Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Benchmarks: This Thing Has a Face-Melting GPU

Source: http://gizmodo.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-800-benchmarks-this-thing-has-a-fa-514245637

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Benchmarks: This Thing Has a Face-Melting GPU

While most high-end Android phones currently sport Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600, there's another chip announced earlier this year waiting to hit the scene: the Snapdragon 800. Now, the first benchmarks of that new chip are in—and its GPU promises to smoke the competition.

AnandTech has a raft of numbers comparing the Snapdragon 800's CPU and GPU to chips like the Snapdragon 600, Apple's A6 and A6X, and the Exynos 5 Dual and Octa, which have been neatly complied by Ars Technica. What they make clear is that, while the chip's CPU is only a modest upgrade over the 600, its GPU is going to blow you away. First, the CPU scores:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Benchmarks: This Thing Has a Face-Melting GPU

The Snapdragon 8000 almost manages to keep pace with the Tegra 4, though never manages to beat it. Look at the GPU scores, though, and it's quite a different story:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Benchmarks: This Thing Has a Face-Melting GPU

Here, the 800 smokes both the Tegra 4 and the A6X—impressive given Tegra 4 tablets are yet to land and Apple is usually ahead the game in terms of graphics. The only thing to ponder here—other than the huge promise such GPU performance offers—is power consumption. Qualcomm claims it'll be on par with the 600, but it's worth being a little skeptical about that claim—at least until devices start shipping. [Anandtech via Ars Technica]

Graphics by Ars Technica

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MDP benchmarks: prepare for ludicrous speed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/18/qualcomm-snapdragon-800-mdp-benchmarks/

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MDP benchmarks prepare for ludicrous speed

Today we had a chance to play with Qualcomm's latest MDP devices (tablet and phone) which pack the company's mighty Snapdragon 800 SoC (MSM8974). The tablet is slightly larger than than last year's and features an 11.6-inch 1920 x 1080-pixel display, 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 32GB of built-in flash storage (with microSD expansion), USB 3.0 support and a 12 megapixel AF rear camera with flash (2MP fixed-focus in front). All of this is crammed into a slim (0.46 inches / 11.7mm) chassis that's powered by a 3400mAh Li-ion battery and incorporates a bevvy of radios (LTE band 17, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4 LE, GPS, NFC) and sensors (including pressure and humidity).

The phone shares most of the tablet's specs but swaps the screen for a 4.3-inch panel (1280 x 720 pixels) and the battery for a smaller (1500mAh) pack. We put these Snapdragon 800-equipped MDPs through their paces by running our usual suite of benchmarks (plus a few more). The results? Prepare for ludicrous speed! More after the break.

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Microsoft updates Blink for Windows Phone 8 with GIF-like clip creation (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/19/microsoft-blink-windows-phone-8-gif-like-clips/

Microsoft updates Blink for Windows Phone 8 with GIF-like clip creation (video)

If Vine still leaves you pining for the choppiness of GIFs, Microsoft's got you covered -- on Windows Phone 8, at least. Redmond's Blink app, which helps smartphone photographers capture bursts of images, has hit version 2.0 and scored the ability to create short animated clips, aptly dubbed Blinks. In addition to the bite-sized videos, the latest update bakes in camera settings in capture mode, sharing to social networks and web galleries for shared creations. Microsoft Research also released Blink Cliplets for Windows 8 and RT, which allows users to layer static and dynamic elements atop footage. Hit the break to check out the new release of Blink in action, or jab the first source link for the download.

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Via: Windows Phone Blog

Source: Blink (Windows Phone Store), Blink Cliplets (Windows Store)

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HTC Butterfly s revealed: 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, UltraPixel camera sensor (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/19/htc-butterfly-s-revealed/

HTC's just pulled back the proverbial curtains on the Butterfly s at its Taiwan launch event. It'll arrive boasting a familiar-sounding 5-inch 1080p display, front-facing BoomSound stereo speakers and Sense 5 as expected. When it comes to internals, the Butterfly s runs Android Jelly Bean on a quad-core 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 (faster than the HTC One), an impressive 3,200mAh battery, quad-band HSPA/WCDMA radio, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, expandable once again through microSD. As for imaging, alongside that primary UltraPixel camera and Zoe software features, there's a 2.1-megapixel wide-angle shooter on the front. It's currently scheduled for a release in July in Taiwan, accompanied by a NT $22,900 (roughly $766) price tag, but no word when (or even if) it'll reach foreign shores.

Update: Our Chinese sister site just spent some hands-on time with the device. Check out their first impressions right here. And look! A gallery right below!

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Source: Engadget Chinese

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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Lenovo unveils 15-inch ThinkPad S531 Ultrabook

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/18/lenovo-unveils-15-inch-thinkpad-s531-ultrabook/

Lenovo unveils 15inch ThinkPad S531 Ultrabook, sticks to Ivy Bridge

As quick as Lenovo has been to hop on the Ultrabook bandwagon, it hasn't been so eager to launch big-screened models. Its new ThinkPad S531 explores that territory at last: the Windows 8 PC mates a slim profile with both a 15.6-inch, lay-flat LCD and a large keyboard. The experience will otherwise be familiar to those who've seen the S431, as it shares the same basic design language, the OneLink dock connector and a nine-hour battery. Unfortunately, the similarity also extends to the Ivy Bridge-era Intel processor -- there's no Haswell inside, at least for now. Still, the £575 ($900) UK price is within reach of many buyers, and there's a 1080p display option coming in July. Lenovo hasn't said if or when the S531 will reach the US, although we hope it gets a processor upgrade if and when it crosses the Atlantic.

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Source: Lenovo

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