CNN African Start-Up show makes its debut

CNN African Start-Up show makes its debut

CNN International announced on Monday that it will launch a new program that will shed light on the entrepreneurial ideas of native Africans and it will reach across the African continent, try and recognise the entrepreneurs and focus on how they are attempting to convert their dreams into reality. This new series is supposed to air weekly and bi – monthly as a half hour special. A representative of CNN said that several SME entrepreneurs in various African countries would be followed by this programme to see how they are being able to convert their dreams into reality.

The programme will join ‘African Voices’, ‘Inside Africa’ and ‘CNN Marketplace Africa’ as another TV network’s output specifically planned to uplift the African continent by broadcasting the ideas which these entrepreneurs are so eager to convert into successful projects. Deborah Rayner, vice president and managing editor for Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) at CNN International, said that CNN being the leading brand on the continent they are proud of finding innovative ways to project the African story to their international audiences. This new strand has been extremely looked upon and aiming in resonating both with African viewers and with viewers around the world. She also mentioned that Africa is an important region for them as a global network, and a strong stable of great programming had been joined by The African Start – Up.

CNN also said the programme will explore how the entrepreneurs are able to generate their ideas, raise their capital and distribute their products. The entrepreneurs also take viewers through their daily challenge, and motivate those with the vision and creativity to try something new

This series is set to start from January 2014.

CNN African Start-Up show makes its debut

Waka Waka Power Review

Waka Waka Power Review

The Waka Waka Solar Charger or Waka Waka Power is a product inaugurated by the Waka Waka Foundation. This product is a multipurpose device with solar powered LED light and a charger which can be used for emergency purposes or for daily use. This pocket size ‘mini power station’ has a 23% efficiency guaranteeing solar panel which coverts solar energy into electrical energy through the Intivation SNBST Gen 3 power management  circuit  and stores it into a 2200mAh LiPo battery with 1000 cycles. It takes about eight hours of charging to fill up the battery storage if charged with solar energy.

This stored energy can either be used to charge any electronic gadget with a USB facility. One can also charge this device through the internet with the help of the Mini – USB facility via the Mini USB input present on the body of the device. To understand the progress in the charging of the device, there is a red LED light who frequency of flickering denotes the power of energy it is receiving , 4 green LED lights to denote 25, 50, 75 and 100 % of energy storage and another red LED to denote the transfer of charge to the electronic gadget.

There are a few drawbacks of the Waka Waka Power:

• The extent of energy stored is dependent on the geographical and the seasonal conditions experienced by the owner of the device.


• The instruction manual is a bit vague in explaining certain features.

Overall, this device seems to attract a lot of people and is certainly efficient with a life span of 5 – 7 years and its affordable cost of £48.35.

Waka Waka Power Review

LG introduces a new mosquito combating air conditioner in Nigeria

LG introduces a new mosquito combating air conditioner in Nigeria 

 

Catering to every regular (as well as odd need), LG Electronics has introduced their newest offering – the Mosquito Away. The Mosquito Away is a residential air conditioner for the Nigerian market.

It is packed with all of LG’s high-end air conditioning technologies and additionally incorporates ultrasonic wave principles. Ultrasonic waves are harmful to mosquitoes, but absolutely safe for humans (as approved by the University of Ibadan’s College of Medicine and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria). It caters to the challenging weather conditions in Nigeria with powerful cooling and durability in temperature extremes.

The ‘auto cleaning’ function maintains hygiene and a clean atmosphere by preventing bacterial and mold formation. The ‘jet cool’ function enables efficient ventilation by increasing the airflow volume.  A big plus is that it takes into account the instability of the Nigerian power grid, and counters it with the ‘low voltage starter’ feature (and thus, works at low voltage perfectly well).

 

In a study conducted recently the Mosquito Away provided a whopping 82% repellence.  Given Africa’s climatic conditions, this model is absolute perfection. Comfort is the key in this latest model as it facilitates its users with a fresh and safe atmosphere to live and work in.

Junhwa Jeong, the general manager of Air-conditioning and Energy Solutions, LG Electronics West Africa Operations, said, “It comes with powerful cooling and extreme durability, this product is more than a match for the country’s challenging weather conditions. Better still, it incorporates ultrasonic wave technology, which effectively repels mosquitoes. We are confident that the Mosquito Away air conditioner will meet the needs of consumers in this important African market.”

LG introduces a new mosquito combating air conditioner in Nigeria

Nissan 3E Smartglass for Drivers

Nissan 3E Smartglass for Drivers

Driving has a lot of issues related to it.  Losing your way, being confused about your location and taking the wrong turnings are just some of them. In light of this Nissan are set to unveil a computer which look like a pair of glasses and are specifically designed for drivers.  The device is the Nissan 3E, where 3E stands for Third Eye*.

This week, Nissan aired a video showing a sneak peek of the Nissan 3E, featuring a shirtless model, intense and thumping music and a preview of the gadget.  Similarities can be drawn with the Google Glass and thus give Google Glass some strong competition.

 

Nissan 3E however may have a slight edge as Google Glass has already been dubbed the ‘problem maker’, rather than being the ‘problem solver’, for drivers. The problems that Google Glass are causing are no longer limited to just rumours.  Last month, a ticket was issued to a woman, reportedly from California, for driving whilst wearing the Google Glass.

This is not Nissan’s first venture into the wearable technology space, however, the Nissan 3E is still taking baby steps. Like Google Glass, it allows users to store acquired information on the gadget and has connectivity to the internet. Conversations can also be given a try as it allows exchange of information with others who are also wearing the gadget.

The Nissan 3E will be on display at the Tokyo Motor Show from 22^nd November to 1^st December. Make sure you don’t miss out!

*as reported by Car and Driver.

Nissan 3E Smartglass for Drivers

Dual screen YotaPhone debuts at €499

Dual screen YotaPhone debuts at €499

The YotaPhone pricing €499 in Europe and 19,980 rubles in Russia is a great gadget to invest in which blends the qualities of an e-reader and a smartphone. The two prototypes of this device that has been used for the purpose of attaining observations have justified the ideas promised. Any flaw observed has been removed in the retail edition of this gadget.

This dual purpose gadget works on Android operating system. This YotaPhone has a 4.3-inch 720p LCD front display. Its fast processing is rendered by a dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon processor and 2GB RAM. The 32GB of storage provides the users with a wider space to store their data. The rear e-paper display too is of 4.3 inches but doesn’t match the LCD display. Its resolution is 640×360 pixels which is lower than that of the front display. During the display of a static image, the e-reader does not consume the battery power.

Hence, the YotaPhone facilitates e-books, notification and other information reading at a power friendly rate. This feature of the gadget is helpful in displaying any image for a longer time at the e-paper display that has been captured from the front camera. This makes easy for the users to navigate maps and shopping lists that are displayed for a longer time without compromising with the battery consumption.

Apart from a power button and volume rocker, there are no physical buttons on this device. Rather two touch-sensitive strips are rendered which works as home, back and multitasking buttons. YotaPhone works best with 3G and LTE modems providing fast internet surfing to the users.

Full Specifications

OS- Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2

CPU – Dual Core 1.7 GHz Krait

FORM FACTOR – Monoblock touch with front and back screens

DIMENSIONS – 133.6 x 67 x 9.99mm

WEIGHT -146g

COLOURS – Black and white

MAIN SCREEN – 4.3” 720×1280 LCD, 16.7M colours; capacitive multi touch

BACK SCREEN- 4.3” 360×640 EPD, 16 grayscale; capacitive touch zone below the EPD for gesture controls

NETWORK -LTE 800/1800/2600 MHz, UMTS 900/1800/2100 MHz, GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz

CAMERA -Main camera 13 MP AF, LED flash, front camera 1MP

MEMORY- 2GB RAM, 32GB eMMC

CONNECTIVITY- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, BT v4.0, GPS w/A-GPS + Glonass

VIDEO -1080p 30fps; H.263, H.264 AVC, MPEG-4, WebM

AUDIO – MP3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, AMR, MIDI, WAV

BATTERY- 1800mAh

OTHER – Accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, FM radio, micro-SIM, special YotaPhone gestures and Put2Back applications for the back screen

Dual screen YotaPhone debuts at €499

New Pencil Stylus and Paper App by FiftyThree

New Pencil Stylus and Paper App by FiftyThree

Artists all over the world have one worry about the iPad; they can’t freely draw using the stylus. This problem has been solved by FiftyThree. They have introduced two new products the Paper App and Pencil Stylus.

Both of these tools work magically in coordination with each other. Pencil is the first stylus that probably most people would love. It comes in a very stylish mahogany wood and aluminium finishes. The tip obviously is the most important part of Pencil and it does not get mushy and slides on the glass.

Priced at $50, it is a very handy instrument that doesn’t require much effort in using. What’s more, it even comes with an eraser on the back so that we can make all the required changes effortlessly. It is evident from its design and functionalities that it was crafted to act like a real pencil. Pencil differs from other devices in one aspect that it does not allow the change of pressure to get different line weights but it is done using different speeds on Paper. Aesthetically, pencil looks beautiful, just like some carpenter has carved it out of wood. The pencil is ever-ready, with no power switch.

Coming to the technical aspects, Pencil is connected to the iPad using Bluetooth and needs to charged using USB charger. A full charge of the device could last for months. To conclude this device tries to bring a revolution to the stylus market and achieves something near to perfect.

New Pencil Stylus and Paper App by FiftyThree

New Silicon Supercapacitor that can power your phone for days

New Silicon Supercapacitor that can power your phone for days

Imagine there is a technology that allows us to use our mobile phones for days or even weeks without frequent charging, what wondrous thing would that be! Scientists in Vanderbilt University have achieved something near to this. They have designed a new Silicon Supercapacitor which can make this possible.

The idea of using silicon for making supercapacitors is a very new idea which is rejected by many scientists. But assistant professor Cary Pint says that they have found a simpler way to do it. Supercapacitors store electricity by accumulating ions on the surface of two plates, already absorbed in an electrolyte solution. Since the charge storing capacity is a direct function of the net area of the plates, these are usually coated with highly porous materials, such as activated carbon. They can’t match the energy storage capacity of Lithium Ion batteries, but can absorb and release the charge they produce more easily hence guaranteeing longer life span.

Pint’s team coated silicon with a few nanometres of carbon in graphene form which made the surfacestabilised, enough to store energy. Results were astonishing as they were 40 times as much compared to the regular uncoated porous silicon and other commercial supercapacitors.  The applications of this kind of device could be many such as use them in solar cells which can store the energy during the day and use it during the nights when the consumption is at maximum. It is believed that this could have interesting repercussions all over the silicon industry.

New Silicon Supercapacitor that can power your phone for days