online. It says "Under the new standard, all mobile phones, regardless of the brand, will be able to share one charger with a USB access, allowing users to charge handsets through laptops." - so it's still pretty ambiguous.

Also, though the Chinese effort seems to be government-mandated, the South Korean program is being requested by carriers, with no government involvement.

Still using it by the way.

You may be joking (I can't tell for sure; I've seen such phones still being used in cars), but you're not too far from what some of us experience. For ages, I've been using the Nokia 3589i. My contract with Verizon has expired a long time ago, and they've been offering some new, bery compelling contracts, but I'm remaining a month-by-month customer because I don't see a reason to upgrade my phone. All I want is a wireless device I can use to place phone calls, receive them and exchange SMS messages. I don't need anything more, and yet Verizon is trying to push on me phones that are either status symbols or miniature computers, cameras and entertainment centers in one.

If you have Verizon, then check out the Chocolate by LG it can take a microSD card upto 2GB.

Yes, you read that right - there only one HSDPA-capable phone available in the US (from Cingular).

Don't newer Nextel phones [phonescoop.com] such as the one in the link have GPS and lots of other goodies as well? I mean I know that this phone is kind of small and friendly, but I am sure I have seen this technology implemented on phones of similar size or slightly bigger.

I have a Motorola 270c. It's 4 or 5 years old now and despite numerous harsh falls onto rocks, concrete, and bricks, has managed to survive quite well. One nice thing about the phone is its external antenna port. I use it in an exceptionally marginal area for cell phone coverage, but I get many days of standby and 4 bars of signal when it's attached to to this nice trucker antenna. The only problem I'm starting to have is that the screen sometimes goes blank after I drop it now. I dread the day I have to buy a new phone because my requirements are hard to find: brick style (for durability), external antenna, speakerphone -- at least my current carrier doesn't currently offer a phone that meets my needs.

The phone is a Motorola PEBL.

So, I am not suprised that a laptop manufacturer would provide two screens, but I must say that I thought we were talking about "dual displays" here, but apparently not. I suppose there will be software to set up what is displayed on the outside screen, not everyone wants "flight departure information"

I would want weather information.

-- Rapidweather

Yes, they are CDMA. As for buying the phone, it get get expensive without a contract. I want to say the full retail cost (as far as a VZW store) was between $150 and $200. Besides which, they would have to sell you on the service as well which would be contracted. What has your current provider offered you in the way of a preprogrammable phone? What service(s) would you be willing to go with if you had to switch? Beyond VZW, I would have to do some research. One website you can try, if you aren't already aware of it is PhoneScoop. You can search for phones buy manufacturer or by carrier. It can be time consuming to go through a bunch of phones for each carrier but is one method of researching it.

Clicky
Clicky, too

"I thought again of the eldritch primal myths that had so persistently haunted me since my first sight of this dead antarctic world--of the demoniac plateau of Leng, of the Mi-Go..."
-- H.P. Lovecraft,AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS

While the Mi-go phone is extremely cool, you might want to wait for the DeepOnes® waterproof model, or the exceptionally cute Tcho-Tcho® version

I think Verizon is on to something, but IMHO something like that is bound to be lost by a primary school aged kid.

Better form factor, a watch like device or a pendant.

With a form that is more difficult to lose, then, I can easily imagine kindergarten aged kids having one strapped to their wrist.

Clicky
Clicky, too

The Motorola Ming ships outside of Asia as the Motorola A1200. You might've seen that around.

This decision has already been made on the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) network. The decision was two-fold: Subscribers got to choose their long distance service provider, and subscribers got to connect any equipment they wanted to the network as long as it met the electrical and signalling standards.

The result was a competetive landscape for long distance service, and an explosion in the variety of subscriber equipment.

Right now, in the US market, the cell phone service provider gets to decide what handsets you can and can't have, and what features they can and can't have. That means new stuff like the Motorola A1200/MING is unavailable to you, period. Does that sound fair to you?

So far, no one has been able to come up with a valid reason for the US market to be so completely out of whack and anti-competetive, other than it being a naked power-grab.

Schwab

You may not be able to drop it in the bath, but there are ruggedized phones available. At least many of the Motorolas (available for Nextel) meet military specs for pressure, vibration, etc. If you're the type of person who throws cell phones against walls, I'd look at that. Then again, if you're in the UK, I'm not sure if there is an iDEN carrier. But if so, there are some ruggedized GSM phones.

You may not be able to drop it in the bath, but there are ruggedized phones available. At least many of the Motorolas (available for Nextel) meet military specs for pressure, vibration, etc. If you're the type of person who throws cell phones against walls, I'd look at that. Then again, if you're in the UK, I'm not sure if there is an iDEN carrier. But if so, there are some ruggedized GSM phones.

How many people *have to* play Oblivion as *their work* ?
(I mean, really. Not what's the average slashdotter's dream).

Look around : in most enterprise, computer are just used for basic office work and accessing the intranet/googling information from the internet.

A lot of enterprise (inssurance companies, etc...) are starting to use laptops as working station for their employee, because it's easier for them to move their data around with them, faster to relocate them to different office, lets them work at home or in their train etc...

And docking a laptop to nice big screen and a full sized keyboard, isn't that much different than hooking a smartphone/PDA to those same peripherals. The only difference is in the "work in their train" part, where the Smartphone/PDA user loose some screen/keyboard estate.
(although there're nice fullsized foldable keyboards. I use one with my Palm. And in some professions having a pocketable unit is BETTER than a laptop. HINT: Doctors. We like to have drugs database on pockter-sized devices that are much more handy than carying around a full sized laptop when visiting patients)

Now look at the current trends in products :
- foldable keyboard (like Thinkoutside's, Targus', etc...)
- or even laser virtual keyboards
- smart phone that can be hooked to TV-Set and Projectors (initially designed so you can watch the nice picture you took with you phone. But now company realised that they can market them as "able to display your PowerPoint presentation without a PC !!!")
- Laser-based matchbox-sized Projectors are currently researched.

So yes, your home made l33t Beige Box is more powerful.
But for a corporate worker it is also clunky.

Tomorrow traveling salesman are very likely to have their work stored on their Smartphone/PDA.
(Even today some doctors keep their patient's medical imaging handy in iPods - Powerful radiology stations are nice, but taking an iPod to a patient's bed is easier).

I don't know about GSM phones, but CDMA phones in the US receive actual GPS signals (the tech is called gpsOne). However, as I understand it, the phone doesn't have the time or CPU power to calculate its own location from those signals, so it just passes them through to the tower (when GPS is enabled), which uses them along with other information to locate you.

It doesn't work when you're off the cellular network, but the whole point of gpsOne is to provide your location for cellular services like emergency calls.

This phone is seriously huge!

Check it out here: http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/nokia_nx3/index .php?p=9/

Also, the N73 was also announced, which is thankfully a smaller phone, still feature rich, and is quad band unlike the N93, and thus better for those of us in the US.

Check it out: http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/nokia_nx3/index .php?p=7/

Also, for those who are interested in phones check out howardforums.com It's the best message board for cell phones and network information.

This phone is seriously huge!

Check it out here: http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/nokia_nx3/index .php?p=9/

Also, the N73 was also announced, which is thankfully a smaller phone, still feature rich, and is quad band unlike the N93, and thus better for those of us in the US.

Check it out: http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/nokia_nx3/index .php?p=7/

Also, for those who are interested in phones check out howardforums.com It's the best message board for cell phones and network information.

That's actually why I chose T-Mobile. They are the only carrier that has a deal with Samsung to make phones that match this. See ths Samsung SGH-X105. http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=325

It wins on everything but the "FAST and bug free software" part. Although, a couple of software upgrades and I haven't noticed any bugs lately, it's just the damn phonebook is slow to load on first boot.

heres a quick one on EDGE as well, just for those of all ya'll out there that haven't heard. EDGE.

Starting with Windows Mobile 2003 you can. Better still is Windows Mobile 5 (devices with that have started coming out recently, like the Treo 700 (for a Pocket PC form factor) and the HTC Faraday (for a Smartphone form factor), you can have push mail. You need Exchange Server 2003 SP2 (or higher of course) to support it.

The original version of the push technology used specially crafted SMS messages to trigger the phone in to doing a sync. (i.e. the SMS message never showed up in your inbox, it was eaten by the software, nor was the email message actually included in the SMS itself) This means that with a cellular company that charges you for incoming SMS messages you may end up having to pay for them. Some of the cell companies put filters in place so that you didn't get charged for these system type messages.

The newer version of direct push no longer relies on SMS messages, so you don't have to worry about paying text messaging fees.

Personally, I like to just set my device to a scheduled sync (every 5 to 10 minutes) which is just as effective really.

Terra!

Anyway, I don't see why they can't put a picocell on the train and have simple uplink stations for it along the tracks. Would probably be cheaper than having complete cell towers stashed throughout the tunnels.

Motorola's RAZR V3i (announced yesterday) would have likely been a better debut for iTunes on a cell phone. People know the RAZR, it's a very attractive device, and I think with the RAZR's current popularity that probably would have made more sense.

PDA-merged-with-communication-devices are doing well. Corporations buy lots of Treos and wireless iPaqs and Blackberrys because of the calendar and e-mail sync with corporate.

I love using my PDA phone to stay organized, browse the web (Wikipedia, BBC news, Google mobile are all usable), run simple apps and games, but I want more convergence. After wallet and keys I only have one pocket left, and I only have two ears for the headset. It's not that hard, just take a pocket-sized clamshell device and put:

• mute/phone answer/hangup on the headphones
• music player controls on the closed lid
• track display/incoming call info on the closed lid's display
• camera lens near the hinge (full depth)
• dedicated camera button on one side edge
• phone ringer up/down on the other side edge
• flip open for a substantial touch-sensitive screen for PDA functions and video
• flip open for D-pad, phone buttons, and phone keypad below the screen
• SD slot for GB's of music, videos, personal files

There's no reason why the UI and quality of all these functions can't be every bit as good as dedicated devices. It's a general-purpose computer already, it's got enough storage, buttons, and screen real estate for all these functions bar heavy typing!

Samsung announced such an über-device over two years ago, the Palm-based sph-i550. But they cancelled it, supposedly due to software bugs and cost. It seems the latest Europe-only Nokia and Sony-Ericsson multimedia phones are moving towards the same comprehensive feature set; has anyone tried using them for all these functions?

The problems with doing so much include focus and marketing. And it's a huge software bundle and is likely to have lots of bugs and substandard applications for months or years. What would help is an open platform so you can install a better music player or calendaring app, but it's got to have a ton of well-defined API's so the different functions can share the buttons appropriately, yield to each other on incoming calls, and cooperate on sharing/sync'ing with a PC.

Ideally, I would like to see this fancy new combined software package contain support for either SyncML or GroupDAV. It would be nice to connect to open source calendar servers, using a sync server like Sync4J or even natively on standards-compliant calendar servers.

I've been using the Sanyo SCP-6200 and SCP-6400 since late 2002. I'm stuck with Sprint and they discontinued the models. This is the closest thing to what a basic phone *should* be like. The phone is teeny... With a good battery, I'd get reception EVERYWHERE. The battery life was good (initially...), but there aren't any quality replacement batteries available. I was forced to buy a new old-stock phone on eBay because Sprint's new offerings weren't any better. I've beat the new phone enough that it's time for replacement again.... I'm not sure what to do. I don't need a camera. I don't like flip-phones. I want something small. I don't even need a color screen. Are there any real options? I'd switch providers if I could find a good high-quality phone.

Substantially higher bandwith for both forward and reverse links. Both Verizon and Sprint still have a lot of infrastructure yet to deploy. DO and DO rev A infrastructure should be more and more common as carriers add to and replace systems, just as DO and DO rev A will become more common in handsets.

But at least Verizon is somewhat on the ball with modern wireless data telecommunications. Why are the US GSM carriers so slow in deploying WCDMA? If you think EV-DO sucks, go look at EDGE.

Has anyone here have a Nokia Smartphone? Not a 3120 http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=341 or 6230 http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=408, even though they are cheap user friendly phones, they offer nothing to a power user, someone that needs a pda-like device. Nokia phones with Symbian Series 60 or 90 OS on them are very powerful, compared to phone at there price range (Motorola Razr), they offer the ability to get a wide range of software for your personal use, and most of the time for free http://my-symbian.com/main/index.php. The phones are quality, thats why people dish out the cash to buy them.

Has anyone here have a Nokia Smartphone? Not a 3120 http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=341 or 6230 http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=408, even though they are cheap user friendly phones, they offer nothing to a power user, someone that needs a pda-like device. Nokia phones with Symbian Series 60 or 90 OS on them are very powerful, compared to phone at there price range (Motorola Razr), they offer the ability to get a wide range of software for your personal use, and most of the time for free http://my-symbian.com/main/index.php. The phones are quality, thats why people dish out the cash to buy them.

I've never seen FM radio on a phone in the US...

My Nokia purchased from RadioShack has a built in FM tuner.
The reception is decent but you have to have a headset plugged in before it will even work.

What I really wish would happen is someone would turn my cell phone, pda, and iPod into 1 good product that doesn't require me to take out a loan.

Motorola is working with apple to produce a cellphone/ipod combination. Let's see what it turns into.

I can't help you with the 1 product or the not taking out a loan aspect of what you want. But if you want the combined functionality in an easy to carry way, your best bet is probably an ipod mini and a htc typhoon platform cellphone. Still two devices, and rather on the pricy side of things, but they won't make your clothes sag or bulge from carrying them.

Well, that or adding some sort of microdrive to a pda. Something like a HTC magician combined with a hard drive SD card would work pretty nicely. Battery life would suck ass, and it wouldn't play itunes-bought music, but you can't have it all.

As far as I understand it, the big issue with phones is that they have to be approved by the FCC as they're regulated radio devices. Images and specification documents become public government documents once the phone is submitted for approval.

And entire websites (such as Phone Scoop) have grown around this advance information. They typically have specifications and images about 6 months before they hit the market.

For example, here's the news posting on Phone Scoop about those Samsung phones (including at least one model number). Follow the "Full Story.." link in that article for the FCC filing.

As far as I understand it, the big issue with phones is that they have to be approved by the FCC as they're regulated radio devices. Images and specification documents become public government documents once the phone is submitted for approval.

And entire websites (such as Phone Scoop) have grown around this advance information. They typically have specifications and images about 6 months before they hit the market.

For example, here's the news posting on Phone Scoop about those Samsung phones (including at least one model number). Follow the "Full Story.." link in that article for the FCC filing.

http://treomac.com/v-web/portal/cms/modules.php?na me=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=32

I can throw a little more gas onto the Apple phone rumors. I was on a train this weekend, watching an episode of the Simpsons on my Treo600. The gentleman sitting across from me asked me how I liked the phone. I told him I loved it and we began a tech conversation. He mentioned that he worked for Motorola. I told him I was a Macintosh consultant, and then he dropped the bomb! "I've got a scoop for you", he teased.

Apparently some of his associates had been telling him earlier in the week about an Apple branded phone that had been circulating around the office at Motorola. The phone had Motorola components, but most certainly had Apple brandings on it. He said that he did not have a chance to handle the phone, but that his direct supervisor did. The phone was "sleek and sexy" in her words. He mentioned that there was talk amongst the people who had seen it that itunes and iphoto would factor into this device somehow. They also said that the phone had a slot on the top (media slot?) as well as what looked to be a usb 2.0 port on the bottom.

All very interesting. He gave me his card, so I'll be sure to press him for more details in the coming weeks.

Stay Tuned!
_________________
Tony Ricciardi
Administrator
TreoMac.com

Also, from another source:

It's basically the successor to the Motorola E398, but with iTunes, and extensive Apple influence and iPod integration. I haven't seen it yet, but my info is direct from Moto top people.

The current Motorola E398 was a tri-band GSM bar form factor phone, with a large screen, TransFlash slot, Bluetooth, camera, media player, speakerphone, and FM tuner. And since this offering is GSM, and Steve Jobs has twice trotted out Cingular CEO Stephen Carter at Macworld keynotes, and given other carriers' resistance to the idea of iTunes on a phone (for reasons of either not wanting to provide bandwidth for such a service at a reasonable cost, OR being opposed to having full computer/device connectivity via Bluetooth bypassing their networks), it would appear that Cingular/AT&T might be a good candidate to carry such a device.

And for all those who think that Motorola phones suck OR are only basing your opinion on NEXTEL phones, trust me: they've gotten a LOT better, and actually have some excellent offerings (e.g., RAZR V3 and v710, Verizon crippling aside).

http://treomac.com/v-web/portal/cms/modules.php?na me=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=32

I can throw a little more gas onto the Apple phone rumors. I was on a train this weekend, watching an episode of the Simpsons on my Treo600. The gentleman sitting across from me asked me how I liked the phone. I told him I loved it and we began a tech conversation. He mentioned that he worked for Motorola. I told him I was a Macintosh consultant, and then he dropped the bomb! "I've got a scoop for you", he teased.

Apparently some of his associates had been telling him earlier in the week about an Apple branded phone that had been circulating around the office at Motorola. The phone had Motorola components, but most certainly had Apple brandings on it. He said that he did not have a chance to handle the phone, but that his direct supervisor did. The phone was "sleek and sexy" in her words. He mentioned that there was talk amongst the people who had seen it that itunes and iphoto would factor into this device somehow. They also said that the phone had a slot on the top (media slot?) as well as what looked to be a usb 2.0 port on the bottom.

All very interesting. He gave me his card, so I'll be sure to press him for more details in the coming weeks.

Stay Tuned!
_________________
Tony Ricciardi
Administrator
TreoMac.com

Also, from another source:

It's basically the successor to the Motorola E398, but with iTunes, and extensive Apple influence and iPod integration. I haven't seen it yet, but my info is direct from Moto top people.

The current Motorola E398 was a tri-band GSM bar form factor phone, with a large screen, TransFlash slot, Bluetooth, camera, media player, speakerphone, and FM tuner. And since this offering is GSM, and Steve Jobs has twice trotted out Cingular CEO Stephen Carter at Macworld keynotes, and given other carriers' resistance to the idea of iTunes on a phone (for reasons of either not wanting to provide bandwidth for such a service at a reasonable cost, OR being opposed to having full computer/device connectivity via Bluetooth bypassing their networks), it would appear that Cingular/AT&T might be a good candidate to carry such a device.

And for all those who think that Motorola phones suck OR are only basing your opinion on NEXTEL phones, trust me: they've gotten a LOT better, and actually have some excellent offerings (e.g., RAZR V3 and v710, Verizon crippling aside).

http://treomac.com/v-web/portal/cms/modules.php?na me=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=32

I can throw a little more gas onto the Apple phone rumors. I was on a train this weekend, watching an episode of the Simpsons on my Treo600. The gentleman sitting across from me asked me how I liked the phone. I told him I loved it and we began a tech conversation. He mentioned that he worked for Motorola. I told him I was a Macintosh consultant, and then he dropped the bomb! "I've got a scoop for you", he teased.

Apparently some of his associates had been telling him earlier in the week about an Apple branded phone that had been circulating around the office at Motorola. The phone had Motorola components, but most certainly had Apple brandings on it. He said that he did not have a chance to handle the phone, but that his direct supervisor did. The phone was "sleek and sexy" in her words. He mentioned that there was talk amongst the people who had seen it that itunes and iphoto would factor into this device somehow. They also said that the phone had a slot on the top (media slot?) as well as what looked to be a usb 2.0 port on the bottom.

All very interesting. He gave me his card, so I'll be sure to press him for more details in the coming weeks.

Stay Tuned!
_________________
Tony Ricciardi
Administrator
TreoMac.com

Also, from another source:

It's basically the successor to the Motorola E398, but with iTunes, and extensive Apple influence and iPod integration. I haven't seen it yet, but my info is direct from Moto top people.

The current Motorola E398 was a tri-band GSM bar form factor phone, with a large screen, TransFlash slot, Bluetooth, camera, media player, speakerphone, and FM tuner. And since this offering is GSM, and Steve Jobs has twice trotted out Cingular CEO Stephen Carter at Macworld keynotes, and given other carriers' resistance to the idea of iTunes on a phone (for reasons of either not wanting to provide bandwidth for such a service at a reasonable cost, OR being opposed to having full computer/device connectivity via Bluetooth bypassing their networks), it would appear that Cingular/AT&T might be a good candidate to carry such a device.

And for all those who think that Motorola phones suck OR are only basing your opinion on NEXTEL phones, trust me: they've gotten a LOT better, and actually have some excellent offerings (e.g., RAZR V3 and v710, Verizon crippling aside).

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint and Nextel have tentatively agreed to basic terms of a merger. The $36 billion deal would create a third giant cellular carrier with nearly 39 million subscribers. Although Sprint shareholders will retain more than 50% of the combined company, to be called "Sprint-Nextel", the merger will otherwise be mutual. The new company will have a 50-50 split among board members from each company. The new company would spin off Sprint's local landline operations. Nothing has been finalized yet, but the companies are said to be "advanced negotiations", and an official announcement could come next week.

http://www.phonescoop.com/

There's a reason you can be compelled to give DNA and other physical samples as evidence against you. See here for a more detailed explanation of why. Here's the executive summary:

You are absolutely correct quoting the Fifth Amendment. The courts are trying to fulfill the policy goal of making sure that witnesses aren't erroneously convicted of a crime. The phrase "witness against himself," obviously means that you shouldn't have to incriminate yourself with testimony. Even if you are innocent, however, you can still feel pressure in the witness box. If you stutter or 'choke', a jury could mistake that as a sign of guilt. On the other hand, DNA evidence, urine samples, and yes, data from a 'black box', don't have this problem. They represent hard evidence, and are much less likely to lie than you are. They can still be contested, like any evidence. Fingerprinting in particular has been called into question of late. Nevertheless, this sort of evidence doesn't fall within the narrow reading of "witness" in the Fifth Amendment, because it isn't being restricted by the same policy considerations. Therefore, you can be compelled to turn it over without running afoul of the Constitution.

There are privacy concerns to be sure. Of course, if you're speeding, then you're speeding. You're still in favor of cops arresting people using radar detectors, right? (Arguments about speeding being a victimless crime go elsewhere.) Somehow, it doesn't seem to me to make a difference whether the radar 'gun' is in his car or yours. Some of the arguments so far seem to be "oh shit, now I can't speed or I'll get into trouble." That doesn't impress me. The GPS tracking arguments are a little more worrisome, but not much more. You have a GPS or other location tracking system in your cell phone, right? You do take your phone with you in the car, don't you?

This is old news in Japan. It was announced back in June:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=888

But for those of us in the west, there's news, too, such as Nokia yesterday announcing a faceplate accessory that adds this feature to one of their phones:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=994

And Motorola recently announcing a U.S. trial of this technology together with MasterCard:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=973

Don't confuse this new NFC-based technology with passive technology like the gas-station keychain things, or touch-based transit passes, campus ID cards, etc. This is different, because it's active and dyanamic - it's integrated with the phone.

That means it can serve multiple purposes. It can be your cash, credit card, debit card, bus pass, driver's license, and work ID all in one. Then you can download a Java app to the phone that will let it replace your grocery dicount card, too. It really can replace your whole wallet - not just a credit card. That's what's so cool about NFC systems like FeliCa.

This is old news in Japan. It was announced back in June:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=888

But for those of us in the west, there's news, too, such as Nokia yesterday announcing a faceplate accessory that adds this feature to one of their phones:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=994

And Motorola recently announcing a U.S. trial of this technology together with MasterCard:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=973

Don't confuse this new NFC-based technology with passive technology like the gas-station keychain things, or touch-based transit passes, campus ID cards, etc. This is different, because it's active and dyanamic - it's integrated with the phone.

That means it can serve multiple purposes. It can be your cash, credit card, debit card, bus pass, driver's license, and work ID all in one. Then you can download a Java app to the phone that will let it replace your grocery dicount card, too. It really can replace your whole wallet - not just a credit card. That's what's so cool about NFC systems like FeliCa.