About Latest Mobile Technology

 From car phones to iPhones, mobile technology has been advancing at a rapid pace. ­In this article we'll take a look at some of the newest features ready for your next phone. Many of these exciting technologies make it even easier to communicate, do business and learn on your mobile device.

Take a look at the next page to see the first emerging phone technology.  

For years, cell phones have operated on a strict carrier contract basis, but that's beginning to change with Wi-Fi phones. While phone owners may still have a carrier, the phones can connect to home or office Wi-Fi networks. This ability frees you from having to count minutes or worry about other charges. Some phones operate strictly on Wi-Fi VoIP networks, freeing you from a traditional carrier completely.

Many technology enthusiasts dream of an "all-in-one" portable device, which can handle all of their communication and entertainment needs. As smarter and smarter phones like the iPhone come out, add to that list of desired features "mobile augmented reality". This technology will tie together the internet, accelerometers and GPS to superimpose digital information on the real world. Traveling to a new city? Point your phone at a building and it tells you anything from the history of its construction to visiting hours to restaurant reviews. All of the technology necessary is ready for the market. Expect to see these phones of the future sometime soon.

Phones may soon allow you to transfer or pay money instantly from any bank account or credit line. The potential is great for small businesses and individuals who can't accept credit cards or those who prefer an electronic payment to cash or checks. Paypal is leading the way with a mobile service tied to its already robust online payment options. The technology is available now for these services, but with so many institutions involved (including banks, stores and carriers), mainstream adoption has been slow.  See How Cellular Electronic Payments Work to learn more.

Since the success of the Apple iPhone, touch screen phones have gotten more and more popular. However, among people who text and email frequently from their phone, many still prefer the real buttons of a device like the Blackberry. The physical buttons seem to give better feedback and allow more natural typing. New technology could deliver the best of both worlds by creating a touch screen which feels and reacts when you type on it. This technology is being explored by phone developers in order to get the next generation phones to the market.

Phone technology is advancing at an amazing pace, so don't be surprised to see some of these features in your hand soon. Check out some of HowStuffWorks' other articles on mobile technology to learn more.
 

Source: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com

A little bit about the LED technology

OLEDs are made by placing thin films of organic (carbon based) materials between two conductors. When electrical current is applied, a bright light is emitted. The OLED materials emit light and do not require a backlight (unlike LCDs). Each pixel is a small light-emitting diode, in fact. OLED TV panels offers several advantages over LCDs:

• Faster refresh rate, better contrast and better color reproduction
• Thin and light: LG's 55" EM9700 for example is just 4mm thick and weighs just 3.5 Kg. Some OLED panel prototypes are merely 0.3 mm thick!
• Better viewing angle - almost 180 degrees
• Greener: OLEDs draw less power, and contain no toxic metals (some OLED materials use a tiny amount of Iridium, a non-toxic heavy metal)
• OLED panels can potentially be made flexible and/or transparent...

Samsung's LED TVs

In August 2013, Samsung launched their first OLED TV, the KN55S9C - a 55" curved Full-HD set. The curved panel means that the distance from the viewer to the TV screen is the same from almost any angle - which makes for a better experience according to Samsung (but most people actually prefer flat panels).

Samsung's OLED TV features Multi-view (where two users can watch two different 2D programs using active-shutter 3D glasses) and it's also compatible with the company's Evolution Kit, ensuring that the TV is future-proofed. The TV weighs 27 Kg and is 5.3 inches deep. It is now shipping in the US for $8999, and in South Korea for 9.9 million Won (about $8,900).

Samsung also developed a flat 55" OLED TV, but it seems that these won't be released as commercial products any time soon. First branded as "Super OLED TV", Samsung now calls them "Real OLED TVs" - to note the fact that Samsung are using 'True OLED' RGB subpixels, as opposed to LG's WRGB architecture, and also to differentiate its OLED TVs from LED TVs. The model number of Samsung's TV will be F9500.

LG's 55" OLED TVs

In December 2011 LG officially announced their first commercial OLED TV, the 55" 55EM9700. In January 2013 LG announced that the TV is now on offer in Korea (for the small price of 11 million Won, or about $10,000) and in the UK. This is a Full-HD panel that features 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio and fast response time (1,000 times faster than LCD according to LG). The panel is only 4mm thick, and weighs just 3.5 Kg. LG considers OLED to be the "ultimate display technology".

LG said they expect to launch the flat OLED TV soon in the US, India and Israel, but in the mean time, like Samsung, the company is more focused on their curved OLED TV - the 55EA9800. LG's curved TV is shipping in Korea and in the US for $8,999.

LG's TV is based on LG Display's Oxide-TFT white-OLED with color filters (WOLED, or WRGB, more on this below) OLED panel. LG are quite excited of this new TV - they call it calling it the "Ultimate Display" and they say that this is the "most transformational moment" in the TV industry since the introduction of the color TV 60 years ago.

Older OLED TVs

Actually LG's 55" OLED TV won't be the first OLED TV on the market. Back in December 2007 Sony started to offer the XEL-1 - which was more of a technology prototype than a commercial set - a small TV (11"), expensive (around 2,500$) OLED TV that was only produced in small quantities. LG Themselves also used to offer the 1.7 mm thick 15" EL9500 OLED TV, which was also more of a technology demonstration, as the price was very high for a 15" display (around $2600 in Korea and €1,999 in Europe).

Direct Emission vs WRGB

The basic OLED TV design uses 3 color OLED sub-pixels (RGB: Red, Green and Blue) to create each 'pixel'. This is referred to as a direct emission OLED (or SBS, side-by-side), and is the design Samsung uses in their small displays and in their upcoming Super OLED TVs. Some companies are using a different architecture, called WRGB (or WOLED-CF) which uses four white OLED subpixels with color filters on top (RBG and W).

The WRGB technology was developed by Kodak (and the IP is now owned by LG Display), and it should make the OLED panel easier to make. However it will also be less efficient. LG Display's OLED TVs which will be released in 2013 will be based on this design, and indeed LGD managed to produce these panels before Samsung.

OLED TV status

• Both Samsung and LG are offering 55" curved OLED TVs. Production capacity is low and prices are still very high. Samsung's KN55S9C for example costs $8,997 while LG's 55EA9800 is even more expensive at $9,999. Both panels are 55" in size and offer Full-HD resolution. Reviews of those TVs have been spectacular, with all reviewers saying that OLED TVs offer the best picture quality ever!
• LG are offering several kinds of flat 55" OLED TV, both using the same WRGB Full-HD panel. The Gallery OLED TV is shipping in Europe for €8,999 while the 55EM9700 ships in many countries, including in the US.
• In September 2013, LG unveiled a 77" curved UHD (4K) OLED TV prototype, the largest OLED panel ever shown. 
• Sony and Panasonic are collaborating on OLED TV technology. Both companies unveiled beatiful 56" 4K OLED prototypes at CES. Panasonic is set to convert its LCD fab to OLED.
• AU Optronics has an active OLED TV program with plans to start producing samples soon. Sony's 56" 4K OLED prototype at CES was produced at AUO.
• Seiko Epson are working on inkjet printable OLED TV panels, but we do not know the state of that research either.
• DuPont announced that a leading OLED maker has licensed their nozzle-printing technology in an effort to make cheaper, printable OLED TV panels.

  Source: http://www.oled-info.com

Knitting Machines

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aka knitting looms

 

Home knitting machines allow the knitter to produce beautiful knitted items .... fast! Instead of forming one stitch at a time, imagine knitting 200 stitches with the push of a carriage!

Think of all those "boring" sections of your last (or current) knitting project ... stockinette sleeves, large plain sections of a repetitive stitch pattern. With a knitting machine, you can quickly knit these sections and spend your precious knitting time working the fun parts of a pattern.

Knitting machines come in various gauges to accommodate the wide range of yarns available today.

• Bulky/Chunky - for handspun and bulkier weight yarns or heavy worsted weight
• Mid-Gauge - for sport weight to light worsted yarns
• Standard Gauge - for sock weight, fingering weight and baby weight yarns
• Fine Gauge - for lace weight to fingering weight yarns

You don't need special coned yarn to knit with a knitting machine. Many knitters use yarn on cones so they don't have to work in as many yarn ends as you do with balled/skeined yarn.

What kind of yarn to use?

Machine knitters can knit almost anything a hand knitter can knit ... only faster! Stripes, tuck (knit in the row below), slip, multi-color texture stitches, stranded multi color work, lace ... you name it!

View Knitting Machine Demo

Is this for you?

Deciding what machine to use depends on what you want to knit and what weight of knitting you want to produce. Compare knitting done on US size 8-9 needes and knitting worked on US size 1-2 needles .... big difference! The equivalent is the difference between a bulky and a standard gauge machine.
Machine Knitting is NOT cheating! When was the last time you pieced a quilt or sewed a seam by hand? You use a sewing machine to speed up the creative process in sewing, why not speed up your knitting? MANY machine knitters also hand knit. They enjoy the process of hand knitting and feeling the yarn run through their fingers, but they also have so many projects in mind that they will never complete them all! Some machine knitters don't hand knit. They enjoy having many finished products in the time it would take to hand knit one.

Knit a gauge swatch in LESS THAN 10 MINUTES!
Most knitting machines are portable. Plan a space about 4 feet wide by 2 feet deep. Used knitting machines can be quite inexpensive. As with other crafts, you can purchase all sorts of accessories and "bells and whistles", but all you NEED is a machine in good working order to get started. Many machine knitters start with an Incredible Sweater Machine and quickly realize that a move to a metal bed machine will allow them to expand their creativity.

The "Knitting Machine Tools, Toys and Tips"

Do your homework
There are very few machine knitting stores. Most new machine knitters inherit their machines or purchase them used. The majority of used machines are Japanese machines. Brands like Brother/Knit King, Singer/Silver Reed/Studio/ Toyota are common.
Here are some things to consider:
Knitting machines come in 2 "flavors"

• Plastic Bed machines
  - good starting point, lower price, fewer accessories.
  - generally use heavier yarns (worsted, hand spun)
• Metal Bed machines - used machines are reasonably priced, they offer more features including automatic patterning (punchcard or electronic), more accessories. -There are more choices on gauge (bulky, standard, mid-gauge and fine gauge),allowing you to use a wider range of yarns.

Used machine? Learn how to replace a knitting machine sponge bar

Learning a new craft takes time

Lots of buttons and levers

Many beginning machine knitters get overwhelmed with all the buttons and levers on their machines. It isn't difficult to learn, but it does take time and practice. There are 3 mistakes many "newbies" make

• They don't practice. If you learn technique in January, but don't do it again until July, you won't remember how to set your machine. Yes, you have a manual and there are tutorials on line, but you have to keep using your machine to increase your knowledge and grow your confidence
• They buy too many toys. Choose one gauge of machine and master it. Forget all the Bells and Whistles and work with what you have. Even if a good deal comes along, you won't be able to use a new machine with confidence until you have mastered the basics on ONE machine
• Select ONE method of creating or modifying patterns.
  • If you are comfortable with using computers, select a software package for machine knitters, learn it and stick with it!
  • If you know how to chart by hand ... do it! Why spend time learning software if you are capable of creating your own patterns?
  • Learn to use a charting device that was designed for your machine.

   Source: http://www.learnmachineknitting.com