Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Tiny lithium-ion battery recharges 1000x faster than rival tech, could shrink mobile devices

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/17/researchers-devise-fast-and-powerful-microbattery/

Researchers devise 'most powerful' batteries in the world, shame supercapacitors

Supercapacitors are often hailed as the holy grail of power supplies, but a group of researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a lithium-ion microbattery that leaves that prized solution in the dust, recharging 1,000 times faster than competing tech. Previous work done by Professor William P. King, who led the current effort, resulted in a fast-charging cathode with a 3D microstructure, and now the team has achieved a breakthrough by pairing it with an anode devised in a similar fashion.

The resulting battery is said to be the most powerful in the world, avoiding the usual trade-off between longevity and power while having a footprint of just a few millimeters. By altering its composition, scientists can even optimize the contraption for more juice or increased life. It's expected that the technology could make devices 30 times smaller and help broadcast radio signals up to 30 times farther, but it'll still be a while before it winds up in a super-slim phone within your pocket. For now, the researchers have their sights set on integrating the tech with other electronic components and investigating low-cost manufacturing.

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Via:< /strong> Eureka Alert

Source: University of Illinois News Bureau

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Most Popular Small Form Factor PC Case: BitFenix Prodigy

Source: http://lifehacker.com/most-popular-small-form-factor-pc-case-bitfenix-prodig-473239688

If you're planning your next system build and want a PC that won't take up a ton of space, or you're building an HTPC that needs to fit nicely next to the TV, a PC case on the smaller side might be a good option. Last week, we asked you which small cases you thought were the best. Then we featured the five best small form factor PC cases. Now we're back to highlight the winner.

The BitFenix Prodigy took an early lead and held on to the top spot through the finish, eventually nabbing over 50% of the votes cast. It's a bit on the large size among the other contenders, but it's still a great case, and we love it as much as you guys do.

In second place with just over 23% of the overall vote was the Fractal Design Node 304, a gorgeous small PC case that'd look beautiful on your desk or in your entertainment center. The battle for third place is where the real action was however: the difference between third and fourth was a mere five votes, with some of them coming in right under the wire as the poll closed. In the end, the Silverstone FT03/FT03-Mini took third place with 10.36% of the vote, and the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced fell to fourth with 10.23% of the votes cast. Bringing up the rear in fifth place is the admittedly un-sexy but very definitely the smallest case in the roundup, the Mini-Box M350 Universal Mini-ITX case, which is so small you can mount it on the back of a monitor safely.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Photo by docklandsboy.

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Intel execs predict Bay Trail touch-enabled laptops for $200 - $300 by the holidays

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/17/intel-bay-trail-200/

On the earnings call after Intel released its Q1 numbers, its executives faced many questions from analysts, including some asking what to expect from the company in Q4. According to CEO Paul Otellini and CFO / EVP Stacy Smith, among the reasons for investors to be optimistic are the prospects of cheaper touch screen computers powered by its upcoming Bay Trail (quad-core Atom) and Haswell processors. Just how cheap you ask? According to Otellini, as transcribed by SeekingAlpha:

We have a certain spec for ultrabooks, and that is the product that Stacy said is going to be centered at as low as $599 with some [diverse] SKUs to $499. If you look at touch-enabled Intel based notebooks that are ultrathin and light using non-core processors, those prices are going to be down to as low as $200 probably.

We'd put more weight in those figures if they were price tags attached to products or at least from the OEMs that will build them, but at least there's a target. Whatever happens, there's sure to be a flood of new ultrabooks, tablets, convertibles and detachables hitting the streets later this year, and if the price is right (along with some Windows 8 tweaks) maybe they'll be worth the wait.

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Source: Seeking Alpha

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Mid-range HTC 606w spotted with front stereo speakers and dual soft key design

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/17/htc-606w-leak/

HTC 606w

While the HTC One is facing much anticipation ahead of its launch in more regions, its price tags may not be everyone's cup of tea; but judging by the above leak, it looks like Peter Chou's willing to spare a couple of notable features for a more affordable model. According to last week's filing on China's TENAA database, the back of this 606w takes design cues from the China-only One SU (especially around the camera), but flip it around and you'll notice what appears to be a pair of front-facing stereo speakers (aka BoomSound as it's marketed as for the One), as well as the same dual soft key implementation on the company's latest flagship.

The rest of this Android 4.1.2 phone is a bit of a mix: there's a 4.5-inch 960 x 540 display, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, an 8-megapixel main camera (so not UltraPixel), a 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera, WCDMA radio and microSD expansion. It's easy to see how these specs are carefully crafted to avoid directly clashing with the recently launched E1 (603e) as well: lesser front-facing camera but better processor and display here (presumably). And no, this is clearly not the rumored M4. As always, we'll keep an eye out for the 606w's official announcement.

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Via: PhoneArena

Source: TENAA

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BlackBerry Q10 hits the FCC en route to a spring launch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/17/blackberry-q10-fcc/

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We're fairly certain that the BlackBerry Q10 will make its hometown debut on April 30th, but Thorsten and Co. haven't been very precise about when the handset will land in the US. Thanks to the FCC, however, we know that it can't be too far out, as the first BB10 device with a physical QWERTY keyboard has been passed fit for human consumption by the federal agency. We'd have guessed that professional keyboardist Alicia Keys would be first in the queue, but she probably got a freebie ahead of time.

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Source: FCC, Bluetooth SIG

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