When you spend money on a nice new phone, one of the first things you do (if you’re smart) is get a case to protect it. Yale professor Jan Schroers, a specialist in materials science and mechanical engineering, is seeing to it that the next generation of smartphone cases is super tough and durable. Schroers works with Bulk Metallic Glasses, or BMGs. These ultra-strong but lightweight alloys are created by cooling molten metal incredibly quickly so that the typical crystalline structure of solid metal can’t form. BMGs, also known as amorphous metals, have an atomic structure that is closer to that of glass, but they are far sturdier.

BMGs have been around since at least 1960, but until now researchers have had trouble figuring out just how to shape them for consumer use. Professor Schroers has developed a technique for forming them that involves shaping the alloys while they are in their supercooled liquid state. He uses this method, called thermoplastic forming, to create sheets of BMGs. Once the alloys are in sheet form, they can be shaped by a blow-molding process similar to that used to mold plastics.

Schroers has his eye on the consumer electronics market for the technology, to which Yale owns the rights. He has licensed those rights to create a line of ultra-durable, lightweight phone cases. They will be scratch-resistant and roughly 50 times harder than plastic. One of the main benefits of using BMGs is that buttons can be built right into the cases, opening up the possibility to make the next generation of smartphone cases waterproof as well as almost indestructible.

The post Yale’s Supercool Metals Make for Super-Tough Phone Cases first appeared on Gajitz.

As our phones have started to perform more and more of the essential daily functions in our lives, we’ve come to depend on them being right there, in our hands or pockets, whenever we need them. That reassuring weight, the familiar and comfortable smoothness, the ever-present and never-judgmental piece of technology that we carry with us everywhere has actually given birth to an entirely new type of fear: Nomophobia.

When you have to be without your phone for any amount of time – when it’s being repaired, when you accidentally leave it behind in a bar, or even when it’s across the room on the charger – you might start to feel a little stressed. To deal with this very modern problem, the noPhone is a comforting stand-in. The noPhone is wireless, battery-free, shatterproof, waterproof, and requires no contract or accessories. It’s just a block that is the same size and weight of your beloved mobile accessory. To use it, you just pick it up and hold it as demonstrated in the video below.

NoPhone is an object that you can hold onto to comfort yourself, and since it doesn’t actually do anything it won’t interfere with you interacting with the real world. The noPhone is obviously a satirical jab at our overly-connected lives. If you’re trying to wean yourself off of that constant connection to your cell phone, however, maybe you can consider the noPhone to be the training wheels that will help you get used to life without the always-present pocket rectangle.

The post World’s Most Bare-Bones Phone Does Absolutely Nothing first appeared on Gajitz.

Cell phones have become a powerful communication tool all over the world – even in countries with little to no electrical grid infrastructure. Since people without access to electricity in their homes have no way to charge their phones at home, they often must trek many miles into cities where vendors offer access to charging stations for a price.

This cottage industry – offering small amounts of electricity for money – is a positive thing for the communities in which it is available, and a company called BuffaloGrid wants to bring that industry to more places.

The BuffaloGrid device is a solar charging hub that gives phone charging access to communities, which then get to share in the profits. The devices are provided for free to entrepreneurs in the community, who provide phone charging time to others. Customers pay for the service by an SMS text to the BuffaloGrid company.

The operators of the chargers then get a share of the profits. According to a representative for the company, each unit costs £250 (around $425 US) to manufacture. If each device provides 40 phone charges per day, it will generate £350 pounds (around $500 US) every quarter. Operators receive a decent portion of that revenue, providing them with a decent way to earn a living and giving the communities access to affordable electricity in a place where electricity costs more than anywhere else in the world.

Prototype devices have already been put in place in Uganda, and the company hopes to reach 170 other countries where electricity is rare and expensive. They aren’t providing the services for entirely altruistic reasons – the company stands to profit some $66 million per year – but the service is one that is desperately needed and could indeed change the lives of millions of people.

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We’ve been saying for years that cell phones would eventually get so small as to be wearable or implantable. Designer Issam Trabelsi is taking a step toward making that a reality with his concept phone that is essentially a fingertip ring that functions as a phone.

The phone, branded by the designer as Nokia FIT, is a flexible rubber and silicone device that fits over the top of the index finger. When you get a text or phone call, the FIT vibrates to alert you. Talking on the phone is as simple as holding your finger up to your ear.

The Nokia FIT is even waterproof and can fit many different sizes of fingers. The designer’s renderings aren’t entirely forthcoming about how exactly the tiny gadget would work for texting or making calls since there doesn’t seem to be an interface of any kind. But as a Bluetooth-connected accessory, we can definitely see the FIT becoming an essential extension of future smartphones.

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LEGOs are such a perennial favorite toy that they’ve been used to make everything from simple figures to massive architectural sculptures. Now, there is a way to integrate LEGO blocks with your smartphone or tablet.

The COI+ LEGO Power Brick 4200mAh from Brando is an external battery that is a little thicker and a little shorter than an iPhone. USB and micro USB ports let you charge a variety of gadgets. The high output battery can even charge your laptop or iPad.

Some LEGO bricks are included with each Power Brick. They allow you to set your phone up at a comfortable viewing angle for watching movies or playing games.

Even after the battery dies for good (as all batteries do eventually) the Power Brick can still be used as a toy. It’s perfectly integrated with all LEGO bricks so it can act as a base for future creations.

The post Brick Power: LEGO Phone Charger is Half Serious, Half Play first appeared on Gajitz.