Archive for the
‘Mobile technology’ Category

Home / Mobile technology

Your hotel room key: There’s an app for that coming 0

The coded plastic key, which replaced metal keys in hotels years ago, could soon be a thing of the past as well.

The Starwood lodging chain is trying out a new lock system in a couple of its hotels that connects via Bluetooth to an iPhone or Android app, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Guests at these properties would receive a message on a Starwood app containing the virtual key, which would unlock the door with a tap or twist of their phone.

Stamford, Conn.-based Starwood is hoping to introduce the virtual key at all its luxury W Hotels and Aloft hotels, which today represents 123 properties.

The benefits are substantial but not without risks, especially when it comes to hackers.

One way to ensure security for guests is to make the app downloadable only while on the premises, mobile security expert Chetan Sharma tells NBC News Digital.

So be prepared, business or vacation traveler, for the latest innovation to your mobile life. You can check it out here.

Just don’t say “Open, sesame.”

 

 

Charge it up: Power Tower, McDonald’s team up in NYC 0

Those living the mobile life at the Super Bowl, you’re in luck.

Chicago-based tech company Power Tower is partnering with McDonald’s to provide free mobile device charging stations at five Manhattan locations in the days leading up to the big game. The Super Bowl is at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., this year, and the New York metropolitan area is awash in football festivities.

The charging locations will be only blocks away from the NFL-sponsored Super Bowl Boulevard Engineered by GMC. Ten blocks of Times Square and parts of Broadway will be closed off to offer fans the ultimate football experience.

Now, you’ll have the means to power up the smartphone to document all the fun.

Power Tower markets and manufactures state of the art power charging stations and kiosks compatible with nearly all mobile devices, including iPhones and Blackberry and Android devices. Each station has the ability to charge up to 18 devices at once.

Here’s the company talking about it.

The charging stations will be at the following McDonald’s restaurants from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1:

  • 341 5th Ave.
  • 490 8th Ave.
  • 556 7th Ave.
  • 220 West 42nd St.
  • 1560 Broadway

How to secure your earbuds 0

The earbud headphones you wear are as essential and practical to your mobile lifestyle as the device you use them for. But sooner or later, you’ll have to take them out of your ears and leave them dangling around your neck, or tangled in your pocket.

This is where Zipi comes in.

The Zipi is the brainchild of project creator Frank Cho and the focus of a Kickstarter campaign that’s raised nearly double its goal of $6,000. Cho designed a plastic strip with magnets on the end that connect to each other. Plastic clips secure the earbuds to the Zipi, which wraps around behind your neck.

Yes, people actually think up stuff like this.

Techcrunch has a nice piece about the Zipi. Here’s a video courtesy of the Kickstarter site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reports say new Apple iPhones to boast bigger screens 0

Apple reportedly plans to release two iPhones this year that will feature bigger screens.

The Wall Street Journal says that Apple will unveil an iPhone with a screen size bigger than 4.5 inches, and another one that features a screen bigger than 5 inches. The Journal report cites people with knowledge of the company’s plans. The iPhone’s 4-inch screen is currently one of the smallest on the market.

The Journal report is subscription only. Read more here on CNET.

The report follows a similar report this week by Chinese-language website QQ Tech. According to Apple Insider, the new iPhone, featuring a 4.7-inch screen, will debut in June, with a 5.7-inch variant to follow.

 

 

 

The Mighty Purse: One chic phone charger 0

So, ladies, what’s in your purse?

Makeup? Check. Sunglasses? Ditto. Smartphone?  Gotta have it.

How about a smartphone charger?

Definitely, if you have a Mighty Purse.

The Mighty Purse is made of quality leather, comes in a number of colors and — this the functional, mobile-tech part — has a hidden self-contained battery source attached to a USB cable. The rechargeable high-capacity battery can charge your smartphone up to two times. mightypurse_art

It is compatible with all smartphones with a micro-USB port. It is also compatible with the iPhone, though adapters must be purchased separately.

The Mighty Purse is a product of Handbag Butler, an Australian company founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Ana Slavka and Stephan Kljajic. Since launching in June 2013, the Mighty Purse is selling in more than 1,000 stores worldwide.

 

 

 

 

Well, ‘G’ whiz: South Korea banking on 5G development 0

CNN Tech is reporting that South Korea is dropping $1.5 billion into upgrades to its wireless network that will substantially increase connectivity speed for its mobile communications there.

South Korea’s science ministry put its intentions this way:

“We helped fuel national growth with 2G services in the 1990s, 3G in the 2000s and 4G around 2010. Now it is time to take preemptive action to develop 5G … Countries in Europe, China and the US are making aggressive efforts to develop 5G technology … and we believe there will be fierce competition in this market in a few years.”

It’s the next tech step for a country that is the most wired in the world, where 82.7 percent of the population is on the Internet and 78.5 percent of South Koreans owns a smartphone. This is a country where almost everyone ages 18 to 24 — 97.7 percent — has a smartphone.

But don’t turn in your 4G mobile device yet. South Korea is taking its time, with a trial rollout for a 5G network planned for no earlier than 2017.

That’s a long time in tech years.