Wireless

Today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, 24 of the world’s largest and most influential wireless carriers – with a combined subscriber base of around 3 billion - have announced they are joining forces to create the Wholesale Applications Community. This venture is designed to make it easier for software developers to write and supply apps for as many phones as possible, regardless of their platform. Obviously, the group hopes this proposed mega-store will emulate the likes of Apple and Nokia in the growing app store marketplace Read More

Wireless data transfer speeds in excess of 1Gbps now seem positively slow compared to Sony's recent achievement of 11Gbps, even if the distance is quite, erm, short, at just 14mm. So before you go getting excited about a home network with blistering speeds you should know the technology is actually intended for high speed wireless data transfer inside electronic products to replace complicated wires and internal circuitry. Read More

When it comes to technology, the sex industry is no laggard, and as robotics become more human-like in their appearance and abilities, US-based company TrueCompany is poised to launch Roxxxy – the world’s first "sex robot" that has many more capabilities than your average sex doll. Apart from having better defined physical features than previous dolls, Roxxxy has been programmed with her own personality and her manufacturers say she can listen, talk, carry on a conversation, feel your touch and respond to it, as well as move her private areas inside when she is being “utilized” to deliver an unforgettable erotic experience. There are even plans for a male version - Rocky the Robot. Read More

With it's rapidly aging population, few countries stand to gain as much from developments in the remote monitoring of bio-signals as Japan. As a culture that reveres the elderly it's likely that the Japanese will be one of the countries leading the charge in the growing field of bio-signal telemetry. Just one example is the HRS-I, or the human recorder system, that gathers health-related information and transmits it wirelessly to a mobile phone or PC. Read More

Wacom has set professional digital doodlers free with its updated Intuos4 professional pen tablet now featuring Bluetooth wireless technology. Wacom says removing the USB cable shackles makes the Intuos4 Wireless an ideal choice for collaborative work sessions, client presentations or use in a seminar setting such as an art class or photography seminar. Read More

Just as people with sight in only one eye have problems with depth perception, those with impaired hearing in one ear, known as unilateral hearing loss (UHL) or single-sided deafness (SSD), face difficulty in localizing sound. Addressing the problem with a hearing aid worn in the mouth might not sound like a logical solution, but that’s just what medical device company Sonitus Medical is doing with SoundBite - a hearing system that transmits sound to the inner ear via the teeth. Read More

If you’ve stacked on a few too many pounds over the festive season, this could be just the thing to help turn the tide. Withings, maker of the world’s first WiFi-connected personal scale has integrated its product with the Google Health service. The Withings WiFi Body Scale can provide updates to a user’s Google Health profile in real-time using its built-in WiFi connection. Read More

Sending and receiving data over a wireless network is generally undertaken via radio waves. But that's not the only method. Using the optical spectrum offers the advantage of better security and blisteringly fast transfer rates to boot. Engineers from Pennsylvania State University have now succeeded in moving data outside the usual line of sight restrictions at speeds of over one gigabit per second, more than double that achieved by Siemens recently. Read More

It’s no secret... Studies have shown that excessive mouse usage can cause repetitive stress injuries. Unfortunately for most of us, “excessive” can mean anything more than a few hours a day. Fortunately, however, there are alternative styles of mice out there designed to be easier on the hands and arms. One of the more interesting ones to come along in a while is the AirMouse, made by Canadian firm Deanmark Ltd. What makes it unique is the fact that you wear it like a glove. Read More