Hasta La Gadget!

After showing off its USB OTG accessories and NFC flash drive, PQI decided to tease us with its unannounced Power Drive that was sat quietly in a corner at Computex. Much like the Air Pen launched last November, this upcoming device acts as a portable wireless access point with storage expansion, meaning you can share an RJ45 network connection and your files over WiFi. But what’s new is that not only is the RJ45 port collapsible to reduce device thickness, there’s now also a standard SD card slot in addition to the old microSD slot. Better yet, as the name suggests, the Power Drive can also be used as a USB power bank to charge up other devices, making this PQI’s most versatile WiFi product yet. Alas, details are light on the specs, so stay tuned for its announcement at some point in Q4 this year.

Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless, Storage

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Yesterday Texas Instruments introduced a couple of new chipsets (fuel gauge an charger ICs) designed to improve the charging speed and life expectancy of single-cell Li-ion batteries. The technology, called MaxLife, is expected to provide an improvement of up to 30 percent in battery service life and faster charging times. Cell impedance is carefully monitored by the fuel gauge chip while the charger IC uses a model of battery degradation to charge the cell in the most effective way. Both chips are connected via an I2C bus to form an autonomous battery management system which, according to the company, is safer and more thermally efficient than existing solutions. The two chipsets (2.5A and 4.5A) are now available along with a development kit, so it’s only a matter of time until this technology lands into handsets and other devices that use single-cell Li-ion batteries. Check out the details after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Mobile

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We’re starting to see new computers running Intel‘s Haswell pop up from the woodwork, and while we know that these fourth-generation chips offer a performance boost from previous generations, Intel claims that they also offer a whopping 50% increase in battery life, allowing users to surf longer without plugging in.

Intel’s Architecture Group Vice President, Rani Borkar, said that laptops packing in Haswell chips should be able to get 50% more battery life than the current third-generation Ivy Bridge offerings. New laptops should also be able to last up to 20 times longer in standby mode without affecting performance whatsoever.

Borkar says that the new Haswell chips were designed with laptops and tablets in mind, specifically, so the main focus was on lowering power consumption across the board, while keeping the chips fast. Furthermore, Haswell is said to be double the graphics performance of Ivy Bridge on laptops, and triple the performance for desktops.

Of course, we’re staying cautious until we can get some solid benchmarks and test results in our hands proving these claims, but we really hope it’s true, as laptop battery life is one of those things that plagues each and every one of us. Intel’s claims mean that a current laptop getting six hours of battery life will be able to get nine hours using Haswell, which sounds really lovely.

However, we’ll see if Haswell can make an impact in the laptop and desktop market, or if PC sales will continue to slump until there’s nothing left but tablets. We don’t think that will happen for a long while, if ever, but the PC industry needs to do something to get back on track, and Intel is attempting to do their part at least.

SOURCE: Computerworld

Intel Haswell chips claimed to offer 50% longer battery life is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

How fitting is it that a high school student may have found the answer to longer lasting and faster charging mobile devices? The promising invention was made by Eesha Khare, an 18-year old student from Saratoga, California. It’s a supercapacitor that, according to Intel, “fits inside cell phone batteries, allowing them to fully charge within 20-30 seconds.”

Supercapacitors have significantly higher durability and rate of charging (and discharging) compared to rechargeable batteries, but the downside to them is that they have a low energy density. That’s why they’re mainly used in devices that need short bursts of power. But in the video below, which was uploaded by Santa Barbara Arts TV on YouTube, you’ll hear Khare mention that her supercapacitors have “a special nanostructure, which allows for a lot [sic] greater energy per unit volume.”

For her invention, Khare won $50,000 (USD) and was awarded one of the runners-up honors at the 2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. The first place went to a 19-year old who developed an AI for a low-cost self-driving car. But Khare bags the top prize in my book. Not that it’s worth anything. My book doesn’t even actually exist.

[via Intel & Santa Barbara Arts TV via Raw Story]

There are already many iPhone cases that incorporate an additional battery. But what if the extra battery runs out as well? Or what it you’d rather have extra storage at times instead of extra power? The inventors of the GoStacked think they have the answer. Their iPhone case has interchangeable add-ons, forming case and machine, power xtreme!

The first add-on for the GoStacked is the 2000mAh GoBattery. But if that runs out and there’s no outlet in sight, you can swap in the GoSolar solar panel to charge your device.

Finally, there’s the extremely useful GoDrive 64. Sorry, it’s not a 64-bit console, but it is a wireless flash drive with 64GB capacity. It creates its own wireless network; all you need is the GoStacked+ app and you can access what’s in the GoDrive 64. Other iOS devices can access the GoDrive 64 in the same way, even if they don’t have a GoStacked case. It also has a 3600mAh battery to keep your iPhone juiced up while you stream media or review documents from the drive.

A pledge of at least $60 (USD) on Kickstarter qualifies you for a GoStacked case and at least one of the add-ons. The case has two versions – one for the iPhone 4 & 4S and one for the iPhone 5.

Sadly, as of this writing GoStacked’s fundraiser only has 11 days to go but they’re still a long ways off from reaching their desired amount of money. Is it because the case is bulky? If you ask me the trade off is worth it. Heck, the GoDrive64 alone is worth having a thicker phone.

[via Nibletz]