Hasta La Gadget!

There are plenty of external batteries on the market that have USB ports allowing you to keep your smartphone or tablet charged up on the go. The thing I never liked about those battery packs is that you have to carry your charging cable with you. I think we should be getting away from cables, not trying to carry more cables with us on the go.

Mugen Power has announced a new portable power bank that sheds those wires, assuming your smartphone is compatible. The cool new feature is that the Mugenizer N11 supports Qi Wireless charging. That means if you have a smartphone that has integrated Qi charging technology or a phone with an accessory battery door (and a Qi battery pack), you need no cables.

All you need to is place your Qi enabled phone on the surface of the battery and the power will flow. The N11 has a 4800 mAh battery, so you should be able to get about two charges out of it with most smartphones. The device also has a conventional USB port so you can charge via cable if you need to. Of course you still need to plug in the battery to juice it up too.

You can pick up the Mugenizer N11 battery pack right now for $69.99 (USD).

Recall that silent rage you get when you’re told to switch of your Kindle, iPod or laptop for take-off and landing, even when there’s nothing wireless going on. Well, the FAA could be approaching a change in the rules. A 28-member committee, created by the Federal Aviation Administration itself, has offered up its recommendation that flyers should be able to use “most” devices during takeoff and landing. Data-based activities and voice calls would still be prohibited, but the group recommends that passengers should be allowed to watch videos, type away at documents, listen to music and more when planes take off and land.

Amazon has already released a statement, with the company acting as the representative device manufacturer within the FAA committee. “We’ve been fighting for our customers on this issue for years – testing an airplane packed full of Kindles, working with the FAA, and serving as the device manufacturer on this committee,” said Amazon’s Drew Herdener. “This is a big win for customers and, frankly, it’s about time“. If the FAA decides to progress with these recommendations (although it certainly doesn’t have to), changes could occur as soon as early 2014. However, timing will depend on how the FAA decides to roll out implementation. However, according to industry officials, if it’s done airline by airline, it could well take longer. We’ll continue to pack a paperback for now.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: 9to5Mac

Source: AP

If you’re ready to party like it’s 2014 but you can’t wait a couple months to celebrate the new year, Samsung is ready to push out its latest version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 — aptly named the 2014 edition — to buyers in the US. We haven’t heard if any carriers will officially take the tablet under their wings, but the WiFi-only model will at least be making its way to a full litany of online and brick-and-mortar electronics retailers starting October 10th, with a few outlets offering pre-orders starting tomorrow at midnight. You’ll be able to pick one up in your choice of jet black and classic white, with the 16GB unit retailing for $550 and 32GB going for $600. If it’s any consolation, you’ll also get a few perks along with the tablet, such as three months of Hulu Plus, a year subscription to Boingo hotspots, as well as 50GB extra Dropbox storage, a 12-week subscription to the New York Times and a full year of Bloomberg Businessweek. If you like what 2014 has to offer so far, you know what to do.

Filed under: Tablets, Wireless, Samsung, Google

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Nest has announced a new developer program for its Learning Thermostat, a nifty device that has receive quite a bit of attention in recent times. Under the program, developers will be able to participate in creating a widespread “connected experience for the home,” something that the maker is detailing now but will officially start early […]

Not only is Alcatel One Touch on a roll in Europe and Asia, it’s starting to make more strides in the US. Sure, this isn’t the company’s first rodeo in this neck of the woods — the Shockwave came to US Cellular last fall, while the Idol has been available online as an unlocked handset for a few months — but it’s refreshing to see it get its foot in the door with one of the big four networks. This morning, Alcatel announced that it has two budget-friendly devices coming to T-Mobile next month: the Evolve (pictured above) and the Fierce (pictured below).

The Fierce is the nicest of the pair, featuring a 4.5-inch qHD display with a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek processor, 1,800mAh battery, 5MP rear camera and Android 4.2. The Evolve, on the other hand, has a 4-inch WVGA screen, Android 4.1, 1GHz MT6575 SoC, 4GB total storage, microSD support up to 32GB, a 5MP rear camera and 1,400mAh battery. Certainly prime material for the budget category; the Fierce will come in silver and slate and will retail for $170 off-contract (that’s $20 down with monthly payments of $6), while the Evolve will start at $100 off-contract ($28 down with $3 monthly payments). Alcatel tells us that both phones will be offered for a slightly lower cost during the holiday season, in case you’re looking for a more basic smartphone for the kiddos.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile

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