In-App Ads are the True Culprit of Poor Battery Life

There's thousands of tips out there for increasing battery life, but consumers still keep discovering that the iPhone, or any other smartphone, doesn't have enough juice to last them a full day. Well, Abhinav Pathak conducted a research study at Purdue in hope of finding a hidden culprit of reduced battery life. And what he found is truly unexpected; in-app ads are draining your battery.

Pathak's team of reasearchers developed a program called Eprof determines what functions of an app are using most energy. He then tried running it on 4 apps with in-app advertising: Angry Birds Free, Facebook, New York Times, and Chess Free. He discovered that 65%-75% of the battery power the apps used were spent finding your location and other information, and sending the info to the app so that it could target better ads at you. Only 10%-30% of the app's energy was spent running the "core functions" of the app. So next time you're wondering why your battery is dropping so quickly, just pay for some of those free apps.

Samsung Galaxy Note: Bridging the Gap

When I see someone with a tablet in one hand and a smartphone in the other, two things typically go through my mind; first, I think, I'm jealous but then I think, Isn't that an overkill? A smartphone and a tablet? That's about $800 up front, and $70 a month for the smartphone. And for some reason, I think that I'm not alone in thinking these thoughts. And if I'm correct, that means AT&T and Samsung could've thought of the next big product category.

The Samsung Galaxy Note

Whether you prefer calling the above device a tiny tablet or a supersize smartphone, Samsung's idea is to use it to create a whole new category of products that bridge the gap between a smartphone (3.5" to 4.6" screens) and tablets (7" to 10.1" screens). It's easy to tell the way Samsung developed the Galaxy Note's screen size; their largest smartphone has a 4.6" screen, and their smallest tablet has a 7" screen. Calculate the average of the two and you get 5.3"; that's the exact size of the Galaxy Note's screen.

These types of devices are off to a slow start, but Samsung does have faith in them. When Dell tried to launch a similar product, the Dell Streak, it was a failure. They soon took it off the market. (Then again, you could say no one would buy a smartphone from Dell regardless of how good it was.) And when Samsung first introduced the Galaxy Note, no carrier wanted to take up the offer, but AT&T made a last-minute decision to take a chance with it at CES.

Nevertheless, Samsung's new phone has many features that make it quite appealing to the public. First of all, its ability to serve as a tablet and a smartphone make it very appealing to the people who love technology but are budget-conscious at the same time. Not only is it's price only $200 (You'd expect it to be somewhere between the price of a smartphone and the price of a tablet), but its plans are relatively cheap. You can get it for $60 a month with talk ($40) and data ($20).

The standout feature of the new device is that it comes with the Samsung S Pen, a stylus for writing on the screen. To quote Samsung, the stylus can be used for "accurate sketching and artwork, and instantly capturing ideas freely before they float away." Included with the smartphone is S Memo, the best note taking app I've seen yet, which Samsung says is "designed to record all forms of user-created content."Your notes can include pictures, voice recordings, and text, whether it be typed or handwritten.


The other rather appealing feature of the Galaxy Note is its ability to split screens. The screen is big enough to be divided into two sections, one for each app you're running. This is compatible with almost every app available on Android 2.3


Whether this new device will be just another fad or a revolutionary new device, only time can tell. But that this device is unlike any other seen before, that we can all tell.

Samsung plans to release phones with a 2GHz dual-core processor!

How would you like it to have a phone that responds to your commands almost instantly, and runs huge programs without a problem? And what if that phone had a dual-core 2GHz processor? Well, by next year, Smasung will make this phone a reality! The Maeli Business Newspaper reports a Samsung official has said that they are planning on offering a dual-core Android smartphone with a 2GHz processor. 2GHz on each core! Samsung also will sell these chips seperately to make any device rocket-fast.

Kyocera Echo, dual-screen phone, to make its debut in three days, copied my idea!

Didn't Kyocera just copy my "BiPhone" idea? They did! In three days, the Kycoera Echo, the world's first dual-screen smartphone makes its debut! Sure, I'm happy that Kyocera is making this awesome phone, but I wanted to design it myself! Anyway, let's take a look; Kyocera did leave out some cool features that I thought of after all.

The Kyocera Echo features two 3.5" WVGA displays that can work in four modes; single-screen mode, which only uses one screen, "Simul-task" mode, which runs two different apps, one on each screen; "Optimized" mode, which has the two displays complement each other, like a map on one and directions on the other; and tablet mode, where the two screens act as one big 4.7" one. I did have a lot more modes in my idea... I'll explain all of the missing features below.

Another nice thing is that some apps like Facebook, MLB At Bat 11, and Google Maps are designed for the Echo, so you can use special modes on them. On the back of the Echo, you will find a 5MP camera with 720p HD video recording. And the specs are as follows;

- Android 2.2
- 8GB SD card included
- Flash 10.1
- 1GHz Snapdragon processor
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Tethering at an extra charge

And now for the features I got and they missed:

- The BiPhone screen can fold at a reflex angle for multiplayer games like battleship

- The keyboard locks and unlocks for better typing

- Magnets let you use the two screens as a belt clip for easy carrying

- Supports 4G networks

This phone looks very promising, but it could've been even better had they included some of the above ideas that I thought of.

The HTC Evo 3D- A 1.2GHz, 1GB RAM, glasses-free 3D, 3D picture-taking smartphone!

Sprint says they'll "pull back the curtain with the latest in wireless innovation at CITA." So, what exactly will they do? Tech and Cars presents you with the full scoop!

Sprint's biggest new product will be the HTC Evo 3D. This will be the sucessor of the Evo 4G. It will be extremely fast- 1.2GHz processor and amazing 1GB RAM. It will also have a glasses-free 4.3" 960x540 3D display. As usual, it will have a 1.3 MP front facing camera, but this time, it will have dual 5MP rear cameras so that you can take 3D pictures and videos! There will be 3D versions of Blockbuster and YouTube apps so that you aren't left without 3D videos. Sprint will also present to HTC EVO View 4G, a CDMA/Wi-Max vresion of their HTC Flyer tablet.

HTC Droid Incredible 2 is coming to Verizon!

Confidentail Verizon screenshots have been leaked! The results; the HTC Droid Incredible 2 is coming to Verizon! We can figure this out because one product is listed as "HTC63503", with the description "INCRD2".

HTC 7 Pro to be Released Feb. 24!

February 24 isn't going to be a big day; it's going to be a HUGE day! Not only will the new MacBook Pro and the Motorola Xoom be released, but the HTC 7 Pro will be released! A recent tweet by Sprint claims that their next  phone will have a hub for gaming, music, pictures, and video. And it even assures us that the phone will be released on Thursday, Feb. 24! This phone has been waiting for Microsoft to complete its Windows Phone 7 software update, which lets you copy and paste, and includes CDMA support. This phone probably is the HTC 7 Pro, because the hubs must be the hubs found in Windows Phone 7, and the only Windows Phone 7 phone rumored to come to sprint is the 7 Pro.

Samsung Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab II and Samsung 3D Smartphone leaks!

Internal Samsung documents have just been read by outsiders. They talk about a Galaxy S II, a Galaxy Tab II, and a 3D smartphone. I'm here to tell you what they say.

According to this document, the Samsung Galaxy S II will feature a 4.3" super AMOLED Plus screen with 800x480 resolution. It will also contain a 1GHz dual-core processor, and support Bluetooth 3.0. It could increase to 9.9 mm thick.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab II will have a 10.1" 1280x800 touchscreen, far bigger than the current 7" one. I think (and hope) that they will continue to produce 7" ones for those who need a very portable device. It shall run Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb). This also will have a 1GHz processor, but it is not specified whether this will be single-core or dual-core. I would expect that it would have two cores.

It turns out LG won't be the only one to make a 3D smartphone (see post "LG to Make a 3D Smartphone!"). This document says that Samsung will make a smartphone with a 4" 3D capable WVGA display. A Motion UI on this phone will let you pan Google Maps, Street View, or any application of that type by moving your phone.

Can you remember when we thought 3D required glasses? And when we thought the screen on the iPhone was huge? And when touchscreens were luxuries? Well, the tech revolution continues, and too fast for many to follow. Unless you read Tech n' Cars!

AT&T "Answers" to the Verizon iPhone

AT&T has just released their first iPhone ad attempting to have users choose an AT&T iPhone. It shows a husband at work. His wife calls, and asks if he's made plans for their anniversary. He says he did, but he is Googling "fine dining" while on the phone. The ad concludes with "Only AT&T's network lets your iPhone talk and surf at the same time". The ad is rather funny; you can watch it here

The LG Optimus V is Now Avaliable on Virgin Mobile

I still don't have an answer to my question "Why doesn't everybody use Virgin Mobile?" (see that post), but I do have further proof why everyone should use Virgin Mobile. First off, the LG Optimus V, a 3G+Wi-Fi smartphone with a 3.2" touchscreen running Android 2.2 is now avaliable on Virgin Mobile for only $149 with no contract. It was sold out, and currently out of stock (update: it is now in stock). Second, they've gave us HUGE deals on their phones. They lowered the price of the $249 Samsung Intercept to $199, the price of the $199 BlackBerry Curve to $149, the price of the $149 LG Rumor Touch to $99, and the price of the $89 LG Rumor2 to $49! Could somebody please tell me why everybody isn't using Virgin Mobile?

How to Save $930 on Cell Phone Service!

You're out shopping for a smartphone at a low price when you come across the Samsung Intercept, a 3G Android smartphone with a 3.2" touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard. And the price is only $100! So, you go ahead and buy that phone paired with the Sprint Everything Plan. After two years of service, you'll have spent a total of $1,780. Well, you've made a huge mistake. If you had got that same phone on Virgin Mobile without a contract, sure, it would've costed $250 upfront, but you would've saved 45 dollars per month on service. So if you got the Samsung Intercept on Virgin Mobile, after two years you would've only spent $850, and saved $930. So, the lesson is, next time you're out shopping for an inexpensive phone, don't look for the cheapest upfront price, look for the cheapest carrier. My recommendations for cheap carriers are Virgin Mobile (which offers 300 minutes and unlimited texting and data for $25/mo., and uses Sprint's 3G network), Metro PCS (which offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $40/mo.) and, if you rarely ever use your phone, Tracfone (which offers 100 minutes for $10/mo., and partners with many 2G networks.).

Why doesn't everybody use Virgin Mobile?

One mystery to me is why everybody doesn't use Virgin Mobile. Why would I say this? Well, because of the insanely cheap monthly costs. Consumer Reports recently found that the most complained about problem was price. After all, a plan with 400-ish minutes, a fair amount of texts and a little bit of data use costs about $60/mo on Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile. Comparison: 300 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data usage costs only $25/mo. using Virgin Mobile. And if you want more minutes, 1200 minutes paired with unlimited texting and data costs just $40/mo. Getting unlimited everything: talk, text and web is only $60/mo. Well, you think, there's gotta be a catch. How about their phones? They probably have really stinky phones! Incorrect. They offer many great phones, including the LG Rumor Touch, the BlackBerry Curve and the Samsung Intercept, an Android smartphone. How about their coverage? That's gotta really stink. Wrong again. Virgin Mobile has access to Sprint's 3G network. Maybe they have really long contracts? No. No contacts at all. Aha! So because they have no contract, the phones must be super-expensive! After all, the BlackBerry Torch costs $550 without a contract! Wrong a fourth time! The LG Rumor Touch costs just $150, the BlackBerry Curve $200, and the Samsung Intercept $250 without a contract. You can also get much cheaper phones like the LG Rumor2, or the Kyocera Loft for under $75. Ok... then why doesn't everybody use Virgin Mobile? That's my question.

Windows Phone 7

The HTC HD7, a smartphone that runs Windows Phone 7

Windows never really had a big hit with their Windows Mobile smartphone platform. Now, with Windows Phone 7 out and about, this will certainly change. The interface is much different than the home-screen icons found in iOS and Android. And because it's from Windows, it's got some advantages. For example, there's a great music and movie player taken from the Zune MP3 line. It's also rather gaming centered and lets you access your Xbox Live profile from the Xbox video gaming system. From Microsoft Office, it brings a great platform for productivity as well as the ability to edit Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents. The email is very good, brought from Outlook. They have launched an app store, and though very few apps are currently avalialbe, developers should start targeting this great platform with their apps.

BlackBerry Storm 3 Leaked!

There it is; the BlackBerry Storm 3! There's been rumors that BlackBerry is going to quit making Storms, but this looks incorrect as BGR has leaked photos of the Storm 3. The specs for this phone are just insane. I mean 1.2 GHz processor speed insane. Check out the full specs below:

1.2 GHz processor

3.7" 800x480 display (finally the improved the resoloution!)

5MP camera with 720p HD video recording

8GB storage

512MB RAM

2.4 GHz b/g/n Wi-Fi

BlackBerry OS 6.1

3G Mobile Hotspot