Top 5 Phones for 2014

The year 2014 was another year that wowed us with its plethora od sleek gadgets and awesome devices. So at the end of it all, its just normal that we give you the pick of the bunch, five smart phones that held their own amongst the hundreds of devices that were produced this year. Say hello to the juggernauts:

(5. BLACKBERRY PASSPORT

The Passport is a weird looking smartphone, yes, and that's one of the reasons its on this list. With a keyboard that has never been seen before under a perfectly 4.5 inch square screen, the Blackberry passport is a must have for the stylish ones amongst us. With a beast of a battery, a sweet IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen that can show 16M colors and displays a whooping 453 pixel per inch. It totes a decent 13 MP front camera that supports optical image stabilization, Geo-tagging and face detection. And a 2MP front camera,

The ability to install and run and Android application via SNAP is bolstered by the heavy engines under the passports hood. With a Qualcomm MSM8974AA Snapdragon 801 processor, Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400 CPU and an Adreno 330 Graphics Processing Unit coupled with an internal storage of 32 GB and a whole 3 GB of RAM.

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Nokia lumia 1020: specifications

Nokia confirms the Lumia 1020, a cameraphone that offers 41-megapixel photos on the Windows Phone operating system.

Nokia's newest handset places great emphasis on its photographic capabilities, boasting a second generation 41-megapixel sensor, and available in a choice of yellow, white or black.

It claims to 'reinvent zoom, enabling people to discover more detail than the eye can see' due to its PureView technology. Deploying features such as optical image stabilisation, the device claims to be able to produce some of the sharpest images possible on any digital camera.

A similar device, the Pureview 808, launched last year, but ran on the now defunct Symbian operating system.

The Lumia 1020 includes a new application called Nokia Pro Camera, designed to make it easy for anyone to take professional quality images. Either before a picture is taken or after it has been shot, the user can see how the zoom capability and the chosen settings will affect the final photo or video.

Another new feature is dual capture, which simultaneously takes a high resolution 38-megapixel image to set aside for editing, and creates a 5-megapixel picture to share to social networks via Windows Phone 8.

The 41 megapixel sensor features Zeiss optics and a choice of six physical lenses, plus optical image stabilisation, claiming to deliver crystal clear pictures even in low light conditions. It also captures blur-free videos with stereo sound even at the loudest concerts due to Nokia Rich Recording, designed to handle sound pressure levels six times louder than conventional smartphone microphones.

Stephen Elop, President and CEO of Nokia said: “We want to take people on a journey from capturing pictures to recording and sharing their lives. The Nokia Lumia 1020 will bring new meaning to pictures and continues to strengthen Nokia’s leadership in imaging.”

Analysts, however, claimedthe Lumia alone cannot turn around Nokia's fortunes.

Daniel Gleeson, mobile analyst at IHS Electronics and Media said: "The issue for Nokia is that photography on smartphones is not just about having the best quality pictures. Sharing pictures to social networks is more important to most consumers than printing. High engagement levels means that convincing Instagram users to switch from iPhone or Android to Nokia's platform will be difficult.

"The lack of an Instagram app for Windows Phone also reinforces the fact that the platform is lagging in choice and quality of applications compared to iPhone or Android. Furthermore, the popularity of Instagram's filters again proves that absolute top rate picture quality is not actually important for the majority of users.”

Alongside the handset, Nokia also released a new imaging software development kit (SDK) that provides key image editing features of the Lumia 1020 to developers, and a camera grip allowing for hands-free photo taking, complete with built-in tripod mount.

Other features include increased battery life, the addition of popular apps Path and Flipboard being added to the Windows Phone app roster, and customers will be treated to an ad and subscription free Nokia Music streaming account.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 will arrive first on US shores on July 26 for $299.99 on a two-year contract, and will make its way across to China and key European markets this quarter.

LG shows off worlds slimmest full hd screen

It takes thin parts to make a thin smartphone, and LG is leading the pack when it comes to display technology

LG is showing off a new 5.2-inch LCD display that they claim holds the title of world's slimmest full HD display. Checking in at only 2.2mm in thickness, they also feature an ultra-slim 2.3mm bezel. This means your great-big smartphone can be a little less great-bog overall.

They credit their new technology, dubbed Advanced One-Glass-Solution, for enabling such a thin panel. It uses dual flexible printed circuits (opposed to a single circuit) that have been inserted between the glass itself and the touch film. This reduces the number of lines etched onto the panel circuit by more than 30-percent. In addition, LG is has a new bonding system using optically clear resin to mate it all together into one very thin piece.

These panels are said to offer superior visibility outdoors, along with a better contrast ratio and an increased brightness of 535 nits. The 1080x1920 panels are use a true RBG pixel layout -- none of that pentile silliness here. Combined, these features make the new panel outperform every other current HD LCD panel, and we don't have to take LG's word for it -- Intertek has officially certified the results.

Welcome to a world where Smartphones open your doors

The smart home has grown in importance over the years, with new technologies being used to connect users with what used to be dumb objects. Products like the Nest thermostat show how wireless technology and mobile apps to better manage the temperature of your home. Now similar technology is being deployed by a startup called August, which provides a $199 keyless lock system powered by a mobile app.

August was founded by tech entrepreneur Jason Johnson and industrial designer Yves Behar. They were searching for a new way to give users access to their homes. The result is a keyless lock system that hooks onto your existing dead bolt and lets you unlock doors through mobile applications. For homeowners, the hardware will enable easy access to a house for themselves, as well as other approved visitors.

Johnson believes that the solution is perfect for users who want to give conditional, temporary access to people who might be coming by their house to clean or fix it while the owner isn’t home. It’s also a way for users to let friends, family or Airbnb guests to enter the house with a complete log of whomever has come in at any given time. That will allow users to see who’s entered and when.

In addition to the ability to turn on and off access to the home through an app, users will be able to send invitations to friends or family that have been connected on Facebook or on their mobile contact lists. Johnson gave the example of a dinner party where visitors could be invited and let themselves in without having to ring the doorbell.

The August smart lock is powered by Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology, which will enable it to work without connecting to a Wi-Fi network. The team claims that the smart lock is the smallest electronic door lock on the market, and they say that it only takes 10 minutes to install. While the hardware costs $199, the service will remain free once the device has been purchased.

While Behar is well-known for industrial design work he’s done on products like the Jawbone Up, OUYA game console, and other devices, this is the first time he’s been a co-founder on one of those projects. Johnson, meanwhile, has been the CEO and co-founder of AirCover, as well as co-founder of BookShout.

August has raised $2 million in seed funding from a bunch of angels, including Jay Adelson, Matt Mullenweg, Rick Marini, Zack Bogue, Matt Ocko, Aileen Lee, Mike Marquez, David Spector, Jeff Clavier, Tony Conrad and Nicholas Negroponte, among others.

Source: techcrunch.com

Power felt charges your phone with your clothes

Power felt charges your phone just by being on your body

Technology has evolved so much in recent years - smartphones have brought a huge computing power to our pockets but one thing that has remained relatively unchanged throughout those years are batteries. Our handsets now can hardly last a full day and we’re looking for the charger way too often.
But this might change drastically in the near future with the advent of a new technology, thermoelectric fabric. Developed by David Carroll, a nanotechnologist, and his research group at Wake Forest University, this is a type of flexible fabric that produces electricity from heat or movement. Carroll calls is “power felt.”

How power felt works

What makes this technology different is the fact that unlike most materials used in thermodynamics, the power felt is extremely flexible, it’s practically indistinguishable from regular fabric.
And it turn heat from everywhere into electricity that you can use to power up your devices. And by everywhere we mean literally everywhere - from your body, the sun, a camp fire.
Unlike other technologies, it simultaneously draws power from both vibrations and movement so your t-shirt flapping in the wind would also generate electricity.
But what about price? That’s the greatest part of it all. The “power felt” fabric is extremely affordable, practically free so it’d cost somewhere around a dollar to make a smartphone case of it. It’s planned to be worn and gives one milliwatt per square centimeter.
And while might not be a whole lot, it’s definitely a great supplement to conventional batteries, don’t you think?
source: Business Insider

Itoke: apple's new weed smoking device

Itoke device for smoking weed

If you thought Apple’s customers were smiling before, wait till you see them now.
Beating all competitors into states and territories where pot has been legalized, Apple has launched iToke — for the perfect “Apple-designed high.”
iToke looks like a small pipe, but that’s where the similarities end. Its built-in USB connector serves as both a power source for the internal ignition coils and direct pathway to your lungs. So you can enjoy instant-on reefer throughout the day — up to seven hours smoke time on a single charge.
iToke is part of a new ecosystem, what Apple is calling a “walled ghanja garden.” Apple controls both the hardware and the cannabis, to ensure the highest-quality highs.
iToke accepts only Apple-made iWeed, which comes in packs of 10 pre-rolled, paperless sticks that fit perfectly into iToke.
No more need to “roll your own” or be ridiculed by your friends for botching a joint. iToke automates the process so you can concentrate on what’s really important: getting high as a kite.
The inside word is that Apple engineers insisted on testing iToke more intensely than any product in Apple history. It was considered an honor to be invited to one of the engineers’ many “testing parties.”
“That explains why iPhone 5 will be six months late,” said our source.
iToke is available at the Apple Store for $79. iWeed is available by the 10-pack for $39.99, or on a subscription basis for $29.99/week with a two-year commitment.

Source: scoopertino.com

*guess it would be nice if it were real*