In the beginning of modern tech, there was Microsoft and from its stronghold, the people looked at the rest of the world with pride. Then, Nokia appeared. More recently, Apple, Samsung and others seems to have engraved their names in the mobile industry. The entry of such players on the market as LG, and more recently HTC, ZTE and Huawei proves that nobody can really control and own the mobile space.

Windows Phone 8 to be Launched Before the End of 2012

However, because Microsoft will remain Microsoft for ever, their claims will never stop. That’s why their deal with Nokia over the Windows partnership might prove to be a good strategy, after all. We are not sure if Windows Phone can win their fight against Android and Apple but they surely can create a stir on the market. Slowly, but surely, the Nokia Lumia line seems to gather more and more devotees, those that remain devoted to the Microsoft universe.

Now, all eyes are on Windows 8 launch and many are wondering whether Microsoft would decide to update its Windows Phone OS,  as well. This wouldn’t be a bad idea, since Microsoft would launch a similar attack on the tablet market. The mobile OS could be baptized Windows 8 Phone Apollo and it would be scheduled to emerge by the end of 2012.

Distributors are Getting Ready for Windows Phone 8 Launch

A couple of months ago, in February, news of Samsung designing a Windows 8 Phone, just after the platform was announced, hit. Even back then Matt Brum who is head of product management at Samsung confirmed that the company is working hand in hand in Microsoft to bring Windows Phone 8 products by the end of the year.

“We’re very much still focusing on Windows, and still have products in that area. We’re committed to delivering their products going forward.”

But now, the Israeli publication Techit.co.il shifts the focus upon Nokia. The editors behind the site claim that an European distributor has leaked the information according to which, Windows 8 Phones will be coming by the end of the year but courtesy of Nokia and not Samsung, albeit that will be only a matter of time. And, if you ask me, it’s natural for Microsoft to launch Windows Phone 8 on a Nokia hands. The devices chosen to sport the Windows 8 OS are the Nokia Lumias, the most popular handsets the company has released in the last few years.

Nokia, the Obvious Partner for The Release

This shady distributor will begin shipping the Windows 8 packed Nokia devices in Israel but Eurocom Nokia will be in charge of public distribution once the smartphones are ready to ship. The new Lumias will also support the Hebrew interface option. There is no official confirmation from Nokia’s headquarters yet as the company seems to be keeping quiet on the matter but this is not the first time we are seeing clues pointing to this outcome.

For example, last month, Nokia Saudi Arabia tweeted that the upcoming Windows 8 OS will find shelter in the Nokia Lumia 900 handset. Microsoft is still keeping a lot of secrets regarding what the next mobile OS version is going to bring to the table of smartphones but compiling rumors and expectations we sure hope to see the operating system mounted up on devices blessed with multi-core processors and high-resolution touchscreens.

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The self appointed watchdog of the internet, Anonymous, has taken down the Indian websites like the Supreme court and aicc.org.in, which is the official portal of the leading party of Government of India.

The attack comes as a response to the near-countrywide blocking of popular torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and video sharing websites like Vimeo. Since yesterday, major ISPs like Airtel, Reliance, MTNL and You Broadband have blocked several websites following a John Doe order by the Madras high court.

This didn’t go well with much of the internet user base in the country and social media sites like twitter & facebook have been abuzz with people crying foul over the murder of internet freedom in the country. It looks like the anonymous was particularly irked by the blocking of TPB and they launched an all out attack under the name @opindia_revenge and have successfully managed to take down the websites of the Supreme court of India and AICC.

#Government must understand. #INTERNET belongs to us!#TANGODOWN –> supremecourtofindia.nic.in & aicc.org.in

— opindia (@opindia_revenge) May 17, 2012

At present, they are trying to gun down the Department of Telecom website which incidentally is working fine at the time of writing this article. Anonymous says that their next target is Reliance entertainment and Copyrightlabs which had appealed in the Indian courts to get those John Doe orders.

@Anon_Central Another #TANGODOWN –>> dot.gov.in Department of telecom, You should’ve expected us! ~ #opindia

— opindia (@opindia_revenge) May 17, 2012

There has been a huge uproar in India in recent times with ever increasing interference from the government agencies with functioning and freedom of the internet. The latest attack on the government websites does show the power of cyber activists, but I’m skeptical if it brings in the desired changes. Techmeme editor, Mahendra Palsule contemplates,

These attacks by Anonymous on Indian Govt websites are likely to provide more fodder for politicians to ‘police the unruly Internet’.

Let’s wait and watch.

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All owners of Android smartphones have tasted the bitterness of the poor battery life of these devices, and have struggled to make them last longer, but even so, they hardly cross the 2 days mark. Although smartphone technology has gotten a long way, having more powerful processors, bigger screens and more memory, the technology of their batteries has stopped at some point.

Battery Life: Prominent Issue of Smartphones

There have not been improvements one a wide scale to make the batteries last longer. Some of use hope that fuel cells will provide the needed solution. It would seem that the manufacturers of the other components have invested in making them more energy efficient, and therefore making devices last longer. Intel has released the new 22nm chip, the Ivy Bridge that is up to 20% more energy efficient than the previous generations, Samsung has released the mighty Galaxy S III with wireless charging capabilities, but even so, these so called “mobile” devices are not truly mobile, having to be recharged daily.

Why smartphones drain the battery so quickly? The question that everyone thinks of has a pretty easy answer: the components that these devices have installed on them, the components that make them smartphones. The screen is in most cases the biggest power drainer of all. Even with Super AMOLED and other such technologies, this component is still the biggest power drainer of all. Also, processors and memory are big power drainers. Wi-Fi is another great example of power drainers that runs your smartphone dry. And yes, your iPhone also needs apps and tips for a better battery life.

Tips to Improve Android’s Battery Life

If you wish to increase the battery life of your Android smartphone, there are a few tricks you can try. However, these will not make your phone last a big period of time, but they will give you a few hours of extra battery life, and in smartphone standards, that is quite a lot.

• Keep your screen on automatic brightness. Knowing that the screen is the biggest battery consumer, keeping it a bit more dim than at full capacity will give you some extra battery life. Although it won’t look as good, it will make it last longer.
• Use Data Connection (3G connection) instead of Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a big power drain, so keeping it turned off more will give you more battery. It uses a different antenna and so, it will consume more power, unlike the 3G connection that uses the same antenna as the phone’s signal. It’s quite understandable that using one less component will result in less power drain. Also, if you do not use Bluetooth or GPS, it’s better to turn them off. Although they are not big battery consumers and GPS works only when using an app that requires it such as Google Maps, it adds up.
• Do not use vibrating alerts. The vibrate function on any phone is provided by a tiny motor that turns and vibrates your phone. This motor consumes lots of power and if you can just stick with audio alerts, it will give you some increase in battery longevity.
• Close background apps. Apps run in background after you close them. This feature allows the phone to quickly load them when you access them again. But these apps running in background consume memory, and therefore power. And this takes us to the main reason for this tutorial. Using task managers and power savers that cut off functions of the smartphone will give you a boost in battery efficiency.
• Do not use Live Wallpapers. But try using black backgrounds. Because of the way the LED screen works, when a black image is on the screen, the tiny LEDs are turned off, thus conserving power.

10 Apps to Save Battery on Android

There are lots of such apps available on the Google Play Store. Some work better than others, but if you keep in mind the tips above, then you can make your Android smartphone last longer than ever.

 10. Battery saver – Dolphin add-on

This Android battery saver is one of the best I have ever used. It comes as a add-on to Dolphin Browser and it gives you complete control of the power options of your Android smartphone. You can chose from a preset list of battery saver profiles or create your own profile and select what apps or services your device can run.

9. Battery Calibration

If you think your battery runs out faster than it should, the reason might be that it’s miscalibrated and it shows you a false value. To resolve this issue you might want to re-calibrate your battery. This will ensure you that it shows the actual level of the charge. And from here, you can start saving battery and make your device last longer.

8. Battery Saver

Battery saver is a great app that allows you to better put to use the power saving features of your Android smartphone. Set up a sleeping schedule for your device and it will save power and make your device last longer than ever.

7. Advanced Task Manager

Task killers give you control over the apps that run in the background of your Android smartphone. By closing these apps, you can extend the battery life of the smartphone. Also, you can set auto-kill option and the app will kill the apps whenever they open.

6. Battery Calibration

Another Battery Calibrator that lets you take control of your battery and make it show the real value of the charge. Although, keep in mind it is recommended that you use this app after a fresh flashing of a ROM and it also needs root permissions because it changes the batterystats.bin file.

5. Battery Widget

A simple widget that allows you view the state of your battery via a simple 1×1 widget. Also, it allows you to control GPS, Bluetooth Wi-Fi and Screen Options. The first step in trying to make your Android device more power friendly.

4. Battery Dr saver

Adjust all the power options for your Android smartphone with just one app. Battery Dr saver allows you to adjust screen timeout and brightness, turn off or on functions for longer battery life and it also provides a great task killer for those unwanted apps that just won’t close.

3. Advanced Task Killer

One of the best Task Managers that allows you to kill tasks and therefore save battery life. The auto-kill option gives you control of what apps run in background and it takes on the task of killing them so that you don’t have to stop them every time they start.

2. Super aTool Box-cache battery

As the name suggest, this app accomplishes what any other app cannot. It combines all the options of your device and it lays them at your fingertips. With its impressive list of features it can be truly called one of the best apps that allow you increase the battery life of your Android smartphone.

1. JuiceDefender

This complete toolbox offers you top of the line control over all the aspects of your Android smartphone and it allows you to set up your device in order to consume less power and keep your battery drain in check.

3 Other Apps

Also, I have used these apps with great success I might add. I was very pleased with the results. You might want to take a look at them.

• Easy Battery Saver
• Battery Monitor Widget
• GO Power Master (requires Go Launcher installed)

I have used these apps, in combination with the tips I provided and I have saw a result. However, do not expect miracles to happen. In some cases, depending on how much I used my smartphone, I had an increase in battery efficiency of up to 5 hours, which is about 25%. Of course, it might seem just a little improvement, but I must admit I felt the difference. And you will too.

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Remember GroupShot? That magical app which blew our mind few months back. The developers behind GroupShot are back with another app for iPhone, which they call StillShot.

StillShot might not be as magical as GroupShot, but it is incredibly useful. How often you have felt sad for missing that perfect moment while clicking a photo? How often have you gone to take a picture and realized your iPhone was still in video mode? Well, you don’t need to fret anymore, as StillShot comes to your rescue in all these scenarios. StillShot helps you create high quality photos from any video on your iPhone.

With StillShot, you can dissect a video, frame-by-frame, choose the single frame which captures that perfect moment and save it as a full resolution photo! For example, on an iPhone 4s, you can save the pic at 1080p (1920*1080px).

Much like GroupShot, StillShot scores with its ease of use. All you need to do is fire up the app, choose the video, wait for a second for the app to dissect the frames and save the best frame as a photo. Customary features like sharing the photo on Facebook & Twitter are available as well.

Over the last week, I’ve used StillShot extensively during IPL cricket matches. For fast moving sporting actions, StillShot was a boon as I didn’t have to worry about capturing a shaky picture of my favorite cricketers and just had to shoot the video, and let StillShot do the rest for me!

At $0.99, StillShot is a dollar well spent and a must-have weapon in your arsenal of iPhone photography apps.

Download StillShot

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The latest rounds of IPOs and rallying public markets might have brought back hope of a better future in the hearts of many, but one can’t help but wonder if they might lead to a false and unstable recovery. Look at Europe’s sinking recession that is spreading like plague among many countries, its debt issues, the rise of oil and gasoline prices, the horrible unemployment rates. The moderate growths announced by FED brings no ease to the hearts of people and no relief.

But as Arwen from Lord of the Rings says light can be found in the dark, and in the economic sector, this light appear to be entrepreneurs who start their own business. They are the dreamers who won’t give up fight and keep believing that no matter what something can be achieved in this crumbling world. People that can change and improve the economy with us staying inside the house.

Small Businesses, Start-ups: the Real Solution for the Economy

In 2011, a study done by Forrester showcased some interesting details to backup this hypothesis. Apparently 78% of small business in the US expect to see growth within two years and 39% of those expect their number of employees to double. According to some numbers from the U.S. Small Business Administration, this is no surprise, as small businesses represent 99.7% of employers firms. These businesses have managed to create 64% of new jobs over the past 15 years.

And today small business find themselves in a really unique position, especially when looking at things from the tech sector – a sector that is considered to be the future of the United States. You only have to take a glance over to Silicon Valley’s recent explosion of startups to see that the tech sector is being pumped by innovation and passion. The dogma behind these start-ups is that perpetual innovation and intuition capabilities help drive the future of the business.

Looking to Raise a Lot of Money

It also helps the start-up to act as a sort of chameleon, allowing it to shift and become relevant to whatever the world might bring on its plate. In times like this, Facebook, a social networking company that started out in a dorm room, is planning to file for its first IPO and unexpectedly or not, the act holds massive economic importance.

This week, the company even filed a new amendment annexed to its initial public offering in order to raise its share price to as much as $38 per share. The minimum price was set for $34 per share. With the new IPO price, the company is set to rise over the $100 billion valuation as was expected ever since the company’s paperwork first went public in February 2012. The paper also commented a little on the recent Instagram acquisition announcing that the deal will be settled in 2012.

Facebook’s IPO: Crossroad of Traditional and Digital Economy

Facebook currently boasts more than 900 million users and is expected to be pass the 1 billion barrier in the upcoming months of summer, with almost half of the users registered being active everyday on the site. Just think about the fact that back in 2006, Facebook only had 12 million users. Clearly, Facebook has managed to get under the skin of people and has become part of the fabric of life. This is not easily undone.

But will the Facebook IPO affect economy in any way. Of course it will. The Facebook IPO is expected to be a boom not only in the tech sector but in the startup/small business sector as well. The IPO should be seen as an opportunity for jobs and for people to use their work in order to impact the world that we are all part of. And what is the world looking for? It is looking for economic growth – the kind that offers means of existence to billion of people and creates working environments for everybody.

Digital Environment – a Job Creator

Since its creation, Facebook has hired more than 3,000 people for its private staff, plus another 450,000 affiliated jobs. With the US Dollar’s gloomy long-term outlook and the depressive unemployment rate, a successful Facebook IPO might animate some of the sleeping spirits found today in the US stock markets. This in turn could fuel the demand for US dollars and oversea investors in order to help the economy pick up the paste.

The Facebook IPO is something symbolic and of great significance. At TNW Conference in Amsterdam, I saw so many people with start-ups, each of them believing in their product. Start-ups aren’t only about the digital world, rather they use this new environment – the Internet – to spread ideas all over the world. Facebook has consolidated people’s need to share, to be liked, to be connected. Start-ups are investigating and satisfying various needs that may or may not be connected to the online.

We Live Online

The Internet is the perfect channel to be connected with customers, people that share the same ideas as you and it’s the fastest way to reach to others. Proof to that is the incredible growth in the Dot-com bubble. Even if the bubble eventually went burst, it was a way to educate the market, to consolidate and cement the world and make it look like today.  And that’s how we’ve arrived to a moment when a company like Facebook is on everybody’s lips.

Companies no longer advertise their own websites, but they choose Facebook.com/companyname because it creates an interaction with their customers. Slowly, but surely, people start to consume things online: they spend more time playing social games, they browse more on their iPads, they tweet more. Thus, they spend much more time being online, spending online than outside, in the physical world. People want and can be informed and entertained as soon as possible.

Facebook’s IPO, in my opinion, marks the peak for the digital economy. We all get it why Google, Amazon, eBay and others are awesome, because they are somehow related to physical products, they are more tangible. Facebook is different and by being different it will inspire thousands of start-ups that will contribute to the prosperity of the digital economy.

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Everyone who had to reinstall their OS in the past (and if you run Windows, you’ve done this plenty of times) knows that the biggest pain is to reinstall all the kits and drivers again. And as you know, there are lots of drivers you need to install on your computer or laptop. From Video Card, to motherboard to Chipset and all those in between.

How to Update Drivers Automatically

It may not be a particularly hard task to do, but it’s pretty time consuming. Going after each driver, downloading and installing, it takes ages. But fear not, there are ways to install drivers with much more ease, although, some might argue that the old fashioned way is still the best there is. Also, every manufacturer encourages you to download and install the latest driver for their product and in itself complicates your life even more.

Always searching for driver updates on numerous websites. But fear not, there are a few ways to update your drivers with much more ease and far lesser time consumed. Nonetheless, for those who are willing to try alternative methods of installing drivers, methods that take a lot less time and headaches, here are a few methods to automatically install or update your drivers.

Why Update Drivers?

This is the question many will ask. Why update drivers in the first place? Well, like with all computer programs, games or apps, each update brings it closer to perfection. Bug Fixes, smoother running and more options are available with each update. Take for example Video Card drivers (I only mentioned this because yesterday I update mine).

The update for my nVidia card had numerous bug fixes and it also offers better performance and increased stability in many games and in 3D mode (up to 20% better performance). So, you see how much it matters for you to have the latest drivers installed on your computer. They make it run smoother with less errors and they will give an increase in performance.

Install or Update Drivers Using Windows

You might have noticed that when you plug in a new device to your Windows PC, it automatically searches for a driver. This extends further than USB memory sticks. Any plug-and-play device you connect to your computer can automatically get its designated driver automatically. Windows allows you to do this using the Device Installation Settings.

You can find this feature in your Control Panel (Start -> Control Panel), under Devices and Printers. Once here, you will see a list of all your devices connected to your computer. Find your PC, right click on it and select Device Installation Settings. There, you can check the “Yes” box and the next time you plug in a plug-and-play device it will automatically search for the default driver and install it.

Use Driver Update Designated Programs

There are lots of programs that can search for drivers automatically, and they work pretty good. I use them on my laptop to find, download and install all my drivers. They work great, but they have a few bugs, such as seeing that a driver is old (the latest version is old and the manufacturer has not released newer drivers) and downloading time and time again the same driver. But these are bugs I can live with. After all, they do install all my drivers in a few minutes, rather than 1 hour it would take me to navigate to each website and search for my driver.

Driver Update Programs

Here are just a few examples of such programs. I won’t go into specifics because apart from the additional features, they all do the same thing and they all work pretty good. I use on my laptop Uniblue Driver Scanner and I am most pleased with its performance so far. But the others work just as fine.

4. Driver Checker
3. SlimDrivers
2. Driver Robot
1. Uniblue Driver Scanner

And there are many like these available on the web. They basically do the same things, although some offer other features like computer scan for problems, registry cleaners and other useful tools. But it is entirely up to you which one you consider the best suited for your needs.

Use Manufacturer’s Website

Some manufacturers of computer components, like nVidia and Intel offer support for driver updates directly on their websites. These tools scan your computer for installed devices and they detect the current driver installed. If there are updates available, it will prompt you to download and install them. I prefer this method above all other. I’m certain that my driver comes directly from the official site of the manufacturer and that is the latest driver released. Also, this method gives you the guarantee that the driver is compatible and that it is 100% safe.

Also, some brands offer you a specialized software, when you buy their their product, an auto-update program. These will search for new releases and they will notify you when one comes out. But keep in mind these are designed to work for the component they come with, and will not give you updates for other components installed in your computer.

Keep in mind that it is always recommended to have the very latest driver installed. However, I might stay away from beta drivers because they are still in the test phase and by installing them you might encounter system instability. But other than that, updating will keep your computer working at full capacity.

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Judging by the extreme success the new iPad has seen, thanks to its wonderful Retina Display, the following news makes absolute sense. Apparently, Apple is looking to implement the Retina technology in next generation iMacs and MacBooks Pro. Some of us might not consider Retina Display to have quite a big impact while others think Retina Display doesn’t matter to the entire audience. But I am sure that Apple lovers would absolutely love to have a MacBook Pro or iMac with a resolutionary display.

Retina Display on Cards for MacBook Pro and iMac

Joanna Stern of ABC News is the one who first attracted the attention on the subject at matter:

“The laptop will see the introduction of the “Mac Retina Display,” which is said to have a very high resolution. ABC News has similarly heard from its own sources that both the next MacBook Pro and the iMac would be getting very, very high resolution displays. Apple refreshed its new iPad with a Retina Display in March”

Various sources were already circulating around the idea that Apple might be willing to switch from AMD chips to the latest more advanced NVIDIA chips. Now, ABC News  and others claim that the Cupertino group is certainly going to be adopting the NVIDIA option and even discloses the fact that the NVIDIA “Kepler” will be the choice for the next generation Macs. On the other side of camp, the GeFore FT 650M is the most likely candidate to breathe life into the new MacBook Pro and iMac.

But if iMacs do get the retina display treatment, what would the resolution supposed to be? Somewhere 3200 x 2000 maybe? These numbers were calculated based on a very ingenuous idea that basically doubles screen resolutions. This is exactly what Apple did when introduced the retina in the iPhone 4 and doubled the iPhone 3GS’s one.

Huge Resolution for Apple’s Devices

The idea is that a Retina Display applied on a Mac might cause all the UI elements to shrink quite noticeably so developers might feel they were actually working in Lilliput land. The solution would be to apply the same strategy as Apple did with the iPhone 4. So, let’s make some calculations and predictions. Working with the scenario, we find that the 15-inch MacBook Pro might sport a screen resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels, almost the double of its 1440 x 900.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro would wind up having a 3490 x 2400, compared to the 1920 x 1200 it has now. The 27-inch iMac will jump to 5120 x 2880, leaving behind the 2560 x 1440 it has now. Adding such a high resolution to Macs will mean that Apple will most definitely have to adopt more powerful CPUs and GPUs. The new models of MacBookPro and iMac will come packing HiDPI displays which will probably translate into retina displays.

If you are curious about more details, unfortunately there aren’t so many. Rumors envision the release date of the next generation Macs somewhere in June but we can’t be certain at this point. Several authorized retail partners have reported that the MacBook Pro is out of stock, thus prompting rumors that the new MacBook Pro is on its way to the market. Maybe the Apple WorldWide Developer Conference next month will bring us more answers.

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Windows 8 tablets are one step closer to becoming a reality and the competition they are going to provide will  spice up the current tablet market. Even if the demand for the well known iPad doesn’t seem to experience a decrease, there is a demand out there for a more adaptable and powerful gadget.

Intel Tablets With Windows 8 to be Launched by The End of 2012

So far, tablets like HP TouchPad or BlackBerry PlayBook did not attract a large number of followers, so an opportunity and a niche has been created here for Microsoft. And apparently, the company is willing to take it. According to reliable information coming from trusty insiders, the Microsoft next generation touch-filled Windows 8 operating system plus the Intel hardware responsible for breathing light into the OS will be coming out in November.

Also, another bomb is dropped. Alongside these goodies, users will be able to grab the first wave on Intel-based Windows 8 tablets. Windows 8 will be the first operating system to use an ARM-based chipset. Quite a novelty in the OS department, we must reckon.

Apart from these tablet computers, some hybrids or convertibles will become available according to the information provided by CNET.

Watch Out, iPad and Android

The models will combine a keyboard with the capabilities of the tablet PC in order to provide better access and interaction. The new Windows 8 tablets will most likely be shipping with a Intel dual-core Atom-based CPU that is also known as Clover Trail. Like his partner in crime, Intel is too trying to make it into the mobile world. Back at Intel’s annual investor day, Forbes reported that Intel made it quite clear that it plans to sniff around the mobile device maker court yard to see what might fit.

“Our job is to ensure our silicon is so compelling, in terms off running the Mac better or being a better iPad device, that as they make those decisions they can’t ignore us,”

stated Intel CEO Paul Otellini.

Under the hood, Intel will have to go against ARM chipsets (ARM Cortex A15 will be 5 Times Faster) that already conquered the mobile world and are pretty dominant in this space. But the Clover Trail CPU has a few aces up its sleave. It is conceived based on the single-core Medfield CPU model, model that can only be found in the most recent Android devices coming out from Lenovo and Orange. The Clover Trail manufacturing process will be done at 32 nm in order to increase power efficiency as much as possible.

More than that, the Clover Trail already has a successor available and ready to take things even further. The processor is called Bay Trail and will be capable of moving to a smaller 22 nm process. And because Intel acquired Infineon the new Bay Trail will enjoy 3G/4G integration. Presumably after the Intel launch, we will witness a totally separate release party for the Windows RT ARM tablets. The devices are expected to drop on the market as soon as the Intel’s one make it to retail store. Competition will be fierce.

[via Cnet]

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In a world where the use of alternative energy sources has become crucial to preserving the ecosystems that have been nurturing us since the dawn of man, one of the most recent and most promising new technologies is the fuel cell.  What is that, you might wonder? Well, a fuel cell is a practical device that generates electricity via a chemical reaction.

Fuel Cell Technology: What we Need in Our Devices

Every single fuel cell has two electrodes, a positive one and a negative one – an anode and cathode basically. The reactions that take place between the two electrodes are the ones who produce electricity in the end. Hydrogen is the fuel used but for the reactions to occur the cells will also need oxygen. You might remember that Liliputian’s battery is based on this technology, as well.

One very interesting and positive aspect of fuel cells is that they manage to produce electricity without polluting the environment, and that’s because hydrogen and oxygen – needed in the reaction combine to produce a neutral byproduct, which is water. The actual purpose of a fuel cell is to produce electrical current that can be used outside the cell. Think of powering motors or luminous light bulbs in the city.

No Harm Done to Nature

Because of the way electricity works, this current will find its way back to the fuel cell, thus completing an electrical circuit. Hydrogen atoms will enter a fuel cell at the anode where a chemical reaction takes place so the atoms are freed from their electrons. The hydrogen atoms will be “ionized” and will start carrying electrical charges. The negative electrons move on to provide the current through wires.

Fuel cells are mostly classified by their electrolyte type, which is at the heart of the fuel cell process. Currently we can find six types of electrolytes that will probably find their way to commercial use pretty soon:

• Molten carbonate
• Phosphoric acid
• Solid oxide
• Polymer electrolyte membrane
• Direct methanol
• Alkaline

Fuel Cell Vehicles?

You see, a single fuel cell produces a very meager amount of energy. In order to produce a usable amount, a lot of fuel cells will have to be glued together which is called a fuel cell stack. When this is done, the resulted stack is enough to fuel a car and even a truck.
Honda is one of the major car companies that has set its gaze upon the fuel cell and started testing prototypes ever since 1999.

In 2002, it even managed to deliver fuel cell vehicles to the Japanese Cabinet Office and to Los Angeles but that doesn’t mean they are close to developing the technology for the masses yet. In November 2007, Honda unraveled the FCX Clarity advanced fuel electric vehicle that featured a superb output of 100kW. It sounds almost too good to be true. Good this technology be embedded inside self-driving cars, as well?

Still an Expensive Piece of Technology

At the moment, fuel cells are very expensive to produce and cost about 4500 dollars per kilowatt as opposed to 800 to 1000 dollars per kilowatt for a diesel engine. Some problems with hydrogen being used as fuel emerged as well, because as you well might now, Hydrogen is one of the most volatile substances that can be found on planet Earth, thus making it very difficult to store.

Hydrogen used on the fuel cells has to be in a very pure state, otherwise it will end up damaging the catalyst. Hydrogen is not easily extracted and must come from natural sources like water or natural gas thus adding more costs to the process. The catalyst material itself is very expensive since it is made from one of the most expensive materials on Earth – platinum. So we could end up facing a platinum drainage if we would rely solely on it for energy creation.

Converting Chemical Energy

On the other hand, fuel cells might prove to be extremely advantageous. As discussed above, fuel cells convert chemical energy instantly and directly into electricity eliminating the combustion process. Therefore, a fuel cell will not be governed by thermodynamic laws and could achieve high efficiencies in energy conversion terms. Also due to their nature of doing business, fuel cells are very quiet.

This might allow fuel cells to be used in residential and living areas where noise is undesirable. Due to their lack of moving parts, Fuel Cells also have a low maintenance cost. Fuel cells could be applied in other fields, as well. The most amazing application of fuel cells comes from the world of consumer technology.

Smartphones, Tablets: The Perfect Destination for Fuel Cell Technology?

Massachusetts-based Lilliputian Systems Inc. just announced it will release under the Brookstone banner a pocket size fuel cell which holds enough power to fully charge an iPhone for about 10-15 times (see our article about how to increase the battery life for iPhone, if you don’t have money for something like this).  The fuel cell comes with a USB port and is the size of a thicker smartphone. The power comes from the cartridges filled with lighter fluid. Pretty ingenious. And Lilliputian isn’t the only company doing research in the business.

RIM, as well, seems to be interested in joining the fuel cell wagon. They have filled some new patents regarding fuel cells. They involve the frame of the device and the “tank”, thus showcasing a curious model that we have not yet seen before. Here’s how the patent description sounds like:

“A mobile device having: a keyboard; a printed circuit board having at least one contact responsive to the keyboard; and a fuel cell assembly having: a fuel cell located between the keyboard and the printed circuit board, the fuel cell having a membrane and at least one aperture corresponding with the at least one contact; a tank adapted to store a fuel for the fuel cell; and piping connecting the tank with the fuel cell, where the fuel cell ventilates through the keyboard. Alternatively, the fuel cell acts as the printed circuit board and at least one contact for the keyboard is printed onto the fuel cell.”

How Much More to Wait?

To make a point, fuel cells seem to have a good shot into being incorporated somewhere in smaller technology for the moment, so the ideas above seem to be very valid and useful, but there’s certainly going to be a while until we see them implemented into something major like powering up a household or a truck.

Certainly, fuell cell technology will find its way into the smart home of the future. Before we’ll become fully wireless, I hope to see devices with fuel cell technology appearing more and more on the market. Smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S3 don’t impress me anymore, to be honest, because they show a gradual evolution, from handset to handset. My smartphone, tablet, laptop needs a much, much bigger and safer battery life. Give me that and take my money.

© Raju PP for Technically Personal!, 2012. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

As with Android devices, iPhones and other iOS devices have the same problem: the battery. This aspect of mobile devices has haunted manufacturers even since the early days. And now with all the tech that goes in a smartphone, the problem is bigger than ever. Future advances in battery technologies will make these problems go away (Liliputian’s battery promises to deliver 2 weeks of charging!).

A solution might be a wireless charger, such as the one found in the Samsung Galaxy S III, or solar cells powering the devices when subjected to direct sunlight. These could greatly enhance the battery efficiency of these devices, but until such technologies are implemented, we will just have to make due with what we have at our disposal.

Tips to Make iPhone’s Battery Last Longer

Of course, the same tips apply to the iPhone as to the Android devices:

• Turn off Wi-Fi, or use 3G networks when possible. And if you don’t need an internet connection, stick only to 2G networks.
• Turn off Bluetooth. It might not consume much energy, but it adds up.
• Set the screen to auto brightness, because, as you know, the screen is the biggest battery hog of all.
• Turn off GPS, even though it is not used when in idle mode, when you launch an app that uses location services it will start running and consume battery.
• Even buy a iPhone case that has a battery extension. Although it might cost you the slim look of your iOS jewel, it will increase its battery life.
• Also, a good way to enhance your iPhone’s battery life is to use airplane mode more often. Especially in low coverage areas. Because when the phone searches for a network it uses enormous amounts of power. Also, at night you could use this feature and it will conserve some power, making your device last longer.
• Turn off the Equalizer. In your music player, the EQ forces the rendering of sound in a particular way (depending on what you set your EQ to). This consumes power because the phone is trying to give off more bass or treble instead of the flat sound.
• Also, if you have multiple email accounts, set your phone to check them less often. It will not connect to any servers and it will not give off any notifications. This will help you save some battery.
• Quit background apps. Despite Apple’s claim that suspended apps consume just a minimum of power, if you have lots of apps in suspend mode, it will add up to serious drain. Close those apps and you will see an immediate effect on your battery.

On its own, neither of these tips will make miracles with your battery life, but if you find a middle way, to make use of some of them, it will result in some visible battery saving. Although it will not make your iPhone last a week, a few hours of extra up time will be noticeable.

Top 5 iPhone Battery Saving Apps

But what is the most accessible option of all? The one where you still retain the functionality of your device and still get some extra juice out of your device. The answer lies with iPhone battery saving apps. These range from task killers, to battery calibrators to simple tools that allow you to quickly turn on or off certain features that you are not using, resulting in an increase in battery life.

5. Battery LED!

The first step in making your iPhone’s battery last longer is to know exactly how much time you have until it runs out. Battery LED! gives you exactly that information in a great looking way. It provides you with information about how much time the battery will last while gaming, internet browsing, listening to music and so on.

4. BatterySense by Philips Consumer Lifestyle

A great looking app with a wonderful and intuitive interface that lets you know how much time does your iPhone have until it runs dry. Also, BatterySense allows you to save battery by turning off services such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, notifications and others. A great tool to have that allows you to take control of your iPhone’s battery.

3. Battery Doctor Pro – Max Your Battery Life

Battery Doctor Pro makes other battery saving apps for iPhone look obsolete. It gives you very detailed and accurate information about your battery drain and your battery’s health and also, a process monitor that allows you to see exactly which service is draining your iPhone dry.

2. Battery God

Battery God gives you detailed information on just how much power each service of your iPhone costumes, and with these customized and very detailed results you can take the necessary precautions to make your iPhone’s battery last longer.

1. Battery Life Pro – All-IN-1

Control your battery drain from one app that gives you detailed information about every service on your iPhone. You know just how much power a particular service consumes and it gives you the necessary information on how to maximize the use of your battery.

Although the battery saving options of the iPhone are not as easy as those for Android device, where you have more apps that can actually take control of your smartphone’s power drain, they will give you a helping hand in making your device more power efficient.

These are the main tips and apps that will help in your battle against battery drain. Try them out and let us know what you think of them. Also, if you know a few other tricks to make your iPhone’s battery last longer, tell us about them in the comment section.

© Raju PP for Technically Personal!, 2012. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |