Microsoft to release Zune Phone this Month!

To counter Google's Nexus One

Microsoft did not do so well with the Zune music player, for obvious reasons, and the fact that Apple outdid it in every possible way. Now the software giant is ready to take on the mobile market with the Zune Phone.
Nothing is official but very reliable sources suggest that Microsoft is indeed prepping up the Zune phone to release this month during the 2010 Mobile World Congress. There's been a lot of secrecy surrounding the project and Microsoft has been absolutely tight lipped about the Zune Phone, and at times has even denied developing the gadget. The Zune Phone may likely be based on the original music player and would be powered by the NVIDIA Tegra processor. Safe to say there would be those standard bells and whistles loaded on the phone, with one or two extra smart phone capabilities to rival the other phones on the market like the iPhone, Droid and the Nexus One.
The Tegra platform was used in the Zune HD player and also in upcoming tablets. The Zune Phone has been given a lot of codenames as 'Project Pink and the 'Microsoft Zune Phone Experience'. It it possible that the Zune phone would run Windows Mobile 7 and incorporate the Zune software just like Apple's iPhone runs the iPod software. What would you like to see in the Zune Phone?

Super Thin LCDs have arrived

They're bendable too!

Gone are the days of plasma screens, OLED TVs and even LCDs - its the bendy new screens from Minority Report and Avatar are on their way to hog the market.
According to reports, scientists from a Japanese consortium of 13 companies and institutions are working to develop super-thin, flexible LCDs by using plastic film instead of glass substrates. Some of the companies in the consortium include giants like Hitachi and Sharp. However one particular member, Japan's Technology Research Association for Advanced Display Materials have suggested that usage of multiple layers of plastic film in order to display colors are a good alternative to using glass substrates. Of course the positioning of the layers is not simple and is a problem but can tackled if the bigwigs set their minds to it.
According to the association, the 'new high-precision production technique combines color filters with other types of thin film'. Fewer processes are required by the production method, and as a result producers need less equipment. Also, the process is good for the environment too, as CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions can be reduced by a massive 75 percent. What's more, the new production technique would result in reduction of energy consumption by 70 percent.
The consortium on Monday revealed a bendable 3.5-inch LCD which is 0.49mm thick and weighs 7g as a first milestone. When bent, the LCD's quality of the color image drops. A superior, more commercial version is slated to release in 2012, and the consortium says that the technology would become mainstream soon after.

The Google Tablet!

Will it kill Apple's iPad?

In the last week of January the world was witness to Apple's iPad, which was supposed to revolutionise the tablet market and blur the line between Netbooks and smart phones. Of course that didn't happen, but no fretting - Google is ready with its own version of the Tablet.
The internet is rife with pictures of how the Google Tablet SHOULD look like, below are two more images, and the photos don't seem too far fetched at all. What's more, the photos were also posted to the official Chromium site. In case you didn't already know, Chromium is the open source project behind Chrome and ChromeOS), but it is not actually part of Google. You'd be interested to know that the mockups were put designed by Glen Murphy, Google Chrome's designer. Vis a vis, the Google Tablet would look pretty much like this.
The other interesting titbit is that Google is not doling out just one Tablet, there are multiple tablets in the reckoning for release in 2010, what with Google working with a number of hardware partners like Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba. There would, however, be one champion tablet with Google's brand name, much like the Nexus One (which was designed by HTC). Given our well documented hate for the iPad, we would like to see Google incorporate Flash and USB support on the tablet. A camera wouldn't hurt either. Its got to be worth the $499+ price tag after all. A Google tablet with those three features alone would shut Steve Jobs up.

Now charge your phone using WiFi!

No need of costly Electricity

WiFi is famous for sucking the life out of mobile phones, it is a well known fact that the greatest cell phone battery would whimper and die after prolonged use of Wifi, however all that may change when WiFi energy takes over.

Scientists from a little company called RCA have invented a handy gadget that allows a mobile phone to harvest the WiFi energy and convert it into electricity! As a result mobile phones would be charged for free, without the need to plug in the pesky chargers. The gadget was unveiled at the CES this year, and in our opinion it beats innovations like 3D TVs and tiny ebook readers, let alone motion controllers.

The device is named the 'Airnergy Charger', and while the technology isn't brand new, it is the first time a commercial product has been developed using it. Tests results showed that the Airenergy was powerful enough to charge a Blackberry from 30 percent battery to full battery in 90 minutes, all the while using free energy! The Airenergy comes with a little battery and the gadget itself is small enough to be carried around in a pocket. According to the RCA, the Airenergy would be available in stores by May, and will cost around $40. That is an amazing price for a gadget that revolutionises technology and energy saving. And you don't need to worry about charging the battery of the charger, the 'Airenergy' charges itself when it is anywhere near a WiFi source. If you have a home wireless network, you could just leave it anywhere in your house overnight and it would be fully charged by morning.

Below is a video which demonstrates the gadget. Check it out, its worth the buffer.

Earlier we reported that Taiwanese scientists at the Industrial Technology Research Institute successfully created a hydrogen-powered charger for mobile phones. The device will be able to recharge a mobile phone battery in less than two hours. The scientists expect the device to go mainstream by 2012 and by 2015 almost all of the world's mobile users will have hydrogen-based mobile phone chargers instead of the electric ones that are used at present. Also, Hydrogen in theory will produce no hazard to the environment.

iPhone 4G from iphone

Some overzealous folks created a visual guide to the Apple Tablet rumors a few days ago, now up pops a similar idea from French website Nowhere Else for the next generation iPhone.

As per the image (and the rumours) the creatively named iPhone 4G has a saucy 5 megapixel camera (just like the Google candy Nexus One) and an OLED display, apart from a front facing camera, a stunning dual-core processor with more RAM and a touch-sensitive case. The iPhone 4G releases between May and July 2010. There is a good chance that Apple's new phone may have removable battery. Check out the image below and let us know what you think.

According to Goldman Sachs' Robert Chen, "Apple’s going to put a lot of innovation, not just on the hardware, but also on the software of the new iPhone." Rumours suggest the new iPhone has a sensitive back case, similar to the touch panel used for the Magic Mouse (which has a touch-sensitive solid plastic shell instead of mechanical buttons). Motorola announced an Android based phone called 'Backflip' which can be controlled via a touchpad on the back of the screen. We can expect a similar design on the new iPhone.

According to Chen, the new iPhone will go into production in April and should be available to consumers in June or July. But as per Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, "We’re not going to comment on rumors and speculation." The iPhone is Apple's second largest source of revenue, second only to the laptops. A dual core processor on the iPhone 4G would knock the socks off the 1Ghz powered Nexus One.