Concerns over battery life aside, the real reason your smartphone doesn’t have a built-in projector yet is because it would add too much thickness to the device. And because shaving millimeters helps add to a smartphone’s appeal, Texas Instruments might have finally found a way to convince handset makers to include a minuscule projector with its new 0.3-inch HD DLP Pico chipset.
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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
Earlier this year a device code-named DA220HQL was introduced to the world – silently – this being the same device appearing along technology newslines being reported as brand new, and coming soon with Haswell inside. What’s actually happened here is a bit of a mistaken identity – the device in question is, indeed, already on the market – and it comes with a dual-core Texas Instruments processor inside.
This machine is what Acer calls a “Smart Display”, working with a kickstand in the back, a full touch display, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich inside. This machine works with the dual-core TI OMAP 4430 inside and is available in Europe right now for right around $450 USD, depending on where you’re picking it up from. Resellers, according to CNET, had as recently as earlier today been listing the device as coming with a next-generation Intel Haswell processor under the hood.
While the device won’t be busting up the next-generation charts with that particular bit of Intel technology, it will be continuing its odd placement in the market with a 21.5-inch multi-touch display at 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution – across that much display space, it’s not exactly as sharp as some of the top smartphones on the market, but is more than enough to get you through the day as a media center.
Inside is 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal storage, microHDMI out, microUSB (one of them), and included in the box you’ll get both a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse. This system is very similar to what appeared at the ViewSonic stand earlier this year at CES 2013. ViewSonic showed off their own “Smart Display” by the name of VSD240 – basically the same concept, but ringing in at a slightly more hefty $675 USD (MSRP). While that system did boast an NVIDIA Tegra processor, the style sticks with Acer.
These systems show the continued experimentation being done with Android as its versatility expands. Android notebooks like the HP SlateBook X2 have popped up alongside cross-breeds like this – and Android is inside Google Glass, too, mind you. Expect this trend to keep tapping.
PSA: Acer’s Android all-in-one won’t roll with Haswell is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Texas Instruments is a major technology company that develops chips and internal components for a variety of gadgets and electronic devices on the market today. The company has announced a new lithium-ion battery charger and integrated circuit that promises significantly faster charging compared to other solutions on the market today. The new Texas Instruments product is the bq2419x family of 4.5-amp output, 20-V input-rated switch-mode chargers.
The new integrated circuit has an I2C interface and supports USB OTG. Texas Instruments promises that its new integrated circuit not only delivers faster charging, but delivers cooler charging to a wide range of products including power banks and packs, 4G LTE routers, Wi-Fi speakers, portable medical devices, smartphones, tablets, and more. TI says that its new integrated circuit will reduce charge time by 50% for smartphones and tablets compared to other charging solutions.
The new integrated circuit has a 4.5-amp output and a 20-volt input. The integrated circuit has a unique battery pack with impedance compensation that enables significantly reduced charging time. The solution also achieves 92% efficiency at 2 A and up to 90% efficiency at four amps output current.
The new integrated circuit also has a programmable thermal regulation temperature allowing designers to improve their system-level design. The circuit also promises the industry’s lowest on-resistance of 12 milliohms to extend the battery runtime. The circuit is also designed to prevent overcharging and it’s very small with TI saying it is the smallest and most integrated battery charging solution available with its feature set measuring 4 mm x 4 mm. There’s no indication of when products using this new integrated circuit will come to market.
[via TI]
Texas Instruments 4.5-amp lithium-ion battery charging circuit cuts charge time is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If you’ve been needing a little inspiration for your next TI LaunchPad project, look no further than the company itself. Texas Instruments set up shop in the maker tent across from the Austin Convention Center this week, showing off creations built atop its line of microcontrollers. The rep we spoke with was particularly excited about this mouse hack that the company put together in a few hours, while getting ready for SXSW. The creation utilizes the Stellaris board’s accelerometers to control the cursor of a Windows machine on X, Y and Z axes, via USB.
The project is more than just a hack, according to the company — it’s actually a prototype of something it’s set to unveil later this year. No specifics on that front, but TI promised a “big surprise.” In the meantime, you can check out video of the project after the break.
Filed under: Peripherals
Love tiny projectors? Boy have we got the conversation for you! We’ll be speaking with Texas Instruments business manager, DLP Pico Projection, Frank Moizio, who will be showing off new devices featuring the technology and discussing the company’s new architecture and the outlook for pico projectors in the future.
Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here!
Continue reading Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Texas Instruments’ Frank Moizio
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Over the past few years, pico projectors stuffed into smartphones and tablets have seemed like novel concepts with little real world application—yet. But the little projectors may finally evolve from novel to practical, especially with DLP’s latest pico chip architecture breakthrough. More »
Most of you guys have probably heard that Texas Instruments will be reducing their focus on the mobile processor game, instead choosing to focus their efforts on other sectors instead such as automobile and the industrial. With this move, the company announced that they would be cutting about 1,700 jobs worldwide in a bid to save some money during the transition – so what will happen to some of the staff? If the rumors are to be believed, Apple could be picking up some of Texas Instruments’ former engineers, particularly those from Israel.
According to a report by The Next Web, Apple is said to have hired dozens of engineers from the company’s Ra’anana development center, and interestingly it seems that these engineers were the same ones who worked on the company’s OMAP and radio chips that have been used in several smartphones and tablets, such as the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It is expected that these engineers will probably start working at Apple’s new research and development center in Haifa, presumably to help with Apple’s R&D on their AX chipsets.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple said to have turned to Intel for manufacturing of their mobile chipsets [Rumor], T-Mobile to launch iPhone next week? One analyst seems to think so [Rumor],
If you thought spelling out childish messages was the only fun you could have with a calculator, think again. Some incredibly talented hacker who goes by the handle Builderboy has written a Portal clone for Texas Instruments Ti-83 and Ti-84 graphing calculators. More »
Earlier this year we saw a calculator playing Pokémon via a Game Boy Color emulator. Redditor Builderboy2005 has made something way better (or worse, depending on your expectations). Portal Prelude, a game for Texas Instruments calculators. It’s not the original game, but it does feature its space-warping mechanics.
Like the official Valve games Portal Prelude takes place at Aperture Laboratories, but “long before GLaDOS ever ran the facility.” It comes with 38 testing chambers and even has a level editor. The game is only compatible with Texas Instruments’ Ti-83 and Ti-84 series of calculators. You can watch the video below to see how it plays, but if you intend to play the game don’t watch the video all the way through because it shows how to solve the puzzles.
You can download Portal Prelude for free on Omnimaga. Builderboy and Omnimaga both pointed out that there are calculator emulators for the PC that you might be able to use to run this game, but not only is that method probably illegal, I think it also ruins some of the magic of playing Portal on a freakin’ calculator.
[via Reddit]
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