smartphones
Our smartphone addiction is killing us – can apps that limit screen time offer a lifeline?
Technology is designed to be addictive. And a society that is “mobile dependent” has a hard time spending even minutes away from their app-enabled smartphones. In 2017, U.S. adults spent an average of three hours and 20 minutes a day using their smartphones and tablets. This is double the amount from just five years ago, according to an annual survey of internet trends. Another survey suggests ...[Read More]
From an early mobile social network, to high-end cameras, Nokia innovated in its prime
In 2004 at a Nokia event in Helsinki a nerdy engineer showed off a fancy new concept that he hoped would be a big hit. Calling it an “automatic multimedia diary” it was a way to upload pictures, thoughts and other titbits from a mobile phone to an online site. Using the then popular concept of blogging, he called it a Lifeblog. “Lifeblog is a PC and mobile phone software combinat...[Read More]
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold’s commercial release has been postponed
After the Galaxy Fold started presenting display failures of various degrees, Samsung has confirmed that it is postponing the release of its foldable phone.
5G Phones will only make up a fraction of worldwide smartphone shipments in 2019
No need to start saving up for the new Samsung S10 5G just yet. Because as we know, early 5G smartphone models are expensive and available in limited volumes.
How your smartphone can encourage active living
Of all screen-time enabling devices, smartphones are the truly ubiquitous ones, which in essence makes them tools of equity in the 21st century that provide access to billions of people around the world.
Computing faces an energy crunch unless new technologies are found
There’s little doubt the information technology revolution has improved our lives. But unless we find a new form of electronic technology that uses less energy, computing will become limited by an “energy crunch” within decades. Even the most common events in our daily life – making a phone call, sending a text message or checking an email – use computing power. Some tasks, such as watching videos...[Read More]
Google Family Link app is now available in SA
Every parent’s dream app has arrived in South Africa. Called Family Link and created by Google, the app gives parents more control over their children’s smartphone habits. The short version? No more illicit Netflix for little Jenny after 22:00 any more. Family Link helps parents keep track of their children’s smartphone activities while also offering a remote control function. A parent can, for ex...[Read More]
From cobalt to tungsten: how electric cars and smartphones are sparking a new kind of gold rush
What’s in your stuff? Most of us give no thought to the materials that make modern life possible. Yet technologies such as smartphones, electric vehicles, large screen TVs and green energy generation depend on a range of chemical elements that most people have never heard of. Until the late 20th century, many were regarded as mere curiosities – but now they are essential. In fact, a mobile phone c...[Read More]
We’ve fallen out of love with Silicon Valley’s creations, as smartphones and social media have us chasing “another dopamine hit”
Last year was Apple’s triumphant 10th anniversary of the iPhone’s launch. The device that ushered in our smartphone era and truly made the internet mobile was glorified for what it has done for us. It seems, with almost indecent haste, that by January of the following year Apple and its iPhone are no longer the media darlings they have always been but the new villains in our over-conne...[Read More]
Disaster zones could soon be salvaged by teams of smart devices – here’s how
We will remember 2017 as an appalling year for natural disasters. The US has endured its most expensive hurricane season, amounting to over $200 billion of damage. Mexico City experienced a terrible earthquake that killed over 200 people, while severe tropical storms forced tens of thousands of evacuations in Macau, Hong Kong and Tokyo. It comes months after the UN’s head of disaster planning warn...[Read More]
From disaster planning to conservation: mobile phones as a new tracking tool
We can learn a lot about things by studying how they move through the world and interact with the environment. In the past, for example, it was possible to study the mobility of people within the United States by monitoring things such as the movement of banknotes. Today we can use something that is much more global and widely available than US cash. Mobile phones have almost totally infiltrated h...[Read More]
Not content with just phones, Xiaomi to announce its own mobile chipset this month
China’s Xiaomi is doing very well for itself of late. It’s one of the largest forces in the Chinese mobile market and it is making inroads into other markets as well. The company makes everything from mobile phones to drones to laptops and electric bicycles and it makes them cheaply and well. But we could always do with things being a little cheaper. Xiaomi has a plan to make their mob...[Read More]