4 Fun Facts That Will Make You See Smartphones in a Whole New Light

Smartphone technology is currently experiencing cool innovations. Plus, there are some crazy reasons behind what these devices can and can’t do that you may not have known about. Check out these four cool smartphone factoids from List25.

Wirelessly Charge Your Smartphone’s Battery
Nokia is currently developing a way to use radio waves to charge a phone’s battery while it’s on standby. How’s this work? Here’s a fascinating video of one practical application of this technology known as the Nikola Case, named after the genius inventor and pioneer of wireless technology, Nikola Tesla.

Smartphones Provide Live Traffic Updates
Have you ever looked at Google Maps and wondered how they’re able to show live traffic updates on obscure roads? Well, it turns out that Google tracks the movement of Android phones using GPS technology and feeds the data to Google Maps for live traffic updates. Of course, one has to wonder if this is all Google is using this information for.

Smartphones Deter Nuclear Warfare
If, however, your smartphone’s GPS determines that the device is traveling at a speed of more than 1,200 mph, and at an altitude higher than 60,000 feet, it will automatically shut off, as required by law. This may explain why you never see Superman using a smartphone. In actuality, this is a regulation known as COCOM (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls), designed to prevent GPS technology from being used to guide intercontinental ballistic missiles--just in case North Korea gets any bright ideas.

The Reason Behind Waterproofing Smartphones
One of the latest trends in smartphone technology is waterproofing, as seen in the latest line of Samsung Galaxy smartphones. For Westerners, this feature might feel like a bit of a novelty--something that’s nice, but not at the top of our wish list. However, in Japan, this waterproofing feature is a necessity, thanks to teenagers that prefer to use their smartphones while taking showers.

How many of these smartphone facts have you heard of? Can you think of any more odd smartphone facts that you can add to this list? Share them in the comments!