We all do everything we can to keep our phones charged, but the time will come when you’ve run the battery down to where you must charge it during the day rather than in the evening while you sleep. Everyone knows you can’t go from zero to full charge in 10 or 15 minutes. But following a few simple rules will help you charge your phone quicker.

Completely Turn Off the Phone. This will not work if you’re waiting for an important call, but when you can, shutting the phone off completely will provide the fastest charge. You may not think that anything is happening when you’re charging, but when the phone is still on, it’s constantly polling its cellular service and even potentially updating apps in the background. All that activity slows the charging process. 

Use a Wall Charger, Not Wireless Charging. Whenever possible, use a plug-in wall charger. We know you can plug a USB cable into your PC or laptop, but that will almost always result in longer charging time. Even if you’re using a charger with lower wattage, an outlet will usually charge faster most of the time. While wireless charging pads are perfect for overnight use, a gold old-fashioned cable plugged into the wall is always better when you have little time to spare.

Don’t Use Your Phone While It’s Charging. It’s so tempting to fire off an urgent text or scroll through Instagram, but leave it alone. It will charge faster.

Consider Getting a Fast Charger. Nowadays, Apple and most Android makers don’t provide a charger with their phones. If you are still using a charger from an earlier phone, it’s probably a slow 5W model. You’re going to need at least a 20W charger to fast charge most current models. Also remember that there is a limit on wattage. You can’t buy a 100W charger and expect a 10-minute recharge. As an example, the iPhone 13 Pro Max has a charging ceiling of 27W.

Here are two of the better fast chargers:

• ArcStation Pro 40W Dual Charger from Spigen. If you have multiple phones in your household and fight for the charger, this dual charger will solve your problems. At 40W, you can fast-charge two phones at once. If one port is being used on its own, it can provide up to 30W for charging larger devices.
• Anker 725 Charger (Nano II 65W). This charger is a multi-tasker. The top port gives 20W of power for phone charging while the bottom can hit 45W. When every device you own is hitting that low power range, this is the charger you want around. Despite its power capabilities versus lower-wattage chargers, it’s still a very small adapter.
  
  

Last December’s Issue 8-25 had an article about the first tests of the SpinLaunch system for substituting a centrifuge spinning mechanism to hurl light-weight satellites into sub-orbit.

Now, NASA has said they are going to test SpinLaunch’s unusual launch technology. Rather than use a first stage rocket to get the launch vehicle out of our atmosphere, SpinLaunch uses an electric centrifuge to hurl the payload like a discus.

While the company’s kinetic launch system is unusual, it has the potential to affect positively both the environment and the cost. But it isn’t for all launches. Obviously, no one is suggesting its use for manned missions or super-heavy payloads.

The company says that SpinLaunch is ideal for any launch vehicle weighing in at under 440 pounds. The key is ruggedizing the packaging so it can take the punishment of 10,000 G force and being released at a speed of over six times the speed of sound (around 5,000 mph.) Once the vehicle is released, a second-stage rocket can take over and provide the power to get the package into orbit.

To quantify the benefits of the SpinLaunch approach, the company says that they can save up to 70% of the fuel by eliminating the first-stage rocket and that also means no need for the expensive launch structures needed with traditional launches. In essence, hurling the vehicle will use a quarter of the fuel at a tenth of the price!

NASA’s interest has led them to sign a Space Act agreement with SpinLaunch to develop and integrate a NASA payload for a slower sub-orbital launch. The payload will take measurements which will be analyzed by both NASA and the company. They are planning this first test for later this year. SpinLaunch is working on a timetable for a first orbital launch in 2025.

“SpinLaunch is offering a unique suborbital flight and high-speed testing service, and the recent launch agreement with NASA marks a key inflection point as SpinLaunch shifts focus from technology development to commercial offerings,” said SpinLaunch Founder and CEO Jonathan Yaney in a press release. “What started as an innovative idea to make space more accessible has materialized into a technically mature and game-changing approach to launch. We look forward to announcing more partners and customers soon and greatly appreciate NASA’s continued interest and support in SpinLaunch.”
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SpinLaunch has developed a render video on YouTube showing how this remarkable system will work.

The White House is taking a victory lap over its efforts to close the digital divide, announcing recently that 10 million households have signed up for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which was funded to the tune of $14.2 billion under the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The program, designed for low-income Americans, offers eligible households up to $30 off their monthly internet service, or up to $75 off for those living on tribal lands. 

The Affordable Connectivity Program grew out of the pandemic-related funding provided under the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, which offered low-income households up to $50 off their monthly bills. That program came together quickly and was marked early on by technical troubles that made it nearly impossible for some Americans who had been approved for the program to sign up for service with their internet providers.

Some providers were also found to be stretching the rules laid out by the FCC, which required people enrolled in the program to actively opt in to full-price internet plans whenever the funding for the discounts ran out. That approach was designed to prevent low-income Americans from getting hit with surprise bills they couldn't afford. But reporters found at least two providers were requiring people to opt in to higher priced plans as a condition of enrollment.

The false starts raised questions about whether the EBB program was really making a dent in the digital divide. One study last summer estimated that 36 million households might be eligible for the program. At the time, just under 4 million households had enrolled. 

The author of that report, John Horrigan, a senior fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, said the progress that's been made since then is "encouraging." "In a fairly short time frame, the program that didn't exist has ramped up to a good level," he said.

But even with 10 million households enrolled, tens of millions of eligible households may still be left behind. According to Horrigan's calculations, in 2021, there were 38 million households at or below 200% of the poverty level in the U.S., which would make them eligible for the program. That, he said, means "more elbow grease" needs to be applied in terms of outreach.
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While the White House’s announcement was a chance to celebrate the success of the program, it also marked the beginning of a dedicated push to get more Americans enrolled. The White House said the FCC and its local partners will be holding 10 enrollment events over the next month to both raise awareness for the program and train navigators who can help people enroll.

The BlackByte ransomware gang appears to have made a comeback after targeting at least three U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, according to an advisory from the FBI and the Secret Service.

BlackByte is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation that leases out its ransomware infrastructure to others in return for a percentage of the ransom proceeds. The gang emerged in July 2021 when it began exploiting software vulnerabilities to target corporate victims worldwide. While BlackByte had some initial success—security researchers tracked attacks against manufacturing, healthcare, and construction industries in the U.S., Europe, and Australia—the gang hit a rough patch months later when cybersecurity firm Trustwave released a free decryption tool that allowed BlackByte victims to recover their files for free. The group’s simplistic encryption techniques led some to believe that the ransomware was the work of amateurs; the ransomware downloaded and executed the same key to encrypt files in AES, rather than unique keys for each session.

Despite this setback, it appears the BlackByte operation is back with a vengeance. In an alert posted in mid-February, the FBI and the Secret Service (USSS) warned that the ransomware gang had compromised multiple U.S. and foreign businesses, including “at least” three attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure, notably government facilities, financial services, the food industry, and agriculture.

The advisory, which provides indicators of compromise to help network defenders identify BlackByte intrusions, was released just days before the ransomware gang claimed to have encrypted the network belonging to the San Francisco 49ers. BlackByte disclosed the attack the day before the Super Bowl by leaking a few files it claims to have been stolen.

Brett Callow, a ransomware expert and threat analyst at Emsisoft, says that while BlackByte isn’t the most active RaaS operation, it’s been steadily racking up victims over the past few months. However, he adds that because of recent action by the U.S. government against ransomware actors, the gang might take a cautious approach.

“The FBI and Secret Service advisory states that BlackByte has been deployed in attacks on at least three U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including government. Interestingly, no such organizations are listed on the gang’s leak site, which could indicate that those organizations paid, that no data was exfiltrated or that BlackByte chose not to release the exfiltrated data,” he said. “That final option is not unlikely: since the arrests of members of REvil, the gangs seem to have become more cautious about releasing data, and especially with U.S. organizations.”

Callow said that while all signs suggest BlackByte is based in Russia, since the ransomware, like REvil, is coded not to encrypt the data of systems that use Russian or Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) languages. That “shouldn’t be taken to mean the attack was carried out by individuals based in Russia or the CIS.”
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“Affiliates may not be located in the same county as the individuals who run the RaaS,” he added. “They could be based anywhere—including the U.S.”

If you’ve noticed cryptic new icons popping up on your phone next to the 5G logo, you’re not alone. Carriers are expanding their 5G networks in a big way this year, and those little “UW” and “UC” logos you’re suddenly seeing represent the different varieties of 5G you’re encountering in the wild. Like Pokémon, but way more confusing.

Isn’t 5G just… 5G? Nope. There are low, mid, and high-band varieties of 5G spectrum. They all provide different levels of data speeds, and all major US carriers use all three. Naturally, they also have different names for them. Depending on your carrier, you may see abbreviations pop up next to the 5G symbol on your phone when you’re connected to the corresponding network. Here’s a quick guide to the different varieties of 5G in the US and the abbreviations carriers have assigned to them.

5G Spectrum Basics. Broadly speaking, low-band 5G has widespread signal reach, but speeds aren’t much faster than 4G LTE (if at all). High-band 5G is very fast—download a movie in seconds fast—but the signal is extremely limited. Then there’s mid-band 5G, which offers a kind of middle ground between the two: far-reaching signal and speeds that are noticeably faster than 4G, though not shockingly fast like high-band.

Verizon
5G UW: Verizon refers to both its high-band and mid-band 5G as Ultra Wideband (UW). Until recently, UW referred only to the high-band network, also called mmWave. Verizon put a lot of energy into building and promoting this network, but even in the limited areas where it exists, the signal can be difficult to find. Starting in 2022, Verizon started lighting up new mid-band 5G spectrum in major cities and classified it, too, as Ultra Wideband. Not confusing at all.

If you see the 5G UW icon on your phone, chances are you’re on the mid-band network. If you’re on mmWave, you’ll notice a big difference in data speeds. But if your data just seems noticeably fast, not ridiculously fast, then you’re probably on mid-band.

5G Nationwide: Verizon refers to its low-band 5G as 5G Nationwide. You’re connected to this network if you just see a 5G logo on your phone without “UW” next to it. And if your reaction to seeing that 5G icon pop up is something like “Huh, this doesn’t seem any faster than 4G,” you’re not imagining things. It’s generally not much faster than LTE. Certain Verizon plans, like its basic 5G Start unlimited plan, only include this low-band version of 5G. 

AT&T
5G Plus: A “5G+” logo on your screen means you’re connected to either AT&T’s high-band or mid-band spectrum. AT&T has put much less effort behind building out a high-band network outside of stadiums and airport terminals, so you’re not likely to encounter it just out-and-about. As of early 2022, mid-band AT&T spectrum is also sort of scarce since the carrier is taking a “kill two birds with one stone” approach to its mid-band expansion. A 5G logo without the “Plus” refers to the carrier’s low-band 5G network, which, it’s worth repeating, is not much faster than LTE.

T-Mobile
5G UC: T-Mobile’s “Ultra Capacity” network technically includes high-band 5G, but the bulk of the network—and T-Mobile’s advertising—is centered on the mid-band spectrum included in the name. While Verizon and AT&T are just getting their mid-band networks up and running, T-Mobile got a head start with the 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum it picked up when it acquired Sprint. If you see that “5G UC” logo on your phone, you can bet that’s the spectrum you’re connected to. 
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Extended Range: A 5G logo without “UC” indicates that you’re connected to low-band 5G, which T-Mobile calls “Extended Range.” Again, it’s not much faster than LTE, but coverage is more widespread than mid-band or high-band 5G. If you’ve seen a 5G logo on your T-Mobile phone and been unimpressed by the data speeds, that might be why.

Here are a few FinTech firms that are emblematic of how technology innovation is shaping the future of money across a variety of financial services.

Versapay—Accounts receivable
In its quest to rid companies of paper checks, Toronto-based Versapay has developed one of the first collaborative accounts receivable platforms, combining advanced invoicing, automation, and payments technology to deliver improvements and efficiencies for its 250,000 business clients. It has mushroomed during the pandemic, which fueled a demand for digital payments, including the digitizing of accounts receivable services. In a recent interview, Versapay CEO Craig O'Neill said a large majority of finance leaders will adopt digitized payments in the next few years. "Surveys show that 93% of finance leaders are saying they're going to digitize how they do business on both the accounts payable and accounts receivable side. There's going to be a sea change over the next couple of years, which will really change the face of business: paper goes away completely, including check stock, and will set people free to work wherever they want," he said.  

BestEgg—Personal lending and financial management resources
This Wilmington, Del.-based FinTech, is on a mission to help people feel more confident about their everyday finances by making money accessible through fast, simple, and easy personal loans. BestEgg has created a proprietary AI platform to deliver digital products including loans for debt consolidation, credit card refinancing, home improvement, moving, vacation and baby adoption. BestEgg recently introduced an online financial health platform to bolster confidence for consumers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a debilitating effect on many peoples' finances. "The future of digital finance is human," says Sabrina DeVito, chief strategy officer for Marlette Holdings, which operates BestEgg. "Digital can come across as cold, but the winners are going to be those who not only use digital to create extraordinary experiences but also are human in how they come across," she said.

Kabbage—Small business financing
Small businesses took a beating during the coronavirus pandemic—large numbers shut down permanently, crippling local communities both economically and socially. Fortunately, more small businesses are forming in the shadow of the pandemic, and one FinTech is helping to make that possible. Kabbage, backed by American Express, is a one-stop FinTech resource for small businesses, providing access to cash flow solutions such as business checking, flexible funding, and payment processing services. It recently launched Kabbage Funding, which provides flexible lines of credit between $1,000 and $150,000, and Kabbage Checking for online business checking accounts.
"We saw a technology opportunity; a way to use an API to automate serving a business that couldn't have been served previously," said Kathryn Petralia, co-founder of Kabbage. Petralia says what she's seeing with small businesses is that there's more support by many other companies to serve these unserved small businesses. "They're a vital part of the economy—a vital part of job growth and so now we can do that using technology where we couldn't do it before because it was always hard to market to small business. But thanks to the data and these new technology platforms, we can do it," Petralia said.

UpTip—Cashless tipping
This new startup replaces cash tipping with an e-payment platform and enables users to provide ratings on service providers such as wait staff and limousine drivers. Companies are given a QR code after registering with UpTip. Customers scan the code on their smartphone to view the company's profile, give a star rating, leave feedback and, of course, provide a tip. Tips are deposited directly into a debit card or bank account of choice.
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The travel and hospitality industry is still struggling in the wake of COVID and so are the people whose lives and livelihoods have depended on tipping. Eric Plam, UpTip's founder, believes the pandemic has been a catalyst to help people figure out how much they value people who serve them and the services they provide. UpTip will help collect the data used to determine how much service staff are valued. "We really believe that personality, enthusiasm and merit should be rewarded and so this is one reason we enjoy tipping and that's one thing we do with our service and ratings platform—we try to raise people who are doing a great job because we want to help them advance in their careers", Plam said.

The Internet once held great promise to empower individuals, but it has become yet another path of control for bad actors. Today, authoritarian governments and companies around the world track and surveil individuals; data is not private and is sold for profit; some states algorithmically “score” their citizens; and propaganda and disinformation are rampant.

Thankfully, we are on the cusp of “Web3,” a next-generation Internet that could shift the balance back toward individuals. If the United States embraces Web3, it could also offer a pivotal advantage in its ongoing competition with authoritarian states, especially China.

What is Web3? To understand, it helps to go back to the beginning.

Think of Web1 as the original one-way Web pages of the 1990s—static sites coupled with the dawn of widespread email. Web2 came to life as the Internet became interactive, allowing users to log in and create their own content. At the same time, Google, Facebook and other massive tech platforms hosted “free” services in exchange for our data. Over subsequent decades, of course, the Internet has continued to advance and grow more sophisticated, but we mostly still operate in a Web2 world.

Now, we are closing in on a new version of the Internet—Web3—built on the blockchain, a technology that makes it possible to transact data securely, and smart contracts, which allow users to make agreements without relying on intermediaries, it’s what permits you to pay a vendor directly using cryptocurrency, no bank required. Web3 is still being developed and defined, but it’s clear that, fundamentally, it will offer a more decentralized version of the Internet.

Web3 is in its heady early days. New companies are forming daily to remove central platforms and bring decentralized, more secure services to users globally. Some focus on video-sharing services with no central repository—in contrast with YouTube or TikTok. Others are creating decentralized shared-storage options, unlike centralized cloud services.

These new services address many of the biggest problems of today’s Internet. Security is improved because there is no central database to hack. Privacy is protected because users directly control their data. Resiliency is built into Web3 through decentralization.

And this decentralization makes control by authoritarian governments much more difficult.

In 1999, it would have been hard to believe that one day teenagers would become millionaires by making videos of themselves playing video games or that political revolutions would be fomented on a website designed to share photos of college students.

Web3 could be equally revolutionary by shifting power back to individual users—which would be good for democracy and for the United States, for two reasons:

First, authoritarian states cannot abide private life because that’s where anti-governmental activities can percolate. China and Russia have already set up mechanisms to spy on and control the existing Web2 infrastructure through firewalls, censorship and coercion of technology platforms. Web3 would make such authoritarian controls much more difficult.

Second, although the United States still dominates Web2 in many ways, the Web’s current framework allows China to sweep up swaths of data to power its political and military artificial intelligence systems. The decentralization and personal data control of Web3 would make it much harder for China to maintain data dominance.

Web3 will, of course, be disruptive for good actors as well. Law enforcement will confront websites for which there are no “take down” notices and no corporate CEOs to enforce regulations. Intelligence agencies will need to find new ways to monitor terrorists. Seemingly invincible technology companies could go the way of Blockbuster. Nonetheless, the United States should not fear the rise of Web3—it should adapt to, invest in, and promote it.
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Geopolitics is about relative power and relative gains. Conceptually, Web3 is innately more beneficial to Western liberal democracies, which value democracy and personal privacy. This would return the advantage to the West and force China and other authoritarian states to confront their weaknesses, change them or fall behind.

It might seem counterproductive that a professor who researches the effects of technology on society would put his cellphone on mute.

Yet that's exactly what Simon Gottschalk, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, does during his time away from work.

Disconnecting from technology, says Gottschalk, allows him to do the things that really matter, like hanging out with his family, walking in the park, and sometimes, doing absolutely nothing.

Doing nothing, says Gottschalk, has benefits for productivity, health and forming true social connections.

“There's a lot of research that shows when the brain is at rest and is not distracted by so many different sources of stimulation, then new thoughts are possible. The brain starts thinking differently and starts focusing differently on one's environment," he says.

Doing nothing can seem counterproductive in our goal-oriented culture, but doing nothing isn't being lazy, says Gottschalk. In a recent study by the National Institutes of Health, improved memory and ability to learn a new skill were found to result from taking short mental breaks when learning new tasks.

“We're human beings and we need time to recreate and recharge ourselves," says Gottschalk. "It's not wasted time. It's time we really need to function and remain sane."

Some of the most productive people in history relied on down time to spark creativity.

“Einstein was known to stare into space for hours. What appeared from the outside as doing nothing was his mind working in different ways," says Gottschalk. “Because he was staring into space and his mind wasn't constantly distracted, then (he) could approach problems or approach questions completely differently."
Doing nothing can also prep us for better sleep, by reducing the external stressors of the day, says Gottschalk.

Different Approaches. Doing nothing means different things to different people. Meditation is one of the oldest forms of quieting your mind and body. And some things can interfere with our ability to zone out. Here are a few pointers for giving your mind a rest.

• Disconnect from technology. Before we can take a mental break, we need to unplug, Gottschalk says. “Disconnecting keeps us from trying to be involved in so many activities and being distracted all the time," he says. Gottschalk suggests turning off or muting your smartphone whenever possible.
• Let go after work. If you've had a rough day on the job, it's even more critical to decompress. If your boss or coworkers are negative or abusive, relaxing right after work can be the key to a better night's sleep, according to a study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Those who could take their minds off the workday through relaxing activities such as yoga, walking or chilling to music, slept better than those who ruminated on workplace incivility.
• Doodle away. Remember that teacher who yelled at you for doodling in class? Well, he should've encouraged it instead. Doodling increases blood flow to the brain's medial prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for regulating our feelings, thoughts and actions, according to preliminary research by Drexel University. Doodling, and to a lesser extent free-drawing and coloring, activates the brain's reward circuit that controls emotion and motivation. These 15- to 20-minute art sessions also offer a confidence boost. In a post-study survey, participants perceived themselves as having good ideas and being able to solve problems.
• Skip the binge watching. While you may be tempted to tune out with your favorite show, marathon viewing isn't exactly doing nothing. A University of Michigan study found that young adults age 18 to 25 who binge-watched shows regularly suffered fatigue, insomnia and poorer sleep quality, even though they reported sleeping seven hours and 37 minutes on average. If you watch one episode, chances are you might keep going unintentionally. The researchers found that binge watching kept subjects mentally alert, which may have contributed to their poor sleep quality.
• Protect your private time. It's important to keep work separate from family time and leisure activities, says Gottschalk. Set boundaries with coworkers, family and friends about your availability. Disconnecting from technology comes into play here, too. “Research suggests, for example, that mere anticipation that you will receive work-related emails after work increases your stress level. And that will increase burnout and increase many physiological consequences of stress," says Gottschalk. His recommendation: Put your smartphone on mute and have an automatic response message that says you'll return the call or email during normal business hours.

A ruling at the end of December by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has backed up an April 2020 decision by the FCC to open up 1,200MHz of spectrum in the 6GHz band for unlicensed use. Unlicensed means anyone can use it, if they do so responsibly, covering uses like your future Wi-Fi 6E home network.

While Wi-Fi 6 connections make more reliable and efficient use of the same spectrum, that’s been in use for the last couple of decades, especially when multiple devices are connected, Wi-Fi 6E routers will work at 2.4GHz and 5GHz plus the new 6GHz band. That has enough room for up to seven maximum capacity Wi-Fi streams to broadcast in the same area at once without interfering with each other or using any existing spectrum. 

Beyond that, there’s already work on a future standard, known as IEEE 802.11be or Wi-Fi 7. That could further optimize the use of the new band with even larger 320MHz channels, 46 Gbps maximum transfer rates, and more, but it’s not scheduled to be complete until 2024 (pdf).

In the immediate future, while 6GHz Wi-Fi has the same theoretical top speed as 5GHz Wi-Fi, the extra space means that instead of getting so much interference from other devices and nearby networks, you’ll have a faster, more consistent connection. Last year a representative for the Wi-Fi Alliance said that this should enable 1–2 Gbps connections over Wi-Fi, similar to what you see now with mmWave 5G.
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AT&T argued against the FCC’s plan, saying the commission failed to identify and address possible interference with “tens of thousands of microwave links critical to maintaining network infrastructure,” talking about the wireless tech that keeps many cell sites connected to the wider internet. In one filing, AT&T said, “The 6GHz FS [fixed service] band is the only band suitable for long distance transmission, routinely supporting paths between 10-50 miles and, in cases, even longer distances.” Mobile carriers preferred a plan where the FCC would auction off a chunk of the 6GHz bandwidth for use solely by their 5G networks. The FCC said that low-power indoor use protects licensed 6GHz tech like AT&T’s microwave links and TV broadcasts from interference, while “standard power” devices used indoors and outdoors could include automated frequency control to prevent interference.

Several industry pundits saw the tall-screen trend coming—but they didn't know things would get this tall. PC monitors that are taller than they are wide have enjoyed a resurgence last year, as they provide more vertical space for taking in long documents, articles, spreadsheets, and social media and news feeds. But this 420×1920 monitor takes the tall-screen thing to new heights.

As spotted by Gizmodo, the screen comes from Elsonic, a sub-brand of Japanese company Nojima, which started off with LED bulbs but now makes TVs and other tech products. The product page for the tall monitor specifically highlights web browsing, Twitter, and browser games as use cases. 

The display is only 8.8 inches, so it would best serve as a portable, secondary or tertiary monitor. It charges via USB-C but can't output video through the port. The monitor relies on mini HDMI for its video signal. That gives it a little versatility in the sense that it can connect to things lacking USB-C. But with more PCs ditching HDMI, and the monitor already having a USB-C port right there, it feels like a missed opportunity.

Built like a New York City skyscraper, the EK-MD088 takes up minimal surface space. Its base is approximately 3.07×0.83 inches (78×21 mm), and it towers 9.76 inches (248 mm) into the sky. The display should make an easy portable monitor (assuming you can find a case to accommodate its dimensions), as it only weighs about 0.43 pounds (198 g). 

A 420×1920 resolution gives the TFT panel an aspect ratio of 7:32. A picture wasn't provided, but the stand is supposed to allow for landscape mode, too.

Elsonic's listing doesn't get into color capabilities but says the screen has a standard refresh rate of 60 Hz and a typical brightness of 300 nits. The screen has two buttons on the side that let you pick between six brightness settings.
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Currently, the monitor is only available in Japan. So if you’re really craving this type of unit, you may have to act as an importer to get it. It's expected to release in "early February," the product page says, for 14,800 yen, which is about $128.21.