An article in this morning’s Wall Street Journal touches on the topic in my last post: the new diverse uses of the mobile device. Google, MasterCard and Citigroup are currently working on a wireless payment solution that will allow you to replace your credit card with your Android device. If successful, you will be able to pay at the counter by waving your device in front of small reader.

Wireless payment isn’t a new idea. It has been around for some time with products like E-ZPass and Exxon Mobile Speedpass. (Although if you can use your phone to start your car and pay at the pump, you could ditch your entire keychain.) Google will be using a technology called “near field communication”, considered to be a more sophisticated technology than the magnetic strip on your current credit card.

What’s particularly noteworthy is that Google will not be charging transaction fees. For Google, this venture is about collecting information about customers so that retailers can better target their advertising. It may have the ability to show whether or not targeted ads actually lead to in-store sales. Users will also have access to special coupons and be able to manage their credit card bills through an Android app.

Despite Google, MasterCard and Citigroup making headlines today, they are not the only companies venturing into this space. This could be one of the next big battlefields for credit card companies, wireless carriers and mobile device manufacturers. I know I’m excited to see this play out!

Years ago, a friend released a Jazz album called All Roads Lead to One. I never had any idea what that title meant – until now.

In recent years we have been seeing many of our household electronics being consolidated into mobile devices and tablets. In addition to being a phone line, today’s mobile device can also be used as a GPS, alarm clock, game console, TV, wifi hotspot, camera, and MP3 player (just to name a few).

This week Sam Grobart wrote a great piece in the NY Times discussing which electronics are worth keeping and which ones can be replaced by your mobile device. For instance: why would you buy an iPod, or any other MP3 player, when you can just as easily play music from your iPhone? On the other side, he advises to keep things like your high speed internet because most mobile hotspots are not yet strong enough to properly support applications like Hulu and Netflix.

This is definitely something consumers will be considering. It doesn’t make sense to spend big money on a GPS and a digital camera when these features already come standard with your mobile device. When you add up all the items your phone can now replace, the large price tag that comes with an iPhone or Droid seems a little more practical. And further, you might be able to get cash back for these devices at YouRenew!

That said, I do not think my friend’s album title was meant to foreshadow the consolidation of electronic devices. But you never know…

Three Stanford students have developed a cool new laptop design called the Bloom. It can be easily taken apart to segregate the component materials in less than three minutes without the use of any tools.

The design is based on what they call “modularity”. That means that each piece is segmented into a distinct area that can be easily taken out and put back in. It’s like organizing a messy closet by grouping all the shirts in one container, all the pants in another container, etc.

Recycling today’s laptops can be a labor intensive process that involves more than 100 steps to disassemble the device’s components and separate the materials. With the Bloom, any consumer can separate the plastics from the metal circuitry in a 10-step process that takes less than three minutes.

The modularity also makes repair and reuse a much simpler process. It could mean that any consumer would be able to easily swap out broken parts for new ones. Which would also make parts reuse easier for us!

I am also a big fan of the wireless keyboard and trackpad that were included in the design.

Check it out

Consumer awareness of the e-waste threat is rising, according to a recent survey by Pike research.

About 75 percent of the 1,000 Americans surveyed believe that recycling is the most appropriate way to handle unused, broken or obsolete electronics.

But while most agreed that recycling is the answer to the mounting problem, the methods for recycling are a little less conclusive.
About 37 percent of consumers felt that electronics recycling should be free while 14 percent felt it was the consumers’ burden to pay and 10 percent felt it was the manufacturer’s responsibility.

An additional 35 percent of those who believed in free recycling thought there should be a curbside program similar to bottle and paper collection.

According the study, the average consumer has about 2.8 pieces of unused, broken or out-of-date electronics in their home. The study doesn’t say much about why the electronics are not recycled, but they did find that most consumers estimate the average cost of collecting, hauling, and recycling a single piece of used electronics equipment is $12. Interestingly enough, Pike found that the true cost is more than $20.

There is still a ways to go before a more universal system for handling e-waste is adopted. E-waste remains on the rise and is expected to reach 73 metric tons by 2010.

Consumers will play a key role in determining the success of any electronics recycling programs.

“In order for the industry to achieve its goals, consumer values, attitudes, and behavior will need to support responsible handling of end-of-life electronics equipment. Popular sentiment is also essential to support the political will of governments as they strive to mitigate e-waste issues through legislation and regulation,” says Pike Managing Director Clint Wheelock.

It’s not all doom and gloom for e-waste news however. Pike also released a report in May estimating that electronic trash will plateau by 2015 and then decline as companies and governments continue to expand their current recycling initiatives to match production.

The first ever iPhone worm has attacked cell phones in Australia.

Actually, “attacked” might be a strong description since all the worm does is change the wallpaper background to a picture of Rick Astley with the caption “iKee is never going to give you up” referencing Astley’s hit song “Never gonna give you up.”

The worm only affected jailbroken iPhones who never changed their default security password. Users can easily remove the worm by changing the password and removing the file.

The creator, a 21-year-old Melborne resident named Ashley Towns, has made no attempts to hide his identity and has taken full credit for the malware. He is currently scheduling interviews with news organizations through his Twitter account.

He claims his worm was created to teach people to read their manuals and change their passwords. “People are stupid,” he wrote in the virus coding notes “and this is to prove it.”

He told ABC news in Australia that he infected about 100 phones but has no idea how far the virus has spread.

“The virus itself is not malicious and is not out to hurt people,” he told ABC. “It’s just poking fun and hoping waking people up a little.”

If I were going to get a malware virus, this would be the one I’d want. At least he has a sense of humor.