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LAS VEGAS--TLDR is software that summarizes Web information automatically when you don't have time to read the whole story. It's available now as a plug-in for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari, but developers Stremor say the Android and iPhone apps have been submitted to the major app stores, so you'll be able to use it on your smartphone as early as this week.

A quick demo was all it took to see how well this software works. Once you download the free plug-in for your Web browser, you simply restart and you're ready to go. The … Read more

Smartphones are the Swiss Army Knives of the tech world.

They're cell phones, music and video players, mobile Web browsers, and personal organizers, among other things. Not surprisingly, all this can take a toll on battery life, and when you depend on your smartphone for so much, the last thing you want is for it to run out of juice when you need it most.

Generally speaking, with moderate use, smartphones can give you a full day's performance before needing to be recharged, but not all gadgets are created equal -- some simply run out of steam early, whereas others will hang in there for the long haul. Here are eight smartphones with battery usage that really impressed us, whether it was because they scored well in our CNET Labs battery tests, or simply because their usage time stood out from the crowd of humdrum cell phone batteries we encountered (and believe us, we encounter a lot). Give one of these devices a try if you're looking for a phone that packs some decent juice.… Read more

A Qualcomm conference call Wednesday, according to Reuters, brought Qualcomm's supply constraint issues to light. CEO Paul Jacobs, addressing analysts on the call, stated, "At this stage we cannot secure enough supply to meet the increasing demand we are experiencing."

That supply constraint could affect many cellphone makers hoping to use Qualcomm's advanced 28-nanometer chips, including Apple. To handle the constraints, Qualcomm is looking for new manufacturing partners, a move that will contribute to raising its operating expenses up to 23 percent, according to Chief Financial Officer Bill Keitel.

"Demand went so far ahead of … Read more

Apple is pulling no punches in its case against Proview, but if it loses this round, that might be lights out for Apple's iPad brand in China.

The iPhone maker today argued its case for why it should be allowed to use the iPad name in China before the Higher People's Court of Guangzhou. The plaintiff, Proview Technology, argues that it owns the iPad trademark and should be compensated for Apple's use of the name. If Apple doesn't want to license the trademark, Proview says, it should be forced to change its tablet's name.

"… Read more

You asked for it, now you got it. After a few delays I've updated the results from my ongoing long-term testing of five 2011 plasma TVs by adding a sixth and publishing a new round of numbers.

One of the models tested has now accumulated nearly 3,000 hours of "on" time, equivalent to about a year and a half of normal TV watching, and a couple of others are also well into their second simulated year. New for this round I've also included measurements of the LG 50PZ950, the only 2011 LG plasma I've … Read more

In a major milestone for China's space program, a modified Long March 2 rocket boosted an unmanned prototype space station module, dubbed "Heavenly Palace," into orbit today to serve as a target for critical tests of automated rendezvous and docking systems needed before construction of a Mir-class space station later in the decade.

The Long March 2F T1 rocket, equipped with four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters for extra launch power, took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in north central China at 9:16 a.m. EDT (GMT-4; 9:16 p.m. local time), majestically climbing away … Read more

LONG BEACH, Calif.--The Force has never been as damp as it will be when season four of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" kicks off on Cartoon Network with two undersea storylines. So it made sense that Lucasfilm swam with the fishes at the Aquarium of the Pacific for the show's big premiere party this weekend.

The show's voice cast joined costumed characters from the 501st Legion fan group for the first screenings of "Water War" and "Gungan Attack," the undersea stories kicking off season four 8 p.m. Friday, September 16. Both adventures feature Anakin Skywalker and his Clone Troopers taking on Separatist forces to save the likes of Captain (soon to be Admiral) Ackbar and his fish-like race.

The episodes were shown in a special "4D" screening room, complete with wind, water, and lightning effects to enhance the onscreen mayhem.

Those in attendance were asked to bring along a new, unwrapped Star Wars toy to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of America. Kids from local chapters of the youth-based charity were on hand to meet their favorite characters, enjoy the aquarium attractions, and take on light saber lessons from on-hand Jedi Masters and video games from a galaxy far, far away. Even the aquarium's main tank hosted "Clone Wars" props and divers doing battle with their Jedi weapons. … Read more

Update January 19, 2012: See the latest test results here.

After a year in the lifespans of five 2011 plasma TVs that I've subjected to new long-term tests, all have shown some fluctuation in black level, light output, and color, and in some cases those changes are significant.

A few changes have been for the better, others can be fixed in calibration, and overall none is a "deal breaker" that radically changes my initial opinions of these TVs--all of which scored an 8 (Excellent) or 9 (Outstanding) in the Performance section of the reviews.

Before you read on, know that I aged these TVs in a controlled albeit accelerated process, leaving them on for basically six days a week for up to four months, so far. The charts below encompass a bit more than a year of normal use, assuming the average daily "on" time rate of 5.2 hours. When reading the charts, keep in mind that not all of the TVs have been aged for the same amount of time. See below for more details.… Read more

Apple's latest developer builds for iOS 5 contain a snippet of code that mentions LTE, according to enthusiast site MacRumors, prompting speculation that the company may be testing 4G internally.

Peeking into the iOS 5 firmware for a couple of developer builds, MacRumors found a property list (.plist file) that points to LTE, or Long Term Evolution. Uncovered only in builds for the GSM iPhone 4 and CDMA iPad 2, the LTE.plist file was found to be related to an application that Apple uses for field testing.

The apparent discovery follows reports from Boy Genius Report a week … Read more