Android Authority |
- Acer Iconia Tab A510 and A511 delayed by “faulty component”, A700 not affected
- VIA unveils a $49 Android PC that can replace your old computer
- HTC Android 4.0 ICS updates for HTC devices to arrive this late summer
- Will Android 5.0 feature improved desktop capabilities?
- Electronic Arts quietly releases Mass Effect Infiltrator, a little late to the party
- Best Android apps for TV lovers and couch potatoes
- MusicBunk: Social networking app for discovering and sharing music
- ARM Cortex A9 vs ARM Cortex A15 – What to expect, and what’s the difference?
- Best Android apps for hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts
- It’s official: Google completes Motorola acquisition, Dennis Woodside is Moto’s new CEO
| Acer Iconia Tab A510 and A511 delayed by “faulty component”, A700 not affected Posted: 23 May 2012 02:24 AM PDT
It looks like the Acer Iconia Tab A510 and the A511 have been hit by a shipment delay. According to posts on Acer Germany's Facebook page, the delay in delivery is due to a certain faulty component for the two tablets. While Acer didn't specify when fresh batches of the Iconia Tab A510 and A511 will be shipped out, the company did mention that owners of the two tablets need not worry about the quality of the tablets that have already been sold, as they're not affected by said faulty component. For US folks who want to try out Acer's quad-core tablet offering, a quick check on Amazon and Best Buy suggests that the Acer Iconia Tab A510 — the WiFi version — is still in stock for the same $449 price point. That much money will get you a 10.1-inch tablet with 1280 x 800 resolution, 32GB internal storage, 1GB RAM, 5MP rear camera, 1MP front camera, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and a 9,800mAh battery for up to 15 hours of usage. Fortunately, the so-called component trouble will not affect the European launch of Acer's other tablet, the Iconia Tab A700. The same Facebook post says that the higher resolution slate will still be out sometime in June, giving you the chance to enjoy the beauty of that 1900 x 1200 HD resolution on the A700's 10.1-inch screen. The rest of the specs are quite similar to the Tab A510, and the Acer Iconia Tab A700 is expected to retail for €549. Even though Acer hasn't announced the availability of the Iconia Tab A700 in the US, the tab has recently been spotted at the FCC, which gives some hope that it'll be US-bound in the near future. This article, Acer Iconia Tab A510 and A511 delayed by “faulty component”, A700 not affected , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| VIA unveils a $49 Android PC that can replace your old computer Posted: 23 May 2012 02:13 AM PDT
Lately, we’ve been seeing a whole bunch of Android/Linux PCs that cost under $100, down to $25 for the Raspberry Pi, and you can use them for pretty much anything. It goes without saying that you should expect significantly slower performance than from a $1000 PC. But as a way to use more “computers” around your house for different applications, like making a Smart TV or a low-end console, these barebones systems are ideal. Now, a new ARM PC from VIA, based on a Neo-ITX motherboard, we’ll give you a quick way to back-up your old PCs in case they crash and die on you. All you need to do is connect it to a monitor or TV. What you get for $49 is a 800 Mhz ARM11 CPU, 512 MB of DDR3 RAM, 2 GB of flash storage, and a GPU that will support 720p video playback and most games around (at the Angry Birds level of graphics). You’ll also have access to an Ethernet port, 4 USB ports, Audio-out/Mic-in, microSD slot, HDMI, and VGA display ports. You can house this board in a standard Mini-ITX or microATX chassis. If you want a Smart TV, you’re probably better off buying a Raspberry Pi, but I think this board is a lot more useful for replacing the internals of old PCs. The disappointing part is that this $49 computer only runs Android 2.3. While Android 4.0 may not be an OS that is perfectly optimized for the PC form factor, it’s a whole lot better than Android 2.3, thanks to its landscape tablet-mode. So, I hope they will at least support ICS in the future (or, better yet, whatever version Google is releasing soon). Also, any PC like this should support at least some version of Linux, maybe one that can run very fast on such low-end machines. For those who want Ubuntu, I’m afraid you’re out of luck with the ARMv6 chips like ARM11, because Canonical decided not to support it going forward. ARMv6 is an old architecture, as ARM is less than a couple of years away from launching the 64-bit ARMv8 architecture.
This brings me to another point. I would like VIA and other manufacturers to deliver higher-end versions of these all-in-one boards in the future. I like the overall idea, and they’ll probably get some good marketing out of selling a “$49 PC”, but I’d like to be able to replace my old PC with hardware that is decently powerful. A dual-core Cortex A15 chip would be 10-15x faster, and, if such a board would be priced under $100, or even under $150, it would be a very good deal. One advice I’d have for the companies pondering a jump on the low-end “PCs” bandwagon would be to stop using ARM11, and go straight to single core or, better yet, dual core Cortex A7 chips. They’ll have ARMv7 compatibility, which means Ubuntu will support it in the future. Even Chrome for Android will work on such machines, and they’ll be significantly more powerful than ARM11 as well. Another idea would be to use the highest-end ARM chips and try to make low-end “Android consoles” (with Google’s approval), so they can get Android games working on them. If the market would be flooded with such $100 consoles, game developers would be a lot more interested in making games for Android first. Also, I think it’s something Google really needs to do if they don’t want to stay in Apple’s shadow forever. But they need to do it soon, before Apple does the same with their own Apple TV box or the rumored Apple TV set. Here’s a presentation video if you’re interested to learn more about VIA’s $49 Android PC. No related posts. This article, VIA unveils a $49 Android PC that can replace your old computer , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| HTC Android 4.0 ICS updates for HTC devices to arrive this late summer Posted: 23 May 2012 01:13 AM PDT
HTC, the makers of the One X, still the best Android smartphone around, have just revealed the complete schedule for the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates for their devices. The roadmap shows the HTC smartphones that are capable of handling the latest version of Android, with most devices set to receive it towards the end of the upcoming summer season. The update to Ice Cream Sandwich is hotly anticipated by Android fans across the globe, bringing new features to their smartphones including a revamped user-interface, home screen folders and favorites tray, new lock screen actions, improved text input and spell-checking, a unified calendar, improved camera capabilities, and much more. We've already seen Ice Cream Sandwich running on HTC's latest devices, like the One X, One S and One V, which gave us the impression that HTC is gearing up for its big comeback, after some months of struggle in the past year. Here’s the full, updated table, directly from the official HTC blog:
HTC has already started rolling out the ICS update to devices like the HTC Amaze 4G, HTC EVO 4G+, HTC Sensation, HTC Vivid and more. But devices like the Desire S, EVO 3D, and many others will only receive Android 4.0 starting this June up to August. Also, most devices here were announced in the past year or so, except the Thunderbolt and Incredible 2. All these devices meet the minimum system requirements for the latest Android version – 256 MB RAM and a decent GPU for hardware-accelerated 2D drawing. Although the listed schedule from HTC doesn’t offer any exact rollout dates for the much-craved Ice Cream Sandwich updates, it's still good to see precisely which devices will get the coveted ticket to the ICS club. This article, HTC Android 4.0 ICS updates for HTC devices to arrive this late summer , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Will Android 5.0 feature improved desktop capabilities? Posted: 23 May 2012 12:27 AM PDT
Google has struck gold with Android. It’s the most popular mobile operating system, and, thanks to its open source nature and the growth of smartphones and tablets, one day it might even be the most popular operating system, period. This is something Google has been craving for a long time. For the biggest part of the last decade, Microsoft was Google’s main competitor, much like Facebook considers Google their main competitor today, or at least a company they would very much like to “beat”. So the Mountain View-based giant has been trying for quite a while now to develop its own universal OS, hoping that, one day, it will weaken Microsoft’s dominance. ChromeOS
Google has tried to conquer the desktop space with ChromeOS, but, so far, it hasn’t had much luck. In part, that is because people are still not completely sold on the “all you need is the web” vision. Among the reasons for this reluctance we can count the facts that we’re barely just getting LTE now, unlimited data plans are becoming a rarity, and, very importantly, the price for ChromeOS devices just isn’t right. To some, a Chromebook seems even less useful than a netbook, so the $400 price tag for one doesn’t make much sense. Google repeated the mistake they did with Google TV, when instead of going with much cheaper ARM chips, they chose the more expensive Intel ones. The second time in a row they failed mostly because of the pricing. Hopefully, they won’t make the same mistake again this summer — there are rumors that we’ll see a Chromebook made by Samsung, based on an Exynos 5250 chip. But it remains to be seen if Samsung will price it right. They are not very well known for pricing something as cheaply as possible. Android
Android is already a very popular OS, but it’s primarily a smartphone OS, and then a tablet one. It will take quite a leap to make it a desktop OS, as well, but I think that’s where Google is heading with Android 5.0 (not necessarily Jelly Bean, just whatever they will be launching this fall). But I wonder how they will tackle the issue of having a “similar” UI across form factors. In general, you don’t want the UI to be exactly the same across the board, because, at least on some form factors, the UI will come out as un-optimized. Take Windows 8 for example. Because Microsoft wanted to have the same UI everywhere, and they first focused on the tablet form factor, the UI is very poor for the desktop now. To extent, the same can be said about Ubuntu, too, but the problem is much smaller there. Pretty much the most annoying thing about cross-platform Ubuntu is the fact that you have a sidebar instead of a bottom bar, but that’s about it. The bottom line is Google can’t just use the exact same UI on phones, tablets, and desktops. ICS works well on phones, works on on tablets, and it’s not too bad in desktop mode either, but the experience could be much improved there. So how will they do this? Will Larry Page and co. be the ones to find the “perfect” middle ground between all these devices? Is such a thing even possible? UI Add-ons
Personally, I’d prefer if they made the multiple versions look as close as possible in styling and theme, but actually have a “phone mode”, a “tablet mode” and a “desktop mode”. I’d like the UI to be very well optimized for each form factor, to squeeze the most utility out of it. So for phones you’d have something like you do now, for tablets something like Chameleon, and for desktop, something like everyone is used to using on a desktop. They could do this by making “UI add-ons” on top of the core of Android, that have resemble each other at a high level, but also take full advantage of the form factor they run on. So, if you’d have an Android phone, you could dock it to a tablet or PC monitor and be able to choose between the Phone, Tablet and PC modes. This is just something that I would prefer. What’s the most likely thing to happen? They will probably just improve the ICS UI on a tablet to be more useful in desktop mode and look more “at home” on a PC, without compromising too much of the tablet UI. The other alternative is that they will merge ChromeOS with Android, and the user will be able to switch between them. This would be a lot easier to do with Samsung’s Exynos 5250, which thanks to the Cortex A15 architecture, will feature hardware virtualization, making it easy to run two operating systems at the same time. What do you think Google will bring to Android 5.0 to make it more desktop-friendly, or what else should they be doing to make that possible? No related posts. This article, Will Android 5.0 feature improved desktop capabilities? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Electronic Arts quietly releases Mass Effect Infiltrator, a little late to the party Posted: 22 May 2012 11:52 PM PDT
Electronic Arts (EA) has just unveiled the action-packed Mass Effect Infiltrator, now available on Google Play. As you might have guessed from the title, the third-person shooter is another game in the Mass Effect franchise, and ties in nicely with the console/PC game Mass Effect 3, which has caused such an uproar earlier this year because of its disappointing ending. One of the most attractive things about playing ME:Infiltrator is the fact that you can influence the outcome in ME3. Unfortunately, ME3 is already months old, so for many fans, the Android version is late to the party. iOS players, on the other side, got the mobile game at the same time with the PC/console title. Mass Effect Infiltrator 3 is actually a prequel to Mass Effect 3. You’ll play Cerberus agent Randall Ezno, who is forced to bring down Cerberus because, apparently, the Cerberus Director has gone too far in procuring aliens for illicit experiments. Your good side has prevailed and so you are out to stop the Director from pushing forward with his activities.
Sounds like fun? Well, probably. That is if you can get over the fact that you’ll have to spend $6.99 for the game. In short, it’s pretty expensive for a mobile game. Aside from that, the game is also storage hungry, requiring at least 450MB of your phone’s storage. If those two considerations don’t bother you at all, then go ahead and buy the game. You’ll enjoy some pretty nice game graphics, quality audio effects, and an overall console-like experience. Along the way, you’ll be able upgrade your character’s gears and performance, access bonus missions, use bionic powers and various high-tech armor and weapons, and pretty much everything you’d expect from a game in the Mass Effect series. And if it helps you in anyway, you might want to check out the reviews that Mass Effect: Infiltrator has garnered from iOS gamers. Who knows, those reactions might give you second thoughts on whether to part ways with your dough or not. This article, Electronic Arts quietly releases Mass Effect Infiltrator, a little late to the party , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Best Android apps for TV lovers and couch potatoes Posted: 22 May 2012 09:00 PM PDT
Art imitates life, and that’s exactly why several million people are glued to their TVs everyday. After a hard day’s work, who doesn’t enjoy kicking off their shoes and becoming a vegetable in front of their TV, simply soaking in shows and movies? TV is more than just for entertainment, however; it can be used as educational tools for children, as well as for adults. Getting into the groove of TV can be difficult though. Unless you’ve purchased a TV guide from the nearby store or you’ve seen an ad for a certain show, being able to catch something of interest can be difficult and can lead to hours wasted on mindless channel surfing. We’ve put together a list of apps that’ll help you overcome the chaos of TV programming to find the shows that you want to watch as well as apps that give you the power to watch TV even when you aren’t at home. TV Guide One of the things that’s been drawing people away from the TV and to the internet is how unpredictable the show lineup is. Unless you watch TV daily and you’ve pretty much gotten all the shows and their schedules memorized, chances are, you won’t know what the next show is until the channel flashes a schedule card at you. With TV Guide on your Android device, you won’t have that problem. You can quickly see what’s on TV right from the palm of your hand so you can decide what channel you’ll be watching even before you turn on the TV. You can also manage your favorite channels and set up reminders for your favorite shows. TVGuide.com also gives you the latest and juiciest gossip and news regarding your favorite actors and actresses. Stop wasting precious time surfing channels; get TV Guide for your Android device today and always know what’s showing on the TV. TV Listings for Android TV24 Here’s another app that’ll give you an idea of what’s on the tube even before you switch it on. Covering 13, 000 channels in total, TV Listings for Android TV24 gives you an overview of what’s going on right now in shows, movies and events. Open the app and see what’s showing on what channel. If you don’t care for certain channels of whatever’s showing on them, you can delete them from your lineup so that every time you check, you only see the channels that matter to you. It also gives you options for reminders for when your favorite show is on, the ability to rate movies, filtering, search and more. Unfortunately, it’s only for USA Android users. The app is free to download from the Google Play Store but is ad supported. It’s a small price to pay to be able to get an idea of what’s on the TV. TV Guide UK by tv24.co.uk For those of you outside of the US and located in the UK, we’ve got you covered. From the same developers as TV Listings for AndroidTV24, TV Guide UK gives users a 14 day TV listing. You’ll know in advance when you want to watch something, so you can clear your schedule and call your buddies over to watch a show with you. Just like previous TV guide apps, TV Guide UK allows you to add reminders and to receive notifications when your favorite show will start. You can also access the movie page to see what movies are showing for the whole day as well as a sports page to keep you updated on the world of sports. TV Guide UK has a built in search function for easier navigating. Some users have complained that TV Guide UK doesn’t seem to include all free channels and doesn’t have channel list profiles which makes picking programs from a never ending list tedious. Apart from those snags, TV Guide UK is a handy companion for your channel surfing. IMDB Movies & TV Ever catch yourself channel surfing and suddenly stopping on a channel because the show looks promising? So you’re sitting there, actually enjoying the movie, when you realize that you don’t actually know what movie this is. You can recognize an actor or two but the movie’s scenes don’t exactly give you a name to pin on it. If you’ve got your behind firmly planted on the couch and you’re achieving potato status, pick up your Android device and try to match a name to the movie using IMDB Movies & TV. It’s a must have for people who need to know movie and show titles. You can also view movie trailers through the app, as well as user reviews for movies and TV shows. If you’re feeling dorky, take a look at their list of quotes, trivia and fun things about movies and series. IMDB Movies & TV also gives you a TV listing for your local time zone as well as a recap of TV shows from the previous night. HBO GO Who hasn’t heard of HBO? Packed not only with a great selection of recent movies and providing original entertainment with series like Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and Band of Brothers, HBO is a must have for any couch potato and TV enthusiast. But sometimes we need to step outside of our homes and miss out on that series we’re religiously following. Rising from your couch will no longer be a problem when you can have HBO in your pocket. With HBO GO on your Android device, you can watch over 1,400 of your favorite HBO shows which includes original programming, movies, comedies, and sports. Take HBO with you anywhere and make sure that you’re always up to date on your favorite shows. Using HBO GO, you can create a customized watchlist so you can watch what you want, whenever you want. Unfortunately, HBO GO is available only in the US and minimum 3G connection is required for viewing. But if you happen to be lucky enough to be in the US, you won’t ever have to miss out on movies and series. TV.com Enjoy the best of TV right from the comfort of your Android device. TV.com, developed by CBS Interactive Inc., brings your personal TV to your phone using WiFi and cellular networks. You can access the videos that you want anywhere you go. Imagine being able to access full videos for free. You can access videos from CBS, CW, CNET, ET, Showtime, and CBS News. Take a look through the featured videos, and you’ll see if an episode is available in full. Under each video’s title, the video’s length is indicated. Tap on any of the tabs on top and catch up with your favorite shows. Some episodes are available in full while others are only available as teasers. If you previously had TV.com had uninstalled it due to force close problems, TV.com’s recent update seems to have fixed that. You can download TV.com for your Android device, for free, from the Google Play Store. DroidTV Primetime Imagine being able to watch whatever you want, whenever you want. A number of apps already let you do just that, by giving you access to certain series but what if what you want to watch isn’t available on any website? You’ll have to wait until an episode is available on DVD and that can take weeks to months. With DroidTV Primetime, you can turn your Android device into a DVR and video player. DroidTV Primetime allows you to record or watch individual episodes or automatically record every episode as they become available. Episodes are recorded from the internet or over the air and are stored on your own dedicated DVR in DroidTV Primetime’s data center before it’s automatically transferred to your phone for viewing. You’ll be able to store any number of episodes on the virtual DVR but the number of episodes you can view on your phone is limited only by your SD card’s available memory. With DroidTV Primetime’s broad lineup, you’ll never miss your favorite shows. You can download DroidTV Primetime from the Google Play Store for a small fee. Crackle – Movies & TV With how unpredictable movie lineups on the TV can be, you might find yourself channel surfing all day and never finding a show you like. Even with a TV guide, there are just days that the channels aren’t giving you the shows you’d like to watch. When you’ve got one of those days, pick up your Android device and launch Crackle. This app lets you watch full length Hollywood movies and shows on your Android device, free and on demand. Not only do you get American programming, you also get popular anime such as Samurai X, Blue Exorcist, Viper’s Creed, Blood+ and Durarara!!Unfortunately, Crackle is only available in the US, Canada, UK and Australia. Both the developers and users hope that Crackle will be available for other territories in the future. You may experience some sound issues when you download this app; the developers advise switching to the newest version of Flash to fix this. You can download Crackle for free from the Google Play Store. Discovery Channel TV isn’t just limited to mind-rotting shows. If you’ve got kids or if you’re in the mood to learn new things, download Discovery Channel for your Android device. You’re probably familiar with the channel, giving you a daily dose of the wonders of the world, solving mysteries in history and showing us the possible future of science and technology. With the Discovery Channel app, you won’t just get new videos but you’ll also get daily news stories, quizzes, photos and TV schedules. You can watch some of Discovery Channel’s famous shows like Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs and Ghost Lab. Unfortunately Discovery Channel doesn’t give you full videos but you do get teasers and previews of their shows so the next time you sit down on the couch and pick up the remote, you know what show you’d like to lock onto. Download Discovery Channel for free from the Google Play Store today and enrich your world. SPB TV Sometimes when you need to get out of the house, it can be difficult to tear yourself away from your couch and your TV but thanks to SPB TV, you can do your TV watching anywhere you go. SPB TV also has a TV list integrated into it, so you’ll know what’s showing and you can stay up to date on your favorite TV shows. Want to see what’s showing on other channels but don’t feel committed to actually switch the channel? Browsing other channels can be done without leaving the one you’re watching thanks to a picture preview of what’s showing. You not only save time but you can prevent having your episode interrupted. With over 20,000 downloads, SPB TV makes sure that you can still enjoy TV programming outside of your home with over 120 available and fast channel launching and switching. Get SPB TV for free from the Google Play Store today. With any of these apps, you can now sit back and enjoy your TV viewing experience. If you happen to be out of the house, use your Android device to make sure you aren’t missing out on your favorite movies and shows. If your favorite TV lover or couch potato app didn’t make it to our list, let us know what it is in the comments section. This article, Best Android apps for TV lovers and couch potatoes , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| MusicBunk: Social networking app for discovering and sharing music Posted: 22 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT
Do you ever wonder what type of music your friends are listening to? People don’t usually share what music they like and you may be shocked that your school bully may actually be listening to mellow songs instead of rock or that your geek classmate is a rocker. With the help of an app called MusicBunk, you can actually check out what songs your friends are listening to. You can listen to their songs, comment on them, and even make new friends based on your favorite songs.
Social networking sites are the hot thing on the Internet. People sink their toes into social networks when they wake up, when they are working, and during almost every activity they do. They just have to post to let their friends know what they are currently up to. MusicBunk works the same way but in the form of your favorite songs and tracks. Through this social music player, you can share your playlists, listen to the playlists of other people, and check out who has the same music taste as you do. What’s great is that MusicBunk is a cross-platform application keeping you in touch with both Android and iOS users, which also means you can make even more friends. MusicBunk FeaturesMusicBunk is simple yet fun to use. To use the app, you need to log-in using your Facebook account or register a MusicBunk account. When you have registered, you can start inviting your Facebook friends to also use the app or check out friends who are already using the app through their MusicBunk profile pages. The app will scan your music library and share it through the app, letting your friends know what music you are listening to. Your friends can like or comment on your music via Twitter or Facebook and you can also do the same thing.
When you start, you might not have a lot of friends yet, but don’t worry because the app can pick them based on your music preferences. MusicBunk will come up with friend suggestions based on the songs on your playlist. If you are listening to a particular artist’s song, then the app will pick out someone who also has the same song on his/her playlist, letting you find your perfect music matches. Aside from those things mentioned, the app also lets you do other stuff. If you have a friend who is also using MusicBunk, you can let the app reveal how many songs the two of you have in common. You can also check out the new songs that your friends have recently added to their playlists. What’s great about it is that you can enjoy all those aforementioned features while listening to your favorite music or listening to the music of your MusicBunk friend.
So, if you want to meet new friends that have the same music preference as you do, try MusicBunk–the social media player that will let you find your music matches. You can download MusicBunk for free from the Google Play Store. How many friends with the same music taste have you made with MusicBunk?
This article, MusicBunk: Social networking app for discovering and sharing music , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| ARM Cortex A9 vs ARM Cortex A15 – What to expect, and what’s the difference? Posted: 22 May 2012 09:21 AM PDT
ARM has completely dominated the mobile market for more than a decade, with over 90% market share, but it wasn’t until the rise of modern smartphones that we started to witness chips more powerful than anyone could have ever imagined we’d see in phones — chips that are now even starting to threaten Intel’s dominance and their status quo computing architecture. Starting with the ARMv7 architecture and the first Cortex CPU based on it, the A8, we already began to think of these devices as superphones or mini-computers once the 1 GHz barrier was broken. Then came the dual core Cortex A9 chips and, with them, brought a browsing experience with rich graphics similar to what was available on PC’s just 6 or 7 years before that, which is still very impressive when you consider it’s all done on a mobile phone. Fast forward to today, and we now have quad core Cortex A9 processors, and more. Despite this, I think many of us are already looking forward to the inevitable launch of chips based on the new Cortex A15 CPU, that promises to get ever closer to a level of performance that is good for laptops. this, all the while maintaining a low-power profile. So what can we expect from this next-gen chip compared to the Cortex A9 we’re using now? Performance
If we go after DMIPS/Mhz, which might not be the best representation of performance, then Cortex A9 has 2.5 DMIPS/Mhz, while Cortex A15 has 3.5 DMIPS/Mhz, and some manufacturers are even promising 4.0 DMIPS/Mhz. So, the performance per clock compared to Cortex A9 should be 40%-60% higher, all things being equal. This is a huge improvement in efficiency. Quick tip: DMIPS stands for Dhrystone Millions of Instructions per Second.  ARM Cortex A15 at the top vs ARM Cortex A9 in the rest - massive performance difference - but remember, this is from a reference device, provided by Qualcomm, and not from a real world device. But things are not equal, so we should see Cortex A15 clocked at significantly higher frequencies as well. A dual core 2 GHz Cortex A15 chip like the upcoming Exynos 5250, should be around twice as fast a dual core 1.5 GHz Cortex A9 chip. And that’s even for single threaded performance, not like current quad core Cortex A9 chips like the 1.5 GHz Tegra 3 and 1.4 GHz Exynos 4 Quad which should only have 15%-25% higher single threaded performance compared to last year’s dual core 1.2 GHz Cortex A9 chips.
What about multi-threaded performance? Just because you double the cores, doesn’t mean you get double the performance, except in very specific situations. Really though, on average, you should get about a 50% increase in performance (could be much lower or much higher for specific tasks and apps). To make a simple comparison: if a dual core 2 GHz Cortex A15 is 2X faster than a dual core 1.5 GHz Cortex A9, we can still assume around 30% faster performance than today’s quad core processors for multi-threaded apps, even though it’s a dual core processor. New Features
Unlike Cortex A9, which was supposed to go up to 2.0 GHz per core (even though TSMC seems to have smashed that with their 3.1 GHz per core frequency), Cortex A15 is supposed to reach 2.5 GHz per core, something we’ll probably be able to see around mid-2013. Cortex A15 can also support up to 8 cores, compared to 4 for Cortex A9, so there’s room for growth there, too. Unlike Cortex A8 and Cortex A9 which only supported the NEON extension optionally for media acceleration (Tegra 2 didn’t have it and it suffered for it), Cortex A15 will have NEON integrated by default. Although Cortex A15 is not a 64-bit processor, it can be extended to support up to 1 TB of RAM, which will be very useful in low-power servers. Another useful feature for servers, but also for those of us who like to juggle with many custom ROM’s or who might want to try another ROM without replacing their current one, is hardware virtualization. Of course this is something ROM makers would have to enable themselves for it to work, but I’m pretty excited about it, and it might even allow for faster upgrades for Cortex A15-based devices. GPU
The first chip with a Cortex A15 CPU should be the Exynos 5250, and it’s expected to land sometime this summer or early fall. Although, it might appear as a dual core 1.7 GHz version, perhaps even in the upcoming Google tablet that will be announced at Google I/O. However, don’t get your hopes up to much, because Samsung might not want other companies (Asus) to be the first ones to use this chip. It’s also expected to be integrated into Samsung’s 2560×1600 resolution tablet, the full 2 GHz version and with the Mali T-604, which should be the most powerful GPU this year by far. It should even handily beat the Adreno 320 if it’s only going to be 2X as fast as Adreno 225 as I suspect it will be. The Mali T-604 will be the perfect GPU for Cortex A15, thanks to the high integration with it, since both are made by ARM. The Mali T-604 GPU promises 5x the performance of Mali 400 (the one in GS2, not GS3) will support Google’s Renderscript which is used to hardware accelerate the Android 4.0 UI and OpenCL. This can be used for much improved graphics, smarter AI in games, real time augmented reality apps and image processing, and so on. Big.Little
What’s even more exciting is that Samsung might be using Cortex A15 in their Nexus phone this fall, and it might not even be the Exynos 5250 per se, but a variant using Cortex A7 as well and the big.Little configuration for heterogeneous computing. I’m cautiously optimistic about this one because even though Cortex A7 is not supposed to appear until 2013, Samsung has mentioned before they will ship Cortex A7 this year. This feat and revelation is brought to us thanks to their close relationship to ARM. The simple truth, for smartphones especially, you’re going to need something like a single core or even dual core Cortex A7 to make things more efficient for simple tasks. The exceedingly powerful Cortex A15 doesn’t have to wake up and use more battery. I’m also excited about Cortex A7 because I hope it’s going to replace the ancient ARM11 once and for all. It should enable a market for sub-$100 fast Android smartphones with dual core Cortex A7 chips. The Future
While I’m very excited about the Cortex A15, Mali T-604 and Cortex A7, I’m even more excited for ARMv8 architecture, and new chips such as the successors of Cortex A15, Mali T6xx and Cortex A7 that will appear starting in 2014. ARM has been getting enormous demand for their ARMv8 architecture, which is still a couple of years away; the support for the 64 bit ARM architecture will be there from day one, rather than still having weak support for it many years later. This is the unfortunate case with Intel and AMD’s 64 bit architectures and this is why they lag behind in a market they helped initially create. Whatever this means for Android, we shall see, but since everyone is going to support it, including the Linux community, and this means that many Linux operating systems will work by default on all future 64 bit chips! Potentially, it might make Android upgrades and installing Android on different devices a lot easier, too. Any thoughts on all of this? This article, ARM Cortex A9 vs ARM Cortex A15 – What to expect, and what’s the difference? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Best Android apps for hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts Posted: 22 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT
Nothing is more relaxing and fun at the same time as a hobby. It makes your life better, not only giving you time to de-stress but to keep your hands from getting idle. Hobbies can range from building a miniature ship in a bottle to making a scrapbook of pictures of yourself. For every hobby that you enjoy, there is always an Android app that will help guide you in sticky situations. Whether it's an indoor pursuit to happiness or an outdoor adventure, nothing beats an app that will help and guide you along the way. Read the rest of this article to learn more about apps that will surely compliment your hobby. Hobby Model Scaler
Love building miniature scaled figures? If you do, you should download Hobby Model Scaler from AgurApps. Hobby Model Scaler is great for laying out plans for small scale dioramas or miniatures that hobbyists want to build from scratch. The app is perfect for replacing traditional methods of constructing miniatures using pen and paper. Hobby Model Scaler is absolutely free to download, allowing users to quickly scale measurements of just about anything. The app is tailor made for model makers, miniature ship builders or small scale hobbyists. Hobby Model Scaler features forward and backward scale that allows you to scale actual based objects to a desired or specific scale depending on your own choosing. You can choose from a pre-defined list of scales or enter your own figures manually. There is also a Get Scale feature that is used to scale both object and model size if they are available. Mixed unit types can also be used if one scale is unknown. Magic Color Picker
Finding the right color is important when it comes to designing or painting your mini-scaled figures. Choosing the right color can be a daunting and meticulous task, most especially you don't know the exact color code to paint your miniature. Thanks to Magic Color Picker, finding the right color will never be a problem again. Magic Color Picker is a powerful color selection tool, essential for designers, artists, hobbyists and programmers for color selection purposes. The app also supports 7 different modes in color choosing, such as RGB, HSV, HSL, and YUV color charts. Selecting a color is easy as users just need to pick a region of the color model that they have chosen and the app will automatically display the hexadecimal equivalent. Hobby Color Converter
Here's another color reference app that will make your miniature painting extra special and accurate. As a rule of thumb, when it comes to small scale miniatures, important details must not be left out. Hobby Color Converter is the just the right application to get you started on painting realistic miniatures from famous brands such as Tamiya, Revell, Humbrol and Vallejo paints. Hobby Color Convertor can be a helpful guide that matches the color equivalences of various brand paints used in many model kits. The latest version of Hobby Color Converter features the latest color chart from the said brands. Rest assured that these color paints are accurately obtained from the manufacturer themselves so users of the app will be guaranteed that what they are seeing in the charts also reflect the actual color code themselves. Work Calendar
If you’re planning on a project, you’ll want to work on it without wasting precious time. Work Calendar is just the right app to schedule your busy life. Perfect for hobbyists and model builders, Work Calendar can plan your schedules right from start to finish. Work Calendar will help you sort out work schedules, shifts, and other important stuff. All entries are synchronized via Google or Exchange calendar so you don't have to worry about losing important data on the process. Take your schedule anywhere from your PC and on your phone and let Work Calendar do all of your planning. Work Calendar is programmable and setup categories will serve as templates that can easily be used in entering shifts or specific work schedules for when you want to start working. The app also supports hour counters, 3 widgets with configurable design, overview or year-end summaries. Work Calendar also has a free version that you can try before buying the premium version. Origami Fun
If you’re a fan of paper folding, then Origami Fun will surely brush up your skills on the Japanese craft. Paper folding has never been so easy thanks to Origami Fun. The application is guaranteed to take away boredom from every possible angle. Learn the tricks in the art of paper folding and teach it to your friends and family. In Origami Fun, users can learn different Origami crafts. Choose from a wide variety of origami creations like birds, flowers, boxes, insects and animals, stars, hats and so much more. Once you select a category, you will then be shown different Origami figures specific to their chosen category. The app is very detailed in teaching you Origami figures, as it displays a picture and step by step instructions. You can also download the complete guide in PDF format and if you still can't follow the tutorial, well, you might as well watch it via YouTube. Everybody! Scrapbooking
Who says that scrapbooking is only for girls? Everybody! Scrabook for Android is not just your ordinary scrapbook tutorial that you can find on the Internet; consider this as digital art expression on your mobile phone. If you have been scrapbooking all your life then Everybody! Scrabooking by Elecom Co, is a suitable app that will channel your creativity into digital art. The app is pretty useful if you still want to sketch your ideas on a digital medium rather than directly applying it into physical art. Creating scrapbooks is as simple as pie. The app functions as a sketch pad, where you can freely adjust images, rotate files, scale with a touch in the editing page or even attach a recorded message. Users can create a more stylish scrapbook with the use of the design pack. After you’ve created a masterpiece, you can share your work via mail, Facebook, Twitter and many other SNS sites. SketchBook Mobile Express
Sketching couldn't be as fun and addictive thanks to Autodesk's SketchBook Mobile Express. Everytime you have that spark of inspiration, you can always use the app to sketch out your dream miniatures. With a simple, intuitive UI at your fingertips, sketching miniatures will never be a problem. Sketchook Mobile Express offers a wide variety of tools at your disposal, including assorted brushes, pencils, charcoal, air brushes and a whole lot more. This isn't your ordinary painting application. It’s a full featured professional painting software. You can create simple images with just a few strokes of the brush but Sketchbook Mobile Express isn’t limited there. The app is powerful enough to create realistic characters or even create scenes for dioramas. You can also try the paid version as well, jam packed with additional features. WikiHow
For everything DIY, WikiHow has got you covered. WikiHow has over 120,000 articles available on its extensive database of DIY knowledge. Have you ever wondered how to lose weight? Or how to know if your crush likes you? Well, WikiHow has every "how to guide" in its arsenal for people who love to learn and explore without spending cash on expensive tutorials or equipment. Using the application is simple. All you need to do is launch the app, pick a category and you're good to go. If you can't find a specific how to guide, you can always use the search tool. WikiHow covers a whole range of categories that include arts and entertainment, computers, family life, health, food, entertainment, and technology just to name a few. If you're searching the Internet for DIY tutorials then look no further than WikiHow. It has every guide imaginable compiled under one cyber roof. ConvertPad
ConvertPad is the world's most powerful fully featured converter that is great for DIY enthusiasts about to start a new project. With over 8 million downloads, ConvertPad is considered to be the prime choice of many consumers looking for a quick and easy way to get accurate measurements. ConvertPad is intuitive and easy to use. It provides real time currency check and unit conversion, all done on a clean user interface. The app supports well over 24 languages, unit measurement, thermodynamic steam tables, mathematical formula, and the ability to make your own pre-defined units. ConvertPad is a great companion for those tight situations when you need fast and reliable measurements. The Home Depot
Here's one app that will put all of your shopping needs right in the palm of your hand. The Home Depot Android app takes shopping experience to a whole new level, both inside and outside of the store. Users can browse and purchase over 300,000 home improvement products such as bathroom utilities, decorating ideas, kitchen remodeling, living room furniture, camping equipment, lighting needs, concrete, cement, carpets, and so much more. Using the app is just like browsing the aisle of The Home Depot store. The app lets users browse products and check out the store inventory. If you have problems with locating a Home Depot Store, you can easily use the Store Locator feature and let the application guide you to the nearest shop in your vicinity. Users can also be notified by push messages delivered straight to your phone. Smart Tools
Having problems getting the right measurement for your DIY project? All you need to address that problem is Smart Tools, a handy application that does everything from measuring angles to getting the sound level. Smart Tools is an all-in-one package that includes all the 5 app sets from the developer, packing a grand total of 15 tools in one neat package. Each set is categorized according to its usage, namely, Smart Ruler Pro, Smart Measure Pro, Smart Compass Pro, Sound Meter Pro and Smart Light Pro. Never again will you need to bring another set of tools when you’re making a project, as Smart Tools will transform your Android smartphone into something useful. Smart Tools takes advantage of your phone's sensors, converting them into cool real-life tools for you to tinker with. It's like having a Swiss knife packed in your mobile device. Dwell
Dwell from Zumobi Network is another lifestyle application suited to every architect’s and designer’s dream of a fancy house. There aren't many apps on the Google Play Store that are purely dedicated to design and architecture, but with the Dwell app, users will never have to find a replacement. With an amazing UI, together with high-resolution pictures and professional articles supplementing your thirst for knowledge, Dwell can inspire you in many ways, especially if you’ve been thinking of building a new house. Dwell is a magazine focused on home design, events, and products. Whether you’re an architect or just an ordinary DIYer who doesn't want to spend much on home decorations, then you can subscribe to Dwell for tips and tricks from professional architects. Make Your Home
Thinking of ways to redefine your home and changing it into a work of art? You can make this possible with Make Your Home by Antonio Tonev. Make Your Home provides a wealth of information that teaches users how to finish decorating their home. Browse Make Your Home’s high resolution pictures for design inspiration. You can also get ideas for repairing your home or redecorating ideas for your next DIY project. Pictures are categorized according to different parts of the house; browse interesting pictures of bathrooms, bedrooms, chairs, corridors, kids’ rooms, and so much more. You can even share a picture with your friends on various social networks. Handy Construction Calculators
Looking for the ultimate DIY calculator? Then look no further than Handy Construction Calculators, the ultimate construction calculator. Handy Calculators from Sidetop Software is not your ordinary calculator. It features 58 calculators that are individually designed for specific purposes. The app is pretty much useful in almost any field. Take the app with you when you are constructing something and you will be amazed by the sheer number of calculators available for a specific type of measurement. Handy Construction Calculator features drawings and layouts to help users understand the output. This makes Handy Construction Calculator a popular choice for users, as it is simple to use and helps them understand what they are calculating with the aid of the drawings. Get measurements in different areas such as roofing, framing, walls, floors, ceilings, electrical problems, foundations, masonry, area, volume, measurement, and landscaping. Handyman Calculator
Here's another construction calculator that will surely help solve your DIY problems. Handyman Calculator is a simple and easy to use construction calculator that helps you solve all your mathematical woes in an instant. Handyman Calculator features not just calculating numbers but also NotePad support that lets you save calculated results in the app itself. It’s pretty useful if you are dealing with tons of numbers, especially when it comes to accurate measurements. Handyman Calculator features a fraction calculator, weight conversion, asphalt calculation, laminate flooring, speed, force, BMI, and energy conversion. The app's easy to use UI can easily be understood and all you need to do is input the numbers in their corresponding fields and let the app do the rest of the calculation. DIY has never been easier with a whole slew of apps for your Android device. Download some of these apps today and get creative. If your favorite DIY app didn’t make it on our list, share it with us in a comment below. This article, Best Android apps for hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| It’s official: Google completes Motorola acquisition, Dennis Woodside is Moto’s new CEO Posted: 22 May 2012 07:57 AM PDT
After almost a year of negotiations, filing for approvals, and all the legal shenanigans that corporations must go through for a huge transaction to be sealed and done, Google and Motorola have finally got the last "blessing" they needed from the Chinese authorities. It should come as no surprise therefore that Motorola Mobility's acquisition has been very quickly made official, with Google finally paying that $40.00 per share in cash agreed a long time ago. Both Google and Motorola officials have announced that they are glad the deal has been closed and it's now time to look towards the future of the new Moto. Sanjay Jha, Motorola's former CEO and the man who revived the company's Mobile Devices business a few years back, has elegantly stepped down from his leading position, but will continue to work with Google "to help ensure a smooth transition". Jha's replacement will be Dennis Woodside, the former President of Google's Americas region. Woodside was selected to become the new Motorola CEO ever since February, when the Google-Motorola merger was approved in the US and Europe, but wasn't technically able to fulfill any duties in his new position until now. The new CEO's resume is pretty impressive and, according to the official press release, he and his team have brought Google's revenue from $10.8 billion to $17.5 billion in less than three years. His latest assignment at Larry Page and Sergey Brin's company was handling Google's Sales and Operations in the America, but he has worked and supervised business all around the world, from Africa to Europe, and from America to the Middle East. Dennis Woodside's new managerial team at Motorola is itself very impressive and will include former executives from companies like Amazon, Nokia, Visa or NVIDIA, as well as members of the Motorola Mobility's executive team from before the merger.
Regina Dugan, former director of DARPA, is probably the most recognizable name from Woodside's new team, but Mark Randall, Scott Sullivan, Gary Briggs, Marshall Brown and Iqbal Arshad will themselves play a very important role in Motorola's development and progress over the next few years. And talking about the future progress of Moto, we should tell you that Google's officials have not announced any exact plans or projects just yet. However, the possibility of Motorola's hardware department being sold to Huawei or any other company seems to have become more unlikely than ever, as Larry Page himself said that "It's a great time to be in the mobile business, and I'm confident that the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come." Dennis Woodside, Motorola Mobility's new CEO, has made a couple of interesting statements as well, saying that " our aim is simple: to focus Motorola Mobility's remarkable talent on fewer, bigger bets, and create wonderful devices that are used by people around the world". Could one of that "wonderful devices" be a Nexus running Android Jelly Bean, as WSJ's rumor stated a few days ago? We don't know yet, but we are happy that the legal madness surrounding Motorola's acquisition has finally been put to an end. As for Google's future plans for Moto, we should wait, see and hope for the best, shouldn't we?
This article, It’s official: Google completes Motorola acquisition, Dennis Woodside is Moto’s new CEO , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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