Scientists create batteries that recharge incredibly fast

One of the places that smartphone and tablet technology is rapidly evolving is in the batteries we use to power the devices. A larger battery is a nice thing, but batteries can only be so large before the portability of the device they are in is affected.

One way that scientists are working to improve battery technology is in how fast a battery can charge. If the battery can charge fast enough, it doesn't have to be large to give smartphones longer runtime. A scientist from Nanyang Technological University has created a new high-tech battery that is capable of recharging to 70% capacity in only two minutes.

This battery tech could be a huge breakthrough not only for mobile devices, but also for other products such as electric vehicles. These next generation lithium-ion batteries are expected to survive 10,000 charging cycles, making them about 20 times more durable than current generation batteries.

Scientists at the university replaced traditional graphite used for the anode of a battery with a new gel material using titanium dioxide, a cheap and abundant material found in soil. The team developed a method to turn the normally spherical titanium dioxide particles into nanotubes that are able to speed up chemical reactions in a new battery, allowing for faster charging. There is no word on when this new battery tech might be commercialized.

SOURCE: Science Daily

Design Your App with Ease Using B2tsoftware Online Tool

When making an application, thinking about its design is often an underestimated but important step. After all, it’s what your users see, so it’s crucial to keep it clean and intuitive (especially for less technical apps). Depending on the nature of your app, it might be a good idea to plan this step ahead instead of implementing it straight away and testing it as you build it. A paper and pencil are good starting points to get the basic layout, but you’ll probably want to get a feel of how your app will really look onscreen before you start implementing your design.

Google provides developers with several resources in an attempt to facilitate app design and planning, but that still involves quite a bit of work to look for each element, resize it, edit it and place it the way you want. A better alternative is offered by XDA Forum Member brownstein in the form of an online design tool. It allows you to choose from a large selection of Android (and iOS) elements, which you can then resize, customize and place on a mobile screen with ease. You can add a status bar, action bar, text, images, buttons and more as you wish.

This tool also comes with many features that make the process more convenient. You can manage the elements’ depth (allowing you to place the keyboard on top of other elements, for example), change any element’s transparency or even duplicate something for easy reuse. Last but not least, you can also manage multiple pages, making it possible to design multiple activities/fragments for your app and easily switch between them.

While it currently isn’t fully translated to English, the interface is intuitive and very easy to use. Visit the B2tsoftware App Design Tool thread now if you’d like to give it a shot, and happy designing!

The post Design Your App with Ease Using B2tsoftware Online Tool appeared first on xda-developers.

Lenovo and Motorola collaborating on new tablet

Do the consumers really need another new tablet in the market? Well, based on the continuous rise of tablet sales and the emergence of new (and old) players on the scene, then the answer is a resounding yes. The latest OEMs planning to join the fray is a collaboration between Lenovo and their recently acquired company Motorola. The CEO from the Taiwanese tech company said that they are working on bringing a Motorola tablet sometime soon, but no details yet as to the specs and features.

A few years back, Motorola tried its hand with tablets with its Xyboard. But it's either it was ahead of its time (it was the early days of Android devices on bigger screens) or it was just really a bad product because it never took off .The blame may not entirely be on the hardware, since it may also be the fault of Android, particularly the pre-Honeycomb era. Now the question is will Lenovo resurrect the Xyboard or just start from scratch.

The report from Yahoo Taiwan did not indicate which of the two companies will do the design and which one will actually produce the tablet. While Lenovo may be a big name to the rest of the world, in the US, it practically has no recall. That is why they need something like Motorola, already a big player in the market (well, at least smartphone-wise), to help penetrate this new territory (new for the Taiwanese OEM). To the rest of the world, it is reversed since Lenovo has the bigger name and Motorola may be a thing of the past.

Samsung was a fairly dominant player in both the smartphone and tablet market, but with its recent decline in sales and popularity, new players are trying to grab a piece of the pie. HTC also recently announced that it will be making tablets again with the help of Google, as they produce the upcoming Nexus 9. Let's hope this "dual branded" effort between Lenovo and Motorola will be worth it.

VIA: SlashGear

Samsung 5G service hits 7.5 Gbps in testing

Samsung has announced that it has achieved a major milestone in its testing of future tech for 5G mobile phone service. In testing, the new 5G mobile data service has achieved speeds of over 7.5 Gbps. That speed is over 30 times faster than current generation 4G LTE service. Samsung achieved record setting speed in moving tests with an uninterrupted 1.2Gbps over a 5G connection while traveling in a vehicle at 100m/h.

The 7.5Gbps speed that Samsung hits equates to 940MB per seconds. The speed of 1.2Gbps achieved while traveling in a vehicle equates to 150MB per second and Samsung was the first in the industry to achieve a stable and uninterrupted signal in a mobile environment.

Samsung's successful tests were also the first in the industry to be completed successfully in an outdoor setting. Previously, all successful 5G tests in the industry have been conducted in a stabilized indoor environment like a laboratory.

The outdoor test occurred on a professional racetrack and Samsung used a 28GHz 5G network to conduct the tests. 5G service is still a long way from commercialization, but tests of this sort lay the groundwork for that commercial rollout.

SOURCE: Samsung Tomorrow

Android Lollipop revealed with Nexus 6, 9, and Player

This afternoon Google revealed that they’d be releasing Android L as Android 5.0 Lollipop. Along with this release comes three new devices, the Nexus 6 smartphone, the Nexus 9 tablet, and the Nexus Player. The Nexus Player is the first official Android TV device to be released with Google, and it’s made by ASUS. The Nexus 6 is made by Motorola, and the Nexus 9 is made by HTC.

Nexus 6

The Nexus 6 will be released for pre-order on the 17th of October, coming with an extra-large display and connectivity around the world. This device also has a powerful camera at its back and a dual-LED ring flash for extra brightness around its f/2.0 aperture.

Display: 5.96” 2560x1440 QHD AMOLED (493 ppi) with Gorilla Glass 3

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SOC

RAM: 2GB

Camera (back): 13MP with OIS, 4K video capture at 30fps

Camera (front): 2MP

Internal Storage: 32GB or 64GB

Battery: 3220mAh

Sensors: GPS, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Ambient light sensor, Barometer

OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop

Below you’ll see a number of images of this smartphone - we’ll let you know what we know when we know more!

Nexus 9

The Nexus 9 is the long-fabled HTC tablet. This device works with an NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor under the hood, much like the SHIELD Tablet, and works with an 8.9-inch display up front.

Display: 8.9" IPS LCD, QXGA (2048x1536), Gorilla Glass 3

Processor: 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1

RAM: 2GB

Camera (back): 8MP Rear camera, f/2.4, Auto-focus, LED flash

Camera (front): 1.6MP, f/2.4

Internal Storage: 16GB or 32GB

Battery: 6700 mAh

Sensors: GPS, Ambient light sensor, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Magnetometer

OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop

Above you’ll see a number of photos of this device - and its optional keyboard dock. This device will work with front-facing BoomSound speakers and a release date around the same time as the Nexus 6, which is likely early November. Pre-orders begin on the 17th of October - just one day after Apple’s iPad event.

Nexus Player

The most circular of the Nexus releases this week is also the strangest. This is the first Android TV release from Google, still working within the Android 5.0 Lollipop family with TV or large display-aimed abilities. All delivered through HDMI.

Video Out: 1920 x 1080 @ 60Htz (through HDMI, whatever TV you have)

Processor: 1.8GHz Quad Core, Intel Atom

RAM: 1GB

Internal Storage: 8GB

Power: 18W DC power

Connectivity: 802.11ac 2x2 (MIMO) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1

OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop (Android TV)

This device will likely have a similar release date to the other Nexus smart devices, with a pre-order date set for the 17th. This machine will come with a single Nexus Player Remote and will have the option of working with a Nexus Player Controller, sold separately. Below you’ll find a number of photos of this puck-shaped machine as well.

Android Lollipop

Android Lollipop hasn’t changed a whole lot since we got to know it as Android L. We’ll be investigating the details over the next few days - stay tuned in our new Android Lollipop tag portal!

Leaks show pictures and specs of new Fitbit models

It's still a few months away, but already leaks and rumors abound regarding the new Fitbit models that will be launched in 2015. A tech website got its hands on the marketing materials for the Fitbit Charge and Charge HR and it looks like both are a somehow refurbished version of the Fitbit Force. The company was forced to recall the Force last year after the nickel in the band caused some to break out in rashes and burns. Is this the second (and better) coming of the fitness band?

Based on the images, the Fitbit Charge looks like the Force which has a bigger display and wider band than its current Fitbit Flex, giving it a more high-end feel. The leaked material also shows that it basically has the same functions, which includes the ability to track steps, distance covered, calories burned, stairs climbed and how many minutes of activity you were able to do. It also monitors how many hours and what kind of sleep you're getting. It displays all your statistics as well as the time and even when someone is calling your smartphone.

The Fitbit Charge HR meanwhile has the same basic functions except for one fundamental addition. It now has a heart rate montor, the first Fitbit device to have such a feature. The marketing material shows that it's called PurePulse and will continuously monitor your wrist-based heart rate. If you use it with the MoblleRun on the Fitbit app, you will be able to see your running statistics. All other features and capabilities we mentioned in the Fitbit Charge is also applicable to the Charge HR.

Now the major questions are how much these two devices will cost and if you really need to upgrade your current Fitbit that is still working properly. According to Gizmodo, a Russian retailer has put the price at around $185 for the Charge and $220 for the Charge HR. Considering that the Flex is around $125, that's pretty steep for a slightly upgraded fitness band. But if you think that it is crucial to have the newest model or to have a heart rate monitor for your activities, then you should wait with bated breath for the launch in 2015.

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Fitbit Force skin irritation issues affected roughly 10,000 users


• Fitbit for Android downloads top 1 million


• Fitbit app update brings new dashboard design

How Google's Giant Nexus 6 Stacks Up to the Big-Phone Competition

Finally, the long-rumored 6 inches of pure, unfiltered Android (Lollipop!) just the way Google always intended. So how does Google's new Motorola-made flagship stack up to the other big dogs in phablet land? Let's take a look.

Read more...