Tuesday, August 27, 2013

New Transformer Infinity Revealed false/incomplete information here


The Transformer Infinity 2013 was revealed at computex 2013. I'm a bit late to the party and sketchy on the details but I feel that reflects my authority in the field.  Basically we are looking at 2GB RAM  Tegra 4 @1.9Ghz with 4k output for the infinity, 2500x1600 ips display (no mention if its Super-IPS that we all love). The dock has been updated with official SDXC (I recall you could work it) and a USB 3.0.  No mention if the poor NAND storage performance has been upgraded. 

there is also an intel variant (infinity book trio?) and an i7 variant for win8 both with 2gb and 64gb onboard.  With 11.6" IPS @ 1080p.

Here's Asus' Press Release which has other transformer related products as well.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Best DNA Rom

so far I'd have to say is Rage DNA Optimized Stock. This wakes up quick everything performs as it should. but faster and smoother.  Just scored 19133 antutu stock speeds.  Picture quality is excellent (although I am trying to confirm or find a larger file size/less compression mode). 

Check it out.  Looking forward to an optimized Stock based Sense 5 rom, come on verizon.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Verizon Wireless Rewards Mediocrity: Moto gets exclusive rights to Droid

The Recently announced Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, Droid Mini, are the beginning of the end for other manufactures to market "Droid" devices.  The devices chosen are not exactly Halo/Hero devices since they aren't even cutting edge when announced.  Motorola has also promised these devices to be sold for longer than previous models.   It's a bold move for Verizon to back mediocrity so hard.

Droid Ultra, Mini, Maxx Announced then Pronounced Obsolete

Techies have already picked apart the "exciting" X8 system which is loosely based on S4 Snapdragon with Adreno 320 GPU, which isn't weak but it isn't cutting edge.  The practically free Droid DNA boasts better specs besides battery, & microsd/nand.  That would be significant advantage if they were all released at the same time but the DNA is already 9 months old. 

I'm sure they are built well and will sell well.  But they are announced with already old, but good, hardware.  This may not present enough of a jump for users to upgrade from S3, DNA, Note 2, etc. 

Friday, July 19, 2013

Microsoft Windows RT & Surface is Dying-- MSFT Needs to Open Up OS Access

Open letter to Microsoft re Windows RT:

I announced this months ago, if you want to have an impact in this mobile space where Apple and Google are well entrenched you will have to make Windows RT boot on any unlocked device. 

You're not going to lose any sales, these people wouldn't buy your product, at least now, because there's no developer support.  However, developers love unlocking devices and trying new things.  Every device that newly runs Windows RT will not be running a competitor OS.  It's so simple. Now that you're own partners are stopping making the devices Windows RT will have to open up or die and this computing sector is far too important to give up on, even if you have to give the software away.

Microsoft don't give up on Windows RT: open it up, get the developers, point out enhanced privacy and you may just stand a chance at not sucking. 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Snapdragon quad core S4 pro 600 800 vs Tegra 3 SOC Subjective Comparison

Its easy to compare benchmarks between similar devices.  However benchies don't tell the whole story.  Especially when it comes to this comparison which is completely subjective based on the user experience of devices.

Tegra 3 and S4 are quad core devices, one based loosely based on 4 ARM Cortex A15 the other with A9 cpu architecture with a low powered ninja core (can you guess which one is which 'cause my writing is not telling).  The Tegra is from Nvidia and has been touted to have some extra 3d features; however, running viper on the DNA with beastmode kernel water splashes up to the screen on Shine Runner which is supposed to be a Tegra 3 exclusive (iirc). 

Anyway the Adreno 320+ is the equal or better of the Tegra 3 in graphics even replicating extra features.  I do like how the Tegra 3 can output 3D over HDMI I am not sure S4 architecture can. 

The biggest difference between the two processors is from the seat of the pants feel.  The S4 is much smoother without hiccups.  I would posit this is from better RAM, NAND interfacing, and better out of order processing.  The whole data gathering android experience is much smoother with navigation of complex pages.  In fact the S4 is the first SOC that runs Android in an Apple iOS smooth fashion, very impressive. 

I'd say this round goes to S4, and it highlights areas Nvidia NEEDS to address to stay competitive.  The Tegra 3 needed more RAM bandwidth and better ability to address NAND quickly, Tegra needed this too as did the Tegra 2.  I say this needs to change because more processing power and gpu compute power will highlight these information/performance bottlenecks further. 

(I can't wait to get a Tegra 4 devices in my hands later this year.) EDIT: Still haven't seen any Tegra 4s in the wild. 

Monday, June 17, 2013

ASUS TF201 Proposed Class Action Settlement

If you remember your TF201 serial number you may be eligible for $17 and a free GPS extension kit under a proposed class action settlement. 

I'll post links and pictures.