HTC One X vs Samsung Galaxy S3 in core technology

Many of you will already have heard that the Samsung Galaxy S3 (or S III) was finally made official yesterday and just some of our posts so far have been about official specs, hands-on looks, sign-up pages, bundles and much more. You may also have heard of the HTC One X, another impressive phone, and today we want to take a look at the HTC One X vs. the Galaxy S3 as far as core technology is concerned.

We should begin by saying that the international variant of the HTC One X has a quad-core processor but the US variant will have a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and will offer LTE connectivity. In a similar pattern the official specs for the European version of the Galaxy S3 have been confirmed and it will also have a quad-core processor and although the processor for the US variant is still unclear it’s certainly possible that this too could have the Snapdragon S4 dual-core instead of the quad-core for other regions.

This comparison then is based on the HTC One X and Galaxy S3 quad-core versions. The HTC One X has the NVIDIA Tegra 3 1.5GHz quad-core processor and has come in for a lot of praise for its speedy performance. It could be said to have 5 cores in fact as NVIDIA calls it “Super 4-PLUS-1” Quad Core. A Cnet article explains how this fifth core is more power efficient and comes into play to boost the battery life when there are no requirements for performance and also manages the low-power tasks.

The NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor also features DirectTouch technology to enhance touch responsiveness and lessen power consumption. The Tegra 3 is based on the ARM Cortex A9 design and uses a 40 nanometer fabrication process in manufacturing. We told yesterday how the battery life for the HTC One X using this processor has been praised although Cnet says, “Top-shelf components and a massive 4.7-inch screen take a toll on this pricey superphone’s battery life.”

Moving on to the quad-core processor for the Galaxy S3 then and this is the Exynos 4 Quad at 1.4GHz. Samsung say that the quad-core processor was chosen for several reasons, one of them being that it offers full-speed video at 30fps for 1080p video capture and playback. The high-quality camera and HDMI 4.1 interface is also possible because of an embedded image signal processor interface.

This processor uses 32 nanometer technology, more recent than the 40 nanometer process for the NVIDIA Tegra 3 used on the HTC One X. Samsung claims this means its processor has twice the processing capability of the Exynos dual-core processor and also uses 20% less power. The Exynox 4 Quad processor is also based on the ARM Cortex A9 design used for the NVIDIA quad-core. Obviously as the Galaxy S3 has only just been announced there has been no chance yet to test out how well this quad-core processor works in Samsung’s flagship device.

When the first reviews start to come in we’ll have more of an idea of which of these quad-core processors comes out best in tests but the HTC One X has already been a huge hit and it’s more than likely that the Galaxy S3 will achieve phenomenal sales too. What are your thoughts on the latest smartphones using quad-core technology? Do you think the Exynos quad-core used by Samsung will match the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core, or maybe even better it?

Source:http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2012/05/04/htc-one-x-vs-samsung-galaxy-s3-in-core-technology/

Samsung Galaxy S3 Event: What To Expect

Samsung on Thursday will take the wraps of its newest flagship smartphone, widely expected to be called the Galaxy S III, at an event in London starting at 2 p.m. ET. Very few details are known about the device despite intense interest in Samsung's next handset from gadget blogs and rumor sites.

Samsung has already confirmed that its next flagship phone will be sporting the company's new quad core 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor. But other details about the Galaxy S III are up for debate including the device's overall design, storage capacity, and screen size. In fact, there's even a debate about how many phones will show up on Thursday.

[Click to enlarge] Samsung's Galaxy Locked Down

Samsung is taking no chances about having any firm details about its smartphone event slip out and has beefed up security around the Galaxy S III's launch, according to The Verge. The company may also be stashing the internal components of the new phone in a variety of different shells so that no one can be really sure what the actual phone will look like. Apple has been known to do something similar with the iPhone and keeping the final design of the Galaxy S III under wraps would explain the wide ranging speculation about the phone's look and feel.

Nevertheless, there have been enough leaks to make a good guess at the Galaxy S III's features. The new smartphone will likely have a 4.7- or 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display, 12 megapixel camera, and run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Other possible specs include 16GB onboard storage with a microSD expandable up to 32GB, and 1GB of RAM. GSMArena is also reporting that the Galaxy S III will have models in two different colors: blue and white, the same color theme as Samsung's event invitation.

[RELATED: Samsung Galaxy S III Spied in Video (Perhaps)]

[Click to enlarge] It's not clear if the Galaxy S III's display will be Super AMOLED, or Super AMOLED Plus like its predecessor the Galaxy S II. Super AMOLED Plus displays have 50 percent more subpixels than Super AMOLED allowing for better colors and improved visibility in bright light.

The Galaxy S III may also be sharing the stage with another phone on Thursday. So far, two model numbers keep creeping up when discussing the Galaxy S III: GT-I9300 and GT-I9800. Most critics expect the GT-19300 to be the Galaxy S III, while the GT-I9800 remains a mystery device.

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/254843/samsung_galaxy_s3_event_what_to_expect.html

Spotify iPad app – review

Spotify finally has an iPad app. The streaming music service has launched a native app for Apple's tablet, following in the footsteps of rivals Rdio, Mog and Deezer.

Journalists and subscribers alike have been asking Spotify about its iPad plans for some time, with the topic even overshadowing the company's recent Coca-Cola branding partnership announcement.

The iPad app is free to download, but like the company's existing mobile apps, requires a premium subscription to use. The app supports Apple's AirPlay technology to stream audio wirelessly to compatible hi-fis, and its graphics – including album artwork – are optimised for the new iPad's Retina display.

Spotify's chief product officer Gustav Söderström showed off the app in a webcast for journalists this morning, before answering questions.

"We spent a bunch of time building this app," he said. "We think the iPad is a unique device, and we want to build a unique experience for it."

Söderström talked about how Spotify expects people to use the app, with sofas looming large in the company's thoughts.

"One use case is you sit on your couch and discover new music," he said. "We think a big part of this use case is you're at home, maybe with a stereo with AirPlay, and this is to a large extent a remote control."

He batted back questions about whether an Android tablet version will follow, and when Spotify's HTML5-based apps platform might make the leap from its desktop client to the iPad app.

"We are always working on lots and lots of stuff, and we'll let you know as soon as there is something to show," said Söderström.

Spotify provided The Guardian with a TestFlight build of the app on Monday, and I've been using it since then. The obvious design inspiration is Twitter's iPad app, with a navigation bar on the left, and a main window pane, with additional panes swiping in from the right.

The app can be used in portrait or landscape mode, and focuses on search, playlists, people, inbox and a central What's New page.

The latter highlights recommended albums, trending playlists and tracks from friends, new album releases, and trending music near your current location – an unsettling combination of David Guetta, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane and Glee playlists in Bishop's Stortford at the time of writing.

Search works well, bringing up thumbnails of artists and albums, and lists of tracks in response to a query. Playlists brings up a list of your existing playlists, including the ability to edit them and create new ones. Meanwhile, People presents thumbnails of Facebook friends, revealing their top tracks, artists and published playlists.

The app is certainly slick, and it makes good use of the iPad's larger screen. I'm not sure I buy into Söderström's vision of sofa-surfing music discovery just yet, though – Spotify's revamped Radio feature is missing, as are the apps that have made its desktop application far more than just a search box.

This is a starting point, though. One thing I'd like to see is Spotify forging partnerships with music magazines and other discovery apps through its iOS API.

For example, The Word Magazine launched an iPad version earlier in the week – buttons alongside its reviews and articles to play albums in the apps of Spotify and its rivals would be a good move.

Finally, a streaming music iPad app makes more sense to me as a remote control for a hi-fi than as a standalone experience. But that does require an AirPlay-compatible hi-fi or speakers. A bit of a niche, for now.

I suspect a lot more people have hi-fis with iPhone/iPod docks, so for them, Spotify's iPhone app may continue to be the best way to listen in their living room, unless they have a Sonos hi-fi, in which case Sonos' own iPad app already supports Spotify streaming.

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/may/02/spotify-ipad-app-review?newsfeed=true