THAW transfers smartphone files to PC by screen contact

We have seen apps that allow you to transfer content between your smartphone and the PC in the past, these apps are nothing new. We have also seen methods for transferring contacts between smartphones initiated by bumping devices together. Researchers at MIT have created a combination of those two types of apps and ended up with THAW.

THAW is a smartphone system developed at MIT that allows you to transfer content between your smartphone and PC by pressing the smartphone against the screen of your computer. THAW also allows the smartphone to be used as a game controller by pressing it against the screen of the PC.

Files can also be moved from the computer to the PC when the smartphone is pressed against the screen of the computer. Once the smartphone is pressed against the screen, files can be dragged to where the phone is and dropped to let them transfer.

THAW will also allow users to transfer web pages from the computer to the smartphone using physical screen contact. While the file transferring capabilities are cool, its use as a gaming controller that is the most interesting. One of the coolest things is the ability to transfer something from the game, like a character, to your phone, and then deposit that game character back onto the PC screen in a different area. Check out the video to see THAW in action, it looks very slick. There is no word on when or if it will come to market.

SOURCE: Engadget

Tilt City updated for more ball sorting fun

Anyone who has ever played a game on Android that used tilt controls knows the frustration when the sensitivity of the tilt controls isn’t just right. If you played a game called Tilt City in the past, it has been updated recently with changes made to tilt sensitivity controls.

In the new update, the only thing called out in the update notes as changing is the removal of tilt sensitivity from options during game play. If you have never played Tilt City before, it’s a simple game that can be challenging.

The goal is to sort colored balls into the appropriate pipe using tilt controls and obstacles that look like steel beams floating over the pipes in the game. You tilt the Android device to let the balls roll down the correct girder and fall into the correctly colored pipe.

The game is never ending with random level after level generated. The updated game is now at version 1.10 and it requires Android 2.3 or higher.

SOURCE: Google Play

Automate creates automated tasks using flow charts

One of the cool things about Android is that there are apps out there for just about anything you might want to do with your device. For instance, if you want to create some sort of automated task for your phone to do, you can get an app like Automate. Automate is currently in beta form and it allows you to set up automation for all sorts of things using flow charts.

Using Automate, you can tell your Android device to toggle settings on and off, such as WiFi, based on the time of day or location. You can also use the app to send email automatically based on time or location.

Automate isn't the only app out there that can create automation of tasks for users of Android devices. In fact, Automate supports plug-in apps for Tasker and Locale. Features of Automate include modular security, easy to edit and follow flow charts for setting up automations are central to the apps design, and pre-defined options for certain tasks are loaded by default.

Power users can get direct access to expressions, variables, and functions for creating their own automations. The app has over 170 blocks that can be used to build automations including actions, conditions, event triggers, loops, and more. The app is currently in open beta, so there may be issues needing to be worked through. Android 4.0 or higher is supported and the app is 3.2MB.

SOURCE: Google Play

Galaxy Dash: Racer to Outer Run update brings better visuals

Galaxy Dash is a game app that has been around for a while now on Android devices. The game has been updated recently bringing it to version 1.5.2. The new update adds in a number of bug fixes and enhanced visuals.

Developers added new weapon effects for all damage tiers in the game. The weapon recharge stats have been sped up, which is something players of the game are sure to appreciate.

The ability to access Google Play Leaderboards and Achievements from Google Play Games was improved in the update. The devs also removed one of the older characters, Midori, from the game and added a new mercenary called Santiago as a replacement.

Improved backgrounds were added to make the game more interesting to look at. I already mentioned new weapon effects; devs also added damage effects to enemy ships so you can see when your hits are taking effect on the enemy. The game requires Android 4.0.3 or higher and is 45MB in size.

SOURCE: Google Play

Acer Extend streams Android content to Windows 8 PCs

There are several solutions on the market that allow you to get Android content from your smartphone or tablet to other devices, such as your TV. One of those solutions for getting content to your TV is Chromecast. If what you want is to get content from the smartphone to your PC, Acer has a new app coming called Acer Extend.

Extend lets you stream Android phone and tablet screens to Windows 8 PCs and tablets. With the app set up, you can play your favorite Android games on the PC screen using a WiFi connection or a USB cable.

While the app hasn’t launched yet, Android gamers who have spent hands on time with Acer Extend say that lag can be an issue. If lag is an issue when the app officially launches, that will probably be a deal breaker for many.

In addition to playing games on your PC, Acer Extend also allows for easy drag and drop file transfers. Windows PC users on any version of the OS other than Windows 8 will be out of luck, the app won't work on any earlier versions of Windows. There is no word on the exact launch date at this time.

SOURCE: Droid Gamers

Are nuclear batteries the future (if they won’t kill us)?

Whenever your mobile phone would run out of juice during crucial moments, didn’t you ever wish that someday, someone would invent a battery that would last not just for a few hours, days, months but for the rest of your life? But what if it would mean not having children anymore and maybe potential death from radiation exposure? Well if you will choose battery life over your own life, then there might be good news for you (and maybe bad news for your loved ones)!

A nuclear battery developed by two researchers from the University of Missouri doesn’t use the usual lithium ion cells that have caused you much frustration at one time or another. The battery uses the beta voltaic process, which generates electricity from beta radiation. So the battery doesn’t really use nuclear fission but it does emit radioactive elements. Beta radiation, while not the safest, is supposedly much easier to stop just by using a thin piece of aluminium. So this means you need to use a casing for the battery that is about 2 millimetres thick and should never be dropped (which rules out about half of cellphone users). There is still the risk of cancer, but hey, no need for charging anymore right?

Betavoltaic batteries have been used before, particularly in the earlier versions of the pacemaker. The two researchers, Baek Kim and Jae Kwon, added water to the equation, which absorbs some of the beta radiation and also splits the water molecules to increase efficiency. They said that this might eventually be of use for applications like car batteries and maybe even spacecraft.

Just don’t expect nuclear batteries in mobile phones anytime soon. It’s highly unlikely that it will ever be commercially produced, as even the common lithium-ion ones have already posed dangers to some users, with exploding and overheating batteries. But it was nice thinking of a phone that would never need charging right? Until you suddenly think of infertility and cancer and death.

VIA: Extreme Tech

Google reportedly looking at HTC to produce new tablet

They may not have had produced a tablet since the failure of the Flyer back in 2011, but if reports are to be believed, HTC is apparently being eyed by Google to produce the next Nexus 9-inch tablet. The Taiwanese OEM has been focusing on creating smartphones and their flagship HTC One devices have been receiving rave reviews, despite sales being less than what is expected.

Both Google and HTC have refused to comment or confirm the rumours, but there have been reports that HTC engineers have been paying a visit to the Googleplex for the past few months. Unless they are just very friendly with each other, this means they are working on a project, which might just be the next Nexus tablet. The choice of HTC for manufacturing a tablet might seem a strange one since they are not known for producing great ones, but maybe the great reviews for the HTC One M8 might have something to do it.

Google also has a habit of working with different OEMs for each new device, so as to prevent just one manufacturer from having a monopoly in the Android community. This has been one of the reasons for the strained relations between Google and Samsung as of late, despite a cross-licensing patent deal struck between the two earlier this year. While Google hasn’t officially commented on their using different partners for the Nexus devices, they did say that there is always room for more partners in the “vibrant ecosystem” of Android.

Not much is known yet about the 9-inch Nexus tablet, but HTC would hope that the same thing that happened to Asus would happen to them. The latter saw their sales increase to double digits when they released the Nexus 7 back in 2012.

VIA: Wall Street Journal

Story Timeline

• HTC One M8's Duo Cam now allows others to refocus your photos


• T-Mobile HTC One M8 gets 4.4.3 update, Verizon soon


• Verizon HTC One M8 gets Android 4.4.3 update