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Muhozi, an endangered Ugandan mountain gorilla, is appearing online as part of a fundraising program the Ugandan Wildlife Authority launched Saturday to help save the species.
Around 340 mountain gorillas — nearly half of the 740 remaining worldwide — live in Uganda’s lush Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and 40 more live in another Ugandan reserve. The rest live in the Virunga mountain range, which stretches from Uganda into Rwanda and the war-ravaged Congo.
Despite their size — a male silverback can reach over 7 feet (2.1 meters) and weigh 400 pounds (180 kilogram) — the gorillas are threatened by poachers who kill them for meat, farmers and charcoal-burners who encroach on their habitat, and the indiscriminate bullets of rebels on the run. They must be protected by rangers with automatic rifles.
The Wildlife Authority is hoping that fans will befriend a gorilla on Facebook or MySpace or follow it on Twitter in return for a minimum donation of $1. The money will be used to hire extra rangers to protect the gorillas and safeguard their habitat.
In return, gorilla friends will receive regular updates about their chosen gorilla, have their gorilla’s picture on their home page and receive gorilla trivia — like the fact that the name is derived from a Greek word, gorillai, meaning “hairy women.”
Wildlife Authority spokeswoman Lilian Nsubuga said she hoped the program would give people who could not afford to travel to Uganda themselves the chance to feel closer to the animals.
About 10,500 tourists visit Uganda each year to see the gorillas. An entry permit for the park is $500 per person. Last year Uganda earned $600 million through tourism and more than 90 percent of the money was from gorilla tourism.
“Why visit Rome to see ruins or Egypt to see mere piles of stones called pyramids, yet you can go to Bwindi and see your next of kin?” asked Uganda’s Minister of Tourism, Kahinda Otafiire, pointing out that gorillas share more than 95 percent of their DNA with humans.
Thomas Slater, the director of the gorilla Web site, said Internet users would be able to befriend any individual from one of seven groups habituated to human contacts.
“You will be able to learn more concerning the particular gorilla, its character, family and relationships,” he said.
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On the Net:
http://www.friendagorilla.org
Palm, Inc. has announced its stylish new Palm Pixi for faster, more intuitive and personal communication, which the company claims as the first handset to launch with Qualcomm’s high-performance MSM7627 chipset, incorporating fashionable personalization options, visible full QWERTY keyboard, rubberized back cover, 8GB internal memory and more powerful multimedia features, based on instinctively useable Palm webOS platform.
“With Palm webOS, we’re creating a new, more intuitive smartphone experience defined by unmatched simplicity and usefulness,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Palm. “Palm Pixi brings this unique experience to a broader range of people who want enhanced messaging and social networking in a design that lets them express their personal style.”
Main Features Of Palm Pixi:
- Vibrant 2.63-inch multi-touch screen with 32 x 400 pixels resolution
- 2 megapixel fixed-focus camera with LED flash
- Unique rubberized, removable back cover making it scratch-resistant, slip-resistant and durable
- Gesture area enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
- Exposed full QWERTY keyboard for fast messaging
- Robust messaging support (IM, SMS and MMS capabilities), including Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! IM
- High-performance, desktop-class web browser
- Built-in GPS and standard 3.5mm headset jack
- Email, including Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), as well as personal email support (Google push, Yahoo! push, POP3, IMAP)
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
- USB mass storage mode and MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
- Proximity sensor automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear
- Light sensor dims the display if the ambient light is dark, such as at night or in a movie theater, aiming to reduce power usage
- Accelerometer automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
- Ringer switch easily silences the phone with one touch
- Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAh battery
- High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A)
- Supports variety of Sprint services, including Sprint TV and Sprint Radio, Sprint Navigation, Sprint’s exclusive NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live
“Palm Pixi continues Sprint’s leadership in providing useful and innovative devices on America’s most dependable 3G network,” said Dan Hesse, chief executive officer of Sprint. “We are pleased to be the first carrier to bring this device to market and offer both devices in the growing Palm webOS family. Sprint’s Everything Data plans, which provide unrestricted access to the Internet, mobile content and applications, and our Ready Now retail experience make for a perfect combination with these new Palm products.”
The new compact, thin Palm Pixi smartphone which measures 55 (W) x 111 (L) x 10.85 mm (D) and weights only 99.5 grams will be available exclusively from Sprint in time for the holidays. In addition, the company also introduced the Palm Pixi Artist Series that designed by some of today’s most unique and compelling artists, letting users change designs to suit their mood, thanks to these numbered, limited-edition back covers.
Watch the demo video of new Palm Pixi below!
Nokia and Verizon Wireless have announced an innovative fun mobile phone with unique square shape that swivels open to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, named as Nokia 7705 Twist, which features 3MP camera, 2.4″ QVGA display, EV-DO Rev. 0, HTML browser, and customized Contact Light Ring located in the lower right corner to identify a message or a call from those listed in the contact directory.
Key Features Of Nokia 7705 Twist (Verizon Wireless):
- 3 megapixel camera with flash, autofocus, self-timer and video recorder
- 2.4-inch TFT QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) screen display with 262k colours
- Media Center-capable for downloading games, ringtones and more
- Threaded messaging helps users keep track of a variety of conversations
- ‘Post to Blogs’ allows multimedia to be posted to blog or social networking site
- Built-in mirror, 2.5 mm headset jack and HTML browser
- Support for Mobile Email, Mobile Web Mail, Chat and Blogs
- Habitat mode activates an unique interface for visualizing your social circle and allows users to easily organize their calls and messaging
- Compatible with services including VZ Navigator, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, V CAST Video, Visual Voice Mail, Mobile Broadband Connect and Corporate Email
- Supports up to 270 minutes of usage time or up to 312 hours of standby time
- Available in black colour with Xpress-on Covers in black and purple packaged with the phone
The new Nokia 7705 Twist which measures 2.71 x 2.71 x 0.59-inches and weights just 3.44 ounces will be available through www.verizonwireless.com starting 13 September and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on 21 September for $99.99, after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new 2-year service contract.
Panasonic, the famous Consumer Electronics manufacturer has just unveiled its first Bluetooth-enabled DECT cordless phone targeted for both home and office environment. Named as KX-TG9381T and KX-TG9382T, they are bundled with one and two cordless phones respectively that can be synchronized with its base unit and both are able to transfer phonebook to Bluetooth mobile devices as well as on-going calls onto Bluetooth-enabled headset to promote better convenience in digital home.
Both of the models are compliant with DECT 6.0 as well as Energy Star and they are capable of transferring contacts and addresses up to 6oo entries via Bluetooth link to Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones. All these can be operated through the tiny menu screen on the cordless phones and they will be sorted in alphabetical order for easy retrieval. Besides, the calls can be linked to Bluetooth-enabled headset so that users can work on other tasks without constraining themselves with limited hands. Other features include the three-way conference call capability, digital answering machine, Silent Mode and many more that would definitely able to offer a much convenient way of handling calls as compared to conventional methods.
The new DECT Bluetooth-enabled cordless phones are already available now and the KX-TG9381T is retailed at $169.95 while the KX-TG9382T at $229.95 and if users need additional cordless phones (up to six units) to be bundled with, they just need to add $79 per unit which is reasonable depending on own needs.
The worldwide leader and technology innovator in mobile communications, LG Electronics has introduced its first Android-powered smartphone, named as LG GW620, which features 3-inch full touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, WiFi, and slide out QWERTY keyboard to provide users a fast mobile computing experience.
“The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a new and different kind of user experience,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO for LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Our objective is to provide a wide selection of smartphones to satisfy the diverse preferences of today’s consumers. This Android phone is just one of many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead.”
The new LG-GW620 is expected to hit select European markets beginning fourth quarter of 2009, but the price has yet to be announced.
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