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Amazon Boosts Kindle Battery Life, Adds Native PDF Reader

Pulkit Chandna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:08:31 -0600

Amazon has added a native PDF reader to its Kindle 2 e-reader, making it only the second device in the Kindle family to boast this feature. The Seattle-based company also announced a much enhanced battery life for the Kindle 2. The longer battery life, it says, is the fruit of a six-month-long firmware improvement program.

According to Amazon, it has managed to extend the Kindle's battery life by 85 percent, which translates to seven days on a single charge with wireless turned on. But apparently Amazon's firmware improvement program failed to yield any such improvements in battery performance when the wireless is turned off. These enhancements will be delivered to existing Kindle owners as part of a firmware update. Some earlier versions of the device will also be receiving native PDF supports via Whispernet wireless.

Barnes and Noble is facing an enviable predicament, that of failing to keep the Nook in stock. But Amazon made it very clear in a press release that the “Kindle is in stock and available for immediate shipment today.”

In Test Windows 7 Netbooks Take Battery Life Hit

Ryan Whitwam — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:06:24 -0600

A new round of testing by Laptop Magazine indicates that battery life on Windows 7 may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Microsoft claimed that their new OS would result in better battery performance on some netbooks. The testing, however, says otherwise.

Three netbooks were tested: the Toshiba mini NB205, ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, and the HP Mini 311. On average, the computers ran down 47 minutes sooner with Windows 7 than with XP. Still, two of the units were running after nearly five hours, and the Toshiba made it nearly nine hours on Windows 7. It may not be the same as losing nearly an hour on a conventional laptop, but it is something to consider. If you plan to buy a netbook, will you be hunting for one running Windows XP?

Is Zinc-air Going to be the Next Big Rechargeable Battery Tech?

Ryan Whitwam — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:42:11 -0500

More than anything else, battery technology holds back mobile innovation. Sure, we’d all like super fast mobile CPUs, but the 10 minutes of battery life we’d get isn’t a good trade off. Battery technology has, thus far, advanced at a depressingly slow rate. However, rechargeable zinc-air batteries could actually deliver changes next year.

A company called ReVolt claims to have developed a way to make zinc-air batteries rechargeable. The batteries use oxygen from the air to generate current. Also, they don’t contain any of the toxic materials that are found in lithium-ion batteries, which are estimated to only hold one-third as much power.

In sciency terms, these batteries rely on reduction/oxidation reactions between a zinc and air (oxygen) electrodes. By using new gelling and binding agents, the previously single use batteries can be recharged. They have been tested for up to 100 cycles, but could be capable of 300-500. Smaller batteries for cell phones and hearing aids are supposed to show up in 2010. If that goes well, larger versions for electric cars could be produced. Will this revolutionize the tech world, or is it just so much hot air?

Microsoft, Intel Demonstrate Longer Battery Life with Windows 7

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:18:53 -0500

In a public display of their legendary camaraderie and combined muscle, Intel and Microsoft tried to convince a gathering of reporters in San Francisco yesterday that new Wintel PCs - featuring Intel’s yet-to-be-launched Westmere processors (32nm) and running Windows 7 - will offer vast improvements in the way of faster performance and greater power efficiency.

They demonstrated Windows 7’s frugal power management by running a DVD on two identically configured ThinkPad T400s. The T400 running Windows 7 only consumed 15.4 watts, while its Vista-toting twin hogged 20.2 watts. The executives claimed that this translates into an additional battery life of 1.4 hours.

The impressive power efficiency on offer can be imputed to a technology called Windows timer coalescing, which “helps improve the energy efficiency of periodic software activity by expiring multiple distinct software timers at the same time to increase the average processor idle period."

Image Credit: Cnet

New Samsung Netbooks Tout 11-Hour Battery Life For Marathon Squinting

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:47:11 -0500

Just this week Samsung introduced two netbooks that reportedly last up to 11-hours on battery power alone – an impressive number.

The first of the new netbooks is the N110, a machine that features an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, Intel’s GMA 950 graphics, a 1024x600 screen, and 802.11g WiFi.

Second up is the N130 (pictured), with an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, Intel’s GMA 950 graphics processing, a 1024x600 screen and, of course, built-in WiFi.

Now, I do realize that I just repeated myself almost completely over the last two paragraphs, but other than aesthetics (and price) there’s nothing setting these two apart from one another. The N110 will cost $469 and be available during the first week of April, while the N310 is coming “in the next couple of months” for about $580.

Image Credit: Samsung

Longer Battery Life, Faster Boot Times with Windows 7

Mark Edward Soper — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:17:16 -0600

This year's edition of WinHEC, which has already demonstrated Windows 7's digital goodness with Device Stage, has more good news about Microsoft's next desktop operating system:

Longer battery life
Faster boot times

As Maximum PC.com readers know, better hardware support has been a major goal of Windows 7 right from the start, and it looks as if Windows 7, even in its pre-beta stage, is making impressive strides.

Engadget has posted a video from WinHEC that shows a Windows 7 machine providing energy savings equivalent to an extra hour of DVD playback: you won't have to worry about running out of power before the movie ends, and you'll even have enough juice for a special feature or two.

WinHEC also featured Microsoft exec Jon DeVaan, the Senior Vice President in charge of Core Operating System Division, performing a "boot drag race" pitting identical machines running Windows 7 and Windows Vista: Windows 7 won by several seconds. It's part of DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky's keynote address, which you can see at the WinHEC virtual pressroom.

It isn't just Microsofties at WinHEC who are noticing the improvement in battery life; at jkOnTheRun, blogger Kevin Tofel put Windows 7 to work on two systems:

I have Windows 7 on the MSI Wind and also installed it on my Samsung Q1UP last night and there is a noticable difference in terms of run-time. I can't put exact numbers on it just yet and in fairness, it's probably not appropriate since this is a very early test build, but it's looking good so far for mobile devices.

Meanwhile, Lifehacker's Gina Trapani pitted Windows 7 against both Windows Vista and Windows XP on her triple-boot PC: a 3.16GHz Core 2 Duo with 4GB of RAM. Even with Windows 7 running on a slower PATA (IDE) hard disk than Windows Vista and XP (which are booting from an SATA hard disk), Windows 7 ties with Windows XP and both beat Windows Vista by 20% (measured from the operating system menu to the login screen).

Keep in mind that Windows 7 is still a pre-beta, so this level of performance should continue to improve.

If you're using Windows 7, are you noticing similar improvements? Hit the Comments button and give us the details.

Dell Announces 10 New Laptops, 19-Hour Battery Life, Linux “Latitude On” OS – Hands-on plus photos!

Norman Chan — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:30:58 -0500

The torrent of business laptop announcements continue. Earlier this week, we took a look at the new Lenono Thinkpad W700 and HP Elitebook 8730w 17” mobile workstations announcements, and now Dell is making itself heard with a completely revamped Latitude Business notebook lineup. We attended the Dell Mobility press conference event in San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art to check out the new laptops, which are infused with some very interesting technologies: 19-hour battery life and an always-on Linux-based OS frontend.

The new lineup of Latitude E-series notebooks rolled out at the event showcase Dell’s new commitment to extending battery life, adding robust connectivity, and enhancing product design. Here’s how Dell lists the new features, according to their engineering blogs:

•   Excellent battery life: some system configurations can get up to 19 hours. But it's not just the largest batteries that benefit—we've made improvements on battery life whether you use a 6-cell, 9-cell battery or a battery slice.
•   All models offer lots of connectivity options: Wi-Fi (802.11n), several mobile broadband options, WWAN, Ultra-wideband and Bluetooth 2.1. Most are WiMAX ready, and can be ordered with an optional GPS.
•   All kinds of security options: smart card and fingerprint readers, hardware-based disk encryption, contactless smart card technology. Another hardware-based security feature is Dell's ControlVault solution that centralizes user identity key management and storage.
•   Centralized control via software—Dell's ControlPoint software allows users to manage battery power, network and connectivity configurations and system security settings all in one place.
•   In the coming weeks, we will offer color options on the E4200, E4300, E6400 and E6500 in addition to Mica-Brushed Metal Black: Regatta Blue and Regal Red. The E4200 adds Quartz Pink as an option, and the Latitude E5400 and E5500 are available in Matte Black.
•   Slick design that doesn't sacrifice functionality: our team focused on balancing aesthetics with durability and functionality. Besides the looks, these laptops feature full-frame magnesium alloy construction and all-metal hinges.

Sounds pretty sweet. In addition, the new laptops can be equipped with backlit keyboards, LED displays, and solid-state hard drives.

So how does Dell get 19-hours of battery life out of a laptop? The 19-hour rating (which we’re skeptical about) is actually only achieved if you use a large 9-cell battery (upgraded from the default 6-cell) in conjunction with a thin battery slice that covers the entire base of the laptop. Because of the large surface area of the battery slice, it’s supposedly not very thick – but it’ll no doubt add heft to the system. Dell also claims that it has made significant improvements to overall battery utilization – an “all day” mode can be enabled with software to extend battery life by reducing and optimizing power usage (ie. lowering the screen’s refresh rate to 40Hz).

Another feature that Dell will be rolling out in the coming months is the “Latitude ON” technology, which, like the HP/Voodoo Omen’s Instant-On feature, is a Linux-based UI that loads instead of Windows. Dell execs said that they weren’t creating the OS themselves, but have partnered with a yet-to-be announced third party to create the embedded Linux solution (apparently not SplastTop). What will differentiate Latitude ON from HP’s solution is that Dell is also utilize a separate low-voltage sub-processor to power the Linux OS, which in theory will let the laptop run for multiple DAYS.

But on to the actual laptops. Bookending the product line are a 2.2 pound ultraportable and a massive 17” workstation powerhouse.

The Latitude E4200 is a 12” ultraportable, which at its lightest weighs in at 2.2 pounds– the smallest Dell corporate laptop to date. Along with its 13” sibling (the E4300), the 4200 supports options like a built-in camera, contactless smart card, LED backlit display, SSD drive, and backlit keyboard. Getting our hands on a working pre-production model confirmed that yes, it is pretty light! But we also couldn’t help but notice that the laptop’s plastic construction also felt a little flimsy – it definitely didn’t feel as solid or rugged as the larger Latitudes sporting anodized aluminum chassis. Still, we were impressed by its weight and compact size.

On the high end was Dell’s Precision M6400 model, which was a concept workstation built to compete with HP and Lenovo’s high-end offerings. The 17” laptop supports up to 16GB of DDR 3 RAM (!!!), terabytes of storage on two hard drives in RAID, Intel’s quad-core mobile processors, and Nvidia’s 1GB Quadro 3700M GPUs. The LED backlit display on this beast also supposedly covers 100 percent of the Adobe color gamut, which makes it well-suited for image editing.

No word on the pricing for these models, but they should be popping up on Dell’s website in the next few weeks.