Batteries and Charging Technology

Battery technology has not changed drastically in many years, but charging technology has improved a lot compared to a few years ago. One of the ways many mobile devices use much of their battery power comes mostly from the high-resolution screens, but this usage can be reduced slightly by turning the screen brightness down. The main battery killer is having multiple apps running at one time. As more and more apps run at the same time, the quicker the battery life is used up. Altogether batteries are still not as good as they could be and need to improve as mobile devices and apps advance, continuing to suck up more battery life. 

One of the companies that make portable chargers for many mobile devices is Mophie. Their smartphone case with a built in battery is a great product they produce for various cell phone models, especially when your phone is dying. On the bottom of the cell phone case there is a switch that either charges or turns the battery pack off. The battery pack has lights to show the battery’s power level. Mophie cases are compatible with iPhone, Galaxy, and HTC. Since these cases have a built-in battery pack, most people expect them to be big and heavy, but engineers designed the Mophie it to be light weight and thin. The technology to have a charger with your phone at all times is amazing in how straightforward and small engineers have made batteries in this day and age.

Mophie makes powerstations as well as charging cases. Powerstations are made to be durable and have an extreme amount of power available for multiple mobile devices recharging anywhere. The powerstation device can charge any electronic device that is USB powered. The simplicity of recharging any device quickly, even on the go, shows that scientists have made strides to improve battery functions while keeping things simple and easy to use. If you were looking for a large amount of power to use with various devices, then the Powerstation would probably be best suited for those needs.

Batteries in mobile devices have not drastically changed in over 15 years. Recently most battery companies have switched to lithium ion polymer batteries, which are power cells that the anode and cathode are bundled with a solid, gel-like electrolyte. (The substance that makes the battery conduct electricity.) The efficiency of battery life has not kept up with the rising energy demands for smartphones and other mobile devices.

If you think that because you’re getting a new smartphone and the battery will be much better, then you may be in for a rude surprise. The reason why batteries have not improved by much on new technology devices is because the battery industry has not pushed to advance their current battery technology. On the other hand, phone companies have soared in their technology without necessarily realizing battery companies cannot keep up. Therefore, it is really both of their faults for not paying attention to one another’s businesses. Over 100’s of years we still have not had a big increase in battery life technology. The power technology being built into mobile devices today are growing at twice the rate as battery capacity advances.

Citation

www.mophie.com

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones-accessories/EP-PG900IBUSTA

http://www.techhive.com/article/228189/SmartBat.html

Medical Technology

Biologically Printed Ear

Scientists have been working on bioprinting for a few years now and can even actually print small body parts. Medical technology has seen many changes over the 1,000’s of years humans have studied medicine, but I believe that printing three-dimensional parts of the body, including organs that can function properly in a human body, will have a great impact in medical technology.

The very first bioprinter was not big and fancy, it just another everyday printer. Then after scientists modified the printer and tried filling the ink cartridges with collagen (the main protein in animal connective tissues), they were able to start making small models of parts of the human anatomy. As they made faster bioprinters researchers were able to process other types of cells like stem cells, muscle cells, and vascular cells. A bioprinter creates the programed body part with immense precision, making every detail exactly the same as the real one. In theory, the replicated part of the body will work as if you were born with it. 3-D printers have also been used to create bone grafts, dental crowns, hearing aids, and prosthetic limbs. Researches have met complexities along the way in making the hair-like blood vessels linking the larger blood vessels to other cells. They have also been challenged with creating transplantable organs that function accurately.

Non-biological printing does not have the same complexities that 3-D bioprinting runs into. Researchers discovered the choice of materials such as cell type, growth and differentiation factors, and technical challenges are related to the sensitivities of living cells and the construction of tissues. So while researchers have created other “inks” by printing cartilage, which allows them to design entire ears that perfectly match a patient’s outer ear, it is much harder to print a replacement for a damaged inner ear.

Discovering these complexities requires the knowledge of engineering, biomaterial sciences, cell biology, physics and medicine. In order to create functional components they have made several approaches to 3D bioprinting, including biomimicry, autonomous self-assembly and mini-tissue building blocks. Scholars will slowly make more discoveries and in the future they will hopefully construct whole limbs and organs that will function properly with the rest of a body.

                                                             Citations

http://www.mayo.edu

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-07/how-3-d-printing-body-parts-will-revolutionize-medicine

http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v32/n8/full/nbt.2958.html

 iPhones 

In 2007 Apple revolutionized the smart phone market by creating cell phones that have changed technology through the years since. Currently Apple's newest iPhone models are the iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and the iPhone 6 plus. Each smart phone version has been slightly upgraded to contain more and more features to appeal to users.

The iPhone 5c is the first version to offer a rainbow of color options to choose from and a lengthened body and screen compared to the older iPhone models. The iPhone 5s is built with the same frame as the 5c, but the iPhone 5s is produced with an I.D. scanner built into the home button to improve cell phone data security while offering a quick and easy alternative to passwords. Recently Apple spent $350,000,000.00 to buy the company called AuthenTec to be able to use AuthenTec’s technology of using radio frequencies to map the finger's surface in Apple's iPhone I.D. scanners.

Most recently Apple created the iPhone 6 and 6 plus which both come equipped with I.D. scanners as well. The iPhone 6 has a larger frame than the 5c and 5s, yet the 6 plus is even bigger. The iPhone 6 and 6 plus are supposed to be so skinny that they are slightly bendy. In my opinion the iPhone 6 plus seems too big to be a cell phone. I thought technology was supposed to be making things smaller, but now it seems like companies are making everything bigger again. The iPhone 6 is already formatted with the I.O.S. 8 software update. The iPhone 6 is 4.7 inches long and the 6 plus is 5.5 inches long.

The iPhone 6 has so many great features it is hard to clarify them all. The built-in camera takes exquisite pictures and snaps a photo as fast as you can blink, which is a huge improvement compared to the shutter speed of the iPhone 4s and older models. The iPhone 6 also has a time lapse setting and slo-mo feature within the camera.  The iPhone 6 has been substantially enlarged compared to older models, which may seem too big to hold, but allows the much larger screen to show more rows of apps and especially allows readers to enjoy the enlarged viewing size of the screen. Apple also came out with new headphones for newer models that are redesigned to provide amazing sound and now come with an iPhone purchase.

Protective iPhone case companies are working on making new cases that will fit the expanded size of the iPhone 6 and 6 plus. The maximum amount of storage available to own with the iPhone 6 and 6 plus is 128GB, which is a huge increase for such a small device. It is said that bigger is better but that is not always true, however in this case I believe it is. In conclusion, I believe the iPhone 6 is absolutely worth exploiting to the fullest.

Citations

http://www.apple.com

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/mac-platform/articles/65346.aspx

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-is-the-iphone-company-2014-4

Clash of Clans

           Clash of Clans is a strategy game that is fun for all ages. There are many ways to create your base camp to perfection and offer better bases a spot in your clan. This app is compatible with Android and Mac. The idea is to build a clan and wage wars upon other clans and users. The game gives you the possibility to play with friends, but only when you create a clan and rebuild your demolished clan castle. Then it will provide the option of joining another’s clan or creating your own.

To start out the game, you are given a very little amount of supplies to create a base. Although, after the game is played for a while resources are upgraded to higher levels and you are slowly provided with more and more choices. This game does require quite a bit of patience because of all the resource upgrades that may take a day or two for them to complete. People may also raid your base camp multiple times and can take all of your resources. (Damage caused is restored when logged onto the game)

The app is free but contains many in-app purchases. This is how they get you to spend money on gems to instantly finish the production of new resources. They also trick people into buying shields to provide protection from attackers. Shields will prevent attackers from invading your base during a limited amount of time. People say this is a pointless game and dumb to spend time on and I sometimes agree, but still think it is a fun game to play. Clash of Clans is rated as the top grossing game in the App store. I believe overall it is a great game and I would give it a 5 star rating any day.

Citations

 http://clashofclansofficialguide.weebly.com

http://forum.supercell.net/showthread.php/112697-Pros-and-Cons-of-Gemmers

http://www.clashofclansguidehq.com