Apple Vs. Google: Oh, It's On!
  • Intel pushes Atom chip for Android devices


    Intel is pushing its low power Atom processor line for
    Android-powered devices at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing this
    week. The company delivered a presentation called “Developing and Optimizing Android for Intel Atom Processor-based Mobile Devices.”


    Intel Atom Android


    There aren’t a lot of surprises in the presentation, but Intel has
    been working with Google to optimize Android to run on x86 hardware for
    the past year or two. The latest Android emulator for Windows, Mac, and
    Linux allows developers to emulate an x86 processor while testing apps.


    Intel points out that most Android apps can already run on Atom
    hardware without any modifications, but there are also tools available
    to port apps written in “native code” so they can also support x86
    architecture.


  • Or
    vendors who aren’t married to Intel already can keep using ARM chips.
     Come to think of it the new 28nm Krait and soon to be Cortex A15′s look
    like they offer as much or more performance than Atom, in the same or
    lower power envelopes, 

    depending on who you ask, they all definitely come with better support
    for different graphics chips that are more powerful than the SVG543
    which wasn’t even cutting edge in this current gen of hardware, which
    can be found in Intel’s new SOC…   AND you don’t have to require any
    Native Code applications (read games) to work with the processors…


    If Intel could have had Atom slimmed down this far last year they
    might have had a lot of design wins.  My expectation as things are now
    is that they’ll get some wins from the Computer manufacturers who have
    firm ties to Intel, like Lenovo, as they try to move into the CE
    Computing space.  Otherwise I see ARM based solutions wiping the floor
    with Intel within the next 6 months, and everyone moving on…  There’s
    just not enough compelling about the Intel SOC to make OEMs move over to
    a single supplier chip with limited customization options when they
    have a fully customizable chip that can be fabbed by anyone.


    I don’t see what advantages Intel is bringing, other than x86, which
    given the fact that the code base is native to ARM, isn’t anything
    approaching an advantage.



  • Open-Source ARM Mali Graphics Driver Achieves...

    The open-source ARM Mali graphics driver, known as the the Lima project, has achieved a major milestone.



    Since delivering the exclusive news of the Lima project as an open-source reverse-engineered ARM Mali graphics driver
    for Linux back in January, there hasn't been too much else to report on
    about this driver that's still early in its development life. This
    driver is called Lima since it doesn't have the official blessing of ARM
    Holdings and right now has been only running simple demos with Limare. The code is available and is running on the KDE Plasma Active Tablet as was talked about and shown at FOSDEM 2012.



    Fortunately this morning I've heard some news from the Lima
    developers about hitting a major milestone. Joining Luc Verhaegen, the
    lead developer of the Lima project, have been Ben Brewer (another
    employee of Codethink) and Connor Abbot have been the latest developers
    joining the Belgian on this open-source driver project.

    http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTA4NjQ

    First great barrier to truly open android has fallen.

  • The performance of the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 OMAP4460 configuration as
    found on the PandaBoard ES is quite commendable and in this Phoronix
    review the dual-core 1.2GHz ARM system with PowerVR SGX540 graphics is
    being compared to several Intel Atom, Pentium M, and Core Duo
    configurations running Ubuntu Linux throughout. To spice things up, the
    pre-production OLPC XO-1.75 was also thrown into the testing mix with
    its single-core ARMv7 800MHz Sheeva processor.



    http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=16888

    http://phoronix.com/forums/showthread.php?66193-ARM-Cortex-A9-PandaBoard-ES-Benchmarks


  • The tablet from Shenzhen YongJiaHe has game handle and 5-inch screen.
    You can play GBA, NFS and arcade games, but Android games must be played
    by touch control.

    The price of the tablet is about $71.4.



    http://micdigi.com/2012/04/china-consumer-electronics-show-2/
  • MTK has released the smart phone tablet chip—MT6575

    The chip is based on ARM Cortex TM-A9, 1GHz frequency and more powerful GUP.

    Contrasted with other chips, MT6575 has higher cost performance, such
    as the frequency is upgraded to 1GHz from 800MHz, the A8 core is
    upgraded to A9 core, the memory is upgraded to 1G from 512M.


    MTK does his best to provide cheaper chips.


    The smart phone with MT6575 and naked eye 3D function only sells for
    $255. But the 3D smart phone from LG sells for about $476. Another
    MT6575 smart phone from Shenzhen ZOPO only sells for $175, which has
    cheaper price and more powerful configurations than A750 from Lenovo.

    http://micdigi.com/2012/04/mtk-has-released-the-smart-phone-tablet-chip—mt6575/

  • Oh yeah baby..cheap tablet galore...

    http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4370865/Amlogic-dual-core-Cortex-A9

    Fabless chip company Amlogic Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.) has developed a
    family of dual-core SoCs based on the Cortex-A9 processor architecture
    licensed from ARM Holdings plc.

    The AML8726-MX family combines a
    1.5-GHz Cortex-A9 dual-core with a Mali400 graphics processing unit and
    is intended for use with tablet computers, set-top boxes and mobile
    devices, the company said. The SoCs include Amlogic's own
    high-definition video processor, ARM TrustZone security and support for
    "over-the-top" video playback.

    The 1.5-GHz clock frequency is achieved using a 40-nm low-power process, the company said.

    http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4370865/Amlogic-dual-core-Cortex-A9
  • China-based white-box tablet PC makers have ramped up
    their combined shipments to three million units a month recently, and
    total shipments of tablet PCs by all makers are expected to top 50
    million units in 2012, market research firm eMedia Asia has estimated.

    In
    Guangdong province alone, hundreds of small- and medium-size businesses
    have entered the development and production of tablet PCs on an OEM,
    ODM or OBM basis, according to industry sources.

    With the availability of Android 4.0 platform, white-box
    makers have rolled out tablets in 7-, 8-, 9.7- and 10.1-inch sizes with
    specifications catered to customer's demand, said the sources, adding
    that the models target markets in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and
    Latin America.

    The white-box makers are able to deliver
    a 10.1-inch model, which runs on Android 4.0 and has a display
    resolution of 1024 by 600 and 4GB built-in storage, at FOB prices of
    about US$100-110, indicated the sources.

    Shipments of tablet PCs by China-based makers totaled 14 million units in 2011, eMedia Asia said.

    http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120412PD219.html

  • Sony engineers are back in charge. loading it up with features... I guess ditching ericson wasn't such a bad idea


  • I love Xperia entire ad line up.... very quick. a change of pace from rest of boring ads.








  • Apple CEO Tim Cook spotted at video game designer Valve's headquarters

    Valve, created by two former Microsoft employees in the mid 90s, has
    grown into a major video games developer and maintains the Steam gaming
    platform, which distributes over 1,400 games to an audience of over 30
    million active users.



    Steam works similar to Apple's iOS App Store within iTunes, providing a
    market for PC video game titles and a mechanism for automatically
    delivering the latest software updates to players.

    http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/04/13/apple_ceo_tim_cook_spotted_at_valves_gaming_headquarters.html
  • Hidden in a long news post about Samsung's success in the display market on the Oled Association's news page is this gem.



    "SMD is planning to release a 4.6" Super AMOLED HD Plus with the 319
    ppi for the Galaxy S3 Super Amoled plus in May of this year."



    If you care to do some pixel density calculations,
    you will find that a 720p or 1280 x 720 resolution results in exactly
    319.26 ppi with a 4.6-inch display, further confirming that the SIII
    will have a 720p resolution. Also, the "plus" following AMOLED in the
    quote also has significance, as it signifies a display with a true RGB
    subpixel layout. This comes instead of the Pentile matrix that
    technically reduces the sharpness of a display, and was one of the only
    complaints about the Galaxy Nexus's similar 4.65-inch panel.

    http://www.pocketables.net/2012/04/more-on-the-galaxy-siii-oled-association-says-46-inch-display-with-super-amoled-technology.html

  • image

    http://www.androidauthority.com/android-achieves-liftoff-in-the-worlds-biggest-market-74561/

    China has now joined Korea and Japan as 60%+ Android market share. India next, as Nokia is getting totally waxed.
  • google movie is coming to japan it seems... (Japan would be one of the easier wireless digital TV to enter first.. where is google?)

    https://play.google.com/intl/ja/about/movies/


  • Review: Samsung Galaxy Note – Oversized iPhone Killer?

    -Pen. The Killer App.

    Like
    you I saw the commercials and went “big deal”. It’s a stylus. I grew
    out of styli when WM6 went the way of the dinosaur. Yes, it is a stylus
    but not the same $20 targus rubber nipple jobby you pick up from Best
    Buy to use on your iPad. This one actually has some smarts – not to
    mention accuracy (unlike the bubble ended pens), and no it doesn’t work on the iPad or the iPhone. A review I watched on YouTube summed up perfectly why the S-Pen is the killer app:

    “You
    cannot beat pen and paper. There are still people in this world who
    carry pen and paper and the stylus is made for those people.”

    More
    importantly for me… I WAS one of those people. And while you may not be
    able to beat pen and paper, you can come close and in some cases make
    it look old school.

    S Memo_01 capture_01

    The
    S-Pen (for me) without a doubt is the killer app. Sure it’s not an app
    (S Memo is the app), but for all of you who were sitting there asking
    what Samsung was thinking bringing back the stylus – they were thinking
    of people like me who would rather markup a screenshot or jot down a
    quick note than have to carry a moleskine everywhere they go.

    Wrapping It All Up

    I
    started this process referring to the Note as a monster and wondering
    if it was an iPhone Killer. I’m going to end it the same way. A short
    while ago I ran into an issue with the Note,  so I took it back to
    AT&T and at the same time decided to switch back to the 4s. I was
    concerned that the issue I had would continue, and honestly Android
    didn’t hold much weight over iOS for me without the S-Pen so going to
    the Skyrocket wasn’t a thought. I figured I would live with the smaller
    screen size in hopes that Apple would increase it with the next device.

    That
    switch lasted less than an hour and I knew I had made a mistake going
    back the 4s. Within 24 hours I was back at AT&T, paying the $35
    restocking fee and going back to the Note. I love iOS, and if I could
    get it on the Galaxy Note I would in a heartbeat, but not even iOS can
    make up for the tiny screen size on the 4S or the functionality I’ve
    found with the S-Pen. While the Galaxy Note is a monster, once you’ve
    spent some time with the device it’s not as big and scary as it once
    seemed. It turns out the Samsung Galaxy Note is an iPhone Killer, at
    least for me. And that’s the only iPhone killer that really matters
    isn’t it… the one that kills your iPhone.

    http://isource.com/2012/04/07/review-samsung-galaxy-note-oversized-iphone-killer/

  • Why Apples new Iphone5 features not a AMOLED Display

    As long as Apple uses LCD displays, Samsung’s display market share
    will be severely constrained. Apple has always claimed that the LCD
    display in the retina format had higher pixel density and lower power
    consumption than OLEDs. But
    Samsung’s new AMOLEDs are as dense as the
    retina displays and the use of phosphorescent green and doped transport
    layers provide the OLEDs with similar power consumer in white dominated
    images, the only place where OLEDs had used more power than LCDs.

    But the major reasons why Apple did not use OLEDs are:

    • Insufficient capacity
    • Lack
      of a second source, which meant that Apple would be dependent on its
      largest competitor for a component they could only get from Samsung.

    Samsung’s
    restructuring of its display business is one of the tools the company
    is using to combat this situation by demonstrating to their customers
    that they are independent of Samsung Electronics, which produces phones,
    tablets and TVs; Samsung is also increasing its capacity and their
    other approach is to create OLED displays so compelling; high
    performance, flexible and transparent,
    that Apple will be forced to surrender and buy from Samsung. In the
    interim, before the availability of these game changing displays, Apple
    is unlikely to use OLEDs. So don’t put much stock in the variety of
    reports that the iPhone 5 will have an OLED display. Won’t happen this
    year!

    http://www.oled-display.net/why-apples-new-iphone5-features-not-a-amoled-display/

    Galaxy SIII has several advantages. 1. high efficiency/high resolution OLED. 2.Integrated LTE modem (samsung first, they could botch it, but if not, then Apple S5 is dead. huge battery live advantage) 3)Samsung everything (memory, secondary chips, etc price advantage) S5  basically is going to be the best of aging technology against quickly maturing next generation tech. highly integrated modem +  OLED .  2012 will be the last big battle before apple dwindle into the back page of history since they don't invest on new technology whatsoever.

    Samsung, HTC, japanese crew, huawei and ZTE will dominate the planets smartphone since they pour unbelievable amount of money into next generation tech.

  • Instagram doesn't worth $1Billion. ffs, look in google app store, there are at least 2 dozens of exact same functionality apps. This is pure dot.com bubble. (pet.com, MySpace, apple cult type of hype.)

    If instagram worth $1Billion. Then google earth/google map worth $100Trillion..!!!@@@!!
    I suggest Google should immediately spin off google map/Google earth and cash it for $1 gazillion trillion and use the proceed to buy planet earth. ... and give everybody a free crappy one trick photoshop app and a hug.


    Hell, Google should spin off Android division and use the proceed to buy the solar system...*shrug*

    • Freeinternet.com – Filed for bankruptcy in October 2000, soon after canceling its IPO. At the time Freeinternet.com was the fifth largest ISP in the United States, with 3.2 million users.[18] Famous for its mascot Baby Bob, the company lost $19 million in 1999 on revenues of less than $1 million.[19][20]
    • GeoCities, purchased by Yahoo! for $3.57 billion in January 1999. Yahoo! closed GeoCities on October 26, 2009.[21]
    • theGlobe.com
      – Was a social networking service, that went live in April 1995 and
      made headlines by going public on November 1998 and posting the largest
      first day gain of any IPO in history up to that date. The CEO became in
      1999 a visible symbol of the excesses of dot-com millionaires.
    • GovWorks.com – the doomed dot-com featured in the documentary film Startup.com.
    • pets.com - a former dot-com enterprise that sold pet supplies to retail customers before entering bankruptcy in 2000.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble

    oh yeah.... Dot.com bubble version 2.0 hereeee weeee comeeee......

  • still confused... I don't get  why instagram is amazing except for the $1Billion price tag. This app doesn't even have a widget! total reject. Since android has system wide file sharing, any photo app can directly send to any social networking of your choosing, this on top of pix manipulation app usually also can directly take picture. taking pix-manipulate-share app is a dime a dozen tricks.Every single photo app in android store does this plus small gimmicks and variations. Is app in iPhone land that crappy?   I wonder what apple user thinks about sub 1 second camera launch or built in panorama/movie/still feature. Hey apple user, there is this "Flash memory" technology in android land...you should check this amazing thing. It expands internal memory and replaceable too.  It works like magic. It's like you will never run out of storage..!! It's true ... Did I tell you that screen can go as big as 4.6 inch or even 5.3? you can see more stuff on it without pinch and zoom ... totally mind blowing.
    *roll eyes*

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instagram.android&hl=en

    even the download counter isn't all that impressive. It's already cooling down (at the level of supposedly most popular app in the planet. Angry bird in space would worth 100billion by that measure.)

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/category/PHOTOGRAPHY?feature=category-nav

    I wonder if two of my fav 'vignette' and 'FX' will worth 10 billion, since it's better photo app.

  • Mobile - In the area of mobile, Sony is integrating the
    R&D, design engineering, and sales and marketing operations of its
    smartphone business (operated by Sony Mobile Communications, now a
    wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony), “Sony Tablet” and “VAIO” businesses in
    order to quickly develop and deliver compelling products to market.
    Sony also plans to aggressively leverage its many technologies in areas
    such as digital imaging and game, its rich content assets including
    pictures, music and game, its “Sony Entertainment Network” network
    service platform, as well as the communications technology expertise and
    knowhow accumulated through its experience in the mobile phone
    industry, to launch new mobile products and establish new business
    models. Additionally, by integrating operations across its entire mobile
    product line-up, Sony aims to achieve further efficiencies and
    optimization. As a result of these measures, Sony will target sales of
    1.8 trillion yen in FY14 from the mobile business, and significant
    profitability improvement.

    image

    http://www.xperiablog.net/2012/04/12/sony-outlines-details-of-one-sony-strategy-confirms-focus-on-mobile/

    The heat is on for Sony, either they come up on top or die.  ...
  • I think it's a winner. The docking, etc


  • ARM Expands Processor Optimization Pack Solutions for TSMC 40nm and
    28nm Process Variants



    At the leading-edge 28nm HPM (high performance for mobile) and 28nm HP
    (high performance) process variants, ARM is launching new POPs for the
    Cortex-A9 core as well as the first POPs for ARM’s newest Cortex-A7 and
    Cortex-A15 processors. Since the Cortex-A7 and Cortex-A15 cores are used
    in tandem as ARM’s big.LITTLE™ energy-efficient processing solution, the
    addition of POPs for both cores assures a complete solution for
    big.LITTLE implementations. ARM’s lead licensee for the Cortex-A15 POP
    for TSMC 28nm HPM is progressing toward the tape out of its first chip
    in the coming months.





    At TSMC 40nm LP (low power), ARM’s existing POP offering for the
    Cortex-A5 and Cortex-A9 processors is being augmented with the new
    Cortex-A7 POP. In addition, working in concert with TSMC, ARM will offer
    new POP variants supporting the latest high-speed options for TSMC 40nm
    LP, so those process options can take full advantage of the POP
    implementation benefits. ARM’s POPs for TSMC 40nm LP for Cortex-A5 (1.0
    GHz) and Cortex-A9 (1.4 GHz) are shipping in production chips by ARM
    partners in such applications as smart-TV, set-top box, mobile computing
    and smart phones.


    http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120416005583/en/arm/processor/technology

    More cheap processors coming soon!! yay....

  • China white-box vendors showcase tablets at HK fair
     

    Many China-based white-box vendors are showcasing 7.0-inch tablet PC models at shipment prices of US$65-80 and 10.1-inch models at US$100-110 at the 2012 Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) taking place during April 13-16.

    These white-box vendors include Dream Technology, Aocos, PCTX, HKC, Onn and Onda.

    These tablet PC models are equipped with chipset solutions mostly developed by China-based Allwinner Technology, Android 4.0, Wi-Fi modules, 4GB built-in memory, 800x480 or 1,024x600 16:9 touch screens, plastic casings. In addition, 9.7-inch tablet PCs equipped with IPS touch screens and metal casings are priced at US$130-140.

    If these tablet PC models are also equipped with 3.5G modules, shipment prices will increase by US$45 on average, according to white-box vendors.

    White-box vendors indicated that they have reached combined shipments of three million tablet PCs a month.

    http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120415PD200.html
  • Google's window of opportunity for its Android tablet is closing fast

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2012/apr/16/tablets-ipad-windows-google-android

    in other news............... Guardian opportunity to blow smoke out of its clueless ass is closing fast...

    PS guardian. Android is big in whitebox/unregistered. bigger than apple I dare say.

    (  I'll skip less obvious part such as ARM inc. significantly expanding microprocessor presence to feed android tablet...see post below.)

  • $142 Galaxy Nexus clone, runs ICS on MT6575, with 4.65″ LCD

    Here come the chinese clone army... I find this amusing . But it's Samsung product for Google. So not exactly the top of the line difficult to make industrial design. Try copying Sharp Aquos stuff if they can...



  • Samsung Knocks Nokia off The Top Spot; Top Mobile Seller

    http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/04/samsung-knocks-nokia-off-the-top/

  • Windows on ARM officially named 'Windows RT


    http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/16/2953379/windows-on-arm-officially-named-windows-rt-joins-windows-8-and

    Windowz retard is almost reaaadyyyy... this is going to be worse than Nokia WM7. The name is already all wrong.


  • Sony to buy all of AUO's OLED capacity for its mobile phones?



    A few days ago it was reported that AUO is collaborating with Sony on OLED production ,
    and today the Chinese Commercial Times reports that Sony will buy all
    of AUO's AMOLED production capacity in the near term. Sony will use
    AUO's 4.3" AMOLED panels in upcoming mobile phones. This contradicts earlier reports that HTC secured AUO's entire capacity.

    AUO's original plan was to produce AMOLEDs in Q2 2011, but the company delayed this due to technical issues
    (apparently the company couldn't get the yields of the vacuum
    evaporation deposition of the organic layers high enough). It is
    suggested that Sony's engineers are assisting AUO with those technical
    issues.

  • New IGZO by Sharp... probably apple will use this...very nice.

    image

    http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20120413_526327.html


  • Ancient pottery delays TSMC's new fab


    Archaeological finds could force fab move

    While digging up the ground for the company's Fab 14 Phase 5
    manufacturing complex, builders stumbled across pottery. The chip
    company said it quickly called in authorities in Greater Tainan to help
    them find out whether the pottery was an archaeological find and if
    there was a possibility of more relics further under the ground.

    The
    company said that if the ground was found to house historical artifacts
    it would move the construction to the Phase 6 base nearby. It added
    that if there was another archaeological site under the Phase 6 base,
    and it had planned bases for Phase 7 and 8 as back-ups.

    According to Taiwan Economic News,
    The Tainan Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage preliminarily
    identified the pottery as a relic from the Niuchoutzu Culture period,
    which lasted from 3,300 to 4,200 years ago.

    http://news.techeye.net/business/ancient-pottery-delays-tsmcs-new-fab

    Alright, who left their cookware there?... I want my cheap gadgets now.. these ancient civilizations definitely ought to keep their cookware out of the way.

  • Intel Shows Off Ultrabook-Tablet Hybrid Running Windows 8

    Currently, no OEMs have made a Cove Point announcement, but we would be
    surprised if manufacturers ignored the ultrabook-hybrid form factor
    entirely. As it’s currently configured, Richman estimates Intel’s Cove
    Point device would probably cost around $1,000. You can catch a glimpse
    of Cove Point in this video of highlights from IDF 2012:

    http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/04/intel-cove-point-ultrabook-tablet-hybrid-running-windows-8/

    too expensive not going to fly.

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