4G wireless technology: A look at what's ahead

4G wireless technology: A look at what's ahead

As Sprint rolls out its 4G network and Verizon and AT&T plan their own, The Times asks analyst Charles Golvin what cellphone users should expect (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .

The first cellphone in the U.S. to use fourth-generation wireless technology — better known as 4G — debuted this month with the promise of super-fast download speeds, smooth video streams and even video chat. The phone came from Sprint Nextel Corp.; Verizon Wireless plans to launch its 4G network this year, with AT&T Inc. to follow in 2011 (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .

But how revolutionary is 4G? Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin talked to The Times about how it could change mobile communication (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery) .

How much faster is 4G?

Most 3G subscribers today can expect about 1 megabit per second download speeds on average. 4G networks might deliver as fast as 6 or 7 megabits per second initially. Eventually, a 4G network hopes to be about 10 times faster than 3G (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .

Will 4G improve voice calls and texting?

The impact on traditional cellular services, like voice and text messaging, will be negligible because 4G networks are being designed for data.

However, because of the specific airwaves that AT&T and Verizon will use for their 4G networks, consumers will find that these networks provide better service indoors than some of today's networks (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .

What will 4G enable us to do on our phones that we can't do with 3G?

One thing you'll be able to do is watch a high-definition video stream on services like Hulu (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery) .

It will also be possible to take information from the Internet and interact with the real world in ways that maybe weren't dreamt of a few years ago. For example, if you were traveling in a foreign country, you could hold up your phone and look at anything written in another language, and the phone would show it to you in real time as if it were written in your own language (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .

A car is going to be very much connected in the future. Many cars have navigation systems today, but many of those navigation systems are offline. But tomorrow, as 4G networks expand, that navigation system will be updated in real time with traffic information, changes in new roads or streets becoming one-way (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery) .

What should consumers know about the two 4G technologies: WiMax, which Sprint uses, and LTE, which Verizon and AT&T will use?

The vast majority of the next generation of networks will be built using LTE. For example, when you travel overseas — if you have service from an LTE network, it's more likely your device will work in 4G in other parts of the world (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery) .

Because the cell providers will be using different technologies, will some be faster than others?

I believe that Verizon's technology will be faster than Sprint's when Verizon launches. But because Sprint has more spectrum, Sprint's customers may likely find that they get faster service than Verizon customers. AT&T will use the same technology as Verizon (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .

Is T-Mobile lagging behind?

Yes. T-Mobile has no concrete plans to build the next-generation network today (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery) .

So far, Sprint has expanded its 4G network to more than 30 markets, but it won't be in Los Angeles until later this year. Why was L.A. so far down the list?

Most companies want to launch new services in a market that is constrained or limited, and Los Angeles is a gigantic market. So launching here would require a much larger investment in the network in order to provide service to all of Los Angeles (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery) .

They need a market, initially, that is manageable and has good geographical attributes, like not too many hills (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery) .

Will there be increases in monthly plans and fees?

The only answer we have today, concretely, is Sprint's network. For example, Sprint just released their first 4G phone, the HTC Evo, and they're charging an additional $10-per-month service fee to use it on a 4G network (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery) .

Will 4G pose any additional threats to online security and privacy?

4G by itself won't bring new security threats. Rather, the more people use the Internet on a variety of devices, the more they have to be aware of security threats (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery) .

Car battery recharging still a hurdle

Far away from the glamour of the electric cars starting to appear on US roads, power utilities are working on the nuts and bolts of recharging batteries that could make or break carmakers' investments in the new technology (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .

The issues the utilities are grappling with are complex, unfamiliar and potentially costly. Decisions must be made, among others, on how, where and at what cost batteries will be recharged. Uniform standards are crucial (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .

Collaboration between carmakers, battery manufacturers, privately-operated recharging services, regulators and a slew of other interested parties is essential (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .

"There's a lot of education to be done on how to do this and how to do it cost effectively," says Mark Duvall, director of electric transportation at the California-based Electric Power Research Institute . "It's difficult to recover from a bad experience (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery) ."

Some electric cars are already on the road. Tesla Motors, based in Silicon Valley, has sold more than 1,000 of its electric Roadster model, and advertises 15 charging stations in California where the batteries can be replenished (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .

BMW's Mini has leased a few hundred experimental electric vehicles in select cities. A battery-powered version of Daimler's Smart minicar made its debut in the US this week. Smart aims to have about 250 on the road in coming months (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery) .

But the real test will start later this year when the first two mass-produced models, General Motors' Chevrolet Volt and Nissan's Leaf , start rolling off assembly lines (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .

The Leaf will be an all-electric vehicle with a promised range of about 100 miles. The Volt will run on battery power for up to 40 miles, but drivers can then fall back on an internal-combustion engine until they reach a recharging point (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery) .

Mike Rowand, director of advanced customer technology at Duke Energy, which serves about 4m customers in five south-eastern and mid-western states, compares the arrival of electric cars to the mass electrification of kitchens and laundries in the 1950s, and the advent of air-conditioning in the 1960s and 1970s (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery) .

Duke has included electric cars in its load projections for the first time this year, though with a high degree of uncertainty.

Mr Rowand estimates that if every Duke-supplied household bought a Volt, the demand would amount to less than a 10 per cent increase in overall electricity demand. "We do not expect to see any large scale impact on our grid for many years", he says. Even so, systems could be strained if cars are plugged in en masse at times of peak electricity demand. Utilities are likely to offer discounted rates to encourage off-peak charging, especially overnight (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery) .

The utilities and their partners are initially focusing their efforts on homes and workplaces where cars are typically parked for close to 20 hours of every day.

The typical electric car can be recharged overnight by plugging it into a normal 110-volt household power socket. But the process can be substantially accelerated by using 220-volt outlets or even more powerful "fast chargers" (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery) .

Mr Rowand estimates that installation costs, depending on the type of charger, will typically cost between $300 and $1,500.

Access to chargers will be more problematic for apartment dwellers and others without their own driveway or garage.

Thus, Mr Rowand predicts that most electric cars on New York's streets in the early years will be driven by commuters from outside the city, or by users of car-sharing services (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery) .

June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, agreed to pay Motorola Inc. an undisclosed amount to settle their

June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, agreed to pay Motorola Inc. an undisclosed amount to settle their battle over patents to wireless technology (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) . RIM will make an upfront payment to Motorola and pay royalties for future use of the technology, the companies said in a joint statement today, without providing specific terms. The companies also agreed to license each other’s patents related to industry standards for wireless phones and e-mail (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) . RIM and Motorola, which is preparing to spin off its handset business, have been suing each other since a license agreement that ran from 2003 to 2007 expired and the two were unable to reach a new deal. The litigation included cases in the U.K., a dispute over imports before the U.S. International Trade Commission and a half-dozen lawsuits in federal court in Texas (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) . Disputes among makers of smartphones, which can surf the Web and play video, have increased as sales of the devices outpace the rest of the handset market. Apple Inc.’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry overtook Motorola in global unit sales last quarter, according to researcher ISuppli Corp. Motorola makes the Droid, which runs on Google Inc.’s Android software (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery) . “It behooves them to come to terms and settle,” said Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw Inc. in New York, who has a “market perform” rating on RIM. “The reality of the market is that eventually they will be stepping on each other’s toes (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .” No ‘Material Impact’ Motorola rose 27 cents, or 4 percent, to $7.11 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. RIM added 39 cents to $59.50 on the Nasdaq Stock Market (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery) . Marisa Conway, a spokeswoman for Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM, and Tama McWhinney, a spokeswoman for Schaumburg, Illinois- based Motorola, said the companies aren’t providing more detail on the financial terms of the agreement (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) . RIM, which had $15 billion in sales last year, said in a regulatory filing that the settlement isn’t expected to affect its fiscal first-quarter results “or to have a material impact on operating results going forward (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery) .” Investors won’t “particularly care if there is a charge unless it’s sizable” because there is an assumption that RIM would have had to pay some royalty fees to Motorola as part of an agreement, said Nick Agostino, an analyst at Mackie Research Capital in Toronto. He has a “buy” rating on RIM (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery) . A charge of $500 million would “raise eyebrows,” he said. Visto, NTP Settlements RIM last year agreed to pay $267.5 million to end a patent dispute with mobile-phone software maker Visto Corp., and in 2006 paid $612.5 million to settle a suit filed by patent owner NTP Inc. over e-mail technology (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery). RIM is also fighting a patent complaint before the ITC brought by Eastman Kodak Co. over digital-camera technology, and last month, FlashPoint Technology Inc. filed a case against RIM, Nokia Oyj, HTC Corp. and LG Electronics Inc. over focus and flash settings in cameras. RIM is also part of a case involving Samsung Electronics Co. memory chips used in the BlackBerry (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery) . In all three cases, the trade agency has the power to block imports of products found to infringe U.S. patents.The most recent development in the Motorola and RIM dispute came in February when the ITC said it would look into claims that BlackBerry devices infringe five patents (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery) . Motorola filed the complaint Jan. 22, targeting the BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, Bold, Storm and Tour, as well as their battery packs. The patents relate to some early-stage innovations developed by Motorola in areas such as Wi-Fi access, application management, user interface and power management (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ Battery) . Market Share RIM’s share of industrywide sales climbed to 3.6 percent, and Apple’s rose to 3.04 percent last quarter, according to El Segundo, California-based ISuppli. Motorola’s market share during the period shrank to 3 percent from 3.6 percent. Smartphone sales may climb 46 percent this year worldwide, more than triple the pace of the overall market, according to researcher Gartner Inc (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery) . The ITC case is in the Matter of Wireless Communication System Server Software, 337-706, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington). The civil cases are 08cv1545; 10cv480; 09cv72; 09cv464; 08cv317; and 08cv284, all U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas) (Fujitsu Lifebook S6120 battery)

Battery charge against jockey dropped

All Norberto Arroyo wants to do is to ride horses.

A series of setbacks temporarily halted that aspiration, but Arroyo might yet realize his dream.

While the promising 33-year-old jockey has cleared two important hurdles, he has one more to go (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .

Charges of aggravated domestic battery and a bench warrant for failure to appear for driving while license is suspended or revoked have been settled in Marion County.

He still must address a warrant from Saratoga, N.Y., saying he's a fugitive from justice for criminal possession of a controlled substance (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .

On May 12, the 5-foot-3, 115-pound jockey, who rode in many major stake races, amassed more than $37 million in purse earnings and won more than 900 races since he began riding in 1999, arrived at the Marion County Jail after being extradited from Kentucky.

He was accused of beating the mother of his children and skipping a court appearance for having a suspended driver's license (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .

"I was wrongly accused," said an elated Arroyo on Wednesday, while sitting on a bench inside the jail.

Arroyo was represented by William "Bill' Ramputi on the most serious charge - aggravated domestic battery.

The attorney told the Star-Banner on Wednesday that he talked with the State Attorney's Office and that prosecutors decided not to pursue the matter (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery) .

"The State Attorney Office did the right thing by dropping the charge because he wasn't responsible for any criminal action," Ramputi said.

Court records show state officials declined to pursue the charge late last month because the likelihood of conviction was minimal (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) .

As for the driving charge, jail records show that on Monday, Judge John Futch gave Arroyo a 60-day sentence. He got credit for his time in jail, and the judge suspended the remaining days (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery) .

Arroyo told the Star-Banner in May that he was in court, but had to leave early because that morning he had fallen off a horse, which ran over him. The pain was so severe, Arroyo said, he left court and went to Munroe Regional Medical Center.

His driver's license was suspended, he said, for failure to pay tickets in Massachusetts (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery).

On Wednesday morning during a brief first appearance in front of Futch, Arroyo signed extradition papers sent to the jail from Saratoga, N.Y., accusing him of being a fugitive from justice for criminal possession of a controlled substance.

At times while waiting for his name to be called, Arroyo, with his eyes closed and arms just a few inches from his face, knelt down and prayed (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery) .

He said the incident stemmed from a traffic stop last summer while he was riding at a Saratoga meet. He said his vehicle was searched, and under the passenger's seat was a small amount of cocaine.

He said he went to every court date and pleaded guilty to the charge March 5 (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery) .

He said he was supposed to be sentenced on May 7, to serve six months in a boot camp facility. He was unable to attend the sentencing hearing because he was locked up in the Marion County Jail at the time, which led to the fugitive charge.

Arroyo says he's ready to move on with his life (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery).

"I just want to resume riding horses," he said.

Working Toward the Next BatteryBreakthrough

If battery-making is an art, then University at Buffalo scientist Esther Takeuchi is among its most prolific masters, with more than 140 U.S. patents, all in energy storage (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery) .

Takeuchi developed the batterythat made possible the first implantable cardiac defibrillators, a feat that was recognized last fall with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama. Millions of heart patients worldwide have benefited from the implantable cardiac defibrillators powered by Takeuchi's silver vanadium oxide battery. With funding from the National Institutes of Health, she is developing new cathode materials for improved implantable cardiac defibrillator batteries, with her latest advances on this project recently published in the Journal of Power Sources (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery) .

A slide show highlighting Takeuchi's biomedical research is available on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm8MqA3u4MQ.

But now Takeuchi is applying to the electrical grid -- the vast, national network that delivers energy from suppliers to consumers -- her unique perspective on how to coax the best performance out of battery chemicals (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery) .

Having two years ago made the jump from industry to academia after 22 years, Takeuchi, a SUNY Distinguished Professor in UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, may be just the scientist to find the right combination of materials that will usher in the next energy storage revolution (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery) .

"Esther has a unique perspective," says Amy Marschilok, PhD, UB research assistant professor of engineering, who has worked with Takeuchi for more than six years. "In developing the silver vanadium oxide material that now powers the implantable cardiac defibrillator, she took an idea and turned it into a functional battery (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery) ."

"Now she's taking that experience and applying it to these very different areas," Marschilok continues. "Could a variation on one of the battery systems one day be applied to powering homes and buildings? That's the kind of perspective she has and it's what battery research really needs (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery) ".

In the past year, Takeuchi been awarded more than $1 million in funding by several federal agencies to develop better materials for batteries and ways to prevent their degradation (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery) .

With a new project recently funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Takeuchi and her husband, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Kenneth Takeuchi, are developing new, low-cost materials for rechargeable batteries (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery) .

The focus is on developing a distributed grid where renewable power is generated closer to where it's needed, rather than in a central place and transmitted long distances, the way the current grid operates (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery) .

"One of the key challenges in moving from our fossil-fuel based system to greener, renewable forms of energy is that whether you're talking about solar or wind power, these forms of energy are intermittent," says Takeuchi (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery) .

And even though the sun may be shining or the wind may be blowing, it's unlikely that either phenomenon will occur at a constant rate over time.

"There will be fairly large fluctuations in the amount of power being generated," she says (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery) .

That makes a robust, reliable method of storing energy absolutely critical. And it's a feature that has been essential in the life-saving biomedical devices Takeuchi has worked on in the past .

"To generate energy at a usable, consistent level, we will need to couple a dependable, energy-storage system with renewable power sources," she says (Dell INSPIRON 1420 Battery) .

Takeuchi's work on biomedical devices has provided her with an unusual appreciation for the properties of batteries that have exceptional longevity. The typical lifetime of a batteryin an implantable device is 5-10 years and Takeuchi is one of those leading the push to increase that for both biomedical and utility applications (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery) .

"Whether you're talking about the power grid, electrical vehicles or biomedical devices the quest is for low cost, longer life and rechargeability," she says.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities (Fujitsu Lifebook S6120 battery) .

Battery-only cars face avalanche of negatives

Discount high quality laptop battery for dell, hp, compaq, sony, acer, ibm, toshiba and so on at

www.daily-battery.com & www.laptopbattery-shop.co.uk
I didn't think I could come up with another reason why battery-electric cars make no sense for the foreseeable future, but try this.

The only way that unaffordable, impractical, battery-only cars will sell is because of huge government subsidies, and a few early-adopter zealots with too much money who don't mind being stranded every couple of weeks. Germany, Britain and the rest of Europe are involved in planning massive, painful and unprecedented spending cuts to their welfare, pension and public health schemes. Guess which government budgets will survive the cull; money for rich people who already have $30,000 to buy a second car, or funds for the poor (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery)?

So as the launch of the first battery-only electric cars approaches, the evidence is building. They cost too much. They have limited and unpredictable range. Claims that they emit zero carbon dioxide are erroneous, unless you live in nuclear-powered France, or hydroelectric Switzerland. Plans to have a store of charged batteries ready to replace spent ones might make sense in small countries like Israel and Denmark (as planned by Renault of France and Better Place), but the economics of the scheme don't look compelling (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

Later this year, Peugeot and Citroen of France will launch their C-Zero and Peugeot iOn battery-only cars on the market. Both vehicles are based on the Mitsubishi iMiEV, which is already on sale here (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

According to Automotive News Europe, these cars, about the same size as a Honda Fit, will cost $57,300 after tax but before government subsidies. The slightly bigger Nissan Leaf will be on sale later this year in Europe and next year in the United States. Here, the price is said to be under $36,000 after taxes but including incentives. Next year, Renault will see the first fruits of its battery car scheme when the Fluence appears (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

Volt helped by gas engine

At about the same time, Chevrolet should be on the market with its extended range electric Volt (battery-only power, but augmented by gasoline engine; range 300 miles), followed by the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid in 2012 (gasoline engine, electric motor used together or separately; range 300 miles (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery).

How can battery-only cars that run for 60 miles if you're lucky compete with electric vehicles that can use gasoline engines to extend their range, unless a government forces their sale? Battery-only vehicles are simply not yet ready for prime time and await some significant technical breakthrough (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery).

Most independent automotive experts share this doubt about battery-only cars. Renault and its Nissan affiliate reckon that by 2020, 10 percent of global car sales will be battery only. This is a much higher forecast than HSBC bank's 4.5 percent estimate. Germany's VW is believed to project around 1.5 percent (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery).

2 percent by 2020

Professor Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, reckons about 2 percent of the global market in 2020 will be battery only, with 14 percent "alternative" powertrains, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, or extended range electric vehicles (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery).

Even by 2025, Bratzel expects battery-only to reach 5 percent, with 20 percent "alternative" -- and variations on the conventional still accounting for 75 percent of global sales (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery).

"We believe pure electric vehicles will be mostly in cities and metropolitan areas and as a second car," Bratzel said. "Also we believe there will be a lot of financial incentives -- we just saw from China the other day that they will invest a lot of money to boost electric vehicles in cities (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery).

"In Europe there are the same discussions. Germany is not giving much yet. Range problems and infrastructure will reduce electric vehicle sales for the next 10 to 20 years to cities. But we expect a lot of dynamic in Asia, especially in China. The government in China knows that they have a great gap in technology between (the) West in conventional technology and can be more in the forefront in electric technology," Bratzel said (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery).

Joining the battery-only doubters, Honda of Japan, which has bet heavily on hybrids and hedged its bets with some fuel-cell investments, recently explained why it wasn't convinced by batteries (Dell INSPIRON 1420 Battery).

"We lack confidence in the electric vehicle business," said Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda's research and development, in an interview with Bloomberg, adding, "It's questionable whether consumers will accept the annoyances of limited driving range and having to spend time charging them (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery)."

Strong consumer interest

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants of Germany recently surveyed some car buyers in Europe and found a strong interest in electric vehicles. The consultancy found that 37 percent of German customers and 35 percent of French ones were considering buying electric, with half of them willing to pay up to almost $5,000 extra to do this (Fujitsu Lifebook S6120 battery).

But even this willingness won't match the actual costs involved.

"The catch at the moment: Even customers' willingness to pay more for electro-mobility will still not be sufficient in the next 10 years to offset the additional costs of the power train, especially the battery," said Berger partner Wolfgang Bernhart (HP PAVILION DV2000 Battery).

"The additional costs today are between 10,000 and 15,000 euros ($12,000 and $18,000) and will still amount to between 8,000 and 10,000 euros in 2015. The additional costs of an electric vehicle versus conventional powertrain will fall below 4,500 euros no sooner than 2020," Bernhart said (HP PAVILION DV3000 Battery).

Wasted electricity

Other issues with the viability of battery-only power are claims concerning waste of electricity between generation and finally reaching the car's plug-in socket (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery).

According to Bob Kozak, who runs the Frederick, Md.-based biofuel research and development company Atlantic Biomass Conversions, typically only one-third of electricity generated at a conventional coal-fired power station actually reaches the socket in the house where an electric car would be recharged (ACER Aspire 3020 Battery).

Kozak, who published an essay, "The Myth of the Plug-In Hybrid," was asked to back up the number and said it was published by the National Academy of Sciences.

"This number might not be so bad in Europe where they probably have more modern coal generation," Kozak said (ACER Travelmate 2300 Battery).

According to David Howey, research associate at London's Imperial College, the loss figure is not just a single number, but indeed varies from country to country. In Britain, he figured that 79 percent of electricity generated by the turbine can go into turning the vehicle's wheels. This compared with a combustion engine car where only about 25 percent of the fuel actually comes out of the engine as power, and some is lost in the transmission system. Therefore, only about 15 to 20 percent actually remains to turn the wheels (ACER Aspire 3000 Battery).

"Even when electric vehicles are run from fossil fuel power stations, they still usually make better use of the fuel energy than an internal combustion engine. Plus electric vehicles allow a diversification in transport energy supply because energy can be generated from various sources," Howey said (HP PAVILION DV8000 Battery).

Severe overestimate

That might be a big positive for battery-only electric cars, but compared with the avalanche of negatives, it doesn't add up to much. In a recent report on the global automotive industry, Moody's Investors Service pointed out the huge negatives, including battery costs and lack of recharging infrastructure, and implied that companies like Renault may have severely overestimated the potential (HP PAVILION DV2 Battery).

"The market for electric cars is still in its infancy," the report said. "Battery costs are high, further advancements in battery technology are needed to improve travel range, and significant spending is needed to set up a reliable infrastructure for battery charging (HP PAVILION DV3 Battery).

"As the envisaged price for an electric vehicle will likely be far above what the majority of customers can afford or are willing to pay for, Moody's cautions that current expectations regarding the scale of the market could turn out to be too optimistic. In addition, high investment needs combined with initial low demand will limit the ability to generate profits in this segment over the short to medium term (Apple A1281 battery)."

Oil prices a factor

Success depends on the level of government support, Moody's said.

There is one scenario where all bets on the success of electric vehicles look good, Bratzel said.

"The price of oil is crucial to success of electric vehicles. If the price rises maybe to levels we have seen of $150 per barrel, a lot of pressure will come off electric vehicles as the price gap with conventional vehicles narrows," Bratzel said (Apple M9848LL/A battery).

Meanwhile, electric vehicles need to prove to the public that they can actually perform in the marketplace. We should see some important evidence in the weeks ahead. BBC News is driving a Think battery-powered vehicle on a 4,000-mile tour of Europe.

Norwegian Think, which used to be owned by Ford, is scheduled to produce electric cars next year at its Indiana plant. The Think can go about 100 miles on a charge, and then takes eight to 10 hours to recharge. That is going to be some tedious journey (Sony vgp-bps8 battery).

Apple's New iPhone 4

The Apple iPhone 4, announced today by Steve Jobs at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, will be 24 percent thinner than its predecessor at 9.3mm thick, contain a front-facing camera, and offer greatly improved battery performance (up to 40 percent more talk time, according to Jobs) (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery).

Jobs described the phone as, "beyond a doubt, the most precise thing and one of the most beautiful things we've ever made" before highlighting a number of its new features.

The iPhone 4 will be priced at $199 for a 16GB model and $299 for a 32GB model, and it will go on sale June 24 (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

(View a video showing the Apple iPhone 4 announcement.)

Jobs also announced a new operating system for both iPhones and the iPad: Called iOS4, it will have 100 new features and 1500 application programming interfaces orAPIs (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

Other iPhone 4 Features

Apple iPhone 4's gyroscope and other featuresThe new phone will have 32 gigabytes of storage, a gyroscope (which will allow for more precise motion detection), and HD video recording capability (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

The phone also will have a improved screen resolution: 326 pixels per inch with heightened contrast. Jobs told the crowd that 300 pixels per inch is the limit of the ability of the human retina to view images (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery.

It also will have three antennae built into the structure of the phone's body that will provide the iPhone 4 with the ability to work with Bluetooth; WI-Fi and GPS; and UMTS and GSM (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery).

In my opinion, the display difference in the example Jobs shows is striking. While I've been dissatisfied by the the fuzziness on the iPhone 3GS's text--something I liken to the difference between standard definition TV vs. HDTV--the text on the iPhone 4G looks sharp and crisp, with no pixelation. Additionally, the colors are more vibrant, and edges are smoother and sharper (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery).

There are new volume buttons, a mute button, plus a second microphone on the top for noise cancellation. Just like the iPad, it now incorporates a micro-SIM tray (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery).

Camera and Screen Details

iPhone 4 camera featuresThe IPhone 4 comes with two cameras: One on the front for video conferencing, and one on the rear for photos and video. The rear-facing camera has been upgraded to 5 megapixels--up from 3 megapixels on the iPhone 3GS--and it can record 720p high-definition video (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery).

Also included is an iPhone version of iMovie, which will let you edit video clips on the phone, splice them together, add titles to your videos, and so forth. (The app will set you back $4.99 from the App Store, Jobs told the packed audience at San Francisco's Moscone Center) (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery).Apple iPhone 4 video export sizes

The iPhone 4 screen will have In-plane switching. Known as IPS, this is a high-end LCD technology that has better color and a better viewing angle than lower-end LCD screens. Apple currently uses an IPS screenin its iPad (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery).

Jobs also said that the new phone's 800:1 contrast ratio was four times better than the current iPhone 3GS, with better color and a wide viewing angle that Jobs claimed was better than you can get with OLED display technology (Dell INSPIRON 1420 Battery).

Jobs also announced FaceTime, a video chat app that makes use of the iPhone 4's new front-facing camera. FaceTime works over Wi-FI, and works between any two iPhone 4s. Jobs did note that FaceTime will not yet work if you're connected to a cellular data network--apparently there are a few kinks left to work out (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery).

AT&T iPhone 4 Contract Info

If your iPhone contract expires anytime in 2010, you are immediately eligible for a new iPhone 4 if you top up your iPhone contract by 2 years. The price of the iPhone 3GS drops to $99 for 16GB. Although the phone goes on sale on June 24, preorders will start on June 14 (Fujitsu Lifebook S6120 battery).

E-Book Reading Capabilities

As an e-reading platform, iBook has been greatly enhanced with the addition of a separate PDF library, and the ability to sync between iPad and iPhone (HP PAVILION DV2000 Battery).

These additions, coupled with the high-resolution display, make the iPhone more viable as an e-reader (its relatively small screen notwithstanding). And, overall, it makes Apple a bigger threat to in the e-reader space, period (HP PAVILION DV3000 Battery).

With an LCD screen that, theoretically (and from what we saw in the demo at the keynote today) can better approximate the text on a printed page, an E-Ink screen's usefulness may become redundant. This could be bad news for the Amazon Kindle e-book reader and others like it (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery).