It wasn't that long ago that Intel pulled a Dell, Anand Chandrasekher showing off a fancy new thing then quickly hiding it away out of sight. That was a Medfield-based smartphone, an Atom-powered mobile that the company pledges is built on "the most efficient architecture on the planet." Whether that's the case remains to be seen, as we're still waiting on any sort of details on that mystery phone, but according to Businessweek one question has been answered: the manufacturer. Intel is said to be working to design the handset for ZTE, the 32nm processor expected to provide decent performance and high efficiency for a mid-range smartphone. Now, ZTE has certainly been trying to make waves on the US market of late, but we can't help thinking Intel's going to need a somewhat higher profile partner before it really starts hitting ARM where it hurts.
As you may know, crafting a katana is a delicate process that involves carefully constructing a razor-sharp high-carbon edge around a soft shock-absorbent core. One day though, smiths and forging fires could be replaced by electrode-wielding mad-scientists, with the technology to selectively harden and soften metal at will. At least that's what we envisioned when we read about Jörg Weißmüller's breakthrough research in the field of nanomaterials. The German scientist discovered that by placing precious metals in acid he could create tiny ducts through corrosion. Once those channels are flooded with a conductive liquid, electrical currents can be used to harden the material and, if you change your mind about the brittle results, the effect can easily be reversed to make it soft again. The tech could eventually lead to self-healing vehicle armor or scratch-resistant cellphones -- but, really, we just want to zap our way to a high-quality samurai sword. Physorg
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