Smartphones are gone, Super-phones are in! Tweet

Well 2012 was a great period for smartphone growth. We saw a tremendous leap in innovation and number crunching powers in the new smartphone. And also with that we saw how sophisticated they were becoming, not just in the hardware department, but also in design. We saw some radical designs and well some, say, much "less" radical *cough* iPhone 5 *cough*.

And not just that, I have also noticed that people are now more aware than ever about smartphones and their working, be it software or hardware. Well its not surprising considering the fact that one needs to gain tonnes of knowledge before buying a new smartphone.
And it is in this interest that I have compiled this article about all the technologies coming 2013 onward that's going to make you scrap the idea of getting a new One X or S III. But, this doesn't mean the current users are going to miss any of the 'phun'. The high end devices today have enough juice to last them till the end of '13.

Here is a list of advanced hardwares that will make up a new series of Super-phones!

Processors:

ARM

I'll start off with ARM's contribution to mobile technologies with their new ARM Cortex A-15.

This is the most popular of all the tech news running around the internet and quite old, although it is something commendable considering how far Cortex A-9 has pushed the mobile market.
So whats so great about ARM Cortex A15? Lets just say ARM was studying about these SoC [System on Chips] and they finally found out some ways to iron out some kinks. And after these learning steps, these is a significant improvement in the new A15's architecture and processing capability.



Someone in ARM may have had a vision that the current gen processors just wont be good enough for whats coming up. So what's so great about A15 compared A9:

1. Performance: The GHz in a processor represents the number of cycles it runs, and a way of measuring the performance of the processor is by the DMIPS/MHz. In laymen terms, this could be compared to Km/l for an automobile. DMIPS stands for - Dhrystone Millions of Instructions per Second. Like, how many millions of instructions it can finish processing in one MHz clock cycle. While the A9 has a 2.5 DMIPS/MHz, the new A15 clocked a 3.5 DMIPS/MHz and if pushed upto 4 DMIPS/MHz. Thats like a 40 - 60% improvement!
Again, we are all familiar with over-clocking. And well the new processor unlike the A9 [800 MHz - 2000 MHz] can be clocked to 1000 MHz - 2500 MHz. And with higher clockspeed and higher DMIPS/MHz, you get a potent blend for extreme power.
This new processor is expected on the new Exynos 5 chipset, Tegra series, OMAP and NovaThor series chipsets, which I will soon explain about.

2. Right now the current Quad core A9 processors are only 15% faster than the Dual core counterparts. But this will soon change with the A15 and its multi-thread operations. Of course the Quad A9 supports multi-threaded operations for apps, however with improved performance from the A15, the new processor could be 30% faster than the current A9 processor.

3. A15 is not just stopping at Quad core:
Just like how the A9 was pushed to quad core application through the Exynos 4 chipsets, the A15 can also be pushed except not just quad but 8 cores.
Also this new processor, which was built at server grades, comes with Hardware Virtualization supporting multiple ROM. So we may even find phones with more than one ROM running in the future.
Also this new processor will come with integrated NEON support. For the 'no-know', this is what helps smartphones play just any kind of media you load into it, be it mkv, mpeg4, avi, etc. With integration, the response will be much faster and more efficient.

4. The new GPU - Mali T604:
This might crush the heart of all S II users out there, but the GPU you people use is pure bullshit compared to whats coming. The new Mali T-604 is said to be 5 times faster than the ones used in S II and 3 times faster than the overclocked ones in S3 [ouch!]. Also, it supports the Google RenderScript used for hardware acceleration, resulting in more fluidic UI and richer animations in games. Also this new GPU wont stop at just a single core, but can be scaled upto quad core GPU. Currently, Snapdragon S4 and Tegra 3 comes with an 8 core and 12 core GPU, but these are just too weak compared to computation power of this new T604. Hence a quad 604 will kick ass compared to the rest!

According to James Bruce, ARM Lead Mobile Strategist, this new GPU will be so powerful that they can make the screen as close as to paper with almost invisible pixels. And with that a vast improvement in the graphics, hence my point - waiting for this new processor is sure to pay off!


Intel


Although really late with mobile processors, the veterans know what they are doing. Their primary emphasize was usually power, very visible with the Core i7 processors creaming AMD's processors, while recently they have been showing a lot of activity in mobile processing technology. The Ivy bridge and Atom platforms are now being taken more seriously and well, I can see a lot of activity in that domain.

There are a lot of code names thrown about

Clover Trail
Silvermont
Viewvalley
Airmont

We have already seen the power of Medfield in the Lava Xolo X900. This phone was pretty impressive with the jscript test standing closest to the iPhone 5 beating the giants S3 and One X.

So whats with the Clover trail processors?

According to this tabulation, the Clover trail application is mainly aimed at tablet, thanks to the battery constrains. However Intel is working hard on reducing consumption and fitting it into coming superphones. 

This new series from Atom features a dual core processor [Saltwell with Hyper Threading] compared to the current Single core versions in Motorola Razr-i. A better GPU to top it up - introducing the new PowerVR SGX 545 @ 533 MHz compared to the earlier 400 MHz 540.

The interesting thing about Intel processor is that they support both Android platform as well as Windows. Many companies are very interested in incorporating this in their upcoming phones/tablets for instance, the Samsung's entry into Windows tablet is through this new processor, the Samsung Series 5.
The best thing about Clover Trail is it ability to provide full Windows 8 experience compared to the inferior ARM based Win 8 Tabs, thanks to the advanced architecture. [...and that's what eats up the battery]

Right now Intel is not so close to ARM in the power consumption issue, but they seem to be working with extreme vigor. The new processor series Clover trail has 2 power states [considering this dual core burner has to keep up with the battery]. S0i1 and S0i3. When you use the phone it will consume mW in the S0i1 state, and when its off - microWatts in the S0i3 state. That should keep the battery running long enough. There are predictions that theoretically this configuration in a tablet would last it for upto 3 weeks.

In their list they also have the Silvermont. With a 22nm fabrication and availability not just in single and dual but quad core versions, Intel is loading its arsenal for a full frontal attack. Also they are not stopping there, Airmont - which is scheduled in 2014 will be developed in a 14nm fabrication, increasing the transistors while decreasing consumption.
Not to forget Intel has serious technologies like 3D tri-gate transistors, which it can use to destroy its competitions. Compared to the other technology sites, I feel Intel is planning big on the mobile processor venture, which will be very evident with the new Airmont and Silvermont architecture shortly coming with the 3D tri-gate transistor in a much smaller 14 nm and 22 nm fab. 

Also the new SPEC CPU2000 comparisons show Intel coasting through all the other processors in performance.

Chipsets

Now the processor is not everything in a phone. A good chipset can rev up the processor's performance with enhanced peripheral integration. However upgrades never stop and development is running light speed in this department. This is the few region the phone manufacturer can up the ante in.

Exynos 5

Samsung was super successful with its S i9003, and from there, there was no turning back. The humming bird processor [ARM A8] on the Exynos 3 chipset with the PowerVR SGX540 GPU thrashed the benchmark figures of iPhone 4. One of the few reason why android became so popular and Samsung the king of the hills, they didnt stop their developments. With the latest S3 runnning on Exynos 4 chipset with an ARM A9 quad core heart and Mali T400 overclocked GPU, its prett obvious they are growing out of this board. And well with that exactly in their mind, Samsung is pushing hard for the new Exynos 5 series chipset.

1. Supports  a dual core 1.7 GHz ARM Cortex A15 processor. As I said earlier, this new processor is projected to achieve 40 - 60% more performance than the current processor and with the new Mali T604 GPU [the one mentioned above] , this will open doors to high end tablets and mobiles where screen resolution may beat the ones in iPad 3.

2. New memory channel. This new chipset has an 800 MHz 32-bit Dual-channel LPDDR3/DDR3 (12.8 GB/sec) RAM technology, compared to the current Exynos 4 with 32-bit Dual-channel 400 MHz LPDDR, LPDDR2, DDR2 or DDR3 (6.4 GB/sec). Thats almost double the clock cycle and thus double the i/o speed. And with faster RAM the phones/tablets operation becomes smoother than ever.

Although Samsung states the most important feature of this new chipset is going to be its new WQXGA support. Considered the best display resolution with limits upto 2560 x 1600, while consuming 20 times lower power than the current Exynos 4 SoC. They have learnt from the mistakes in S3 where they took a lot of flak for the Pentile screen compared to the RGBR screens in other high end phones.
Also this new chipset support double fps, which means it can support full HD stereoscopic 3D through HDMI cables to your smart TV.  And with a high memory bandwidth and clock speed it can easily handle highly graphic intensive 3D contents.

Tegra 4, 5 and 6 series

And so the guys back at Nvidia kicked back with some cool names for their series of chipsets. They have named their chipset series with references from comic book superhero names.
With Kal-El [superman already in current phones] as Tegra 3 processors, there are 4 chipsets slated to arrive next year:

Tegra 4 Wayne [Batman] AP40 - 1.2 GHz to 1.8 GHz



Stupendous configuration, I have no idea where they are going to scram for battery power. This new chipset will contain a Quad core ARM A15 processor with a low power companion core for sleep modes.
They didn't stop there, this new chipset will get a new GPU from the GeForce ULP [Ultra Low Power] series with 24 cores for the quad core and 32 to 64 core GPU for the Octa core processors. Pushing the ARM A15 to its limits for their tablet products. Nvidia is launching a full frontal assault on the Exynos 5 chipset for space in the tablet market.

Rather than a 32 nm fab, this chipset will be of 28 nm fab and support DirectX 11+, PhysX and OpenGL 4.X. This looks like serious high end tablet material, and with such supports we can expect PC games optimized for tablets very soon. I'm batman!

Tegra Grey [Jean Grey] SP3X - 1.2 to 2.0 GHz

I don't know why there is a gender discrimination, but this chipset is slated to power smartphones and are comparatively lower in power. With the same Quad ARM A9 processors + the companion core on a 28 nm fab technology, it is said to improve the current smartphone base running on Tegra 3 chipset. With integrated Icera 4G processor, it will be able to handle 4G and so more of HTC phones with 4G technology will land in the stores next year.

Tegra 5 Logan [Wolverine]

Again spotting a Quad A15 processor with a low power companion core and improves GPU [GeForce ULP] it is said to be at least 50 times faster than Tegra 2 chipset [the ones in Asus EEE pad transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and so on]. Not so much of info available on this project although we will be updating soon!

Tegra 6 Stark [Ironman]

This chipset is said to be the stunner from the Tegra family. With performance scaled upto 100 times Tegra 2 and an ARMv8 instruction set , running in 64 bit instruction set, they are more of mainstream laptop processors than mobile. However this also indicates a promising growth in the tablet industry and also a solid competition for the Intel Ultra-book series. However this processor is more of a 2015 product than a 2013.

TI OMAP 5 Series

Two series have been announced in the OMAP 5 series, the


OMAP 5432 and OMAP 5430.
With a 2.0 GHz A15 Dual core processor and PowerVR SGX 544 running at 532 MHz clock and a dedicated 2D TI graphic accelerator, it has few new features compared to the counterparts. Although they are intended to be low cost chipsets for rather mid range phones, they do have certain qualities that can be compared to the latest chipsets. With a 32 bit dual channel 532 MHz memory technology and i/o speeds of 8.5 GB/s its still pretty impressive and maybe compared at par to the current high end phones. Also with a promising ARM A15 processor, this might be the most suitable chipset for the mid-range handsets.
It promises a 12% improvement from the iPad 3 running on SGX532.

NovaThor

Sony is showing a lot of interest in keeping up with the smartphone/tablet race with their recent products like the Xperia series and Tablet S and P. And not to fall behind in the big race has lined a lot of chipsets for the new ARM A15 processor. It also has a few chipset for accelerated A9 processors too.
ARM A9

NovaThor L9540

I'm pretty sure these are going into the low end Sony models next year. It has a 1.8 GHz Dual Core A9 processor with PowerVR SGX 544 GPU. Not a bad GPU considering if overclocked properly it can be compared at par with the ULP and Mali T400 with upto quad core extension and should neatly suffice for low and mid range phones. Also this chipset will be 4G enabled for maybe low cost LTE phones with an external Thor M7400 modem.

NovaThor A8540 L8540

The A series might not be for the phones, maybe low end tablets as it has no radio technology [mostly just Wi-Fi enabled tabs]. However the L series is pretty much the same L9540 with an addition of integrated modem rather than the Thor 7400 chip. This may result in a much more seamless DSP, and more fluidic response in connectivity and lower power consumption.

NovaThor A9600 L9600

Again the A series is for high end WiFi enabled tabs, and the L series for high end smartphones. It comes with an extreme 2.5 GHz A15 processor [that is the limit of A15's clock speed] and a PowerVR Series 6 [Rogue] GPU. With both FD and TD LTE and CDMA technology in the same chipset and integrated modem for lower power consumption and smaller chip design. Both the chipsets are fabricated using 28nm die fabrication technique for improved power efficiency. And the PowerVR Series 6 [Rogue] is truly Rogue! read more..

GPU

PowerVR 6 series



Popular with Apple, Imagination Technologies are trying to stay abreast with the tech scenario with this new Series 6 GPU. Two of the GPUs
PowerVR G6230 and G6430 are being developed on the new Rogue platform. With dual and quad core configurations available, they are pushing the crunch power with more addition of core clusters [like the ULP GeForce series] and from 100gigaFLOPS upto teraFLOPS of computing capability for high end segments.
We can see some serious performance in the coming Apple Ax and NovaThor based phones soon.

Adreno 320

Slightly faster than the overclocked Mali T400 GPU, this one coupled with the Krait Snapdragon S4 processor will be seen in the LG Optimus G Nexus. Already the benchmark scores looks promising with the Adreno 320 managing to stay afloat the current competition and a little under the PowerVR SGX 543MP2 and 543MP4. But lets bear in mind, these are custom GPUs for iPad3 hence the current compition amongst the Android smartphones looks easy for the Adreno 320 to handle.

Mali T658

The Mali T658 GPU was announced as a successor to the coming Mali T604 processor. With performance 10 x Mali T400 and 4 times the coming Mali T604 and scalable upto 8 cores it will be putting Apple's iPads to shame sooner than expected. Also this GPU has just more surprises waiting with a cross compatibility for ARMv8 instructions, it can be used in the 64bit instructions sets too and maybe used in extreme high end gaming tablets and ultrabook equivalents.

Mali Skrymir

This was a silent release from the ARM facility, codenamed the Skrymir will put even the Mali T658 to shame with 2 times the performance of the latter. And a 64bit instruction set support, this badboy can be coupled with the successor of A15 processor or maybe the Apple A7 64bit processor.

Screen

Sharp

Sharp has been actively developing LED screen with pixel densities higher than ever. Such screen will definitely give Android and Windows tablet an edge over the iPad. WQXGA is soon going to be obsolete with the new QFHD double HD screens [13.5 inch] from Sharps. With a 498 ppi 6.1 inch panel on its way, and the new Mali T658 series GPU and the new processors on its way, it wont be a surprise if our tablet/smartphone experience became a whole lot realistic!

So! It was a pretty long read right? For all those who came this far, I am sure you might not have come here for a casual read. And so if you do have any opinions or comments, do tell us. This sure looks like a new age for Smart.. oh! Super phones. 
@/\/!

The Snapdragon's in our head! Tweet

This is the year of Dragon according to the Chinese calender. Well now that has so many connections to the tech-scenario we can see around us!
The world is becoming a busier place to live. Time has picked up its pace and we can really feel it.
We no longer have the patience we once had and now everything has to be fast and faster. And so the computers have also been developing hands and legs to run alongside us.

Electronics dictate our lives now. The speed of that semi conductor chip determines the pace of our lives. Day after day faster devices are being designed and it doesn't show any sign of slowing down. but beneath all this pile of gizmos, I can only see the wastefulness of today's society.

Cell Phones were once essential for communication and one of the most important inventions ever. Adding to the bland black and white screen with some colors and a camera was a great idea. Bumping up the memory was great so that we could enjoy some multimedia (no more lugging around the disk-man ) and then things started escalating at light speed.
The Apple iPhone pushed mobiles into a whole new Galaxy (oops) and with that came a bandwagon of companies ready to show off "who got a bigger d**k". It was all about the processors and rams and the screen size.
Pricing was secondary while it was all about getting the features into the phone. I remember reading somewhere about a Chinese teen selling his kidney online for an iPhone and iPad.
The release of iPhone 5 are bringing a fresh slew of cases regarding shoplifting [video below]. I can't digest the fact that gadgets have become so much of a status symbol that people are ready to risk anything to get them.

Advertising has a lot to do with all this. And I have to give them credits for shoving down peoples throats whatever shit they want us to do. Lets pull in the example of Galaxy Note, (people are gonna hate me for this, please comment if you do) that little piece of electronic poop is too big for a phone but too powerless for any worthwhile application, again you can read in my earlier post about laptops/tablets, where I have stated why tablets can never replace computers, well mostly due to the fact that its a joke, a rich kids toy and serves not much of a purpose besides letting you watch HD movies (yea...right...movies) and small games.
The Note which cannot come under the tablet category coz of its small size, is more of an abomination and in any case not much of a productivity thing. For all you out there saying 'I can parallel process and clip out images and stuff' - an ultra-book can jack the crap out of a Note and still not cost so much. Lets also consider the fact that those high end Photoshop and other editing softwares are never gonna reach the tablets, like it is in the computer in this case - Laptops.

They say we are all moving into cloud computing and cloud storage, the most efficient storage method and all but what people miss out is that its the most vulnerable systems ever. Hacking as such has got a lot more complex and with clouds carrying information, we can all forget about the word privacy. More details here!
now who all are with me in agreeing that a ton of crappy unnecessary status updates and tweets have come just coz of girls with smartphones[no offence intended].



And this funny application about which i read in Gizmodo - said to be for women!


And how many people have managed to get themselves into trouble with wrong tweets and updates. all the man hours just wasted on some twerp with loose fingers. (UK tweet arrests and Facebook accident arrests)
And all the celebrities and VIPs getting caught red handed coz of social networking. What a waste...

Now talking about social and psychological implications of gadgets in our lives, I would love to talk about the iPhone 5. There are news about iPhone 5 being the costliest of all smartphones and that the 64 gb version is gonna cost almost $2000 (1 Lac), I bet even the american would be laughing at that outrageous figure. To top it all, the only main reason for buying the phone - the 4G and the browsing speed, is never gonna work here.(India) is this some dare Steve Jobs gave the Apple co in his will? Do they really expect people to follow iPhone as much as they did few years back. But its so sad to note that such a posh phone takes a toll on all the workers in China (Foxconn) for whom assembling these phones were so depressing that they decided to go on a strike (Foxconn strike link Brazil link China link China2). In the 'link china' the article is about 200 Chinese workers threatening suicide, and Chinese workers at Taiyun plant walking out due to low remunerations. Are we enjoying our lives at other peoples cost? How different is this from the blood diamonds in Africa then?

And what about the countless morons who lose days of pay waiting outside the iStores all around so that they can get their hands around that new iPhone 5 (longer than ever). Productivity in these gadgets have improved greatly but at the cost of the productivity of the people!
So much for cult products..

And what about the rising crime. Or the fact that many people are depressed coz of the fact that they can't afford that smartphone they are eyeing on. I always believe, living without satisfaction is equivalent to living like a corpse. And for many that's what is happening. Well talking about crime, it would be a crime if i don't mention the data-leak bug with iPhones and the vulnerability of Android phones. Giving kids these smart phones can jeopardize their safety, with viruses that scan their logs and ping GPS locations, such phones cannot be treated as just tech-toys.


And I observed that the world has moved into newer interests in mining, moving from oil, to gold to uranium now to Rare metals. Now they are usually the lanthanoid/actinoids yttrium and some more elements however whats noteworthy is that 2 nations are intensively researching on them- China and North Korea. And why do we need rare-metals? For the electronics industry! So in fact some of the huge amount of money we spend is going into rogue countries for their development. We wont feel the pinch now, but its gonna hit us soon!

I must also stress on the stagnation in innovations happening today, rather than finding something new and actually adding into a vast pool their patents, the companies try safeguarding their existing patents fighting out an endless war gradually stopping any further developments due to insufficient funding. "Oh wait a minute, we lost all the money in the last court hearing!".

This is not a hate article but a cry, for some sense in the electronics industry today... where are we going people? How serious are we about our gadgets? Should we be so addicted to them? Maybe the "rise of machines" already started. Instead of bionic humanoids we have gadgets that we just cant replace for our daily survival.. what really saddens me is the way they use such phones and applications. With social networking in phones and tons of useless apps productivity is only plummeting, deviating far away from what the smartphones were actually meant for.
PDAs [ancestors of smartphones] were first introduced for intricate and sophisticated industrial application... now it has stooped down to taking pictures of birds and sky... WTF? And we need quad core technology for that.. there is a fine line between functionality and style statement.
One must realize that...

Developing for the sake of growth is different from holistic development, giving back to the society what it has taken. And its the latter that we should follow, fighting with better and practical innovations rather.
For that alone, i should applaud Nokia for the great job they are doing, however the whole concept of smartphones and tablets are getting way out of hands here and its us consumers who should have the reign, not the companies feeding us these gadgets with their mouth-watering advertisements.
What do you think?
@/\/!

Ta-B or Lapto-P, that is the Question! Tweet

Although a line from the age old Shakespearean play - Hamlet, its more of a one line representation of the doubt most of us buyers have in mind before buying a Tablet/Laptop.

Life was simple with just PC and Laptops. If I needed portability I went for a Laptop and if I needed raw computing power I went for PC. And then things started getting crazy. The Tablets hit the market and so did ultra-books and other mainstream notebooks. Today we have Quad-core Tablets and Core i7 powered Laptops [is it that necessary?]. 

So what suits your usage? A laptop or a tablet? 
Here are some criteria you would like to check up before you make that arduous decision. 

Why Tablet:

Portability:
This is pretty much an obvious statement. The first thing that strikes in anyone's mind, when mentioning portability is a tablet. A tablet is compact compared to a Laptop and if you are required to carry around the device for multimedia and browsing then a Tablet would be most appropriate for your needs.

Battery:
The battery life of a Tablet surpasses a Laptop in many levels. Firstly, the processors and other hardwares used in a Laptop is not as energy efficient as the ones you may find in a tablet. Of course one should also note that the tablet applications don't require much resource compared to the Laptop applications and also the screen size coupled with AMOLED displays in certain variants optimizes the battery consumption, allowing a longer usage time.

Virus/BSOD:
This is an extremely good point as Tablets, apart from some spywares [which one can avoid by installing apps carefully] don't suffer from problems related to Viruses and Malware attacks. Also a Laptop, running on Windows, are sometimes prone to the BSOD [Blue Screen]. However a tablet user don't have to bother about that, since the Tablet's resources and OS is optimized for such an event.

Interface:
The touch screen interfacing is one of the most user-friendly interface available. Compared to lugging around an optical mouse because the touch-pad is just not sensitive or big enough, a tablet spreads out an interface the size of its screen and with an optimized layout, using them is a breeze. 





NFC:
This is already available in Tablets [such as Nexus 7] and pretty handy to share data and connect devices. The InstaWifi is one of the examples, where by tapping the phone to another phone, the other phone can share the WiFi settings. However there are news that Windows 8 supports NFC. Although NFCs for laptops are far-fetched compared to Tablets. 

Durable and Cheap:
The Tablets are much more durable the a Laptop and with a case added, one don't need to be too careful. Particularly useful in case you are not too careful with your gadgets. And with the added Gorilla Glass display they are absolutely solid devices compared to a Laptop, which when dropped, may even result in data-loss. Also a Tablet is much cheaper than a Laptop [in case of low end tablets]. Read about which tablet suits you the most!

Why Laptops:

Computing Power: 
The Tablets come with the quad core exynox 1.5 GHz processor, which is the maxed out version. However compared to Tablets, the Laptops usually start out with a Core i3 2.2 GHz Dual core [4 threads, hence 2 virtual cores] which gives us much more computing power. For the same price, A laptop may come with a good i5 processor and a decent GPU. Which has way more power when compared to Tablets [especially in terms of HD videos and animations]. The RAM in laptops are much greater and runs application with more fluidity.

Applications:
Even though the Play Store and App Store has an exhaustive list of applications, core applications still need a proper Computer to run on. Example, the mobile version of Photoshop and Auto-cad looks like a joke when compared to the actual software. Also, the games on a Laptop is different from the games on a Tablet. A laptop has the resource to handle games much more advanced compared to a Tablet [Although that margin of difference is reducing].

Multitasking:
Even if android is deemed as an OS capable of Multi-tasking, it still lacks the ability to facilitate seamless transitions through applications and also one cannot work on 2 or more simultaneous applications like a PC/Laptop. Thus this can be a let down considering the fact that most of us do use multitasking without realizing it, and are bound to feel the pinch if you are solely relying on a Tablet.

Connection Ports:
A Laptop comes with Ethernet port, HDMI, DVI ports which allows a user to access many functionally important devices and networks. An example would be joining a Local LAN where the only available option is using an Ethernet cable [Considering many offices still have Ethernet for LAN] and let's not forget that an Ethernet is still faster than WiFi. Connecting the printer to a laptop is a breeze compared to a Tablet, with which one can interface devices only through a WiFi bridge. Also connecting a Laptop to a projector is no hassle compared to a Tablet although a few have HDMI output facility. And, multiple USB connections through a tablet is not as easy as the ones on a Laptop, considering one needs a whole bundle of Cables and Hubs before actually setting up the connection. 

Extensive Storage:
A laptop offers storage incomparable to Tablet. Laptops now come with 1 TB of hard disks and some offer SSD rather than the typical HDD compared to the maximum of 64 GB one can push the Tablets to. The files read/write speeds in a Laptop is much faster compared to a Tablet and both have the added advantage of cloud storage accessibility. 

Multi-booting: 
A laptop is capable of handling Windows and Linux OS through dual-booting. Although android supports dual booting through various custom ROMs, it cannot boot another OS. In this case, even if Windows has crashed due to viruses/malwares using the Linux OS we can clean off the Laptop and also the current version of Linux Ubuntu and Red Hat is as user friendly and eye catching as the Windows 7. 




Full Keyboards and High Res Display:

The full keyboard in a Laptop makes typing easier compared to a Tablet's onscreen keyboard, while the typical laptop display provides a higher resolution and screen size compared to a Tablet. Also physical keyboards are most responsive. And unlike a tablet, the keyboard doesn't require a share of the screen and enables the user to have full display at all times. This is very important for people in the writing field, where more visibility is always better for some proof-reading and editing.





[Read more about Android PCs here]
They say Tablets are replacing Laptops and PCs, but I would comment that as more of a mass hallucination. Laptops and PCs can outperform the Tablets, but the portability of a Tablet is something that makes it so desirable and popular. With developments taking place at light speed, we can only wait and watch. 
At the end, its all upto you!

@/\/!

A for Apple, Oh wait...what about Android? Tweet

They say this year it the year of Tablets, and maybe the next year is the year of Phablets and so on...

But then the advent of so many gadgets has caused one big problem,a really really confused crowd of money bags just waiting to splurge on them new Tabs.

So I have come up with this little, albeit aged, argument on which tab do you really want! [Bold statement].
Now for all of you out there, a tablet is in no way close to the usability one may get from a Laptop or a PC. Hence your primary usage would be browsing, media, light reading etc.

Now the market has 2 main classes of Tablets, The Apple iPad and the Android. The incoherence in the Android section can be a deterrent for many of the customers, however one may find real gold in this section. 
With the advent of the Nexus 7 tab, the interest among the gadget freaks have shifted heavily towards the Android section.
Asus have always been keen in the Tablet manufacturing and have come up with quality tabs such as Slate, Transformer. While Samsung have their own share in the tablet section with the Galaxy Tab. A late entry being Sony and many scattered local vendors.
Meanwhile in the Apple section, we have the rock solid iPad 3 [arguably,mother of Pads]

Your concerns to choose Apple:

1. Double HD screen, with 264 ppi[pixel per inch] vs 150 ppi:
The pixel density in an iPad is higher than any android tablet in the market. Very noticeable with a crisper display, way better than any other tablet can offer. With more pixels comes more clarity. And so any HD content viewed in an iPad and any other Tab would have a stark difference. 
Advantage: The video viewing experience in an iPad will be worlds apart compared to any other tablet. One of the main usage of tab being watching Hi-def movies on the go, this would be something one can't overlook.

2. Battery life: 

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The biggest concern of any Tablet owner would be the battery life. Who would want to hold on to a dead tablet? And so again, iPad beats the android Tabs hands down in this battle too. The battery life on an iPad is at least an hour and half longer than the most battery efficient android tablet in the market: Galaxy Tab. Also the new ICS has been a pain for the battery due to poor handling of background applications, until we find Jellybean in every tab, iPad rules in this aspect.
Advantage: Longer browsing, gaming, multimedia experience compared to Android. A very serious concern for tablet buyers.

3. Best of Apps:
The whole application do-hickey was launched by Apple, and so its pretty obvious Google Play is still not as populated as the App-store. Games such as Blade- Infinity, Arkham City [iPad supports unreal game engine!] and a smoother version of Temple run, fruit ninja and so on.
Advantage: Best of the games coupled with hours of battery life. Another valid concern for all those who are looking for a Tab for some serious gaming.

4. Refined software:
The iOS is a very refined software compared to the Ice cream sandwich. Android suffers from bloating due to addition of registry entries and thus becoming slow as time progresses. Comparatively, the iOS performs much better in many levels of touch and responsiveness.
Advantage: Smoother operations compared to Android and so very user friendly for casual users. 

5. Periodic update: 
Although some may find Apple's policy of yearly scheduled upgrades irritating, my view is that it is a much better system compared to Android Tablet maker's policy of upgrades then-and-there. 
Advantage: Your tablet is top of the line for almost 2 years till you are forced to change.

6. Camera: 
The Camera in the iPad is way more evolved than the cameras one may find in the Android Tabs. The closest equivalent to image clarity was Asus Transformer Prime, however one has to take into account the fact that Transformer Prime is equipped with an 8 MP cam compared to the iPad's 5 MP.
Combined with the stunning display, its a brilliant piece of technological advancement Apple has contributed to us.
Advantage: Sharper, crisper shots with stunning photo viewing experience. 


Your concerns to choose Android:

1. Customization: 
Being open source software, one no longer has any constrains in modifying the tab. This means, I can load custom ROMs and such to make my Tab more efficient and classy. Comparatively Apple looks mainstream and bland. And the user has no access to the Pad from the inside, leaving any option to improve the Tab performance. Thus alienating most of the hacker community as well as the average users enthusiastic about fiddling with such gadgets.
Advantage: Android by allowing developers into their core coding, has opened up more possibilities to make Tablets more efficient and this way android Tablets can be modified into countless ways compared to the mainstream iPad.

2. Cost: 
This one is for all my Indian people. Yes! its very obvious Android is way cheaper than iPad. Even though the iPad has awesome features, the price is sometimes unjustifiable compared to an Android Tablets. The flexibility available for a buyer is absent in the Apple section compared to the myriad of products in the Android section. However Apple has learnt its lesson and is launching the cheaper iPad mini. But it can in no way beat the price of the new Nexus 7 which is threatening even the local crowd of small time Tablet makers. 
Advantage: The pricing makes a tablet a much better deal compared to a mainstream laptop. Considering a Laptop of 40 grand could outperform a tablet any day, a cheaper tablet is a more practical option.

3. No proprietary software:
One big pain i always felt with Apple products was the "bondage" with iTunes. Not only does that program suck, but it also adds to the burden of most of the computers its running on, adding unwanted start-ups and unnecessary interfaces. Meanwhile in a different universe, the Android is light and does not require much of the shebang as one would need in connecting an iPad. Let's not forget the proprietary cables, without which one cannot the iPad to any device, not even charging, compared to the standard micro-USB in Android.
Advantage: Hassle-free connection anywhere, anytime. If your friend's PC don't have iTunes, or he does't have the Apple flat-cable, don't fret, coz you won't be needing them.

4. Google Now: 
A year back there was a huge buzz about Siri. Sadly, now it looks like a retard cousin of the much more evolved Google Now. Google Now unlike Siri can operate offline and also recognize a variety of accent compared to Siri. And also with the penetration Google has in the internet [as a search engine] it is able to provide the user with much more information than Siri, making the latter a laughing stock.
Advantage: An edge in the latest technology with one of the biggest software pioneers working behind Android.

5. PC like Multi-tasking: 
The Android OS is built on a Linux base and this gives the OS some properties very similar to a PC. One of them being the PC like multitasking system. The system works totally different from the iOS and is able to handle multitasking easier than the latter. 
Advantage: With better hardware configurations and software support, Android's ability to handle harder and more resource intensive task is improving with every update.

6. Flash!: 
As always Android supports Flash compared to Apple which obviously don't. Its a very notable strength in the Android stable and an important consideration if one is interesting in Tablets for surfing and browsing.
Advantage: Can load flash contents in websites directly through the browser and don't need separate applications. This improves usability where surfing is one of the main criteria.

And also we cannot overlook the Windows Surface [Microsoft was the first to bring tablets before Apple, however was not warmly greeted by the consumers at that period], however with a high price tag, i doubt it would be a hit among the masses, simply because a tablet can never offer the usability of a Laptop...

@/\/!

Hey Android! WTF are u doing here! Tweet

Now speaking of Android, what strikes us first! Samsung S3 [and the screwed up tag line - "designed for humans"] and HTC One X [like i need to skydive, take a picture while taking a video everyday] and the whole bandwagon of phones on steroids.

But then android is just a software... so why cant we run it on basically anything with some chips on it. And so that pushed me into hunting for devices running on Android other than phones and tablets... and its surprising where we can find android! Like roaches clambering into every nook of a room, android has somehow found its way into a crazy list of devices.

without much adieu.. 

Android 4.0 Mini PC:


This one really caught my fancy! Not because it performs like a super computer but because of its size. Although its not a stellar performer compared to the Mac Mini, its something very interesting to see [Look mom! they shrunk the computer!] 

This little bad boy is just the size of a pen-drive. For its guts - it comes with a 1.5GHz Allwinner single core processor, 512MB of RAM [It comes with a 1GB RAM too - $84] and 4GB of onboard flash storage and a Mali 400 GPU. You can get at these internals via two USB ports (which can also power the device,) and pump the result out to a display via HDMI. If that 4GB of memory isn't enough, you can expand it via a microSD slot. Well, by now one thing is clear - its definitely Chinese! Its funny they are trying to bring all the gadgets to their sizes [micro]... although ain't that a delight! 




So whats the deal with this? Now this HDMI can be connected to your TV, the USB connected to a hub through which you can connect mouse, keyboard, pen-drive, external hard-disks and voila! you got yourself a PC! As far as testing - we all had the same expression when Frankenstein created the monster - Its Alive!!

Priced at $74, it's not a rich kids toy either and available aplenty all over the internet.

Ouya!:

Now for the next surprise i found among the ever so vast online communities, is definitely a treat for all you avid phone-gamers.

The motivation for this project was pretty simple. I love the games in my phone but this fucking screen is killing me. The controls aren't as much fun as the consoles we have [which means i am getting butchered in the game] and well the whole thing doesn't feel so slick. Hmm, why not make a console to play just these games!

And so they came up with a project - Ouya! Its interesting to note that the product hasn't entered the prototype stage but managed to collect more that $8 million dollars. That's what you get when hackers and coders unite for one cause! games!!!

So what are we looking at? Its definitely not an alien tissue dispenser, its actually a phone without a screen. 

These are the technical specification:

• Nvidia Tegra 3 (T33) SoC
• Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU
• Nvidia ULP GeForce GPU
• 1 GB RAM
• 8 GB of internal flash storage
• HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth LE 4.0
• Ethernet port
• One USB 2.0
• Wireless controller sporting two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button, and 3 touchpad
• Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"

Something i found online!

And here we have, ladies [if any] and gentlemen, the ultimatum for all android laptops. Priced at $99 with HDMI port to hook up to any sort of display one can find! This one can beat the pricing of any laptops in the market [Asus Transformer Prime - $679].

But then you may ask "why android man? whats the big deal with this box?". Android and iOS are fast catching up to be the most preferred platforms for game development, not just due to the ease at which one can make a game, but also the profit a developer makes compared to other consoles. The development takes very little capital and this is encouraging more developers to bring more game titles. This would ensure us an exhaustive supply of games, and that is something we can't ignore! With the PS3 and Xbox games costing arms and legs [wont someone please think of the children!]. Android games cost much lesser. 

But I am also aware of Apple already having the Apple TV out there, but heck! android is something i can control, something i can modify. Imagine one can do all the possible modding and over clocking that we usually do to an android phone. A very valid consideration. I just hope to own one of them soon...

Android Smart TV:

Imagine a whole TV running on Android, nothing plugged in.. No Ouya or the Mini PC, but switch on the TV and you are greeted by the home screen of ICS. Well, the Chinese don't have to imagine that! Coz, they got the Lenovo Android 4.0 Smart TV. Actually it makes the Samsung Smart TV look like crap [consider the fact that this one run fully on Android - Samsung owned!]. A TV with Dual core processor is commendable, but makes me wonder! Damn can I stick that chip anywhere?? But yea, with a 5 Megger cam and 2 remotes [one game pad and a normal remote with mic for voice commands] this is really rocking the base of what J L Baird first envisioned as a TV. No longer an idiot box, it has as much of computing power as your phone and can run any android game with as much as fluidity as one would expect on a premium smartphone,  except! hold on a min - rather than a 5 inch screen, here you are greeted with a 55 inch screen! 

Mother of ...!!

Android GPS System:

And now moving from the comforts of our home to umm.. comforts of our cars, the android followed us into the onboard GPS device too!

Well, it has been a pre-installed device on most high end luxury cars - BMW, Audi, Mercs.. But now we find such devices sold separately on the markets as well! I found this interesting Gizmo while trolling around the internet. 

Dynavin E-46, a basic Android based navigation system that not only tells you the way, but also serves as a media hub. Running on Android 2.2 [not the latest, but still! its android] you have all the basic access to the market [now called Play store] and all the apps you can download from that [which is needless to say - games, players, maps etc]. One may sync the device with another android phone and this just extends the practical usability. It hasn't been so popular to create any noticeable market footprint in the Sat-Nav market though. Now I can only imagine what else it can be used for. Maybe optimizing your engine with a touch of a button? Over-clock your engine?! Wow, won't that be wicked! The possibilities are endless...

And well there are a a lot more.. however not significant as to add to this list. But this mind-blowing applications are more than enough to understand that the potential of Android is not just limited to phones but beyond. And we all know why that is so... coz we have control! Unlike some other OS-es [ahem..iOS]

As more and more applications unfurls we are bound to be amazed by a much more colorful and smarter range of products like never seen before..

Go green People!!

@/\/!