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Turn Your Phone Into A Microscope – A Good One At That

Posted: 28 Mar 2014 07:00 AM PDT

Microscope Phone

Science doesn’t have to be expensive and done in labs anymore, and you can take a microscope with you wherever you thanks to the power of technology.

Lots of projects emerge here and there on Kickstarter, and while some of them are not that special, every once in a while we come across something so cool we can’t help but share, and such is the case of this project that aims to turn your phone into a microscope. This is the Micro Phone Lens, the result of over two years of research which already yielded the original Micro Phone Lens 15x.

This little gadget would give smartphones and tablets the capacity to zoom up to 150X, and helping focus for a better view, so you can take your science with you anywhere you go. The best part? You’ll get the lens for a minimum pledge of $29, and the project is already funded so you’re getting yours no matter what, but be sure to check the better rewards, for they are pretty impressive, too. Learn more about the project in the video below these lines.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at DIY Miscroscope Costs Less Than $1 USD and Home-Built Scanning Electron Microscope.

5 Best Fitness Gadgets For Staying in Shape

Posted: 28 Mar 2014 06:00 AM PDT

Withings Pulse

Staying healthy and in shape is all about technology these days, and these gadgets offer quite a lot of function while also providing some stylish value to your workout and regime of healthier life.

Garmin Vivofit

 

The best thing about the Garmin Vivofit is its incredible battery life. It’s a water resistant band, powered by two coin-cell batteries that allow the user to wear the device for over a year before swapping them. Users can also record up to three weeks of data before syncing it with their Android or iOS device.

There is a gold-and-red LED display which is always on, displaying heart rate, daily step count, burned calories, and other statistics. Additionally, the device monitors your sleep patters, highlighting periods of movement and restful sleep 24/7.

The device also adjusts your daily goals based on your activity level, calibrating your achievements to something more attainable as you surpass various health milestones, while allowing you to wirelesssly manage and share your data via Garmin's online community.

Misfit Shine

 

The Shine stands out as something that is actually a high-tech piece of jewelry worn on wherever you choose to place it. It is about the size of a quarter, and it’s pretty much a pedometer that measures your motion walking, running, swimming, and cycling. The accompanying app allows users to set specific goals, which can be charted by a simple tap on the surface of the device.

The device tracks sleeping habits, has a water-proof exterior and can sync wirelessly with your smartphone when places on top of it.

Withings Pulse

 

A great tool for collecting biometric data without wearing it on the wrist. But that is not the only thing that distinguishes it from the other gadgets on this list. There’s a built in heart rate scanner, allowing the users to test their stress levels. Battery life is about two weeks for a single charge, and users can view their data by flipping on the screen of the device itself.

Fitbit Flex

The Fitbit Flex is probably the most stylish of options for those looking to measure their biometric readings. It offers data on traveling distance, burned calories, sleep quality, and the like. Via syncing to your PC or smartphone, it supplies the user with real-time access to graphs and other stats and monitoring tools.

LG Lifeband Touch

 

Comes with a OLED, a touch-roll screen which allows the user to track steps, calories burned, elevation, and monitor messages from Android and iOS devices with the swipe of a finger. It’s also compatible with third-party apps like Runkeeper and MapMyRun, while featuring a 3-axis accelerator to measure acceleration forwards, backwards and side to side.

It can be paired with another LG product, the HRM Earphone Heart Rate Monitor and a smartphone, you can access incoming calls and control music functions directly from the device. The earphones can monitor your oxygen consumption, the blood flow within your ear, and other metrics measuring your workout.

Via: Digital Trends

For more fitness apps and gadgets, check out the GOQii Fitness Tracker that Outsources your sats to an Indian personal trainer or Samsung gear fit which is also pretty cool.

Sprint To Launch Nationwide HD Voice in July

Posted: 28 Mar 2014 05:00 AM PDT

HD_voice

With all the new mobile technology out, we tend to get distracted by data speeds and other features, but it’s about time voice got an upgrade.

Although the feature isn’t entirely new and it was announced over two years ago, massive cellular infrastructures take time to update, so there’s often a delay before we can use the newest network side technology.  Sprint has been doing some major work on its network and is finally ready to officially launch HD voice in more than the handful of networks it is currently available.

During his keynote speech for Oracle Industry Direct in Boston, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse made the announcement that HD Voice for will be launched for Sprint customers nationwide in July of this year.  Hesse said “voice is still the killer app,” and early test have supported this, with HD Voice carrying vocal audio over 7 octaves as opposed to the four octaves we’re all used to.  HD Voice sounds even better than a landline.

Traditional voice calls take about 8,000 audio samples per second and broadcast and limits call frequency to anywhere from 300 Hz to 3.4 kHz, while the human voice transmits anywhere from 75 Hz to 14 kHz.  HD Voice is much more in line with our voices, transmitting a range of anywhere from 50 Hz to 7 kHz, or more and takes 16,000 audio samples per second, resulting in voice audio sounding much more like it should.

Sprint isn’t the only US carrier implementing HD Voice.  T-Mobile has also enabled some markets, but like Sprint, it’s not fully enabled.  Verizon and AT&T also have plans to enable HD Voice on their networks later this year.

Not all HD Voice networks are created equal, though.  There will likely not be any interoperability between any two carrier’s HD Voice network, meaning most people will only gain the benefits of high quality voice when talking to people who use the same cellular provider.

VoLTE technology was recently encouraged by the FCC  and serve as a much more robust alternative, solving many issues, such as carrier interoperability.  Most carriers, including Sprint, are looking into VoLTE technology, but it doesn’t have widespread adoption yet.

Source: Engadget, Wired

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Read more on Walyou, The Quantified and Augmented Self, The All New HTC One M8 is Official and Already Available

Twitter Mobile App Now Features Photo Tagging and Sharing

Posted: 27 Mar 2014 01:15 PM PDT

Twitter Photo Tagging and Sharing

The microblogging got some inspiration from Facebook (again) and implemented photo tagging and sharing in its mobile apps for iOS and Android.

This is not the first time social networks are copying (in the lack of a better word) each other, but this time, Twitter’s features are blatant reproductions of the ones implemented by Facebook. The features themselves will add some functionality first on the mobile apps, and then on the desktop version of Twitter. However, not everybody is happy with how Twitter decided to name them, and some users of this microblogging platform have been quite vocal about this.

Twitter software engineer César Puerta exposed in a blog post the advantages of this new feature, as if they weren’t obvious already: “Tagging people in a picture makes conversations around photos fun and easy. And tagging doesn’t affect character count in the Tweet — you can tag up to 10 people in a photo and still have all 140 characters at your disposal, making it easier to connect with your friends. If you’re the one being tagged, you’ll get a notification. You can adjust notifications, as well as who can tag you, in your Settings.”

Puerta also explained how sharing multiple photos in a single post is supposed to work: “And now, you can also share a series of photos that automatically create a collage. Just tap on a preview to get the full image and slide through the group. The ability to upload multiple photos is starting to roll out today on iPhone, and is coming soon to Android and twitter.com. Whether you’re on iPhone, Android or twitter.com, you can view Tweets with multiple photos.” It should be noted that people can share photos with up to 4 people at a time.

As with all changes, this was received with good eyes by some and with bad eyes by others. For example, Bournemouth university computing student Paul Cousins commented on the microblogging platform: “Surely not ?! @twitter ..Retweet better buzz word!” Another user, @wantedjustin, said that “Its R-E-T-W-E-E-T not share @twitter YOU COPY CAT! I HATE YOU”

As far as I’m concerned, I think that people are right, even though they’re not expressing their opinions in the most diplomatic way. The fact that posts could be retweeted, and even the word retweet itself, was something original, which Twitter is giving up now, just to mimic Facebook.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Facebook’s Trending Topics and the redesign of Twitter profiles.

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