Technology Effect

New York: Korean electronics giant Samsung said Thursday that it would launch its iPad wannabe, the Tab, on all four major U.S. cellphone carriers, boosting the device's chances of success in the key U.S. market. So far Apple's iPad tablet computer has had the market virtually to itself since its launch in late April after which it sold 3 million units in 80 days. Samsung's Tab runs on Google's rival operating system Android, and is the first device that analysts say presents credible opposition to the iPad, which proved there was a market for the intuitive touch-screen interfaces that small tablet computers allow. Samsung did not announce pricing details for the device, which with an 18-centimetre screen will be 10 centimetres smaller than an iPad. However prices will likely be heavily subsidised by the U.S. carriers, much as they subsidise mobile phones to customers who commit to lengthy contracts for air time. Samsung's Tab will also weigh just half as ...

London: Japanese technology company Fujitsu has developed a system that is capable of charging multiple portable electronic devices like mobile phones and laptop computers without the need for cable connections. The company unveiled a prototype system at an Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers conference at Osaka Prefecture University and it claimed that it was first of its kind in the world. It works on the transmission of electricity using magnetic fields between the charger and the electronic device. The technology allows wireless charging at distances of up to several metres. Scientists at Fujitsu Laboratories plan to commercially sell products having wireless charging system by 2012. "This technology paves the way to integrating compact wireless charging functions into mobile phones and enabling multiple portable devices to be charged simultaneously without any restrictions on their position with respect to the charger," the company w...