Oppo shows first plug-in mobile camera lenses: OIS & up to 15x zoom

Credit: Oppo/ phoneArena.com

Absence of optical zoom is the biggest single shortcoming of a phone camera IMHO. Problem solved. Optical image stabilization (OIS) is a plus too.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Oppo-shows-first-plug-in-mobile-camera-lenses-OIS-and-up-to-15x-zoom_id46888 / Oppo Chinese company hearing smart phone smartphone photography Oppo teased plug in plug-in camera lenses lens switch attach to its smartphones first batch of plug-in lenses uses 16-megapixel Sony CMOS sensors support optical image stabilization OIS two lenses planned initially smaller with up to 10x 10 x zoom larger one supporting zoom of up to 15x 15 x new flagship smartphone Oppo N1 support NFC expandable storage via microSD micro SD cards whole Oppo teaser plug-in lenses ends with a hashtag #Oppo N1 Oppo N1 release date September 23rd lenses appear great camera first smartphone touch panel back /

Samsung smartwatch to appear 04 September (screenshots)

http://www.phonedog.com/2013/08/29/screenshots-of-samsung-gear-manager-app-leak-out-ahead-of-smartwatch-s-sept-4-debut/ / Samsung executive company Galaxy Gear smartwatch more details upcoming wearable, the exec spill many other details device rumor mill screenshots Gear Samsung Gear Manager posted Twitter @evleaks Galaxy Gear connect NFC-enabled smartphone tapping the device charger connect phone watch Bluetooth pair pairing second screenshot reveals model number SM-V700 list of apps settings user Clocks Find my watch hard details Samsung Galaxy Gear available possibility unveiling /

Spigen Slim Armor View Case for the Samsung Galaxy S4 hands-on (video)

Credit: Spigen

How to make the perfect case for the Samsung Galaxy S4?

Spigen's take is to start with their dual layer (TPU & polycarbonate) Slim Armor Case & add a hinged screen cover with a window to take advantage of the S4's S-View capability. Finally, they've added a clip to keep the screen cover closed.

Does it work? Some think so:

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Spigen-Slim-Armor-View-Case-for-the-Samsung-Galaxy-S4-hands-on_id45045

http://youtu.be/plT3Ng2eRfs

http://youtu.be/ZWV2OjVz9Vs / Samsung Galaxy S4 owners versatile cases premium accessory maker Spigen popular case series Spigen Slim Armor series Ultra Flip View Spigen Slim Armor View case part protective case S View cover solution owners waiting official S View cover smart phone smartphone front cover flimsy Ultra Flip View case cheaper better protection Sammy Spigen Slim Armor View case sturdy sturdiness Spigen’s Slim Armor case dual layer dual-layer dual-layered case design level of protection polyurethane thermoplastic urethane material hard polycarbonate front scratch resistant viewing window held hold closed clip latch S View cover alternatives form fitting soft touch coating case ports and buttons easily accessible cutouts earphone ear bud earpiece home button viewing window front provides some pertinent information time date notification battery level $49.99 rather expensive, viewing cover protective encapsulating nature justified original S View cover should’ve been like from the outset /

There's a fingerprint scanner in your smartphone future

Apple, & now HTC are rumoured to be including finger print readers in their forthcoming top-of-the-line smartphones.

http://bgr.com/2013/08/28/htc-one-max-specs-fingerprint-scanner/

Look for other manufacturers to follow suit soon, too. / rumor rumour rumored Apple’s next generation next-generation iPhone 5S feature embedded fingerprint scanner phone’s key differentiating features top tier top-tier handset market fingerprint scanning technology report HTC One Max phablet tablet in-built fingerprint scanner back device new leaked photos confirm news images published ePrice forum member show cutout back HTC device physical scanner setting phone’s software includes fingerprint icon rumored HTC One Max specs include 5.9 inch 5.9-inch full HD display quad core quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor 2GB RAM UltraPixel camera 3,300 mAh battery Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie leaked photos photo photographs photograph /

Sir Lancelot’s Armor Holy Grail Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 4/4S review

Credit: The Gadgeteer

Problem: Scratches on the glass screen of your smartphone.

Solution: Screen protector.

Problem: Screen protectors are hard to fit accurately & bubbles become caught underneath.

Solution: Sir Lancelot’s Armor Holy Grail Glass Screen Protector.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/08/28/sir-lancelots-armor-holy-grail-glass-screen-protector-for-iphone-44s-review/#more-137315 / smart phone phones smartphones 2-year contract 2 year upgrade device protection screen protector manufacturers products plastic film screen protectors gorilla hard tempered tempered-glass screen protectors Kickstarter project successfully funded company try Holy Grail Glass Screen Protector iPhone 4S devices cheap-o plastic film type screen protectors installation replace hard glass screen protectors increasingly popular tempered glass screen protectors highly scratch resistant absorb energy impact dissipate transfer transferring phone phone’s screen proprietary tempered glass silicon based silicone-based adhesive black white iPhone 4 4S iPhone 5 iPad 2 3 4 Mini Samsung Galaxy S4 Samsung Note 2 warranty lifetime button cover sticker concave convex screen clean cleaning instruction instructions speaker home button sensor sensors opening opaque /

Korean road wirelessly charges new electric buses

Credit:SingularityHUB

http://singularityhub.com/2013/08/25/korean-road-wirelessly-charges-new-electric-buses/ / electric vehicles vehicle EV battery LiIon lithium ion limited range expensive batteries battery few charging stations mainstream manufacturers improve battery tech technology Korea Advanced Institute Science Technology KAIST big batteries stations station road charge vehicles new bus buses began public service Korea South Korean city Gumi bus buses online electric vehicles OLEVs OLEV travel road wireless cellphone charging mat 7.5 miles cost $4 million to build bus buses inductively charged route 180 kW power sources periodically embedded road KAIST 5% 15% already existing road needs to be rebuilt to convert it into a wireless charger charge charging power source connects connect grid selectively turned on or off as a bus approaches leaves source produces magnetic field wirelessly transfers energy receiver under underneath bus magnetic field converted back electric current sent battery motor approach first developed researchers University of California Berkeley scientists worried strong electromagnetic fields adverse health effects abandoned idea problem KAIST solved vehicles fall within international standards for health and safety buses convert up to 85% power sent from embedded source batteries about a third the size of a typical electric car battery reduce reducing weight cost needn’t ever stop to charge wireless power transmission has a long history Nikola Tesla godfather wireless power wanted send electricity wirelessly from central power stations using giant Tesla coils coil filed patent inductive electric railway system ideas didn’t catch on our thoroughly wired world is testament dream wireless power new market in electric vehicles public transportation fleet inductively charged buses streets Turin Genoa Italy for over a decade Italian buses aren’t charged along their route KAIST buses Korean system unique /

Apple testing 64-bit iPhone processor with a “motion tracking” chip

More cores? No.

Unlike other manufacturers, Apple is going to 64 bits & dedicated support processors for graphics natural language processing & "motion tracking".

http://gigaom.com/2013/08/26/report-apple-testing-64-bit-iphone-processor-with-a-motion-tracking-chip/ / tweet tweets Twitter Fox anchor Clayton Morris iPhone 31 percent % faster chip motion tracking new chip Morris’s sources 64-bit technology A6 A7 processor based 32-bit tech new iPhone's running about 31% faster A6 very fast 32 64 bit separate chip devoted motion tracking camera upgrade potential silicon Motorola designed Moto X handset dual core standard dual-core processor Qualcomm non-standard quad-core GPU chip two separate processors natural language processors contextual use via phone’s sensors approach better performance maintaining efficient battery life create custom chips off-the-shelf processors processor Qualcomm Samsung reports speed boost iOS 64-bit chips chip /