Focus News Mobile

The next generation iPhone will have a 4-inch display, according to the Wall Street Journal, as consumer interest in devices with larger screens continues to grow.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is ordering larger displays from its Asian suppliers as it prepares to start production on the handset next month. Analysts believe the new iPhone will launch in the fall.

A 4-inch display in the next-generation iPhone would be the biggest physical change to Apple’s smartphone since it originally launched in 2007. The iPhone has always featured a 3.5-inch screen, but Android manufacturers have continued to push the envelope when it comes to the display size of smartphones. Many smartphones now feature 4.3-inch screens, and others like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the upcoming Galaxy S3 sport 4.7-inch displays.

Apple doesn’t seem interested in increasing the size of the iPhone screen too much and blurring the line between smartphone and tablet. A bump to 4-inches will make the device more formidable at media-related tasks like watching videos and playing games, while still keeping the overall size of the device the same.

A move to a 4-inch screen may be an external change, but it could present problems for developers under the hood. Developers created more than 200,000 apps in Apple’s App Store to run on a 3.5-inch retina display. Apps on the new iPhone will have to run with black bars until developers issue updates to avoid pixilation.

Still, while a 4-inch iPhone could be a bit of a headache for developers, it is a decision that will pay dividends for Apple. Increasing the size of the device’s display gives owners of the 4S plenty of reason to upgrade, as well as get some Android users who were holding out for a larger screen to make the switch to an iPhone. As long as there are millions of people buying Apple’s new handset, developers won’t mind working a bit harder to make sure their apps run well on the device.

The difference between 4 and 3.5-inches may seem small, but for Apple, it’s very, very big.

Small Change in IPhone Screen Could Mean Big Results originally appeared at Mobiledia on Thu May 17, 2012 11:40 am.

A bikini made of old electronics stirred up controversy about women in tech, while one man used body modification to wear his iPod in an unusual way.

Freddie Mercury sang to adoring crowds, despite being dead, while Alan Rickman’s mundane daily deeds became a source of amusement.

Meanwhile, generous Twitter users donated their unused characters to a good cause.

Bathing Suit Made From Old Electronics Sparks Debate

Jennifer Shannon and Andi Cheung designed a provocative bikini made of outdated bits of electronics and created a magazine mock-up to spark a debate on how women occupy the tech sector.

The photos of a model wearing the deeply impractical swim wear, accompanied by statements like “Women have their own strengths, like fashion” are pushing buttons online.

The artists behind the photoshoot wanted to point out the marginalized position women still occupy in the tech sector, but some bloggers are taking their satirical product literally.

Hologram Freddie Mercury Rocks a Crowd

A holographic image of flamboyant, beloved Queen front-man Freddie Mercury appeared at the Dominion Theater in London.

The deceased Queen superstar performed to honor the 10th anniversary of the “We Will Rock You” musical, alongside members of its cast.

Guitarist Brian May prefers to call the image an “optical illusion,” and expressed regret that the Tupac hologram at Coachella happened first, as the band has tried to bring Mercury’s visage to the stage using technology for some time.

Slow-Mo Alan Rickman Gets Big Laughs

Set to a dramatic score, some Alan Rickman super-fan created a slow-motion video of the venerable British actor preparing tea for himself in a sparsely decorated room.

Rickman is largely silent throughout the nearly-seven-minute film, although after four minutes pass, he begins to look directly in the camera and slowly raises his hand to hail the cameraman.

Hopefully someone can mash up tea-sipping Rickman and the slowed-down, drunk-sounding Jeff Goldblum clips for more comic mayhem.

Literally Stuck to His IPod

Body piercer Dave Hurban invented what he calls a “strapless watch” by implanting four metal studs into his wrist and affixing an iPod to his skin with magnets. Hurban works at a tattoo parlor, so he was well-equipped to try out the unusual procedure.

The heavily pierced and tattooed innovator showcased his novel arm accessory on YouTube, explaining how other could get a similar look.

Over 900,000 viewers watched the clip in about two weeks, illustrating other people are interested in getting the unique body modification.

Donate a Tweet

A new program called Hashtags4Heros takes unused Twitter characters and adds messages about the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps wounded veterans. The program wants to raise awareness about WWP through these charity tweets.

Hashtags4Heros is a Twitter application created by defense contractor Raytheon, a supporter of WWP’s message. Users who want to give a one-time donation, but don’t want to have their leftover Twitter characters taken all month, can tweet directly from WWP’s website.

The app originally aimed to donate 30,000 Twitter characters by the end of Military Appreciation Month, but due to its overwhelming success, it bumped the goal up to 300,000 by Memorial Day.

The Chat Room: Bikinis Made Out of IPods originally appeared at Mobiledia on Tue May 15, 2012 3:02 pm.

Scientists have developed virus-powered electrical chargers capable of harnessing energy from footsteps, a milestone in the continuing advancement of green mobile technology.

The stamp-sized generator, created in Berkeley Labs, relies on the piezoelectric M13 virus to produce electrical charge when pressed. Fitted to shoe soles, it may one day allow users to power mobile electronics as they walk.

The key to improvements lies in modifying the harmless virus, whose rapid reproduction and natural orderliness make it ideal for bioengineering. But M13 is not alone in its power-producing capabilities, as researchers around the world are demonstrating in their rush to develop green mobile charging technology.

Last week, 24-year-old Anthony Mutua of Kenya announced a shoe-powered cell phone charger that also generates electricity under pressure. Mutua’s $46 device, slated for mass production, relies on a thin crystal chip to extract power from footfalls.

InStep NanoPower, a company created by University of Wisconsin students Tom Krupenkin and Ashley Taylor, is also joining the race, seeking to market thermodynamically powered “in-shoe” technology by 2013.

Besides using chip-fitted shoes to charge cell phones, scientists are developing clothing and exercise machines that can extract electricity from human movement.

The U.S. military is working to develop movement-sensitive e-textile fabric for its soldiers that will allow them to charge mobile devices in the field without cumbersome cords and wires.

Even concert-goers can benefit from such technology, using piezoelectric shirt pockets to harness vibrations from drums and guitars to charge cell phones.

And German-made Silverback “Starke” bicycles, along with treadmills at England’s Green Heart Gym, now use movement-generated energy to power portable batteries and LED lights.

Developments like these herald a new era in mobile technology. Movement-powered cell phones will likely reduce the need for fossil fuel-based electricity, resulting in less environmental pollution as well as promoting human health with increased exercise.

Furthermore, in today’s gadget-centric world, green charging technology may enable users to stay even more digitally connected than they are now. This development would certainly benefit the entire mobile market, which may see higher profits as a result of their products’ ability to organically keep a charge.

Currently, the prototype virus-powered device produces one-fourth the voltage of a triple A battery, only enough to run a small LCD. As Berkeley scientist Seung-Wuk Lee joked, “Do not expect this virus-based device to run your water heating unit.”

But Lee, along with Byung Yang Lee and Ramamoorthy Ramesh, are still experimenting in hopes that the virus-coated generator will revolutionize the mobile industry.

“Because the tools of biotechnology enable large-scale production of genetically modified viruses, piezoelectric materials based on viruses could offer a simple route to novel microelectronics in the future,” Lee predicted.

Using Viruses to Charge Your Phone originally appeared at Mobiledia on Mon May 14, 2012 3:47 pm.