Collecting business cards can be a good thing – expanding your professional network usually is. It can also suck. If you ever have the chance to wade through a stack of business cards and add those contacts by hand, give it a try, you’ll see what we mean. For those of you that share our pain, check out SHAPE Services’ Business Card Reader for iPhone. With a simple snap of your iPhone 3GS’s auto-focus camera, Business Card Reader injects contact information directly into your iPhone’s address book. It’s not free, but at $5.99, it’ll easily pay for itself after your next new business card.

The new app basically scans your business cards and analyzes the text using character recognition technology. But, the really nifty thing is the way Business Card Reader integrates with LinkedIn and your iPhone. It’ll automatically distinguish between home and mobile phone numbers, office address, website URL, job title, company and, of course, the first and last name. Once scanned, you’ll have the option of automatically adding a new contact, merging the data with an existing contact, or look up the information on LinkedIn.

Of course, the app is bound to make some mistakes. After testing five business cards, we had to specify one company name and break up a couple long first names into their respective first and last names. You’re also going to want to use this app on an iPhone 3GS. The auto-focus camera makes all the difference. The app isn’t perfect, but it’s way (way) better than the alternative.

Wanna see the app in action? Check out our demo video!

BC Reader [iTunes link]

You know that future we keep talking about? The one where everything in your life is controlled by what we know today as mobile phones? Right, well, that future inches closer today with the launch of Parkmobile’s “Pay by Phone Parking” service in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Like the name suggests, the new service allows residents and visitors to pay for their metered parking space with nothing more than a couple key presses on their cellphone.

The “Pay by Phone Parking” service isn’t an app, or even a webpage, it’s a dial-in service that works with any and all cellphones. Once you’ve registered your phone number with Parkmobile’s system, all it takes is a simple phone call to start paying for your meter. When you get back to your car, call Parkingmobile to stop the “meter.” It’s really that simple.

We’re not told when or where Parkmobile will be expanding the “Pay by Phone” service, but we hope it’s soon and everywhere, respectively.

Parkmobile website

[Via: PRNewswire]

It’s not every day you find a game, which is an arcade game, on a mobile platform, revolving around killing Deer – however, that’s exactly what we have here. Super Happy Fun Fun (no, that’s not a joke!) are releasing Big Buck Hunter Pro for the iPhone, on to the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) (NSDQ: AAPL) App Store, for £1.79 (in UK pricing). It’s got a stack of features you probably want to know about too:

• Addictive touch-to-shoot game across 3 stunning 3D hunting destinations to bag that trophy buck
• 3 bonus mini-games: Duck Hunt, Gopher Garden and Frog Flippin’ provide a fun break from the buck hunting action
• Networked and local iPhone leaderboards where players compete for braggin’ rights
• Built-in BBHP Arcade Game Locator with iPhone Location Services to find the nearest networked BBHP arcade unit
• Arcade network integration that allows players to track personal Arcade Leaderboard and Hunting Party standings from their iPhone or iPod touch
• Big Buck Hunter arcade account management and registration

So there you go – I’ve not had a chance to play it yet, so I can’t comment on what it’s like – but if you’d like to check out some screenshots then you can do it here.

TAG Heuer unveiled the super fast special edition of its MERIDIIST handset, inspired by the Lamborghini Murcielago, and it looks awesome. Only 1963 pieces of the phone will be available for purchase, to tribute to the year Automobili Lamborghini was founded.

The key selling point(s) goes as following (from the press release):

Housed in black titanium carbide coated 316L stainless steel, the design of the MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini phone references the super sports car down to its famed signature on the battery cover – the same as on the Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640’s V12 engine block. The back of the device is engraved with its limited edition number while the keyboard is customized with Automobili Lamborghini’s trademark Taurus bull on the steel central button.

The MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini phone is luxuriously crafted and detailed, marrying the most prestigious materials and advanced components in the watchmaking and automotive worlds. The display is made from 60.5 carats of scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Its battery life is unrivalled and offers a seven hours talk time or 28 days standby power.

No word on actually specs, but that’s not the point here. When you see the Raging Bull, it’s not the brains you’re looking for, right?

Anyway, the TAG Heuer Heuer MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini phone will be available in November at selected TAG Heuer and Lamborgini retailers. Price was not unveiled, but we doubt it’s something poor bloggers can afford.

China isn’t just some foreign country with a penchant for censoring their citizens into oblivion and peddling counterfeit handsets on the cheap. The land of dim sum and stubborn Communist politics has become the latest country to launch the iPhone. As expected, the iPhone is now ready to cater to the single-largest wireless market, by way of China Unicom’s network (China’s No. 2 wireless network). The 8GB iPhone 3G will cost $732, with the 32GB iPhone 3GS commanding a $1,025 price tag.

Now, considering how all that hard-earned cash will only buy a China Unicom iPhone that lacks WiFi support, it’s hard to see the handset making it big in China. There are gray-market iPhones that cost less, come unlocked and actually support WiFi. Good luck, China Unicom.

bCODE MediaPlane 220

Provider of mobile wallet scanning platforms bCODE is teaming up cinema innovator Screenvision and Sprint (NYSE: S) to create the world’s largest mobile coupon redemption network. Under the deal, bCODE will provide its SMS-based secure scanning mobile wallet platform, and Sprint will market the service to its customers who will be able to receive special concession stand savings via mobile couponing in 500 participating movie theaters in Screenvision’s nationwide network.

The service is already available in more than 50 DMAs across the country — including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Houston and Dallas. In early 2010, more than 900 theaters will have bCODE service available.

As for how it works, here’s an excerpt from the press release:

The bCODE service consists of mobile coupon delivery and an interactive touch-screen mobile marketing device. A bCODE is a secure and encrypted text message (SMS) that can be scanned easily. The bCODE message is the result of a proprietary algorithm transmitted across technology that’s standard in more than 99.7 percent of the world’s mobile phones. Consumers receive bCODE text message incentives and offers on their mobile phone that they can then redeem at a MediaPlane. The MediaPlane is a sleek, interactive touch-screen mobile marketing device that reads the bCODE and provides digital content, offers and entertainment. The MediaPlane reliably scans bCODEs from mobile phones, redeems the coupon and prints their point-of-sale redemption ticket. The MediaPlane is available in a counter top version and a wall-mounted flat screen version, with a thin form factor and low-impact footprint.

Finally, if you like watching movies and you’re on Sprint, to sign-up for the service simply text the word “Sprint” to “22633″ (bCODE), and take it from there.

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) surprise Q3 profit report isn’t alone today. Samsung has reported a profitable Q3 2009, with the electronics giant’s mobile phone division shipping 60.2 million mobile phones in the latest quarter, a 16% increase from the same period last year. That’s a new record for Samsung. And, thanks to higher demand for touchscreen handsets, Samsung reported a Q3 profit of $875 billion, a 23% year-on-year improvement.

Samsung claims 20.8% of the global mobile phone market, following only behind Finnish handset giant Nokia (NYSE: NOK). Those kinds of global sales figures haven’t been seen outside of Nokia since Motorola went to town with their RAZR in 2006. The push towards touchscreen handsets has clearly been working to Samsung’s advantage.

Samsung is also looking forward to a stronger Q4 fueled by consumers shopping for holiday gifts and emerging markets ready to adopt mobile technology. Still, competition from low- to mid-rand handsets from other manufacturers might be an issue for Samsung.

Samsung press release (PDF)

Of the nation’s three largest wireless networks, Sprint (NYSE: S) is the underdog. The third-largest US wireless carrier has been losing customers consistently over the past several quarters, despite compelling hardware offerings like the Android-powered HTC Hero and Palm Pre. But, things are looking better for Sprint. The carrier’s Q3 2009 financial results highlight the lowest customer defection rate in a long time, and customer service performance has been steadily improving.

The most recent quarter had Sprint losing 801,000 of its most valuable post-paid subscribers to other carriers. That’s a definite improvement, but still left Sprint with losses of $478 million in the quarter, compared to a $326 million loss in the year-ago quarter. Revenues slipped to $8.04 billion, missing Wall Street’s projection of $8.09 billion.

Sprint has been making changes to its customer service policies as part of a company-wide effort to improve the carrier’s image and service quality – issues that Sprint believes has been hurting how customers perceive Sprint as a wireless carrier. But, the change has been slow to catch on with consumers.

No one knows what’s going on with Sprint. But, it’s clear that Sprint’s big-money bet on WiMAX as the mobile broadband technology of choice for the foreseeable future has yet to transform the company into America’s premier data-centric wireless provider. Sprint seemingly can’t keep up with AT&T (NYSE: T) or Verizon (NYSE: VZ) in the wireless voice game, but the mobile broadband market has yet to take on a clear leader. Perhaps choosing LTE would have been a better idea?

Sprint’s press release