Five interesting facts on cellular video games

TG Daily has an article on cellular games. They talked to the developers of “24″, a game from the popular TV show. Being a game programmer myself, here are some facts from the article I’ve found interesting:

1. Development time is typically between 7 and 9 months - With about 1/3 for development time, and 2/3 for adapting the game to run on the various cellular phones out there. A cell phone game has to be converted into 1000 unique builds to support more than 100 carriers around the world!
2. The average game weights around 150 kilobytes - In order to achieve this, developers often have to cut down on game content to make the game fit on cell phones with less memory, sometimes offering low-end versions of the game featuring less gameplay.
3. Small screen size - Game creators must create the gameplay on a very small screen, when compared to console video games.
4. Typical cellular games cost around $5 - The games are usually downloaded through your provider’s interface, meaning you can’t just go to EB Games and buy a copy of your favorite game; you have to wait for your provider to offer it.
5. A typical cellular game costs between $200000 and $500000 to make - A XBox360 or Playstation3 game is reported to cost between 10 and 25 million to make.

“Fifteen aspiring indie bands are in a race to have their songs released on the Verizon cellphone network in the U.S.

The bands, with punk, rock, hip hop and country roots, are competing through MySpace.com, a website with 37 million users around the world.

They are unknowns like Franco Anthony of the Bronx, The Parlour Boys of Kentucky or hip hop Latinos Berto Ramone from Chicago, who rap to The Look of Love.

More than 4,000 bands entered the Calling All Bands contest by communications firm Verizon.

Each of them hoped to win the chance to see their song released as a download on the Vcast music service. The winning song will also be released as a ringtone and ringback tone.

The 15 bands that were selected have their songs on display at MySpace.com and are competing for votes from the user community. Five finalists will be chosen March 24 and a winner March 29.”

From 15 bands vie for cellphone deal

“According to a new research from Jabra, a leading brand of hands-free communication products for the mobile consumer market, regular mobile phone usage is having an adverse effect on the health of the UK’s under 25s.

The research, carried out in conjunction with independent research organization, TNS, question 1,008 adults aged 16+ and found that 78% of mobile phone users, aged between 16-24, reported backache, neckache and headaches, which experts say can be a direct result of holding your mobile phone between your ear and neck while trying to do other tasks simultaneously.

The statistics show that over 18% of 16-24 year olds regularly make and receive more than 600 minutes worth of calls per month on their mobile phone, talking to friends, family and colleagues. This has resulted in 88% of those interviewed having to multi-task while on the phone, in order to be more efficient and make the most of their time.

32% of those surveyed stated that shopping was the main activity that they did while on their mobile phone. 28% said that they regularly used a computer while on their mobile phone. A further 20% stated that they did housework while talking. An additional 20% cook and 17% drive. Doing all these activities properly involves users having both hands free, which can only be achieved by users holding their mobile between their neck and shoulder.

“With people working longer hours than ever before, we have to efficiently manage our time and successfully juggle home and work lives,” said Andrew Doyle, Country Manager, Jabra UK and Ireland. “But, it is clear that there is a worrying trend amongst under 25s to incorrectly hold their mobile phones in order to do two things at once, leading to neck and shoulder pain and discomfort. Through simply using a wireless Bluetooth headset, mobile phone users can continue to multitask safely, without doing themselves any long-term damage.”"

With all the nice handsfree headsets for cellular phones nowadays, including the Bluetooth ones, I’d have thought these health problems would affect only a minority of people…

From Regular Cellphone Usage Affecting the Health of the UK’s Under 25s

The Economic Times has an interesting article on how to increase your cell phone battery life. Here’s a summary:

1. Don’t drop your cell phone and handle it with care. In order to pack the maximum charge capacity within the least amount of weight and volume, the structure of batteries have become quite complex. Dropping or handling your cell phone roughly could damage your battery.
2. Beware of the heat and avoid direct sunlight. Batteries are designed to work within certain temperature range. Overheating the batteries will most certainly cause permanent damage. Don’t leave your cell phone on the dashboard of your car, and don’t store it under direct sunlight.
3. Don’t leave your battery on the charger. Although most phones have overcharge protection, it is useless to leave your phone on the charger for more than the specified time. The battery can’t hold more charge than it is designed for. Furthermore, most batteries have a fixed life span of 400-600 cycles of charging. Once your cell phone is done charging, the battery discharges through the device. The charging could start again if the battery drops too low. However, most recent phones will draw power directly from the charger when they are connected, so this tip might not be applicable for every cell phone.
4. Don’t completely discharge the battery before recharging. Unless you’re still using batteries with a memory effect (ie. nickel-cadium batteries), it is better the recharge the phone once the battery is at 5-10% of the total charge. Lithium-ion batteries work better that way.

These tips will work for most cell phones, but it is always a good idea to follow your user’s manual guidelines concerning charging and cellular phone handling.

“Cellular Express Phone Rentals, one of the nation’s leading cellular and satellite phone rental providers has added dozens of new satellite phones to its already significant inventory.

“With all the natural disasters of the past year, people have finally come to realize how important having a satellite phone is while traveling. Our inventory was often completely rented and we needed more phones, so we’ve purchased dozens of new Iridium and Globalstar satellite phones. Now that we have more inventory and have installed new web site services, we’re able to offer satellite phone rental customers, like those taking a cruise or safari, some very attractive rates with state-of-the-art technology. Our new website features online ordering and a password protected section for customers which allows them to see the satellite phone models, get access to special offers, reserve new satellite phone rental service and view the status of their order,?? said company president and founder, Richard Nardone.

Under the promotional Spring offer, a satellite phone rental costs only $69.95 per week, far less than the average of $1400 it costs to buy a satellite phone, not to mention the annual service contract. The per-minute airtime charge will run $2.95 per minute; a very reasonable fee considering your phone will work in the outback, the Serengeti, the Alps or on board an ocean liner cruising the great seas of the world.”

From CELLULAR EXPRESS PHONE RENTALS Offers Special Satellite Phone Rates to Cruise and Adventure Travel Customers