Sep 03

Energizer Keeps Phones Going and Going

Posted in: charger, Miscellaneous Tech, power, Today's Chili

energizer.pngThe Energizer Inductive Charger keeps your phone going, and going, and going, just like that rabbit!

A wireless induction pad, the charger works with all Qi-enabled devices. Not quite a square, the charge plate measures about 7-inches by 8-inches, and is less than a half an inch thick. With two large inductive charging areas on the pad and one USB charging port, the cord-free station can power three devices at once.

You can place the phone anywhere on the circles that mark charging area. There are no magnets or hidden docks, or rules about where exactly the phone needs to be within the circle. Put it down and you are set.

The Qi-enabled sleeve for the iPhone 3G/3GS and batery door for the BlackBerry Curve 8900 are also available separately.

Pricing and availability information has not been disclosed.

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Sep 01

IBM and Intel Getting a Makeover for Mobile

Posted in: Apple, intel, ipad, iPhone, ipod, mobile, Phones, power, R&D and Inventions, RIM, Today's Chili

IBM/Apple PowerPC 750 350MHz G3 by David Lieberman/Flickr. Used gratefully under a Creative Commons license.

Apple ditched IBM’s PowerPC for Intel because the chip didn’t have a low-power roadmap for laptops. Then it passed up Intel in favor ARM on its iOS devices for similar reasons. So it’s no surprise that IBM and Intel are pumping up their R&D and acquisition efforts to get back in the game with tiny, low-power, low-heat speed demons for tomorrow’s mobile devices.

At a research conference last week, IBM engineer Michael Floyd presented a new deep-sleep mode, codenamed “Winkle” (after Rip Van). Along with a “nap” mode where the processor uses a fraction of full power but can return to full power quickly, “deep-sleep” reduces power to near-zero, but takes longer to wake up. It’s kind of like the “Hibernate” mode in Windows XP, but at the processor/controller level.

Floyd gave no specific indication of when IBM would actually be rolling out Winkle. It may be introduced for the company’s current line of Power 7 chips, but the Power 8, which doesn’t yet have a release schedule, could be more likely.

Intel, on the other hand, isn’t waiting. Instead of (or maybe in addition to) pushing its new Moorestown line of Atom processors for mobile phones, they’re buying the wireless-chip division of Germany’s Infineon Technologies AG for $1.4 billion, in a deal that should close in Q1 2011.

As R&D Magazine reports, buying Infineon would make Intel the fifth-biggest supplier of mobile-phone processors in a list topped by Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and STMicroelectronics.

It’s not a huge slice of the market, but it’s a solid foothold. Infineon’s most visible customer? Apple, who uses their chips for 3G. And now Intel/Infineon will be inside RIM, Samsung, and Nokia mobile devices too.

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Aug 27

Airborne electricity is ripe for the picking, claim researchers

Posted in: power, research, Today's Chili, university

Electricity might not grow on trees, but it is freely available in the air — provided you know how to catch it. Such is the contention presented by Dr. Francesco Galembeck of Brazil’s University of Campinas at the 240th annual American Chemical Society shindig. He and his crew have shown how tiny particles of silica and aluminum phosphate become electrically charged when water vapor is passed over them. This aims to prove two things: firstly, that airborne water droplets do carry an electric charge, and secondly, that metals can be used to collect that charge. Detractors have pointed out that Dr. Galembeck’s team may be generating the droplets’ electrical charge by the act of pumping the air over the metals — which might imply you couldn’t practice this technique with still, humid air — while there’s also the rather large caveat that the little electricity they were able to collect from vapor was a hundred million times less than what you could obtain from a solar cell of equivalent size. Still, it’s another new door unto a potential alternative energy source and we don’t ever like having to close those.

Continue reading Airborne electricity is ripe for the picking, claim researchers

Airborne electricity is ripe for the picking, claim researchers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhysOrg  |  sourceBBC  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 25

A Wall Outlet to Charge USB Devices: Not Here Yet

Posted in: power, Today's Chili

usb_plug.jpgThere’s nothing quite as frustrating as seeing something you want that you can’t have. The International Forum Design liked a USB wall socket plate enough to award an iF Concept Award earlier this year.

Designed by a team from Zhejiang University of Technology in China, the socket plate looks like any normal wall socket (shown above with European plugs), except for the addition of two USB ports.

Considering the number of electronics devices that can be charged via USB, being able to just plug a USB device into the wall to charge is just common sense. Sure, there is a thriving USB adapter industry, but buying adapters for something this ubiquitous should be unnecessary.

Yes, I confess. I can never find my adapter whenever I need it. But that’s not the point.

This wall plate is in concept stage, but the folks down under at SockITz are currently accepting pre-orders for similar plates, also named SockITs, scheduled to ship in October.  A classic cover that you just slap over your existing outlet, this is a bargain at $24.95 AU, or just a little under $22 USD. Unfortunately, Sockitz won’t ship beyond Australia and New Zealand.
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concept via Yanko Design, Sockitz via Gizmodo AU

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Aug 24

Lung-inspired hydrogen fuel cell skimps on platinum, sees efficiency boost

Posted in: green, power, research, science, Today's Chili, university

For as spectacular as hydrogen fuel cells are on paper, they haven’t been able to replace combustion engines in vehicles. Or much of anything else, really. But thanks to Signe Kjelstrup at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo, the tried-and-true fuel cell is getting a serious boost. Kjelstrup’s crew determined that by using less platinum in a cell, a substantial increase in efficiency and a significant decrease in cost could be achieved. The new design relies on an architecture that’s “modeled on the bronchial structure of the lungs to supply hydrogen and oxygen gas to their respective electrodes,” which is said to help “spread the gases more uniformly across the catalyst than current channel designs and provides a greater surface area so less platinum is needed.” It’s still early on in the discovery process, though, and there’s certainly no solid word on when this will reach a point where widespread implementation is feasible. Seventh-generation Prius, perhaps?

Lung-inspired hydrogen fuel cell skimps on platinum, sees efficiency boost originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNew Scientist  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 12

Innergie Simplifies Laptop Power Adapters

Posted in: laptop, power, Today's Chili, Travel

innergie.jpgI have several laptops around the house, and I hate playing the guessing game for which adapter goes with which notebook. I keep thinking of getting a universal power adapter — one power brick and several adapters — and the line of adapters from Innergie looks mighty appealing. Innergie offers four different universal power adapters for laptops, varying in size and configuration. 

First, whether at home, on the plane, or in the car, the mCube90 (pictured) is the most all-in-one adapter. The Auto/Air adapter, which is just two-thirds the size of a business card, detaches from the rest of the power brick, and allows you to charge your devices everywhere you go.

Some of you may prefer to hold out for the Magic Cable, a multi-headed cable with tips for mini- and micro- USB devices, as well as Apple’s proprietary charging port. 

Innergie also has a USB power charger in case you only need an adapter for USB devices.  

The mCube90 and other universal power adapters also include USB ports so you can charge both your laptop and your mobile device at the same time. If you are running low on power outlets, or you’re traveling, you don’t want a separate USB charger when there’s one in the body of the power brick already. And once the Magic Cable is available, you have an all-in-one charging station. It doesn’t get any more convenient than that.

When buying, you buy the power brick and the actual tips you need. Enter your manufacturer and product name in the nifty compatibility tool on the Innergie Web site to find out which tip you need. (My Acer Aspire One needs tip G, for example.)

The universal power adapters range from $69.99 to $119.99, and are available online at Innergie and Amazon.

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Aug 12

Kensington Offers Two New Smart Power Laptop Adapters

Posted in: power, Today's Chili, usb
Kensington Smart Power Adapter.jpg
If you have a laptop, you probably need (or just want) a second power adapter so that you don’t have to carry it around all the time. Kensington has just announced two new power adapters that will be available soon.
The Kensington Wall Laptop Power Adapter ($69.99) provides 90 watts of power, but is still rather small, measuring 5.18-inches long, 2.04-inches wide, and just 1.12-inches tall. Weighing in at 11.3-ounces, this adapter is also energy efficient, with an Energy Star rating that lets you know it uses 30 percent less energy than traditional laptop power adapters. It’s compatible with laptops from all of major manufacturers, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Sony, and Toshiba.
If you use multiple mobile devices on the go, or can’t spare one of the USB ports on your laptop to charge your mobile phone or iPod, you can choose the second model, which also includes a USB power port. It comes with a $10 premium on the price for the base model, but you never know when you’re going to need an extra USB charging port.
Both of the new power adapters are now available for pre-order from Kensington and from Amazon.com. Each one carries a two year limited warranty, and will start shipping out during the first week of September.
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Aug 04

Solar-Power Box Plugs Straight into Your Home

Posted in: Environment, household, power, solar power, Today's Chili

Quandary: You live in a place so beautifully sunny that you could probably power your home with solar-energy, but it is so beautifully sunny that you spend the whole day lazing in a hammock sipping iced-tea. The answer, my idle friend, is the Sunfish, solar-power that is literally plug-and-play. It’s so easy to install that even you could do it.

Sunfish works like this: You lay out a solar-panel and hook it up to the power-module. Plug this into any power-socket in your house. Then, plug in the accompanying circuit-monitor, a controller box which connects to the power-module via Wi-Fi and lets you keep an eye on things (via any web-connected device). That’s it. As long as the sun is shining, the setup pumps electricity into you mains circuit.

There are two models. The 200-watt version will power your lights (although why you would run lights with the sun shining outside is a mystery). The 1kW version will take care of washing machines and the like. If you need more power, you can just plug in more boxes.

It’s ingenious, and because its so easy to install it is pretty much portable: a boon for those in rented accommodation. The Sunfish will be available next year, at planned prices of $600 to $900 for the smaller model and $3,000 to $4,500 for the bigger one. Clarian, the company behind the device, says that a unit will pay for itself in a couple years.

I’m sold. I have been considering solar power ever since moving to Spain, but it has always seemed so complicated to set up. This plug-and-go option isn’t exactly cheap, but it sure is easy.

Sunfish: Revolutionizing Renewable Energy [Clarian. Thanks, Chad!]

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Jul 29

Stop Short Circuits With Wet Circuits Power Strips

Posted in: power, safety, Today's Chili
WetCircuits_White.gif
Everyone knows that water and electricity don’t mix. But there are times when you need to use electrical items near water, and the wet Circuits Power Strip can make those situations safer.
The peripheral has four outlets in a patented water-resistant design, and can be used outdoors in the rain or snow. Office klutzes will be glad to know that it’s coffee-proof too, so your next spill doesn’t have to turn into a catastrophe.
The smart fuse and circuit breaker are designed to sense overheating and shut down the strip in order to help prevent fires. And extra-tough construction promises that the Wet Circuits power strip should last up to four times longer than regular power strips.
Whether you need to plug in a blender to make frozen drinks at your next pool party or just like knowing that your children can’t be shocked even if they try and poke a metal object into one of the outlets, Wet Circuits might be the perfect solution for your needs.
The Wet Circuits Power Strip is $70 and can be purchased directly from the Wet Circuits online store. There is a special introductory price of $35 available to those who purchase by July 31st. The site also includes several videos if you’d like to see the product in action.
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Jul 27

The Idapt i4 Cordless Charger Cuts the Cable Clutter

Posted in: charger, power, Today's Chili

4.jpgFrom the netbook I write these posts on to my iPhone, Zune, Nook, and Nintendo DS, I–like many of you–own entirely too many gadgets. And I’ve fallen victim to the problem that comes with our shiny toys tools: how to charge all of them without creating the world’s largest knot.

The Idapt i4 from Inoitulos has come to save the day, offering a charging solution much more practical than those goofy charge pads that look like they’re right out of Deep Space Nine. The IdaptT i4 is a thick, square hub of three interchangeable power adapters and room for one charge cord.

The idea is to put your smaller devices, such as an iPhone or point-and-shoot digital camera, on top of the device using one of its three interchangeable ports and charge your bigger devices–an iPad or netbook, for example–using its power cord receptacle. Oh, did we mention that it supports over 4,000 mobile devices, according to Inoitulos? Thank you, Eli Whitney, for interchangeable parts.

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