But when he prepared for a medical flight in August of 2011 -- while simultaneously engaging in a private text conversation -- he set into motion events that led to the deaths of four people, including himself.

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With Motion Gesture, customers can initiate a phone call from a text message by simply raising the phone to their head, or they can pause a video by covering the display with their hand, and even get to the top of an email message and contact list.

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It may seem far-fetched to think that Americans would pay anything at all to listen to a single voice message, but in most countries outside of the U.S. where Bubble Motion operates, it's normal for people to pay per text message.

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Text size can also be adjusted with a pinch gesture, though the motion is hardly fluid.

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It will take Apple's fight with Research in Motion, which has successfully moved from pushing corporate messaging gadgets to selling their products to text-happy teens, to the BlackBerry's home turf.

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