Slashdot Mirror
Short Text Messages In Mid-Air
bahree writes "The BBC is running an interesting story on how Nokia is making a mobile that lets you write short text messages in mid-air. The messages are written using a row of LEDs fitted on the rear cover of Nokia's forthcoming 3220 phone. A motion sensor in the phone makes the lights blink in a sequence that spells out letters when the handset is waved in the air."
OK, the social engineering that is going on here is getting out of control. It's bad enough that you have someone talking on their phones in the elevator/restaurant/movie theatre or on the subway behind you about all sorts of things (many of which are quite personal), but now we are going to get people gesticulating madly, waving their arms back and forth to send messages.
Lets have some real innovation, yes? Rather than fun and games with LEDs, what I would like to see some real innovation in in terms of interaction with cell phones much like iChatAV (prevents having to remember phone numbers etc...), whereby you could call someone wherever they may be over TCP/IP or have servers automatically negotiate phone calls through traditional land lines if the receiver of the call is not available on the iChatAV equivalent. It could be relatively easy to establish a hierarchy of places to contact a person starting with VOIP, then progressing on down to sending a voice to text message at the very last.
Right now at least, we do have phones (V600) that will automatically negotiate networks (so I can have one phone to travel with internationally rather than having to keep two or three depending upon the networks), but most of these phones have maddening interfaces and that in of itself could use some thought and effort. Look, placing GUI interfaces on lots of stuff is OK if it streamlines your operation of the device, but the phone companies and even automobile manufacturers are using lousy GUI interfaces to perform simple tasks. (I absolutely refuse to consider the new BMW's because of that stupid GUI that has to be navigated through three screens to change the radio station or move the seat or change the temperature.
Sorry for the rant.
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I used to have toy from Mattel back around 1983 or so that worked on this same concept - it was called a LightStick or some such. It was a long black paddle with a row of leds on the front, and a keyboard on the back. You just typed in a message, and wave the stick wildly back and forth in the air.
As I recall the problem was, waving this thing around wildly was very taxing on the arms, and the message was sometimes unclear and difficult to read - especially after fatigue set it.
Hopefully Nokia thought about this, and has made it a little less straining to use.
"Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi craves not these things."
Just look at all the ugly ascii art we see from the ./ trolls.
Now imagine some retarded 15 year old high school loser waving an animated picture in the air in front of you.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
sulli
RTFJ.
I wonder if it has any pre-programmed messages already? A particularly useful one might be "HELP: HAVING A SIEZURE!"
* Olaserov is in the process of thinking up a signature.
I hope it comes with reverse mode so I can wave messages to the car in front of me. think: "Green is for go"
ahhh... this is what happens when your R&D dept. can't keep up with the marketing dept...
gimmiks for the kiddies...
writing messages to a DJ in a noisy club. I currently request songs by holding up my phone as close as possible, but that isn't always readable.
The Technonaut
Nokia said the 3220's air messaging system could be used by friends to talk to each other across crowded rooms or open-air concerts.
Great, all the artists need are 10,000 people waving "Freebird" in the air
Kind of like Hokey Spokes but not as big or cool really. But it will sell with the junior high crowd I predict.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
It's annoying enough having people using cell phones for normal sms messages in movie theatres...imagine the waving of phones in movie theatres that will happen now...of course if the message happened to be a target...
When someone developed the flamethrower it was because of the idea "You know, I'd really like to set that person over there on fire"
I wonder what the analogous thought process was for this product if there was one...
ACMD eht detaloiv evah uoy
You notice a cup with a few coins in it at their feet.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
http://www.theregister.com/2004/06/02/nokia_she
I've always wondered how long it would take for these things to become available to the average consumer. What I really think should start getting popular are keyboards that shine on the desk, allowing you to type without the need for moving keys. This is a big step into mobile technology, and it can only grow bigger, and better!
How about a motion-sensor device that will enter text on your phone (i.e. into a SMS message) as you move the phone. Say making a "J" motion will enter in a J. Kinda like Palm's graffiti just using your hands.
So instead of picking up the phone and calling the other person, you're supposed to type in a 15-letter text message and wave your phone around in the air?! I can see how this can be fun... for 5 minutes.
If you wanted to communicate to someone in a discrete manner you would sms them or phone them. If you wanted to make an indiscrete communication that would get their attention you could shout to them (they are still within vision range and i doubt that you can read the little LED's at 100 metres), so what void does this feature fill?
I may not be the target market for this, so it could just be my not seeing how these things tend to take on a life of their own beyond the original use.
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World" 1 John 4:14
Whether you are waving your arm in a straght line? Seems like when you wave your arm it makes more of an arc than a line. I wonder if the phone compensates.
And you wouldn't want to send a long message on a subway -- you'd end up whacking the people around you trying to work it out. Back up, buddy! I've got a phone here!
I can see two positive things happening with this technology:
1. People using this who accidentally hit people in the process will be sued, prompting them to stop using it.
2. People using this may develop carpal tunnel or dislocations, prompting them to stop using it.
Enough's enough. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should - someone throw the engineer that came up with this off a cliff!
You have to buy an extra shell to get this silly function (Available in Germany). It's like the old days when you had to buy a special battery to get vibration alarm, but this time the function is kind of useless. Imagine many people waving their mobiles in the air to communicate. Not to mention that you can't type and wave at the same time ...
* Smile. People will wonder what you think. *
I can see tons of personal injury lawsuits resulting from someone wacking the next person in the head while reading their SMS's, or even worse, stabbing someone in the eye with the antenna.
I want to know when it was decided that all the most annoying technology would be crammed into one device and then given to basically any idiot. I sure didnt vote on that.
You have to admit that it's pretty clever. Especially being able to control the games using the same motion sensing technology. We've spent decades twisting and waving gamepads around in the air in fruitless efforts to produce that extra bit of movement in critical gaming moments - how about it actually working for a change! Why can't my console or PC do this?
~Someday, I hope to be an aspiring author.
NOONECARESNOKIA
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
This I actually saw a long time ago in a bar in London, '91 or '92... I was chatting away with some friends and I kept thinking Absolut, Absolut... that feeling like you just saw a sign for it somewhere. After a while of this subliminal pounding I notice a vertical row of bright red lights in a corner. Didn't think twice until I moved my head away from it and saw "Absolut" floating in mid air.
Essentially just moving your eyes around the room and going past these lights a person would get "Absolut" written in mid-air for them...
If I ever wanted a gift as much as anything, it was a row of lights like that! Many very useful purposes for an object like that come to mind... spelling out "Go into my bedroom and undress..."
Shouldn't something like this have some subliminal regulation?
I mean, this is just amazing! A system that lets you send messages by waving your arms!
Maybe in a few more years they'll invent a system which lets you send a message by entering just dots and dashes.
-- I have monkeys in my pants.
christ on a cracker. I'm all for nerdliness, but I cannot think of a more useless non-feature.
... + (arm-excercising device)
it used to be: phone = phone.
it is becoming: phone = (verbal communication device) + (textual communication device) + (personal digital assistant) + (voice recorder) + (camera) + (internet access point) + (vibrator) + (portable game closet) + (GPS locator) + (status symbol)
and now we add:
basically it is becoming: phone != phone.
-- --
dear mobile manufacturers,
NOT ALL FEATURES ARE GOOD FEATURES.
love,
matt.
so, next out will be an RFC about how to packetize IP datagrams and wrap them in this led-air 'transport'. but its one way, so how do you get ack's and stuff? well, that's just a detail, save that for AFTER we get funding.
IP over ASCII LED air painting.
at least it will be faster than ip over carrier pidgeon (which IS an actual RFC, btw).
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
"steal me!" The phone has some nice features (XHTML browser for one), but all the LEDs seem to do is advertise to would-be theives that you've got an expensive phone.
"HANG UP & DRIVE"
"U R IN MY LANE!"
"SAME TO YOU ASS"
"DAMN TAILGATER!"
this is a bunch of lower case letters to avoid the lameness filter so you can ignore it if you like or not if it fits your preference.
Nokia said the 3220's air messaging system could be used by friends to talk to each other across crowded rooms or open-air concerts.
Okay, let me see, I'm in a crowded room, a party let's say, and my drunk friend is trying to get my attention. What takes longer, for drunk boy to pull out the phone, get to the proper menu, drunk type into the phone using T9, press ok, wave the phone like a madman, only to have it slip out of his hand and go flying across the room and hit the hot chick in the head he was trying to point out to me......
OR, is it easier for him just to yell my name and spare the girl a head injury? Which is easier?
Authority questions you. Return the favor.
Well, eventually it'll weed out all the bad drivers who like to use their cell phones while driving. Take your example where Driver A cuts off Driver B:
Driver A: (taps onto phone) YOU CUT ME OFF
Then waves phone, then (clears existing message and taps onto phone) YOU MOTHER (screams) AHHH! Truck Tire in the middle of the road! [...] (Crash).
Driver B: (taps into phone, then waves arms) HA HA HA HA
$cat
If you could make it print the characters in reverse it'd be awesome!
My first messages would be:
"Put Down The Phone And Drive"
"Eat when you get home!"
"I think you've eaten enough already"
"Watch TV when you get home."
"Nice stereo. Turn it down."
"POLICE"
"OMG WTF LOL"
I once heard (maybe an urban legend, but anyway) that Nokia is making 30% of their sales with... ... RINGTONES.
Maybe someone has the exact numbers availbe?
Such a gimmick seems to be a very thoughtful addition to the phone for me.
Now, Nokia could start selling people LED-Messages. And, since they pay alot for ___RINGTONES___...
As much as this feature seems annoying to most people reading slashdot, it might actually come in handy in certain situations:
That said, this is obviously only going to work in certain situations, namely dark rooms or at night, but what I find interesting is the fact it will be VERY easy and obvious for someone to pick you out of a crowd of people when your waving this around. Imagine emergency situations where it might be difficult to discribe your exact location and someone that is despirately trying to find you (At a concert, park, out lost in the wilderness etc), or even something as simple as alerting someone driving around trying to find you (and have never meet you before perhaps?), you could easily attract their attention, plus include a message they understand.
Now, granted 99% of the time it's going to be completely useless, but for the fact that the other 1% of the time this allows you to communicate more effectively, I think it's really not a bad idea.
I would also like to point out that the average slashdot reader should have no problems waving the phone around for extended periods of time (granted they use their right hand).
Reminds me of propeller clocks (also here, here, here...)
...or the similar mechanically scanned displays.
Spacewriter sells some very cool full-color displays. Their iBall 3D display is also sold at AudioVisualizers - check their site out for more animated demos.
There's also the Virtual Game System (Google cache) which was amazing; unfortunately the site is down so you'll have to settle for text and no pictures.
-- If you can read this, you are too close to my signature.
Pretty much every comment has been disparaging... like "oooh... what do we need this for?"
I can think of one case where it would be useful: hearing impaired individuals.... Imagine trying to shout across a a street or something to a deaf friend.. not going to work. but if you could wave and message them, then it allows communication over "earshot" distances easier.
Heartily agree with you - one individual does not represent the crowd. I think the grandparent thinks of club DJs in the same breath as the 'turns' you get who play at wedding receptions.
:-) When was the last time a live act paid attention to an individual in the crowd shouting for a song?
:-)
Instead, if you treat club DJs the same way you would a live band you'll get more out of it. Trust the DJ
If you want to hear the tunes you want all the time, stay at home or go somewhere that has a jukebox