Google co-founder Larry Page, speaking at the company's I/O developer conference, suggested that there is "something wrong" if an Android handset cannot get through a full day without recharging the battery. The executive was responding to a question regarding the company's plans to address battery life issues on the mobile platform.
Following a video preview of Flash running on a Nexus One, Adobe has rebuffed claims that the software slashes battery life. Several bloggers, including Daring Fireball's John Gruber, observed that the battery charge indicator dropped from the 50 percent level down to 25 percent during the eight minute video. The preview was edited, however, making it unclear how long the team actually used the phone during filming.
Strategy Analytics has released research that shows battery life as the iPhone's most dissatisfying feature. The buyer analysis firm concluded that the most common owner of an iPhone falls into the 25-44 age group, with a $50,000+ income -- they are also likely employed full-time and over 80-percent own an iPod as well.
While Apple CEO Steve Jobs' concerns about 3G's impact on the iPhone's battery life were valid, the iPhone 3G still maintains a longer-running battery life than other popular competing mobile devices, including the new Samsung Instinct. PC World investigated several 3G smartphone handsets, showing that the iPhone 3G bests the Instinct, the HTC Touch Dual, and the LG EnV with 5h 38m, the only three others which featured over five hours of talk time.
The iPhone 3G's official launch on June 11th is just over two days away, and several industry heavyweights have already offered their opinions on Apple's next generation device, offering mostly praise, peppered with a few criticisms. Among the acclaimed technologists were Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, David Pogue of the New York Times, and USA Today's Edward Baig. The three writers noted that the different pricing structure and 3G battery life were two small strikes against the new device, but ultimately considered the upgrade to be a boon.
The MacBook Air's touted five-hour battery life is an almost acceptable measure of the ultraportable's abilities, while enthusiast site Mac on Air has performed a full take-apart of the laptop. According to tests performed by AnandTech, the MacBook Air is capable of running for four and a quarter hours with normal web browsing, while playing MP3s in the background. The test was conducted by browsing 20 web pages, spending 20 seconds per page, and looping music in the background. This test was designed to emulate standard usage, as one would experience taking notes in class or using the Air during their daily commute.
Owners of both the original Zune 30 and the new Zune 80 have discovered that the latest firmware is refusing to properly enter its sleep mode, say multiple reports from Microsoft's official forums. While the handhelds are supposed to enter a low-power mode when idle to preserve battery life when not in use, many are finding that the players continue to operate at near full power. In many situations this almost completely saps the battery when left overnight, users complain. Only models with a hard drive are affected, as Zune 4 and 8 devices (including Electronista's review unit) enter sleep mode properly.
