Digital Design Blog

Disruptive Mobility Roundup: Cellphone Anthropology, Delta Barcodes and Skydeck

The Cellphone Anthropologist
Jan Chipchase is a design researcher slash corporate anthropologist who works for Nokia. His job involves traveling the globe in order to explore how people use their mobile devices and - more importantly - how they would like to use them. Jan takes with him a team of designers, psychologists, usability experts, sociologists and ethnographers to such far reaching destinations as Uganda, Ghana, and Indonesia. He and his team then analyze the research and make recommendations for new product ideas. |Via New Scientist, Slashdot|

[Pic of the week: Laser-based headmounted-display patented by Apple...via Ubergizmo ]

Skydeck: Examining Your Implicit Mobile Social Graph
Did you ever want to manage your cell phone call records like you do with email? If you answered “yes” Skydeck might be for you. Skydeck works under the premise that your real social network is buried somewhere in your call records. |Via ReadWriteWeb |

Check Your Phone’s Radiation Levels
SAR (a.k.a. Specific Absorption Rate) is a method used by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association to measure the level of radio-frequency energy absorbed by the body. The maximum SAR level permitted by phones in the US is 1.6 watts per kilogram. See how your phone stacks up. |Via CNET |

Delta Introduces Mobile Boarding Passes
Delta Airlines passengers can now have electronic boarding passes sent to their mobile devices, and security scan the device to verify identity. The service is currently available for Delta customers at New York’s LaGuardia International Airport. |Via Textually |