Early Benchmarks Put Retina MacBook CPU Performance in Range of 2011 MacBook Air
Though the Retina MacBook isn’t officially launching until April 10, an early 64-bit Geekbench benchmark of the entry-level machine was spotted this afternoon, giving us our first glimpse at how the new ultra thin MacBook measures up to existing products in Apple’s notebook line.
The 1.1GHz entry-level Retina MacBook with an Intel Core M-5Y31 processor was benchmarked twice, giving two single-core scores of 1924 and 2044, and multi-core scores of 4038 and 4475. Comparatively, the 2015 entry-level MacBook Air with a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor has seen scores in the neighborhood of 2881 (single-core) and 5757 (multi-core), so it’s a good bit faster than the new MacBook.
Performance wise, the Retina MacBook CPU seems to be par with the higher-end 2011 MacBook Air with a 1.8GHz Core i7 processor, but graphics performance on the new MacBook, which Geekbench does not measure, should be far superior to the 2011 machine. Taking into account the Intel HD 5300 graphics and an improved SSD, the Retina MacBook will outperform the aforementioned 2011 MacBook Air even though the CPU speeds are similar.
Apple offers two additional processor upgrade options for the Retina MacBook, at 1.2GHz in the higher-end machine and at 1.3GHz as an optional build-to-order upgrade, both of which will see somewhat better performance results than the entry-level 1.1GHz processor.
The new Retina MacBook, which is Apple’s thinnest and lightest notebook to date, will go on sale on April 10. Prices start at $1,299 for the 1.1GHz/8GB/256GB model and $1,599 for the 1.2GHz/8GB/512GB model.
(Thanks, David!)
Facebook introduces Riff, a collaboration video creator
Facebook took to its newsroom today to announce a brand new app called Riff. The premise behind Riff is collaboration with your friends, something Facebook says is at the heart of the Facebook experience. The idea behind Riff is you start off with the creation of a video then it escalates from there.
When you create the video you give it a tag — Facebook used #AprilFools as an example — and from there friends can add their own video moments to it (like in the gif above). The video can continue to grow with friends of friends of friends, and so on, adding their own recording to it.
It’s available in the Play Store if you’re thinking its a prank, and to be honest, I haven’t installed it myself to see if it actually works. But if you’re a go getter and want to give it a try, you can let us know in the comments your experience with it.
source: Facebook Newsroom
Come comment on this article: Facebook introduces Riff, a collaboration video creator
Google’s ARC Welder app helps Android developers bring their apps to Chrome
Google released a new tool called ARC Welder today to help developers bring their Android apps over to Chrome OS and the Chrome browser.
With the ARC Welder Chrome App, developers can easily run their app’s APK file in Chrome OS and the Chrome browser to test compatibility and make tweaks before bringing it to the Chrome Web Store.
Weekly Photo Contest: Fruit
Fruits are an important part of any healthy eating habit, but whether you’re choosing to consume them at the recommended rate or not they certainly are worthy of photographing as well. When you think of fruit pictures you’ll always see bright colors, interesting shapes and some odd combinations as well — we want to see what fruit pictures you can come up with this week.
As is often the case we’re picking out two winners from this contest to win a prize, and each winner will receive an Aduro U-Grip+ Universal Car Mount!
I still love my Nexus 5
Technology is a train that stops for no one. It moves faster and faster every day, leaving our relatively new devices in the dust as the next stop quickly approaches. I find myself hearing a certain quote a lot during my time browsing for the latest tech news. “The Next Big Thing is Here” as Samsung famously advertises. Truthfully, the next big thing is always around the corner. Devices that I still consider “new” like the 2014 Moto X and LG G3, are silently being brushed aside while Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and HTC’s One M9 now hold the spotlight.
Thankfully, Android hardware is finally at a point where it is going to take quite a bit of time before a user will actually need an upgrade due to deterioration or software crashes. Unless you break the device yourself, modern smartphones (at least the flagships) will hold value for a long time.
But if there’s one phone I’d like to call out for aging so well, it’s my handy dandy Nexus 5. To the average consumer, the Nexus 5 is barely considered old. To an Android enthusiast, a smartphone that’s a year and a half old can be considered outdated. At its launch, the Nexus 5 offered premium, modern specifications that every Android user wanted. Full HD screen, the latest Snapdragon 800 chip, enough memory for great multitasking and a pretty solid camera that featured optical image stabilization.
A couple weeks ago, My beloved Nexus suffered a tragic fall from the heights of my hands into the unforgiving depths… of the sidewalk beneath me. The screen was shattered, and my heart was broken.
As you would expect, I have been searching for my next daily driver, conveniently at the time the Galaxy S6, S6 edge and One M9 were announced. These phones are fantastic, and I’ve got a heavy eye on the S6 edge as my co-writer Matt Kinne states it’s been an incredible phone so far despite the battery life. While my brain is telling me to get this phone, I can’t help but hold my crippled Nexus 5 still as I believe this is still one of my favorite phones of all time, and I want another one.
Nexus the Fifth, you have excelled in every way I needed you to.
Your 1080p screen that fit perfectly in my palm is exactly what I wanted. Your CPU is still blazing fast with Android 5.1 and easily compares to mobile CPU’s today in every day use. Your battery performs well throughout the day, with the help of a quick mid-day rest stop on my wireless charger. Your camera’s HDR and OIS capabilities served me without issues, as I am no photographer, and I do not require perfection in smartphone photos. Your light, minimal build and emphasis on small bezels caught many eyes as I used you in public. You have been a fantastic smartphone with very few faults, Nexus the Fifth.
While I probably will upgrade to a newer flagship, I’m impressed by how much I want a replacement Nexus 5 instead. This mainly has to do with the size of the device, as flagship smartphones just keep growing in size, slipping away from my not-so-big hands. I am thrilled that Samsung and HTC have kept the screen size the same from last year’s flagships, however. Companies would be stupid to ignore the customer base that prefers one-handed use.
Regardless of them, the Nexus 5 will be held dearly to me as I move on to the next big thing.
The post I still love my Nexus 5 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
A peppy, neon look at ‘Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem’ for Wii U
“Thank you for waiting, everyone.” That’s how Nintendo capped the new trailer today for Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem, a Wii U game it’s developing with Japanese publisher Atlus, announced back in January 2013. While the video is fairly gorgeous and shows off some gameplay, it doesn’t offer a release date. We did, however, get the following description: “The role-playing masters at Atlus are developing a truly modern RPG where everyday life exists alongside a secret world of fantasy.” Watch the trailer below.
The Sony Cosmos could actually be the Xperia C4
Recently, a Sony device codenamed Cosmos, has recently leaked in not one, but two different leaks. Well another one has serviced today from device leaker upleaks. This rumor suggests that the Sony Cosmos will be introduced as the Xperia C4.
Last year, the Xperia C3 was unveiled in July. The C4 is expected to have 4G LTE support and will be an incremental update to last year’s C3. It will come with Sony’s lightweight UI on top of Android 5.0, though we’re not sure if it’ll be Android 5.1 instead.
Everything else is up in the air on the device in terms of specs, pricing and availability. But we’ll keep you posted as we find out more. Stay tuned.
source: Twitter
via: GSM Arena
Come comment on this article: The Sony Cosmos could actually be the Xperia C4
Facebook Launches New ‘Riff’ iOS App for Collaborative Videos [iOS Blog]
Facebook today launched a new app called Riff, which is designed to let people create collaborative videos with their friends by linking multiple videos surrounding a single topic.
After downloading the app, anyone can begin a Riff video by shooting a clip and giving it a topic. From there, your friends will get a notification to watch what’s been uploaded already and an invite to add their own clips to the topic, building on the video. As the video is passed along and more people add to it, it gets longer and longer.
Video must be shot within the Riff app, as there are no uploading tools, and to encourage people to submit their own videos to contribute, there’s no liking or commenting. Because some of the Riffs can get long, there are fast forwarding tools, and original Riff creators can moderate new clips to delete portions of the video if necessary.
Anyone can start by creating a video. All you have to do is give it a topic, like #AprilFools, then your friends can view it and choose to add their own clips on that topic. Once a friend adds a clip to your video, your friend’s friends will also be shown the video in Riff and will be able to add to it. The potential pool of creative collaborators can grow exponentially from there, so a short video can become an inventive project between circles of friends that you can share to Facebook, or anywhere on the internet, at any time.
Facebook has an example video from Riff available on the new Riff website, created by the cast of An American in Paris on Broadway.
Riff is the latest app coming from Facebook’s Creative Labs project, which has also produced apps like Paper, Groups, Rooms, Mentions and Slingshot. Of the apps that have been created by Facebook’s Creative Labs, Paper, a news curation app with a magazine-style layout, has proven to be the most popular.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Riff‘s product manager Josh Miller said Riff was inspired by the videos that were shared during the Ice Bucket challenge, where thousands of people dumped buckets of ice water on their heads in support of ALS and then challenged friends to do the same.
Riff can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
BlackBerry Leap pricing set at $349 in Canada
While BlackBerry has opened the doors to pre-orders for the BlackBerry Leap in the US, UK, Germany and France, they interestingly left pre-orders for Canada off the list and opted to just simply state the device was ‘coming soon’. Since then, ShopBlackBerry has been updated slightly to show the pricing for the BlackBerry Leap in Canada which is set at $349, thanks to the exchange rate.
Surface 3 goes up for pre-order from Amazon and Best Buy
Anxious to get your hands on the newly-announced Surface 3? Well you can now go ahead and pre-order the device from both Best Buy and Amazon ahead of its May 5 release date.
AIVAnet 