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| Sony Xperia Sola Brings "Floating Touch" Navigation | |  The latest Android smartphone from Sony, the Xperia sola, takes the touch out of the touch screen - although we're not yet sure how. One of the device's key features is "floating touch" navigation, which enables web browsing without touching the screen. "Sony's unique floating touch lets consumers navigate the web by hovering their finger above the screen so it acts like a moving curser, without actually having to touch the screen," Sony claims, adding that the technology will evolve through "software updates and engagement with developers." Other than that, the device is a fairly standard Android 2.3 handset (upgradeable to Android 4.0 during summer 2012), with a 3.7'' Reality Display, a 1 GHz dual-core CPU, NFC and Xperia SmartTags support, as well as "3D surround sound." The device should hit the market globally in three colors - black, white and red - in the second quarter of 2012. |
| Startup Aims to Cut the Cost of Solar Cells in Half | | 5:26:38 AM | Technology Review |
|  Twin Creeks Technologies, a startup that has been operating in secret until today—has developed a way to make thin wafers of crystalline silicon that it says could cut the cost of making silicon solar cells in half. It has demonstrated the technology in a small, 25-megawatt-per-year solar-cell factory it built in Senatobia, Mississippi. Siva Sivaram, the CEO of Twin Creeks, says the company's technology both reduces the amount of silicon needed and the cost of the manufacturing equipment. He claims the company can produce solar cells for about 40 cents per watt, which compares to roughly 80 cents for the cheapest solar cells now. Twin Creeks has raised $93 million in venture capital, plus loans from the state of Mississippi and other sources that it used to build its solar factory. The conventional way to make the crystalline silicon wafers—which account for the bulk of solar cells—involves cutting blocks or cylinders of silicon into 200-micrometer-thick wafers, a process that turns about half of the silicon into waste. The industry uses 200-micrometer wafers because wafers much thinner than that are brittle and tend to break on the manufacturing line. But in theory, they could be as thin as 20 to 30 micrometers and still be just as efficient, or more efficient, at converting sunlight into electricity. Twin Creeks's process makes 20-micrometer-thick wafers largely without waste. It involves applying a thin layer of metal that makes them durable enough to survive conventional solar-cell processing equipment. Sivaram says that by greatly reducing the use of wire saws and related equipment and making thinner wafers, Twin Creeks reduces the amount of silicon needed by 90 percent and also greatly reduces capital costs. He says the technology can be added to existing production lines. The company's primary plan is to sell manufacturing equipment, rather than produce solar cells. "I expect that by this time next year, we'll have a half a dozen to a dozen of these tools in the field," he says. The process begins in a vacuum chamber, where a high-energy beam of hydrogen ions bombards three-millimeter-thick disks of crystalline silicon. The ions accumulate at a precise depth of 20 micrometers, which is controlled by the voltage of the beam. Once enough ions accumulate, a robotic arm quickly removes the wafers, which are then placed inside a furnace, where the ions in the silicon form microscopic bubbles of hydrogen gas that expand, creating tiny fractures within the silicon wafer and causing a 20-micrometer-thick layer of silicon to flake off. The company then applies a metal backing to the thin silicon. (The proprietary process it uses sets it apart from another company, Astrowatt, which makes wafers that are similarly thin. But Astrowatt's wafers are slightly curved, which could make them difficult to handle in conventional production equipment.) The Twin Creeks wafers are compatible with conventional solar-cell production equipment, and with processes now being used to make advanced solar-cell designs, such as heterojunction cells. Sivaram says the hydrogen-ion process works with single-crystal materials other than silicon, including gallium arsenide, a semiconductor that has been used to produce world-record efficiency solar cells. Using an ion beam to create thin wafers of crystalline silicon has been considered before, but it was far too expensive to be a practical manufacturing method. It required a particle accelerator that could produce ion beams that are both very high current and very high energy, and "such a beast did not exist," Sivaram says. To make the technology viable, Twin Creeks developed an ion accelerator that is "10 times more powerful" than any commercially available accelerator, he says. While the company emphasizes that the technology is compatible with existing production lines, it does require at least one change. Ordinarily, wafers are treated to create a rough surface texture that helps them absorb light rather than reflect it. The texture is made of pyramids that are about as tall as the Twin Creeks wafers are thick, so it isn't practical to use with the new wafers. |
| Man Beats Machines In DNA Alignment Computer Game [VIDEO] | |  Here's one instance when man triumphs over the visually-impaired machine. The online game Phylo lets gamers solve the multiple sequence alignment (MSA) problem by finding the best possible DNA sequence match between up to eight species at a time --- and, amazingly, beating out a computer, according to a study reported in the journal PLoS One. "We have shown that humans' game-playing visual talents can do some things better than a computer algorithm," the study's lead author Jérôme Waldispühl, a computational biologist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, said in Nature.com. If a player's score beats the MULTIZ, a computer alignment program hosted by the University of California, Santa Cruz, their scores will be displayed in the game's hall of fame. To play, gamers shift the sequences one block at a time to find alignments before time runs out. Players who align similar sequences before their time is up, get their sequences entered into Phylo's database. So far, Phylo has 12,252 registered users and almost 3,000 regular players. But it does take some biology know-how to play the game. So far, gamers have come up with about "350,000 solutions to various MSA problems, beating the accuracy of alignments from MULTIZ in roughly 70% of the sequences they manipulated," notes the article. There are many fascinating innovations for decoding and studying DNA. Just last month scientists unveiled a biological computer that could extract DNA from a chip. The biological computer acts like computer software to extract images. What was once a subject only scientists and academics were concerned with, the idea of DNA and what unraveling it means for humans, is becoming an increasingly known and tangible concept. This isn't the first time gamers have played a role in helping scientists find answers and solutions to complex problems. Last year online gamers helped to discover an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had been a mystery for years. Have you, by chance, played Phylo or any other biology-based games? Tell us about your experience in the comments. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, alengo |
| Google Confirms It's Working on Chrome for Windows 8 | | Monday, March 12, 2012 7:53 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  Google says it's working on a version of Chrome that will run in the Metro environment. The news follows the revelation that Mozilla is building Firefox for Metro as well. A Google spokesperson told Mashable that the new version of Chrome would be based on the desktop browser (as opposed to the Android version). "Our goal is to be able to offer our users a speedy, simple, secure Chrome experience across all platforms, which includes both the desktop and Metro versions of Windows 8," the rep said. "To that end we're in the process of building a Metro version of Chrome along with improving desktop Chrome in Windows 8 such as adding enhanced touch support." That means when Windows 8 tablets start to appear later this year, customers will be able to use the same browsers they use in Windows 7, but re-imagined for the Metro interface. Metro is the touch-friendly way of interacting for Windows 8 that's ideally suited for tablets, though it also works with a mouse and keyboard. Users can either use Metro or the Windows traditional desktop. SEE ALSO: Hands On With Google Chrome for Android However, there was some question until recently whether Microsoft would even allow browsers other than the in-house Internet Explorer to run in Metro. In a recently published white paper, the company revealed that other Metro browsers were welcome, and they'd even get some privileges other Metro apps don't have (like multitasking). The downside: users will only be able to run a single browser in Metro, the default one. So what will the touch-enabled version of Chrome be like? Google's history and Chrome for Android can offer some guidance: Think automatic syncing with your phone and Google account, tabs that you can swipe through and extensions galore. What would you like to see in a Metro version of Chrome? Leave your suggestions in the comments. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, andrearoad BONUS: Microsoft Unveils the Windows 8 Consumer Preview |
| Analyst: Apple Will Sell 1 Million iPads on Launch Day | | Monday, March 12, 2012 7:35 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  The new iPad isn't even out yet, but that's not stopping people from trying to guess how big a hit it will be. One industry analyst estimates it'll best the original iPad launch by more than a factor of three. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster said in a note to investors today that he expects Apple to sell at least 1 million iPads on the first day of release, Friday, March 16, AppleInsider reports. When Apple debuted the original iPad, the company said it sold 300,000 units on launch day. Apple never gave a day-one figure for the iPad 2, citing supply-chain difficulties. Munster compared the coming launch of the third-generation iPad to the launch of the iPhone 4 in 2010. Since the launch of the first iPad, Apple has sold 55 million iPads total. When the iPhone 4 was poised to debut -- in just five countries -- Apple had sold 50 million iPhones worldwide. Apple said sales of the iPhone 4 numbered 1.7 million in the first three days. "Given the new iPad will be sold in 12 countries on 3/16," Munster wrote. "We are confident the company will sell over 1 (million) on launch day." SEE ALSO: How Windows 8 Tablets Could Seriously Challenge the iPad The iPhone, of course, has gone on to capture huge swaths of the global mobile market, with Apple selling 37 million iPhones in the last quarter alone, the same quarter of the launch of the iPhone 4S. Will the iPad achieve similar victories among tablets? Without a serious competitor, it looks like the iPad's success is limited only by the size of the tablet market, which is growing steadily. Demand for the new model is so great, that ship dates have been pushed back to next week. Some studies have said the iPad will continue to dominate the tablet market until at least 2015. Are you planning on buying the new iPad? What persuaded you? Let us know in the comments. BONUS: Meet Apple's New iPad |
| Pinterest's iPad App Is on the Way | | Monday, March 12, 2012 5:29 PM | Lauren Indvik |
|  Pinterest is actively working to bring an iPad application to market, said one of the white-hot startup's co-founders. In an interview with The New York Times, Ben Silbermann said an app is in the works, but did not name a launch date. The two-year-old social bookmarking site, which has skyrocketed in popularity in recent months, already has an iPhone app but doesn't have apps for any other smartphone platforms. It's not surprising that the company would release an iPad app before launching an app for Android, even though far more people own Android smartphones than iPads. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup employs only 20 people, and its staffers are already familiar with Apple's mobile operating system, iOS. Developing an Android app would require the hiring of engineers with a background in a different programming language, Java. Pinterest could not be reached for comment on the expected launch date for an iPad nor an Android app by press time. SEE ALSO: What People Are Pinning on Pinterest In addition, Silbermann told The Times that the company has severed its relationship with affiliate revenue service Skimlinks after user backlash. Previously, Pinterest received a cut every time a user clicked on a pinned product and then purchased it from retailer's website. Users were largely unaware, however, that the company was making money from their pins. It's unclear whether and how Pinterest will generate money in the future. Silbermann added that the company is continuing to address another recent issue: copyright. Some publishers are displeased that their content has been pinned to Pinterest without proper attribution. The startup has since released a tool that allows publishers to block pinning on their websites, but is still working on a more extensive solution to the problem. A Look Inside Pinterest's Palo Alto Headquarters |
| AT&T Firing Up 4G LTE in 12 More Cities, Including Staten Island | | Monday, March 12, 2012 5:13 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  When AT&T turned on its 4G LTE network in New York City in January, it finally gave Verizon some needed competition in the market for high-speed mobile broadband. There was one part of the Big Apple that was shut out of the party, however: Staten Island. That's changing soon, the company says. AT&T will be expanding its LTE footprint to 12 more regions, including New York's oft-overlooked southern borough, New Orleans and Cleveland in the coming months (scroll down for a complete list). A company rep says the new areas will begin to come online in April and continue through early summer. AT&T says its 4G network is the largest, able to reach nearly 250 million people. However, the carrier includes its HSPA+ network as part of its 4G footprint. HSPA+, while faster than some 3G networks, isn't nearly as fast as LTE. AT&T recently persuaded Apple to switch the labeling of the HSPA+ connection on the iPhone 4S to "4G," a change that was decried by many in the tech industry. While the international standards union has dithered on the issue, LTE is, for now, is the fastest network connection as you can get on a mobile device. In Mashable's own tests, we managed to get over 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed on a 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Note. By comparison, the HSPA+ connection on the iPhone 4S, given near-identical conditions, only managed about 2Mbps. SEE ALSO: What is 4G? A FAQ On Next Generation Wireless Verizon says its LTE market now reaches more than 200 million Americans, and AT&T says it started with 74 million last September. Of course, Verizon had a nine-month head start, so it makes sense that AT&T has some catching up to do. Sprint says it will begin to deploy an LTE network this summer, and T-Mobile has plans to introduce one in 2013. How much does having LTE in your area affect your purchasing decision when considering a new phone? Let us know in the comments. Here's a complete list of places that will be getting LTE from AT&T in the coming months: Naples, FL Bloomington, IN Lafayette, IN Munice, IN Baton Rouge, LA New Orleans, LA St. Louis, MO Staten Island, NY Akron, OH Canton, OH Cleveland, OH Bryan-College Station, TX |
| NASA's New Glasses Let Pilots See Through Fog | | Monday, March 12, 2012 5:02 PM | InnovationNewsDaily |
|  The world's deadliest aviation disaster took place on a foggy airport runway rather than in the air. That's why NASA is offering augmented reality glasses that would allow commercial airline pilots to see a virtual version of runways in even the worst weather conditions. Such glasses represent a portable head-worn display that shows critical flight information such as airspeed, altitude and orientation floating in front of one eye at all times. The NASA display would also track pilots' heads so that an updated virtual outline of an airport's runways and towers always appears wherever they look — allowing them to keep their attention on what's happening outside rather than staring at a chart or tablet. "If pilots are not familiar with the airport, they have to stop and pull out maps," said Trey Arthur, an electronics engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. "This display, in the new world where these routes are going to be digital, can tell them what taxiway they're on, where they need to go, where they're headed, and how well they're tracking the runway's center line." Similar heads-up display (HUD) technology exists for military fighter jet and helicopter pilots, who wear helmets with the transparent displays. Newer commercial airliners also use HUDs installed in the cockpit, but lack the head-tracking "augmented reality" of NASA's technology that layers virtual images or maps on top of a pilot's real-world vision. Giving pilots better awareness on airport runways swarming with airplanes could prevent catastrophes such as the world's deadliest aviation incident at Tenerife in the Canary Islands in 1977. A collision there between a jumbo jet trying to take off and another jet sitting on the foggy runway ended in a blazing inferno that killed 583 passengers and crew. "If the fog is in and you can't see the tower or certain parts of the airport, we would draw that on the display as well if it would enhance situational awareness," Arthur told InnovationNewsDaily. The worst U.S. incident killed 49 people in 2006 when a regional jet crashed after trying to take off from the wrong runway. Such risks during takeoffs and landings have led the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board to put better runway safety on its "most wanted" list of improvements. Arthur and his NASA colleagues made their head-worn display by combining a Rockwell Collins helmet display for soldiers with their own head tracker custom-built by Intersense. The head tracker combines built-in gyroscopes and a camera that detects passive paper targets pasted around a cockpit to tell where a pilot has turned his or her head. The NASA technology boosted pilot performance just as well as the latest cockpit HUDs in flight simulations, and its portability could save on weight-related fuel costs for airlines. The test pilots also rated the head-worn display as being better than the cockpit HUD in questionnaires. The U.S. space agency began offering its patented technology for commercialization in a notice posted on March 5, but that has not stopped Arthur from continuing to improve the device. He can still recall working on military helmet displays that weighed 10 pounds just a few decades ago, whereas the NASA display's weight is just a quarter of a pound. "We did the research knowing the technology would eventually get smaller and smaller," Arthur said. "It's starting to come together so that you can get the sunglasses form factor." Image courtesy of egmTacahopeful, Flickr |
| Doctors Believe Using Health Apps Will Cut Down on Visits [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Monday, March 12, 2012 4:30 PM | Samantha Murphy |
|  Many doctors believe that using apps that keep track of your health will help cut down on doctor visits, a new infographic suggests. According to data revealed by Float Mobile Learning, 40% of doctors believe that using mobile health technologies such as apps that monitor fitness and eating habits can reduce the number of office visits needed by patients. About 88% of doctors are in full support of patients monitoring their health at home, especially when it comes to watching weight, blood sugar and vital signs, and many believe consumers should take advantage of the apps currently on the market to help along the process. "With the forthcoming changes to the U.S. healthcare system, there will be an increased focus on wellness programs and preventative medicine," Chad Udell, managing director of Float Mobile Learning, told Mashable. "Mobile health offers a tremendous opportunity for people to become more involved in their own health and wellness." It's no secret that the mobile health industry is growing. There are more than 10,000 medical and healthcare apps available for download in the Apple App Store, making it the third-fastest growing app category among iPhone and Android users. Doctors are also getting in on the trend, as 80% said they use smartphones and medical apps. Physicians are also 250% more likely to own a tablet than other consumers. Udell noted that doctors continue to buy tablet devices in droves largely because they offer an easy way to stay in touch with their co-workers and patients. The infographic also noted that 56% of doctors said they turn to mobile devices to make faster decisions, and 40% said it reduces time spent on administration work. SEE ALSO: iPad Credited With Saving Man's Life "It will be interesting to see the impact of the new iPad on medical imaging professionals such as radiologists, who will be able to take advantage of its great graphic capabilities," Udell said. Among some of the most popular apps are Nike Plus -- which turns a smartphone into a personal trainer -- and iStethoscope that allows iPhone users to record and play back a heartbeat. Meanwhile, Welldoc is a series of programs and apps that can reduce hospital and ER visits in half by having patients monitor and manage their own chronic diseases. Do you use any mobile health apps? Will apps play a big role in the future for the health industry? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, Lisa-Blue |
| What Is Your All-Time Best Apple Story? [CONTEST] | | Monday, March 12, 2012 3:38 PM | Todd Olmstead |
|  Last week we asked you to predict Apple's next game-changing innovation. We wanted you to think big, but also to be realistic. It's highly unlikely, no matter how much we all wish for it, that the iHover is anywhere near done. With iOS, the iPod, iPhone and iPad, Apple has innovated in ways that changed not simply its company, but its entire industry. We wanted you to envision what might come next. The results are in, and it's clear that many of you are thinking along the same lines. You believe Apple's next big innovation will be in television. The next most popular prediction involved Apple changing the face of the automobile industry. Other responses included video game consoles, cameras and watches. But no response stuck out quite like Steve Shatkin's, who envisioned an entire home entertainment system that runs iOS.
We appreciated his thorough vision, but also the realistic nature of his prediction. Tim Cook would do well to give Steve a call if he's in need of some product advice. For his response, Steve will win a $500 Apple gift card and a Belkin prize pack. He's our third winner, but we still have two more gift card/prize pack combos to give away. Today, we ask you to share your best personal Apple story. It could be the way an Apple device changed your life, or it could be a fantastic and unique customer service experience. We're guessing if you love Apple, you've got a good story to tell. Read on to learn how to enter.
Today, we're asking: What is your best personal Apple story?
How To Enter The Contest Tell us in the comments: What is your best personal Apple story? OR Tweet your response with the hashtag #mashtech. Submit your response by 12:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, March 13. If you've not commented before, it's easy: Just sign in to Mashable Follow with your existing Facebook or Twitter account and start posting! Please use your real identity in the submission so that we may contact you via email, Twitter or Facebook to let you know you've won. This contest is limited to residents of the United States who are 18 or older. We look forward to hearing your responses! Read our full contest rules here. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, veni |
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