The iPhone 4's antenna issues have sparked off a firestorm of debate as to the root cause -- Apple says holding the phone differently or buying a case are the best answers, while other are going down a more voodoo path -- but our friends at AnandTech have done some more scientific testing of the problem and come up with a few interesting results. Turns out the iPhone 4 actually performs slightly better inside a case than a phone like the Nexus One, which has had similar issues crop up, but it's slightly worse when held in the hand, reporting an average signal drop of 20dB. Here's where it gets a little wacky, though: the signal meter in iOS 4 is logarithmic, so that 20dB drop can either leave you looking steady at five bars or drop you all the way to zero, depending on what the actual signal level in the area is like. Take a look at the chart above and you'll get it: the range of values between one bar and four spans just 23dB, while the range for five bars is 40dB. That means holding the phone in an area with a strong five-bar signal will have no apparent effect -- you can lose 20dB at full signal and still see five bars -- but holding the phone in an area with weaker coverage will easily drop the meter to one bar, since the 20dB signal drop covers almost the entirety of the remaining 23dB scale. Oops.
Of course, that's just the on-screen display, which Apple can and likely will tweak in a future iOS update. The real question is whether the reported signal has anything to do with performance, and Anandtech agrees with our general experience, saying that the iPhone 4's improved signal to noise ratio means it actually does a better job of hanging onto calls and using data when there's low signal than the iPhone 3GS. In their words, "this iPhone gets the best cellular reception yet, even though measured signal is lower than the 3GS." However, there's no getting around the fact that we've definitely dropped a couple calls with the iPhone 4 by holding it the wrong way, and Anandtech says the only real solution to the antenna issue will be for Apple to either subsidize free bumpers or add an insulative coating to the antenna band. We'll see what happens -- we've got a feeling an iOS update is on the way, but we'd definitely love to see Apple pursue a more aggressive solution to this problem.
It feels like it’s been forever since Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7. And, despite the fact the details came afterward, it almost feels longer since we actually heard any details about one of the future mobile Operating System’s coolest features: Xbox LIVE support. We know it goes beyond just having your Xbox LIVE profile/avatar, and we know the XNA framework will make it easy for developers to integrate features from the console to the handset, but apparently Microsoft is going for the throat on this one.
According to Oded Ran, who is the Head of Consumer Marketing for Windows Phone, “There are four million Xboxes in the UK compared to 2.5 million iPhones; we’re now working with developers who know how to make games, and they’re able to port Xbox Arcade games to mobile phones easily.” Obviously, the defining line has been drawn in the proverbial sand, and Microsoft wants to leverage the strength of their Xbox 360/LIVE/Arcade platforms, and make them a paramount feature on their upcoming handsets.
With the XNA framework, it’s also possible for developers and game publishers to create LIVE Arcade games for the PC, the console, and the mobile phone — meaning the level of playability, integration, and overall fun could go through the roof if the Redmond-based company actually implements it well enough to be interesting.
There are iPhone cases, and then there's Magellan's waterproof Toughcase. Priced at $199.99, it's actually just as expensive as a new iPhone 4 on contract, and double the price of an iPhone 3GS (which it actually houses). So, what does two Benjamins get you? Most would argue "not nearly enough," but argonauts may beg to differ. The case meets IPX-7 waterproof standards, enabling it to be submerged at a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes, and there's also an integrated 1,840mAh battery that's able to "double the life" of your iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or second / third-generation iPod touch. Moreover, there's a built-in high sensitivity SiRFstar III GPS chipset for superior GPS reception, and nothing here prevents consumers from accessing the touchscreen. 'Course, the sex appeal of your iDevice goes right out of the window once you strap this monster on, and there's no official support for Apple's newest iPhone, but it's hard to knock the approach here.
The life of the Microsoft Courier over the last few months has been one for the script of a soap opera. From seeing video of what the Courier concept would be, to its terrible cancellation, to some software confusion, the Courier has lived and died in such a roller-coaster fashion that it could be tough for anyone to keep up with. Even when Microsoft execs were being shuffled around (supposedly due to the Courier’s axing), the Courier was always the main focus. And today, based on a patent months old, we’re reminded all over again about what could have been.
A patent dating back to January 19th of this year just broke cover in its acceptance, and the receipt shows the design of the Courier plain and simply. As you might expect, even if Microsoft has officially canceled the digital journal, they now own the design for the thing, which means they could actually put the dual-screen tablet into production if they wanted to. But, we wont’ hold our breath.
Last we'd heard, the next major release of Android -- codename Gingerbread -- was scheduled for a fourth-quarter launch, but the always-entertaining Eldar Murtazin has apparently just spilled a few details on what he knows of the release on a Russian podcast. Most notably, the dude says that we can expect an entirely revamped UI -- the first that the platform will have undergone since its introduction -- and will take cues from the fancy 3D Gallery app launched with Eclair. There's said to be a new 1280 x 760 resolution available for devices larger than 4 inches, which would dovetail nicely with Verizon's desire to bring a bunch of Android tablets to market. Like Windows Phone 7, Murtazin claims that Google will be laying down the law with some hardcore hardware specs to run 3.0, demanding a minimum of a 3.5-inch display, a 1GHz processor, and 512MB of RAM -- so what about cheaper devices? Well, those will apparently continue to run Android 2.1 or 2.2, which sounds like yet another serious recipe for platform fragmentation from the outset. We'll apparently see the first devices launch in time for the holidays following an October introduction, which lines up with what we've heard so far. Needless to say, we'll be keeping a close eye on this one.
Update: Android team's Dan Morrill (full title Open Source and Compatibility Tech Lead -- yeah, that's a bit of a mouth full) is calling out the rumor over Twitter: "I love it when people just make stuff up" (sarcasm, obviously), "rumors are not official announcements," and so on. Guess that's how the, erm, cookie crumbles.
Oh sure, you love gadgets -- but do you have the chops to write about them? We'd love to know if you think you do, because we're looking to actually pay people to do this stuff. Professional writing experience isn't necessary (though it doesn't hurt), but what we really care about is that you can write skillfully about gadgets with wit, concision, and authority. And being obsessed with Engadget is good, too. We're looking for an editor in the San Francisco area.
Actually, T-Mobile will do you one better than merely putting a date on the release of the low-end Sentio touchphone -- they'll just go ahead and release it today to make it the carrier's first LG phone ever. That's right: you can now pick up the Sentio in-store and online for $69.99 on contract after $50 mail-in rebate, giving you a trio of threes -- 3-inch display, 3 megapixel cam, and 3G data -- as long as you're happy with a soft-touch blue finish, which is the only option at the moment. Until a good Android phone gets this cheap stateside, we suppose this'll have to do.
Part of Samsung's Galaxy S series, this high-end Android smartphone sports a huge 4-inch OLED display, fast 1 GHz processor, and 5-megapixel camera with advanced options and video capture. Other features include Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi with DLNA streaming, 3.5mm audio jack, and 16 GB of built-in memory plus a memory card slot.
While some people may not look forward to their Wednesdays, we can’t help but be excited about today due to the brand new MeeGo 1.1 User Interface screenshots that just made their way to the Internet. And, to make it better, today actually marks the first day of the MeeGo Handset User Experience Project, which seems to be designed to showcase MeeGo in its current form. Nokia is still planning on launching MeeGo 1.1 on Nseries devices later this year, and from what these screenshots show, they’re doing well for themselves.
And if you’re a developer interested in the next mobile Operating System from Nokia and Intel, you can download a preview image from the first day of the handset project, which you’ll be able to browse the source code with and go from there. And while the images and video are great to look at, probably the best piece of information comes from the MeeGo blog, which states that the team has been hard at work on MeeGo 1.1 for quite awhile, and they’re planning to launch it this coming October. Go ahead and check out the video below. If you’re at all a fan of Nokia, then you’ll be happy to know that they’ve still got a few tricks up their sleeve.
Honestly, it might be too late to save mobile TV, at least in the U.S., where the broadcast network for mobile devices has yet to catch on like it has in Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea. The competition is fierce, and growing almost daily, and mobile broadcast TV service offers few benefits over its competitors.
The first question you might ask is: what is mobile TV? Right now, most mobile TV devices sold are cell phones, and the carriers have shot themselves, and Qualcomm, in the foot over this option. Carriers have for years been pushing their concept of mobile TV, which until recently was really streaming video clips, not true broadcast TV. By the time Qualcomm finally decided to bring its own personal television device to market, the market was so confused about what to expect that nobody bought one. It’s a portable device with a rate plan and a subsidy, but it doesn’t make phone calls? Carriers had been pushing their lousy on-demand streaming clip service so hard, by the time a real broadcast device hit the street consumers wouldn’t trust the mobile TV promise.
The second question you might ask is who needs mobile TV? Obviously it’s not something you’d use in your house, not while the big TV is sitting right in front of you. Mobile TV has caught on among commuters. If you’re in a country where people take long train rides and wait in line to get on the bus, you’re probably going to find mobile TV. In the U.S., many of us drive to work, and plenty of subway commuters find themselves underground more than above it, where reception is weaker. We use planes, not bullet trains, to get from state to state. So, mobile TV already faces some hurdles in simply finding an audience, but these are not insurmountable.
The final question you might ask is why someone would pick mobile TV as their entertainment of choice. Here’s the biggest problem mobile TV faces. Chances are, if you have TV reception, you also have cellular network reception. Why watch video on a dedicated mobile TV device when you can simply use a device you already have? I’m not even limiting this argument to cell phones, either. Tablet computers, laptops and portable media players all have plenty of options for streaming video. Between Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and the many network-supported apps hitting the market, it’s easy to find television shows to watch. Even last night’s TV is available today on the right app or Web site.
Furthermore, pre-recorded videos are even easier. If you can load videos onto your iPad or laptop, why watch mobile TV? If you can bring along a portable DVD player, why bother bringing a mobile TV device, as well?
Mobile TV is better than streaming services because the quality is much better. It’s not perfect, but it beats the hell out of streaming clips. If you want to watch a television show, on mobile TV you start watching at the time the show starts, and you watch the entire show all the way through. Unlike clips, which require multiple 5-minute downloads, mobile TV keeps running, and since it uses its own network, it doesn’t hog your data plan. This could be a benefit, but it’s also the first problem that needs fixing.
Mobile TV could use an on-demand service, but it absolutely needs DVR capabilities. The lack of DVR features is the main reason I would never watch mobile TV. There are commercials. The shows don’t start when I want them to start. If I miss something, it’s gone, I can’t rewind, start over or pause the show. Mobile TV is an anachronism because of all these issues. It’s a new (in the U.S. at least) video service, but it behaves like a 60 year old TV.
It would be easy to add real DVR features to a mobile TV device. Just add a few gigabytes of storage and a solid DVR interface, and I’d be much more likely to carry a mobile TV in my pocket. This is an opportunity that TiVo has sorely missed. You can transfer TiVo programs to a mobile device or portable computer, but the process is long, slow and difficult. It’s not automatic, it requires separate apps, a powerful computer to encode the video for a mobile and a huge amount of storage space. If I want to watch last night’s Jimmy Kimmel or the finale of Lost that I’ve been saving, there should be an easy way to sit on the train on my morning commute and watch my shows. A mobile TV device with a built in video recorder would be a fine option, offering my saved shows and fresh programming if I get bored of my saved choices. If TiVo offered a portable device with their own interface and features that worked on today’s mobile TV networks, then I might consider buying one.
The best way to save mobile TV would be to make customers feel like they need one. There is a limited program selection on mobile TV. It’s not simply a rebroadcast of what the networks are showing, it’s usually a different lineup. Sometimes it’s intelligent, like when the networks rerun last night’s late night talk shows in the morning. Often, it’s kind of dull.
Mobile TV needs appointment television. If there were one or two fantastic shows that were only available on mobile TV, it would be a real coup for the technology. I’m talking about a water cooler show. Something that makes you feel like you’ve missed out if you haven’t seen it.
I subscribe to HBO not for the movies, but for the couple of original shows that I love. The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Bill Maher’s show; these are shows worth paying an extra few bucks a month. Mobile TV needs that kind of programming. A few original shows to get people talking would broaden awareness of the technology, and more importantly, get the TV press talking more about it.
Mobile TV also needs to improve quality dramatically. While it’s already better than the streaming services, that’s a low bar to set. The video quality needs to be as good as, preferably better than, pre-recorded movies. High definition quality would obviously be a bonus. If I can stream Netflix in high-def on my laptop, I certainly wouldn’t want to watch a smaller, mobile TV device that wasn’t even DVD quality.
I don’t think mobile TV is dead in America, but I don’t think it’s taking the competition seriously. People will not simply adopt mobile TV because the technology is there, but that’s been the attitude of mobile TV broadcasters so far. There has been no real argument for mobile TV against the myriad forms of video content already available. The recent Hulu Plus announcement should only light a bigger fire under the mobile TV movement, because Hulu is now bringing real, network television to mobile devices. If mobile TV can’t offer a service that is better than what we already have, there’s no reason for it to exist.
Oh sure, you love gadgets -- but do you have the chops to write about them? We'd love to know if you think you do, because we're looking to actually pay people to do this stuff. Professional writing experience isn't necessary (though it doesn't hurt), but what we really care about is that you can write skillfully about gadgets with wit, concision, and authority. And being obsessed with Engadget is good, too. We're looking for an editor in the San Francisco area.
