Showing posts with label navigation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label navigation. Show all posts

Sunday, December 12, 2010

World's Tiniest Battery To Better Gadget Up-times

In the future, when a day arrives that your touchscreen smartphone battery will last you for longer than a single day, one of the people who we would like to thank could be Jianyu Huang. The Hindustan Times offered a cryptic write-up about the U.S based Sandia National Labs researcher who has invented a battery thinner than human hair - or in today's record, the world's thinnest battery.  

This lithium-based battery is so tiny that it was baked inside a transmission electron microscope. Huang says that doing it this way helped them figure out how such micro-batteries worked and bettered their understanding of how batteries worked in general. As those microscopic electrodes put together have a chance for significant improvements over what we've got now, they could be used in hybrid cars, laptops and cell-phones. You can read their entire discourse about the matter here.

 It's good to hear about those scientists working on improving battery technology, rather than just the chip-makers constantly working to budget power consumption. Because let's face it - we're doing a lot more on our mobile devices than we were a decade ago; be it shooting hi-def video or using cell-phones as GPS navigation systems. All these things require more power; and with most smartphones measuring in the range of just 9 to 12 mm thickness, I doubt how many would trade back that slimness for better battery life

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Sony Intros Ultra-Chic Colorful Walkman E-series

Finally Sony has launched an ultra-stylish range of E-series Walkman media players. They support a 2.0-inch QVGA LCD screen, which allow you to view album artworks and videos. The E-series features 5 of Sony's proprietary sound technologies such as Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) to create more natural tones, closer to the original recording. These support a new and easier user interface so that users would have no problems in navigation and enjoying music and video. Since they appear like mass storage devices, you can conveniently and easily drag and drop files to the Walkman, rather than depend on any software for that purpose.


The Walkman PMPs are packed with unique features such as the Karaoke Mode, which automatically reduces the volume of original performer's vocals, thus letting you fill in his/her place with your vocals. There is even the facility to adjust the key of the song to match their natural pitch without affecting the playback speed. They also suppport the new SenseMe channels, which automatically analyze and categorize the music library with Sony's 12 Tone Analysis technologies to create themed playlists. Users can then pick a music channel to suit his/her mood. Last but not the least, there is FM radio for an element of surprise when you feel that listening to MP3 is too predictable.

They are available in bright and cheerful colors like Gold, Red and Black, these are targeted at the young and the young at heart. The Walkman E-series NWZ-E353 and NWZ-454 are available in 4 GB and 8 GB capacities, and can be bought at all Sony Center and other major electronic outlets across India. The E353 with 4 GB capacity is available in Black and Red for Rs. 4,990, while the E454 with 8 GB is available in Black and Gold for Rs. 6,990.