Mysterious Xiaomi device with 2000mAh battery suggests thin device
A Xiaomi phone with model number 2014910 made its way through TENNA today with a 2,000mAh battery in tow. This could very well suggest that the next phone coming from the company will be a thinner device. The device appears to be in testing so specs are unknown but the device is rumored to sport a Snapdragon 615, and 2GB of RAM.
That said, there’s not much to go on. It could possibly be a new mid-range device, or a sub-series of a current line. We’ll update you when we know more, so keep it locked here.
source: gizchina
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More rumors surface regarding Snapdragon 810 overheating issues
The newly unveiled LG G Flex 2 isn’t just a smartphone for display buffs, the handset is also packing Qualcomm’s latest and greatest 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor. However, all may not be well with Qualcomm’s latest high-end SoC, as more rumors have surfaced suggesting that the chip is struggling with some performance impacting production issues.
As a quick recap, the Snapdragon 810 features eight CPU cores in a big.LITTLE configuration, arranged as four heavy lifting Cortex-A57s and four energy efficient Cortex-A53s for the less demanding background tasks. The SoC also showcases Qualcomm’s new high-end Adreno 430 GPU, which is supposed to be the company’s fastest graphics chip yet. This is also Qualcomm’s first 20nm Snapdragon, manufactured by TSMC, which is an important point to remember later on.
Back to the issues, sources from Korea and analysts with US investment firm J.P. Morgan are convinced that the Snapdragon 810 is suffering from crippling overheating issues. Apparently, this problem is caused by the high-performance Cortex-A57 cores overheating when clock speeds reach 1.2 to 1.4GHz, which is a surprising problem for a core designed to run at speeds approaching 2GHz. This then causes the chip to throttle back on performance, to prevent the whole system from overheating. Separate issues with the SoC’s memory controller have also been reported and instances of GPU throttling have also apparently cropped up during benchmarks, although this could be part of the same CPU overheating issue.
QCOM’s new 64-bit Snapdragon 615 and 810 chips are suffering from overheating issues … For the Snapdragon 810, we believe the issues are related to the implementation of new 64-bit ARM cores (A57) – J.P. Morgan analysts
However, Samsung’s Cortex-A57 powered Exynos 5433 does not suffer from overheating issues, suggesting that this is a problem specific to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon design rather than a problem with the Cortex-A57 itself. This leaves the finger pointed at Qualcomm and TSMC’s 20nm chip design, with several analysts suggesting that a “redesign of a few metal layers” may be needed to fix the issue.
We know that TSMC had been struggling with its 20nm technique for some time and, as this is Qualcomm’s first attempt at a 20nm design, it is possible that unanticipated defects may have appeared. Heat is a serious potential issue when combining high-performance CPU and GPU components into such a confined space, and four Cortex-A57s and the new Adreno 430 may have pushed the chip’s heat up above what we have seen with the older Snapdragon 8XX series and newer low-power Cortex-A53 Snapdragon 615.
During our own hands-on time with the LG G Flex 2 we ran a quick AnTuTu benchmark, which scored an underwhelming result of 41670, placing it behind existing Snapdragon 800 processors. We expected the G Flex 2 to post a result closer to the Galaxy Note 4 and Meizu MX4, which are both octa-core devices powered by some of ARM’s higher end Cortex-A17 and A57 cores.http://embed.chartblocks.com/1.0/?c=54aae997c9a61dad4a47919f&t=caf3189a09b1f02A closer inspection of the results suggests that most of the performance troubles stem from the CPU side of things, with Single Thread and Multitasking scores falling well behind rival Cortex-A57 and A53 based SoCs and even failing to match the performance of older Snapdragon 600 handsets. CPU throttling, possibly due to high-temperatures, is certainly a plausible explanation for such a large performance gap. Although, this could also be a result of optimization issues with big.LITTLE resource management, an unfinished kernel, or some resource hungry background task.http://embed.chartblocks.com/1.0/?c=54aaeae8c9a61db44a47919f&t=d642d0c21a76ddeWhile we weren’t expecting a finished article with the G Flex 2, as LG would likely be pushing for optimizations before the handset goes on sale, these results seem to suggest that something was not quite right with the unit that we tested. The GPU score is a little more in-line with expectations, although the Adreno 430 should outpace the Snapdragon 805’s Adreno 420. The GPU result is more likely down to variance and pre-release optimizations, while it’s much harder to explain away the oddly poor CPU result.
If these performance issues turn out to be true, a delayed release of its flagship Snapdragon 810 SoC is going to cause major headaches for Qualcomm. J.P. Morgan analysts expect that a 20nm redesign could take up to three months. One for prototyping and redesigning the problematic metal layers in the chip and another two for “completing the metal mask layers in final production”. This means that the Snapdragon 810 may not be available until mid-Q2 2015, although it is possible that TSMC is already part way through a redesign.
We believe fixing the issues with the 810 will require the redesign of a few metal layers of the chip, which could push out the schedule by about three months, by our calculations (one month for prototyping and design fix and two additional months for completing the metal mask layers in final production). – J.P. Morgan analysts
Qualcomm’s 20nm Snapdragon 808 could fill in during the 810’s absence, providing that it isn’t facing similar issues. However, with Nvidia, MediaTek and Samsung all offering high-end mobile SoCs with similar capabilities to Qualcomm’s high-end chip, smarphone and tablet manufacturers may turn to Qualcomm’s competitors to power this year’s early flagships. Worryingly, industry wide launch dates could end up postponed as a result.
Previously, Qualcomm had denied rumors of overheating problems in its Snapdragon 810 and has not commented on the latest batch of rumors. Remember, this is only speculation from a small number of sources. It is still possible that Qualcomm will ship the Snapdragon 810 on time and without defects. We’ll keep our eyes pinned for more details.
Welcome to CES, where $50,000 could turn you into a skilled marksman
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What’s holding most everyone back from being a talented sharpshooter? Lots of training. But now you don’t even need that to hit a target from thousands of feet away thanks to Tracking Point’s Mile Maker sniper rifle. Well, anyone who’s rich enough that is. The outfit’s targeting this (pun intended? You be the judge!) massive and heavy gun at people with way more money than time: folks like doctors and lawyers who want to go on safari in Africa and come back with a zebra bust for the wall, guaranteed. If you have a spare $49,500 laying around, you could bag practically any trophy too. But doesn’t that take away from the art and discipline of shooting? For Tracking Point’s answer to that question, check out our stage interview above.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Welcome to CES, where $50,000 could turn you into a skilled marksman
trydocument.getElementById(“fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-881708″).style.display=”none”;catch(e)
What’s holding most everyone back from being a talented sharpshooter? Lots of training. But now you don’t even need that to hit a target from thousands of feet away thanks to Tracking Point’s Mile Maker sniper rifle. Well, anyone who’s rich enough that is. The outfit’s targeting this (pun intended? You be the judge!) massive and heavy gun at people with way more money than time: folks like doctors and lawyers who want to go on safari in Africa and come back with a zebra bust for the wall, guaranteed. If you have a spare $49,500 laying around, you could bag practically any trophy too. But doesn’t that take away from the art and discipline of shooting? For Tracking Point’s answer to that question, check out our stage interview above.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Apple Celebrates Successful Year with Record-Breaking App Store Sales, Strong Job Creation
App Store customers worldwide set a new record in the first week of 2015, Apple announced today. According to the company, customers spent nearly half a billion dollars on apps and in-app purchases in the first week of January, with New Year’s Day marking the biggest day ever for App Store sales.
As noted by Apple, this opening salvo for 2015 follows in the footsteps of a successful 2014 that saw billings rise 50 percent to generate over $10 billion in app revenue for developers, pushing total developer earnings since the App Store’s inception to over $25 billion. The steady climb of user acceptance for iOS 8, along with the strong success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and App Store specials like the (Product) RED Holiday Campaign, undoubtedly contributed to the company’s App Store success of the App Store over the past few months.
“This year is off to a tremendous start after a record-breaking year for the App Store and our developer community,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We’re so proud of the creativity and innovation developers bring to the apps they create for iOS users and that the developer community has now earned over $25 billion.”
The company points to innovations like the new programming language Swift, graphics technology Metal, beta-testing program TestFlight, and the introduction of HealthKit and HomeKit as major reasons behind the flourishing of App Store development in the past year. Outside of the U.S., the addition of UnionPay as a payment option for App Store customers in China was a significant move by the company in establishing an overseas presence in the country.
Apple Pay’s growing popularity in the U.S. has also been a factor in the App Store’s success, especially with its added integration in popular apps like those from Target, OpenTable, and Ticketmaster.
Apple isn’t just celebrating a successful monetary year, but a job-creating one as well. The company has created or supported 1,027,000 jobs in the U.S., 627,000 of which are directly related to the inception of the iOS ecosystem and the App Store. Apple directly employs 66,000 employees in the United States.
We’re proud to create 1M+ US jobs in all 50 states and ring in another record-breaking year for developers globally. http://t.co/kQeHQVCGou
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 8, 2015
Beyond the App Store ecosystem and Apple’s own employment, the company calculates it supports 337,000 jobs at other companies resulting from Apple’s own spending and growth through the years. And with Apple Campus 2 under construction, the company expects to continue employment growth, supporting 41,100 jobs in the area upon its completion.
New fuel cell based kraftwerk charger promises freedom from the grid
A project on Kickstarter by eZelleron Inc. is trying to raise funds for production of a mobile electronics energy charger that uses gas instead of electricity to recharge itself. The kraftwerk power generator will enable users to be freed from the power grid by relying on fuel cell technology that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. The device can be refilled using standard camping gas or lighter gas, both of which should be readily available almost anywhere in the world. The kraftwerk also has the advantage of being refilled in mere seconds – 3 according to the project’s description – and will support the equivalent of 11 iPhone charges.
According to kraftwerk, besides using gas purchased at local stores, users can also use refill cartridges that will be made available. Part of the Kickstarter is to provide funding so production of not only the charger, but the fuel cell cartridges, can commence. The fuel cells will be quite small, smaller than a typical AA battery, and they are very light. This supports part of the kraftwerk goal of making a device available that can go anywhere without weighing down or annoying the user with bulk or weight. For example, 12 cartridges will weigh only 2.16 lbs. and yield the equivalent of 275 full iPhone charges, which should come close to providing power for an entire year for smaller devices.
The suggested retail price of the kraftwerk charger will be $149 when it ships in December 2015. kraftwerk will have three different options available when released – Urban, Outdoor and Glam. If you want to get in on the Kickstarter project, you can still do so as they are about 60% of their way to the $500,000 goal that has been established. If you want to be one of the first backers to get a kraftwerk, you will have to pledge at least $99, which is a nice discount from the full retail price.
Click here to view the embedded video.
source: Kickstarter
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Verizon finally releases the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
It’s funny how a few weeks can make such a difference. When Samsung first launched its Galaxy Note Edge in Japan back in October, the device was essentially one-of-a-kind. In the past few days however, we’ve seen LG up the ante by doubling the droop and announcing its own curved creation. Samsung’s Note Edge is just so last year. Except for Verizon that is. Earlier this week we covered a leak that asserted Big Red would be mustering up its johnny-come-lately to the party and it has done just that (along with US Cellular!).
The Galaxy Note Edge is now being offered on Verizon Wireless for $399.99 on a 2-year contract, $33.33 per month on its Edge installment plan, and $799.99 full price for those who prefer their CDMA sans commitment. The product is listed as “XLTE Ready” for select cities, which is Verizon’s novel way of marketing faster LTE. One other point to be aware of is that the device is only available in black at the moment.
Despite the delayed dispatch, the Galaxy Note Edge is still a fantastic device, and one worthy of consideration for anyone looking to upgrade or simply slide into the slope style. You can find our video review here, along with some “post honeymoon” impressions.
CES 2015: Kensington Announces ‘KeyFolio Thin X3 Plus’ Battery Case for iPad Air 2 [iOS Blog]
Following on the heels of a recent announcement for its next-generation mobile security lock, security-focused accessory manufacturer Kensington also announced a new line of iPad cases for the iPad Air 2, called the KeyFolio Thin X3 Plus.
Building on Kensington’s similarly-titled products for the original iPad Air and iPad Air 2, the X3 Plus features a larger 4,500 mAh battery inside of its attached Bluetooth keyboard, alongside an integrated USB port that allows users to fully charge an iPhone up to three times or a 50 percent charge to an iPad. A free-to-download app lets users monitor how much battery the keyboard has left to charge their devices.
“Today’s iPad and iPhone users don’t want to risk running out of battery life. They want to know that they have the power they need to get the job done, regardless of where they are,” said Jim Murakami, Global Product Marketing Manager, Kensington. “With the new KeyFolio Thin X3 Plus, we’re taking power to the next level while also giving users the high-performance keyboard they want to be more productive. It’s the perfect mix of function, style and efficiency.”
The keyboard features six rows of scissor-switch mechanical keys, including a row of dedicated shortcut keys for improved productivity. The company promises secure protection as well, with “a sleek and form-fitting, hard-shell exterior” that’s also not bulky.
Kensington has not given a specific launch window for the KeyFolio Thin X3 Plus for iPad Air 2, but did confirm the new case will cost $119.99.
Manufacturing Mold for ‘iPad Pro’ Rear Shell or Dummy Unit Shown in New Photo
A user on China’s Weibo microblogging site today posted a new photo (via Letem svetem Applem) simply labeled “iPad Pro”. The photo shows what appears to be a mold for the rear shell of Apple’s rumored larger tablet with a display in the range of 12-13 inches, although it is unclear whether this mold is supposed to be for an actual iPad Pro shell or for a dummy unit such as the one that surfaced in a photo last May.
Few details can be discerned from the relatively poor quality photo, although it does appear to show faint details that could represent an Apple logo in the center and perhaps a rear camera feature in a corner. Exact size is also unknown, but it certainly appears larger than an iPad Air.
The relatively simple design of the mold suggests this may be an unofficial mold being used create dummy units for manufacturers. Such units frequently, but not always, turn out to be accurately based on information leaking out of Apple’s supply chain.
Timing on a release for the iPad Pro has been in question for some time, with The Wall Street Journal reporting last October that Apple had pushed back production on the device in order to allow its suppliers to focus on the popular iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Reports have indicated the device could still launch in the April-June timeframe, but there have yet to be any apparently legitimate part leaks for the device.
Runtastic shows us what it’s like to do a workout wearing an Oculus Rift
One of the more experimental things that Runtastic has on hand at its booth here at CES is a demonstration of a workout trainer that used Oculus Rift to make exercise a little less boring. Unfortunately, at this superbly early point, it’s hardly the most refined or elegant system to use. Still, if you’re struggling to picture what it’s like to use a virtual reality device as a personal trainer, then you’ve come to the right place.
It’s fair to say up front that Runtastic has no current plans of announcing this as a product, since the Rift itself remains in development mode. In fact, the company would only countenance releasing a software service when the VR headset lost a lot of weight, as well as those wires that tether it to a nearby PC. With that in mind…
You begin in a black void, with a female avatar of a personal trainer staring back at you, offering you three location options. Once selected (I picked a veranda out on the shores of Lake Como), you then begin your workout. Essentially, this is the same as if you were watching a old-school workout video, with you copying the motions of the person in front of you. There’s no interactivity here, and the instructor is oblivious to your failings or successes. Thankfully, a camera mounted above the TV enables the hardware to track some of your movement, and a guide icon in the top right of my view turns green when I dip low enough each time I do a lunge.
When I’m bored of the veranda, I turn my head to a specific point on the left, and after holding my gaze for three or four seconds, we’re transported into the lounge of a spacious New England McMansion where the process begins again. After a while, it’s hard not to become self-conscious about behaving like this, and it’s not as if the experience is really that much better with a VR device strapped to my face. The Rift hardware is pretty bulky, and I’m constantly moderating my movement in order to not rip the cable out of the PC, or smack my fellow trade-show goers. In short: I feel like a stupid prick.
Admittedly, the company did say that this wasn’t intended to replace other workouts, but could be used as a supplementary device when the weather is bad. The fact that in Asian markets, a lot more workouts take place in the home was also brought up, suggesting that it’s purely the idea of transporting a person from their living room to someone else’s is benefit enough. I don’t want to condemn this system, since we’re still at least a year away from any sort of finished product being available, but it’s going to need a lot of refinement before I’m convinced that this is the future of fitness.
Filed under: Wearables
AIVAnet 