13% of us rely on mobiles to find the way

In a Nokia press release that's full of comedy facts - more people get lost in London than anywhere else in the world, one in three Londoners deliberately gives people the wrong directions, 10% of Spaniards consider a sense of direction matures with age, the average person wastes 13 minutes when they get lost - there's some mobile-related stuff as well. Apparently 13% of people now use a mobile phone as their main navigation tool. [Press release]

Essex train company to block mobile signals

Rail operator c2c, which runs trains between Essex and London, says it will cover windows in its 'quiet' carriages with a special coating that'll block mobile phone signals. This will help to enforce the company's existing policy of banning mobile phones, personal stereos and other electronic gadgets in one carriage of each train. The window film will allow light through but blocks mobile phone signals, along with wifi and other radio waves. [Source: thisislondon.co.uk]

Crimestoppers anonymous text trial expands to cover London

The text message trial that encouraged the anonymous reporting of knife crime has been expanded to cover all schools in London. Crimestoppers points out that 21 young people have already died from knife-related incidents in London this year. [Press release]

Mobile tickets for Heathrow Express

The Heathrow Express is the latest rail service to offer mobile tickets. IT company Atos Origin has installed a mobile ticketing service for the Heathrow Express train network between London Heathrow’s airport terminals and Paddington Station in London. Passengers can have their tickets sent directly to a mobile phone as a bar code which is scanned by the train manager. [Press release]

Carphone co-founder gets Olympic role

Carphone Warehouse co-founder and non-executive Deputy Chairman David Ross has been been appointed as the London Mayor's representative on the London Olympic Games Organising Committee. [Press release]

Lamp-posts get padding to protect texters

Spot the publicity stunt. Lamp-posts in London's Brick Lane have been padded to protect mobile phone users from 'walking and texting' injuries. The experiment has been arranged by the Living Streets charity after research by directory enquiries company 118 118 found that 10% of us had hurt ourselves while looking at a mobile phone screen. [Sources: ITN.co.uk, Engadget.com, Cellular-News.com]

Orange and T-Mobile plan new UK mobile TV service

Orange and T-Mobile have said they'll test a new mobile TV service in London during the second half of this year. It'll use the TDtv standard, transmitting up to 24 high-resolution television channels to TDtv-equipped handsets. TVtv uses spare capacity on the 3G network without affecting existing voice and data services. [Orange press release]

London launches SatLav

A new mobile phone service in London is helping people to find the nearest public toilet. It’s hardly worth coming up with a blog post full of puns… because Westminster City Council have called it SatLav. Anyone in the West End of London can text the word TOILET to 80097 to discover the most convenient convenience. It calculates your location by determining the signal strength between your phone and the nearest cell site. 40 council-run facilities are included, along with others run by the Greater London Authority, London Underground and major retailers on Oxford Street. SatLav costs 25p on top of your text message.

Londoners to start paying by phone next year

Some London shoppers will soon be able to use their mobile phones to pay for purchases. Several hundred Barclaycard customers will be issued with customised Nokia handsets next year. These phones will be compatible with Barclaycard's “OnePulse” card technology, enabling users to pay for purchases up to £10 simply by putting their phone on a special reader. The mobiles will use the contactless communication system that’s been created for Transport for London's Oyster travel card. [Source: Guardian.co.uk]