Monday, February 28, 2011
Consumer Reports Finds Antenna Issue on Verizon iPhone
The Verizon iPhone 4's network settings menu. Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Consumer Reports claims the Verizon iPhone 4 exhibits signal loss when held in a specific way, similar to the problems seen in the AT&T iPhone 4 last year.
Never mind that Consumer Reports was initially hasty to downplay concerns about AT&T iPhone 4 antenna issues last year without doing testing of its own, only to completely flip-flop after running some lab tests and concluding that the antenna design was seriously flawed.
Now Consumer Reports says it has put the Verizon iPhone through the same lab tests inside a radio-frequency isolation chamber and found that the Verizon iPhone 4, too, may lose its connection when held “in a specific but quite natural way,” in areas with weak signal conditions.
“For that reason, we are not including the Verizon iPhone 4 in our list of recommended smartphones, despite its high ranking in our Ratings,” Consumer Reports said in its report.
In an episode famously named “Antennagate,” many early iPhone 4 customers in 2010 reported that covering the lower-left antenna band of the handset caused significant signal loss, or at worst, dropped calls. Bad press about the AT&T iPhone 4’s antenna design escalated to the point that Apple had to hold a press conference to address the issue.
CEO Steve Jobs explained to journalists that every smartphone has “weak spots” that may cause signal attenuation when held in a certain way. Apple found that keeping a protective case around the iPhone 4 decreased the likelihood of signal loss, so the company started a temporary free-case program for customers experiencing the issue.
However, in Consumer Reports lab tests, the iPhones were the only smartphones that exhibited signal loss when touched with a finger in a specific place (the lower left corner, where two different external metal antennas are separated by a thin black band).
Despite the wave of negative commentary on the antenna, the iPhone 4 was Apple’s best-selling handset ever, with 14.1 million iPhones sold in the fourth quarter of 2010.
In other words, even though wishy-washy Consumer Reports doesn’t recommend the Verizon iPhone, people are probably still going to buy it anyway.
In my review of the Verizon iPhone, I found that its call quality and reliability were superior to that of the AT&T iPhone’s. However, data transfers were significantly slower than AT&T’s, making the AT&T iPhone better for media consumption (watching Netflix, downloading apps, etc.) while the Verizon iPhone is superior for phone calls.
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/1p1WY8Dr_Mg/
Gadget Lab Podcast: Motorola Xoom, iPad 2, Intel?s Thunderbolt
This week’s Gadget Lab podcast zooms in on the Motorola Xoom tablet, the upcoming iPad 2 and Intel’s new Thunderbolt connectivity standard.
The Motorola Xoom is a neat piece of hardware. It’s got a 10.1-inch screen (slightly bigger than the 9.7-inch iPad), front- and rear-facing cameras, 32 GB of storage and a 3G wireless connection. Oddly, the audio speakers are on the back, which makes the sound rather poor.
That’s a solid feature set, but the cheapest Xoom costs $800 ? which is a pretty disappointing starting price compared to the iPad’s $500 sweet spot that nobody can seem to match. To be fair, the most-comparable iPad is the 32-GB model with 3G, which costs $720. But I argue the starting price will be the most important factor for new adopters who are still figuring out why they need a tablet in the first place, and $800 is way too high.
Nonetheless, the Xoom’s feature set puts Motorola’s tablet ahead of the iPad, so we’re interested to see what Apple has in store for us at next Wednesday’s iPad 2 event. We’re expecting an iPad with two cameras, more memory and a faster processor.
Speaking of Apple, the company introduced a major upgrade for its MacBook Pro family this week, adding the newest Intel processors and a brand-new connectivity port dubbed Thunderbolt. What’s Thunderbolt? Dylan explains it’s a versatile connectivity port that will eventually enable you to plug in just about any type of peripheral, potentially eliminating the need for desktop towers in the future. When was the last time you heard of a connectivity port this cool?
We close the podcast with a quick look at the iPhone game Tiny Wings (sorry, I called it Little Wings thanks to an on-camera brain fart), which soared to the No. 1 spot in the App Store’s bestsellers this week. It’s a cute game that perfectly executes the Angry Birds formula, so no wonder it’s a hit.
?
Like the show? You can also get the�Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don?t want to be distracted by our unholy on-camera talent, check out the�Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab�video or�audio podcast feeds
Or listen to the audio here:
Gadget Lab audio podcast #105
http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0105.mp3
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/iMTziNmcV6g/
NAO report highlights education success in STEM subjects
Dawinderpal Sahota, Computing, Monday 15 November 2010 at 14:09:00
Take up of Maths and Science subjects on the up, but Department of Education
not meeting its teacher recriuitment targets
The Department for Education has made good progress in improving take up and The report, entitled The NAO claims that there is evidence that pupils taking Triple Science GCSE It is often said that qualifications in the pure sciences are a good basis Meanwhile, take-up of Maths A-Level has already exceeded the targets for 2014 The Department is not on course to meet the targets set by the previous ?The Department for Education has focused its resources on improving pupil ?To make further progress, what?s needed is a more joined-up approach,
achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects,
according to a recent report from the National Audit Office, although there has
been less success in attracting more teachers to these areas.
Educating
the Next Generation of Scientists, recently published claims that take-up
and achievement in A-Level Maths and GCSE Triple Science has improved, and that
the knock on effect of the success has been that pupil take-up of the three
individual sciences at A-Level has increased by almost 150 per cent in the last
five years.
are more likely than those studying combined science to choose science subjects
at A-Level and to achieve higher grades. However, by June 2009, almost half of
secondary schools still did not offer Triple Science.
for a career in IT and technology.
set by the Department of Education, but take-up of physics A-Level has increased
only slightly since 2005-06.
government for recruiting more mathematics and physics teachers by 2014.
take-up and achievement in school science and maths, and has made good progress
in areas such as A-Level maths and GCSE Triple Science,? said Amyas Morse, head
of the National Audit Office.
bringing together key success factors to maximise successful results and
efficient use of public resources.?
Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2273121/report-highlight-education
For astronauts in space, no time for the Oscars
Full story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41810553/ns/technology_and_science-space/
Facebook dumbs down privacy policy (in a good way)
Full story at http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/25/6133609-facebook-dumbs-down-privacy-policy-in-a-good-way
Silent Speech Device
Researchers in Germany are developing a device that translates the movements of the face into computer generated speech. It was demonstrated recently at the conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Full story at http://www.npr.org/2011/02/28/134068740/silent-speech-device?ft=1&f=1001
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Consumer Reports Finds Antenna Issue on Verizon iPhone
The Verizon iPhone 4's network settings menu. Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Consumer Reports claims the Verizon iPhone 4 exhibits signal loss when held in a specific way, similar to the problems seen in the AT&T iPhone 4 last year.
Never mind that Consumer Reports was initially hasty to downplay concerns about AT&T iPhone 4 antenna issues last year without doing testing of its own, only to completely flip-flop after running some lab tests and concluding that the antenna design was seriously flawed.
Now Consumer Reports says it has put the Verizon iPhone through the same lab tests inside a radio-frequency isolation chamber and found that the Verizon iPhone 4, too, may lose its connection when held “in a specific but quite natural way,” in areas with weak signal conditions.
“For that reason, we are not including the Verizon iPhone 4 in our list of recommended smartphones, despite its high ranking in our Ratings,” Consumer Reports said in its report.
In an episode famously named “Antennagate,” many early iPhone 4 customers in 2010 reported that covering the lower-left antenna band of the handset caused significant signal loss, or at worst, dropped calls. Bad press about the AT&T iPhone 4’s antenna design escalated to the point that Apple had to hold a press conference to address the issue.
CEO Steve Jobs explained to journalists that every smartphone has “weak spots” that may cause signal attenuation when held in a certain way. Apple found that keeping a protective case around the iPhone 4 decreased the likelihood of signal loss, so the company started a temporary free-case program for customers experiencing the issue.
However, in Consumer Reports lab tests, the iPhones were the only smartphones that exhibited signal loss when touched with a finger in a specific place (the lower left corner, where two different external metal antennas are separated by a thin black band).
Despite the wave of negative commentary on the antenna, the iPhone 4 was Apple’s best-selling handset ever, with 14.1 million iPhones sold in the fourth quarter of 2010.
In other words, even though wishy-washy Consumer Reports doesn’t recommend the Verizon iPhone, people are probably still going to buy it anyway.
In my review of the Verizon iPhone, I found that its call quality and reliability were superior to that of the AT&T iPhone’s. However, data transfers were significantly slower than AT&T’s, making the AT&T iPhone better for media consumption (watching Netflix, downloading apps, etc.) while the Verizon iPhone is superior for phone calls.
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/1p1WY8Dr_Mg/
Gadget Lab Podcast: Motorola Xoom, iPad 2, Intel?s Thunderbolt
This week’s Gadget Lab podcast zooms in on the Motorola Xoom tablet, the upcoming iPad 2 and Intel’s new Thunderbolt connectivity standard.
The Motorola Xoom is a neat piece of hardware. It’s got a 10.1-inch screen (slightly bigger than the 9.7-inch iPad), front- and rear-facing cameras, 32 GB of storage and a 3G wireless connection. Oddly, the audio speakers are on the back, which makes the sound rather poor.
That’s a solid feature set, but the cheapest Xoom costs $800 ? which is a pretty disappointing starting price compared to the iPad’s $500 sweet spot that nobody can seem to match. To be fair, the most-comparable iPad is the 32-GB model with 3G, which costs $720. But I argue the starting price will be the most important factor for new adopters who are still figuring out why they need a tablet in the first place, and $800 is way too high.
Nonetheless, the Xoom’s feature set puts Motorola’s tablet ahead of the iPad, so we’re interested to see what Apple has in store for us at next Wednesday’s iPad 2 event. We’re expecting an iPad with two cameras, more memory and a faster processor.
Speaking of Apple, the company introduced a major upgrade for its MacBook Pro family this week, adding the newest Intel processors and a brand-new connectivity port dubbed Thunderbolt. What’s Thunderbolt? Dylan explains it’s a versatile connectivity port that will eventually enable you to plug in just about any type of peripheral, potentially eliminating the need for desktop towers in the future. When was the last time you heard of a connectivity port this cool?
We close the podcast with a quick look at the iPhone game Tiny Wings (sorry, I called it Little Wings thanks to an on-camera brain fart), which soared to the No. 1 spot in the App Store’s bestsellers this week. It’s a cute game that perfectly executes the Angry Birds formula, so no wonder it’s a hit.
?
Like the show? You can also get the�Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don?t want to be distracted by our unholy on-camera talent, check out the�Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab�video or�audio podcast feeds
Or listen to the audio here:
Gadget Lab audio podcast #105
http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0105.mp3
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/iMTziNmcV6g/
NAO report highlights education success in STEM subjects
Dawinderpal Sahota, Computing, Monday 15 November 2010 at 14:09:00
Take up of Maths and Science subjects on the up, but Department of Education
not meeting its teacher recriuitment targets
The Department for Education has made good progress in improving take up and The report, entitled The NAO claims that there is evidence that pupils taking Triple Science GCSE It is often said that qualifications in the pure sciences are a good basis Meanwhile, take-up of Maths A-Level has already exceeded the targets for 2014 The Department is not on course to meet the targets set by the previous ?The Department for Education has focused its resources on improving pupil ?To make further progress, what?s needed is a more joined-up approach,
achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects,
according to a recent report from the National Audit Office, although there has
been less success in attracting more teachers to these areas.
Educating
the Next Generation of Scientists, recently published claims that take-up
and achievement in A-Level Maths and GCSE Triple Science has improved, and that
the knock on effect of the success has been that pupil take-up of the three
individual sciences at A-Level has increased by almost 150 per cent in the last
five years.
are more likely than those studying combined science to choose science subjects
at A-Level and to achieve higher grades. However, by June 2009, almost half of
secondary schools still did not offer Triple Science.
for a career in IT and technology.
set by the Department of Education, but take-up of physics A-Level has increased
only slightly since 2005-06.
government for recruiting more mathematics and physics teachers by 2014.
take-up and achievement in school science and maths, and has made good progress
in areas such as A-Level maths and GCSE Triple Science,? said Amyas Morse, head
of the National Audit Office.
bringing together key success factors to maximise successful results and
efficient use of public resources.?
Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2273121/report-highlight-education
Discovery arrives at space station for final time
Full story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41796861/ns/technology_and_science-space/
Facebook dumbs down privacy policy (in a good way)
Full story at http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/25/6133609-facebook-dumbs-down-privacy-policy-in-a-good-way
Union Battles: A 'National Campaign' Against Labor?
Organized labor argues that its very existence is threatened by so-called right-to-work legislation that would make union membership optional for many workers. Republican governors, however, say that limiting union strength not only helps keep down government costs, but can also help create new jobs.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Full story at http://www.npr.org/2011/02/27/134064498/union-battles-a-national-campaign-against-labor?ft=1&f=1001
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Consumer Reports Finds Antenna Issue on Verizon iPhone
The Verizon iPhone 4's network settings menu. Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Consumer Reports claims the Verizon iPhone 4 exhibits signal loss when held in a specific way, similar to the problems seen in the AT&T iPhone 4 last year.
Never mind that Consumer Reports was initially hasty to downplay concerns about AT&T iPhone 4 antenna issues last year without doing testing of its own, only to completely flip-flop after running some lab tests and concluding that the antenna design was seriously flawed.
Now Consumer Reports says it has put the Verizon iPhone through the same lab tests inside a radio-frequency isolation chamber and found that the Verizon iPhone 4, too, may lose its connection when held “in a specific but quite natural way,” in areas with weak signal conditions.
“For that reason, we are not including the Verizon iPhone 4 in our list of recommended smartphones, despite its high ranking in our Ratings,” Consumer Reports said in its report.
In an episode famously named “Antennagate,” many early iPhone 4 customers in 2010 reported that covering the lower-left antenna band of the handset caused significant signal loss, or at worst, dropped calls. Bad press about the AT&T iPhone 4’s antenna design escalated to the point that Apple had to hold a press conference to address the issue.
CEO Steve Jobs explained to journalists that every smartphone has “weak spots” that may cause signal attenuation when held in a certain way. Apple found that keeping a protective case around the iPhone 4 decreased the likelihood of signal loss, so the company started a temporary free-case program for customers experiencing the issue.
However, in Consumer Reports lab tests, the iPhones were the only smartphones that exhibited signal loss when touched with a finger in a specific place (the lower left corner, where two different external metal antennas are separated by a thin black band).
Despite the wave of negative commentary on the antenna, the iPhone 4 was Apple’s best-selling handset ever, with 14.1 million iPhones sold in the fourth quarter of 2010.
In other words, even though wishy-washy Consumer Reports doesn’t recommend the Verizon iPhone, people are probably still going to buy it anyway.
In addition, even CR acknowledges that there are few customer complaints about the antenna problems with the Verizon iPhone. It may be that AT&T’s weaker network exacerbates the problem, causing calls to drop if the phone loses even a little bit of signal strength, whereas Verizon’s more widespread network means that a slight loss of signal is less of an issue, because the phone usually has a stronger connection to begin with.
In my review of the Verizon iPhone, I found that its call quality and reliability were superior to that of the AT&T iPhone’s. However, data transfers were significantly slower than AT&T’s, making the AT&T iPhone better for media consumption (watching Netflix, downloading apps, etc.) while the Verizon iPhone is a superior for phone calls.
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/1p1WY8Dr_Mg/
Gadget Lab Podcast: Motorola Xoom, iPad 2, Intel?s Thunderbolt
This week’s Gadget Lab podcast zooms in on the Motorola Xoom tablet, the upcoming iPad 2 and Intel’s new Thunderbolt connectivity standard.
The Motorola Xoom is a neat piece of hardware. It’s got a 10.1-inch screen (slightly bigger than the 9.7-inch iPad), front- and rear-facing cameras, 32 GB of storage and a 3G wireless connection. Oddly, the audio speakers are on the back, which makes the sound rather poor.
That’s a solid feature set, but the cheapest Xoom costs $800 ? which is a pretty disappointing starting price compared to the iPad’s $500 sweet spot that nobody can seem to match. To be fair, the most-comparable iPad is the 32-GB model with 3G, which costs $720. But I argue the starting price will be the most important factor for new adopters who are still figuring out why they need a tablet in the first place, and $800 is way too high.
Nonetheless, the Xoom’s feature set puts Motorola’s tablet ahead of the iPad, so we’re interested to see what Apple has in store for us at next Wednesday’s iPad 2 event. We’re expecting an iPad with two cameras, more memory and a faster processor.
Speaking of Apple, the company introduced a major upgrade for its MacBook Pro family this week, adding the newest Intel processors and a brand-new connectivity port dubbed Thunderbolt. What’s Thunderbolt? Dylan explains it’s a versatile connectivity port that will eventually enable you to plug in just about any type of peripheral, potentially eliminating the need for desktop towers in the future. When was the last time you heard of a connectivity port this cool?
We close the podcast with a quick look at the iPhone game Tiny Wings (sorry, I called it Little Wings thanks to an on-camera brain fart), which soared to the No. 1 spot in the App Store’s bestsellers this week. It’s a cute game that perfectly executes the Angry Birds formula, so no wonder it’s a hit.
?
Like the show? You can also get the�Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don?t want to be distracted by our unholy on-camera talent, check out the�Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab�video or�audio podcast feeds
Or listen to the audio here:
Gadget Lab audio podcast #105
http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0105.mp3
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/iMTziNmcV6g/
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