oPhone’s Smell Technology Comes To eBooks, Songs & Bracelets

The creator of the oPhone, Professor David Edwards of Vapor Communications has come up with three new products that use the oPhone technology in various ways. The first product is the oBook. When you are reading a book on an oPhone connected device such as an iPhone or iPad it shall recognise the “scent tag” on a page of the book and combine the scent chips or oChips to produce the aroma as described in the page of the book. Currently, the creators of the oBooks are showcasing Goldilocks & The Three Bears (the Smelly Version), at the Sensorial Storytelling exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York. 

 ​

Next we have the oMusic and by now you might have deduced that it has something to do smells enhancing the effect of a particular song. Since there are millions of songs in the world and it would be impossible to choose one to everybody’s liking, so the makers of oMusic decided to compose one with the help of composer Daniel Peter Biro. The team also roped in master perfumer Christophe Laudamiel to create fragrances to compliment the song “Memory: Witness of the Unimaginable” that is currently an exhibit at the Le Laboratoire Cambridge. 

 ​

Even though the above creations are for demonstrative purposes only, they certainly point towards a future that will see more platforms of education and entertainment using the smell technology developed by Vapor Communications. Finally we would like to inform you about a bracelet from the company that you can actually buy. The not-so-smartly titled oBracelet costs just $10. The oBracelet has specially made eyelets in which the company slips in one of two fragrances. While the first one is good old chocolate, the second one is called Silence and the purpose of it is quite bewildering. According to its creator Christophe Laudamiel, the silence fragrance acts in the same way silence helps you listen better. To make it more clear, the scent of Silence will help you be more attentive to the scents around you. So does that mean Silence is odourless? We aren’t so sure of spending ten dollars on that right now.

To know more about these new products you can visit the product pages on the company website and its coverage on Engadget.

Sony Xperia E4G Dual Price In India, Specs And More

Sony Corporation has announced the launch of its new mid-budget Android smartphone called Xperia E4G in India. Having a 1.5 GHz Quad Core (MediaTek MT6732) processor at is core, the phone's front is adorned by a 4.7" touchscreen display with 960 x 540 pixel resolution, well protected by a scratch-resistant glass. As the name suggests, the new Xperia phone comes with Dual SIM cards. According to the company, the major USP of the phone is its battery life. The 2300 mAh battery that sits inside a 10.8 mm thick body, offers talk time of ~13+ hours. With Sony Stamina mode activated, the phone's battery is said to last 6 hours of HD video playback and 48 hours of music playing.

Sony is popular for bringing high-end cameras in their phones, however, the Xperia E4G Dual sports just an above average 5 megapixel snapper on the rear sporting 4x digital zoom. The camera is capable of recording 1080 pixel HD videos and comes with a plethora of settings for better picture quality. On the front, there's a 2 megapixel camera for capturing selfies or making video calls back home.

 ​

The user's storage & processing needs are catered to using 1 GB RAM, 8 GB flash memory (expandable upto 32 GB via microSD). Among the various connectivity options, all the basics are covered with the presence of Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi and WiFi Hotspot functionality, aGPS, USB High speed 2.0 and Micro USB support. Moreover, the Sony smartphone features support for GPRS/EDGE (2G), UMTS HSPA (3G) as well as (LTE) 4G. 

A glance at the specs list will tell you that the Xperia E4G can be compared to the 2nd generation Moto E smartphone, which offers similar specs at a much lower price of Rs. 7,999 only. It therefore does not need to be told that the phone will face really serious competitions from its rivals in the overcrowded India Android phone market.

What are your thoughts on the Xperia E4G Dual's launch in India? Share with us in comments below.

Source: Sony Mobile

Russia Wants Its Own RSS : Russian Space Station

Russian President Putin wants to build RSS: 'Russian Space Station'. Calling it an 'economic necessity', Putin said that in the longer term, the Russian Space Station is going to be necessary to improve their economy and he's not satisfied with Russia's participation in the the International Space Station (ISS) program. One of the reasons Putin cited in favor of RSS was that they will be able to see all of Russia from it; and from ISS only 5% of Russia is visible. 

Russia's space station is expected to be actively used for science experiments and it will be fully under their control. Putin also expressed confidence that the new space station will be ready by 2023 and the respective teams have already had talks with NASA officials. NASA however, has not commented officially on any such plan. United States and Russia have been the top financial supporters of the ISS program since its launch in 1998. Russia earlier operated a low Earth orbit space station 'Mir' between 1986 - 1996 which mostly served as microgravity research laboratory. 

Mir - Russian Space Station​

It's also expected that the Chinese will also have their own CSS (Chinese Space Station) ready by 2023 in order to establish themselves as superpowers in space. Russia is already constructing Vostochny Consmodrome (Eastern Spaceport) - expected to be ready by 2018 to reduce Russia's dependence on Baikonur Cormodrome in Kazakhstan. 

Source: Brahmand

Lollipop Powered Micromax Canvas Spark Price To Be < Rs. 6000 [Rumors]

Most homegrown brands are facing a tough time with Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Lenovo sweeping the entire market with their heavily loaded Android smartphones offered at extremely cheap prices. One such homegrown brand is Micromax India which had set the bar quite high for its competition to catch up to, only a couple of years back. It looks like the company has decided to rise back to its earlier level of popularity by introducing a low-budget phone titled 'Micromax Canvas Spark' which is all set to come up off the wraps on an event slated for April 21st of this month. The company has sent media invites saying, "Join us for an electrifying get together and witness the reveal of this exciting gadget!" 

 ​

With the official launch date just a couple of days away, the rumour monger wheel has started to turn and the tech community is suggesting that the Canvas Spark phone will be priced below Rs. 6,000. Though the company has purposefully left the features out of its social media pages & website, there are rumors of the phone featuring a 4.7 inch display with Corning Gorilla Glass and a 8 megapixel camera. Some are anticipating a Quad Core processor as well. The only thing that we know for sure is that the Canvas Spark features Android 5.0 Lollipop OS. 

 ​

The affordable phone will be made available exclusively via e-commerce portal Snapdeal. That's all we know for now. We will keep you updated about the phone's features as the launch happens.

What are your thoughts about Micromax Canvas Spark? Share with us in comments below.

Yamaha Saluto Price In India Out; Plays Both 'Economical' & 'Practical' Cards

After repeated failed attempts of making waves in the Indian economical bike segment, Yamaha Motor Company in India is back again with a new 125cc segment bike named 'Yamaha Saluto' priced at Rs. 52,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). Yamaha has earlier launched bikes in the same segment (Gladiator 125, SS125 and YBR 125) which could not strike a chord with the Indian audience. With Yamaha Saluto, the company has made it a point from the start to promote the motorcycle as the most 'practical' and 'economical' choice for the budget-friendly young customers. Apart from those tags, the company wants to portray the bike Saluto as a motorcycle designed for family use, which is a great marketing idea. Without further adieu, let's move straight into the bike's feature highlights. 

The 125 cc engine under the hood is an air-cooled, single-cylinder and the Saluto is said to deliver a whooping mileage of 78 km/litre. The bike features telescopic fork front suspension and a swingarm for the rear. The engine delivers max power of 8.3 PS at 7,000 rpm and 10.1 Nm of torque at 4,500 rpm. At 112 kg, the bike looks comfortably light-weight and the rider's comfort is taken care of with new suspension, footrests and seat are setup to enhance comfort. There's a 7.6 litre fuel tank on the bike. As for the looks, the bike gets a new resin tank cover, which we believe doesn't do much to enhance the style quotient. 

As we take a look at the motorcycle's specifications list, we find 130 mm drum brakes on front & rear. Measurements are 2,035 mm in length, 700 mm in width, 1,080 mm in height and 1,265 mm in wheelbase with 180 mm of ground clearance.

That's all about the features and specs that any potential buyer needs to know before going to check it out in the nearest store. The company has plans to sell ~60,000 models of the Saluto in the year 2015. If all goes according to their plans, Yamaha India will pump up the expansion of their network by next year and we might find more Salutos zooming past us on Indian roads.

What are your thoughts about the bike's looks and overall appeal? Share with us in comments below.​

Lasers Might Be Used To Rid Of Space Debris Soon

With every satellite launch, we see an increase in debris orbiting around the earth. It’s not just debris from the satellite launches but also defunct satellites, 500,000 of them are orbiting the earth creating a deadly threat for active orbiting vehicles. In the past, NASA has concocted different ways for tackling this nuisance but this time Japan's Riken research institute has thought of a new way that is not just utilitarian but also ultra-cool. A proposal has been submitted by scientists from RIKEN, University of California, IZEST EcolePolytechnique, University of Paris and University of Torino that talks about a laser mounted on the International Space Station that shall monitor and destroy space debris out of earth’s orbit. The system that will require no assistance from ground control consists of EUSO’s infrared telescope and a CAN laser.

EUSO​

Extreme Universe Space Observatory or EUSO developed by Japan's Riken research institute has a telescope that is currently being used to detect ultraviolet light emitted produced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays entering the Earth's atmosphere at night. The Japanese researchers believe that since this system has wide field of view and powerful optics it can be modified to detect high-velocity debris fragments at twilight. The second part of the proposed system requires a fibre optic CAN laser that is found in particle accelerators. Once the telescope identifies the debris, even the ones with diameters of 1cm, it can fire powerful laser pulses that cause a phenomenon called as plasma ablation that will heat the object and turn it into plasma. This shall push the disintegrated debris into earth’s atmosphere that shall obliterate it instantly.

In the proposal that has been published in the Acta Astronautica journal states that the implementation shall take place in two phases. The first phase shall be a proof-of-concept test on the International Space Station with a 20cm version of the EUSO telescope and a laser with 100 fibres. If that goes according to plan a full scale version shall be installed on the ISS that shall consist of a three-meter EUSO telescope and a laser with 10,000 fibres that will be capable of obliterating debris in a range of 100 kilometres. The researchers have also chalked out an additional plan which shall consist of a free flying satellite in the polar orbit that will have a range of 800 kilometres.

For more information on this development, you can read the journal link mentioned in the above paragraph or its coverage on Science Daily and Engadget.

Japanese Maglev Train Travels At 590kmph, Breaks Its Own & Global Speed Record

The Central Japan Railway Company has informed the public that its magnetic levitation bullet train has broken the world record for the fastest train. The prototype train with 29 technicians on board managed to travel at 590 kilometres per hour, which is 9kmph more than the previous speed record set by the another Japanese train in December 2003. If you are thinking it will take years to break this record, you are quite mistaken. The company planning conduct another speed run on the same test track constructed in the Yamanashi prefecture on Tuesday that shall be aimed at achieving speeds of 600kmph. 

 ​

The bad news however comes with the disclosure that commuters won’t be enjoy this staggering speed when the Japanese company opens up the train service for the in public in the year 2027. Once the company sets up the train tracks between Tokyo and Nagoya (352kms) the speeds will be limited to 505 kilometres per hour instead of 590kmph. Even with a 313 mph speed, the journey duration from the aforementioned cities will be reduced to 40 minutes which as Engadget points out is less than half the time required by the current generation of bullet trains.

The Japanese are so convinced by their prowess that they are even planning to export the maglev train technology to the US. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be proposing the construction of a high-speed train link between Washington DC and New York when he travels to the United States on the 26th of this month.