IntellectBeat

Scientists have developed a high-quality protective film less than two micrometres thick that may enable creation of electronic skin displays for blood oxygen level and e-skin heart rate sensors for athletes. The technology will enable the production of ultrathin, ultraflexible, high performance wearable electronic displays and other devices, researchers said. Integrating electronic devices with the human body to enhance or restore body function for biomedical applications is the goal of researchers around the world. In particular, wearable electronics need to be thin and flexible to minimise impact where they attach to the body. However, most devices developed so far have required millimetre-scale thickness glass or plastic substrates with limited flexibility, while micrometre-scale thin flexible organic devices have not been stable enough to survive in air. The researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed an ultrathin, ultraflexible, protective layer and demon...

Infosys co-founder S Gopalakrishnan Sunday launched a new app itihaasa that chronicles the "fascinating journey" of the Indian IT industry since the 1950s. "I have been a part of the industry for over 37 years and have seen the industry grow, prosper and become an important part of the economy. I am fortunate to have been a part of this fascinating journey. With itihaasa, we hope to reach the incredible story of Indian IT to many more people across the world," Gopalakrishnan told PTI. He added that itihaasa is one of the largest chronicles of its kind with 600 videos featuring 44 technology stalwarts. "Users can hear veterans like F C Kohli, Prof Rajaraman, Prof Mahabala, Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji, S Ramadorai, Nandan Nilekani, N Vittal and others as they trace the incredible journey of the Indian IT sector," he said. The app follows the installation of the country's first modern computer in 1955 to crystal gazing on Indian IT in 2040, he adde...

Deviating from the norm of using only subtle grey, silver, gold, and recently a rose gold tones in its product lineup, Apple has built a one-of-a-kind iPad Pro that features a bright yellow aluminum case. In support of a Design Museum Charity auction on April 28th, Apple's Jony Ive and his team has developed a unique version of the 12.9-inch tablet. The brightly-coloured tablet also comes with accessories including a French leather Smart Cover and an orange Pencil case in Italian leather. Auction partner  Phillips  expects the yellow iPad Pro to fetch anything between $14,200 to $21,300.

Apple recently launched the iPhone SE catering to the 4-inch display lovers and even before we could estimate the new phone's success or the lack of it, the internet is abuzz with rumours about its next flagship. According to reliable Apple analyst, KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo, the new iPhone would deviate from the norm and come crafted in an all-glass design, dropping the aluminum completely. The major design change won't be seen in this year's iPhone 7, breaking away from Apple's tick-tock pattern of introducing design changes every other generation, and instead be seen in 2017's iPhone 8, a report on 9to5Mac notes. It isn't the first time Apple would be using glass for its smartphone; the back and front of iPhone 4 and 4s were crafted out of the same material held together with a stainless steel band. However, it is unclear how the tech giant will construct the phone completely with glass - a material considered ideal for wireless charging and better an...

Gurugram-based mobile wallet firm MobiKwik expects to turn profitable by mid-2017 and plans to diversify revenue streams by offering financial products like loans and mutual funds, a senior executive said. "We are looking at diversifying our revenue streams and our first goal is to be profitable on a monthly basis by middle of 2017," MobiKwik founder and chief executive Bipin Preet Singh told PTI. The firm looks to expand its financial services offerings and has started entering into partnerships with banks and financial institutions for the same. MobiKwik is partnering with non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to offer micro-lending to its users, and is also looking at launching a mutual fund portfolio going forward, he added. The company is also focussing on the offline category, and is looking to expand the merchants on board from 50,000 currently to nearly five million by next year, Singh said. Last year, MobiKwik activated mobile payments for brick-and-mortar sto...

Micromax 's Yu Televentures last week launched the Yu Yureka Note phablet in India, priced at Rs. 13,499. The handset is available to purchase from offline mobile stores in the region, something contrary to the company's previous plans to keep the Yu brand online only. As per the company, the phablet will deliver to users the "ultimate multimedia & gaming experience." The Yu Yureka Note is an Android 5.1.1 Lollipop-based handset that features a 6-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) resolution display with a pixel density of 370ppi. It packs an octa-core MediaTek MTK6753T processor under-the-hood, clubbed with 3GB of RAM. In the camera department, the Yureka Note houses a 13-megapixel sensor at the back along with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. For audiophiles, the company is also touting the inclusion of dual speakers with NXP smart PA technology as well. The phablet is also equipped with 16GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. The Y...

On Friday, leading premium Chinese handset firm Huawei announced the Huawei VR. The headset comes in several sizes to accommodate the company's most recent smartphone and phablets. What's more, unlike other basic phone-dependent headsets on the market, the company claims that its first headset supports 360-degree sound. Unveiled in China alongside the company's latest phones the P9 and P9 Plus (both of which have already made their European and US debuts) the company chose not to reveal how much the VR headset is going to cost, or when deliveries will start. However, it did confirm that upon launch, owners will have access to 4000 free movies and 40 free games. Huawei is focusing heavily on performance and price in order to break into the top end of the European and North American markets. The latest research from Global Web Index shows that positive awareness of the brand is indeed growing and that 15% of internet users globally would consider the company's phones ...

US electronic giant Apple has said the iPhones have a life expectancy of three years and so does the Apple watch while AppleTV devices expire in four years. In a recent update to its environmental policy, Apple addressed the question of how long an Apple device is expected to remain in use. According to a report on Forbes.com, iPhone's productive life cycle will be up at the three-year mark, as will the Apple Watch while your OS X -- a series of operating systems developed and marketed by Apple Inc. -- and AppleTV devices will get an extra twelve months to reach the four-year mark. "To model customer use, we measure the power consumed by a product while it is running in a simulated scenario," Apple was quoted as saying. "Daily usage patterns are specific to each product and are a mixture of actual and modelled customer-use data. Years of use, which are based on first owners, are assumed to be four years for OS X and tvOS devices and three years for iOS and watc...