Recent advancements in Lithium Sulfur and Lithium metal anodes pave the way for smaller, safer batteries with higher capacities.

Back at the start of the year in our Smartphone Futurology series, we discussed the technology behind the battery in smartphones and what’s to come in the future. This article is a quick update to that piece, looking at some of the recent developments in batteries based on Lithium chemistry — like the ones powering the vast majority of smartphones.

We’ll take a closer look at what reduces your phone’s battery life over time, and how high-capacity technologies like Lithium Sulfur batteries and Lithium metal anodes are closer than ever to becoming practical. Join us after the break.

Three UK owner Hutchison Whampoa has agreed to purchase O2 UK from Telefónica for £10.25 billion.

Talks between Hutchison Whampoa and Telefonica began in January of this year. Now this is all but a done deal, with approval needed from British regulators, which is expected to take up to a year.

From O2:

Hutchison Whampoa has today agreed definitive terms to acquire O2 in the UK from Telefónica. The deal agreed is the result of a period of exclusive discussions between the two companies. Closing of the deal is subject to regulatory approvals, but would bring together two respected mobile businesses in the UK.

Together, Three and O2 have the largest number of subscribers in the UK, followed by rivals Vodafone and EE. O2 currently has around 22 million subscribers, while Three has around 8 million.

Source: O2, Telefónica

Three UK owner Hutchison Whampoa has agreed to purchase O2 UK from Telefónica for £10.25 billion.

Talks between Hutchison Whampoa and Telefonica began in January of this year.

Three UK owner Hutchison Whampoa has agreed to purchase O2 UK from Telefónica for £10.25 billion. Talks between Hutchison Whampoa and Telefonica began in January of this year. Now this is all but a done deal, with approval needed from British regulators, which is expected to take up to a year.

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Microsoft has now decided that “Project Spartan“, the code name for their next-generation web browser for Windows 10, will also be the only browser that will use the company’s new web rendering engine. Internet Explorer 11 will keep the same engine for Windows 10 that it currently has for Windows 8.1.

Facebook announced a new feature for the social platform called “On This Day” that let’s users take a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

The feature works much like the Timehop posts you’ve no doubt seen on your Facebook news feed, surfacing things that you either posted or were tagged in from a specific date in the past. From Facebook:

On This Day shows content from this date in the past. For example, you might see past status updates, photos, posts from friends and other things you’ve shared or been tagged in – from one year ago, two years ago, and so on. Only you will see this content unless you decide to share it with your friends.

After checking out “On This Day” for the first time, users also have the option to subscribe to receive notifications whenever there is something to check out.

Facebook notes that users will be able to access “On This Day” on the web, as well as through a menu item in its mobile apps. The feature is still rolling out to users, however, and doesn’t look to be live as of this writing.

Source: Facebook; Via: The Next Web

Three UK owner Hutchison Whampoa has agreed to purchase O2 UK from Telefónica for £10.25 billion. Talks between Hutchison Whampoa and Telefonica began in January of this year.

Facebook announced a new feature for the social platform called “On This Day” that let’s users take a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

The feature works much like the Timehop posts you’ve no doubt seen on your Facebook news feed, surfacing things that you either posted or were tagged in from a specific date in the past.

Information security is always one of those topics that is hard to report on, especially with the sheer number of devices available today. The problem lies in what is dangerous, what is bad, or what is no-big-deal. Frankly, opinions vary on the risks and threats involved.

One neat feature in Windows Phone is the ability to select text and hit the Search key. The Windows Phone OS copies the information over to Bing (or Cortana), and it lets you search without having to copy/paste the selection. It is super useful and certainly convenient for speedy searches.

However, there does seem to be one instance where this feature works where it should not: password fields.

Samsung’s wireless everything strategy doesn’t seem to have a downside yet, but it’s still early.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. The curved display on the edge and overall improved design with Samsung’ latest Galaxy generation takes this brand to new heights, but more than that there’s an opportunity to be truly wireless with this phone. The dual Qi/PMA charging solution baked into the back and Samsung’s integrated payment solution are the closest thing to being able to comfortably leave the house with just your phone that we’ve seen yet. As we’ve seen in the forums this week, that wireless freedom raises some natural questions regarding accessories. Specifically, if you’ve got a thick case on your Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 edge, will wireless charging or Samsung Pay even be an option.

The short answer is no, but as is often the case when things like wireless charging and digital payments are involved it’s a little more complicated than that.