Disturbingly, an adult drew this.

After what seems like a fairly explosive few years, with headlines pretty much weekly, the world of Mobile user-generated content (UGC) seems to have gone quiet.

Previously not a week would pass when some new service or other (or in fact a service mashup) would launch, always promising something that hadn’t been done before. Leading lights in the (Mobile) UGC world were Three with their SeeMeTV (a service later expanded in partnership with O2, and called EyeVive), doing good numbers from their user-base.

But Three were in many respects exceptional in the UGC space – they had a capable network and handsets from the get-go, along with exactly the right demographic of users that would utilise the service. Moreover, they had an excellent Marketing team that made people aware of the service. And finally, ease of use (send an MMS to upload, browse to download) on their closed network was definitely there – resulting in the high usage figures. Adding in an adult content zone didn’t hurt either…!

But monitoring the news at the moment, as I do, there really isn’t that much in the way of new services launching – probably the more significant thing for me has been the iPhone with it’s platform to enable crazy mashups of different services (a lesson it took directly from the Web). The innovation that the iPhone has added is location – contextualising things like Google maps with a new reality, and then allowing you to share that at a whim.

So I wonder then whether (traditional) UGC as we knew it has had it’s day, and what in fact we’ll see now is service mashups, or perhaps even multiple-service overlays – where you can import, combine, and export information, in a very flexible manner.

Historically here, Google Maps was a true innovator, combining both maps, satellite view, and directions, and making a seamless (and useful) service from them. But those areas were all related – perhaps going forward we’ll see some more esoteric or eclectic mixes of information sources….?

What do the IntoMobile readership think? “Do you upload, therefore you are”? Or are you waiting for the next big thing?

Ben

Related News from IntoMobile:

• TomTom gets nod to buy out TeleAtlas
• Mapquest goes iPhone - Full featured Mapquest maps optimized for iPhone
• Schmap - Rotating city guides, local search, maps on your iPhone
• Raketu launches social network
• Spice Telecom to launch UGC Mob TV services

Keychains rarely have useful, much less multiple useful functions.  However, this little guy may be small but he is packed full of all kinds of useful items.  First of all is the universal tv remote, which makes it so that you can turn the volume up or down as well as change channels and shut the tv off entirely.  Yes, it has its devious benefits of screwing with a friends TV.  Yet it also could be used as a back up when you manage to lose the remote.  Which we all have from time to time, I’ve even managed to find mine in the kitchen and on one occasion set down in the fridge.  So needless to say a universal remote keychain would come in handy.

Beyond that it also has the obligatory flashlight, which of course comes in just about every keychain that is trying to pass itself off as useful.  The final extra that comes built into this flashlight is a bottle opener.  Which makes it easier to go to a friend’s party, drink yourself silly and drive them insane by making them watch the most tedious things on tv or just turning the volume down just low enough to annoy them.  You can pick this keychain up for $5.99 on Sourcing Map.

Source: TeeChee

Epson has recently announced the release of their newest home theater projector the EH-TW4000. This model comes from the company’s Dreamio line that can only be found in Japan. The TW4000 features 1600 ANSI lumens, full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and an impressive 75000:1 contrast ratio. The exceptionally high contrast ratio is paired with Epson’s DeepBlack Technology that has been improved significantly for this projector. The TW4000 will not only present dark black levels and clear whites, but it will also give three dimensional images a greater sense of depth. In addition, the TW4000 comes with a variety of input connections, including two HDMI ports, an s-video, RCA, component, and a RGB connection. The projector weighs only 16.5 lbs, which makes it portable for family trips and light enough for easy mounting. The TW4000 is expected to retail for about $3700, but unfortunately there is no information as whether or not this projector will be released globally.

[via Crunch Gear]

The Verizon BlackBerry Storm is now available for better or worse to the general public. Price starts at $199 on two-year contract after mail-in rebates and a nationwide e-mail plan. There was a ton of commotion yesterday as reviewers were left cold in the wake of the Storm, but there are still OS updates to come which should smooth out the experience, right? … Right? Not everyone was completely enamoured with the clickable SurePress touchscreen either, but I remain optimistic based on my experience at the BlackBerry Developer Conference. For the full tour, be sure to check out our BlackBerry Storm Video Roundup and hands-on picture gallery, but considering all of the mixed impressions, the only real way to know if this smartphone is for you is to get your hands on one and try it yourself. Still interested? Swing by your local Verizon shop, or check out verizonwireless.com/storm.

Related News from IntoMobile:

• BlackBerry Storm Video Roundup
• BlackBerry Storm now available on Vodafone
• Verizon BlackBerry Storm to Appear at BlackBerry Dev Con!
• Yet Another Verizon BlackBerry Storm Commercial
• BlackBerry Storm 9530 goes live on Verizon - sort of

This impressive 40 million candlepower flashlight/spotlight can not only light up the night with its advanced high-intensity discharge (HID) 35 Watt bulb, it can even be used to jump start your car with its powerful battery. The device features a swivel tube light, an emergency signal light, a 12V, 7Ah battery and a dual adapter for charging AC or DC. It can provides up to 40 minutes of blinding light on full power when relying on the battery. Priced at $180. [NorthernTool]

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Solar car battery charger

You can use your car less and not have to worry about coming back to a flat battery as this little gadget will ensure it’s always topped up. It’ll also work on motorbikes, boats and other small vehicles.

The full post can be found on Decide What to Buy.

3G iPhone Accessories - Incase Power Slider Case

Incase has revealed a new version of their Slider Case for the 3G iPhone, the Incase Power Slider Case.

This isn’t just your ordinary iPhone case, this new one features a built in battery pack that will double the battery life of your 3G iPhone.

The full post can be found on iPhone Sync.

Desktop Cotton Candy Maker

Cotton candy at home? I can feel the sugar coma coming on. You simply add sugar to the heating chamber and it produces cotton candy. Everything is removable for easy cleaning.

The full post can be found on Kitchen Contraptions.

HP TouchSmart tx2 notebook: Swiveling Magic!

The 12.1″ widescreen display swivels into a tablet, and lets you use two fingers to expand and pinch graphics, rotate and move objects around the desktop, drag things around and double tap to open

The full post can be found on Elite Choice.

Scotsman Beer Dispenser Pours Ten Pints in Ten Seconds

The Scotsman Trufill beer dispenser takes a different approach to filling pints, by filling from the bottom up. In doing so, it is able to serve beer at the alarmingly fast rate of ten pints in ten seconds. One would assume that a specialized cups or glasses are required in order to make use of the bottom-up filling method, but if it gets us beer faster, I am all for it.

The full post can be found on Uber Review.

Wenger Giant Swiss Army Knife

If this doesn’t take the cake, it will at least slice it in 67 different ways. The Wenger Giant Swiss Army Knife features a staggering 85 implements and is capable of performing over 100 tasks. It comes complete with double-cut wood saw, laser flashlight, universal wrench, golf divot repair tool and of course, what Swiss Army Knife is complete without a flashlight? It does weigh 1.5kg though, so you may not want to put it anywhere flimsy. Like a pocket.

The full post can be found on Gaj-It.

Faucet with Built In Electronic Thermostat

The Blok is an awesome new minimalist faucet mounted to a large shelf. Embedded within the shelf is a glowing digital display showing the water’s temperature. You can view the thermostat to instantly know if the water is too hot or too cold without having to do the tried and true water touching method.

The full post can be found on Craziest Gadgets.

Thanks again to all the sites for their submissions now over to you guys for voting (don’t forget to leave a comment with your reason for a chance to win a $50 Amazon voucher) and tell a friend about this contest to possibly win another $50:

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If you write for a gadget themed blog and wish to be included in next weeks contest check out the CGOTW instructions page.

EH-TW400 is a new high-end projector from Epson Japan, that supports full 1080p high-definition. The main specs are new D7/C2FINE LCD, brightness level of 1,600 lumens, two HDMI 1.3a ports, 2.1x optical zoom, four-way lens shift control and adopts DEEPBLACK technology for an improved black level. It will be released in Japan on November 28 for $3,700. [Crunchgear]

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