31772a6dd13fa30012a6de614c7ac0fc9734955e5797a33812 Money And Knowledge: February 2016

Unveiled: The world's first 'invisible' mobile phone charger

Say good-bye to tangled wires and misplaced charging cables. Spanish start-up MiniBatt presented a smartphone charging system that can be installed in any piece of furniture, regardless of the material. To charge a device, you just have to put it on top of a desk, chair or table. The company hopes to convince furniture makers to incorporate the charger into its designs.
The device consists of an 80 mm disk which can be placed under any table or surface of wood, plastic or glass, plugged into an electricity outlet, making it invisible to users. To charge the mobile phone battery, you just need to place it on the table, on top of a sticker indicating the charging zone. Thus, the phone does not need to connect to any device nor does it need direct contact with the charger.
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8 tips to extend your smartphone‘s battery life



Ashlei Temena’s family trip to Disneyland last Thanksgiving break turned into a nightmare when her smartphone battery hit empty.
Temena, a San Francisco support technician, had gotten separated from her family and realized she had no way to find anyone. Instead of riding roller coasters, she wandered around searching for the group — eventually locating them four hours later watching fireworks.
“It sucked really bad,” Temena said. “I wanted to throw my phone on the ground by the end of the day.”
Many consumers can relate. Despite the leaps forward in mobile phone technology with crisp, clear screens and faster chips, batteries have made only sluggish progress. That has propelled a desire for longer battery life to the top of the list of factors considered by consumers when they purchase smartphones, according to a 2014 survey by the research firm IDC.
So why is battery technology still underwhelming? Plenty of companies have been developing smarter battery technology for years, including methods to increase battery capacity tenfold or charge devices by pulling energy from the air. But lithium ion, the technology that most mainstream batteries are based on, is low cost and easily reproducible while being safe — so we’ll be stuck with it for the foreseeable future, said Charlie Quong, an executive at Mophie, a battery accessory maker, in an interview.
“There’s a lot of investments on all fronts for improving the technology above and beyond that, but I don’t think we’re going to see that hitting any kind of mass market for several years out,” Quong said. In general, lithium ion improves about 10% a year in terms of the amount of energy that can be stored in a given space, which is partly why consumers perceive batteries as being far behind other technologies.
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You can soon download films on mobiles in 5 seconds



On the outskirts of this sleepy commuter town just south of London, plans are underway to build the fastest cellphone network in the world.
The work is being done at the University of Surrey with some of the world's biggest tech companies, including Samsung and Fujitsu collaborating to offer mobile internet speeds more than 100 times faster than anything now available. Their work on so-called fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless technology is set to be completed in early 2018 and would, for example, let students download entire movies to smartphones or tablets in less than five seconds, compared with as much as eight minutes with current 4G technology .
Companies also could connect millions of devices - including smartwatches and tiny sensors on home appliances - to the new cellphone network, and automakers could potentially test driverless cars around the suburban campus.
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Goodbye password, hello selfie? MasterCard launching new technology


MasterCard wants to ditch the old-fashioned password and use selfies to approve online purchases.
The company announced it is launching new mobile technologies that will allow customers to authenticate their online purchases using selfies or fingerprints.
The technology will be rolled out by big banks in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and some European countries over the next few months.
People from around the world will be regularly using this authentication technology within five years, said Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise security solutions at MasterCard.
Bhalla said that using facial and fingerprint scans for purchases is safer than typed passwords since many customers foolishly use easy-to-guess codes.

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Freedom 251: 5 major controversies around the world's cheapeast smartphone by Ringing Bells



When Noida-based Ringing Bells announced that it is launching a smartphone priced at Rs 251, little did it know the news would quite literally disrupt the mobile market and bring with it some serious doubts. Freedom 251 - an Android-based smartphone- was announced earlier this week at an event the scale of an Indian wedding. However, as soon as the so-called review units were handed to the media persons, a Pandora's box was unleashed.
From shoddily re-labeling Adcom Ikon 4 units as Freedom 251 with a whitener to bluntly denying having borrowed elements from the premium Apple iOS; here are some of the controversies surrounding the world's cheapest smartphone:
1. Price
Touted as the world's cheapest smartphone at Rs 251, Ringing Bells is offering the Freedom 251 with specs that include a 4-inch WVGA IPS display, 3.2 megapixel auto-focus rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front camera, 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with SD card support, 1450 mAh battery, and Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. Given the specs, the phone is not at all a bad choice. However, it is the very price of the phone that has stirred doubts across the mobile industry.
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Smartphones to replace debit cards at ATMs



ere's another use for the smartphone as it invades daily life: in place of your debit card at your bank cash machine.
The "cardless" automatic teller machine (ATM) is gaining ground in the US and around the world, with smartphone technology allowing for speedier and more secure transactions.
Dozens of US banks are installing new ATMs or updating existing ones to allow customers to order cash on a mobile application and then scan a code to get their money without having to insert a bank card.
US banking giants Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase are in the process of deploying the new ATMs, as are a number of regional banks and financial groups around the world. Makers of ATMs and financial software groups are ramping up to meet this demand.
"We think our model (using smartphones) reduces a lot of vulnerabilities," said Doug Brown, who leads mobile technology for FIS Global, a major provider of software and technology for ATMs.
Brown said the FIS cardless system is being used at some 2,000 ATMs operated by at least 28 banks in the United States "and we're looking to rapidly expand that."
He said the system should be operational at some 80,000 machines in North America over the coming 18 months. And similar changes are coming in other countries, according to Brown.
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7 spy gadgets that will blow your mind



What's James Bond without a fancy gadget, a spy without spy tech? Not cool, right?
Spy tech and gadgets have been an integral part of intelligence gathering since long. Many such gadgets have been used during the two world wars for assassinations and covert missions.
With spy cameras and audio bugs being just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of spy gadgets out there. Some of them seen in the movies picked up from real life events. Here is our list of 7 quirky spy gadgets.
Lipstick Pistol
Used during the cold war, this deadly device was used by KGB agents to carry out covert assassinations.
Showcased at the International Spy Museum in Washington, this 4.5mm weapon was disguised as a lipstick and was known as 'The Kiss of Death'. Its existence was first discovered in West Berlin.
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Ringing Bells responds to the big questions around Freedom 251- the Rs 251 smartphone

RInging Bells Freedom 251

Freedom 251-the cheapest smartphone in the world- that turned many a heads has also sparked a dozen questions for Ringing Bells, a Noida-based company behind the Rs 251 phone. From the feasibility of offering a device at this low a price to its review units being actually the Adcom Ikon 4 phone in disguise. While the company has maintained that the Rs 251 Android phone is indeed for real and will make it to the hands of the consumers, the doubts are endless.
In an official statement received by IBNLive, Ringing Bells President Ashok Chaddha has attempted to answer some major questions surrounding the validity of a smartphone priced at Rs 251. 
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Beware this android malware that erases your phone with a single text



It's been a bad week for people's phones, and it's not getting any better: A Danish security firm's found malware that ravages your Android phone with a single text-erasing data or sending rogue calls and texts. 

Denmark-based security firm Heimdal detected the malware, called "Mazar," which sends text messages that include an ostensibly harmless multimedia message link to users. Click through, and it downloads Tor to your phone, and then the actual malware, whose source the Tor software hides. (By the way, a little reminder for living in the twenty-first century, friends: Don't click on text message links from random senders.) 
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4 Reasons Freedom 251 Might Be a Massive Scam; 2 Reasons It Isn't



Four Reasons IT IS a Scam
a) The actual product is a shady rebranded ripoff:
Sample unit of Freedom 251 was reviewed by Hindustan Times, and they found that it's a shady, rebranded ripoff of a smartphone sold by a company named Adcom, which is a Delhi based importer of gadgets and electronic products. And, Marketing Manager of Adcom has said, We have no idea that our branding is being used on the Freedom 251.. We will look into this.
Adcom A400, the handset which is being allegedly rebranded (without their permission) was launched 2 years ago. Hence, it can be a possibility that Ringing Bells are now reselling the old stock at lower price.

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Freedom 251: Queries (FAQs) about the cheapest smartphone answered



A working smartphone for Rs 251, without any government subsidy, is bound to attract apprehensions in the market. Especially, if it is from a little-known Noida-based company called Ringing Bells, which was recently established in 2015.
Whatever the case maybe, the fact is that the company has brought the Freedom 251 smartphone to India and is selling it at an amount, which is lesser than a good fast food meal. As noted in our first impressions, the Freedom 251 is a full-fledge usable smartphone.
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HTC One M10 could release in May with same back camera as the Nexus 6P



We already have a strong idea of what to expect from the Samsung Galaxy S7 and some hints on the LG G5, both debuting on 21 February at MWC. But now leakers are turning their attention towards the HTC One M10, which should follow a little later.

Just yesterday, a rumour suggested that the HTC One M10 - also known by its codename of "Perfume" - may launch at an event on 11 April. And today, leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks), who shared a purported leaked photo of the phone last week, added that the phone will then release in the United States during the week of 9 May.
There's no word yet on when other territories might see the release, but the general window suggests that HTC isn't willing to go head-to-head with both Samsung and LG this time around. Last year, HTC came up a little short with its HTC One M9, which didn't make significant strides over the earlier model, but now the company has some extra time to distance itself from the competition.

15 hot gadgets launched in India recently



lanning to buy a new smartphone, tablet or budget LED TV? Here are 15 new cool launches from the last 15 days that you can add to your list of gadgets to be considered.
Moto X Force
Motorola finally launched its much awaited smartphone Moto X Force in India. The smartphone with Shatterproof display, Moto X Force features a 5.4-inch qHD display powered by Moto ShatterShield technology. Its runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system upgradable to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The smartphone comes equipped with a 21MP rear camera and a 5MP front facing camera for clicking selfies and packs a 3,760 mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy A5 and A7
Samsung launched Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A5 smartphones at the sidelines of the recently-held Samsung Forum event in Kuala Lumpur. The devices will be exclusively available via Snapdeal starting February 15. Samsung Galaxy A7 features a 5.5-inch FHD AMOLED display, while Galaxy A5 comes sports a 5.2-inch FHD AMOLED display. Powered by a powerful Snapdragon 615 SoC and paired with 3GB RAM, Samsung Galaxy A7 packs 16GB of storage expandable up to 128GB via SD card.
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Windows 10 Worst Secret Spins Out Of Control



Back in November Microsoft confirmed Windows 10s worst kept secret: its extensive telemetry (or spying as it has been labelled) cannot be stopped. What no-one realised until now, however, is just how staggering the extent of this tracking really is
Blowing the lid on it this week is Voat user CheesusCrust whose extensive investigation found Windows 10 contacts Microsoft to report data thousands of times per day. And the kicker? This happens after choosing a custom Windows 10 installation and disabling all three pages of tracking options which are all enabled by default.
The raw numbers come out as follows: in an eight hour period Windows 10 tried to send data back to 51 different Microsoft IP addresses over 5500 times. After 30 hours of use, Windows 10 expanded that data reporting to 113 non-private IP addresses. Being non-private means there is the potential for hackers to intercept this data. 
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Smartphones with 7-day battery life coming sooner than you think



Intelligent Energy is a company with a mission: It wants to get fuel-cell battery technology in smartphones everywhere to dramatically improve battery life. Today, it signed a joint development agreement with an anonymous smartphone manufacturer to put that plan into action. The two will work together on embedded fuel-cell technology, which would be capable of delivering a staggering seven days of battery life to smartphones.

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Zopo launches Hero 1 smartphone, priced at Rs 12,000

Zopo Hero 1 features a 5-inch HD display with 1280x720 pixels resolution powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor.

HIGHLIGHTS
Zopo Hero 1 features a 5-inch HD display and is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB ROM. It houses a 13.2MP rear camera and 5MP selfie camera.


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10 Cool Tips and Tricks to use Android 6.0 Marshmallow



Ever since the release of Google’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow, several Nexus device owners have faced a series of issues including major visual updates , installation problems, battery-life and charging issues, as well as a handful of performance inconvenience, reports Rupesh Sinha for Beebom. Google has shared 10 pretty cool tricks and tips for improving the overall Android 6.0 Marshmallow user experience.
10 Cool Tips and Tricks to use Android 6.0 update:
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7 hidden tricks for your Android smartphone



You don't always find everything you need to know in the user manual ¬ plus, who reads that thing anyway? If you want to find out more about some hidden tips and tricks for your Android smartphone/tablet device, read this non-exhaustive list.
Quickly access notification settings
Too many notifications can become irritating after some time. Tap and hold on a notification in the drop down notification bar.
This will show you a Setting icon next to the notification -- tap on the icon to open up the Notification settings of that particular app.
From here, you can adjust them or turn them off completely.

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You can now run Windows 95 in your browser



Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system makes you nostalgic? Here's now a way to enjoy the retro experience. Courtesy, Andrea Faulds, a 19-year-old developer from Scotland. Faulds has been able to get Microsoft's Windows 95 OS running in almost any web browser using Emscripten emulator. Requiring no downloads, plug-ins or any special feature, Emscripten is an emulator that converts C++ code to JavaScript in real-time.

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