Noriaki lowered the B&D's cost by building it's chassis out of cardboard (the entire thing can be put together yourself), and by running its braille lettering program off an open source platform. I'm not completely sure how this technology helps deaf people any more regular phones, but it's a cool concept for helping out the visually impaired. [B&D Messenger via Tuvie]

Nobody plays interactive adventure games for the adrenaline rush, but the stories are often great and occasionally brilliant. They're also great fun for a stop-and-start time killer, as you can resume where you left off without too much trouble, working your way through a game at whatever pace you choose.

The app is surprisingly full-featured, considering the stripped-down aesthetic of the games. It handily organizes your downloaded titles and even provides an in-app web portal to the Interactive Fiction Database, where you can download more public domain text-based games than any single person could play their way through. The most obvious downside here is that you're stuck with the on-screen keyboard, and during the course of a typical game you can expect to peck out thousands of words, many of which will do nothing.

Any text gamer that hasn't been held up by social stigmas or distracted by flashy new games and their "graphics" won't be stopped by a slightly undersized on-screen keyboard, and its hard to argue with Zork, The Hobbit and The Hitchhiker's Guide in your pocket. [TouchArcade via Kotaku]

DALLAS —(Business Wire)— Aug. 8, 2008 Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), today announced the availability of the Samsung Messager(TM) (SCH-r450) to MetroPCS customers at authorized dealer locations and company-owned retail locations. The Samsung Messager sports a sleek horizontal slider-design and QWERTY keyboard, making it easy for users to travel light and stay in touch while on the go.

"The stylish horizontal slider of the Samsung Messager is easy to use," said Bill Ogle, Chief Marketing Officer of Samsung Telecommunications America. "The Samsung Messager's attractive layout and QWERTY keyboard is a great fit for people who love text messaging."

Available in black, the Messager is packed with a powerful feature set, including a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera, SMS, MMS, email and IM messaging capabilities(1), advanced voice recognition, Bluetooth(R) wireless technology and speakerphone for easy, hands-free operation. The Messager's MP3 player boasts a rich user interface, while the external micro SD slot provides the user with up to 2GB of memory support.

For more information on where to purchase the Samsung Messager, please visit metropcs.com or samsungwireless.com.

Key features of the Samsung Messager include:

— Horizontal Slider with QWERTY Keyboard

— Stereo Bluetooth(R) Wireless Technology

— MP3 Player (microSD)

— 1.3 Megapixel Camera

— Messaging Services

— Advanced Voice Recognition

— Speakerphone

— Dimensions: 4.4" x 2.0" x 0.7"

— Display: 2.1" 262K TFT, 176X220 pixels

[Samsung]

Consumerist lays out exactly how to do it (it's for AT&T, but it should still work): Cite the hike as your reason for canceling; don't pay your bill at the new rate; don't give in to a cheaper plan; be steady like a rock. (Update: Make sure you get the notification of the price change first.) BTW, anyone else think doing this pre-iPhone 3G launch (whose 3Gness won't work on T-Mo) is like the worst timing ever? [BGR, Consumerist]

When you sign up for PhoneTag, which formerly went by the incredibly nerdy name SimulScribe, you get a phone number to add to your GrandCentral account. When you miss a call, PhoneTag picks it up and records the message. The speech is converted to text, which is then sent to you via email or text message, along with an audio attachment of the voicemail—two things Grand Central doesn't do. If you add your contact list to your PhoneTag account, the messages will appear from the senders so you can reply through email right away. PhoneTag is free for a month, and plans range from $0.35/message to $30/month for unlimited messages. [PhoneTag]

All in all, I love the idea of packing more functionality into everyday objects, but I can't say that I agree with the artist's description of a "discreet," visual experience. There is nothing discreet about my naughty text messages being broadcast to everyone in the room. At any rate, it seems that the WaSnake will remain a concept for the time being. [Newlaunches]

While with the major carriers, for the most part, no one (not even the cops) can dredge up stuff from years ago since it's been long deleted, watch out if you're on an employer's carrier, like Skytel, which touts its messaging archival features. The other major catch is that even deleted messages can be recovered directly from your phone, just like deleted data from any other storage device, because of the way deletion works—it just marks the data as okay to be overwritten, so if it hasn't been replaced by new data, it's still recoverable. It's a bit easier to snag from SIM cards (which can hold up to 30 messages) than from the phone's internal memory 'cause there are dedicated gadgets for doing so.

Bottom line though, text messages are still probably the safest way to go about your business (dirty or otherwise) without worrying about getting snooped (much safer than IM or email, which are notoriously logged)—as long as you wipe them off your actual phone and make it past the two-day mark carrier-side. An anonymous prepaid phone works even better, obviously. [Slate]

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The Finnish press got a hold of a few text gems sent by the minister, including this vague pick up line that may or may not be related to musical waterbeds: "Would you like to do it in an exotic place? Where could it be?" When asked if 'it' meant sex, Kanerva said it was obvious that the message was an answer to an earlier inquiry from Tukiainen.

We at Gizmodo are inclined to believe the minister; he was probably referring to their upcoming coffeehouse debate about the subtle differences between the Centre Party of Finland and the more even-handed (although no less capable) approach to governing taken by the National Coalition Party. Or maybe he was just trying to get laid with the exotic dancer, and her sister. We think her name's Debra.

[HELSINGIN SANOMAT]

[Dixau via TechPin via DVICE]

2G2BT [Too good to be true]
4EAE [Forever and ever]
4U [For you]
AML [All my love]
D8 [Date]
FTBOMH [From the bottom of my heart]
GNSD [Good night, sweet dreams]
H2CUS [Hope to see you soon]
ILU [I love you]
IMU [I miss you]
ISLY [I still love you]
IWALU [I will always love you]
KOTC [Kiss on the cheek]
KOTL [Kiss on the lips]
MUSM [Miss you so much]
QT [Cutie]
TY [Thank you]
TOY [Thinking of you]
URH [You are hot]
UW [You're welcome]
XOXOXO [Hugs & Kisses]

By doing so you also opt-in to get access to coupons and specials for the week, as well as "regular updates via text message for deals and discounts." Cool while you're in the store, but somewhat annoying if you're getting pinged by Ikea about Poang chairs every week. [Unpluggd via New Launches via Oh Gizmo]

Erica Sevilla, a Verizon spokeswoman, said:

I think people can feel comfortable we're not storing information that can later be used against them. Unless you have something stored on your phone or on a recipients' phone, it does not stay on our network for a long period.

You may want to breathe a collective sigh of relief, but Rebecca Jeschke, spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, seems to think otherwise:

"We trust so much of our communications and thoughts, even, to these third parties who are capturing this information and storing it in various ways. It's time for us to think about it."

The Catch: It only works with books made specifically for the device, which are put together by Aigo themselves. Last time we checked, Aigo wasn't big in the publishing industry, so good try guys. Perhaps we shouldn't knock it. We are sure it will work great with tourist paraphernalia and the like, (they had an Olympics guide on show, which kind of makes sense). No word on pricing or shipping dates at present. [Aigo]

The condition, otherwise known as tenosynovitis, could have been easily avoided with the utilization of Blue Phone Elite 2, which I use to relieve my opposable thumbs of any undue strain. Better yet, why not just text less? We are sure discussing how cute Tom Cruise looks in a black polo sweater is really important gossip, but is it really worth the ensuing pollex paralysis? We think so—gosh, Tom does look hot in a black sweater. [Brisbane Times via Textually]

As some of our astute readers have pointed out, the Zune 2 looks like it will support a Wi-Fi text messaging service. The extract from the leaked support document details an inbox feature, which "is where customers can send and receive text messages with other Zune users." The added functionality would sure make the social a lot more social, but the exact details are not clear.

Apparently, there are three types of messages, including text, artist or album. What the artist and album message formats will allow is not clear. (Simply a message with the information seems unlikely, but anything beyond that also seems a little unlikely). What has not been touched upon is a method for text entry; we sure hope there is some form of a solution to make this doable. Given the hardware infrastructure we cannot see a solution, but we'd love to be proven wrong. [Zune Scene via Zune Boards]

Besides being a source of comic relief, calling out the street names with this text-to-speech capability can actually be useful—keeping your eyes on the road and away from that map on the Nuvi 260's smallish 3.5-inch screen. Garmin says this Nuvi 260 will be shipping this month, and it'll retail for just under $500. And that's a "budget" unit? Expect (hope for) discounts forthwith. [Press Release]

Our first test call was from a landscaping service that we used here at the Midwest Test Facility three years ago. See if you can decipher the meaning of this message:

"Good Afternoon this is linda for me well branded sign I'm i'm getting a hold of Truly whites residents or Company Evil goes out your neighborhood and he said that one you're properties looks like it could Use some pruning it's been three years now since we were out there And well wondering if you'd wanna a proposal from us Please give me a call At two six two two four four Nine four zero zero And let us know if that Is something you would like for us to do Thanks I'll wait for your call back up right of"

Then a second message came in, and this one fared a little better:

"Hey, it's Kim. I'm calling about lunch today. I was just calling to see if it was alright if we met at 12:30 instead of 12, 'cause I (??) have to work till 12 and I'm (??) but I can be there by 12:30, no problem. If that gonna be a problem for you, can you please give me a call back. Otherwise, I will see you at the (??)'s place at 12:30. I look forward to seeing you. I hope that's gonna be okay. Talk to you soon. Bye-bye."

We wish the implementation was a little closer to perfect for these transcriptions, but the idea of having your voicemails delivered to you in text form is highly appealing. Imagine in a meeting, you could a quickly glance at the text of all your voicemails and immediately catch up with what's going on.

However, that $.25 price for each transcription is just not cost-effective enough. If you get a dozen voicemails a day, your monthly tab would hover around $90 for this convenience. We're thinking more along the lines of 5 cents apiece would make it more practical. We're canceling the service right away.

[Product Page via crave]

By programming in five numbers beforehand, you can activate the Freedom unit to send out your exact GPS location by SMS. This way your family members know exactly where you are when you get lost or stranded, which makes their "officer, I had no idea where to look for them, I swear!" excuse not hold up in court. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Globalsources via Slashgear via Crunchgear]

The TextSpy is a professional USB SIM card reader. Install the software provided on the CD onto your PC, plug in the TextSpy with the relevant SIM card inserted and, Shazam-a-lam-a-ding-dong, the last 10 to 20 text messages should show up. But really, guys, at $200, is it worth it? Get your revenge and hit 'em where it hurts: find a new pizza place. – Ad Dugdale

Product Page [Gadgets.co.uk via Shiny Shiny]

The two begin a text relationship, and after a long courtship end up tying the knot and running off to India for their honeymoon. Congrats to the Browns, though personally I would've played those numbers in the lotto first. – Louis Ramirez

Text Impulse Leads to Marriage [New.com.au]

This is actually a pretty cool service, seeing as other transcription services we've seen are either expensive or strange to use. SpinVox has lined up Cincinnati Bell and Skype, and are working on some deals with major carriers now (no details yet). We know many people who don't bother listening to voicemails because it requires dialing in, pressing buttons, and listening—these are very lazy people.

Other cool SpinVox usages are sending memos and broadcast messages from your phone by calling a number and speaking. Sounds like a great way to send messages to your husband to pick up some tampons. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Spinvox]

Press Release [via CrunchGear]