Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Nexus One Not Ballardian Free Ad Phone
Where's my free Google phone service - free service provided in exchange for viewing advertisements? After all, didn't Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, tell Reuters in 2006 that "'Your mobile phone should be free... It just makes sense that subsidies should increase' as advertising rises on mobile phones."
And didn't Google just buy mobile-ad provider AdMob for $750 million? Sounds "groundwork-laying" to me.
At $529 unlocked, though, the nifty new Nexus One (not Nexus Six) phone is not what you'd expect to see as a free phone.
(Nexus One web meets phone ad video)
There have been attempts at providing free cell phone service in return for ad-watching:
- Blyk, the UK MVNO that is perhaps the most well-known of the pack, went live on September 24th with an ambitious free mobile phone service. As the website claims, “[w]hen you join Blyk you get a free SIM with 217 free texts and 43 free minutes, to any UK network. [And] every month Blyk refills this SIM and, like magic, your free balance returns to 217 texts and 43 free minutes.” As the quid pro quo, users receive 6 color advertisements sent to their phones as MMS targetted to their specific profile.
- On the same day, Pudding Media announced the availability of a beta web site that allow users to make free outgoing calls in return for allowing bots to eavesdrop on conversations. Using speech recognition technology, Pudding’s servers listen for keywords that, combined with knowledge of the users gender, age range and zip code, trigger a targeted advertisement to be displayed on the user’s web browser (which must be open while the call is being made).
Only then will J.G. Ballard fans have what they have been awaiting since the publication of The Subliminal Man in 1963:
Franklin waited impatiently as the five-second commercial break cut in (all telephone calls were free, the length of the commercial extending with range-for long-distance calls the ratio of commercial to conversation was as high as 10: 1, the participants desperately trying to get a word in edgeways to the interminable interruptions), but just before it ended he abruptly put the telephone down, then removed the receiver from the cradle.
(Read more about Ballard's free ad-supported phone service)
From Third Screen and MSNBC.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/8/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Media ")
'Facetime Facelift' Beautifies Video Chats
Always look your best - on Facetime.
Meeting Wendy Of Wendy's
Wendy of Wendys meet Rondald of McDonald's.
Narrative Science And Phil Dick's Homeostatic Newspaper
'The structure... was once a great homeostatic newspaper, the New York Times.'
BookTrack Adds Sound To Books
I really don't think this is a very good idea. Readers?
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...'
Detecting Drones In Ukraine With Candy (Sukork)
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell."
Nevada Will Use AI To Decide Worker Benefits
'They had screwed up and been blacklisted by Manna.'
Tether Cryptocurrency Flow Rate US$190Bn Per Day
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'
First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'
WaPOCHI Micro-Mobility Robot Follows Like A Pet With Your Bags
To follow the user like a pet while carrying their cargo!
Ultra-Realistic Robotic Arowana Robo-Fish
'Deveet unhooked his catch and laid it on the bank beside him. It was a metal fish.'
GITAI R1 Lunar Rover Like NASA Robonaut Centaur
'...waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
Meshworm Soft Robot, With Peristaltic Crawling, Is Getting Better
'Seen close it was not completely flexible, but made instead of pivoted and smoothly finished segments.'
Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
'Some unknown race ... decided to help them out.'
Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany
'...the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends.'
DOTPad Braille Device Offers Live Access
Amazing tactile display.
Biohybrid Robot Combines Living Muscle With Artificial Materials
'...great rectangular slabs of muscle, slung into a rectangular frame.'
Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'
Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.'
Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."
