Taking it further

I was thinking about what else I would like to be able to do with my mobile phone, apart from be able to use it to locate lost pets.
One of my cats has been sick for a while, and it would be great if I could check on him during the day when I was away from the house. I know people have set up web cams in their homes to check on pets from their computers, but what if you could do this from your phone? Maybe a small camera in every room, that you could move remotely from your phone, like a CCTV system. That way you could see when they were eating, if they'd moved around at all, etc.
This would be a great element to add to a device that could track pets. Almost an all-in-one pet sitter.

Finding lost pets

Researching the subject of my final project - using GPS to find lost pets - I came across this site: http://globalpetfinder.com/

This company sells GPS devices you can attach to your dogs' collar, warning you when they've gone beyond the pre-defined "safe" zone. The owner is alerted by text and email, telling them where the dog is.

It seems to be a good product, effective and easily useable. The devices are suitable for bigger dogs, but what about smaller dogs, and cats? And what happens if the collar comes off, or the animal is lost for hours or days and the batteries run out? What happens if the animal is stolen and taken out of range of the GPS? These are things I need to consider for the product I'd like to design for my final project.

Take me to my vehicle

Crossing the parking lot after class today I headed to the area I had left my car in, but I was uncertain as to the exact spot. I would like a device that would "talk me in" to my car, like playing the "you're getting hotter... colder..." game, guiding me straight to it. This would save time and frustration, and the need to store important-but-dull information in my already crowded head.

When my friend can't find her car in a busy parking lot, she presses the panic button on her key fob and looks for the flashing, noisy car. That's one way to do it, but a less obtrusive solution would be better.

Where am I going?

It's Oyster Festival weekend in Norwalk and today, like last year, I shall be volunteering at the PAWS stall, spreading the word about the shelter's work, selling merchandise and helping answer questions.

Last year my volunteering partner and I got hopelessly lost trying to find the stall from the festival site entrance. We walked around and around until we found it quite by chance. Wouldn't it have been great if we could have got out a phone, opened the paws website, and enabled a GPS signal to track to the stall? I would love to be able to do this.

Price cuts and priority changes

Wow - I'm psychic! In my last post I wished Apple would drop the price of their iPhone, and today they announce they're dropping $200 from the price! From my mouth to Steve Job's ear!

This week I have been working on redesigning the homepage of the Borders web site for a mobile application. It's been an interesting exercise, considering what a user might want from the site when they're on the go. What I might have considered less important when viewed from a home or work computer suddenly seems vital, like the Store Locator feature. And if your phone has GPS, you can find out the address of the nearest store, then get directions too.

iPhone envy

You know how they say you should set your budget before shopping for something important, to save yourself from falling in love with something you can't afford? Well apparently it applies to cell phones as well as wedding dresses!

I'm looking for a new phone, nothing too flashy but ideally something that lets me access the web with a screen big enough to view more than two words at a time. In hindsight this was not the best time to wander into the Apple store in Stamford and pick up the display iPhone.

It is a seriously slick device, good looking, easy to use, and with enough whistles and bells to impress the hardest sceptic. Admittedly my experience is limited to 5 minutes playing with it, but it was enough to make the phones in my price range pale in comparison.

I can only hope they hurry up and drop the price!