Wireless (or “inductive”) charging is one of those technologies that sounded ultra cool when it first came onto the scene, but gradually lost momentum in the public eye. That decrease in prominence was likely due to a couple of reasons:

1. It had simply not become widely commercially available. There were very few devices that could be laid on a charging plate and easily charged (ease of use is, after all, the whole idea of the technology); and
2. It really isn’t that hard to plug a charging cable in, is it?

So that was back in 2009 when the Wireless Power Consortium announced that they were approaching release of a commercially available technology to make it easy to charge say your mobile phone or digital camera via induction. However, it was not until last year that we started to see devices hit the market under the “Qi” (pronounced “chee”) inductive power standard.

There are now a range of mobile phones which readily allow inductive charging and there is a slew of laptops set to launch with the same technology. The thing is though, you don’t just need a device that is capable of wireless charging — you also need a place to wireless charge it.

Wireless charging in the home is not a necessity. Sure, eventually it may well become the standard. However, right now, most people probably really don’t see the need to spend money on acquiring that technology when it isn’t all that hard to plug your phone into the wall. USB cables are everywhere these days, after all.

On the move, however — that is a different story.We don’t always have the ability to charge our phone when we are out and about. Starbucks might be a big part of changing that.

The famous chain of coffee shops which originated in Seattle is trialing the wireless charging in some of its stores:

After a test in Boston, Starbucks is bringing wireless cellphone charging to a handful of coffee shops in Silicon Valley next month.

Customers at 10 stores — at least those with the necessary add-on sleeves — will be able to give their phones a quick boost while they drink their tea or coffee.

Starbucks is hoping to spur the wireless charging industry in much the same way it did with Wi-Fi more than a decade ago. And, as it did with the Wi-Fi standard, Starbucks is also potentially shifting the balance of power in a standards battle.

As you’ll note, there is the need for a charging sleeve, unless you have one of the very few Qi-compatible devices (like the popular Samsung Galaxy S4, for example). Oh, but hang on, Starbucks has decided not to go with Qi, but one of two rivals in the Duracell Powermat.

We will leave that battle for another time. No doubt however, one of the three big names in the conductive charging space will win out. In much the same way as SD cards vs Sony Memory Sticks, HD DVDs vs Blu-ray discs, Mini-discs vs MP3 players, VHS vs Beta and so on… we will see an eventual winner in this market. As consumers we can just sit back and watch.

The key here is, it may not be too far off where you will be able to stroll into your local cafe to easily charge your flagging phone battery on that power-sapping smartphone of yours.

The post Will Starbucks revive Wireless Charging technology? appeared first on andrise.com.

Like all things retro, is a return to smaller mobile phones on the cards? Recent years have seen a seeming arms race for bigger and bigger smartphones, with each successive Samsung, HTC and Nokia hero device looking to go that little bit bigger. Even Apple, formerly the kings of maintaining their own strategy, have joined the race of late.

However, this increase in screen size has brought about a couple of previously ignored downfalls:  battery drain and cumbersome size in tighter and tighter pockets.

As crazy as it seems — and hear me out here — might we see a return to smaller, less feature-packed mobile phones very soon?

The good old Nokia 8210

With the increasing uptake of tablets and the growing trend toward “phablets” (phones merging with tablets), it has become apparent that consumers want to experience the web on bigger screens. Of course though, those big screens chew up a lot of battery life and we are seeing more and more people complaining of poor battery performance on their devices.

Who hasn’t been in a scenario where you’re out and find that you have to preserve the last 5% of your battery in case you need to make an emergency call late in the evening? The problem is, that damn screen continues to kill that remaining juice, along with all of the background processes checking your email and running apps.

Back in the day the trend was toward smaller and smaller phones. Phones that would fit in your pocket, or easily into a lady’s purse. With the current size of smartphones, a female would have no way of easy packing that away for a night out clubbing in the same way as was previously possible.

Let’s face it — at the end of the night do you need a device that runs the whole array of apps, or do you just want something that can call a taxi, text your friends to ask where they are, and possibly call a loved one to let them know that you’re safe?

The way I see it, there is every chance that a market will open up for super small phones with long battery life — ones that simply make calls and send texts. They could possibly have the ability to play MP3s too (much less power intensive than surfing the web on a bright screen) — for the journey home when you know that you really don’t need the rest of that battery. These phones would have simple screens that use very little power (possibly similar to the technology used in e-readers like the Kindle).

No doubt people would want them to look good too, right? So there would be plenty of competition to create the sleekest little mobile on the market. Consumers would use their tablet-type device when they want to surf the web (on the way to work, at home etc), but would leave this at home when the circumstances call for purely a compact mobile phone.

What about the Pebble, the MotoActv and the rumored Apple iWatch you may ask? Sure, all allow you to leave your cumbersome phone in your bag and just keep an eye on the incoming call ID via the screen of your watch. However this serves a totally different purpose to a small smartphone. For starters, these watches (currently) do not allow you to send texts or make calls. Even more than this, they require your phone to be present, with battery life, and they require the constant drain of battery through a bluetooth connection. In short, not what we are looking for in this type of scenario.

Will small smartphones replace the growing trend for bigger screens? Unlikely. Right now, it looks like big is best. However, there definitely is scope for smaller mobile devices to find their niche in the huge and important telecommunications market.

What do you think? Hit us up in the comments.

The post Small Smartphones: the future of mobile? appeared first on andrise.com.

Xbox One

Expected to be called the 720, Microsoft announced its “One” in May 2013. With a launch price of US$499, Microsoft has dubbed the One as an “all-in-one entertainment system” Outside of high def gaming, the One will embrace Skype connectivity, voice control, more Kinect integration, recording and streaming as well as being able to use Windows tablets and smartphones.

At the time of launch, Microsoft boasted the One’s digital rights management that effectively locked games their console and required constant internet access to keep the games library up to date. What this meant for your average gamer was that they wouldn’t be able to share and borrow games with friends. After losing several brownie points for that, Microsoft scrapped the idea to appease the fans.

Playstation 4

Sony showcased it’s next offering, the Playstation 4 in June 2013. Coming in at $100 less than the Xbox One and without the digital rights management, the PS4 garnered a warmer reception by the gaming public. Like the One, there will be no backward compatibility at launch so you know what that means? Having to purchase the games of yesteryear again via the PS Store is you want to play them.

The PS4 will have some form of compatibility with the Vita as well as smart phones as well as camera and social media integration. Sony just keep offering more and more with each rendition of its Playstation.

The Facts

Check out some of the next gen game trailers. The games are looking fantastic.

Watch: Dogs Gameplay

Watch: Driveclub Playstation 4 Gameplay

The post Xbox One vs Playstation 4 appeared first on andrise.com.