Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Powerbag, gadget charging backpack

There’s an undeniable battery problem when it comes to smartphones today: My first mobile phone would last me a week on a charge, and that was if I played Solitaire too much. There’s obviously some serious differences between that little monochrome screened toy and my Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s obnoxious to need to plug in to a wall every 14 hours. Some users have battery packs they connect to their phones, or purchase extra batteries to swap out during the day. Not everyone has that luxury, and some of us just can’t be bothered to remember to bring one more thing with us everyday. Something integrated — something I didn’t have to think about — was necessary. The guys at Powerbag thought they had what I needed.

Powerbags are normal bags with cables for all of your must-have electronics sewn in and distributed throughout the bag. These cables connect to a battery that has also been sewn into the bag. Each Powerbag has an iPhone-friendly cable and a MicroUSB cable in phone-sized zipper pockets in the bag. As long as you are content to leave your phone in the little zipper pocket so it can charge, the bag does its job. If you are like me and your phone never leaves your hand, you need something else. Each Powerbag also has a USB port on the battery cradle for you to plug whatever you want into it. I was able to charge phones, tablets, even my wireless keyboard with no problems. For someone who travels a lot, or someone who is not always at an outlet at the end of the day, the Powerbag is a great idea.



Powerbags come in a variety of shapes and sizes. If you’re a backpack traditionalist, a trendy sling fan, a minimalist who just needs something for a tablet, or a messenger bag fan like me, there’s a Powerbag for you.



Recharging your Powerbag is something you will need to get used to. There ares two options: The bag itself has a power outlet hidden somewhere on it for you to plug in to the wall, or you can remove the battery entirely and just charge it. If you need to charge your Powerbag and your accessories, you can plug your gadgets into the Powerbag and plug your Powerbag into the wall. Once your gadgets are fully charged, your Powerbag will start to charge itself.

Removing the battery is important for airplane travel as well. It doesn’t say it anywhere in the instructions or warnings for the bag, but TSA will hold you up for awhile if you do not separate the battery from the bag when you go through checkpoints. The battery slides out and snaps in very quickly, however, and nothing else needs to be done with the bag. Not all Powerbag batteries are made equal, either. Some bags will have a 3000MaH battery, and some will have 6000. When choosing your bag, be sure to know which battery it comes with, or your power output results will be less than you would expect.



The Powerbag logo is actually the power button for the charging unit. Holding it down on any bag will cause four lights to begin to glow. As your use your bag more, these lights will disappear. When the bag is charging, the light animate to reflect that it is receiving power. From the 6000MaH battery, I was able to charge my iPhone 4, my Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and my HTC Flyer simultaneously two times. Each time all three devices were completely dead and powered off. If your devices are on and in use, your results will be different. If you are just charging a single device, you are likely to get three or four complete uses out of the bag before it needs to be recharged.
Most Powerbags are around $100, though some models can go as high as $170 depending on what you are looking for. Powerbags are available through a variety of online retailers, and are expected to start hitting shelves in brick-and-mortar stores sometime this year. As someone who both travels a lot and abuses his electronics mercilessly, the Powerbag is a nice addition to my arsenal. The battery doesn’t come along with much extra weight or affect my daily use in any way. I can travel and just as easily not use it, but I can use my devices free of any crazy power saving techniques knowing I still have plenty of power in my bag.
They are available at MyPowerBag




- By Russel Holly

Friday, December 23, 2011

A5 Chip: For Superior Gaming In Apple iPhones | a5chip

The dual-core A5 chips of the new iPhone 4S launched by Apple takes mobile gaming experience to a never-before-achieved level. The A5 chip with 1GHz capacity is designed to deliver seven time’s faster graphics and twice more power than what you already got. It makes sure that you can actually live the graphics and effects, and indulges in the game for real. Being twice more powerful, the A5 chip with NEON SMID enables faster browsing response, faster application launches and quick time image and video editing. With a relatively higher battery life, the A5 chip is a real wonder with the iPhone 4S. The chip is also compatible with iPad 2.
The world of tablets was duly introduced by Apple and mobile gaming has been a craze with these highly efficient tablets and smartphones. Every company has fought to create the best platform for mobile racers and Angry Birds players. Game designers too require a platform on which to sell the experience. These intense 3D designs require highly efficient IOS’s and a faster and powerful chip. The A5 chip brings in this advantage. The power provided by A5 will surely help game developers try for that extra bit of excitement which extensively involves better rendering techniques and pixel information. Both Palm Terry of Storm 8 IOS gaming and Donald Mustard of ChAIR entertainment have suggested the higher quality of the A5 chip.


It’s an achievement on the part of the A5 chip that the rendering techniques are even better than that of some high end gaming consoles. Thus details can be far better achieved and, better the sharpness of the image and video, more realistic will the platform look. One got to try playing Infinity Blade supported by the A5 chip on a iPad. It’s an amazing experience.
This chip has allowed Apple to switch to dual-core SGX543 graphics technology which is a giant leap forward. Previously the single SGX535 A4 chip was used with the iPhones and iPads. The power of the dual-core SGX543 is four times that of the single SGX535 A4’s. With this innovation, the retina display 4X upgrade seems to be a near future for iPhone chips.
Thus, the A5 chip provided with the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 is a big step in mobile gaming technology. The capability is better than the best seller gaming consoles. The 512 MB RAM may look to be a bit unworthy, it does improve the battery life. The amazing effects of dynamic light rays and shadows of Infinity Blade is a spectacle to behold with the A5. Gaming is much more indulging and fun with the exposure effects, polygon counts and brighter reflections. The Party Play mode can be a new experience that allows multiple players to share a single screen with the new Airplay Mirroring feature. So shoot and dodge as if real blood is splattered. Gaming has never been so cinematic before thanks to the introduction of A5. Live the experience and indulge in it.


About the author: Kate is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on luxury and technology. Beside this she is fond of Street Racing Games. In her free time she loves buying lovely interiors for her house. These days she seems to be developing interest in writing about cell phone reviews.


-Article by Guest Blogger

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Nokia Lumia 710 and 800 for 19k and 30k in India


Nokia Lumia 710 and 800 are now available in India and can be fetched for 18,999 INR and 29,999 INR respectively. The devices are all set to compete with the reigning supremo "Android" in the mid-high and high budget segments.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Why Programmers work at night?

I came across this interesting article about "why programmers work at night?". It is not a theory, but is true with almost all programmers. It is indeed true that programmers turn caffeine into code.

Have a look at this blog.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Samsung Turns Out Heroic In The Australian Brawl With Apple


The Australian episode of the 'Apple-Samsung Sue You' saga saw Samsung smiling out of the court.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, longing for the Australian market since the ban, courtesy Apple's claim of the tablet being a rip off Apple iPad, will resume sales across the nation.
The Australian court today just turned down the accusation and with it Samsung scores consecutively, the first win(sort of) coming at US court a few days over major Galaxy Product.

Via BGR