Tesla Model 3 pre-orders hits 325,000

April 8, 2016

Pre-orders for Tesla’s Model 3 Electric sedan has risen above 325,000 a week after it was announced by the American automotive and energy firm.

In a blog post, Tesla announced that more than 325,000 people have put down the $1,000 reservation to get in line to buy the Model 3 Electric Sedan at some point in the future.

This means over 325,000 people have laid down their money in expectation to buy the car, which is yet to be fully revealed.

If everything goes according to plan, Tesla won’t start making the car until the latter part of year 2017. It’s however expected that more details of the Model 3 Electric Sedan would be revealed before then.

According to the blog post, the preoders corresponds to about $14 billion in implied future sales, making this the single biggest one-week launch of any product ever.

“This interest has spread completely organically. Unlike other major product launches, we haven’t advertised or paid for any endorsements. Instead, this has been a true grassroots effort driven by the passion of the Tesla team that’s worked so hard to get to this point and our current and future customers who believe so strongly in what we are trying to achieve. Most importantly, we are all taking a huge step towards a better future by accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation,” the post added.

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk however said the car wasn’t talked about as much as one would believe.

“Over 325k cars or ~$14B in preorders in first week. Only 5% ordered max of two, suggesting low levels of speculation,” he said on social media.

Nevertheless, the number is massive. The news leaves the company simultaneously celebrating and facing the daunting task of building not only far more cars than it’s ever built, but also the expanded network of superchargers that will be needed to support this new fleet of electric cars.

Tesla’s Model 3 has been a long time coming. As the company’s fourth production car, it is aimed squarely at the mass market in an overt attempt to drive mainstream adoption of electric vehicles.

Radioactive Supernovae Debris found on Earth

Emmanuel

April 8, 2016

A team of scientists has found evidence that the earth was hit by debris from a series of massive supernovae near it millions of years ago.

Supernovae are explosions that occur when a star runs out of energy and explodes. It leads to the creation of many heavy elements, one of which is radioactive iron-60.

This particular radioactive debris, iron-60, which is aged between 3.2 and 1.7 million years old have been found in sediments and crust samples from the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans on the earth.

“The iron-60 was concentrated in a period between 3.2 and 1.7 million years ago, which is relatively recent in astronomical terms,” the team’s lead researcher, Anton Wallner, said.

Wallner is a nuclear physicist at the Australian National University (ANU) in Australia.

Evidence of iron-60 from an older supernova around eight million years ago was also found. This coincided with global faunal changes in the late Miocene period, which was 11.6 million to 5.3 million years ago.

“We were very surprised that there was debris clearly spread across 1.5 million years,” Wallner commented, adding that it “suggests there were a series of supernovae, one after another.”

The team believe that the supernovae were less than 300 light years away and were close enough to be visible during the day and comparable to the brightness of the Moon.

Although Earth would have been exposed to an increased cosmic ray bombardment, the radiation would have been too weak to cause direct biological damage or trigger mass extinctions.

The team was awed by first hints of iron-60 in samples from the Pacific Ocean floor, found a decade ago.

They then decided to search for interstellar dust from 120 ocean-floor samples spanning the past 11 million years.

After the extraction of all the iron from the ocean cores, they separated the tiny traces of interstellar iron-60 from the other terrestrial isotopes and found it occurred all over the globe.

They then inferred that the Earth was hit by a series of radioactive debris millions of years ago. Who knows, maybe the earth was formed from one of those supernovae.

HP unveils EliteBook Folio, Elite X2 hybrid laptop

Emmanuel

April 7, 2016

American firm, Hewlett Packard, has unveiled two new business laptops following the announcement of its new line of business printers.

The two laptops launched are the new EliteBook Folio which starts at Rs. 1,30,000 (about 390,000 Naira) and the Elite x2 1012 2-in-1 laptop which debuts for Rs. 84,599 (approximately 253,000 Naira). Both notebooks are already available for order in India.

The new EliteBook Folio is HP’s thinnest and lightest business-class laptop at the moment, being 12.4mm thick.

It has an aluminium body and a backlit keyboard which is quite comfortable to type on and can easily be used in the dark.

It weighs less than 1kg and has military grade protection which enables it to remain undamaged if it drops accidentally.

The HP EliteBook Folio has a 12.5-inch full-HD display with an option for a UHD (4K) variant. The screen can also be tilted all the way back up to 180 degrees.

The laptop is powered by Intel’s 6th generation Core M vPro processors and boasts of a battery which HP says can power the laptop for up to 10 hours on a single charge. It runs on Windows 10 Pro Operating system.

Connectivity includes two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt and is compatible with HP’s Travel Dock for additional ports.

HP EliteBook Folio also bears Bang & Olufsen speakers, HP’s Noise Reduction software, and HP Clear Amp for better audio.

The HP Elite x2 1012 on the other hand is built using milled CNC aluminium. It sports a 12-inch anti-glare display which is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4. It also comes with a built-in kickstand, making it a hybrid device.

The 2-in-1 laptop comes with the HP Active Pen which features over 2048 point of pressure sensitivity.

One can also pair the hybrid with HP’s optional Advanced Keyboard which integrates a smart card reader inside or the Travel Keyboard.

Under the hood the new HP Elite x2 runs on Intel’s 6th generation Core M vPro platform and is the first device to ship with Thunderbolt 3.

HP will also offer Elite USB-C Docking Station for powering dual-2K displays; the Elite Thunderbolt 65W Dock for dual-4K displays and Advanced Wireless Docking Station which works on WiGig wireless technology.

Huawei TalkBand B3 in more styles, better audio

Jia Khan

April 7, 2016

Huawei has announced the new model of its wearable, the TalkBand B3. The latest edition of TalkBand was announced during the press event held yesterday by the Chinese multinational to launch Huawei P9 and Huawei P9 Plus.

TalkBand B3 by Huawei sports a regular Bluetooth earpiece that rests atop the wristband. The company has made quite a few tweaks to the Bluetooth earpiece.

The incorporation of a more advanced chipset to the device allows it to deliver 25% higher volume in comparison with the TalkBand B2.

The tweaks have also enhanced anti-wind noise erasure by 80%. This will ensure an enhanced audio experience for the users.

In terms of design, Talkband 3 does not look too different from its predecessor, B2. The device flaunts identical conventional wristband and removable Bluetooth headset. However, TalkBand 3 offers three different styles to choose from.

The device features curved Gorilla Glass shielded PMOLED display with 80 × 128 pixels resolution. Huawei TalkBand B3 is powered by a 91 mAh battery that takes around one and half hour to charge completely.

A fully charged battery is sufficient to keep the device keep working for consecutive 3 to 4 days. The wearable can last up to six days on standby. In addition, the wearable is also dust and water protected.

The Fitness Tracker will feature 3 new styles including ‘Elite’ with Titanium Grey color, ‘Active’ with Black and White colors and ‘Classic’ having Brown and Beige colors.

The least priced version of Huawei TalkBand B3 is the Active variant flaunting a rubber band and hanging a price tag of $192.

The Classic variant, on the other hand, will cost its users $227, whereas the most expensive one, dubbed Elite, comes with a hefty price tag of $284.

The company has not yet announced that when and for which specific markets TalkBand 3 will be officially available.

HP Spectre 13 ultrabook launched

Emmanuel

April 5, 2016

American multinational tech firm, Hewlett Packard, has unveiled a new ultrabook, the HP Spectre 13, which will give Apple’s Macbook lineup a run for its money.

The new Spectre 13 ultrabook is thinner than the Macbook and also sports more powerful features.

The laptop packs top-of-the-line hardware in a body that is only 10.4 mm thick, making it the thinnest laptop in the world.

In addition to this, the HP Spectre 13 has three USB Type-C ports on the back of its copper-coated edge.

Although the ultrabook is the thinnest laptop in the world, it is not the lightest as it weighs 1.11kg. Hp’s EliteBook (0.99kg) and MacBook (0.92kg) weigh less.

The laptop comes in a 13.3-inch display, which is protected by a 0.4mm Corning Gorilla Glass layer. HP is giving users an option to choose the processor, storage, and RAM, but the display remains fixed at full-HD (1920 x 1080 pixels).

Interested buyers can choose between Intel’s sixth generation Core i5 or Core i7 processors. Users can also get up to 512GB of SSD storage, and up to 8GB of RAM.

According to HP the battery inside the Spectre 13 can keep the laptop running for 9.5 hours on a single charge. The device also runs on Windows 10.

The HP Spectre 13 has a starting price of $1,169 (roughly 240,000 naira), with pre-orders to be opened on April 25 in select regions. The device will reach retailers in May 2016. It is available only in brownish-ash color.

The company also unveiled two luxury models of the HP Spectre 13. The first is designed by Tord Boontje and comes in an 18-karat gold design.

The other is a gold-plated and diamond model designed by Jess Hannah. The price of either of the variants hasn’t been revealed yet.

HP also unveiled a new logo for its brand. The company is moving away from its standard logo to four minimal slashes orchestrated to stand in a way such that it reads “HP”.

The new HP Spectre 13 has this logo emblazoned on its back.

Tesla Model 3 Electric Sedan Unveiled

Emmanuel

April 1, 2016

Auto manufacturing company, Tesla have unveiled its much-anticipated Model 3 electric car which is the company’s lowest-cost vehicle to date and will be produced en mass.

The vehicle isn’t scheduled to go on sale until late 2017, but had racked up over 180,000 reservations in the first 24 hours that order banks were opened.

Long queues, reminiscent of the crowds at Apple stores for early models of the iPhone, were seen at Tesla stores in Hong Kong, Austin, Texas, Washington D.C. and so on with buyers putting down the $1,000 deposit to reserve the car.

The base version of the Tesla Model 3 has a starting price of $35,000 (that’s about 7 million Naira), making it less than half the cost of Tesla’s previous models.

However the first units of the Tesla Model 3 to be delivered are expected to sell for far higher prices, due to customers adding more features like a bigger battery pack with greater range.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the base model will go at least 215 miles when fully charged, about double what drivers get from current competitors in its price range, such as the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3.

The vehicle can accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 6 seconds, with the more expensive options going much faster.

Tesla Model 3 will also come with the “autopilot” safety features found in existing models, which allow the cars to steer themselves and avoid collisions.

All versions of the Model 3 will support Tesla’s supercharging network, which charges electric cars fully in minutes, for free.

Tesla aims to double the number of places offering supercharging to about 7,200 worldwide by the end of 2017.

The Tesla Model 3 provides storage room at the front and the rear and can fit five adults comfortably. According to Elon, one “can fit a 7-foot long surfboard on the inside” of the vehicle.

He also expressed confidence that the first Model 3 vehicles will be delivered, as planned, by late 2017.

Smartron t.book Windows 10 hybrid laptop outs for Rs. 39,999

Emmanuel

March 31, 2016

Indian based tech firm, Smartron, has announced the launch of an ultrabook called t.book for Rs 39,999 (that’s about 121,000 Naira) in India, with registrations for pre-orders already on.

The 2-in-1 Windows 10 device was unveiled at a media event in New Delhi, packing high-end innards and impressive features.

The Smartron t.book comes with a flip-stand and keyboard, which quickly turns it into a full-fledged laptop.

According to Smartron, the t.book has an aluminium and magnesium body. The firm also boasts that the ultrabook’s 37Whr battery can last for 10 hours on a single charge.

Smarton’s t.book comes in a 12.2-inch WQXGA (2560×1600 pixels) IPS display, which maintains an aspect ratio of 16:10. In addition to this is a coated fingerprint-resistant oleophobic layer. Impressive.

Under the hood, the device is powered by Intel Core M processor with 4MB of cache, and turbo frequency of 2GHz.

This is further coupled with 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM as found on contemporary tech devices. The device also bears 128GB SSD of memory for storing files and applications.

In terms of picture taking ability, a 5 megapixel rear autofocus camera is on board with a 2 megapixel front-facing shooter.

The Smartron t.book also packs other features, including two full-size USB 3.0 ports, one USB Type-C port for charging with USB 3.0, one Micro-HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and magnetic pogo pin for external keyboard support.

Connectivity options on the device include 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi dual channel (2.4GHz and 5GHz), and MIMO. On the software end, the Smartron t.book runs Windows 10, and comes with a 30-days trial of Office 2016.

The Smartron t.book comes in grey+ orange, and full grey colour options and will be exclusively sold via Gadgets360 starting from April 8 2016.

Speaking on the occasion, legendary cricket player, Sachin Tendulkar said:

“We are moving towards internet driven experiences and Smartron’s vision in unlocking the potential of IoT will bring compelling experiences to people, making their life more productive, safe, intelligent and convenient.”

Acer Chromebook 14 With 14-hour battery life outs for $299

Emmanuel

March 30, 2016

Acer has announced its Chromebook 14, which sports premium features and will be sold for at most $299 (that’s about 60,000 Naira).

Acer traditionally positions its Chromebooks as solutions for students as well as customers on a budget, who need basic computing and do not want to invest a lot.

The company is also flexible with the Chromebook 14’s features, giving users several choices in several areas of their interest.

The highlight of Acer’s Chromebook is its battery which the company claims can power the device for 14 hours before it needs to be charged.

The Acer Chromebook 14 offers a 14 – inch display as opposed to the 11-inch screen most Chromebooks comes with.

The device will be available in two screen options- there’s a full-HD (1920×1080 pixels) display and HD (1366×768 pixels) display, both surrounded by an all-metal chassis.

Acer says the model with a 1080p display can last for up to 12 hours whereas the other model will give up to 14 hours of action on a single charge.

Users can also pick between quad-core Intel Celeron processor and a dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Celeron N3060 processor for the Chromebook 14.

Other features include a choice between 2GB and 4GB of LPDDR3 SDRAM, 16GB or 32GB of eMMC storage, and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, two USB 3.1 Type-A ports, one HDMI out, and an HD (1280×720 pixels) webcam. The Acer Chromebook 14 runs Chrome OS out of the box.

Speaking about the launch, Jerry Kao, president of Acer Notebook Business Group, commended the device’s battery power.

“With its industry-leading battery life of up to 14 hours, the Acer Chromebook 14 is an important new product in Acer’s award-winning Chromebook line,”

he said.

“Customers have a wide range of needs for battery life, size, performance and features, and our line of Acer Chromebooks is expanding to make sure customers get exactly what they want. The Chromebook 14 is an excellent choice for customers who want a stylish, large-screen Chromebook with long battery life at an attractive price,”

he added.

Acer is yet to say when the Chromebook 14 will start shipping. However it clarified that the “premier” model featuring 32GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, full-HD display, and dual-core processor will cost $300.

Xiaomi Mi Router 3, Mi Water Purifier 2 and Bluetooth Speaker announced

Jia Khan

March 29, 2016

The Chinese electronics company Xiaomi recently announced a sub-brand, christened Mi Ecosystem. The brand will also be called MIJIA, which literally translates to Xiaomi Smart Home.

Xiaomi has stirred up the tech enthusiasts with the launch of quite a few intriguing and clever devices under its sub-brand.

Besides launching a rice pressure cooker, the company has also announced a Mi Router 3, second generation Mi Water Purifier and a Bluetooth speaker.

Mi Router 3 by Xiaomi flaunts four antenna layout which enables the router to offer an enhanced signal strength. In addition, Mi Router 3 also sports WIFI 802.11ac connectivity which is said to be three times faster.

The device features a 128MB in-built Super Flash. Mi Router 3 employs four extrinsic omnidirectional, high-gain antennae that ensure improved functionality. The product is priced at 149 yuan.

Xiaomi’s Water Purifier comes with RO reverse osmosis mechanism. The mechanism eliminates antibiotics and heavy metals by employing four-layer filtration system.

In addition, the purifying device will also help the consumers in getting rid of tap water rust, bacteria and bad odor. The progressive filtration system is able to intercept over 0.0001 microns substance.

According to Xiaomi, Mi Water Purifier can purify up to 76 barrels of bottled water daily. The device measures 260×205×410mm and weighs 11.8kg.

The water purifier also embraces an inbuilt WiFi. The Wifi updates will keep the users informed about the quality of the tap water through iOS or Android app. The Mi Water Purifier comes with a price tag of 1999 yuan.

As far as the Xiaomi Bluetooth Speaker is concerned, it features a 1200 mAh battery that supports seven hours of continuous playback time.

The latest speakers also feature a tiny LED indicator mounted at the front. The device supports Bluetooth 4.1. It can be used with mobile devices.

The Bluetooth speaker measures 60.0mm × 60.0mm × 93.3mm and offers maximum output power of 5W. Xiaomi Bluetooth speaker is priced at 129 yuan.

With the launch of these latest devices, Xiaomi seems ready to conquer the world of technology with its innovative offerings.

Supernova Shockwave spotted in Visible Light for the first time

Emmanuel

March 23, 2016

Supernova shockwave, the final violent death throes of a star, has finally been seen with visible light for the first time in history.

Scientists had formerly thought that shock breakouts – a shockwave and flash of light that rocks a star just before it explodes into a “supernova” – cause the stars to finally explode.

However, actually watching the process occur has left them guessing about how exactly it happens.

A team of astronomers sifted through three years of data collected by NASA’s Kepler space telescope in order to view the event. The telescope monitored the supernova of two giant stars during the period.

The smaller red super giant star, more than 270 times the radius of the Sun and 750 million light-years away, was seen collapse on itself and blast a brilliant flash, called the “shock breakout”.

However, the other bigger star does not seem to have the shockwave when it exploded.

“We’ve always thought that this is the physical mechanism that allows the star to blow up. So gravity collapses the core down, and once the pressure is too much, you create a neutron star or sometimes a black hole, the rest of the energy rebounds and causes the star to blow up,” Brad Tucker, an astronomer from the Australian National University said.

“It’s been this fundamental thing that we’ve always thought occurs but we’ve never seen it take place,” he said, adding that it had been seen by chance with x-ray telescopes before, but not in great detail.

According to him, the fact one of the supernova they saw with Kepler had the shock breakout and one didn’t, means there’s something to learn.

He posited that the shockwave that wasn’t seen wasn’t strong enough to escape the star’s gravity, since it was a bigger star. The star is about 500 times the size of Earth’s sun.

Tucker said it was possible that something like dust was blocking the view of the shockwave. It could also be that it was because it was further away (2,000 times further than the smaller one). As a result, it was just fainter and was simply missed.

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