Power Up On Good

This article is a repost of an article I wrote for Tribal Worldwide's Smoke Signals
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A new joint effort between the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) and HTC aims to combine the network power of mobile devices with scientific research. BOINC claims that the combined power of spare mobile computing cycles would be enough to solve complex problems related to AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease.

The idea is that people will donate their phone’s resources to a worthwhile cause with minimal effort applied.

HTC plans to tap into this through an app, HTC Power To Give, in the Google Play store. Through this app, users will also be able to select a specific research program that matters most to them. Additionally, the HTC Power To Give app only runs while the phone is charging and connected to a WiFi network, preventing any battery issues. Down the road, HTC plans to expand the app to work across all Android devices. The app will initially be available to download on HTC One and HTC Butterfly phones.

Learn more about the HTC Power To Give project here.

Implication: It is no longer about what technology can do just for you, but how you can use it to easily benefit the greater good.

Connected Living Takes Center Stage at MWC14

This article is a repost of an article I wrote for Tribal Worldwide's Smoke Signals.
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Yet again, Samsung comes out on top in this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with the launch of Galaxy S5 and Gear Fit – the world’s first curved AMOLED touch-screen display on a wearable device that allows you to track your fitness.

Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 has a number of advanced features. In addition to being water resistant and dust proof, it contains a fingerprint scanner that allows you to pay for shopping online and a camera that allows you focus after you’ve taken a picture. The smartphone will also provide extraordinarily fast network speeds by combining WiFi and 4G into a single stream. For an added human effect, the phone lets you track your own heartbeat – a world first, designed to work in conjunction with Samsung’s smart watches enabling wearers to better manage their fitness.

What truly makes the Galaxy S5 unique is how it implements the idea of connected living across all facets of your life: what you wear, where you live and/or work, how you receive goods, how you connect with others, how you travel, and how you purchase. For the first time, a phone is not just part of a family of devices but it is genuinely integrated managing a series of other screens, including your watch, fitness tracker, TV, fridge and washing machine. In other words, the Galaxy S5 operates as a remote control.

Implication: The trend of connected living will soon become part of our everyday reality.