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AnTuTu pegs Galaxy S III as most powerful Android device, potentially reveals its specs
Ah, the Galaxy S III. We always knew it'd be a keystone among Android smartphones, but according to the AnTuTu benchmark suite, it'll be the one device to rule them all. While there's no way to verify whether this test is indeed legitimate, all Android users may currently peep the AnTuTu app, which not only shows the smartphone as having bested the mighty Transformer Prime tablet, but it also reveals the most comprehensive set of specs we've yet seen for the Galaxy S III -- again, take this with a grain of salt. The device is said to wield a Samsung Exynos 4212 SoC with a dual-core 1.4GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM and a 4.7-inch, 720p HD display. This lines up similarly with the product listing from Amazon Germany, as the specs also reveal a 12 megapixel primary camera on the rear, along with a 2MP shooter on the front. No big surprises for the OS, which is listed as Android 4.0. Should the benchmark tests turn out to be legitimate, the HTC One X will no doubt have some very stiff competition. Update: Samsung has revealed the 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad as the basis for its next superphone.
LG Optimus 3D Max wages dual-core war in benchmark tests
A mere day has passed since we stumbled upon initial benchmarks for the Optimus 4X HD, and now, yet another LG smartphone has tossed its hat into the arena. In the Optimus 3D Max's arsenal is a dual-core 1.2GHz CPU, which is part of the TI OMAP 4430 SoC. Today, we pitted it against two dual-core contemporaries from HTC and Samsung -- namely, the One S and Galaxy S Blaze 4G. Sadly, the Optimus 3D Max failed to put up much of a resistance to either smartphone, and while its scores remain unofficial, its plainly obvious that this LG will look sorely dated upon its arrival. You can see how it all unfolded just after the break.[Thanks, Konstantinos]
Asus Eee Pad MeMo benchmarks come out fighting, other slates take note (video)
It's been a long and winding road for the tongue-twisting Asus Eee Pad MeMo ME171, and though we did get a first-hand look back at CES it's finally available to call your own. The team over at Netbook News decided to take the 7", 1280 x 800 display totin', 1.2GHz Snapdragon powered slab and give a good benchmarking -- which always piques our interest. NenaMark and NenaMark 2 landed at 34.5- and 24-fps respectively. Quadrant, on the other hand, came in around the 1,800 mark, about the same as the Transformer TF101. If you're more into Antutu or Vellamo, then the numbers you are after are 4,377 and 975 (compared to the Transformer Prime's 953). Last in the list was SunSpider, which drops in at 2,546.5 -- a nose ahead of the Note's 2,902. Check the video after the break if you want the full unboxing.
HTC One X vs. One S: which phone is The One for you?
HTC One X review HTC One S review HTC Sense 4 reviewJet Li starred in a 2001 movie called "The One." In it, his character traveled to parallel universes and grew stronger as he killed alternate versions of himself. This continued on until there was only one other copy left, with the movie culminating in an epic battle between the two. We won't spoil the ending, but we were reminded of this movie when thinking about the One X and the One S: both are incredibly powerful phones that we'd be proud to use as our daily drivers, but the vast majority of us are only able to choose one One. (The One V is also a possible option but for the purposes of this feature we're laser-focused on HTC's two higher-end models.)How can we make a sound decision? The two phones are considered premium devices with top-notch components and relatively few flaws. The major difference, however, is going to be the price. Naturally, the cost will vary depending on where you live and which carrier you choose, but make no mistake: the S is going to be less expensive. Is it worth spending the extra money to go with the top-shelf model, or will the little guy be plenty? Now that the two devices are officially on sale in Europe, it's time to pick a side. We can't decide for you, but our goal is to present each phone's pros and cons, going round by round. Which one is right for you? Read on to find out.
HTC One X for AT&T benchmarked: impressive, most impressive
The One X is not officially here... yet. That hasn't stopped someone from putting the new superphone through the benchmarking wringer, however. Turns out, that dual-core Snapdragon S4 SoC may be all it's cracked up to be, as screencaps have popped up online showing scores that blow away damn near every mobile device under the sun. Apparently, an AT&T employee put the One X through its paces, and if the scores are to be believed, it smoked the Galaxy Nexus in Quadrant and handily outperformed even the quad-core Transformer Prime in Vellamo. So, it seems that Peter Chou's new favorite phone has the guts to match its handsome exterior, but don't take our word for it, see for yourself at the source below.
New iPad gets benchmarked: 1GB RAM confirmed, no boost in CPU speed
Not only did some lucky gents in Vietnam get their hands on the new iPad while most people are still refreshing their delivery status page, they were also kind enough to run some benchmark tests. The results confirm that the RAM has been upped to 1GB, with the Geekbench score settling at 756. The processor remains at 1GHz, again, which is what we expected, but puts the kibosh on any speculation that there might have been a slight bump in clock speeds. If you want to see the full breakdown, hit the source for the goods.
Orange's Santa Clara Medfield phone gets benchmarked, well, the browser does
Wondering how those Medfield handsets stack up to their ARM-powered competition? Well, we can't promise a full suite of benchmarks just yet, but we do have a peek at a pair of browser-centric tests. The German Caschys Blog managed to get a hold of Orange's upcoming Santa Clara device at CeBit and ran Qualcomm's Vellamo and Rightware's BrowserMark on the Atom handset. In both metrics the Z2460 more than holds its own, scoring an 89,180 on the web-based BrowserMark -- putting it just ahead of the iPhone 4S which clocks in at 87,801, but well behind the Galaxy Nexus' 98,272. Things look just as promising on the slightly more hardware-intensive Vellamo where it trounced the latest Nexus and was hot on the heels of the Xiaomi Mi-One Plus and Transformer Prime. Of course, neither of these tests really tax the CPU or measure 3D graphics performance. We're not even sure what the clock speed on chip inside the handset is. We were originally led to believe 1.6GHz, though, Caschy is reporting the model he manhandled was running at just 1.4GHz. Then, there's perhaps the biggest question of all -- battery life. For that, we'll just have to wait and see.
Report: iOS beats Android at HTML5 rendering
AllThingsD reports that Spaceport.io, which makes a cross-platform gaming SDK, has tested the speed of HTML5 rendering on iOS and Android. The results show that iOS is faster by far. Spaceport used its own benchmark, called the "PerfMark," which counts the number of moving images on a screen at 30 frames per second, a rate that provides a near-native user experience. The group demonstrated that HTML5 games ran significantly faster on iOS 5 vs. the Android devices tested. Specifically, iPhone 4S scored 252 PerfMarks and the iPad 2 scored 327. In comparison, the newer Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone scored 147 and the Kindle Fire scored only 25. You'll find more details at VentureBeat. As for tablets, the iPad 2 beat every Android device it was pitted against. "HTML5 is getting faster over time, as seen in the latest OS updates across Android and iOS," said Spaceport.io founder Ben Savage. "Although this is a welcome trend, there is still a long way to go." Several companies are jumping on the HTML5 bandwagon, hoping to create a game that will run on many platforms. It will be interesting to see how the next-generation iPad, "iPad 3" if you will, would score on Spaceport's test.
OMAP 5's dual A15 cores wipe the floor with four A9s in browsing benchmark
We've seen Texas Instrument's OMAP 5 in action, but we haven't been able to pit it directly against a competitor. The Dallas company must be growing more and more confident in its product however, as its posted a video demoing its pair of A15 cores alongside an unspecified quad-core A9 part -- presumably the Tegra 3. The video shows the next-gen TI part powering through the EEMBC BrowsingBench in 95 seconds, while its opposition takes a whopping 201. What's more, this thrashing was performed by an 800MHz part -- the four A9s were clocked at 1.3GHz. Of course, Tegra 3s are already in shipping products, while the OMAP 5 might not find a home in consumer devices before 2013. It's also unclear just how much of a hit these new high-powered ARM cores will have on battery life or how much the pair of M4 companion cores helped in the benchmark. Head on after the break to watch a pair of tablets load up 20 websites in quick succession.
Qualcomm Krait S4 SoC fully benchmarked, diagnosed as 'insane'
We've seen it, touched it and we fully expect it'll be turning heads in Barcelona next week, but until now Qualcomm's Krait chip has largely escaped the rigors of independent benchmarking. Fortunately, AnandTech has to come to our rescue once again with a characteristically thorough analysis at the source link. Those blue and green charts can speak for themselves, but if you're in a rush then here's the rub of it: the Krait truly is a next-gen SoC, with the dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8960-powered reference handset delivering an "insane performance advantage" of between 20 percent and 240 percent on CPU benchmarks. As we glimpsed recently, graphics performance is somewhat less ground-breaking but still very healthy, with the 28nm process allowing the Adreno 225 GPU to run at up to 400MHz, versus 266MHz on its Adreno 220 predecessor. Oh yes, this is going to be one mother of an MWC.
Qualcomm's MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 benchmarks pop up online
We put Qualcomm's S4 development platform through its paces (twice, no less) at CES, but shorn of the glitz of Las Vegas, does it have the oomph to wow us? Someone at the company loosed Nenamark 2 on the slate, producing a score of 54.90. Given the fact that its producing graphics for a 1024 x 600 screen, we're excited to see it comfortably edge the Galaxy S II Skyrocket (54.1) and Galaxy Note (32.8) -- with our mouths watering at the thought of what this 28nm CPU can do in a smartphone. We've included the benchmark in full after the break, if you're ready for such exciting revelations.
Intel's 32nm Medfield SoC specs and benchmarks leak
Intel's Medfield may still be a ways from breaking into the smartphone and tablet market, but we're finally starting to get some concrete details on its specs and capabilities. VR-Zone got the nitty gritty on Chipzilla's first true SoC and it looks almost ready to run with the big dogs. A reference tablet, running at 1.6GHz with 1GB of RAM (which also packs Bluetooth, WiFi and FM radio) was put through some Android benchmarks and held it's own against a Tegra 2 and a Snapdragon MSM8260 -- which pulled a 7,500 and 8,000 in Caffeinemark 3, respectively. The admittedly higher clocked Atom scored an impressive 10,500, though power consumption on the pre-production chips was a bit higher than anticipated. At idle, the fledgling Medfield was sucking down 2.6W and spiking to 3.6W under load. Ultimately Intel hopes to cut those numbers to 2W at idle and 2.6W while pushing out HD video -- not far off from current-gen ARM SoC. Lets not forget though, benchmarks only tell part of the story -- we'll be waiting to see working hardware before declaring a victor.
LG P940 phone gets benchmarked, is the Prada K2 ready to turn heads?
LG and Prada may have already renewed their wedding vows, but it's been pretty quiet on the designer phone front. However, a stream of benchmark results have surfaced over at Antutu, revealing an LG phone with a 1GHz CPU running Android Gingerbread -- version 2.3.7 to be precise. The handset is labelled up as the P940, suggesting that this could well be the fruits of labor from the fashion-phonemaker collaboration -- aka the Prada K2. A device with the same codename has already paid a visit to the FCC, although it kept quiet on the hardware specifics, not revealing much more than a clutch of GPRS and HSPA radios. Rumors suggest the hardware will all be contained in an appropriately stylish 9mm frame, but we'll just have to wait and see. It may be just a sliver of a smartphone, but we hope LG considers feeding it some Ice Cream Sandwich before it makes its debut. Not too much though, it still needs to fit into that Prada outfit.
OCZ Octane SSD benchmarked, new Indilinx controller holds its ground
Maybe it's just interference from our seasonal goggles, but isn't there something quite cheery about SSD reviews? In the case of OCZ's Octane drive, our good spirits derive from the sturdy performance of its freshly-conceived Indilinx Everest controller, which ought to keep big players like SandForce and Samsung on their toes. HotHardware just reviewed the $369 $879 512GB variant and found that it delivered fast boot-up times, strong read speeds and writes that were just shy of enthusiast-class drives. Follow the source link for the full and possibly festive benchmarks. Update: Sorry about the optimistic price error. Guess we got carried away with all the holiday discounts. As many of y'all spotted, it's the 256GB version that goes for $369. Update: We just added links to reviews from AnandTech and Storage Review, which both arrived at similarly positive conclusions.
HTC Jetstream review
When HTC entered the tablet game, it did so in reverse course. Where other manufacturers were jostling for elbow room in a 10-inch form factored world, the company opted for smaller, more familiar battleground, eschewing the rough-hewn Honeycomb OS for a Gingerbread-baked Sense overlay on the Flyer. Naturally, the time for that mini-slate to shine has come and gone. In its stead, we're treated to a flagship of sorts -- HTC's first 10-incher and AT&T's inaugural 4G LTE slate. Android 3.1 makes an appearance here, as does Sense 1.1 for tablets, but is the skinned experience really any different from the custom UX we've all come to love or hate on phones? Can the added Scribe pen functionality, repurposed here from its 7-inch brother, transform the Jetstream from third pillar offering to an always-on, on-the-go assistant? And will those newly hatched 700MHz speeds convince you to cough up for that weighty $700 price tag? Follow along past the break to see how it fared. %Gallery-137899%
NVIDIA says Tegra 3 is a 'PC-class CPU,' has screenshots to prove it
Asus can't be absorbing all those limelight photons today. Not when its freshly detailed Transformer Prime depends so heavily on NVIDIA's special sauce. Admittedly, we already know a lot about Tegra 3 from its Kal-El days, but we haven't seen much in the way of real-world performance claims. Until now, that is. Below you'll see newly released screenshots of Android games that have been souped-up to capitalize on the imminent Asus Eee Pad as well as other Tegra 3-powered devices -- including smartphones -- that are expected early next year. NVIDIA has also put out slides containing in-house benchmarks and head-to-head comparisons with the Tegra 2, which you'll find right after the break. %Gallery-138769%
MacTech benchmarks Parallels and VMware Fusion
The 2011 MacTech Conference starts up here in Los Angeles today, and TUAW will have reports and interviews live from the conference all week. Before things begin, however, MacTech has been busy benchmarking (as usual). Its latest benchmarking showdown features virtualization software options Parallels and VMWare Fusion. Both apps were tested under Windows 7 and, as with previous tests, Parallels stacked up quite well. Of the top tests, says MacTech, Parallels won 60% by a factor of 10% or more, and Parallels Desktop 7 beat VMWare Fusion in nearly 75% of the tests run. VMWare was faster in a few different places, as you can see on the full worksheet on MacTech's site. The software ran quicker during some of the virtual machine functions, like starting up or shutting down the virtual Windows machine running inside OS X. But on nearly all other points, Parallels topped the speed charts, including the 3D tests and tests of most commonly used apps on the system. The report concludes by saying that virtualization software is better than ever -- if you've ever needed to run Windows 7 (or even a virtual OS X installation) inside of your Mac operating system, Parallels will help you do it well. As usual, MacTech's report is extensive and conclusive. Stay tuned all week long for more from the conference.
GDC Online 2011: BioWare's Damion Schubert takes a wrecking ball to the casual vs. hardcore model
"I'm trying to finish a product, Star Wars: The Old Republic, which I am not going to talk about today." Thus began BioWare's Damion Schubert's seminar, Double Coding: Making Online Games for Both the Casual and the Hardcore, at this year's GDC Online. "This is more of a weary man, sort of stream-of-consciousness design theory talk." Schubert wanted to call the talk "Moving Beyond Double Coding," which is a term that comes from cartoons, of all places. Double coding is content that reaches two different groups of people at the same time. Looney Tunes, for example, would entertain both adults and kids because the writers and animators designed it so. With MMOs, Schubert says that devs are often trying to double code the games for both casual and hardcore players. This is where the well-known slogan "easy to play, hard to master" originates. He held up Blizzard as a primary example of this model. Blizzard's "donut," as Schubert calls it, has a casual outer ring and a hardcore center for both types of players. By double coding, Blizzard ensures that casual players can invite their hardcore friends to experience the game and vice-versa. However, this model is faltering, and Schubert pinpoints why after the jump!
Geekbench scores benchmark iPhone 4S A5 at 800MHz
Here is some good news and bad news for prospective iPhone 4S owners. The bad news is that the iPhone 4S has a dual-core 1GHz CPU, but its clocked to 800 Mhz. The good news is that, even with slower clock speeds, the 4S still beats the pants off the iPhone 4 and other Android smartphones. This information comes from AnandTech which compared the iPhone 4S and other handsets using online benchmarks. The results place the iPhone 4S at the top of the mobile phone market with benchmark scores well above the iPhone 4 and other smartphone competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S2. The only comparable device is the 8.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab which benchmarks very closely to the iPhone 4S. Within the iOS family, the iPhone 4S CPU and GPU benchmarks are about 75% faster than the iPhone 4 and slightly slower than the iPad 2. These results are not surprising as the iPad 2 has the same A5 processor as the iPhone 4S, but it is clocked to the full 1GHz, not 800 MHz. [AppleInsider]
Angelbird's Wings PCIe-based SSD preview and benchmarks
Storage enthusiasts (yeah, there is such a thing -- what of it?) would probably tell you that PCIe-based SSDs are a dime a dozen these days. But in all seriousness, the prices we're seeing are proof that a few more competitors wouldn't hurt. A few weeks back, Austria's own Angelbird started to ship a solution that we first heard about during 2010, and we were fortunate enough to pop a Wings PCIe SSD RAID card into our Mac Pro for testing. For years, we've been booting this up and running every single application off of its stock HDD -- a 640GB Hitachi HDE721064SLA360 (7200RPM) -- as we surmise many of you desktop owners might be. Anxious to see if these are the Wings your existing tower needs to soar? Head on past the break for our impressions. %Gallery-134642%
