Stanford researchers invent battery that charges in 60 seconds

We all want the battery power in our smartphones and tablets to last longer. That said there is a limit to how large a battery can be and how much power can be crammed into that battery. On the other side of the coin to get our device to last longer are batteries that charge faster. If your battery is only good for most of a day's use, but it can recharge in minutes it's a bit more bearable.

Scientists at Stanford University have discovered a new type of aluminum-ion battery that has the impressive ability to be able to charge fully in about a minute. According the researchers they accidentally discovered a cathode made of graphite gave the best performance in the aluminum-ion battery.

That is a great discovery in that the battery charges very fast, but also because the materials used to make the battery are cheaper than the lithium-ion material required to make current generation batteries. The new battery is also able to survive 7500 charge cycles, which is a vast improvement over the 100 cycles other aluminum-ion batteries can withstand.

The aluminum-ion batteries 7500 charge cycles is also vastly superiors than the 1000 cycles that lithium-ion batteries can survive. The catch for now is that the battery is a long way from being commercially viable. Right now, it only produces 2V, which is considerably less voltage than lithium-ion batteries produce. It also produces only 40 watts per kilogram, which pales next to the 100 to 260 watts per kilogram that lithium-ion batteries produce.

SOURCE: SlashGear

ZuperDAC turns your devices into HiFi audio hotbeds

For serious audiophiles, none of our mobile devices, whether desktops, laptops, smartphones, or tablets can give them quite the audio rush that they get when listening through HiFi stereos and equipment. Something seems to be lost in the desire to be more portable and lighter. But now a new IndieGoGo project is aiming to bring HiFi audio quality, and you don't have to lug around an external speaker just to do so.

The ZuperDAC looks like a small flash drive, but is in fact a portable HiFi USB-DAC that has the capability of transforming any of your mobile devices into a satisfying, HiFi system. All you have to do is plug it in the USB slot of your laptop or computer, or in Android devices' case, use the OTG cable. Then you can plug in your earphones or headphones into the ZuperDAC, and voila, the device transforms your ordinary sounds into a HiFi party. And even though the device is just 46mm(L) x 23mm(W) x 10mm(H) it is still equipped with USB Audio Class 2 functionality, HiFi AudioDAC and Headphone Amplifier.

The ZuperDAC can support various sampling frequences, from CD quality to the High Definition Audio standard which is at 192kHz (compared to CD which is just 44.1kHz). It also supports up to 24-bit High Definition, which makes the sound quality so much better than your existing gadgets. The AudioDAC included in your tiny device has a patented 32-bit Hyperstream DAC architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator. To complete the features, it uses the latest in headphone amplifiers which gives you pop-noise suppression.

The IndieGoGo campaign is still far away from its goal of $20,000. The good news is that you still have until May 11 to support the project. The lowest early bird rate is at $49 (excluding shipping) while if you want to get the Special Edition - ZuperDAC Red, you need to contribute $69.

SOURCE: IndieGoGo

This is a crowdfunded project, and as such may not deliver what its creators initially promise. Most crowdfunding sites, like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, have policies about what happens to your money if the project fails to deliver on its goals, but choosing to back a project is inevitably a risk. Android Community's reporting on crowdfunded projects should in no way be seen as an endorsement, unless specifically stated, and we recommend closely examining the terms and conditions to understand your individual rights as a backer before making a pledge.

Vodafone adds 4G network access to 12 and 24 month bundles

Users of the Vodafone network in Europe have a new feature that they should be excited about. Vodafone has announced that as of today it has added 4G access to two more pricing tiers for its plans. As of now users on 12 and 24 month bundles get access to the Vodafone 4G network.

Obviously, the user will need smartphones and devices that support 4G access. Vodafone also says that it is giving users larger data allowances. Starting today and lasting until June 2015, EE and O2 customers coming over to Vodafone Pay monthly bundles will get £20 as a welcome aboard gift.

That money would be in the form of a credit on their bill. Under the new plan, Pay Monthly allowances are now called bundles. Standard Bundles offer 500MB or 1GB of monthly data access with 4G service. Red Bundles offer 2, 6, 10, or 20GB or monthly data.

Red Value Bundles give even more data with 2, 4, 6, 15, or 25GB of data. All of those plans except the 2GB Red Value Bundle also get access to Spotify Premium, Sky Sports Mobile TV, or Now TV Entertainment Pass for up to 24 months at no additional cost. The packs also have unlimited landline calls and texts.

SOURCE: Vodafone

Snapchat lets you use emojis to show relationships with contacts

Snapchat's much-hated "Best Friends" feature is finally, totally (hopefully) gone. But instead, they have replaced it with (maybe) a more fun way of visually showing your relationship with your contacts. The update to the app also brings with it a special low-light camera mode, and a new way of categorizing contacts that you haven't been paying attention to or those that you've been neglecting lately. The photo sharing app is trying to regain some of the users it has lost to new ephemeral apps that have sprung up in the wake of its popularity.

Instead of adding people to your "Best Friends" list, you now have six main categories, visualized by emojis, that you can add to your contacts. The gold heart is for the people that you chat with the most while a grimacing emoji means that person has the same BFF as you. The smiling emoji is for someone who is a best friend, but not at the top of your list. Emojis wearing sunglasses mark people with whom you have mutual contacts. A smirking one is for those who consider you their BFF but you don't return the feeling. If you have a fire emoji next to a contact, that means you've been snap chatting non-stop for some days now.

The update also brings a low-light camera mode so that when you take pictures in dark places (let's not discuss what those dark places are), then it will not just be a grainy, unintelligible blob. It will also now inform you which of your contacts "need love", meaning you haven't "spoken" to them for some time. They are found in a list in the Recents tab and these are for those you used to chat with a lot, but have now been neglecting.

Don't worry, those emojis you put next to people isn't something the rest of the world will see. They're just for you to privately categorize your contacts. The update should be rolling out to users over the next few days.

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Snapchat partners with Square, intros Snapcash


• Snapchat's Discover lets media publishers enter their ephemereal world


• Snapchat users experience heavy data usage, battery drain from app

Flop Rocket gets you into space shennanigans on your Android

If you're in the mood for a little silliness, twitchiness, and adventure in space (well, from the comfort of your own home, that is), then you can try out this game from developers that know how to make it fun. Flop Rocket is a game from Butterscotch Shenanigans (the name itself kinda says it all huh?) and all you have to do is escape Spaceducks and cave rock-worms and make it through various time-space anomalies, all for keeping your space program afloat.

Flop Rocket is another one of those easy to learn but hard to master kind of games that we seem to be so fond of right now. You get to go on randomly generated missions so that each game you play seems to be different. There are four upgrade tracks that you can master and you collect power-ups and bonuses along the way to help you fly and not flop. If you upgrade to the premium version, you'll get 8 more upgrade tracks, including the ability to build a gun, use your armor slots, etc. Plus, you get to play without any ads, so that's a great incentive.

The developers actually have a whole network going with their BscotchID services which you'll just need to make a one-time payment, and you'll get access to all the games that they've created, including Quadrompus Rampage, as well as cloud services, and even a social gaming network where you can meet players from within your game and the other games in the network as well. The goal of the company (made up of three brothers) is to " build a one-stop mobile empire that fulfills all your gaming dreams."

You can download Flop Rocket for free from the Google Play Store. The premium upgrade, which will also bring you into the world of bscotchID is available in-app.

Google’s Santa Tracker Open Sourced

Google just released the source for both the Android and web version of their Santa Tracker app. If you’re curious about Android development, Android watch face creation or Polymer-powered and mobile optimized websites, make sure to check it out!

The post Google’s Santa Tracker Open Sourced appeared first on xda-developers.

Humble Mobile Bundle 11 rolls in with six games, more following

If you don’t know what the Humble Bundle is all about, we ask you to come out of that rock you’ve been hiding in for this long. The Humble Bundle is not just about giving gamers video games on the cheap, it’s about getting the gamers to give money to great causes and charities – something you wouldn’t have thought possible. Now they’re back with the Humble Mobile Bundle 11 – giving you (initially) 6 games in the bundle, depending on how much you give.

As always, Humble Bundle will give you the chance to pay what you want – and give you three games for that. This includes “Bounden”, “Auro”, and “Avernum: Escape from the Pit”. Bounden is a funky little multi-player dance game, you might want to play this with a friend. Auro is more of a tactical/strategy game. The big boy in this bundle is Avernum, a huge RPG that would normally cost you USD$9.99.

If you pay more than the average, which at time of writing is at USD$4.32, you get very good game apps in “80 Days”, “Kingdom Rush: Origins”, and “Riddick: The Merc Files”. As a bonus, you will get any other game they may want to add in the next few days, and trust us, they will add games.

So if you’re feeling a little generous now, head on over to the Humble Bundle site to get this package of games. Pay as little as USD$0.01 to get some games, but why stop there? Pay over the average and get all of the available games.

SOURCE: Humble Bundle

Story Timeline

• LYNE, Doodle Kingdom, OTTTD feature in Humble Mobile Bundle 10


• Humble Mobile Bundle features Cartoon Network games [UPDATE]


• Humble PC & Android Bundle 12 has games also for Windows, Mac, Linux [UPDATED]