SanDisk announces their new 128GB microSD card

If you have constantly been deleting photos, videos, or apps to save some memory on your phone, then you will be delighted to hear that SanDisk announced their new microSD card that has a capacity of 128GB.

These new cards will be using the faster speed UHS-1 interface for faster read and write speeds. It will be available to purchase only at BestBuy.com and Amazon.com from anywhere between $30 and $200.

Unfortunately, not everyone will be able to use this new memory card since some phones come with the earlier microSDHC standard (maxes out at 32GB). But if you think you will be picking one of these up soon, comment below with your thoughts!

Full story here.

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Galaxy S5 available to the public April 11

Sprint and T-mobile announced this morning that their newest Galaxy device will be available to purchase on April 11. Unfortunately, there has been nothing said about the price of the phone or even the availability but both carriers promised to give more information in the upcoming weeks (along with AT&T who also announced they will be offering the device).

Samsung VP of European Telecom Operations Jean-Daniel Ayme said that the Galaxy S5 along with other new Galaxy devices will all be available in about 150 countries.

Samsung unveiled the phone Monday at the Mobile World Congress. The review of the phone can be seen here.

Are any of you planning on picking one up? Tell us what you think below!

As always, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter!

 

Project Tango: Google’s new prototype Android phone

Earlier today, Google announced its latest Android phone titled “Project Tango”.  This new Android phone experiments with robotics and computer vision to map out the world around you.  Project lead, Johnny Lee, stated, “The goal of Project Tango is to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.”

The phone itself measures five inches and includes a few sensors (4 MP camera and a motion tracking camera) that allow the phone to make over a quarter of a million 3D measurements every second.  These measurements help the phone update its position, in real-time, and combines all of the data into a single 3D model of the world around you (video below).

This new phone opens up a lot of doors for new features on current smartphones. Chase Cobb stated, “imagine that you scan a small section of your living room and then are able to generate a little game world in it, I don’t know of any controller or gaming device that can do that at the moment.” Besides that, there has also been talk suggesting that these new phones have the ability to help the visually impaired navigate unfamiliar areas with ease. Pretty cool huh?

Well good news to any developers out there. Google is planning on shipping out 200 prototypes and dev kits of Project Tango to “developers with dreams of creating more than a touch-screen app.”  There is an application online for anyone who is interested in trying to get their hands on this device, here.

Thoughts on Project Tango? Comment below with any thoughts/opinions. Also, follow me on Twitter to stay up-to-date with current tech news!

Apple to use magnets to attach accessories on iPad

The US Patent and Trademark Office published earlier today that Google has put a patent on a “Magnetic Attachment Unit”.  This patent describes how the iPad’s current magnet system could be expanded to allow the device to connect to docks, joysticks, cameras, and even other iPads.  This way, consumers would not have to spend time thinking about what type of connector they need when they are purchasing their next iPad accessory.

As described in the patent, accessories would be able to connect to any side of the device (including the bottom).  Users would also be able to connect and disconnect the accessory by pressing the home button.

The patent also describes a “magnetic ring” that will supposedly give users the ability to move your hand above the screen in order to take advantage of some features.

Other possibilities of what could be developed from this “Magnetic Attachment Unit” is that two iPads would be able to connect to each other and send content displayed from one screen to the other.  Also, you could turn your tablet into a computer by attaching a second iPad, and using it as a virtual keyboard for the main iPad.

This will definitely open up a large doorway of opportunities but unfortunately just because they filed the patent, doesn’t mean that we will ever see the technology.  However, it does look to be very possible since the current iPad already has magnets built in (to support smart covers) so we may see this technology in the near future.

Tell me what you think of this patent and what ideas/products could possibly develop from it in the comments below and on Twitter!

Follow me on Twitter @Techtonicc

A Quick Sneak Peak at Windows 8 (CES 2012)

Earlier today at the Consumer Electronics Show, Intel showed off its new Windows 8 operating system.  In addition to some new form factors, Intel showed some interesting new Windows 8 interface ideas. Keep in mind that these are proofs-of-concept rather than working devices, so they may or may not actually appear on the market.

The most interesting new UI demo was the Nikishki notebook, a clamshell with a big transparent trackpad below the keyboard. The trackpad works as a traditional trackpad and then “disables” when you press your palms on it to type. Then, when you close the laptop, some of the screen is visible and you are able to see and use the Windows 8 tiles available through the transparent portion.

Another concept was a Kinect-like gesture control for laptops that lets you make gestures in the air to control the system.

USB 3.0 Coming To Your Smartphone

Companies have been saying that by the end of 2012, USB 3.0 will be implemented in your smartphones and tablet PCs which will allow speedier data transfer than the current USB 2.0 standard.

USB 3.0 allows for data transfer rates of around 625 MB/s, which is 10 times faster than USB 2.0, whose maximum data transfer speed is 60 MB/s. The USB 3.0 transfer speed on mobile devices won’t be that fast, but it will be much faster than now.

Devices using USB 3.0 will also take a lot shorter of time to fully charge.

USB Implementers Forum also said it aims to reduce the size of USB 3.0 ports on laptops, as it’s becoming a limiting factor in laptop thinness.

New Asus Memo Pad Gets Leaked

Shortly after getting a sneak peek at the Eee PC Flare, new images of another leaked tablet are showing up.  Apparently, these images are showing the Asus Memo Pad.

The Memo Pad will be running on a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 16-64GB of internal storage, built in 3G and Wi-Fi.  The screen resolution will be 1280×800 making the screen 7 inches.  The version of Android that it will run on is not known yet but we can expect to see this product shown at CES this year.

Verizon Fixing 4G Network Problems

Verizon released a statement this evening saying that although there has been “hiccups” recently, they have seen 99% availability for its 4G LTE network for the year and the recent problems that have popped up have been unrelated to one another.

“Each incident has been different from a technical standpoint,” the company said. “Our engineers have successfully diagnosed those past triggering events, and they have not re-occurred. We also work diligently to rectify technical problems in the Network before they affect any customers.”

Verizon is still working on some key changes in the network in order to prevent these outages from happening in the future.

“Among the numerous measures we have taken or will take are: geographic segmentation, which enables us to isolate, contain and rectify network performance issues, and maintain service to the majority of customers when an issue does develop.”

Verizon also said that it’s rolling out “software fixes” that will boost performance and improve reliability.

“Being a pioneer comes with growing pains,” Verizon said. “The recent issues that affected our customers’ 4GLTE service were unforeseen despite careful, diligent planning, deployment and ongoing upgrade programs.”

Updates on Verizon issues.

Possible 3D Galaxy S III

According to Korean-website ETNews, Samsung will be announcing their new Galaxy S III device at Mobile World Congress this year.

The Galaxy S III has been said to be 3D glasses-free.  It will run on a powerful quad-core processor, with 2GB of RAM, and LTE.  Of course the phone will come preloaded with Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich (One of the few devices with it) along with TouchWiz.

Although rumors say that the Galaxy S III will be 3D, other rumors say that Samsung will be releasing both a 3D as well as a non-3D model.

Not much is known yet about the device so we’ll just have to wait and see.

New App Wakes You Earlier If It Snowed Last Night

The almost new app, Winter Wake-Up, is a simple app available for purchase on both the Apple and Android market.  This app simply wakes you up earlier if it snowed in your area overnight.   The app lets you configure its settings to wake you up earlier than your scheduled alarm depending on weather conditions, with separate settings for both “Frost” and “Snow.”

Many people are asking the use of this app and the answer to that lies in the question, “Have you ever been late to work/school because of having to dig out your car or driveway?”.  If so, then yes, this app will become extremely helpful to you.