Olympus takes on the "lens camera" concept seen in the Sony QX  product family-- the Olympus Air A01, an accessory users physically and wirelessly connect to their smartphones for "SLR-quality" photography.

The Air A01 features a 16MP Live MOS sensor and can snap up to 320 shots on a single charge. It pairs with a number of Olympus photography smartphone apps (including one that replicates a physical camera mode dial and any number of filters) and is compatible with all Micro Four Third lenses from the company.

Interestingly Olympus bills the Air A01 is an open-platform device, as it offers developers an SDK for the creation of compatible apps.

Smartphone camera lens maker Moment proposes a means to turn the iPhone 6 into an interchangeable-lens camera-- the Moment Case, a handset case complete with bayonet mount and hardware shutter button.

Described by the company as "the fastest way to take better pictures with your phone," the Moment Case features a rubberised grip on the back and securely holds Moment's own 18mm wide-angle and 60mm telephoto iPhone lenses via bayonet mount. However the most interesting addition is a hardware shutter button. Separately powered by a coin cell battery, it pairs with the iPhone via Bluetooth LE and provides DSLR-style fine-tuned shutter controls with half and full presses.

According to University of Michigan researchers kevlar might be key for thinner and safer batteries, acting as an advanced barrier between the electrodes in a lithium-ion battery.

The solution is inspired by the battery fires that grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners back in 2013. Lithium-ion batteries produce power by shuttling lithium ions from one electrode to the other, with a membrane blocking the shortest path between the two electrodes. However the lithium atoms might start creating fern-like structures (or dendrites) poking through the microscopic pores in the membrane, thus shorting out the battery.

Enter the kevlar membrane. While current battery membranes feature pores a "few hundred nanometers" wide, the kevlar membrane features pores 15-20 nanometers across-- wide enough for individual lithium ions to pass through, but small enough to block the dendrites.

Google announces a major Google Glass shakeup, as it halts sales of the first version of the wearable device and moves the team responsible for its development out of the secretive Google X research lab.

For the curious 19 January 2015 is the last day potential customers can buy the Google Glass through the much vaunted "Explorer" program.

Meanwhile the Glass team finds itself becoming a standalone unit, one with chief Ivy Ross reporting to no other than Tony Fadell, CEO of 2014 Google purchase Nest. Or, as the team puts it, "we’re ready to put on our big kid shoes and learn how to run."