More Samsung Galaxy Alpha Photos Leaked
By Roland Hutchinson
some photos of the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha, and now we have a couple more of this new variant of the Galaxy S5 smartphone from Samsung.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is rumored to feature a smaller 4.7 inch display that the Galaxy S5, and the handset is said to come with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.
Other rumored specifications on the Galaxy Alpha include a quad core processor, which could possibly be a Snapdragon 800 processor, and it is also rumored to feature 2GB of RAM.
We have also heard that the Alpha will come with 32GB of built in storage, it doesn’t looks like this will be expandable as the handset lacks a microSD card slot.
It looks like there will we two versions of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, both with a metal frame and a faux leather back, the model we can see in the photos today will come with LTE-A, as this can been seen on the back of the handset, this was absent from the photos we saw yesterday.
As yet there are no details on when the Samsung Galaxy Alpha will launch, Samsung are also rumored to be working on a faster premium version of the Galaxy S5, the Samsung Galaxy F, which is said to come with the same specifications as the S5 LTE-Advanced.
The Smart Key Chain Will Store Your Files, Check Your Email, And Find Your Keys
by Jordan Crook @jordanrcrook
The Smart Keychain has four uses in one small package: USB file storage, upcoming calendar alerts, incoming email notifications, and a key locator.
The file storage bit, to me at least, is kind of a joke considering the powers of cloud storage. Still, an extra reminder for calendar alerts and incoming email on your keychain isn’t a bad idea, especially for those of us who have no plans to jump on the smartwatch bandwagon.
Where email is concerned, the Smart Keychain app lets you designate five people or organizations as very important, and you’ll receive any new emails from the important folks on the Smart Keychain. It pings your email every fifteen minutes, so breaking news in emails or time-sensitive stuff should still be handled on the phone.
The most attractive part of the whole product, in my opinion, is the key locator, with the extra features standing in as an added benefit. Users can find their keys by pressing a button on the phone, which will sound an alarm on the keychain.
The Smart Keychain can be pre-ordered on Indiegogo starting at $59, with options for 8GB, 16GB or 32GB options.
For now, it’s only compatible with iOS, but Android is in the works. Plus, the team is trying to add support for Rewards card integration, as well as a health/fitness tracking option.
Google Voice Rising, Google+ Falling
Jared Newman @OneJaredNewman
Google Voice gets free VoIP calls, with no forced Google+ integration.
VoIP calls can be essential for a lot of people, none more so than those of you who work in a professional business setting. Many go through Agora.io for this, but other systems exist. Regardless of whether you’re a solo entrepreneur who is currently working on your own, or if you’re working in an established and large company, everyone needs access to a phone system that effectively works. In this particular day and age, the use of a mobile-friendly, cloud-based VoIP is the most popular choice, and places like Fusion Connect can help you to find the best system for your business needs, whatever they may be. Whilst this a common resolution, some people could prefer to see how Google Voice and their free VoIP calls could be more beneficial to them. With this being said, there is sometimes confusion over the difference between VoIP and SIP so click here to Learn More about their differences.
If you use Google Voice to manage your phone calls and text messages, you can now use it to place free calls from your computer as well.
The new feature comes through integration with Google Hangouts. To access it in Google Voice, click the “Call” button, then select “Hangouts” in the “Phone to call with” drop-down box.
Although Google already offers free Hangouts calls in Gmail and Google+, the Google Voice integration is noteworthy for a couple of reasons.
First, it’s a sign that there’s still some life left in Google Voice, which adds features like call screening and web-based voicemail on top of your basic phone service. Last March, Voice was rumored to be on its deathbed as Google rolls all communications into its Hangouts app. But on laptops and desktops, Hangouts is just a feature within other Google services, rather than a standalone app as it is on Android and iOS. Maybe Google will consolidate all its Hangouts tie-ins someday, but for now Voice seems to be sticking around.
It’s also amusing that Google’s Alex Wiesen, in announcing the feature on Google+, pointed out how making a Hangouts call “doesn’t require a Google+ account,” almost like that’s a feature. At one point, Google was requiring that new products integrate with its social network, but lately the company has been moving in the opposite direction, de-emphasizing Google+ where possible.
QBlinks Is A Multi-Use Remote Control And Notification Center For Your iPhone
by Catherine Shu @catherineshu
Qblinks wants to be the Swiss Army knife of iPhone remote controllers. The Bluetooth LE device, which is currently seeking $35,000 on Kickstarter, can be used to alert you to notifications from different apps on your smartphone; as a camera remote shutter; to activate Siri; play music; and help you find missing phones by prompting it to ring even when it is in silent mode. Qblinks even has an ambient temperature sensor.
One key difference between Qblinks and other iPhone remote controllers is its cloud-based platform, which lets you connect one iPhone to several Qblinks at once (in case you want to share alerts with friends or family members) and keeps a log of all notifications through apps connected to your Qblink, as well as room temperature (which is saved to Google Drive). For each notification, you can set its LED light to flash up to three times and select from seven colors. You can also set different actions (like taking a photo or shuffling through music) based on how many times you click Qblinks’ button.
I saw a demo of Qblinks at its Taipei-based office. Qblinks general manager Samson Chen said that the company did not want to make a smartwatch or other wearable device because it would limit the ways in which Qblink can be used. The plastic device, which is lightweight and battery-operated, does come with a clasp, however, so you can attach it to your keychain or purse.
For more information about Qblinks, visit its Kickstarter page, which the company is using for pre-orders since Qblinks’ prototype has already been finalized and it is ready for manufacturer. The Early Bird special is $29 each and the devices are set to ship in October.
An Electric Bus That Recharges While You Step Inside
by ADELE PETERS
Electric buses aren’t new. The “trolley bus” system in San Francisco, for example, has been around for almost 80 years. But even though the older buses keep pollution down, they aren’t quite ideal: In order to work, bus routes have to be strung with dozens of ugly crisscrossing wires that occasionally fall down and zap people, and the buses are stuck driving only where the wires lead.
Batteries can’t solve the problem by themselves, because they don’t last long enough to make it through an entire day of circling city routes. But a new system from researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology makes it possible to charge up a battery in 15 seconds–quickly enough that if the chargers are set up at bus stops, the battery can refill while passengers are getting on.
On a flat route, there might be a charger every three or four stops. Headed uphill, there would be extra chargers, and fewer on the way back down. When the bus pulls up to a stop, a battery on the rooftop automatically jumps up to the overhead charger, hooks in, and fills with juice.
The first bus was tested in Geneva, and the city liked it so much that they’ve committed to replace an entire line with the technology. Eventually, all of their older, polluting diesel buses will also be replaced.
For cities, the biggest advantage is cutting pollution–the average old diesel bus might pump out 188 megatons of CO2-equivalent each year, along with clouds of other pollutants that are linked to diseases like lung cancer. But it also has other benefits.
“TOSA allows us to operate from early in the morning until late at night without noise,” says Michèle Zollinger, one of the researchers. Unlike a traditional bus, which roars every time it takes off from a stop and squeaks when it comes to a halt, the TOSA bus is relatively silent.
“The small and long lasting battery allows a dramatic reduction of the battery waste,” Zollinger adds. “TOSA is also compatible with renewable energy sources such as solar energy because of the charging during the day.”
The cost is similar to the older electric trolley-bus systems, but the researchers say that as battery costs decrease, it will soon be about the same as buying diesel buses. The researchers are already talking with other cities about new installations.
