Saturday 25 October 2014

A Transforming Robot



Many of you might have watched the movie "Transformers", the franchise is now in its fourth installment, Transformers Four: Age of Extinction, starring Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci. Until now, the transformer has only been a fictitious story, A team of hobbyists from Japan built a transformer (robot) it can walk and when in sports car state, drive around autonomously. They named it the "J-deite Quarter" It is actually four feet tall.

The team which comprises of Kenji Ishida and Wataru Yoshizaki of Brave Robotics and Asratec started working on the project since 2012 and they hope to build a bigger transformer that is eight feet tall.

Here is a specifications for more detailed information about "J-deite Quarter ":

Height in robot mode/length in vehicle mode: 1.3 m,
weight: 35 kg, maximum battery power: 3 kw,
operating time: 1 hour, number of seats: 2,
controlled by V-Sido OS.
Power source: servo motor manufactured byFutaba Corp.[Robot Mode SPEC]
Maximum walking speed: 1 km/h, gripping weight: 0.1 kg.[Vehicle Mode SPEC]
Maximum traveling speed: 10km/h, minimum road clearance: 40 mm.

I personally think that this Transformer will be more entertaining than be able to solve a problem like robots do. I also commend this great job. Keep up the good work!

Saturday 18 October 2014

IPhone 6 Review


The new iPhone 6 is much bigger than all other iPhones made in time past, much more comfortable to hold with improved camera. It was launched during a special event organized by Apple on the 9th of September 2014. 

Three devices where unveiled that day, the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and the iWatch. The Phone 6 has a 4.7in display while the iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5in screen display. 

It is hoped that both models will help Apple reach more clients that were not using iPhone 5 or older. The question that goes unanswered is "What about those who prefer the 4in screen phones of the previous models of iPhone (iPhone 4 and iPhone 5)?" 

iPhone 6 has different storage capacities, it has the 16GB, 64GB and 128GB. There is no 32GB. I will recommend that you go for the 64GB or 128GB , because experience has shown that unlike other phones that the memory can upgraded, iPhones including iPhone 6 can not be upgraded. So when you have the need to have a larger capacity, you now discover that you are stuck with 16GB. Just like with every other phones, the higher the capacity, the faster the processor of your phone but this solely depends on the amount of video, apps, photos, music stored in it. Talking about processor, the iPhone has a 64-bit A8 processor, which is much more powerful than the A7 processor of its predecessors. The processor has a speed of 1.27GHz which is lower than Samsung's Galaxy S5 which has a speed of 2.5GHz. Both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have the same RAM size of 1GB just like its predecessors.  



Apple has modified the shape of its new device, it is 6.9mm thick (that’s about eight stacked credit cards), weighs 4.55 ounces with rounded edges. This makes it comfortable to hold. It has a big screen with a resolution of 1,334 x 750 and 326 ppi density also makes watching videos, playing games and viewing images much more exciting.

If you are conversant with the iPhone 5s, you will notice that it has a round volume button, the new iPhone comes  with long metal ovals and the sleep/wake button has been moved to the right side of the phone. 

One draw back on the iPhone 6 is that the camera lens protrudes slightly so when the phone is laid flat, it does not sit evenly. There might be a technical reason behind that decision, or perhaps Apple might change this with future models. The good thing is that the camera is 8 MP that uses a new sensor called “Focus Pixels” with LED flash, auto-focus, advanced face detection and digital image stability.

The battery life is slightly better than its predecessors with a standard battery capacity of 1810 mAh which is not removable. With active usage the phone can make it through the day with about 20 to 30 percent of battery life still left.

The price of iPhone 6 varies, the 16 GB costs $650, the 64 GB costs around $750 while the 128 GB costs around $850. 

iPhone 6 also features a new  new super-fast WiFi chip and an improved Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The NFC of iPhone works with Apple Pay mobile payment service. 

Apple has no intentions of making its NFC open to third-parties and will only work with Apple Pay. Which means that developers coming up with new apps can't use this feature.