Mobile phones harming unborn babies!

A recent study by both the UCLA and Aarhus University has shown that using a cellphone while pregnant can drastically increase the chances of giving birth to children with behavioural problems.

The study went on to show that “Mothers who used mobile phones while pregnant were 54% more likely to have children with behavioral problems” it went on to say that “if the kids then had their own mobiles before the age of seven, they were 80% more likely to suffer with these problems.” Pocketpicks

These are very scary statistics and all I can say is give your mobile handset a break while you are pregnant!

South Africans can kiss TomTom goodbye?

According to Lesley Stones “owners of TomTom satellite navigation systems may find themselves lost and looking for an alternative as the sole distributor Core ends its deal to import and support the products.”.

“Core director RJ van Spaandonk said the Dutch manufacturer had repeatedly let SA down by failing to deliver enough of the vehicle navigation devices, not supplying the most recent maps, and providing no advertising budget.”

Core currently has “enough stock to fill orders retailers have placed, and would conduct a handover once TomTom either appointed a new distributor or set up a direct presence here, he said. ” Mybroadband.co.za

This is sad news for South Africans as TomTom added good competition to the local market and had really helped to bring down the rate of GPS units in South Africa. It is really hoped TomTom can sort this thing out before it’s to late.

fring is UIQ application of the month

Shortly after winning a prestigious award at the Meffys in Cannes France, we where informed that fring is also the UIQ application of the Month.

This is a very big honor for us and a big thanks goes out to the guys and gals at UIQ – we appreciate the recognition and your help in spreading fring love to UIQ users!

fring is a winner @ Meffys 2008

This news just hot off the press, fring has emerged the winner in The Handset Application Award category at the prestigious Meffys 2008 that happened at Cannes (France).

Congratulations to everyone who made this possible, from the techno junkies here in fringland who work hard developing the software to you our most loved fringsters, without your support this would never have been possible! Thanks guys you all rock!

Hip-hip hurray! Hip-hip hurray! Hip-hip hurray! - Bring on the champagne its time to party!

Updated version of fring for the iPhone (pre-release vs. 0.9785)

iPhone users head’s up!

Thanks to your feedback we have started ‘ironing out’ bugs in the fring for iPhone pre release version.
There is a new version for you to play with (version 0.9785) which addresses the following:

a. Issues resulting in deleted SMS (additional QA work on our side still in progress)
b. Incoming SIP calls are also available with this new version

Important: to update your fring version DO NOT uninstall current version (well you can, but then you will need to retype your fring login information). Simply go to the ‘Installer’ and get the updated fring version from the ‘updates’ section.

Again, your feedback, suggestions and insights on the product are a huge help, and are truly influencing the R&D process, and helping us in improving fring for iPhone.

So thanks and keep them coming

On another high note:

It has recently been reported that the Apple iPhone will now officially come to South Africa. This after a deal signed between Apple and Vodafone was announced yesterday on Vodafones website. Here’s to hoping Apple releases a 3G or HSDPA iPhone in South Africa.

fring nominated for Meffy Awards 2008

fringsters it’s once again time for the glitz and glamor of one of the mobile world’s most prestigious award ceremonies, the Meffys. The Meffy awards are like an equivalent of the Oscars, only without the posh dresses and the red carpet! The Meffys honor the most influential mobile entertainment players from around the world and this year we’re proud to announce that fring has been nominated along with 4 other outstanding companies in the Handset Application Award category.

The winners of this prestigious award will be announced at the Meffys gala dinner on 8 May 2008 at the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in Cannes, France.
fring is excited to be among the top players in the industry and we are looking forward to this event. In the spirit of good gamesmanship, we wish our fellow competitors well and may the best fring win this prestigious award!

Ours is bigger than yours!

While reading a few recent blog posts about the worlds largest cellphone (Gizmodo, fring Australian Blog, textually and Ananova) I couldn’t help but laugh, I am sure I saw something bigger locally, so I made a few quick phone calls and can now report that although Mr Tan, of Songyuan city, China has put in a lot of time and hard work into his device , there is an even larger cellphone in South Africa.

The Giant Cell Phone at the MTN Sciencentre in Cape Town currently holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest functional cell phone. Measuring 2.50 x 1.14 x 0.49 metres, the giant cell phone, a fully functional scaled up Sony Ericsson W810i, has broken the existing record that was first established by the Maxi Handy at the Rotmain Centre, Bayreuth, Germany in 2006. It is one of over 300 interactive educational displ