Mobile Technology

Atomic clocks are one of those things that most of us have probably always thought of as being big, ultra-expensive, and therefore only obtainable by well-funded research institutes. While that may have been the case at one time, a team of researchers have recently developed an atomic clock that they say is one one-hundredth the size – and that uses one one-hundredth the power – of previous commercially-available products. It’s called the Chip Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC), and it can be yours for about US$1,500 ... a little more than what you might pay for a regular clock, but not bad for one that varies by less than a millionth of a second per day. Read More

Researchers from the Human Media Lab at Canada's Queen's University have created a fully-functioning floppy E-Ink smartphone, which they also refer to as a paper computer. Like its thicker, rigid-bodied counterparts, the Paperphone can do things like making and receiving calls, storing e-books, and playing music. Unlike them, however, it conforms to the shape of its user's pocket or purse, and can even be operated through bending actions. Read More

The ongoing kerfuffle over Apple devices allegedly tracking their users’ locations has taken yet another turn. It all started on April 20th, when tech bloggers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden reported their discovery that iPhones and 3G iPads running iOS4 were supposedly maintaining a stealth file of locations that the devices had traveled to – with their users. Apple responded on April 27th, stating that the devices were simply anonymously contributing to a database of local Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers, that helped to triangulate the phones’ location faster than GPS alone. Now, however, a just-discovered patent application filed by Apple in 2009 has some people doubting that claim. Read More

RIM's BlackBerry Bold line is set for a major upgrade with the imminent arrival of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 Smartphones. Combining the familiar full QWERTY keypad with a new "Liquid Graphics" touch screen, the new models are the first to run on the new BlackBerry 7 OS and pack 720p HD video, built-in NFC (Near Field Communications) technology, a 1.2 GHz processor and the thinnest BlackBerry form factor yet – 10.5 mm (0.41-inches). Read More

Fiddling with small buttons or touchscreens on your mobile device when you're running, riding a bike or even just crossing the street can be a frustrating – and dangerous – endeavor. NEC is looking to solve this dilemma by developing a system that enables users to operate devices by just tapping their arm. The ArmKeypad is made up of acceleration sensors worn on each wrist that determine the area of the arm tapped by a user and translate this into different input commands via a Bluetooth link. Read More

Toshiba Mobile Display (TMD) has unveiled a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution touchscreen LCD panel where the capacitive multi-touch input functionality is integrated into the liquid crystal cell. The company says that this will allow the production of touch-enabled displays without having to add an additional touch panel to the LCD during the manufacturing process. The technology is initially headed for vehicle-mounted and industrial applications but could well lead to the development of more compact mobile products. Read More

Even though tablet computers are flying off the shelves at quite a pace, less-than-satisfying onscreen keyboard input can lead many to seek a more comfortable alternative. Scosche Industries has released a water-resistant, wireless solution which can be rolled-up so that, like the folding Bluetooth keyboards we've seen, it can easily be taken along for the ride. Read More

Barnes & Noble has taken the opportunity afforded by an Android OS update to bring some tablet-like functionality to its NOOK Color e-Reader. The version 1.2 firmware update brings specially-designed apps, full-featured email, enhanced browsing and new multimedia content. It's available now for free manual download but existing devices will be automatically updated via built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi over the coming weeks. Read More

For many of us, the digital age has resigned our vinyl collection to gather dust in the corner. There are already numerous devices which offer to convert and clean up the crackly sounds coming through the stylus, so why bother with another flavor? Rather than having to load converted files onto my laptop and then onto my MP3 player or phone, the Turntable iPhone Dock would cut out the middle man altogether and transfer encoded files onto the horizontally-docked iPhone. Read More