A new patent filed by Sony could let you charge a smartphone by sucking precious energy from a friend's device. The patent describes a way to wirelessly transfer power between devices using near-field communication (NFC) technology. It doesn't specify that these devices would necessarily be phones, instead using the term "portable consumer electronic device."  Whatafuture, which first noticed the patent, suggests this could refer to portable power banks or battery packs. Phone-to-phone wireless charging would consume a huge amount of battery, as Gizmodo points out. It would seem silly to spend a huge amount of your battery life to transfer power to another phone, and power banks are definitely a much more sensible option.  Source: Mashable #softwarepride #mobile #sony #sonyxperia #android #wirelesscharger #business #lifestyleblog #developerday #developerslife #news #tech #patents #technology (at West Los Angeles)

Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger are the latest fashion companies to announce their own Android Wear 2.0 watches at Baselworld 2017. The Hugo Boss Touch is constructed of carbon black IP stainless steel and there will be a range of interchangeable straps to mix and match with the five unique digital watch faces the luxury brand has designed. NFC is built in, so Android Pay from your wristwill be an option. The Touch is expected to cost $395 when it hits the market in August. Meanwhile, the Tommy Hilfiger TH24/7You l, in line with the fashion brand, is a little more casually styled, with a metal link bracelet. The TH24/7You is cheaper than the Touch, at $299, although it lacks both NFC or a heart rate monitor. Source: The Verge #softwarepride #hugoboss #tommyhilfiger #fashion #style #mensfashion #menstyle #smartwatch #news #hitech #tech #technology #appdev #iosapp #androidapp #android (at New York - New York Hotel & Casino Las Vegas)

Facebook is adding two new features to Messenger: reactions and mentions. Reactions let you respond to any individual message in a chat with various emoji (just tap and hold to add a reaction, just like you would for a post on your Facebook feed); while mentions lets you @ someone in a group chat, which sends them a direct notification. As for mentions, Facebook says the feature will let the person who is tagged “jump right back in to the conversation to answer someone’s question or to provide a response.” So, you know, this is basically a feature for hassling friends who are nominally present in the group chat, but definitely not paying attention. Source: the verge #softwarepride #facebook #fb #fbupdate #friends #ios #android #mobileapp #socialnetworks #news #technews #technology #hitech #developerlife #appdev #messaging (at San Francisco, California)

Apple has finalized a deal to acquire Workflow today for an undisclosed sum — a tool that lets you hook together apps and functions within apps in strings of commands to automate tasks. Typically these acquisitions are as much about the talent behind the app as they are about the app itself, which often means that the app gets shut down. But Apple is not only going to keep Workflow in the App Store, TechCrunch notes that the app will be made free later today — it used to cost $2.99. Apple is commenting on it directly rather than giving its usual blanket statement around it buying stuff “from time to time.” The company praised Workflow’s accessibility, telling TechCrunch “The Workflow app was selected for an Apple Design Award in 2015 because of its outstanding use of iOS accessibility features, in particular an outstanding implementation for VoiceOver with clearly labeled items, thoughtful hints, and drag/drop announcements, making the app usable and quickly accessible to those who are blind or low-vision.” Source: The Verge #softwarepride #apple #workflow #developer #ipad #iphone #ios #ios10 #news #iosnews #applenews #tech #technology #hitech #iosapp (at San Francisco International Airport)

LG Electronics plans to launch a mobile payments service for its new flagship smartphone G6 in South Korea in June. Users would be able to make payments through existing credit card readers via a magnetic signal from the phone, similar to how Samsung's payments system - launched in August 2015 - works. LG did not elaborate on details including whether its payments service would expand to other markets, whether it would be supported on other devices or if it would generate revenue. Source: FT, Gadgets360 #softwarepride #lg #lgpay #lgg6 #g6 #mobile #news #tech #shopping #business #lifestyle #mobilenews #technews #android (at Los Angeles, California)

Apple announced a new version of its 9.7-inch iPad will go on sale this week, as will a special edition of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The company said the new iPad will come with iOS 10, and will include the A9 chip. The updated iPad will start at $329, and be available in silver, gold and space gray. The new iPad will be available in the 32GB model, and the 32GB plus WiFi model. The iPad can be ordered from apple.com beginning Friday. It will be available in Apple stores next week.  Also on Tuesday, Apple released a new red iPhone in honor of its partnership with the (RED) campaign. Apple joined with (RED) 10 years ago to help fund AIDS research.  “Apple is the world’s largest corporate donor to the Global Fund, contributing more than $130 million as part of its partnership with (RED),” said Deborah Dugan, (RED)’s CEO. “Combining the global reach of the world’s most loved smartphone with our efforts to provide access to life-saving ARV medication in sub-Saharan Africa, customers now have a remarkable opportunity to make a difference and contribute to the Global Fund through the purchase of this new beautiful (PRODUCT)RED iPhone.”  The red iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in 128GB and 256GB models starting at $749 from apple.com and Apple Stores. Source: My Fox Boston #softwarepride #apple #ipod #ipad #iphone #red #rediphone #iphone7 #iphonered #news #ios #ios10 #applenews #iosdeveloper (at Los Angeles, California)

Sony on Monday announced a new entry-level smartphone, called the Xperia L1. The company highlights a sharp display on a near edge-to-edge screen. The new device is being offered in Black, White, and Pink colour options. The Xperia L1 runs Android 7.0 Nougat and features a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280) LCD display. The smartphone is powered by a 1.45GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737T SoC and Mali-T720 MP2 GPU, coupled with 2GB of RAM. The handset comes with 16GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable via microSD card. Optics on the Xperia L1 include a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel camera with 24mm wide-angle lens and f/2.2 aperture. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX, NFC, A-GPS, GLONASS, and USB Type-C. Source: Gadgets360 #softwarepride #sony #mobile #xperia #xperial1 #mobilenews #android #androidnougat #developer #androiddev #news #technews #business #homedecor (at Manhattan Beach, Manhattan Beach, California)

New leaked image of Samsung Galaxy S8 shows off the colors that it will be available in when it ships to consumers in April. The image comes from Evan Blass, who leaked the first images of the phone back in January. His new image reveals that Samsung’s next flagship phone will be available in three colors: Black Sky, Orchid Grey, and Arctic Silver. He also tweeted that the phone will retail in Europe for €799 for the basic S8 while the S8+ will retail for €899. Source: The Verge Photo credit: Evan Bluss #softwarepride #samsung #galaxys8 #mobile #iosdev #iosdev #news #hitech #android #technews #samsungleaks #fashion #lifestyle #instamobile (at New York University)