Acer announces Orbe: a wireless storage hub for its cloud service

Acer announces Orbe: a wireless storage hub for its cloud service

On stage at Acer's press event at Computex 2013 in Taipei, wrapping up a day of new Ultrabooks, tablets and smartphones, it revealed the Orbe, a new storage hub that connects to AcerCloud. You'll be able to tap into 2TB of storage with the curiously-shaped device, which will connect to... yep, Ultrabooks, tablets and smartphones -- something that's particularly useful given the cloud service's relatively recent update allowing any Android or iOS device to connect. Unfortunately we have yet to dig up any more specs on the device.

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Compose by Ouyang Xi – Your Music Writes Itself

Compose by Ouyang Xi – Your Music Writes Itself 

I hate to admit that I took 2 years of guitar lessons and I can only play the first few cords of Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water. I guess I’m one of those people who simply isn’t musically inclined. I used to write some poetry that I would have loved to turn into songs, but I couldn’t read or write music either. So I guess it’s safe to say I’m not destined to be a rock star.

All hope is not lost! Check out Compose by Ouyang Xi, a concept device designed to allow the musically challenged to actually get their melodies on paper. The pen on this digital clipboard acts as a microphone, allowing you to whistle or play a tune into it, and then when docked into the digital tablet, the harmonies will automatically be transcribed into a score. The Compose would also allow you to write directly on the display in order to “record” your tunes, before the thoughts of them are lost forever.

The designer, Ouyang Xi, would also like to see this concept contain libraries that would include sounds for an entire orchestra so that your final masterpiece can play in all it’s splendor, for everyone to enjoy. Of course it’s only a concept for now, but it gives hope to so many of us that have been walking around with the next hit recording buzzing around in our heads.

That’s all I know for now, it certainly is a concept I’d like to see go to production someday, I knew I had rock star potential, I just need a little help. Check out yankodesigns.com for updates or more information.

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GOOGLE USING ‘WHITE SPACES’ SPECTRUM TO DELIVER WI-FI TO SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS

GOOGLE USING ‘WHITE SPACES’ SPECTRUM TO DELIVER WI-FI TO SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS

We’ve already seen the potential to deploy so-called “Super Wi-Fi” networks over white spaces spectrum in the United States and now Google (GOOG) is working to use the same technology to deliver Internet connectivity to ten schools in South Africa. The Verge reports that “launching the test network is Google’s most direct effort yet to demonstrate the potential of white spaces… as a means of delivering faster internet connectivity to the developing world and other rural areas.” For those unfamiliar with spectrum jargon, “white spaces” are bands of unused television spectrum that let signals travel farther and penetrate more deeply into buildings than the standard 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi spectrum bands. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission first authorized the spectrum for unlicensed use on wireless devices back in 2008.

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A few issues plaguing Google’s self-driving car

A few issues plaguing Google’s self-driving car

A few issues plaguing Google’s self-driving car

Self-driving cars are the future and various groups are currently working on perfecting their self-driving cars and preparing them for the masses. Oxford University tested out their own self-driving car system recently to much success. It’s able to perform well on regular commutes and in traffic jams, and the team is currently working on a system that will allow their car to easily map surrounding areas. Google’s self-driving car system is doing well too, being able to perform daily tasks with ease, and most of time being able to drive better than humans. A few reports from Google’s team, however, state that there are a few flaws that need to be worked on. While Google’s self-driving car may be able to handle normal driving tasks, it can hit a few roadblocks under certain circumstances. These problems are fixable, but will require much creative thinking amongst the Google team (something they are obviously pretty good at). The 3 issues plaguing the self-driving car system include: Driving in snow, driving in areas with unsuspected changes in the road, and driving in areas where a human is directing traffic.

While driving in the snow, the car’s sensors have a hard time analyzing the lane markers on the road, which it needs to be able to do in order to stay correctly in its lane. When the cars come across an unexpected change in the roads that is not recorded in its mapping system, it becomes lost and is unable to find its way around, or find an alternate route to its destination. And last, while driving through areas where traffic needs to be directed by a human, such as construction zones, the car is unable to analyze the traffic director’s gestures and thus becomes confused.

The engineers are currently working on fixes for these problems, and it may require some out-of-the-box thinking. Development of self-driving cars is advancing further and further and I can’t wait for them be available to the masses. Currently, the prices of self-driving car systems are speculated to cost an arm an a leg, but the teams are working on reducing those costs down to a much more affordable price tag.

[via Business Insider]

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This Wireless Charging Device from Poweredbyproxi is the Future

This Wireless Charging Device from Powered by proxi is the Future

This Wireless Charging Device from Powered by proxi is the Future

Powered By Proxi is the next wireless charging device that might rid you of that annoying search for your misplaced cellphone charger. 

Everyone with a cell phone has last a charger at some point and stared at their dead cell phone wishing there was a better way. Powered By Proxi looks like a cutting board and simply sits on any counter, table or desk. When you want to charge your device, you simply place it on the plate and walk away.

An extension of this product works to wireless recharge batteries in everyday devices like television remote controls or high end headphones. This particular device is shaped like a big bowl and the devices just sit inside it while they charge. This company has even developed the first ever wireless rechargeable AA battery. See the video here: http://youtu.be/NuLuAVJXJfc

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LG officially announces new wireless charger, claims worlds smallest

LG officially announces new wireless charger, claims worlds smallest

Remember the Qi wireless charger we first showed you yesterday at Mobile World Congress? LG has today officially announced it and in the process claim that the hockey puck like charging disk is the worlds smallest wireless charger. As we found out during our hands on, it's a nice little accessory, and unlike the Nexus 4 charging orb sits flat against a surface. 

 As this is a Qi certified charger, in theory any Qi compatible device should be able to take advantage of this. LG makes note of 2 of their US released smartphones -- the Nexus 4 and Spectrum 2 -- as being Qi enabled. No word on pricing or availability at this moment in time, but as this will be coming from LG direct we'd love to see a much wider availability than the currently limited Nexus 4 charger. Click on past the break for the full press release. 

 BARCELONA, Feb. 26, 2013 ㅡ LG Electronics (LG) today introduced the world’s smallest wireless charger at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. At only 6.9cm in diameter, the WCP-300 is designed with portability in mind. Despite its diminutive size, the charging area is 1.7 times wider than that of LG’s previous generation wireless charger.The new model is compatible with a standard 5-pin micro-USB charger, providing the highest level of charging performance and user convenience.

 The WCP-300 employs electromagnetic induction technology and is Qi certified by the Wireless Power Consortium. Electromagnetic induction produces a magnetic field that in turn generates an electric current to charge the batteries in devices placed on the charging pad. Certification ensures that the WCP-300 is compatible with all smartphones that support the Qi standard.

 “Wireless charging is the holy grail of smartphone user convenience,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With the WCP-300, LG was able to deliver both portability with top-class charging capabilities in a device no larger than a typical beverage coaster.”

 In the US market, both the LG Spectrum 2 and Nexus 4 feature built-in support for wireless charging right out of the box, eliminating the need to purchase separate covers. LG believes that built-in support for upcoming smartphones will be the most critical development in making wireless charging the industry standard going forward.

 LG is committed to offering consumers a better mobile user experience by introducing smartphones with more advanced wireless charging technologies in the global market.

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How Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.0 compares with Apple’s iPad mini??

How Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.0 compares with Apple’s iPad mini??

Samsung’s announcement of its latest device — the Galaxy Note 8.0 has been widely seen as a direct competitor to Apple’s iPad mini.

Here is a quick look at how they compare across various parameters:

The screen:

The Galaxy Note 8.0 screen comes with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels which comes to 189 pixels per inch (ppi) since it an eight-inch device. It is powered by a 1.6 Ghz A9 quad-core processor. In terms of screen resolution, the Note 8.0 is kicking the iPad mini hard. The iPad mini in contrast has a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels with a screen resolution of 163 ppi, powered by a dual-core A5 processor. According to tech experts, the iPad mini’s screen has resolution has been a bit of a deal-breaker.

Camera:

The Note has a 5-megapixel back camera (plus a 1.3-megapixel one on the front for video calls).

The iPad mini has very similar camera capabilities. Its back camera is also 5 megapixel, while the front camera is slightly less powerful at 1.2 MP.

S Pen: Hover is the new touch!

Samsung is clearly counting on the S Pen to steal consumers away from the iPad mini, and has upgraded it to work better on tablet devices.

According to TechCrunch, the S Pen stylus has been upgraded to work both on the touchscreen of the Note 8.0 as well as with the physical navigation buttons, and Samsung is also extending the functionality of the pen in other ways. And the Air View feature, where users can initiate previews by hovering their pen over something without touching the screen, is now getting expanded to third party apps.

It seems that Flipboard has also got a serious upgrade for Galaxy Note 8.0 and users can now select and expand a tile by hovering the pen over a selection.

Other S Pen optimised features include Popup Note, Popup Video, Shape Match, Formula Match and Idea Sketch. Clearly with Galaxy Note 8.0, Samsung isn’t just competing at the level of raw specs but also offering some new features that Apple’s iPad mini clearly doesn’t.

Connectivity

The Note 8.0 supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and USB 2.0. Oh and users can make calls with the Galaxy Note 8.0 which is obviously a big plus. So its not just a mini-tablet but, also a pretty big smartphone. The device also comes with 2GB RAM. It will come in two variants — 16GB and 32GB. Its memory is expandable up to 64 GB using a microSD card.

The Note 8.0 has a 4600 mAH which battery which comes to around 17 watt-hour and so is slightly bigger than the iPad mini which has a 16.3-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery. In terms of connectivity the iPad mini has WiFi, Bluetooth, data and LTE. It comes in three variants — 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB.

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YOU CAN BOOST THE SIGNAL OF YOUR WI-FI BY USING A CAN

YOU CAN BOOST THE SIGNAL OF YOUR WI-FI BY USING A CAN

If your router still won't reach far enough, you can extend its range with simple DIY (do-it-yourself) tricks. You can use a beer can or any beverage can to extend your router's range. The results won't necessarily be mind blowing, but you should be able to eke a bit more distance out of your Wi-Fi network with minimal effort.

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Ubiquiti Product Demo - Introduction to mFi

Ubiquiti Product Demo - Introducation To mFi

Randy Frei, Architect of the mFi platform gives us a tour of the revolutionary new M2M product and some of its potential applications.

To learn more about mFi, please go to http://www.ubnt.com/mFi.

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