10 great Android apps that do amazing things the iPhone can’t

Credit: Tasker/Crafty Apps EU/Boy Genius Report

Apple has a policy of tightly controlling its iOS user experience. This includes the range of settings available to the user, relatively limited capabilities available to third party apps & a tightly curated app store.

Google on the other hand, has a more open arrangement for its Android OS.

While both approaches have their strengths, it is true that there are some things that Android apps can do that iOS apps can not. Here are 10 examples:

http://bgr.com/2014/02/06/top-5-android-apps-vs-iphone/

http://bgr.com/2014/02/14/top-10-android-apps-vs-iphone-part-2/ / Apple’s Apple mobile platform iPhone iPad iOS smart phone smartphone smart-phone devicethird party third-party apps app limit limited limitations approach mobile software ecosystem Android apps Google Google’s open approach advantage advantages post awesome capabilities iOS app store developers developer applications below Event Flow Calendar Widget lock screen, but two of the most elegant and intelligent solutions I’ve found thus far are Event Flow Calendar Widget and DashClock Widget option two options busy people calendar calendars appointment appointments styling options configurations configuration my your agenda miss appointment handset handset’s display list upcoming appointments dates date time times weather forcast forecasts each day clutter lock screen home screen widget options option Google’s Google app store capabilities capability customise customize customisation customization options option DashClock Widget Aviate Tasker AirDroid Cover Swype keyboard change Profile Scheduler Android Stocks Tape Widget Smart Launcher /

First non-flammable lithium ion battery will stop your smartphone from exploding

Lithium ion (LiIon) batteries used in our phones, tablets & laptops as well as larger applications like power tools are flammable. LiIons are flammable because their electrolytes are composed of a lithium salt dissolved in a flammable organic solvent. Obvious solution is a non-flammable organic solvent. Easier said than done. But such a non-flammable organic solvent has been identified, & testing is proceeding.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/176527-first-nonflammable-lithium-ion-battery-will-stop-your-smartphone-car-and-plane-from-exploding

Having said all of the above, the LiIon cells at present used in electic vehicles (EVs) have a significantly different chemistry than that used in most other devices, including phones, tablets & laptops. Most importantly, LiIons used in EVs are much less flammable. / lithium-ion lithium ion lithiumion battery batteries most important modern technology grievous flaw highly flammable puncture lithium-ion battery charge discharge improperly pretty bad fire explosive explosion Boeing 787 Dreamliner grounded 2013 lithium-ion battery packs electrical fires mid-flight mid flight midflight explode exploding smartphone batteries research researchers researching University of North Carolina Chapel Hill say built nonflammable lithium-ion battery LIB incendiary explosive pressure seal sealed pressurized pressurised electrolyte charge-carrying charge carrying liquid between positive negative +ve -ve electrodes flammable lithium salt dissolved organic solvent solvents highly flammable manufactured very high level of quality penetrate pierce penetrated pierced Tesla Model S battery pack impale impaled burst into flames thermal runaway occurs thermal runaway /

Dyson promises a general purpose domestic robot

Husqvarna robot lawn mower.
Credit: Husqvarna

Although there have been a number of attempts at a domestic robot, the only ones which have achieved any degree of practical success have been robot vacuum cleaners & lawn mowers:

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/domestic-robots-get-carpeted-in-dirt-test-20130831-2sxf3.html

http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/household/laundry-and-cleaning/vacuum-cleaners/robot-vacuum-reviews.aspx

Now Dyson is entering the field. First will be another robot vacuum cleaner, but Dyson is promising a general purpose automaton too:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/a-robot-in-every-home-dyson-enters-race-to-provide-advanced-household-androids-for-all-9117372.html / robot robota automaton mow clean cleaner suck suction dirt fluff power electric charge recharge battery LiIon lithium ion nickel metal hydride cadmium nicad brush sweep clean dust pet hair /

IPhone 6 with flux capacitor — This will change everything (video)

Credit: Additif S/YouTube / iPhone 6 iOS phone smartphone screen size large screen diagonal video parody joke humor humour comody Apple time travel change the past back to the future /

Coming developments for the Tesla Models S, X, E & the Supercharger fast charging network (video)

Transcript: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/26861-Elon-and-JB-speak-in-Oslo-Feb-1st-2014-1000-CET-%284AM-EST%29/page4?p=568100#post568100

Tesla's Model S is very popular in Norway. 527 units delivered in November 2013 alone, in a country with a population of just over 5 million. Elon Musk & Tesla CTO JB Straubel spoke to a group of Norwegian Tesla owners recently & revealed some interesting future plans. See video or transcript of the event above (hint: video is 1.5 hours & audio not sharp — read the transcript), but some of the interesting details included:

･ Battery swapping will be trialed between San Francisco & Los Angeles. If it proves popular, it will be expanded. Tesla's expectation is that as charging improves, battery swapping will become superfluous.

･ AWD will be a future option on the Model S, using a separate motor for the front wheels. Range will be unaffected!

･ Improved seats are under development for the Model S. Retrofitting to existing vehicles will be available.

･ Existing Supercharger quick charging stations are 90 or 120 kilowatts. Upgrades to 135 kW are coming.

･ Model S offsets the carbon emissions produced in its manufacture in less than 10,000 miles of driving.

･ Battery cost for the Model E ("mass market car" planned for 2016 or 2017) will be 30 to 40% less per killowatt hour than the S.

･ Model X — Falcon Doors will be in the producton vehicle — all wheel drive using separate motors for the front & back wheels — energy consumption will be approximately 10% higher than in the S due to greater frontal area & mass.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1090225_elon-musk-talks-tesla-model-x-details-model-s-upgrades-at-europe-qa-sessions / Tesla Motors car electric vehicle EV cars car future plans owners owner fan fans Q & A session Tesla CEO Elon Musk company company's Chief Technical Officer CTO JB Straubel Model S Model X electric SUV mass-market Model E sedan Tesla Model X all-electric crossover SUV 4 wheel drive Falcon Doors Model X wheelbase Model S cd dc lower drag coefficient increased frontal area, the total drag will be higher. Combined with a slightly heavier weight the Model X energy consumption 10 percent higher range production Model X double hinged double-hinged doors sensor sensors adjust opening sequence all-wheel drive separate electric drive motor rear front wheels future upgrades improved front seats more comfortable modified spring force cushion retrofit retrofitted carbon footprint manufacturing process internal study process manufacture battery cost Model E of 30 to 40 percent less per kilowatt-hour price target $30,000 $40,000 cost reduction giga-factory Tesla Model E batteries battery lithium ion LiIon Oslo Norway Tesla Motors Club transcript /

Smartphones make you tired & unproductive

At the moment, the picture is still unclear, but the risks seem to include:

• Smart phone use seems to constitute the biggest risk.

• All Web connected electronic devices contitute a risk, so avoid tablets, laptops & desktops too.

• Everyone needs a break from work at the end of the day.

It may be that the entire problem is essentially unrelated to the technology as such. A work phone, or other device, may simply be a tether which keeps the employee "at work", even after hours. YouTube on a work device out of hours may be OK. An email from the boss at 9 pm with a new task, or query, isn't.

http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2014/02/06/smartphones-make-you-tired-and-unproductive-study-says/ / productive day at work tomorrow smartphone tonight reading send sending work email evening harder hard decent night’s sleep new research findings exhaust exhausts workers working worker work morning disengage disengaged next afternoon knowledge workers job jobs monitor monitoring Android iPhones notes boss after office day respond responding responded colleagues colleague all hours less effective research reseaarching researchers University of Florida Michigan State University University of Washington scholars conducted two studies worker worker's workers’ night time night-time nighttime technology habits sleep duration quality energy workplace engagement mid high level manager managers mid- to high-level managers morning use used 9:00 pm night how many hours they slept rate their agreement statements like drained lot effort concentrate on something afternoon assess statements work engagement today work working forget forgot prior studies have shown staying focused focus direct resisting distractions distracted effort interfere interferes with sleep takes a toll next day sleep quality fewer hours of sleep subject subjects report reported depleted reserves of self-control self control morning exhaustion book Sleeping With Your Smartphone Harvard Business School professor Leslie Perlow study studied executives Boston Consulting Group disconnect more excited about their work felt more satisfied satisfaction professional personal lives more collaborative efficient electronic device affects sleep quantity focus the following day especially draining always on always-on Christopher M. Barnes assistant professor management University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business co-author paper screen so close face faces prepare for sleep particular threshold affect sleep habits researchers research researching phone smartphone smart phone respond responses response Barnes change managers manager manage messages toning down expectations response time /

Would you like a hand?

Credit: Suck/The Gadgeteer

Looks like a bit of fun: a Mickey's hand stylus on your pencil, pen or marker. Another piece of good news is that when I looked at the Suck web site, they were priced at £UK5 ($US8.20, $A9.16), rather than the $US35 indicated in the linked article.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/02/06/not-to-put-too-fine-a-point-on-it/ / styli stylus Suck UK company name design designed fine line fine-line, precision drawing Touch Point Stylus Pencil Topper Mickey Mouse Mouse’s hand slide fit slides end practically stick like stick-like object pen pencil marker stylus capacitive screen capacitive-screen smart phone smartphone tablet Mickey Mouse phone smart phone smartphone tablet /