Author Archives: Kristin Silva

Beam, the smart projector that works like a lamp

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Beam smart projector 1

A group of engineers from LA are working on a solution to the issue of sharing media with groups without having to carry screens around. This solution is Beam.

In the last few years several users and media enthusiasts have switched from screens to projectors, after growing frustrated at trying to find a good, proper screen. And while a projectors’ quality is undeniable, they are severely lacking in the portability field – that is, unless this KickStarter turns out right. What you see in this feature is called beam, and it can turn any flat surface into a giant screen from a little projector that can be plugged in like any bulb.

Beam is a mini projector with a computer inside that allows users to play games, watch movies, or share content from smartphones or tablets on any wall. Using an app for either Android or iOS Beam can be configured as a projector, and by connecting it to any light socket or plugging it straight to a wall using its companion cable it will turn into a giant, light and portable screen of sorts.

Beam can be associated with any Android or iOS gadget, but also works by itself and allows users to watch TV, play games, project recipes on the kitchen or even reproduce music through its speakers. Beam is all about versatility, giant screens and portability, and we can’t think of any other gadgets where these three values meet. Furthermore, the visual aspect isn’t compromised either: Beam is quite pretty, as you can tell in these pics.

This project will be brought to life via a Kickstarter project, where they have already gotten the money for the initial development, and have doubled what they asked for tackling some of the famous stretch goals, adding new features and characteristics to Beam itself. If you like what you see, you should know you can buy one for some $400 USD – at least before it reaches its commercial stage.

 

Project Ara is getting shown at the Mobile World Congress

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Project Ara MWC 2

Google is getting serious about their modular phones project, titled Project Ara, and something big is coming to the next Mobile World Congress.

A number of companies including Toshiba seem to be already developing compatible modules for Google’s Project Ara, a smartphone that will be able to be upgraded like a regular desktop PC. The next MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona will be host to several new modules, and we can already report Toshiba will be providing some photography related ones. Other brands also on board include DDM Brands with Yezz.

Toshiba’s modules will be a front 2 megapixel camera, and 2 back cameras of 5 and 13 megapixels respectively. Note, these are being developed as of now, so they might end up changing before the event.

Project Ara will be tested first in Puerto Rico, and if the concept proves to be successful there will eventually expand to other markets including the continental USA.

There are over 50 modules reported for Project Ara at WMC, which will take place in early March, and while we don’t know yet what these are or whether they will be demos or the actual project, all the pieces (literally) seem to be slowly falling into place for Google.

Toshiba are already showing some stuff off on a website meant to help developers understand these modules, some of which include camera, screen, or Wi-Fi amongst others.

Via Phone Arena

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Eero wants to fix your Wi-Fi issues forever

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A new start-up by the name of Eero have a new plan: to make Wi-Fi network issues like dead spots, range, or long and complicated issues things of the past.

You can’t say that Eero lack ambition: fixing all of the Wi-Fi problems in any house hold is quite an undertaking on its own, imagine when you want to make that solution universal. The Eero routers will attempt to simplify all of the processes related to them, for example, setting them up will be done via an app on smartphones that communicates with the router via Bluetooth, which can at the same time be used to send login information to your guests visiting the house. This easy set up can also be used to set up more relays for greater range in both 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

Eero can be all a repeater, router and extender all at once depending on what users require, being added to extended networks or being the sole source of a home’s WiFi. It will make suggestions on how to expand range, and where else to set relays or even more Eero units in case a home is too big, avoiding the issue of multiple networks. It will also reset itself if there’s a problem with the connection, or run any kind of tests on its own assuring users don’t have to get up or do actions on their own.

Each Eero unit sells for $199 per box, but they offer a three-pack at $500: while quite expensive, you might end up saving that later on the phone bill not having to call technicians or friends for help.

Via Eero

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Huawei says no to 4K in smartphones citing battery concerns

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Although it’s already technically possible, it will be some time before we get to enjoy full 4K resolution in our smartphones. That is, if we want the battery to have a decent lifespan.

Huawei has talked in public about the future of high-definition displays on their latest models, and according to their president Kevin Ho, users will have to wait quite some time to be able to enjoy them. As they explained, although 4K technology and displays look beautiful and incredible battery life makes then inviable as of now – and the reduced battery life is a bigger trade-off than that which the company is willing to make.

In their own words, they explained:

“On the large screen 4k is very good but on a smaller smartphone display of five to six inches, maybe our eyes cannot tell the difference between this and 2k. 4k needs a lot of power, so if you use it you have to make compromises. A 4k display on a smartphone may give you half a day of battery life but a 2k display can give you maybe one day or more. 4k has four times the pixels of Full HD so the power consumption is maybe 4 or 8 times as much as Full HD so the smartphone has to have compromises with battery life.”

Basically, 4K displays are great for big screens but don’t make enough of a difference on a small screen such as a smartphone, at least not to the average consumer. The future might eventually bring better batteries, or more efficient displays, but as of now, it just seems we will have to wait some more. And frankly, this is one of those times we tend to agree: current displays don’t look bad at all.

Via FoneArena

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Sleek Star Wars battery chargers feature characters & lightsabers

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Ensure your battery lasts enough so you can keep checking Star Wars memorabilia with Star Wars themed battery chargers, because recursion is pretty awesome.

Ensure your smartphone never runs out of battery again. No matter whether you recharge it the previous night or not, spending the day online does take a toll on your battery, so MimoPowerTube came up with a special series of chargers with Star Wars themes.

These are themed after C-3PO, Darth Vader, a Lightsaber and a Stormtrooper – no R2D2 this time around. These gadgets will store energy and then use their multi-adapter to connect to whatever kind of gadget the user desires via USB.

The best part is having an energy back up, because running out is the worst. You can check its specifications right below, via ThinkGeek:

  • Recharge your smartphones or other 5V devices with these fun, Star Wars-y, backup batteries
  • MimoPowerTubes recharge via USB
  • Choose from:
    • C-3PO
    • Darth Vader
    • Lightsaber
    • Stormtrooper
  • Tech Specs:
    • Capacity: 2600mAh
    • Cell Type: Li-ion battery
    • Input: DC 5V 500mA
    • Output: DC 5V 800mA
    • Cycle Life: 500 times
    • DC Charging Time: 3-4 hours
  • Includes: MimoPowerTube, USB charging cable with multiple tips (microUSB, miniUSB, Nokia, Apple 30 pin, Apple Lightning), and a velvet carrying pouch
  • Dimensions: approx. 0.8″ diameter x 3.5″ tall

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories,5 Trading Cards Revealing the New Star Wars Film Characters and Xbox One Controllers modded with Star Wars themes.

 

Intel’s 5th generation chips from CES 2015

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Intel core chips

CES 2015 saw the introduction of the Broadwell series for Intel, the latest entry in the Core family that are scheduled to arrive in the first trimester of 2015.

These chips are meant to provide users with more graphical rendering power and extra duration for the internal batteries.

Computers keep getting exponentially more powerful while consuming less and less resources in time. Part of that is the result of Intel’s research and development team who have managed to improve battery life between 20 and 30 percent with this latest entry with their Core series. Other improvements include 3D rendering (22% better), while traditional video rendering will see a 50 percent increase in effectiveness. At the same time, Intel devices will now be able to do 4K natively.

The best is yet to come, though, and we can’t wait to see what will come of developers using Intel’s technology on their new devices. Asus and Samsung have already announced new models that will sport these new Intel chips on notebooks, tablets, and many, many other devices available to the public. There will be 14 Core i3, i5 and i7 processors in total grouped under the Broadwell brand.

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AirDog: a drone that follows you and takes your pictures

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AirDog Drone 1

The AirDog team introduced their creation at CES 2015, and it turned out to be grand: a drone that follows users and takes their pictures, so they only have to worry about having a good time.

Our friends behind the lenses and cameras on trips have complained time and time again about something, and with reason: they haven’t really seen the places they visited, having to settle instead for whatever they see from behind their gadget’s screens. Airdog aims to provide a fun solution to this by taking the camera away from the user, and mounting it on a drone that simply follows them around and takes pictures for them instead.

By combining a drone with a resistant plastic body with a mounted Sony Action Cam Mini on top, the AirDog team created the perfect companion, capable of staying by your side on any terrain, no matter how hard or complicated, and operate your pictures for you.

What makes AirDog different from similar concepts is that it doesn-t need a heavy, big controller for the drone, but instead uses an “AirLeash”, which is a bracelet that serves as a control remote via BlueTooth technology. So no matter where you go, AirDog flies by your side and will keep up thanks to its four propellers and fantastic code. It’s fast enough to follow a skater autonomously, without having to control each move separately, and the degree of autonomy is the greatest thing it has going for itself.

AirDog is not without problems, though: being that it’s so fast and lightweight, it doesn’t really have a long battery life: apparently only 20 minutes at a time, at full power and speed, but those 20 minutes might be what you need to get under that wave, or get to the perfect angle of the mountain, or take the perfect selfie.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at GoPro Drones Might Take to the Skies Soon and Bionic Bird is a Drone That Looks Like a Bird, Flies Like a Dream.

 

Samsung might introduce the Galaxy S6 at CES 2015

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Samsung CES 2015

It’s no secret that Samsung plan to jump back and fight for the top spot at the smartphone race with their next flagship release, but it might  happen sooner than expected. Maybe today.

January 6 marks the beginning of CES 2015, one of the biggest events of the year for tech fans around the world. Samsung, one of the biggest tech companies in the world and producers of the acclaimed Galaxy line of phones and tablets might take advantage of the buzz and use the event to display their upcoming Galaxy S6, also known as project Zero: a top of the line phone, with a sleek aluminum unibody with top of the line specs. There is one catch, though: as exciting as this sounds, it might only be shown to partners and not all attendants. But, rest assured, we will let you know as soon as we find out.

The Galaxy S6 line is meant to take Samsung right back to its rightful spot as innovators with a sharp edge for design, and was codenamed project Zero after the fact that the creators went back to the drawing board to correct every single detail that has bugged users in previous iterations  of the line. Rumored specs for the Galaxy S6 include a QHD Super AMOLED display, Android 5.0 Lollipop, an Exynos 7420 SoC or a Snapdragon 810 chipset, with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.

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Gingerbread Barad-dûr: the tastiest menace

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Just because you’re evil doesn’t mean you get to forfeit Christmas Spirit! Sauron’s impregnable fortress, Barad-dûr, has become a delicious gingerbread house.

At 13.5 lbs of pure delicious gingerbread, this is the biggest and tastiest recreation of Sauron’s home turf, the tower of Barad-dûr as seen in The Lord of the Rings films. This is the creation of Jarno Koivula and his friend Roy, first surfaced at Turkulainen, a website of Finnish colleagues.

Your biggest worry right now might be that your own gingerbread house doesn’t look good in comparison, but hey, at least you don’t have to walk into Mordor and throw the ring in a volcano, right?

Via Technabob

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The LG G Pro series might come to an end as company focuses on G4

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Smartphone users who were expecting the LG G Pro 3 to jump to the LG ship might have to rethink it, as it may just not come out. It turns out new reports from Korea suggest the company might go all out on the LG G3 instead.

As the series evolve, both G Pro and LG Gx are becoming more and more indistinguishable, with the screen size no longer playing a defining role. The LG G Pro 2 was already 5.9-inches with the LG G2 having a 5.2-inch display, making the differentiation irrelevant. Furthermore, the latest LG G3 sports a 5.5-inch display rendering the differentiation obsolete.

The LG G Pro was met with a lukewarm response in the market, as it couldn’t really compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Note line. Rumors suggested LG would strike back with their LG G Pro 3 in 2015, but that no longer seems a possibility after these developments.

Via Geeky Gadgets

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