Friday, 4 May 2012

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs iPhone 4S

Samsung Galaxy S3
iPhone 4S


CPU


Samsung Galaxy S3                                        iPhone 4S

1.4 GHz                                                    1GHz
Quad Core Cortex A9                                  Dual Core Cortex A9
Exynos 4212 chipset                                  Apple A5 chipset

The Apple A5 chipset has a feature that enables it to perform operations on multiple data simultaneously. This is sometimes call data level parallelism. It can also underclock its cycles to 800 MHz from 1 GHz to conserve battery power when needed. It is made by Samsung Electronics using a 45nm process.

On the other hand, the Samsung Exynos 4212 chipset is made using a 32nm process with High-K Metal gate. The advantage gained is in terms of lower power consumption, higher clock speeds and lower production costs. However, in terms of overall performance, the Operating system comes into play and the iPhone 4S might outperform the Samsung Galaxy in terms of power consumption. Android is known to run more background programs than iOS.

GPU

Samsung Galaxy S3                                        iPhone 4S

Mali-400 MP                                              Power VR SGX543MP2

Power VR is made by a division of Imagination Technologies whereas the Mali is made by a division of ARM in Norway. In terms of performance, there is no major difference but it may be wise to note that Power VR is most proffered by many manufacturers over the Mali. Major implementations of the Power VR and its variants are in the Playstation Vita, Intel's Medfield Platform, Blackberry Playbook, iPhone 4, Apple TV, Nokia N900, Motorola Droid among many others.

Software makers for the Samsung Galaxy may utilize the Mali's 4 cores to gain more performance over the Power VR's 2 cores.

Memory

Samsung Galaxy S3                                        iPhone 4S

1 GB RAM                                                 512 MB RAM
16,32 and 64 GB internal models                 16,32 and 64 GB internal models

This is one tricky catch 22 situation. Apple designers weren't foolish when they went for 512 MB RAM, why? The more hardware you are dealing with, the heavier the device and the more power it consumes. This will lead to higher production costs of both the memory and battery, thus the iPhone would have cost more. The superiority of iOS bridges the performance difference by giving the user a fluid and responsive experience. However, with hardware costs going down, we might see Apple ramping the RAM in their next device.

For the Galaxy, the memory production is not an issue when YOU are the one producing the memory for your own devices, is it?

Display

Samsung Galaxy S3                                        iPhone 4S

capacitive AMOLED                                     LED backlit IPS TFT
720x1280                                                  640x960
306 pixels per inch                                     330 pixels per inch

iPhones have continued to dominate in this field, largely because of the IPS technology used in their devices. Sources indicate that their panels are manufactured by Sharp and Samsung.Watching a movie in 330 pixels per inch is definitely what you want. However these panels are known to consume more power, we shall see why...

AMOLED, Samsung like it, why? when it is displaying black, it simply switches off the area displaying black...unlike IPS displays. Debate is going on over which one has better viewing angles and which one is best for outdoor use. For now, we recommend iPhone's IPS (it is so friggin clear!)  

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S3                                        iPhone 4S

8 Megapixel                                               8 Megapixel                              
3264x2448 pixels                                       3264x2448 pixels
HD recording (1080p)                                  HD recording (1080p) 

Both devices appear to have equal capabilities here, however, if we backtrack to the displays, you'd rather watch your pictures clearer.

Battery

Samsung Galaxy S3                                        iPhone 4S

2100 mAh Li-IOn                                       1432 mAh Li-Po

As predicted, you need a bigger (more expensive) battery to power a bigger device. 

Samsung is closing in fast on Apple in terms of hardware and components. However, design and presentation is key to people admiring your gadget and buying it. It all comes to prestige and aesthetics...and Apple wins in this area, we sadly admit. But if you want the fastest device that you can multitask with, go with the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Galaxy Nexus vs iPhone 4S vs Nokia Lumia- Fight!


Sammy Galaxy
Steve Jobs' Legacy
New Kid on the block

Down to business

CPU



      Galaxy Nexus                                iPhone 4S                                  Nokia Lumia 800
        1.4 Ghz                                            1 Ghz                                           1.4 Ghz
        Dual-core                                      Dual-core                                 Single-core
        Cortex A9                                      Apple A5                                Qualcomm Scorpion
       (Score: 3/3)                                    (Score:1/3 )                                  (Score: 1/3)  
                 3                                                1                                                  1               

GPU (...the graphics) 


      Galaxy Nexus                                iPhone 4S                               Nokia Lumia 800
     PowerVR SGX540                   PowerVR SGX543MP2                          Adreno 205
20-30 million triangles/s              35 million triangles/s                         40 million triangles/s
         (Score:1/3  )                            (Score:2/3  )                                   (Score: 3/3 )  
                 1                                                2                                                 3  

Display(...what you actually see)


      Galaxy Nexus                                iPhone 4S                               Nokia Lumia 800
          AMOLED                                       IPS                                          AMOLED
   316 pixels per inch                        330 pixels per inch                       252 pixels per inch
         (Score:2/3)                                (Score:3/3)                                  (Score:1/3)
                 2                                                 3                                                1      

Weight(...in your pocket/purse/safe) 



      Galaxy Nexus                                iPhone 4S                               Nokia Lumia 800
      135 grams                                       140 grams                                     142 grams
      (Score:3/3 )                                    (Score:2/3 )                                  (Score:1/3)
                3                                                 2                                                   1  

3G Speeds  



      Galaxy Nexus                                iPhone 4S                                 Nokia Lumia 800
Downloads- 21 Mbps                  Downloads- 14.4 Mbps                    Downloads- 14.4 Mbps
       (Score:3/3 )                                     (Score:2/2 )                                    (Score:2/2 )  
                3                                                  2                                                    2

Camera



     Galaxy Nexus                                iPhone 4S                               Nokia Lumia 800
      5 Megapixels                                 8 Megapixels                                8 Megapixels
       (Score: 2/3)                                    (Score:3/3 )                                (Score:3/3 )
                2                                                   3                                                3  

Audio Quality



     Galaxy Nexus                                iPhone 4S                               Nokia Lumia 800 
 Noise-90.6dB                                 Noise-91.2dB                            Noise-87.3dB
Crosstalk-91.8dB                           Crosstalk-93.0dB                      Crosstalk-87.8dB
     (Score:2/3 )                                   (Score:1/3 )                                (Score:3/3 )
                2                                                    1                                               3


Battery (Talk time with 3G on) 


      Galaxy Nexus                                iPhone 4S                               Nokia Lumia 800  
        8h 20 min                                           8 h                                           9h 30 min
       (Score:2/3)                                   (Score:1/3  )                                  (Score:3/3)
                2                                                     1                                               3

Grand Total 



  Galaxy Nexus                                    iPhone 4S                               Nokia Lumia 800 
          18                                                     15                                              17

/* No bias to a particular device and no discrimination whatsoever was done, the above results are purely based on merit */

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

MacBook Air vs Asus Zenbook

...the obvious

Asus Zenbook




Down to Business

CPU

Asus Zenbook                                                             Apple MacBook Air

Intel Core i5 2557M                                                         Intel Core i5
1.7 GHz                                                                           1.7 GHz

Main Memory aka RAM

Asus Zenbook                                                             Apple MacBook Air

4 GB DDR3                                                                      4 GB DDR3
1.3 GHz                                                                            1.3 GHz

Graphics

Asus Zenbook                                                             Apple MacBook Air

Intel HD Graphics 3000                                                    Intel HD Graphics 3000

...and we got really confused on what we would recommend, till...

Weight

Asus Zenbook                                                                       Apple MacBook Air
1.32 kg                                                                            1.35 kg

Battery Life

Asus Zenbook                                                                          Apple MacBook Air
5h 41min                                                                          5h 32min (OS X)
                                                                                      4h 12min (Windows)

Height

Asus Zenbook                                                                          Apple MacBook Air
0.3 cm                                                                             1.7 cm

...and the ultimate determiner

$$$ Price $$$

Asus Zenbook                                                                           Apple MacBook Air
$1049 (retailer)                                                              $1209 (retailer)

A 160 dollar difference says it all. No worries, looks like Mac OS X costs 160 more bucks than a copy of Windows.Both come from Taiwan. I will die for the Zenbook, shoot me.








Friday, 23 March 2012

Graphics Wars...HD 7970 vs GTX 680, don't be duped


Radeon 7970
Geforce GTX 680

What Matters...




                                         HD 7970                            GTX 680

Clock Speeds                  925 Mhz                            1006 Mhz

Memory capacity         3 GB GDDR5                     2.048 GB GDDR5

Memory Bandwidth      264 GB/s                            192.2 GB/s

Memory speed            5.5 Gbps                            6.0 Gbps

No of Displays             up to 6 monitors                  up to 4 monitors

Max Temp                   98C                                  72C

Damage                      $549                                 $499



Both are based on a 28 nanometer fabrication process. The simple question is, which one of these is the bleeding edge? Is $50 worth a difference of 71.8 GB/s memory bandwidth?

Reports indicate that the HD 7970 is louder (literally) than the GTX. The GTX may be quieter, but will it fit into a PCI port with other stowaways? It is wider than the 7970 (bulkier), is thinner better?

So, one is quieter than the other, one costs less, the other has a faster memory...oh, the anguish of choices.


Solution



Easy enough, we took to benchmarks...

Our favorite...

 
..."what you saying? I can't hear you"

Nvidia are well known for writing kick a-- drivers and code, could this mean that the GTX will win this round because of 0s and 1s?



...and The Power Bill



and the GTX wins eventually, why? Thought you would't ask, four things:

At 1 Ghz processor speed, silent operation, lower bills and a $500 price tag, I would marry the GTX 680.




Wednesday, 21 March 2012

iPad 3 overheating...the culprits

Some iPad 3 users have reportedly complained that the device may get uncomfortably "warm" especially when playing 3D games or using it in the sun. The device will then turn off as a protection feature so as not to damage the silicon inside.


Let it be known that it is quite common for something to get warm in the sun (quite obvious we must say) especially an electronic. However, we set out to figure what else could cook your hands while having fun with your iPad.


Convict 1: The 4G chip


This is not a big offender for overheating (probably get 1 month for it). However, great speeds come with great power consumption, great power consumption equals great heat emission. Its not that much of heat emission but it contributes to the heat build up.
chips chips chips

The Qualcomm 4G/3G transceiver (orange) and Toshiba MCP-Master Control Program (yellow) are the main perpetrators here.


Convict 2: The Display


Remember when Sharp said that they could't supply the iPad 3 display because of the illumination needed to light up the screen? The new screen has 72 LEDs, twice the iPad 2's. This may consume a lot of juice, giving up more heat in return.
oooooh, smoooth


Convict 3 : A5X


What happens when you cram a couple of ICs in a small box and ramp up the amount of graphics they churn every second? Yes, more power requirement, more heat output. 
A5X in all its glory


Main Perpetrator : The Battery


If you draw lots of power from a lithium-ion battery (any), you gonna have some heat coming off it that you can fry an egg on. In this case, we have a 42.5 watt hour Lithium-polymer battery generating and insulating the heat produced by all the above mentioned. It gets 10 years...and probation.


WANTED: $1000 Bounty






Solution


Easy enough
"hisss"





Friday, 16 March 2012

Galaxy Note, Upgrade?



Key Feature Comparison

                 Galaxy Note 10.1                                                                                   Galaxy Note


CPU         Dual-core 1.4 Ghz                                                                           Dual-core 1.4 Ghz                                                                      

Weight     583g                                                                                              178g


Display    Plane Line Switching TFT                                                              Super AMOLED 16M colors
                 Touch screen 16M colors                                                                285 pixels per inch
                 149 pixels per inch                                                                               




Galaxy Note10.1
Galaxy Note

















Unless you want a bigger screen and something you don't want to fit in your pocket, you might consider going for the 10.1.


The Note has superior graphics 285 pixels per inch so I'd want to watch a movie on that. Can fit in my jacket? yep. And furthermore, the processing power is the same on both.


The 10.1 would be handy if I had a keyboard (dockable) so I could carry it to the office and dump my PC. So, same processing power big difference in graphics and portability, which to pick?

Thursday, 15 March 2012

iPad 3 - an iPad 2 on Steroid Graphics

iPad 3
iPad 2


CPU: 

iPad 3
-Dual-core Apple A5X custom-designed, quad-core graphics running at 1 GHz. 

-Manufactured by Samsung Electronics.

-Produced from March 2012.

-*1GB RAM

iPad 2
-Dual-core Apple A5 custom-designed, 800 Mhz- 1Ghz 

-By Samsung Electronics

-Produced from March 2011 to present 

-*512 MB RAM

Screen/ Display

iPad 3 
 -9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit with IPS

 -*2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)

 - Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating 


iPad 2 
 -9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-back lit with IPS (In-plane Switching)

 - *1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi) 

 - Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating

(Update) Benchmarks against  Asus Eee Transformer prime show that the A5X processor isn't as powerful as Tim Cook told us. But the A5X sure kicks some Tegra 3 ass in frame rates but not in processing power.