Word: phoned
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...look at how these devices may eventually be used, Finland offers some interesting insights. At the Helsinki airport, a Coke vending machine has a mobile number instead of a coin slot--dial up the machine and a Coke drops out, with the charge appearing on your phone bill. There's also a Helsinki car wash you can operate without leaving your car: dial...
...communications. It is already possible in most European countries to subscribe to services that will send soccer scores and stock prices to your mobile using short messaging, much as a pager does. Soon an advertiser like McDonald's will be able to send a data message to every mobile phone at a football stadium urging their owners to eat a Big Mac at halftime. Or a pedestrian walking past a car showroom might receive a message inviting him inside for a special deal...
While the Internet is likely to have a huge appeal, surfing the Web on the phone is still impractical because the screens are tiny. So designers have come up with a micro-browser that lets the user surf for information by pressing a number on the dialing pad instead of fumbling with a computer mouse. While typing e-mail on phones is a hassle even with the latest technology, voice-recognition software will enable users to dictate directly to their cell phone...
...then, the battle between Microsoft and Symbian may have been resolved by the marketplace. Hand-held-computer makers could offer machines with Symbian's software in hopes of making them more appealing to consumers with mobile phones. Or the mobile-phone industry could beat a retreat and adopt Windows CE to ensure that their devices link up easily with existing desktop PCs. Either way, it's likely that the nations of Europe will be communicating with a single standard-- even if they are not yet talking with a unified voice...
Meanwhile, by selling miles to credit-card and phone companies, the airlines together generate $1.5 billion in extra revenues each year on their frequent-flyer programs, according to Petersen. And since frequent flyers often stick to their preferred carrier, even when cheaper fares are available elsewhere, they allow the airlines to charge higher fares, saving the industry some $4 billion annually. Thanks to tight restrictions on frequent-flyer awards, most seats given away by airlines are those that would otherwise go unfilled, costing the airlines next to nothing...