New research funded by the British Academy has found that children who use mobile phone text abbreviations are unlikely to be problem spellers and readers. In fact, it revealed that more sophisticated literacy skills were needed for 'textism' use.
Dr Clare Wood, who carried out the research, said "We began studying in this area initially to see if there was any evidence of association between text abbreviation use and literacy skills at all, after such a negative portrayal of the activity in the media. We were surprised to learn that not only was the association strong, but that textism use was actually driving the development of phonological awareness and reading skill in children."
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Skyfire has launched version 1.5 of its Skyfire browser for Symbian S60 3rd and 5th edition smartphones. The new version includes full support for high-resolution screens, an improved user interface, crisper text, smoother zooming and a full-screen mode, along with support for Flash video. This announcement follows the launch of Skyfire 1.5 for Windows Mobile devices last month.
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Truphone – best known as a mobile VoIP provider – has announced Truphone Local Anywhere, a full GSM mobile phone service for people who work or travel internationally. Users will receive a SIM card that can give them local numbers and local voice, data and text rates in all countries where Truphone has established operations. The company also says international calling from Truphone countries can save more than 50% over standard mobile operator charges.
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