Viber VoIP Launches for Android, Bringing Free VoIP Calls to All
Let's face it: phone calls are becoming less and less common every day. It used to be that the only way to communicate with someone with relative speed was with a phone call. But the rise in popularity of mobile phones, and especially smartphones, have given us more options than ever for communicating with each other. Texts, emails, and chat messages are easier to use than ever, and our mobile phones let us constantly stay in touch without having to actually speak with each other. Service providers have noticed this too, and have changed many of their plans to cater to the needs of the rising number of people that text and email from their phone. Mobile phone commercials that emphasize "free minutes" are much less common than they were 5 years ago.
But what if you're the type of person that still likes to make calls? What if you like to talk but your service plan just doesn't let you? Download Viber's app for iOS or (just released) Android, and you can take advantage of that data plan for something more than email and virus-laden Justin Bieber ring tones.
Viber is a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) app that allows you to use your phone's data connection to place old-fashioned phone-calls. It's the same technology that programs like Skype use, although Whether you use a Wi-Fi connection or your service provider's 3G network, it will allow you to make calls without eating into any minutes at all. The thing that sets Viber apart from other VoIP apps is that it's completely free. Add that to the fact that it integrates with your phonebook (so that you can dial using Viber with basically no additional steps) and gives a streamlined texting interface and it's hard to find a reason not to try it out.
Check out the video below to get a glimpse of what the interface looks like and head over to the App Store or the Android Market on your smartphone to give it a whirl!
Source: Engadget
Vitaminwater Powers Up Bus Shelters in Select US Cities
In an effort to create a buzz (no pun intended) about their new energizing offering, Vitaminwater has added a little something extra at bus shelters featuring ads of their aptly named "Energy" flavor. Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago bus shelters that display an add for "Energy" will have built-in USB ports that will let you charge your phone, mp3 player, gaming device, or whatever other mobile device you want, using a 5-volt battery. It's part of their new campaign, titled "You're Up," which emphasizes the quick boost of energy they say Vitaminwater gives you. It's a fun and interesting idea from ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, but if you don't live in any of the aforementioned cities, or don't take the bus, might we suggest a solar charger instead?
Source: Mashable
Stanford Breakthrough Could Drastically Improve Lithium-Ion Batteries
Lithium ion batteries have been available commercially since the early 90s, powering our cameras, phones, laptops, and all sorts of mobile electronics. And they've been doing a pretty good job. Aside from being a bit fragile, they have remained the dominant battery technology for many years, seeing the advent of mp3 players, smartphones, and tablets such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab.
But although they are almost perfect for mobile devices, lithium-ion batteries have fallen short when it comes to heavy-duty applications such as in power tools and electric vehicles. In cases like this, batteries using nickel metal-hydride or nickel cadmium chemistry are used, because of their similar energy densities and lower costs of production.
But what if we could boost the output of lithium-ion batteries and make them worth the cost?
Like any other battery, lithium-ion batteries have an anode (aka the minus sign, or black end of the battery), a cathode (aka the plus sign, or red end of the battery), and an electrolyte. Depending on whether you are charging the battery or discharging it (read: using it) lithium ions will travel through the electrolyte, either from the anode to the cathode, or vice versa. The output of the battery is limited by the specific capacity of the materials that are used for both the cathode and the anode, so different batteries use different materials, yielding different capacities. This is in part due to the fact that your battery is only as good as the cathode or anode with the lowest specific capacity - an electrical bottleneck, if you will.
Researchers at Stanford University may have found a way to use sulphur to make the cathode of their lithium ion batteries, dramatically increasing their output. Whereas most materials used for cathodes have a specific capacity of 160 milliamp hours per gram (mAh/g) to a silicon anode's 4200 mAh, sulphur has a specific capacity of 1672 mAh/g. The only thing holding battery manufacturers back from increasing the capacity of their batteries is the fact that sulphur doesn't conduct well, and would physically degrade if used as a cathode.
But Hailiang Wang and his fellow researchers at Stanford University have found a way to make it work! Instead of using just sulphur, they've coated sulphur molecules in graphene, a versatile form of carbon. The graphene adds conductivity and physical stability to the sulphur, making it much more viable as a suitable material for making battery cathodes. This is just a breakthrough though, and they are still working on optimizing their discovery. For instance, they suggest that mixing this sulphur-graphene composite material with silicon could yield much more impressive results than the composite material by itself.
Source: Technology Review
Invisible Phones
Microsoft's Kinect add-on to the Xbox 360 has opened our eyes to new ways for controlling our devices. Using hand gestures and movement of other body parts to control electronic devices is a great idea and this technology is being applied to new applications every day. But how about taking it a step further and using our bodies as an electronic device? The following video shows how our hands can be used to control a smart phone:
Source: MIT
What’s the Difference Between mAh and Wh?
The most frequent question we receive at Shopxtreme.com is: What's mAh? If you have the same questions then read on and if you know what it is then you may want to read on as well since many manufacturer'e are listing both mAh to Wh. You can use the following formula to convert one to the other
Wh capacity=(mAh capacity/1000)* voltage
Basically both measurements are an indicator of how long a battery runs your device on a full charge. A simple way to look at this is to think of it as how much gas you have in your tank. The higher the number, the longer your battery runs. This is achieved by using higher capacity cells in the battery. The cells are the same size ( your gas tank does not get any bigger, you are just using fuel that is more powerful) and therefore the battery is the same size. As with most everything else in life, more also costs more. The higher the capacity the more expensive the battery so when it comes to choosing which capacity to buy, consider how you intend to use your device. In most cases you would pay close to two times the price of the lowest capacity battery for the highest capacity battery. If carrying an extra battery and more frequent battery swamping is not a bother to you then buying two lower capacity batteries is perhaps the better choice but if you tend to carry your device without an additional battery or a spare charger then you should consider buying the highest capacity battery. At Shopxtreme.com we offer 3 capacities for most of our batteries and let you choose which best serves your needs.
Man chooses to cut off his hand and replace it with a bionic prosthetic !
Just this past week, we heard about a paraplegic UC Berkley graduate that was able to walk to receive his diploma and now a young Serbian man chooses to amputate his hand to have it replaced by a bionic prosthetic. We have seen great gains in the way bionic prosthetic operate thanks to advances in robotics and powerful computers.
Source: BBC
Waterproof Bags for Cameras, Cell Phones, and Tablets
Summer is nearly here, and we've got a new line of special cases to make sure you are ready for whatever it can throw at your cell phone, camera, or tablet computer! We've just listed some waterproof bags that will be sure to protect your sensitive electronics while you are making the most of your summer. We've got bags for iPads, SLR cameras, iPods, iPhones, Blackberrys, HTC phones, and many more! When you're out on the beach, on a fishing trip, or at a pool party, these waterproof bags will keep your iPad, camera, or phone high and dry! And with the handy strap that is included with each one, you can keep your gadgets close and safe.
Take a look at the bags in action in the video below. We show you how the bags work and give a demo of the bags in action!
Check out our new Waterproof Bags section at ShopXtreme.com and pick one up for yourself today!
Google wants to run your house.
Most of us are familiar with Google's operating system Android for our phones but it appears that Google had plans beyond just controlling our mobile devices. Google has just announced their desire to control and interact with many more devices including those found in our homes in not too distant future. I for one cannot wait !! I can see myself stuck outside my future house because my phone is out of battery and cannot unlock the front door...wait will my phone have a battery in the future !!! Do we really need all these gadgets / intrusions in our lives? Google is one of the most profitable software companies in the world and looking to control more of your life and therefore more of your money. I would like Google to leave my house alone but if they want to help, why don't they come up with a device that makes children listen to their parents...now that is a technology that I would happily pay for.
Source: MIT
San Francisco Nixes Plans to Regulate Cell Phone Radiation Levels
Do a little bit of research about cell phone radiation, and you will invariably come across the acronym "SAR." Short for Specific Absorption Rate, it measures "the rate at which energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field"¹ If not for mobile phones and the subsequent scares regarding radiation and brain cancer, SAR probably would have remained a term with which very few individuals were familiar. As it is, however, the term caught on as a buzz word of sorts to measure how likely a phone was to give you brain cancer. It even was the basis for a potential law in San Francisco that would require vendors to mark all mobile phones with their individual SAR readings, in an effort to keep consumers aware of the potential risks.
However, the law has since been put on "indefinite hold," after doubt has arisen over the practicality of using SAR to measure the likelihood of a phone giving you brain cancer. Apparently, SAR doesn't measure averages, but rather maximum levels, of radiation. Which can be useful to know, but can't be used to create a rating system for radiation levels across millions of phones. Check out the source link for more info.
Source: 1)Wikipedia 2)Engadget
Let Your iPhone Buy Your Groceries
We are getting closer to the days that your phone would do everything for you. It already makes calls, takes pictures, records videos, gives you direction, etc....and now with the help of a new App from Modiv Media you'll be able to buy your groceries !! Stop & Shop one ( There is one less than a mile from my office) of the larger super market chains in the eastern part of United States is testing this solution. I have used their current system which uses hand held scanners instead of your phone but frankly I am not sure if it saves me any time and I find the pop-ups ( the system will push special offers to you by displaying coupons on the screen) annoying. I may have to try it again now that is available on the phone and get back to you later.
Source: Technology Review