From Lifehacker: The Science Behind Why Power Naps Help You Stay Productive and Creative

If you’ve tried taking naps in the afternoon and found yourself feeling groggy after waking—if you manage to force yourself back out of bed—you may just be going about them all wrong. Even if you don’t work in a job where napping is acceptable, there’s a very clear reason why the best naps are the ones that are usually around the half-hour mark. Here’s why. More »
 

from Lifehacker

From Engadget: Throwaway NFC keyboard improves productivity, reduces bank balance

Throwaway NFC keyboard improves productivity, reduces bank balance

NFC is used primarily for enjoyable activities, like buying things, sharing content and making QR codes feel old. But Japanese company Elecom is looking to change all that with a compact keyboard that exploits NFC for productivity. The silicon menace requires a companion app and is compatible with Android phones running Gingerbread (2.3.4) and up. If the bundled case had you sold on the peripheral, you may want to reconsider. The retail price is a sizeable 18,690 yen (approximately $240), and what’s worse, the battery is neither rechargeable nor replaceable, so you’ll have to bin it after the stated six months to a year 18 months (eight hours a day) of life. Still interested? Then head over the break for a video demo from Norwegian co-development company one2TOUCH.

 

 

from Engadget

From Engadget: SK Telecom deploys HD Voice over LTE, claims title of world’s first

SK Telecom deploys HD Voice over LTE, claims title of world's first

The little blue marble we call Earth is no stranger to HD Voice — it’s been around commercially since Orange debuted the service over its 3G network in Moldova nearly three years ago — but the technology still hasn’t been officially deployed over an LTE network. That is, until SK Telecom launches the service later today. Doing so will allow the South Korean carrier to snag the crown for world’s first before Sprint, which recently announced that its network won’t have it until later this year. It’s a win-win scenario for the company: HD Voice over LTE is meant to vastly improve call quality and reduce latency for the customers, while lessening network strain and offering new revenue-making opportunities for SK Telecom. What about devices? It hasn’t announced any brand new smartphones that can take advantage of the service, but the company’s ready to pre-load the Samsung Galaxy S III with software that enables HD Voice capability, and is planning to push an update to current owners of the flagship device. If you’re the type of person that still makes the occasional call, this kind of progress should come as pleasant news.

 

 

from Engadget

From Engadget: OUYA, XBMC sitting in a tree, media s-h-a-r-i-n-g (update: TuneIn, new pics)

OUYA and XBMC sitting in a tree, media sharing

OUYA’s slew of collaborations isn’t letting up, even with less than two days to go before its fundraising round is over. The XBMC team has just pledged that its upcoming Android app will be tailored to work with the upcoming console. While the exact customizations aren’t part of the initial details, the media center app developers will have early access to prototypes of the OUYA hardware. There’s suggestions that there won’t be much of a wait for the Android port of XBMC, whether or not you’re buying the cuboid system — XBMC’s developers note that Android work should be merged into the master path once “final sign-offs” are underway. All told, though, the OUYA is quickly shaping up into as much of a go-to media hub as it is a game system.

Update: OUYA itself has also posted word that TuneIn’s radio streaming is also on its way. And just to top off its efforts, the company has posted rendered images that better show the scale of the console: our Joystiq compatriots note that it’s really a “baby GameCube” in size, and its gamepad looks gigantic by comparison.

 

 

from Engadget

From Droid Life: Google Maps Adds Live Traffic Support for Additional 130 Cities Across America

Google announced that it is to bring live and typical traffic support to roughly 130 smaller cities across America through Google Maps. In addition, they are also including even further support for areas in China, Brazil, Canada, and many other countries. Google didn’t post a list of every supported area, but did give this chart that shows traffic lights at every area that allows for the coverage. Thanks, Google.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: Google Lat Long Blog

from Droid Life