Hasta La Gadget!

We just crashed Sharp’s AQUOS launch party and got a nice look at the new AQUOS panels, along with a bit of a peek at the LEDs behind the curtain. In a lot of senses, Sharp’s new panels are a collection of last generation technologies: the LEDs aren’t locally dimmed, the 120Hz refresh rate falls short of the 240Hz that’s been bandied about of late, and the internet services don’t offer video playback or WiFi connectivity. That said, the picture is looking pretty great. Sharp credits its specialized LEDs for increasing the color gamut, and new LCD tech for improved blacks and improved brightness due to better controls and less electronics getting in the way. As for 120Hz, Sharp says that its engineers found that 240Hz introduced noise, and on a personal note we don’t think we need many more Hz in our lives. There aren’t really any excuses for the shortage of internet services, but we should be seeing some new stuff at CES next year. Localized dimming is also due for the next generation, but Sharp sees the next big step for LCD tech being the RGB backlight available in its XS1 top-of-the-line set. In practice the blacks look great and the colors look great, but we’ll have to sit these new sets down next to competing TVs to really get a good idea of where Sharp’s at with this gen.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Sharp’s new AQUOS lineup eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Many iPhone 3GS owners are complaining about their handset’s battery life falling short of expectations. Their units are likely defective, because Wired.com was not able to replicate the issue through rigorous battery testing.

In response to a query about the iPhone 3GS’ battery life, 25 readers e-mailed Wired.com citing issues with battery life, and 11 expressed the same complaint to @Wired via Twitter. The majority said their iPhone 3GS’ battery was depleting quickly even after light usage.

“Today, I took it off charge when I woke up (having charged it throughout the night) got ready for work and left my house at about 8 a.m.,” iPhone 3GS owner Mark Bone wrote to Wired.com. “I got to the train station and sent one text. On the train I played Mafia Wars for about a half hour…. By 12 o’clock I had 48 percent battery life.”

Consumers have been venting about the iPhone’s battery life ever since the release of the second-generation iPhone 3G. However, testing by PC World revealed that the iPhone 3G had longer battery life than competing 3G smartphones, including the Samsung Instinct and the Palm Centro.

Wired.com conducted a battery test comparing the iPhone 3GS with the iPhone 3G, and the former came out hours ahead. Running one of the world’s worst music videos on loop at maximum volume with push-notifications turned on, Wi-Fi turned off and earbuds plugged in, the iPhone 3GS lasted five hours and 47 minutes.

With the same settings, a one-year-old iPhone 3G ran out of juice after three hours and 48 minutes. We also ran the test on a seven-month old iPhone 3G, which shut off after four hours and 19 minutes. That’s consistent with reports that the iPhone’s non-user-replaceable batteries — like most rechargeable batteries — lose capacity with age and use.

Turning push notifications off only extended battery life by 15 to 20 minutes. Running the same test with push turned off, the iPhone 3GS died after six hours and 3 minutes; the one-year-old iPhone 3G lasted four hours and 2 minutes.

We acknowledge that the iPhone 3G being a year old likely means shorter battery life — but not by much, considering a seven-month-old iPhone 3G stayed live only about 30 minutes longer. More notable is that our iPhone 3GS did not deplete as quickly as we expected, based on readers’ complaints. Also, with normal usage our iPhone 3GS has been able to run two days before requiring a charge. (The one-year-old iPhone 3G has generally needed a recharge every day or day and a half.)

But clearly, if so many customers are complaining, there must be a problem with some iPhone 3GS batteries. Our testing leads us to suspect their units are defective. If iPhone 3GS owners are experiencing surprisingly meager battery life, they should schedule an appointment at an Apple Store Genius Bar to request an exchange.

Apple has not acknowledged issues with the iPhone 3GS’s battery. The company did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

These are only initial battery tests, with an admittedly small sample size. We’re open to experimenting with other methods to run down the iPhone 3GS’s battery. (We’ll also consider purchasing a brand new iPhone 3G for testing if readers demand it.) Add your suggestions in the comment section below.

See Also:

• IPhone 3GS Handsets Overheat, Turn Brown
• Battery Issues Likely Cause of iPhone 3GS Overheating
• IPhone 3G Battery Life Bad, Still Better Than Other 3G Smartphones
• Review: iPhone 3G Trades Battery Life for Interface, Software

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

iPhone application analytics companies say their tracking tools have turned up a device ID that might represent a next-generation iPod Touch.

Two iPhone app analytics companies — Pinch Media and Medialets — say they’ve spotted a device-ID string labeled “iPod 3,1″ — which they believe to represent a prototype of a new iPod Touch.

The applications being run on the mystery device are larger, more popular titles, according to Pinch. Presumably Apple employees are testing the new iPod Touch with these more well known apps. The device ID began appearing in analytics reports since April, according to Pinch.

It’s reasonable to infer this is a new iPod: We all know Apple is going to keep rolling these babies out. The question is, when? Pinch Media in October spotted an unfamiliar device ID labeled “iPhone 2,1,” which turned out to be the string representing the iPhone 3GS that launched June. If we’re to make a guess based on timing patterns (eight months between initial testing and release), then the next iPod Touch would likely be hitting stores around December.

However, as The Unofficial Apple Weblog has noted, Apple’s iPods typically see a refresh around September for back-to-school season. Also, an iPod would likely take less time to QA test than a phone. So we would place our bets on September, too.

Best tidbit to derive from these sightings is they’re strong evidence that new iPods are coming soon. Even better, if the rumors are true, they’ll have cameras this time around.

See Also:

• Rumor: iPods Nano and Touch to Gain Cameras
• Leaked Case Designs May Predict Future iPod Cameras
• Cameras in iPods. Game Over?

Photo: Jolts/Flickr

The North American Eagle vehicle.

(Credit: Landspeed.com)

If you haven’t heard of North American Eagle, it’s a program to break the existing land-based speed record of 763 miles per hour by reaching 800 mph, which is slightly faster than Mach 1 (768 mph).

There are a range of technologies incorporated into the NAE vehicle to make this crazy land speed possible, including those that provide communication between car and control center. This is where Tropos Networks comes into play.

The company announced Tuesday that its routers are being used in the latest NAE trial runs in the desert at Black Rock, Nevada, this week, where vehicle speeds exceed 500 miles per hour. Onboard the NAE vehicle during its high-speed test runs is a Tropos 4210 mobile mesh router that provides real-time communication and data monitoring.

While network connection at high speeds is not new, as Internet access on airplanes has been available for some time now, the main issue here is latency. The NAE vehicle is a very-fast-moving land-based testing object, and it’s necessary that it has the capacity for true real-time communication.

To resolve this, Tropos system uses direct Wi-Fi links between the vehicle and ground stations to provide access to vehicle data with a delay of only one to three milliseconds.

…

(Credit: Jen Hui Liao)

You no longer have to be a Michaelangelo or Rembrandt to paint great portraits, thanks to technology. Jen Hui Liao’s Self-Portrait Machine will machine-assist the “artist,” via straps tied to the wrists, to sketch a self-portrait, after a picture is taken while seated at the …