A £1.1 million fund designed to increase the number of home workers in the North East of England has proved to be a runaway success. 

120 new jobs have been created at 2 companies in the area with the help of the Home Working Fund. The fund was launched in November 2009 and is so far on target to create 360 new jobs in 2 years. 

The pilot is being managed by Entrust on behalf of One North East and plans to involve 6 companies in total across the area. The scheme provides funding, training and support to help businesses create 360 new jobs at graduate level.

Home working is being encouraged because it's a great way to cut down on unnecessary office costs as many companies look to get back on their feet after the recession. New technology like mobile devices and virtual desktops now mean it's easier than ever for workers to be productive while working at home.

Convergys is a company based in the North East, which specialises in out-sourced solutions, software applications and consulting services. With the help of the fund they plan to take on 60 new work-at-home staff. 

 “Our goal is to introduce a world-class work at home contact centre model in the UK and specifically in the North East," said Convergy's director of operations Mark Smith.

“With our business servicing clients 24/7, home working allows us to offer flexible working conditions for our employees and a better, efficient service for our customers."

A new device has been developed which means touch screens on mobile devices might be a thing of the past. 

US researchers have developed "Skinput" - a device which allows you to interact with your mobile device by tapping your skin. A tiny projector uses the skin's surface to display number pads, a menu and a screen. The technology uses sensors placed on the arm, which then control the device depending on where the arm is tapped. 

Skinput's creator Chris Harrison came up with the idea to overcome the problem of interacting with gadgets. "The human body is the ultimate input device," he said. 

The arm was chosen specifically for the sensors because bone density, arm mass and the filtering that occurs when sound waves pass through the tissue make it easy to distinguish the location of the tap. 

"The wonderful thing about the human body is that we are familiar with it," said Mr Harrison. "Proprioception means that even if I spin you around in circles and tell you to touch your fingertips behind your back, you'll be able to do it."

"That gives people a lot more accuracy then we have ever had with a mouse."

So far the device is only at the prototype stage and the sensors are enclosed in a bulky cuff but Mr Harrison believes there's an opportunity for these to be scaled down at a later date. Early trials have shown the technology can be learnt in just 20 minutes, with a 5 location system having an accuracy rate of around 95%. 

It's not yet known when the device will be available for commercial use but when it does go on the market it's sure to be snapped up by mobile workers across the world. 

Mobile and wireless technology is now increasingly critical for small businesses according to a new report out this week. 

More than a fifth of those questioned for AT&T's "Small Business Technology Poll" said they would and could not be in business without wireless technologies, while a further 43% claimed it would be a "major challenge". 

The questionnaire also found mobile and wireless usage has soared in the past 2 years. A quarter of respondents reported the same usage as 2007, while 74% of small businesses said they relied on mobile and wireless technologies much more. 

And that usage is only going to go up and up in the coming years. Nearly 75% said they were planning to increase their usage, including 37% who will use the services "much more". 

Key tasks for using wireless on the go include checking e-mails (more than 80%) and browsing the internet (57%). Smartphones were used for similar tasks but were primarily used as mobile phones. 

“Wireless technology is a critical business tool that allows mobile workers to stay in touch with colleagues and customers, and to access company data on the move,” said Timothy Doherty from IDC.

“Reliance on wireless technology will only increase, as growing adoption of mobile business applications among small businesses drives the need for fast, reliable connectivity." 

A new survey has revealed that the main motivation behind buying the iPad is mobile working.

2,500 consumers were questioned by Sybase and 52.3% admitted they would be buying the tablet for portable working. 48.2% would use it to watch videos, while 35.4% would buy it for gaming purposes.

75% of respondents said they felt smartphones like Blackberrys and tablets like the iPad would make them more productive at work. This will come as welcome news to Apple who are hoping for huge sale figures when the iPad goes on commercial sale in America next week. 

“Study findings reveal that consumers are increasingly demanding mobile devices that blend consumer and enterprise functionality, exposing an unexpected emphasis on the iPad’s suitability for work-related activities, and demonstrating the iPad’s potential value to information workers," Sybase said in their report. 

Despite this, it's believed the majority of the applications being developed for the iPad are for games, with work-related applications expected to be configured at a later date. 

The Sybase report says users are increasingly looking for a mobile device with functions which can be used both at home and at work. With the large number of mobile workers working on the go and from home it seems the iPad could be just what we've been waiting for. 

A new survey by the CPP has revealed the UK hotspots for mobile device theft after nearly 3 million Brits admitted to falling victim to thieves. 

Sheffield was named as the top UK city, with more than 1 in 10 admitting to having their phones stolen. It was closely followed by Edinburgh (1 in 9) and London (1 in 8). Tuesday afternoons are the most likely time for your mobile to be stolen as well as other peak times such as Monday morning and Saturday night. 

The results also show the thieves are becoming more and more fearless. A quarter of respondents were pick-pocketed, 1 in 10 were mugged and 1 in 5 had their mobiles stolen in a restaurant or pub. And it's not just social situations which pose a risk. Astonishingly 1 in 20 respondents have had their mobiles nabbed by thieves in work!

"With Home Office figures suggesting that a staggering 228 mobiles are stolen every hour in the UK, mobile users need to remember that phone thieves will stop at nothing to get their hands on the latest handsets," said Danny Harrison from the CPP.

"We urge all mobile owners to keep their handsets safe when going out, to prevent theft and to also avoid being careless and losing them unnecessarily."

It's believed mobile thefts are becoming more and more commonplace as devices get more sophisticated and expensive. Mobile workers use devices like this on a regular basis and are being encouraged to take security precautions to stop sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands. 

A new report out this week shows that mobile data traffic has overtaken voice traffic in the last few years. The findings from Ericsson are based on measurements from live networks covering all areas of the globe.

The survey shows data traffic has grown worldwide over the last 2 years by 280%, with that number predicted to double again in the next 2 years. The popularity of smartphones, PCs and other mobile devices are thought to be behind the growth spurt. 

New technology, such as virtual desktops, which make it easier to work on devices on the go and the rise in mobile workers are also believed to have impacted on the results. 

"This is a significant milestone with some 400 million mobile broadband subscriptions now generating more data traffic than the voice traffic from the total 4.6 billion mobile  subscriptions around the world," said Hans Vestburg from Ericsson. 

"Our view that the appeal of anywhere, anytime connectivity would drive mobile broadband growth is confirmed by the real world measurements under taken by Ericsson." 

Mobile devices, like smartphones and laptops, are used not only by businessmen but by a wide range of people on a regular basis. Social networking sites now account for a large percentage of data traffic - 200 mobile operators over 60 countries are deploying and promoting Facebook products, while the site has a registered 100 million active users.

Mobile broadband-based PCs have also helped to give operators a much-needed boost, both in customers and profits, post-recession. 

Gartner have revealed their list of the top 10 mobile technologies that companies should take note of and invest in in 2011. 

The report out this week highlights the pieces of technology which will “evolve in ways that affect corporate strategies, significant numbers of customers or employees will adopt or expect them, or will address particular mobile challenges that organizations will face." 

These technologies are set to adapted this year and will significantly change mobile policies and strategies in 2011. All types of businesses will be affected by the new technologies as they look to re-establish their policies post-recession.

There will be two new versions of Bluetooth out next year. Bluetooth 3 will enable faster data transmission, while Bluetooth 4 will include a new low-energy mode. Both will include technological improvements which will improve things like battery life and security. 

Another entry into the top 10 is the browser. By 2011 almost 85% of handsets shipped will include some kind of browser, while in mature markets 60% of the handsets shipped will be smartphones with sophisticated browsers. 

75% of devices shipped in these markets will include GPS, while Wi-Fi will remain important when GPS can't be used. Mobile platforms and mobile widgets will also become much more diverse and easily available but Gartner believe they will not yet have become consolidated. The rise in mobile widgets and applications will increase the prominence of app stores and Gartner expects many applications to "exploit the ecosystem cloud services". 

The report states that smartphones will come with bigger, higher resolution screens which will help mobile workers with their daily workload. Touch-screens are also in the top 10, with the analyst expecting 60% of mobile devices to be shipped with them next year. 

Other entrants include cellular broadband, device-independent security technology and machine-to-machine-based systems. 

With the World Cup just a few months away, football fans are already thinking of ways to get out of work to watch those all important matches. 

A new survey has revealed that half of British male workers and a fifth of female workers are planning to watch matches in office hours. This means that 5% of workers will be pulling a sicky to make sure they don't miss out on the action.

So how are businesses going to cope? The majority of businesses have already been warned to put in contingency plans to account for the disruption the competition will cause to their productivity. 

We already know that home working can help to promote productivity but are workers really going to be able to work from home without the distraction of the pre-match amble? PricewaterhouseCoopers seem to think so!

"There is huge goodwill to be gained from accommodating flexible working requests or allowing staff to take a couple of hours out to watch the games," said PwC partner Michael Rendell.

"With pay rises scarce and bonus pools down, this is a great way to thank and engage staff while bringing a very tangible opportunity to revisit and communicate flexible-working policies."

And it's not just the World Cup which is giving home working a boost. XpertHR has found that 20% of firms have been able to avoid redundancies by implementing flexible working practices such as mobile working and home working. 

A man taking a baseball bat to a fax machine in front of hundreds of people is not something you see every day but that's exactly what happened at the spring Demo conference yesterday. Joshua Kerr pulled the elaborate stunt in California to highlight the fact that waiting around in front of a fax machine and scanner is now a thing of the past. 

The annual conference runs for two days and has so far been shining a light on the new mobile applications which are about to take the world by storm.

Joshua's company ABJK NewCo Inc. chose the event to reveal their new application called Zosh. Zosh allows users to sign and send documents from the comfort of their iPhone - effectively cutting out the middle man that is the humble fax machine. The application is available to buy on iTunes right now and is sure to be popular with mobile workers who often find themselves wasting time waiting for the fax machine to its business. 

"The fax machine and scanner are like a ball and chain that tie me to the office," said Joshua yesterday. "I need to be out of the office, not in the office."

Other new useful applications coming out include one by a company called Thick Buttons. This application uses clever technology to predict which buttons aren't likely to be used before shrinking them. It then makes the buttons which are more likely to be used much bigger, helping users who often struggle with the small button designs of many smartphones. 

Another application called Ambit allows parents to monitor their child's behaviour on their mobile phone, while Visiarc have an application which allows you to open large documents very quickly on your mobile device. 

From last week's predictions that mobile applications will make $17.5 billion by 2012, it's clear we really are living in mobile times.

Mobile workers are being warned they could face huge bills if they use their smartphone overseas before the start of July.

Consumer group Which? has said people travelling in Europe could face unlimited bills until new rules come into play on 1st July, which will cap bills for downloading data. Although most tariffs include unlimited data downloads in the UK, these figures don't apply abroad. 

According to research from Which? users can pay up to £8 per each megabyte downloaded. That's the equivalent of just one e-mail and photo. And a 10 minute video clip and 5 music tracks could cost as much as £200.

From the beginning of July, the download limit will be capped to £45 a month in the EU but until then it's purely down to consumers to sort their download limit out with their own operator. 

Which? are now calling for the EU data rules to spread to the rest of the world but the GSM disagrees. 

"Europe is a very unique market. We would not advocate copycat regulation for other territories," said a GSM spokesman. 

Many users are currently unaware of their downloading capabilities. Using Google Maps or receiving an e-mail means you're downloading data, while many smartphones start to roam the internet whenever they are switched on.

Anyone travelling abroad should speak to their mobile operator beforehand to sort out their own data limits or risk being hit by a hefty fine!