Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) when handling MicroSDs? - General Questions and Answers

Hello XDA,
Recently I was informed that apparently MicroSDs are sensitive electronic components which require being grounded in order to prevent ESD when being handled.
Is this true? I am usually quite cautious with ESD protection; I always use it when I open up any computers, smartphones or other handheld devices but using it to handle MicroSDs seems a tad excessive to me.

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Working wireless battery charge

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8165928.stm
demonstrated tech that enables devices (demonstration includes the G1) to be charged wirelessly..
It's been talked about for a while, but nothing concrete has been shown before!
Supposedly available within 12-18 months!
Topic sounds very interesting
But I couldn´t open the link
The emitter has to be very powerful for the charge current to be high enough on the device being charged. There's also a huge waste of energy that grows exponentially with the distance. This is one of the reasons this technology has been primarily used for short range applications so far. This is exactly how wireless keyfobs/smart cards work, but their useful range is limited to 1 meter or so and their consumption is minimal in comparison with mobiles.
Heck, I even have my electric toothbrush charging this way and my electric tea pot drawing power from the base wirelessly, but effective range is millimeters in these cases.
Nobody knows for sure what kind of effects strong electromagnetic fields have on humans. Knowing that electric impulses drive our brains and bodies too, I think strong electromagnetic fields are more than likely to cause major interference. IMO it'll be a while before healthcare people approve use of this kind of chargers.

New cheaper longer lasting batteries!

Looks like the days of worrying about carrying around your charger and spare batteries are going to be a thing of the past if this article is anything to go by. No only does this technology allow for much longer lasting batteries but they are cheaper to produce and they will be even smaller. Hurray!
Wonder when we'll actually see them on the market though?
Colorado State University’s clean energy commercialization arm, Cenergy, has co-founded Prieto Battery to manufacture charge insertion (Li-ion) batteries using a 3D structure to enable a larger functional surface area. The resulting batteries are cheaper, up to 1,000 times more powerful, and 10 times longer lasting than traditional batteries, according to CSU. Using an electrodeposition process, Amy Prieto, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry, grows nanowires that comprise the anode — the first key piece of the battery. She uses electrodeposition again to coat the tiny structures with a polymer electrolyte. Cathode material then is added around the coated nanowires, resulting in a three-dimensional battery. The nanowires that make up the anode cover a surface area that is 10,000 times greater than a traditional battery, Prieto says. The high number of three-dimensional wires creates a much larger functional surface area than other current batteries. According to Prieto, the electrodeposition manufacturing method is fast and inexpensive, allowing the technology to be scaled up to create batteries that can be used for everything from pacemakers to automobiles.
Prieto Battery is the first start-up produced by Cenergy. Prieto, who also serves as chief scientific officer for the new company, expects to demonstrate the first prototype of the battery by early next year. In February 2009, CSU’s TTO applied for a patent that encompasses all Prieto Battery technology. The patent has been exclusively licensed to the start-up. Bohemian Asset Management in Fort Collins, a privately held division of the Bohemian Cos., supplied the first round of funding for the company.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.technologytransfertactic...commercialize-“3d”-li-ion-battery-technology/
Heard many of these reports in the past, but none proved to be viable, first see then believe..
yep, still waiting after all these years

[Q] Tablet Case for Cold Weather

My First Post on XDA!
Does anybody know of any cases that are designed to KEEP HEAT IN? Funny question I know, but let me explain....
I work as a Systems Admin at a ski area and we currently use "Motion Computing F5t" windows 7 tablets to validate passes and lift tickets in our lift lines. These are what are considered "Rugged" tablets, as they are shockproof and work in more extreme weather conditions. Being a specialty product, they are very expensive and really have not been all that impressive, as we have had quite a few hardware failures with these models.
I have been exploring using android based tablets as an alternative; nothing too powerful as they will only need to use Microsofts RDP app to remote to virtual machines running the necessary software (the validation software only runs on windows). The galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is looking like the device to use because of the cheap price, large screen, and available warranties for accidental handling damage. This brings me to my point:
Understandably, the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 user manual says to avoid temps below freezing. I am sure that a sealed case (lifeproof, otterbox, etc) will keep the tablet a little bit warmer, but I am wondering how much. I contacted one company about their model of case (Griffin Survivor Extreme-Duty) and they informed me that their sealed cases were designed to dissipate heat, not keep it in, which of course makes sense in normal everyday applications, but I am wondering if anybody knows of any cases that would keep the tablet operational when the outside temperatures reach as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit? Or does anybody have experience with regular sealed cases and how they work in colder temperatures? Thank you all for your time and any input you can provide. It is greatly appreciated.
Thanks again XDA!
John
Bump
Help me people! please? haha. BUMP.

Android tablets in the enterprise-- how long before they should be replaced?

Greetings all,
I have been unable to find any sort of best practices for this, on this or any other site, so I hope you can provide some insights.
My company has just started to deploy Android tablets to users in the field and I am looking for guidance on the recommended replacement/retirement interval for standard consumer-level Android tablets. For standard desktops and laptops this interval would typically be 3 or 4 years, but given how quickly the Android OS changes and how quickly a device may be obsoleted by virtue of end-of-life or lack or ongoing OS upgrades I would assume that the effective lifespan of a tablet would be shorter than that, not to mention that these are going to be used by non-technical people who may not be treating them as electronic devices but more like paperbacks that run on batteries.
Already we are seeing devices coming back in for repair due to forced charging cable insertions and/or bent micro-USB connectors, as well as the standard cracked screens and such, so these may end up being destroyed before their expected usefulness has been achieved, and as much as we have made the case to management that we ought to be deploying ruggedized devices supported by enterprise-level MDM, they insisted on launching with Samsung Tab S2's and SOTI Mobicontrol for MDM.
So, choice of device and MDM aside, when would you,if you were administering this deployment, plan on refreshing the devices in the field? That is, taking the old ones back in and providing all-new ones before they begin to show age (not wear) related problems? Accounting can write them off over any interval but we want to replace them before the support becomes too burdensome and the devices too unreliable (affecting productivity).
2 years? 3? Something else?
Many thanks,
Matt

Why modularity and repairability is failing.....

Smartphones (and to some extent laptops too) have evolved to be an end product in themselves, instead of being tools to communicate and get work done.
Until this (unfortunate) nature of smartphone changes, it is unlikely that the product transforms into the category of 'consumer durables' where people would simply buy it and then forget about buying a new one for years, until the existing one starts giving problems, even if that means more than 10 years of usage.
Hardware used on smartphones are maturing in terms of the experience they provide. Every year the newer iteration is marketed to be x% more efficient, y% more powerful, etc. All those improvements are seen only on paper.
My Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that I purchased in 2012 was giving me 4 to 5 hours of SOT (initially). My Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra that I purchased almost 10 years later in 2022 is also giving me just about 4 to 5 hours of SOT. This despite the CPU, GPU and other components becoming more powerful, more power efficient with each passing year. Also, the new phones have significantly bigger batteries than before. One can argue that the quality of apps, games, display, etc. are significantly better than what they used to be 10 years back, and they come at the cost of drawing more power. Still, these do not even remotely explain the numeric gains reported by tech companies. Or in other words, the numbers reported are manipulated and would be true only in very specific conditions, which are far from real life usage.
While many users complained about batteries being non-removable, RAM and other components being non-replaceable/ repairable/ upgradeable, etc., the direction taken by manufacturers seem to suggest that the market doesn't care as much about these factors.
Miniaturization and sealing components to the motherboard that result in slightly smaller form factor are not only profitable for the OEMs, but also seem to be acceptable to the market. This actually comes at the cost of damaging the environment, a complete opposite of what OEMs claim.
Just as Type-C has become mandatory, should there be laws that make modularity/ repairability/ component replaceability a must for products? This will eventually transform this product into the 'consumer durables' category, which will not only save the environment, but also make lives much better and healthier.
I think this is unlikely to happen unless a new (life changing) product category is developed and people start perceiving smartphones (and laptops) as mere tools to communicate and get work done. Currently, the amount of time people spend on smartphones doing useless stuff is a criminal waste of time that can otherwise be spent in doing productive things, that will not only make their own lives better, but also contribute to improving the environment and the economy that would improve everyone's lives.

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