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Published online 22 April 2009 | Nature 458, 959-961 (2009) | doi:10.1038/458959a

News Feature

Personal technology: Phoning in data

Far from being just an accessory, mobile phones are starting to be used to collect data in an increasing number of disciplines. Roberta Kwok looks into their potential.

Roberta Kwok

When Martin Lukac felt a small earthquake rattle his Los Angeles apartment, he immediately thought of the mobile phone lying on his desk. Two weeks earlier, he had programmed the phone to capture readings from its built-in accelerometer, a sensor originally intended to support features such as games.

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  • Early Earthquake warning iPhone application

    Sends instant push notifications to the iPhone based on location, quake magnitude and the distance of the earthquake.

    http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320655564&mt=8

    • 23 Aug, 2009
    • Posted by: Venky Krishnamani