An iPhone battery case also boosts storage

You may have a battery case for iPhone. To be honest, a battery case is not a new thing, but when it adds some new function, it’s creative. In 2014 consumer electronics show, Mophie’s Space Pack, it’s an iPhone case that marries both a backup battery and additional storage.

 

The concept for iPhone 5S case strikes us as an attractive one, especially to iPhone owners who are stuck with both a sealed-in battery and without the benefit of external memory. As it comes in both 16GB and 32GB versions, the Space Pack could also potentially double or triple your existing capacity. During a brief hands-on with the case, we can say that it looks very similar to the current Juice Pack Air-- indeed, it's almost indiscernible as far as look and feel goes. The only difference seems to be a silver brushed button on the back instead of a simple plastic one.

If you're expecting the Space Pack to merge seamlessly with your existing iPhone storage to be one giant hard drive, you're sadly mistaken. The Space Pack really acts more like an external USB stick to which you can offload files. This is why Mophie requires you to use a special iOS app called Space, not only to manage that additional storage, but to access it at all. Unfortunately, this means that iPhone apps like the Camera Roll and iTunes are not integrated with that extra capacity -- after you transfer over those files, they're only accessible through the Space app. As such, Mophie has recommended that most first-time users simply dump their entire Camera Roll or iTunes library into the Space Pack so that they can empty out their iPhone's capacity and start "fresh."

News originally from engadget

Wearable Gadgets for fitness in CES 2014

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is turning out to be a blockbuster—and with good reason. Last year's attendance topped a record 150,000, and every indication is that this year will match or exceed that number. And you would think that with Mobile World Congress looming in February that we'd see little action in the mobile space, but that's not the case.

CES is not only a good indicator of what's hot, but it's also indicative of what's dead. So what’s the new trend in CES 2014? Manufacturers aren't giving up on smartwatches yet; it was pretty clear 2013 was a trial run, and better designs are definitely in store for 2014. And while hybrid tablet and laptop designs are all the rage this year, conventional laptops and desktops are few and far between.

There are a lot of wearable gadgets for fitness this year. Now here we will introduce two kinds for you.

The LG Lifeband Touch and heart rate monitor earphones aim to help you keep fit. It is a fitness band with a swipe-friendly OLED touchscreen that displays physical activity info and calories burned. Naturally, it pairs up with Android and iOS devices to get incoming calls and text information, but if you want to make the most out of it, you'll need to pair it with the company's second CES wearable: a pair of Heart Rate Monitor earphones. Aside from functioning as normal earbuds, they can track heartbeats by measuring signals from the inner ear.

Razer’s Nabu, a smart band is half fitness tracker and half smart watch. According to its CEO Min-Liang Tan, "It's not a smartwatch," he said. "It's not a fitness band. It's what we're calling a 'smart band.'" The device is actually an odd combination of both, featuring the bio data-tracking features of fitness products, while also dispensing notifications via two small OLED displays -- a small 32-pixel square that displays notification icons, and a larger 128 x 32 panel that ticks off texts, emails and other personal data. By positioning the screens on opposite sides of the user's wrist, Razer hopes the second screen will act as sort of a privacy screen, keeping folks from reading your texts by glancing at your wrist. The band can also track a user's location, altitude, steps walked, sleep data and everything else one needs to quantify their body. All of this, Min adds, works right out of the box, for both iOS and Android.

News from Koopower.com

What’s the Hot Spot in CES 2014 First Day?

It’s thriving in CES 2014. Hundreds and thousands consumer electronic products have been displayed in the show. What’s your expectation? The hot spot in the first day of CES must be Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer unveiled some of the company's news plans for the year, announcing daily summary News Digests and digital magazines, including a tech-news property led by former New York Times columnist David Pogue.

 

 

Mayer announced that Yahoo has acquired Aviate, a smartphone launcher that automatically organizes your apps based on usage data and locations. And no doubt to the chagrin of some Tumblr diehards, she brought Tumblr founder David Karp out to talk about ads on Tumblr, which will now be powered by Yahoo ad tech.

Yahoo News Digest provides two daily summaries, one in the morning, and one in the evening. According to remarks by Summly founder Nick D'Aloisio, they include all the important news of the day, blending tech and journalism. It's a separate app for your smartphone, and it's different in delivery and presentation, as each story is created out of multiple stories, including art, graphics, photo, details, etc., he said.

Mayer said Yahoo would bring users new ways to consume content with Yahoo digital magazines, starting with Yahoo Food and Yahoo Tech, led by Pogue, a recent hire at Yahoo. Mayer said digital magazines will be a core part of the Yahoo strategy.

Why you should have an iPhone 5S Case with a Built in Outlet?

The Prong PocketPlug is an iPhone 5 andiPhone 5s case with a built-in charger that allows you to charge anywhere there is an outlet, even if you don’t have a cable with you.

This iPhone case launched first on KickStarter, but is now available at retail outlets and online direct from Prong, so there is no waiting for this nice case option to arrive on the market.

While there are many battery cases and a lot of users will put the Lightning cable in their pocket, purse or backpack the Prong PocketPlug is a handy way to stay charged while on the go.

 

When in your pocket the prongs fold flat to fit the hand friendly design of the case though they are still visible which is an interesting look that users will love or hate.

If you need to charge up, flip the prongs out and plug into any outlet for a fast top off. The Prong PocketPlug sports Worldwide compatibility of 100-240V and 50-60Hz so travelers are good to go without a cord in hand.

Even with the ability to plug the iPhone right into an outlet, this may not be the best way to charge the iPhone at night in a hotel, so there is also a Micro USB port that allows users to charge up the iPhone in the PocketPlug case with a cord. This is a better fit for charging at night if you plan to also use the iPhone while it is charging.

The case itself is made of polycarbonate and looks like it will hold up well to wear and tear of daily use. The bottom of the case is designed very similar to the iPhone 5s battery cases, which cover the speaker and microphone to make room for the built-in lightning connection. This design focuses the sound forward towards the user which generally delivers a better experience.

News originally from gottabemobile

Samsung Galaxy Gear: work perfectly with Samsung Note 3

The wearable gadgets recently have been added a new member – Samsung Galaxy Gear, a kind of smartwatch that comes out with the new Samsung Note 3. We’ve already known about Sony smartwatch, so will Samsung do better than Sony?

According to its official website introduce, there are four main features. The first is you can phone on your wrist, receive messages, and get notification. Obviously, they are a basic function of smartwatch. With this function, you can keep track of everything without taking your phone out of your pocket or bag. The second is intelligent interact to your Note 3. When you get a notification on your Samsung Galaxy Gear that require a more in-depth look, the moment you pick up your Galaxy phone, Smart Relay automatically opens the app that corresponds with what’s on your wrist.


The third is finding your devices. I believe most people meet the mass time, having no idea where your phone or other gadgets have been put. Most time you always ask others to call your phone, but if you are alone or in a noisy party? With Find My Device in Gear, you can remotely activate sounds and vibrations to make it easy to locate your phone. Also, it’s possible to use the phone to find your watch. The fourth is Auto Lock, which can always keep your sensitive information private. When you set up Auto Lock, it’s intuitively senses when you’ve walked more than five feet away from your Galaxy Note 3, and then automatically secures your phone for you. And when you return, your phone is automatically unlocked - no PIN required.

Above all these four features, it seems that the Samsung Galaxy Gear is more like a cell phone spare part for Note 3. However, it’s a successful marketing strategy for Samsung smartwatch. People expect to Samsung Note 3, when know the Gear work perfectly with it, it’s not only set up a reputation for Samsung Galaxy Gear, but also broadcast its name.

News from Koopower