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The thinnest tablet in the world

Posted by Abhishek Wednesday, 30 March 2011 0 comments

In the world of tablets, the thinner the better. That's why Apple went all out to design the iPad 2 with an impressive 8.8 mm thickness throughout. 8.8mm is thinner than what most smartphones can manage, and is almost scary to hold, thanks to the all-pervasive feeling that it'll slip through your fingers or that you'll snap it in two.
8.8 mm is not easy to achieve either. The iPad 1 is 13.4 mm thick -- to reduce that to 8.8mm while bumping up the specs and keeping the battery life intact took a radical re-tooling of the innards. For starters, Apple drastically thinned down the mammoth battery (a 59% reduction in thickness of the battery) and other components like the display. You can take a look at the iFixit (www.ifixit.com) teardown of the iPad 2 to get a sense of what this means.
Now that Apple had their say with the iPad 2, its Samsung's turn. They pulled a shocker just a couple of days back at the CTIA Wireless 2011 show in Florida - two brand-new tablets with Android 3.0; a 10.1 inch and an 8.9 inch Galaxy Tab – both thinner than the already hot-selling iPad 2. Impressively, the Tab 10.1 is also lighter than the iPad 2, though not by much (595 grams versus the iPad 2's 601 grams).
The 8.9 inch Galaxy Tab was expected around this time, but the surprising bit is that Samsung had previously showcased the 10.1 inch Tab at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The 10.1 inch Tab showed at CTIA is a very different beast from the one shown at MWC. For starters, the MWC version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was 10.9 mm thick, weighed 599 grams and had an 8 MP camera around back. The CTIA version is 8.6 mm thick, 595 grams and has a 2 MP camera at the back. It's also a completely different design. 
It almost seems like Samsung had initially chosen to launch the fatter 10.1 Tab - but they had a thinner backup tablet waiting in the wings the whole time. Because there's no way that they could conceptualize, build and finalize a whole new design within the space of about a month. If they actually did – hats off Samsung! They've also managed to better the screen resolution of the iPad 2 (1280 x 800 versus the iPad's 1024 x 768) and match the iPad 2 pricing.
When they start selling in the US in a few months time, the 16GB 10.1 inch Wi-Fi model will cost $499 and the 16GB 8.9 inch Wi-Fi model will cost $469. At this point, it's not clear what happened to the Galaxy Tab 10.1's poor, fatter cousin. But it does look like gadget enthusiasts in India will have a lot more than just the iPad to choose from.
Hitesh Raj Bhagat

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The thinnest tablet in the world

Posted by Abhishek 0 comments

In the world of tablets, the thinner the better. That's why Apple went all out to design the iPad 2 with an impressive 8.8 mm thickness throughout. 8.8mm is thinner than what most smartphones can manage, and is almost scary to hold, thanks to the all-pervasive feeling that it'll slip through your fingers or that you'll snap it in two.
8.8 mm is not easy to achieve either. The iPad 1 is 13.4 mm thick -- to reduce that to 8.8mm while bumping up the specs and keeping the battery life intact took a radical re-tooling of the innards. For starters, Apple drastically thinned down the mammoth battery (a 59% reduction in thickness of the battery) and other components like the display. You can take a look at the iFixit (www.ifixit.com) teardown of the iPad 2 to get a sense of what this means.
Now that Apple had their say with the iPad 2, its Samsung's turn. They pulled a shocker just a couple of days back at the CTIA Wireless 2011 show in Florida - two brand-new tablets with Android 3.0; a 10.1 inch and an 8.9 inch Galaxy Tab – both thinner than the already hot-selling iPad 2. Impressively, the Tab 10.1 is also lighter than the iPad 2, though not by much (595 grams versus the iPad 2's 601 grams).
The 8.9 inch Galaxy Tab was expected around this time, but the surprising bit is that Samsung had previously showcased the 10.1 inch Tab at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The 10.1 inch Tab showed at CTIA is a very different beast from the one shown at MWC. For starters, the MWC version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was 10.9 mm thick, weighed 599 grams and had an 8 MP camera around back. The CTIA version is 8.6 mm thick, 595 grams and has a 2 MP camera at the back. It's also a completely different design. 
It almost seems like Samsung had initially chosen to launch the fatter 10.1 Tab - but they had a thinner backup tablet waiting in the wings the whole time. Because there's no way that they could conceptualize, build and finalize a whole new design within the space of about a month. If they actually did – hats off Samsung! They've also managed to better the screen resolution of the iPad 2 (1280 x 800 versus the iPad's 1024 x 768) and match the iPad 2 pricing.
When they start selling in the US in a few months time, the 16GB 10.1 inch Wi-Fi model will cost $499 and the 16GB 8.9 inch Wi-Fi model will cost $469. At this point, it's not clear what happened to the Galaxy Tab 10.1's poor, fatter cousin. But it does look like gadget enthusiasts in India will have a lot more than just the iPad to choose from.
Hitesh Raj Bhagat

Full Story

Top 10 solar power advances to watch

Posted by Abhishek 0 comments


The mere thought of converting sunlight into electricity in a cheap, efficient way has had researchers salivating for years
.
Recently, though, there have been several solar power advances worth noting — from the evolutionary to the revolutionary.
One such effort, for example: The Desertec Industrial Initiative, an ambitious plan to build concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in the Sahara desert to satisfy Europe’s demand for power.
For a region that’s been hit hard by a drawn-out recession, it may fuel a revival. The $400 billion project is being funded by 10 major companies, including Siemens and Deutsche Bank.
Within 40 years, Europe hopes to produce 15 percent of its electricity this way.
Clearly, making solar power a viable renewable energy source is a top priority for many companies and nations.
So here’s a round up of the Top 10 most recent developments in solar power:
  1. Pokeberries: The red dye from pokeberries can be used to coat fiber-based solar cells. It’s a good absorber and helps the solar cell capture more sunlight to turn into solar power. Pokeberries can be grown in any climate, so people living in developing countries can easily cultivate the plant and make affordable solar power possible.
  2. Thin-film technology: This tech uses micro-reactors to reduce waste and lower costs.
  3. Cow brain protein: Why not? An abundance of an important protein provides the framework for better batteries and solar cells.
  4. Highly-efficient solar concentrator design: A new design collects more rays with thousands of small lenses on a single sheet.
  5. Silicon ink-based solar cells: Startup Innovalight set a record for efficiency at 19 percent conversion efficiency. The company has more than 60 silicon ink-related patents.
  6. Solar fuels: These use concentrated solar radiation to drive high-temperature endothermic reactions to improve efficiencies.
  7. Giant gravel batteries: Such batteries could be used to store energy when the sun goes down.
  8. Concentrated solar power plants: As mentioned above, highly photovoltaic solar cells can generate electricity. It can also supply the need for renewable sources of desalinated water.
  9. The largest solar-power tower in the world. This structure runs on the sun and air and does not need water to generate electricity. Thanks,Brayton cycle!
  10. Eco-etiquette. Solar power isn’t that perfect. Several startups are working to eliminate inefficiencies in it.

Full Story

Top 10 solar power advances to watch

Posted by Abhishek 0 comments


The mere thought of converting sunlight into electricity in a cheap, efficient way has had researchers salivating for years
.
Recently, though, there have been several solar power advances worth noting — from the evolutionary to the revolutionary.
One such effort, for example: The Desertec Industrial Initiative, an ambitious plan to build concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in the Sahara desert to satisfy Europe’s demand for power.
For a region that’s been hit hard by a drawn-out recession, it may fuel a revival. The $400 billion project is being funded by 10 major companies, including Siemens and Deutsche Bank.
Within 40 years, Europe hopes to produce 15 percent of its electricity this way.
Clearly, making solar power a viable renewable energy source is a top priority for many companies and nations.
So here’s a round up of the Top 10 most recent developments in solar power:
  1. Pokeberries: The red dye from pokeberries can be used to coat fiber-based solar cells. It’s a good absorber and helps the solar cell capture more sunlight to turn into solar power. Pokeberries can be grown in any climate, so people living in developing countries can easily cultivate the plant and make affordable solar power possible.
  2. Thin-film technology: This tech uses micro-reactors to reduce waste and lower costs.
  3. Cow brain protein: Why not? An abundance of an important protein provides the framework for better batteries and solar cells.
  4. Highly-efficient solar concentrator design: A new design collects more rays with thousands of small lenses on a single sheet.
  5. Silicon ink-based solar cells: Startup Innovalight set a record for efficiency at 19 percent conversion efficiency. The company has more than 60 silicon ink-related patents.
  6. Solar fuels: These use concentrated solar radiation to drive high-temperature endothermic reactions to improve efficiencies.
  7. Giant gravel batteries: Such batteries could be used to store energy when the sun goes down.
  8. Concentrated solar power plants: As mentioned above, highly photovoltaic solar cells can generate electricity. It can also supply the need for renewable sources of desalinated water.
  9. The largest solar-power tower in the world. This structure runs on the sun and air and does not need water to generate electricity. Thanks,Brayton cycle!
  10. Eco-etiquette. Solar power isn’t that perfect. Several startups are working to eliminate inefficiencies in it.

Full Story

Is a floating solar energy plant a smart idea?

Posted by Abhishek 0 comments


A floating solar plant sounds too good to be true. Granted, these kind of wacky ideas pop up from time-to-time. This one caught my eye. Given all the environmental concerns of building solar plants on land, this particular design of a floating solar plant has some potential to bring power to people living in India.
The Australian solar power company Sunengy Pty Limited is working with the power utility, Tata Power, on a floating solar plant. But the plant isn’t exactly going to be randomly floating around in the ocean. It works best behind hydro-electric dams because it can increase the capacity of the plant without taking up extra land.
The technology behind the plant is called Liquid Solar Array, which uses photovoltaic technology and plastic lenses to concentrate the light onto the solar cells. The lenses are computer-controlled, so they can track the sunlight for full efficiency. The whole system is basically a big raft that floats on the water.
Nearly 40 percent of the Indian population doesn’t have access to electricity. The inventor of the system, Phil Connor, said in a statement:
“If India uses just one percent of its 30,000 square kilometres of captured water with our system, we can generate power equivalent to 15 large coal-fired power stations.”
Just as long as it’s made to resist major storms, the million dollar idea should work. The floating system turns a dam into a large battery and it is apparently cyclone proof, according to the inventor.
However,  projects like this one will likely serve a niche market. Wind farms are noisy, so the off-shore location is preferred. Solar farms don’t make noise like wind farms do, so does designing a solar plant to withstand the rough conditions of the water really make sense?
Because of continuous cooling of the cells and the landless requirement, the company claims its off-shore solar plant does make financial sense.
We won’t have to wait long to find out. Construction will begin in August.
Even if the floating solar energy plant fails to be an efficient way of generating electricity, one of the many micro-grid ideas will likely play an important role in developing countries.
Recently, when I visited Stanford University, I spoke to Michael McGeheeabout the implementation of solar technology in developing countries. He made the case for micro-grids taking off, especially in areas where the infrastructure for the power grid is non-existent. I’ll post the video this week, so stay tuned.

Full Story

Is a floating solar energy plant a smart idea?

Posted by Abhishek 0 comments


A floating solar plant sounds too good to be true. Granted, these kind of wacky ideas pop up from time-to-time. This one caught my eye. Given all the environmental concerns of building solar plants on land, this particular design of a floating solar plant has some potential to bring power to people living in India.
The Australian solar power company Sunengy Pty Limited is working with the power utility, Tata Power, on a floating solar plant. But the plant isn’t exactly going to be randomly floating around in the ocean. It works best behind hydro-electric dams because it can increase the capacity of the plant without taking up extra land.
The technology behind the plant is called Liquid Solar Array, which uses photovoltaic technology and plastic lenses to concentrate the light onto the solar cells. The lenses are computer-controlled, so they can track the sunlight for full efficiency. The whole system is basically a big raft that floats on the water.
Nearly 40 percent of the Indian population doesn’t have access to electricity. The inventor of the system, Phil Connor, said in a statement:
“If India uses just one percent of its 30,000 square kilometres of captured water with our system, we can generate power equivalent to 15 large coal-fired power stations.”
Just as long as it’s made to resist major storms, the million dollar idea should work. The floating system turns a dam into a large battery and it is apparently cyclone proof, according to the inventor.
However,  projects like this one will likely serve a niche market. Wind farms are noisy, so the off-shore location is preferred. Solar farms don’t make noise like wind farms do, so does designing a solar plant to withstand the rough conditions of the water really make sense?
Because of continuous cooling of the cells and the landless requirement, the company claims its off-shore solar plant does make financial sense.
We won’t have to wait long to find out. Construction will begin in August.
Even if the floating solar energy plant fails to be an efficient way of generating electricity, one of the many micro-grid ideas will likely play an important role in developing countries.
Recently, when I visited Stanford University, I spoke to Michael McGeheeabout the implementation of solar technology in developing countries. He made the case for micro-grids taking off, especially in areas where the infrastructure for the power grid is non-existent. I’ll post the video this week, so stay tuned.

Full Story

Honda to launch a 1.6L or 1.8L diesel for Civic, Accord and CR-V

Posted by Abhishek 0 comments


Better late than never. Finally Honda has decided to manufacture a new diesel engine which will power their luxury cars Civic, Accord and CR-V. Having manufactured just one diesel engine till date, the 2.4L which powered Accord, Honda did not miss diesel technology as they were probably happy with their popularity in manufacturing petrol engines.
But times have changed. Customers today no longer believe that diesel powered cars are too different from their petrol counterparts. Instead diesel cars are more in demand than petrol cars today. This has forced the Japanese car maker to launch a new diesel engine for their luxury sedans and SUV.
Mr David Hodgetts, MD, Honda UK, explained in an interview with Fleet News, that Honda will be launching their new diesel engine once their new Civic completes one year on road. So we can expect the new Honda diesel engine to be launched somewhere in 2013.
No confirmation is available on whether Honda will be bringing this diesel engine to India. But, if we look at the exponential growth of the Indian auto industry, Honda will desperately want to launch diesel powered cars in India.
Related News


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Honda to launch a 1.6L or 1.8L diesel for Civic, Accord and CR-V

Posted by Abhishek 0 comments


Better late than never. Finally Honda has decided to manufacture a new diesel engine which will power their luxury cars Civic, Accord and CR-V. Having manufactured just one diesel engine till date, the 2.4L which powered Accord, Honda did not miss diesel technology as they were probably happy with their popularity in manufacturing petrol engines.
But times have changed. Customers today no longer believe that diesel powered cars are too different from their petrol counterparts. Instead diesel cars are more in demand than petrol cars today. This has forced the Japanese car maker to launch a new diesel engine for their luxury sedans and SUV.
Mr David Hodgetts, MD, Honda UK, explained in an interview with Fleet News, that Honda will be launching their new diesel engine once their new Civic completes one year on road. So we can expect the new Honda diesel engine to be launched somewhere in 2013.
No confirmation is available on whether Honda will be bringing this diesel engine to India. But, if we look at the exponential growth of the Indian auto industry, Honda will desperately want to launch diesel powered cars in India.
Related News


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A new initiative for the tiger

Posted by Abhishek 0 comments


India, with more than half of the world’s wild tigers, has a key role to play to save this iconic species from extinction. At India’s invitation, representatives of the 13 tiger range countries and their partners in the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) met in New Delhi this week to help jump-start the implementation of a Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) which was approved at the historic Tiger Summit held in St Petersburg in November, and which drew heavily from India’s experience. With its growing network of tiger reserves, science-based methodology for monitoring tiger numbers, a dedicated forest cadre and a committed and vibrant civil society, India’s experience and expertise is invaluable in facilitating the range-wide implementation of this global programme.
Knowledge sharing among the tiger range countries is the cornerstone of GTI. Led by the tiger range countries, GTI has forged a unity of purpose among governments and non-government conservation organizations alike, and has generated a diversity of views about how to achieve the goal of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022. Implementation of our global resolution must now begin in earnest on the ground. For this is where the battle to save wild tigers and their important ecosystems will be fought.
GTRP is built on the foundation of the countries’ respective priorities and the international community must respond urgently. This is a shared responsibility of the founders of GTI, including the World Bank, and of the many other partners who have pledged their technical and financial support. I will cite a few key examples.
First and foremost, the men and women who work on the frontlines of tiger conservation, like the forest service officers who protect India’s 39 tiger reserves, must begin to feel the beneficial impact of our efforts. GTRP commits the international community to build capacity and infrastructure for training, technology and modern equipment to defend tigers and their habitats from poachers and encroachers. In partnership with the Smithsonian Institution and other agencies—including the Wildlife Institute of India, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Wildlife Fund—the World Bank is now offering a capacity-building programme for area leaders and managers of tiger range countries.
In addition, the World Bank stands ready to provide much required financial resources to other conservation-oriented institutions, such as the Global Tiger Forum and the recently created South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network as well as the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime, and to finance regional efforts to build institutions and capacity to combat transboundary illegal trade in wildlife products. Over the next several years, a proposed regional project will put real financial resources on the ground in tiger range countries, to enhance shared capacity, institutions, knowledge and incentives, which are required to tackle illegal wildlife trade and conservation threats. This project will complement other credible efforts by non-governmental organizations, including TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring network) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which are developing a large-scale awareness programme to eliminate the senseless demand for tiger parts that drives poaching and trafficking.
With the support of the international community, national governments are leading the way to conduct economic evaluations of biodiversity-rich ecosystems, including tiger conservation landscapes. While we all intuitively know that we must preserve our rich biodiversity, expressing the true value of ecosystems, including the iconic tiger, in dollar and rupees terms, gives an additional sense of urgency to the need for concerted action. India, with its great natural wealth and growing economic prosperity, could set the example in this area as it has in so many others.
However, efforts of the conservation community alone may not be sufficient to meet these shared objectives; it is crucial to engage a multitude of stakeholders in this dialogue. To this effect, the International Tiger Conference in Delhi opened a conversation with the infrastructure and industry sectors which leave a critical footprint on biodiversity. In the face of unprecedented species loss over the past decade, more efforts are required to ensure that economic development takes into account the conservation of biodiversity, as well as the numerous environmental services and products which natural habitats provide to human society. We at the World Bank are exploring those very issues in the development of our environmental strategy.
The country-led GTI process has proven highly successful in developing political will and creating a comprehensive, cooperative global tiger recovery programme. With this foundation, the next step is to identify and finance the building blocks that will ensure successful implementation of national priorities. For the sake of wild tigers, other species and their habitats, and for our own sakes, we must succeed. As Indira Gandhi once said, “A world that is not safe for tigers is not safe for people either.”
Isabel Guerrero is vice-president, South Asia, at the World Bank

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