Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on redux: benchmark and camera preview

Sony Xperia Z Ultra handson redux previewing its camera and benchmark performance

You may have already read our Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on last week, but since then we've also been able to spend a tiny bit more time with a pre-production unit (with firmware build 14.1.B.1.277). Instead of going over again how hilariously large this 6.4-inch, pen-friendly phone is, this time we'll focus on some early benchmark results, camera performance and Sony's very own UX features.

As you'll see after the break, many of the benchmark scores aren't too far off from what we saw on the MDP phone with the same Snapdragon 800 SoC, and the final units should be optimized with higher numbers. While we didn't manage to get CF-Bench and Quadrant running on the phone, the higher-than-before 3DMark score did cheer us up, meaning either Sony or Qualcomm's managed to fine tune the latter's new Adreno 330 GPU.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Sony camera UI leaks from ‘Honami’ system dump, gets ported to existing Xperia devices

Sony camera UI leaks from 'Honami' system dump, gets ported to existing Xperia devices

We've been hearing stacks of rumors recently about a Sony flagship called Honami, which will supposedly come with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 and a 20-megapixel camera. A system dump, purportedly from a Honami phone, surfaced last week and now XDA developer "krabappel2548" has managed to dissect the camera app and get it working on some existing Xperia devices -- including the Xperia Z, ZL and Tablet Z, so long as they've been suitably prepped for hacking. From the resulting screenshots, it looks like Sony is set to introduce features such as augmented reality, "Time shift" (which sounds a lot like HTC's Zoe feature), live filters and an image search engine dubbed "Info-eye." All of this sounds reasonably in tune with the "One Sony" strategy of focusing on mobile and imaging. If Honami is real, and if it comes with the right hardware to support the updated camera module, it could be a big deal.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Via: XPERIA Blog (1)

Source: XDA Developers

Samsung user manual confirms Galaxy S 4 variant with Snapdragon 800 chip

Samsung user manual confirms Galaxy S 4 with Snapdragon 800 chip

Welcome to Samsung Day, 2013. While we wait on some big (and little) product launches this afternoon, here's a quick bite to keep us going: an interesting processor spec mentioned in the user manual for the SHV-E330S, which we think will be the new LTE-Advanced variant of the Galaxy S 4 intended for South Korea. How the folks at RBmen spotted it we have no idea, but one of the pages (shown after the break) confirms the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974), which not only supports the new double-speed LTE standard but is also something of a beast when it comes to general performance. This isn't especially relevant to a Western audience, perhaps, except that it marginally increases the probability that we'll see this same powerhouse inside the rumored Galaxy Note III, since Samsung evidently feels comfortable with Qualcomm's flagship silicon -- and it can't have failed to notice that LG's engineers are fond of it too.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Via: RBmen, AndroidBeat, SAMmobile

Source: Samsung (PDF)

LG’s Optimus G followup to feature a Snapdragon 800 CPU

LG's Optimus G followup to feature a Snapdragon 800 CPU

LG and Qualcomm have enjoyed a close relationship for mobile phone chips, and it appears that will continue with the next Optimus G device, which is due in Q3. A press release tonight promises it will feature a Snapdragon 800 CPU for "the ultimate mobile experience" -- a claim benchmarks seem to back up. Qualcomm says the new 800 chip can best the original Optimus G's S4 Pro by "up to 75 percent" in performance, although what may be more interesting is how this aligns with a LS980 handset that recently leaked on Sprint's website. The release also highlights the new chip's ability to use LTE Advanced carrier aggregation for even faster bandwidth speeds, so while a Galaxy S 4 variant may deliver the feature first, it probably won't be alone for long.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: LG

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MDP benchmarks: prepare for ludicrous speed

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MDP benchmarks prepare for ludicrous speed

Today we had a chance to play with Qualcomm's latest MDP devices (tablet and phone) which pack the company's mighty Snapdragon 800 SoC (MSM8974). The tablet is slightly larger than than last year's and features an 11.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080-pixel display, 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 32GB of built-in flash storage (with microSD expansion), USB 3.0 support and a 12 megapixel AF rear camera with flash (2MP fixed-focus in front). All of this is crammed into a slim (0.46 inches / 11.7mm) chassis that's powered by a 3,400mAh Li-ion battery and incorporates a bevvy of radios (LTE band 17, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4 LE, GPS, NFC) and sensors (including pressure and humidity).

The phone shares most of the tablet's specs but swaps the screen for a 4.3-inch panel (1,280 x 720 pixels) and the battery for a smaller (1,500mAh) pack. We put these Snapdragon 800-equipped MDPs through their paces by running our usual suite of benchmarks (plus a few more). The results? Prepare for ludicrous speed! More after the break.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Windows RT 8.1 devices with Snapdragon 800 processors to arrive later this year

Windows RT 8.1 devices with Snapdragon 800 processors to arrive later this year

The flood of Snapdragon 800 hardware hasn't arrived just yet, but Qualcomm says it expects we'll see Windows RT 8.1 devices with their flagship silicon "later this year." There's still no word on which manufacturers will be using the San Diego-based firm's processors, but you can be sure the resulting tablets, convertibles and laptops will be particularly snappy and pack LTE connectivity. Head past the break for the press release.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Unknown LG Optimus with 1080p display and Snapdragon 800 spotted on Sprint’s website

Is Sprint going to carry a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 equipped Optimus G Pro

LG's flagship Optimus G Pro, due to launch on AT&T on May 10th, might just make its way to Sprint later this year -- and possibly with an upgraded processor. A User Agent Profile on Sprint's website reveals a 1080p, Android 4.2.2 handset called the LS980, which lines up with AT&T's model number (E980) and also corroborates an earlier listing at the Bluetooth SIG. Curiously, the UAP mentions Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 800 ("M8974"), in contrast to the existing G Pro's Snapdragon 600 processor. Then again, there's only so much you can tell about future products from XML files like these. It could be an upgraded Sprint G Pro variant, but the reference to a totally new chip has us (and Android Police) thinking it could also be a full-fledged Optimus G sequel, which has already been rumored and possibly leaked. Either way, it's nice to see evidence of a top-tier phone maker using this cutting edge Snapdragon, especially after the comedy of ZTE's Grand Memo.

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

Via: Android Police

Source: Sprint, Bluetooth SIG

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 to enter mass production in late May

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 to enter mass production in late May

While Snapdragon 600 is already showing up on various flagship devices like the HTC One, PadFone Infinity, Galaxy S 4, Optimus G Pro and Xiaomi 2S, we're still looking forward to the big daddy of Qualcomm's lineup this year: the Snapdragon 800. At a media event in Beijing earlier today, Senior Product Manager Yufei Wang confirmed that his company's next flagship SoC will enter mass production in late May, but he refused to comment on which upcoming devices will feature it. And due to the current state of the silicon (even though vendors like ZTE are already sampling it), we weren't allowed to run any benchmark tests on the Snapdragon 800 development devices on display just yet, though we've been told to stay tuned in June.

What makes the 800 shine brighter than the 600 is its more powerful Krait 400 architecture, which can maintain a clock speed of up to 2.3GHz; but like before, the four cores are also clocked asynchronously for better power management. On top of that, the 800 comes with the new Adreno 330 graphics processor with 30fps 4K playback capability, while still featuring the improved Adreno 320's FlexRender technology that can dynamically switch between direct rendering and binning rendering for optimized performance and efficiency. We'll save the nitty-gritty for the proper launch of this 28nm chip later this year.

Filed under:

Comments

Mobile Miscellany: week of March 25th, 2013

Mobile Miscellany week of March 25th, 2013

If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, an unknown T-Mobile handset with Snapdragon 800 internals lit up the benchmarks, Sony was foiled at the lock screen and Rogers made 44 new promises without saying much at all. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of March 25th, 2013.

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

The Engadget Interview: Qualcomm’s Raj Talluri talks Snapdragon at MWC 2013

The Engadget Interview Qualcomm's Raj Talluri talks Snapdragon at MWC 2013

Qualcomm finally detailed its Snapdragon 200 and 400 processors here at MWC, and we got the opportunity to discuss the new chips with Raj Talluri, SVP of product management. While the Snapdragon 600 and 800 SoCs are geared towards high-end devices, the 200 and 400 are targeting sub-$100 and $200-300 phones. He explained that the software remains as close as possible to what's available on the 600 and 800, but the hardware is scaled down to support lower-resolution displays and cameras by using ARM cores instead of the company's own Krait architecture. We then talked about the Snapdragon 800, which was decoding 4K video at CES but is being showcased here in Barcelona handling 4K playback with Dolby and DTS in Qualcomm's movie theater (sans popcorn, sadly). He also mentioned some of the other demos at the company's booth -- 4K encoding and streaming (via TransferJet), realtime video editing, voice activation, games (Modern Combat 4 and Need For Speed) and more. Don't miss our video interview after the break.

Filed under: , ,

Comments