Cellphone software allows a musical jam
The java applet enables a group of users to work together to improvise tunes on a daisy-like control panel
24 Oct 03

Cellphone positioning finds its place
Mobile phone networks across Europe and the US will soon have to give your location to the emergency services - businesses see opportunities
19 Oct 03

Music to download via GPRS mobile phones
The service will deliver high quality digital music files, which can be transferred to a PC and even burned to a compact disc
8 Oct 03

3G stations may cause headaches
Experiments simulating signals from next generation cellphone transmitters result in sore heads and nausea, but other experts are sceptical
2 Oct 03

Enjoy it while you can
Are the latest mobile phones too smart for their own good? Once the viruses get to work, intelligence could be their undoing, says Duncan Graham-Rowe
1 Oct 03

GSM phone encryption "can be cracked"
The system protecting 900 million users of GSM cellphones is no longer impregnable, cryptologists claim
4 Sep 03

Origami helps cellphone cameras to focus
A novel and ultra-cheap micromotor technology should soon allow picture-messaging phones to zoom and focus with much greater precision
1 Sep 03

Many Bluetooth gadgets open to wireless snooping
A new software tool exposes how data could be stolen from laptops, cell phones and handheld computers by wireless scanning
11 Aug 03

Gyroscope gives cellphone 'tilt control'
Scrolling through menus, browsing the web and playing games could all be down to a twist of the wrist with new Finnish technology
18 Jul 03

Smart cellphones would spend your money
New software agents, running on 3G phones, will learn to anticipate your needs and then make purchases with your cash
15 Jun 03

Smart cellphone would spend your money
New software agents, running on 3G phones, will learn to anticipate your needs and then make purchases with your cash
15 Jun 03

A phone that knows you're busy
A new system could analyse your behaviour to determine if it's a good time to interrupt you with incoming calls
15 Mar 03

Do u wan2 tlk? ;-)
If you're stuck halfway up the Matterhorn or just fancy a chat, your mobile is your best friend. New Scientist explains how the little box of tricks does it
15 Feb 03

Lampposts conceal mini cellphone transmitters
The hidden masts may give mobile callers better services, but anti-mast campaigners are horrified
1 Nov 02

Cancer cell study revives cellphone safety fears
Research on leukaemia cells suggests radio waves from the mobile phones could promote the growth of tumours
24 Oct 02

Digital copyright protection goes mobile
Ring tones, graphics, games and, in the future, music and video will be guarded by encryption on mobile devices
10 Jul 02

Magnetic wood blocks mobile phone signals
Theatres and restaurants could use the new wood to stop people using their cellphones without resorting to signal jammers
26 Jun 02

Hang up the phone in the car
Contrary to popular belief drivers using hands-free speakerphones are more likely to be distracted than those using other types of mobile
4 May 02

Cellphone radiation "trapped" in train carriages
The resulting electromagnetic field could exceed the recommended exposure limit "even if the train is not crowded"
2 May 02

Squishy cellphones add a buzz to calls
Squeezing the prototype handset allows you to send a vibrating signal to the fingertips of callers
24 Apr 02

Long-lasting sound
Cellphones and palmtop organisers can now play louder ring tones and MP3 music with less drain on the batteries, thanks to a new way of radiating sound from the screen
13 Apr 02

It's bad to talk
A Japanese cellphone maker is developing the world's first lip-reading mobile
6 Apr 02

Mobile phone emissions increase worm fertility
There's no suggestion human fertility is affected but the research shows biological effects are possible without any warming of tissues
6 Feb 02

UK aims to resolve mobile phone health fears
The UK government and mobile phone industry funds 15 projects designed to resolve confusion over health effects
25 Jan 02

Mobile targets
We can make cellphones less attractive to thieves - at a price
19 Jan 02

Home phones get bitten by the texting bug
Mobile texting has been a surprise "killer application" - now BT is bringing it to landlines
19 Dec 01

Write here, write now
Soon you'll be able to post a message in the air wherever you go
1 Dec 01

Mobile phone system can identify mystery music
A system combining cellphones with a cryptographic technique will soon allow you to get the name of any music track you hear
28 Nov 01

Fingers and thumbs
People who've grown up with mobile phones tend to use their thumbs when others would use their fingers
3 Nov 01

Slick as a brick
A patent is filed on a "smart brick" which can make walls transparent to the microwave frequencies that will be used by future generations of cellphones
22 Sep 01

Mobile phones to carry radiation data
Mobile phone manufacturers have backed a new international standard for measuring the amount of radiation a mobile phone user could absorb
17 Jul 01

Another glitch hits Japanese web phones
Many thousands of Japanese mobile internet phones have been recalled after manufacturers discovered a glitch that can prevent the devices receiving calls and data
11 Jul 01

Mobile phones get 3D sound
New technology could stop people shouting into their phones when they cannot hear the other person
9 Jul 01

No 2MORO for text messaging lingo
Text messaging is about to grow up, which could mean that the curious lingo it spawned is about to meet its F8
7 Jul 01

Not in my backyard
Without tens of thousands of new masts 3G cellphones won't happen
10 Feb 01

Phone alert
The UK government advises against children using mobile phones but admits the risk is uncertain
8 Dec 00

Give us a ring
Can a small ring of metal cut radiation from hands-free kits?
11 Nov 00

Gizmos' graveyard
Tomorrow's high-tech gadgets will come complete with a self-destruct program. Michelle Knott follows them into the electronic afterlife
7 Oct 00

Too hot to handle
Fears of radiation and overheating will slow new cellphones
7 Oct 00

Cellular cell
Air-breathing throwaway batteries could be a cheap answer for those situations where your cellphone needs charging and there isn't a power supply in sight
2 Sep 00

Flight from reality
Mobiles are barred, but passengers can tap away on their laptops to their hearts' content. Is one really safer than the other?
19 Aug 00

We're not jamming
It can be dangerous to jam cellphones to stop people using them
22 Jul 00

No French connection
Roaming wireless Net users could fall foul of split standards
10 Jun 00

Danger signals
Now it's official: avionics and mobile phones don't mix
27 May 00

Is your phone infected?
Mobiles are fertile ground for e-bugs of the future
20 May 00

Holes sink sell-off
Old TV channels leave too many gaps for cellphones
8 Apr 00

It goes to your head
Hands-free earpieces for cellphones do not necessarily cut the brain's exposure to microwaves
8 Apr 00

Put it on a pylon
Cellphone and TV antennas needn't spoil the countryside
25 Mar 00

Light-fingered
False fingernails that glow when you use your cellphone have been developed in Japan
25 Mar 00

The spy who bugged me
Why make it easy to eavesdrop on satellite telephone calls?
11 Mar 00

Phone posts
Could CCTV camera posts be shared with cellphone transmitters?
12 Feb 00

Bluetooth stops you getting all tangled up
Got a mobile phone but don't like the thought of its microwave transmissions zapping your brain?
18 Dec 99

Sharpen up
A giant radio telescope will cut through cellphone noise
9 Oct 99

You can run, but you can't hide
Japanese workers who sneak out of the office and spend their afternoons hanging around coffee shops may soon be caught out by their bosses
21 Aug 99

Spies like us
With a silent cellphone, eavesdropping becomes all too easy
21 Aug 99

Cell block
Even the makers of cellphones now see the need to block their use on occasion.
19 Jun 99

Mixed messages
We're still far from knowing whether cellphones cause cancer
29 May 99

Fighting talk
The battle to silence mobile phones has begun
12 Dec 98

If you're still worried...
Do the radiation shielding devices that are supposed to reduce your brain's exposure to a mobile phone's microwave emissions really work? And do they disrupt your phone's reception? We put the shields through their paces
10 Apr 99

It's a game of numbers
With almost half a billion people worldwide using mobile phones, even a tiny increase in cancer rates would cause many deaths
10 Apr 99

Get your head round this...
Forget the hype-there's still no evidence that mobile phones will mangle your memories or give you cancer.
10 Apr 99

Dial F for Fear
Never have so many people worried so much about so little
10 Apr 99