So,
do you absolutely have to have a dual-core phone to enjoy the best experience on a smartphone? The
question might be a one-liner but the answer is not quite simple.
You need to take note of the fact that most of the dual-core phones that are being
launched in the market right now are actually running the same operating
system: Android. Is it a coincidence?? Probably Not. For knowing the reason, you
need to get to know about the companies a little deeply.
Most
of you opine that Apple’s phones are cool. I know many of you use it for the
kind of oohs and aahs that it draws from the surrounding crowd rather than
truly knowing why you need it. But the kind of image that Apple has developed
in the minds of consumers has a good grounding.
Apple
is responsible for both the components of its smartphone and tablet devices:
The ‘Hardware’ and the ‘Software’. Yes!! Apple manufactures its own hardware
(Though it procures individual components from other manufacturers, it is
consequently responsible for its own hardware) and also software: the iOS
operating system. The software isn’t Open-Source. It is Proprietary and only
controlled by Apple. So, Apple, in control of both the components that make up
its smartphones, knows how to design its software to complement its hardware or
how to design its hardware in order to complement its software. So, it is able
to offer a complete package and hence you can feel that in all of its phones.
Usually, you can see zero lag while operating Apple’s phones as the software is
optimized for the underlying hardware and that hasn’t warranted a more powerful
smartphone. Hence you did not find a dual-core processor in an Apple phone
(until iPhone 4S) when other manufacturers were going hammer and tongs
releasing dual-core smartphones. In summary, you have only 1 kind of software
i.e. iOS and it only runs on one kind of hardware i.e. Apple’s devices. This
approach works for Apple as they have full control over the final output. They
have generated, are generating, and will generate huge profits with such phones
but the market reach is going to be less.
Now,
take the example of Android. It is an open-source operating system and the
stock-build of Android is delivered by Google. Google is only responsible for
the software part. Android is an open-source operating system and manufacturers
are free to customize ‘Android’ to suit their own phones. Samsung has its own
skin called ‘Touchwiz’, HTC has its own skin called ‘Sense’ and Motorola has
its own skin called ‘Motoblur’ and so on. These different flavors of android
are not being optimized extensively for the underlying hardware. In fact, ‘Froyo’
(Android 2.2) and early versions of ‘Gingerbread’ (Android 2.3) don’t even recognize
the true power of dual-core smartphones. It is only the latest version: Android
2.3.5 which can actually take advantage of dual-core power being offered by the smartphones.
The other build of Android: ‘Honeycomb’ (Android 3.0) also supports dual-core but
that operating system is for tablets. The latest build of Android: ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ (for both smartphones and tablets) will hopefully have plenty of
dual-core optimizations.
But,
there are problems for ‘Android’ which is actually making it compulsory for
manufacturers to make dual-core smartphones:
- The software is being run on low-power hardware (some low-powered smartphones) which is allowing lag to creep in.
- Very few manufacturers are using the vanilla version that Google releases and developing their own versions with heavy customization which, according to most of the experts, is actually slowing down the performance of ‘Android’. This is also leading to the problem of ‘Fragmentation’ due to which ‘Android’ is not presenting a consistent user-interface across all the smartphone devices.
In
summary, there are several versions of the software: Various ‘Android’ flavors
and there are several kinds of hardware: Various smartphone manufacturers. This
is not to say that such phones are bad. Manufacturers are releasing their own
flavors of android because they are adding extra features to make their phones
unique. For example, you can find beautiful 3D transition effects in ‘HTC
Sense’ that is unavailable in stock-builds that Google releases. In fact, such
beautiful effects are even absent in the iPhone. But, it is just that with such
a whole lot of varieties of hardware and software, ‘Android’ is not able to
actually utilize the single-cores fully which is warranting manufacturers to go
for dual-core smartphones.
Similar
to the iOS, Microsoft’s OS for mobiles:
Windows Phone, also doesn't mandate a dual-core smartphone. Microsoft is
not exactly responsible for the hardware on which it runs its software but it
has stringent requirements for the underlying hardware and all the companies which use this OS have to adhere to the requirements. It also has designed its OS in
such a way that the OS does not necessitate a dual-core smartphone for providing a
high-quality end user experience. Eventually, Windows Phone will also get
dual-core processors but that will be mostly for providing extra features.
In all
the mobile operating systems, ‘Applications’ or ‘Apps’ as they are being popularly
called, are the core. Absence of applications is what led to the downfall of
‘Web OS’ which is another great operating system. Thankfully, developers are
also realizing the fact and they are developing games that can actually take
advantage of the dual-core power of the smartphones. So, you won’t be able to
play HD games on your single-core smartphones as they are being designed
keeping in mind the raw power of dual-cores. Also, features such as shooting 1080p video @ 30
fps and the ability to connect smartphones to HD Televisions and play 1080p
content are also only available on dual-core smartphones.
So,
if you are going to use a mobile phone and do not value ‘Geeky’ features like
those listed above, single-core smartphones will be more than enough to satisfy
all your wants. If you want proof, you can check out the latest Nokia Windows
Smartphone: The ‘Lumia 800’. It is powered only by a single-core 1.4 Ghz
Qualcomm processor but it has a very-fluid and gorgeous user interface. But, if
you do buy a dual-core Android smartphone, you know that it is not going to go
waste. J
Stay
Tuned!!!
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