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© liewcf

US consumers are more likely to buy a smartphone than any other electronics this year, according to a new survey. The next most popular electronics items for US consumers after smartphones were laptop computers, desktop computers, basic mobile phones, e-book readers and tablet computers.

Youth aged between 8 and 18 years old spent an average of 53 hours per week using electronics, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. And because some of that time includes multitasking with several electronics at the same time, kids actually manage to cram an astounding 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media into the 7 hours, 38 minutes actually spent per day. Five years ago, kids spent less than six and a half hours per day using electronics, according to the previous iteration of the study.

© TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

Electronics is creating wonders everyday, and the latest it has to offer is quite remarkable. Ring-like molecules with unusual five-fold symmetry bind strongly to a copper surface, due to a substantial transfer of charge, but experience remarkably little difficulty in sideways diffusion, and exhibit surprisingly little interaction between neighboring molecules.

Currently, commercial electronics use a top-down approach, with the milling or etching away of inorganic material, such as silicon, to make a device smaller. Researchers are therefore looking for ingenious solutions in the creation of ever smaller electronics. The field of nanotechnology is taking a bottom-up approach of creating electronics using naturally self-assembling organic components, such as polymers, which will be capable of spontaneously forming devices with the desired electronic or optical characteristics.

This new research, thus paves the way for the nano-scale self-assembly of organic building blocks, a promising new route towards the next generation of ultra-small electronic devices.

© sonictk

Small hand-held gadgets are becoming ever more ubiquitous, and nothing gets handled and stores germs more than a mobile phone. Wiping them down with a cloth does little to reduce the germ count, but there is a smarter option called the Violight UV Cell Phone Sanitizer. This is a portable desktop device that sanitizes any gadget up to a size of 3 inches by ¾ inches by 5 inches.

From Bluetooth headsets, earbuds, mp3 players and even electric toothbrushes, this device disinfects them all, and also includes an accessory basket for the smallest devices. Flip phones and sliders will not work in the Violight, however, due to its size limitations. The Violight uses three AA batteries and is simple to operate, as you simply lift the cover, drop in your gadget and replace the cover. The sanitizing is done with a flashing blue UV light and takes about 3 minutes.