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NTT DoCoMo's summer mobile lineup is all about battery life, colors and LTE
While the semi-annual parade of new smartphone models at NTT DoCoMo often reveals some unexpected devices, this summer it had a bumper crop: we've already seen the new Sony Xperia A, Sharp's Aquos Phone Zeta and Aquos Pad SH-08E plus a Galaxy S4 in "arctic blue." Seven more phones round out the lineup and NTT DoCoMo is trumpeting 2,100 mAh minimum batteries, LTE, NFC and quad-core processors for the entire gamut. Other standout models include Fujitsu's 5.2-inch, 1080P Arrows NX F-06E, a model with a 16-megapixel camera you'll likely never see stateside, Panasonic's Eluga V P-06D with a 4.7-inch 1080P screen and a whopping 2,600 mAh battery, and Disney Mobile's F-07D, which should be an endurance wonder with a 720P screen and 2,600mAh cell. Naturally, there's a rainbow of new hues for most of the models, which will roll out over the summer in Japan -- click the source link PDF for detailed specs or check the PR after the jump.
iPhone users seeing battery life issues after upgrading to iOS 6.1
Some iPhone and iPad owners are reporting problems with battery life after installing the latest iOS 6.1 update, according to a Macworld UK report. Apple's support forums are rife with reports of excessive power drain that has decreased battery life to as little as two to three hours for some customers. iPhone and iPad owners are troubleshooting the problem, and some have traced the issue back to Exchange calendar sync. Others report a full restore via iTunes has corrected the problem. Apple has not yet commented on the complaints. This isn't the first controversy surrounding iOS 6.1. Last week, Vodafone UK told iPhone 4S owners to not install the iOS 6.1 update. The wireless carrier cited a performance problem with 3G and confirmed that Apple was working on the problem.
iPad, iPad mini win battery life shootout among tablets
UK consumer watchdog site Which? has tested the world's leading tablets to see how their battery life compares and both the iPad with Retina display and the iPad mini came out on top by a large margin. To be fair to all tablets, Which? took into account the screen size and brightness of each one. First, testers divided the tablets into two categories: those with screen sizes of 9.4-inches and larger and those with screen sizes of 7.9-inches and smaller. Then the company used a light meter to set the screen brightness of each tablet to 200 nits. For its tests, Which? measured the battery life of the tablets while using WiFi and 3G connections (if applicable) for web browsing and while watching videos. Out of the seven tablets tested in the 10-inch category for WiFi browsing, the iPad with Retina display handily beat out the rest of the competition. It tallied up a total of 811 minutes of WiFi browsing (that's 13.5 hours). The iPad 2 came in a distant second place at 590 minutes (9.8 hours). By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 came in at 532 minutes (8.8 hours) and the Microsoft Surface RT came in at 501 minutes (8.3 hours). The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime came in at the bottom with a mere 335 minutes (5.5 hours). Of the five tablets tested in the 7-inch category the iPad mini was the big winner -- and by a wide margin. It came in at 783 minutes (13 hours) while the runner up, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, came in at 591 minutes (9.8 hours). The Nexus 7 scored third at 550 minutes (9.1 hours) while the Amazon Kindle Fire came in at 437 minutes (7.2 hours) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 came in last at 425 minutes (seven hours).
Where are the extended battery cases for the iPhone 5?
Cases for the iPhone 5 are arriving, but battery-augmented cases for the new iPhone are still largely missing. Since Apple changed to the Lightning connector, every previous battery case won't work with Apple's latest phone. That leaves many people feeling a bit naked, because the battery life of the iPhone 5 is down a bit from the iPhone 4, and about on par with the iPhone 4S. The delay is the Lightning connector. It's proprietary to Apple, and while Apple will license and approve products, it's not happening at "lightning" speed. For heavy users, the built-in battery of the iPhone 5 likely won't make it through an entire day. I checked around to see what's happening with production of new battery cases, and I wouldn't expect anything soon. Mophie, who makes popular battery cases for previous iPhones won't commit to a date, but you can sign up to be emailed with availability information. Lenmar has announced a new battery case, and priced it at US$69.99, but it has a release date of December 24, 2012. Boostcase says it has an iPhone 5 battery case coming, but offered no details and no date. Some people who can't wait are going for external booster batteries, but they are a bit of a pain. As far as saving your internal battery goes, some people claim turning off LTE reception when you are not in an LTE area can really help. You'll find the switch on your iPhone 5 by tapping Settings>General>Cellular and then turning off "Enable LTE." We'd be interested in your thoughts and solutions, so feel free to let yourself be heard in comments.
How the iPhone 5 got its 'insanely great' A6 processor
It's hard not to be impressed by the A6 engine in the new iPhone 5, since it's now proven to deliver a double-shot of great performance and class-leading battery life. But silicon stories like that don't happen over night or even over the course of a year -- in fact, analyst Linley Gwennap has traced the origins of the A6 all the way back to 2008, when Steve Jobs purchased processor design company P.A. Semi and set one of its teams to work on creating something "insanely great" for mobile devices. Although Apple is steadfastly secretive about its components, Gwennap's history of the A6 (linked below) is both plausible and a straight-up good read for anyone interested in the more fundamental aspects of their gadgets. Whereas the A5 processor stuck closely to ARM's Cortex-A9 design, Gwennap is convinced -- just like Anandtech is --that the A6 treads a very different path: it's still based on ARM's architecture and it's likely fabricated by Samsung using a cutting-edge 32nm process, but it's an in-house vision of what a mobile chip should be. It's the culmination of four years of hard work and perhaps half a billion dollars of investment. That's not to say it's the most powerful chip out there, or even the chip most tailored to its host device -- after all, Samsung also designs great chips for some of its own smartphones. Indeed, Gwennap says that the A6 is probably a dual-core processor that is no more complex than Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 (let alone the S4 Pro) or the forthcoming generation of Cortex-A15 chips, while its clock speed could be as low as 1.2GHz -- versus a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos in the Note II and even a 2GHz Intel chip in Motorola's new RAZR i. However, Gwennap predicted that even if the A6 falls short of its rivals "in raw CPU performance," it'd make up for it in terms of low power consumption -- which is precisely what we've confirmed in our review.
Editorial: Physics and politics stand in the way of true mobile
Progress is lumpy. The future is attained in a series of epochal strides, each followed by a lot of relatively inconsequential shuffling forward. The invention of the internet (and especially the consumer-friendly web) was a rare giant step that motivated immense adoption of computers and digital lifestyles. A global marketplace of online citizens spawned gadgets, software apps, corporate gold-rushing and other feverish shuffling. Even with the opulent gadgetry we admire and enjoy, the whole expanding tech bubble seems to be reaching for something beyond itself. The incremental improvements of personal technology don't thrust into the future as much as push against constraining walls of the present. Sharper screens and thinner computers are delightful results of corporate development cycles. But we are tethered to the present, which one day will seem primitive in retrospect, by two unglamorous bridles: power and connectivity.
Nyko Power Grip for PlayStation Vita review: a $25 accessory that promises to double your battery life
Gaming accessories come in all shapes and sizes --- replacement controllers, portable console suitcases, specialized mice, control augmenting nubs, you name it. Whatever your niche, you can bet there's a product out there to fill it. Nyko, in particular, has made a bit of a habit of fulfilling a particular need: manufacturing third-party battery accessories for all those short-lived handhelds. The outfit has such a solid track record in the category, in fact, that we had little doubt its PlayStation Vita Power Grip ($25) would live up to its life-giving hype -- but we decided to put it to the test all the same. %Gallery-162642%
Ford, GE and University of Michigan team up on sensor to track EV battery life, keep us on the road
Believe it or not, EV battery life is still something of a Pandora's Box, even for automakers: they can tell you the battery pack's current and voltage, but not how it's really performing under pressure. Ford, GE and the University of Michigan are uniting to unlock that mystery through a new ARPA-E project. In its role, GE is developing a minuscule sensor array that will track the nuances of battery cells that existing technology misses; it will promptly hand the baton to researchers at the University of Michigan, who plan to both prove that GE's data is on the mark as well as develop tricks for predicting behavior. Ford handles the last mile, almost literally: it's planning to fit the GE sensor technology to one of its cars and test in a more realistic environment. Before you fantasize about knowing the lifespan of your Focus Electric's battery down to the minute, however, the new alliance is stressing that it's only just getting started -- there's another three years and $3.1 million to go before the project wraps up. If all goes according to plan, though, we'll have electric cars and plug-in hybrids that can not only tell when they've seen better days but can eke out extra miles through smarter battery designs.
Poll: Is Mountain Lion devouring your Mac's battery life?
We've seen plenty of users report that Apple's latest OS, Mountain Lion, has caused a massive drop in battery life. While we haven't been able to confirm any decrease in longevity with our own OS 10.8 machines, which include previous generation MacBook Pros and the company's latest Retina model, it's clear that some of you who were able to get the operating system downloaded and installed have experienced some not-so-favorable side effects with your Pros and MacBook Airs. While there are plenty of theories, there has yet to be a fix, though Apple is reportedly investigating the issue. This isn't the first time users have reported decreased battery life after an OS update, with a lengthy support thread popping up after Lion's release last year. So, how has the upgrade affected you? Sound off in the poll below to let us know.%Poll-76894%
Review: PowerSkin battery pack and protective case for iPhone
PowerSkin is an all-in-one external battery pack and silicon protective case for your iPhone 4 or 4S. It promises to double the performance of your iPhone's battery while protecting it from knocks and drops with a 100% recyclable silicone case. Personally, I've never been the kind of guy to use a protective case or extra battery packs for my phone. Usually, I'm never more than a day away from charging my iPhone, and although the idea of protecting my iPhone with a case really does appeal, I've always felt a protective case adds too much bulk and weight to make it practical for me. So when I got the opportunity to spend some time with the PowerSkin, I was curious as to how much of an impact it would make on my habits with regards to using my phone. Typically, I get through a day with between 10% - 20% charge left on my iPhone. I then put it on to charge through the night, so I'm all good to go with a fully charged battery in the morning. I wouldn't say I'm a heavy user, but I use my iPhone for data and calls throughout most of the day. If I'm away and I don't get a chance to charge up, I know my iPhone will see me through the day, and night, to about the first thing the next morning before it dies. So about 23 hours of my typical usage before my iPhone dies. With the PowerSkin, I'm pleased to say I got just shy of twice the battery life of my iPhone: a total of 45 hours. If I'd turned my iPhone off through the night, I probably could have knocked that figure up a few hours. But, for nearly two whole days, I didn't have to charge my iPhone. I have to say, it was a little disconcerting not putting my phone into its dock for its nightly juice-up. But I was also reminded of previous mobile phones I've owned, maybe 7 or 8 years ago, where I wouldn't think to charge the phone for two or three days as standard. Things certainly have changed! The PowerSkin has some nifty features as well as a great battery. It has a built-in LED light indicator to tell you how much charge left, and an on/off switch if you want to turn the external battery off altogether. Charging is made simple enough with a USB cable plugged into your Mac, PC or USB mains adapter -- the PowerSkin also makes sure the iPhone battery charges first, before its own. Another nice touch is synginc to iTunes while charging -- a bonus if you're not using WiFi syncing. The protective case fits snugly around the iPhone, with all buttons, sensors and the camera unobstructed. And it's easy to put the phone in the case or take it out. With the case on, there is a serious bit of bulk attached to the phone. In my rough estimates, it adds about the bulk of another iPhone to your current iPhone, plus a bit of extra length at the bottom of the phone. It's not unusable in any way, but it did make me feel like I was using a mobile phone from the late 1990s, and I was much more aware of my iPhone in my trouser pocket. The silicon case itself provided adequate protection. If I was to drop my iPhone with the case on, I'd still be concerned, but the back and corners are well covered -- it's just the screen which is still exposed. Although I'm not a fan of protective cases and battery packs because of their extra bulk and weight (as mentioned above), the PowerSkin does a great job at providing protection and extra juice for when you need it. I can certainly see the benefits of having one in easy reach for those moments when you unexpectedly need an extra charge or some protection in a precarious mobile phone situation. With out the phone inside, the PowerSkin can easily disappear into a bag pocket or desk draw for such occasions. If you're like me and you prefer your iPhone sans case and additional battery, the US$69.99 price tag will perhaps feel a little on the pricey side for such occasional uses. But if you know that regularly you're going to come up short on charge, and could do with the protection, the PowerSkin is certainly worth checking out.
Android apps that use power control APIs are often 'battery killers,' oh the irony
If there's one thing Purdue University researchers can't stand, it's an inefficient Android app. They've already revealed how some titles burn huge amounts of energy just by running ads (e.g., Angry Birds uses 63 percent of its resources for flogging stuff rather than flinging stuff), and now they've confirmed something else that has long been suspected: many offerings on Google Play also contain serious "energy bugs." Specifically, these are apps that use Android's power control or wakelock APIs to prevent a phone going into sleep mode. The majority of developers use wakelocks properly, but around a quarter make mistakes in how they juggle different APIs, which can cause a fully-charged phone to drain "in as little as five hours." Out of 187 wakelock-exploiting apps tested, 42 contained errors -- although the academics stopped short of naming and shaming. There's a chance they'll list the culprits when they present their paper next week, which will also propose an automatic method for detecting the glitches. Will that be another app?
Army scientists juice battery voltage, hike life up to 30 percent
With the modern US soldier turning into a walking gadget, the army has some heavy reasons to lower battery weights. Its own scientists might have the answer, claiming 30 percent energy density jumps could happen using additives they developed. Those "sacrificial agent" materials would bond with electrodes to allow five volts instead of the four they've been stuck on, permitting a "quantum leap" in efficiency and weight. We'll have to see if that'll come to pass, but given the sheer volume of tech that soldiers are strapping on these days, it couldn't be too soon. To see a video of how it works, zap past the break.
Nintendo clocks Wii U controller life in at three to five hours on a charge
Nintendo wasn't particularly forthcoming with the specs at its keynote earlier today -- and, well, some things are probably best not mentioned when attempting to hype up your new console. Like, say, the three to five hour battery life on the Wii U GamePad. That's the word coming from a spec sheet posted by the gaming giant. Of course, that usage depends on factors like the brightness of the screen, and Nintendo warns that things may end up being shorter in the end. The slightly better news here is that you can plug the controller in to charge while playing, so that's something, right?
Boost case for iPhone keeps the battery going
I love my iPhone 4S, but I am one of many who doesn't get great battery life from the phone. Apple has done some firmware updates that 'addressed' the problem, but I think battery life on my phone is still sub-par. I've looked at a few battery cases, but many were pretty clunky and didn't seem worth the hassle. A friend tipped me to the Boost Case, and I found it on Amazon and gave it a try. The case I ordered fits the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, and is made of a hard rubber nonslip surface. You charge the case with a micro USB cable (included). The flat built-in battery puts out 1700 mAh. I plugged it in overnight, and blue LEDs on the back of the case confirmed it had a full charge. I slipped the iPhone into the 2 piece case, and started my day. Every time I looked at the screen, the battery reading was 100%. It was 100% through the morning, through lunch, all afternoon, and well into the evening when the iPhone started running on its own battery and I saw 92% about 10PM. The phone got normal use through the day. Lot's of email, some snapped photos which were forwarded to others, even part of a Netflix movie and the usual phone calls. I tried the same routine the next day with the same results. When I first got the case the iPhone reported that 'charging was not supported with this accessory', but the iPhone was indeed charging. After the first try I never saw the message again. I tested photos with the case on to make sure the case did not interfere with the camera lens. Pictures looked fine with no obstruction visible. Some users have reported shooting with flash can leave a bit of a haze at the lower right of the image. I made a few tests and the images looked fine, but your experience may vary. The Boost Case comes in a variety of colors, some models have a removable battery pack, others have it integrated. The one I tried uses an integrated battery and is only US $47.50 at Amazon. That's a pretty low price to completely solve the vexing problem of iPhone battery life. There are plenty of cases out there that provide battery extending functions. The Boost Case works very well and is worth a look if your iPhone battery life is less than stellar. Feel free to share your experiences with the Boost Case or any others that you have tried.
Editorial: Thin laptops are the new mainstream, but what about battery life?
Bandwagons, trains and Tranes. Can't say that these three have a heck of a lot in common in most regards, but one thing's for sure: trying to stop this trio would be a Herculean task. And so it goes with laptops -- once upon a time, it was good enough to have something that resembled a portable tower, but these days, the ability to even see the chassis at all feels like a negative. I exaggerate, of course, but the proverbial race in the laptop world is hardly about price; it's about thinness. Intel's unstoppable quest to plaster the Ultrabook term as far and wide as possible has led to a change in the way consumers are viewing portable machines, and Apple's devilishly thin MacBook Air certainly played a role, too. What we're left with is a very curious priority list, and I'm wondering if too many OEMs have stopped to wonder if the "obvious" is indeed the "right." I'll be the first to confess that I love the look of thin. Samsung's Series 9 and Acer's Aspire S5 might just be two of the sexiest machines to ever be built, and Dell's original Adamo was primarily of interest due to one thing: its jaw-droppingly thin frame. But there's some saying about putting form before function that seems to apply here, particularly when keying in on battery life. I've no doubt that the marketing and research teams for PC makers far and wide understand the realities of the market place, and perhaps the average consumer really doesn't need more than four to six hours of life on a single charge. Five years ago, squeezing that much life from machines under an inch thick would've required some sort of wizardry that exists only in a rarely visited corner of West Hollywood. But today, I'm a dreamer. And I'm dreaming of a laptop with "all day battery life" -- something that could be screamed from the rooftops, and honestly, something that could probably be accomplished tomorrow if our laptop options weren't on such a diet.
Samsung Galaxy S III battery tested by GSMArena, lasts as long as your tablet
Samsung made much ado over the Galaxy S III's 2,100mAh battery, but we've been wondering whether or not that power pack was a major perk or just a necessity to offset that hefty Exynos 4 Quad. One of what looks to be a growing number of escaped pre-release devices was put through the ringer in battery tests and came out looking spic-and-span: it lasted for just over 10 hours for video and voice, or long enough to make even a tablet like the new iPad or Transformer Prime break a sweat. Web browsing wasn't quite so hot, though, which at a bit over five hours was well behind the seven hours of an iPhone 4S. Don't expect the seemingly infinite battery of the Droid RAZR Maxx, and don't be surprised if final devices handle differently, but those with the international Galaxy S III should make it through at least a few interminable meetings watching their favorite reruns... not that we'd condone such a thing.
ASUS PadFone's real world battery life: 14.1 hours of 3G browsing in laptop mode (video)
Since the official launch at MWC, ASUS has been mum on how many hours its upcoming PadFone can stay on the treadmill for, but earlier today, we spotted an official promotional video -- which has since been removed from ASUS's YouTube channel -- that mentioned 16 hours of battery for the phone itself, 63 for tablet mode and 102 for laptop mode. Something smells funny here so we pinged ASUS, and guess what? Those turned out to be just continuous talk time over 2G, so perhaps said video clip was pulled to be re-edited. Conveniently, ASUS was also kind enough to share some very realistic battery life figures from the lab. With the corresponding screen set to 137 nits (about half the brightness), you get the following for phone mode, tablet mode and laptop mode, respectively: 2.6 hours, 10.7 hours and 17 hours of continuous WiFi browsing; and 2.1 hours, 8.9 hours and 14.1 hours of continuous 3G browsing. Just as promised before, the PadFone Station (the tablet) and the PadFone Station Dock (the keyboard) do seem to pump up the battery by about five-fold and nine-fold max, respectively. Now sure, these may make the 1,520mAh battery inside the phone look feeble and silly, but do bear in mind that these aren't the "up to" numbers. As always, stay tuned for our own tests whenever the PadFone finally lands on our doorstep. Update: A new version of said walkthrough video is online, now with a clarification at the top left corner in the battery life segment. Check it out after the break. [Thanks, Ex14]
iPad 2's new 32nm A5 processor improves battery life
If you're in the market for a new iPad 2, pay attention! As Chipworkds reported last month, Apple's put an updated 32nm A5 processor into the new Apple TV and the iPad 2. More specifically, the iPad 2.4. Compared to the previous 45nm A5 chip found in the iPad 2, the new chip comes in almost 42% smaller. And now AnandTech has the scores to prove that the new, smaller chip is much more efficient than its predecessor, particularly in the battery department. Apparently you can expect to see an 18% improvement when playing video, 15.8% improvement when web browsing and 29% improvement when playing power hungry games compared to the old iPad 2. How can you get your hands on one of these iPad 2.4s? Well, reports say they're rather thin on the ground right now. And unfortunately, the only way to tell if you've got one is by turning it on and peering at the system information. So, you'll either have to take your chances or wait for the new stock to fully replace the old. [Via The Verge]
Buying an iPad 2? Here's the rarer, more efficient specimen you need to (somehow) track down
Not all iPads are made equal, even if they're all packaged and branded identically. There's a major new mutation within the 2nd generation tablet and it brings significantly better battery life. Specifically, the fourth and latest production model of the iPad 2 (known as iPad2,4) has not only a lower price tag ($399) but also a new 32nm processor, which is significantly smaller and more efficient than those in previous iPad 2s (which had 45nm chips and an older transistor design). According to AnandTech, this results in an overall 16 percent increase in battery life during web browsing and as much as a 30 percent boost when playing games. Obviously that's worth having, but how can you tell if a boxed-up iPad 2 has the new processor before taking it to the checkout? Here's the downer: you can't. Until retailers' inventories naturally flood with the updated type, the only way to tell is by switching the slate on and running a utility like GeekBench -- and perhaps there'll be circumstances where you can give that a go on the shop floor. Alternatively, if third-party sellers discover that their stock is the iPad2,4, they could pull off a Darwinian win-win by marketing that fact to buyers.
HTC pats itself on the back for the One X's battery life, has plenty of help
If you're a smartphone fan (of course you are, if you're not then you're almost certainly in the wrong place, can we ask how you even got here?) then you've almost certainly been bitten by the bug of a battery that just doesn't last long enough, the normal side effect of a data hungry lifestyle. HTC says it feels your pain however, and thinks it's done quite a bit to lick the issue with its latest flagship phone, the HTC One X. In reports consistent with our experience with the dual-core AT&T iteration, a blog post on the company's site notes several others that have tested it out and come away impressed with the battery life it shows. While our tests with the quad-core global version left something to be desired HTC says the One bests the old Sensation by as much as 147 percent when it comes to talk time, and 39 percent in video playback, while Anandtech had glowing recommendations for both versions. So, are you as impressed with HTC's engineering, or are you still pining for a larger RAZR Maxx-style battery bump?
