All Things Android - Apps, Phones, Tablets - Discussion

Damnit, left-clicked a link instead of middle-clicking and now I have to start this all over again...

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find out it's A15?
Because I can't find anything that actually says that - for example, Anandtech describe the MSM8960's CPU architecture as 'Krait' as opposed to describing the OMAP 4460's as 'A9'.

And some of the other stuff I read talks about the MSM8960 being more closely comparable to A15 SoCs than A9 SoCs, which maybe I'm reading too much into it but saying it's closer to A15 makes it sound like it's not actually A15.


On a similar note, am I not right in saying that the GPU is still a relative weak point on the S4 SoCs?

 

There's really nothing specific that says it's implicitly A15 based, but by what I've read about it's architecture... it's definitely not A9. Far more has been done.

Qualcomm themselves said that they were sorta skipping A9, but I can't seem to find that article anywhere...

But yea, the GPU is ok. It's roughly similar to Mali-400MP4 that's in Exynos 4210. It's a bit better in some areas, but worse in others. I just don't understand why it's so hard to optimize a GPU. Maybe it's just a downfall of of the AMD history?? IDK. None of the Adreno GPU's have ever lived up to their numbers... and their numbers are usually high.

 

If any of you guys don't currently have an anti-theft app for your androids, I HIGHLY recommend one called Cerberus.

It is free until thursday to celebrate hitting 100k downloads, you simply download their trial off the market, setup your account and then request an unlock key via that google docs form.

 

Samsung DIVE FTW

 

Or you could use Lookout. That way you'll have AV software as well.

 

And for those of us who don't have Samsung devices/are running stock Android, what then?

But then to get all the same features that you would with Cerberus, you'd need to buy the premium version of Lookout, so it's still a good tip IMO.



Anyway, moving back to hardware, Huawei eh?
They're showing up some of the bigger names and really making companies like Viewsonic who insist on releasing 7" WVGA single-core tablets look like the embarrassments they are.

 

Now HTC has went ahead and detailed their flagship model:

Huawei appears interesting this year with their very own quad-core processor, the K3V2.

 

Well, actually, they haven't yet - press conference doesn't start for another hour or two.
Spec-wise, it's just the LG 4X HD with a smaller battery and possibly an inferior screen (LG to their credit seem to be producing better and better LCD panels).

Then there's the Huawei Ascend D quad which could actually be better than both of them depending on the details of their CPU - not to mention the XL variant which trades thinness for a bigger battery.

 

It's a shame Sony uses the current Snapdragon S3 in the Xperia S, that's a great looking phone but is woefully lacking in raw power compared to other companies' upcoming flagship phones.

 

Not really a surprise though.

2011, Samsung HTC et al announce dual-core handsets, Sony (Ericsson) limp on with single-core handsets.
2012, the rest of the world moves on to quad-cores, Sony only just move on to dual-cores.

And the fact that all three handsets look identical seems lazy to me.

 

i'm asking in this thread because it's more active than the iOS one, which puts less drain on the battery - push notifications, or having the phone check for new mail every X number of minutes (sorry, i don't know the exact term for this)?

 

I believe you are asking about Push vs. Fetch?

Pushing every email to your phone as soon as it is sent uses more battery life than fetching once per hour(that's what I do).

It's like Push once per hour, or many times an hour.

 

Sorry, I just have a tendency to assume that such details are controlled leaks. I agree with what you wrote though. Main differences between the two will be design, price and software. The HTC also comes with more memory. Personally I would choose a better screen over more memory. Before the screen on the O2X had been specified it was commonly mistaken for an AMOLED screen.

And yes, it's a real shame that Sony's always lagging behind when it comes to power.

 

Everyone knows how I feel about HTC. But I'll go on record and say I'm having a strong urge to get the OneX. I LIKE it. It's got a beautiful design, a beautiful screen, Tegra 3 (which is something completely new for HTC)... I'd buy it just to push them away from Qualcomm. I'm so sick of EVERY SINGLE HTC phone having Qualcomm SoC's. Qualcomm never seems to deliver when it comes to the numbers they tout.

Also, the main reason I DON'T like Tegra 3 is because of it's proprietary way of handling graphics, with texture compression and all that mess. It's inefficient, stupid, and only slows down development because it's MUCH harder to work with. BUT I'd be willing to put up with it, if I know the OneX will have an unlockable bootloader.

 

yes, that's what i'm asking. thank you. is there an easily explainable reason behind this?

thanks.

 

Yes, with Push email it's like your iPhone is constantly checking for emails. With Fetch it checks once an hour(or whatever you set it for).

Fetching once in an hour uses much less battery than constantly checking. I believe Push email continually maintains a connection with the email service, which drains the battery fast as well.

 

Luckily, HTC is putting the Snapdragon S4 into the AT&T LTE version of the One X!

*runs away*

 

No need to apologise - leaks nowadays are so comprehensive that it makes you wonder why they try and delay unveiling new handsets 'til these big events.

But no memory card slot - the LG may or may not have one, if it does 16GB + microSD trumps 32GB and no microSD IMO.



@HAL: so you dislike HTC because they user Qualcomm CPUs but now they've used Tegra3, another CPU you also don't like, you're willing to give it a go?

I'm just messing with you, though one point I must disagree with is the design - I think it's terribly bland, like most HTCs.



Of all today's announcements, I think that Huawei's is the most intriguing.
I'd love to see how their CPU stacks up against Tegra3 etc.

I think we may just have seen the emergence of a real major player within the mobile industry.

 

i have push notifications enabled for 3 email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, iMessage, Words with Friends, Scramble with Friends, Skype, PayPal, eBay, and Amazon. my battery lasts for more than 24 hours easily (mainly because i've disabled crap such as Siri etc). do push notifications have any other effect on the phone, other than draining the battery?

thanks.

 

Oh, now, see... I didn't know that. *le sigh*

Well, at least it's the new MSM8960. That's the one Qualcomm SoC I could probably live with right now. LOL.

LMAO. It's the lesser of two evils if you catch my drift. But, IDK... I like the design. It's simple, but classy looking. It still has some small elements of their other designs, but with some all new stuff. But then again, I really liked the Sensations design too... I just wasn't kosher with S3.

But yes! I agree! I want to know more about this Huawai SoC, but I can't seem to find anything other than it's touted as the "worlds fastest". On paper it sounds beastly though.

 

Before Tegra came we mostly saw games that took the lowest common factor into consideration. Even if you had a phone that was superior to the iPhone in terms of power you weren't able to enjoy similar or superior graphics in games. Nvidia might be locking down applications to their devices (just as they're doing with PhysX) but at the same time they're fueling high quality game development. Power users have heard of ChainFire anyway. Of course I know this isn't really a core part of your way of thinking. Just thought I'd throw in once aspect of this matter.

 

In between all these other announcements, this one seems to have been over-looked a bit:

Orange announces first Intel-powered Android phone for Europe, codenamed Santa Clara -- Engadget​

Wonder how it measures up.

 

Looks very bezel-y, much like LGs...

 

It's an odd resolution it's got - 1024x600.
Good for a mid-range handset, not quite on a par with the best of the best.


edit: also, what is it with manufacturers suddenly hating memory cards?
HTC's top couple of models, Sony's entire new range, the Nexus - it's so bleeping annoying!

 

While I do understand what you're saying, it's more the cost of admission I'm talking about. On Tegra you have to take into account all kinds of crap that you wouldn't normally have to deal with when dealing with the actual coding behind the game or app... just to make use of Tegra's hardware. That shouldn't be. Also, the indie developers have trouble with the Tegra certifications that you have to get to be able to have your app included in "TegraZone". There's just a LOT of unnecessary restrictions and roadblocks that just shouldn't be. Instead of it just being powerful and efficient enough to handle whatever you want to throw at it, NVIDIA has to do things their own way... just like with CUDA on the PC. It gets on my nerves. Why would someone make something intentionally more difficult to work with?

But then that's their perogative, and for reasons beyond me it seems to be taking market share from other easier solutions.

Seems like a dressed up Aava Mobile handset.

EDIT: This is what I mean by Qualcomm throwing numbers around for GPU performance...

http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/27/qualcomm-unleashes-snapdragon-s4-pro/

They're still shipping MSM8255 with the Adreno 205. Is that what they mean by 4x better GPU performance? 4x better than Adreno 205? If it's 4x better than the Adreno 225, I'll eat my LaserJet... because I honestly don't think Qualcomm would let their GPU outclass their CPU. They've never done it before. Whereas Samsung's references like Exynos and Hummingbird have always had a GPU more powerful than the CPU.

 

What's even worse is that they skimp out on the storage space, 16gb is pretty damn low. How can you be expected to watch movies on your 720p phone if you can only carry one or 2? Bring on a 64gb internal

 

Pfft - bring on 32-64GB internal and dual microSD slots.

 

This. So much this.

I would kill for a device with dual microSD slots... even if it only had 16GB internal.

 

Qualcomm unleashes Snapdragon S4 'Pro' chip with superior graphics -- Engadget

An MSM 8960 with an Adreno 320 GPU as opposed to the standard 225.
Seems to me like this is what it should've shipped with in the first place.

 

I'm starting to get the picture of Nvidia's design wins with Tegra 3. Starting to get a Tegra 3 overload. The Pro version of the MSM8960 with Adreno 320 looks interesting, but I'm still a lot more interested in what they'll release on the quad core front. The Eluga Power looks like a nice addition to the the Panasonic family with support for quick charging, a 5-inch 1280 x 720 oled display and an S4 CPU.

 

If only...

Samsung Galaxy S III full specs: 1.5GHz quad-core, 1080p display, ceramic case​

 

I'm not sure I would be able to see much of a difference between 720p and 1080p on a sub-5-inch display. Not to mention how much extra processing power that resolution bump would require. And a ceramic case seems like an odd choice even for a fan made concept. Slim bezels are always nice, but it could probably become a bit frustrating to have it that thin on a handheld touchscreen device. I imagine one would often unintenionally touch the side of the screen when reaching for something in the top left corner.

 

So I'm one of those guys who criticize the new Android phones for not having external storage and I'm always told that is what Google wants due to security, user experience etc.

But I still feel this is counter-intuitive to what Android users want (or maybe just the more technically inclined ones).

 

That's certainly the reasons, but I don't like it anymore than you do. I want external storage.

And yes, I do too. It's about time for Samsung to make 32GB standard, like they made 16GB standard with the Galaxy S. 32GB of NAND isn't very expensive... certainly not as expensive as 16GB was when the OG Galaxy S launched.

 

The Adreno 3xx is really the standard for S4. It's always been known that the S4 will have a 3xx GPU, just that exact model numbers weren't confirmed. The S4s with 225 are just there so that Qualcomm can put the chips onto the market faster, which I am ok with considering how fast the CPU portion is. Seems ok to me considering we won't likely see products on the shelve with S4+Adreno 3xx or the OMAP5 until 2013. The OMAP 5's 2+2 core does sound interesting though...

Now if only Rogers didn't have the exclusive on the One X.........

 

Well, I meant standard in that the 'non-Pro' version of the MSM8960 has Adreno 225.
Not to mention, they do seem to have plans for another S4 model with an Adreno 2XX GPU - so, so far anyway it looks as though S4 will be split pretty evenly between Adreno 2XX and Adreno 3XX.

I still think that a better-organised company would have had a whole new model of GPU ready to go to make the best use of their new CPU(s).

Well, we really need to see what Samsung are going to do to see whether it really is ok or not.

 

Tbh, if that's the Galaxy S III, I may have to get it. Looks good.

 

Woohoo, ICS for my phone. Now I just wait for (fully working) CM9.

 

I'm dissapointed at the lack of a good high end HTC Android qwerty. A One device with all the specs, software, etc. the same with a slide out qwerty matching the Arrive/7 pro (but making the tilt up hinge function like the touch pro 2: manually tilting vs. Automatic like on the 7 Pro/arrive) would have been awesome.

Of course, with my luck, they would have announced it and Verizon would be like: "lololol, no..." and would have passed on it.

 

re: the huawei smartphones:

NOPE. Unless it has external storage (microsd). It's already hard enough to switch off a trusted brand like samsung for a company that is only known for cheap chinese handsets, gonna have to add some more hardware incentive for people to switch.

S3 specs are just rumors, especially when screens are involved. Take anything you get from BGR with a couple grains of salt; remember that they've previously reported that the GN or GS3 could have a 3d display, or that the iphone 5 was definitely coming in oct 2011, etc. Some things are pretty easy to speculate on like a quad cpu, but they've only recently pushed the envelope on screens up a little, and it's too soon (and totally unnecessary) for a 1080p screen on anything under 10".

 

Yeah, the Huawei handsets have a microSD slot.

As for 4.8" full HD screens, they've been around for a while - overkill or not, no reason why they shouldn't start to make their way to market.
And if there's one company with a reason to push this forward, it's Samsung. It's a gigantic middle finger to everyone else and might actually eat into Apple's marketshare.

 

I guess now we know what qualifies her to pass comment:

HP cuts webOS team in half during the transition to open source​

Or, as Meg Whitman sees it 'Open source means we can let someone else do the work and save some money'

 

Hi,

Does anyone know if the official Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) update for Samsung Galaxy SII, rumored to be released on March 1, out yet?

Thanks.

 

XDA is saying official ICS will be pushed through Kies on March 12th... though I don't know how much weight I'd put on that.

I'd say it's likely to be released at or after Samsung's GS3 announcement.

 

Alright.. thanks I'm soooooo waiting to get ICS... (Tried with KIES today but nothing came up!)

 

Woohoo, CM9

Only issue is that I cant change my dpi... anyone else on ICS/CM9 having issues? Also Chrome Beta says I dont have ICS

 

I am using LCD Density Modder with ICS.

 

I'm still waiting for their next "Desire Z" phone, afaik only motorola has a dual core qwerty phone

 

If you want Chrome you'll have to use the initial release... they've made devices that don't officially have ICS not compatible.

http://jwhite.macleod-web.net/resources/com.android.chrome-1.apk

 

Soft bricked my phone

Ah ok thanks!