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- The Palms Hotel and Casino is now accepting live wagers on mobile betting devices, according to Progressive Gaming International Corp., which developed the system. The Rapid Bet Live Wireless technology was tested during last week’s Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings. Rapid Bet Live Wireless allows users to place bets using a mobile device from within the sports book or bar sections of the casino throughout a sporting event. Progressive Gaming said it believes betting via cellular phones could be the next step.
- Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc.-always on the cutting edge of mobile technology-is offering a service that alerts women who are hoping to become pregnant when they are most fertile. Users enter information about their menstrual cycle into their phone and then are alerted when ovulation should occur. The phone includes a variety of other features designed to appeal to women, including a pastel paisley design and a recipe database. Japan’s fertility rate recently fell to an all-time low, raising concerns about a shrinking population.
- Several companies have teamed up to test the use of satellite and mobile technologies to track beer shipments from Europe to the United States. The Beer Living Lab project includes participation from Heineken, shipping company Safmarine, the University of Amsterdam, IBM Corp. and customs authorities in the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom. The goal of the project is to speed deliveries and reduce costs. The companies will test the system by shipping 10 containers of Heineken beer from the Netherlands and England to the Heineken distribution center in the United States.
