Wireless charging goes long for consumer gear

Powercast has some good news about charging your headphones, smartwatch or fitness band. Your phone? That gets more complicated. Powercast said Tuesday that it’s won FCC approval for its PowerSpot transmitter, which can deliver over-the-air charging to electronic devices several feet away and, in some cases, as far as 80 feet (24 meters).

Snapchat will let advertisers animate their Sponsored Filters

In spawning a new version of its unique ad formats, Snapchat is looking to capitalize on a major point of difference in advertisers’ minds. Snapchat is making one of its splashiest ad formats more attention-grabbing in an effort to grab more brand advertisers’ ad dollars. Snapchat will now let advertisers animate their Sponsored Filters that people can use as overlays atop the photos and videos they share on the mobile app, the company announced on Wednesday. Dunkin’ Donuts will be the first brand to run a Sponsored Animated Filter in a campaign that will launch on Thursday.

End of the smashed phone screen? Self-healing glass discovered by accident

New type of polymer glass that can mend itself when pressed together is in development by University of Tokyo after a student discovered it.
Japanese researchers say they have developed a new type of glass that can heal itself from cracks and breaks.
Glass made from a low weight polymer called “polyether-thioureas” can heal breaks when pressed together by hand without the need for high heat to melt the material.