What does a Google Tablet mean?

“In the next 6 months, we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality” – Eric Schmidt

The above move from Google had to come sooner or later. Most of us will agree that the year 2011 was the year when Google pushed really hard to bring out a competitor to the hugely successful iPad. Has Google been successful? Let’s look at some numbers for finding out answers.

According to a recent report that was published by IDC (International Data Corporation), Apple’s iPad leads the tablet market share with about 61.5% while Google’s Android tablets took the second place with 32.4% and Samsung having the highest market share (among Android) with 5.6%. So, a group of big names like Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Asus etc. who supported Android couldn’t quite match up to Apple’s iPad which continues to dominate the tablet market even today. From the start of 2011, when everybody witnessed the much awaited XOOM tablets from Motorola to the end of 2011, when everybody saw the latest Galaxy Tabs from Samsung, Google has never been able to produce a worthy competitor.  Why?

The answer mainly lies with respect to ownership of hardware and software. As I already said in my previous posts, Apple is always in control of both of its components that make up the tablet: Hardware and Software. So, it precisely knows how to produce a tablet that contains software that can take the maximum advantage of the underlying hardware. This was what was lacking in Google’s tablet strategy. The fact is that Google has always been producing software (with not much of a great idea regarding the hardware’s cohesiveness with the software) which was being modified extensively by other android-tablet manufacturers who put that software onto the tablets. Google never really worked closely with any of the manufacturers as far as tablets are concerned when it ideally should have, as Google is not responsible for the hardware part of the devices. The reason that people can see a great phone like Google’s Galaxy Nexus today is because Google hasn’t left any stone unturned in its desire to produce a phone that can take the user experience to a next level. It has coordinated really well with partner companies like Texas Instruments, Samsung etc. and the result now is there for everybody to see.

So, does it now make sense for Google to produce its own tablet? Absolutely. Many experts have always believed that the stock ROM offered by Google is always better than the modified ROMs like Touchwiz and Sense in terms of general zippiness. There is some truth in these opinions as evidenced by the benchmark scores that the devices get and the kind of lag that some people experience in tablets being produced by manufacturers. The latest truth comes in form of stock Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) running in the Galaxy Nexus. Thankfully, Google has realized this and is now wasting no time in bringing to market as what Eric Schmidt said "the tablet of the HIGHEST quality". Go Google.!!

Stay tuned..!!

LCD TVs and LED TVs: Are they really different? (Contd.) - 1

Yesterday, we discussed about the truth behind the LED TVs. Today, we’ll go further into the various categories of ‘LED backlit LCDs’ available in the market today.

Currently, ‘LED backlit LCDs’ are available in the market in 2 varieties: ‘Edge-Lit’ and ‘Full-Array’. In an ‘Edge-Lit LED backlit LCD’, LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are present in the entire perimeter (periphery) of the television. The backlighting of the screen is achieved with the help of what are called ‘Light Guides’. These ‘Light Guides’ direct the glow towards the center of the screen.

The following are the advantages of these kinds of televisions:

1. They are very thin (as much as 40% thinner) when compared to ‘CCFL backlit LCDs’
2.  They consume much less power (as compared to the ‘CCFL backlit LCDs’
3. They are also very much lighter in weight (In fact, most of them could be wall mounted)
4. They can produce a bright image with very nice colors and deep blacks

The following are the disadvantages:

1. The entire screen may not be lit uniformly (The edge of the screen may be brighter than the middle of the screen)
2. True blacks may not be achieved consistently across the entire screen

In fact, both the varieties: ‘Edge-Lit’ and ‘Full-Array’ LED backlit LCDs have the capacity to produce deep blacks as the LEDs could be simply turned off when no color is being reproduced on the screen.

Now, for the ‘Full-Array LED backlit LCDs’: In these kinds of televisions, several rows of LEDs are placed behind the entire surface of the screen.

The following are the advantages of these kinds of televisions:

1.  They are thinner (as compared to the ‘CCFL backlit LCD’ variety)
2. They consume much less power (as compared to the ‘CCFL backlit LCD’ variety)
3. They are lighter in weight (Again, as compared to the ‘CCFL backlit LCD’ variety)
4. They can produce ‘True Deep Blacks’ (as compared to both ‘CCFL backlit LCD’ and ‘Edge-Lit LED backlit LCD’)
5.  The brightness and colors are better (as compared to both ‘CCFL backlit LCD’ and ‘Edge-Lit LED backlit LCD’)

The following are the disadvantages of these kinds of televisions:

1. ‘Blooming Effect’ (described below) affects the picture quality a little bit
2. Slightly thicker and heavier (as compared to the ‘Edge-Lit LED backlit LCD’)

The reason that ‘Full-Array LED backlit LCD’ can achieve truer blacks is because whenever blacks have to be reproduced on a significant portion of the display, an entire section of LEDs can be turned off without affecting the display properties of the other LEDs. This property is widely known by the name: ‘Local Dimming’. So, local dimming leads to better blacks but also leads to an effect called ‘Blooming’. If a bright color (LEDs turned on) is being displayed inside a black section (LEDs turned off - Local Dimming), the bright color creeps slightly into the adjacent black portion (like a halo). This effect is called ‘Blooming’. But hey, it is ever-so-slightly-noticeable.

So, there are 4 kinds of ‘LED backlit LCDs’:

1. ‘Edge-Lit LED backlit LCD’ without ‘Local Dimming’ 
2. ‘Edge-Lit LED backlit LCD’ with ‘Local Dimming’
3.  ‘Full-Array LED backlit LCD’ without ‘Local Dimming’
4.  ‘Full-Array LED backlit LCD’ with ‘Local Dimming’ (Usually, the best of the lot)

I’ll again reiterate. There is no ‘True LED TV’ available commercially in the market right now. A 'True LED TV' can be defined as follows:

“Each and every individual pixel should have the capability of being independently brightened or turned off. For this to be achieved, an LED has to be present for each and every pixel. Currently in the market, a ‘Full-Array LED backlit LCD’ with ‘Full HD’ (having a resolution of ‘1920 * 1080’), has only a maximum of 2000 LEDs. If it has to qualify for being a ‘True LED TV’ there should be 2073600 LEDs.”

So, go get your TV right now.

Stay Tuned..!!

LCD TVs and LED TVs: Are they really different?

Nowadays, you can see a lot of people spending hours and hours together shopping for the perfect television which would occupy the center-stage of their respective living rooms. With the ubiquitous presence of ever-confusing marketers of the television-manufacturing companies, the decision is becoming all the more difficult. So, let us understand the technologies before you splurge your hard-earned money on them.

Earlier, you used to find televisions with only one kind of technology. They were called ‘CRT TVs’ (Cathode Ray Tube). With the help of electron guns, coils and a fluorescent screen, the CRT TV was able to produce a viewable image. Now, there were problems with this technology

1. A number of components were used to manufacture the television which made the processes of production, repair and maintenance difficult
2. The individual components were also bulky which made the television quite heavy  
3. Some of these televisions had a problem of ‘Image burn-in’ (Permanent discoloration of areas on electronic display) and a problem of ‘Image Loss’ at the boundaries of the display
4. These televisions produced noticeable flicker at low refresh rates
5. They consumed high power and generated a lot of heat

To overcome the drawbacks of this technology, manufacturers started producing LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) televisions. An LCD is a flat-panel display that makes use of light modulating properties of liquid crystals. Now, these liquid crystals do not emit light by themselves, so a backlighting source is required in cases where there is higher power consumption. To understand this, you need to take note that there are two kinds of LCDs: ‘Passive Matrix LCDs’ and ‘Active Matrix LCDs’. In ‘Passive Matrix LCDs’ like ‘Alarm Clocks’ and ‘Calculators’ where the power consumption is less, a backlighting source is usually not required. Contrast this with ‘Active Matrix LCDs’, where some sort of backlighting mechanism is required. Now, this backlighting has been traditionally achieved with a ‘Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp’ (CCFL) in an LCD Television. So, the ‘CCFL backlit LCD’ television overcomes the problems of CRT in the following fashion

1. They don’t use phosphor. So, the problem of ‘Image burn-in’ is eliminated
2. They can be configured to run at high refresh rates. So, the problem of flicker is eliminated
3. When compared to the CRT television, the components used are lighter in weight, so the heaviness of the television is reduced
4. They consume lesser power and generate lesser heat while lighting the entire screen uniformly
5. There is no ‘Image-Loss’ at the boundaries and the entire screen is viewable

Consequently, manufacturers found out that they could improve upon these televisions too by changing the backlighting mechanism. They found that they could bring about the following changes

1. Reduce the power consumption even further
2. Reduce the thickness of the display even further
3. Increase the image quality even further
4. Increase the brightness of the display even further
5. Reduce the weight of the display even further

The manufacturers used LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) as a backlighting source instead of the conventional CCFL sources and were able to achieve all-the-above stated objectives. So, this gave birth to the ‘LED backlit LCD’ televisions. Currently, if you go shopping for an LCD television, you won’t find a true LED TV. The only things you will find are ‘LED backlit LCDs’. So, don’t expect to see a radically different picture altogether as compared to a ‘CCFL backlit LCD’, albeit the images produced by the ‘LED backlit LCD’ televisions are in fact much better. Even these televisions can be further classified into 4 different categories. I'll explain these categories in the next post

Stay Tuned..!!

AH-IPS, LTPS and ASV: Decoding the Smartphone Display

Well... If you would have read my first two posts of this blog, you would have by now become familiar with most of the display technologies being used today. Here are 3 more:

AH-IPS

This display technology has been invented by LG. It is an abbreviation for Advanced High performing - In-Plane Switching LCD. It is being touted as the actual competitor to Samsung's 'Super AMOLED' display. In a competition held by 'Intertek', LG's AH-IPS display actually defeated Samsung's Super AMOLED in 2 parameters: Color-Accuracy and Power-Efficiency. You can find this display in the recently released LG Nitro HD.

LTPS

This is an abbreviation for 'Low Temperature Poly Silicon' LCD. One of the important characteristics of such displays is that, the drive circuits are directly integrated onto the glass surface which contributes to reducing the number of component parts designed on the outside substrate. This leads to the display's durability being enhanced. The reduced size of the TFT section leads to a crisper display and also leads to lower power consumption. You can find this display in the Lenovo LePad S2005.

ASV

This is an abbreviation for Advanced Super View display. The important characteristic of this display is that it offers excellent viewing angles and competes with the In-Plane Switching (IPS) LCDs. You can find this display in theMeizu MX.

Benchmark Tests for Android Devices: Browsermark, Neocore, AnTuTu and Vellamo

Let's get to know the remainder of the benchmark tests that can gauge the performance of your smartphones/tablets.


Broswermark

Rightware, recently spun off from Futuremark, has introduced the 'Browsermark' benchmark test in order to compare the browsers of various smartphone devices. The test measures a browser's performance in JavaScript and HTML rendering. The test results are reported in numbers. If you want a reference point for your device, currently, among the smartphones, the 'Samsung Galaxy Nexus' has the highest reported browsermark score of 98272.

GL 2.1

The 'GL Benchmark' is a 3D benchmarking program designed to test how well your phone can reproduce 3D scenes and images. So, this benchmark test is actually a test of the strength of the GPU of your smartphone/tablet device. Currently, the Power VR SGX 543 MP2 is the leader in the GPU department and its stamina is reflected in the GL Benchmark tests. Please note that the GL Benchmark test is a combination of several other benchmark tests whose results are reported in 'FPS' (Frames Per Second) and 'mS' (milli Seconds).

Neocore

Neocore is another GPU benchmarking test which benchmarks the Open GL ES-1.1 graphics performance. The results of this benchmark test are reported in FPS. You can download it from here: Neocore for Android

AnTuTu

AnTuTu can run a full test of a key project, through the "Memory Performance", "CPU Integer Performance", "CPU Floating Point Performance", "2D 3D Graphics Performance", "SD card reading/writing speed", "Database IO" performance. A Total score is reported once you run this benchmark. If you want a reference point for your device, "Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime" with a score of 12872 has the highest score till date.

Vellamo

Vellamo, a benchmark test originally developed by Qualcomm, is a mobile web-browser benchmark that provides a holistic view into browser performance by measuring each component systematically, providing results for CPU and memory, scrolling, JavaScript, HTML 5, canvas rendering speed and network access. So, it is similar to the 'Rightware Browsermark' test.

So, that's some of the benchmark tests that you need to be aware of. Click on the links below to download benchmarking applications or visit sites for testing your smartphone and/or tablet.

-> Quadrant

-> Linpack

-> Nenamark 1

-> Nenamark 2

-> JavaScript (Not an Application)

-> Browsermark (Not an Application)

-> GL 2.1

-> Neocore

-> AnTuTu

-> Vellamo

Stay Tuned..!!

Benchmark Tests for Android Devices: Quadrant, Linpack, Nenamark and Sunspider Javascript

A few days ago, we got to know the basics of benchmark tests. Let's see what they are in detail:

Quadrant

'Quadrant' is a product of 'Aurora Softworks'. It is nothing but a series of tests performed on a mobile device which benchmark the CPU, Memory, I/O and 2D/3D graphics. The 'Standard Quadrant' is free for Android Users who can download the application from the 'Android Market' and run it on their devices. The benchmark provides an overall score which can be compared with the benchmark scores from the other devices. If you overclock your CPU, this will obviously get reflected in the benchmark test in a better score. If you want a reference point for your device, the 'Samsung Galaxy Note' has one of the highest, or probably, the highest Quadrant score of 3624 (without overclocking).

Linpack

The Linpack benchmark is a measure of the system's floating point computing power. Introduced by Jack Dongarra, it measures how fast a device can solve a dense N by N system of linear equations. This benchmark was originally designed to run on supercomputers in the 1970's. So, you can imagine how advanced the device in your hand is today. You can download this application from the 'Android Market' and check the strength of the CPU in your device. The results are designated in MFLOPS (Millions of Floating Point Operations per Second).

Nenamark 1

The first iteration of the 'Nenamark' benchmark test was designed to test the strength of the GPU (The above two tests, Quadrant and Linpack, measure the strength of the CPU). Nenamark 1, designed to run around 10-15 fps (frames per second), uses programmable shaders for graphical effects such as reflections, dynamic shadows, parametric surfaces, particles and different light models to push the GPU to the limits. Results are designated in FPS.

Nenamark 2

Nenamark 1 had been released an year ago and since then, the smartphones have become a lot more capable with refresh rates of their screens crossing 60 fps. So, the Nenamark 1 was not deemed very effective to test such devices and hence Nenamark 2 had been conceptualized. Results are designated in FPS.

JavaScript

'Sunspider JavaScript' is a benchmark that aims to measure the JavaScript performance on tasks relevant to the current and near future use of JavaScript in the real world, such as encryption and text manipulation. In other words, the test simulates real-world usage of JavaScript on Websites. The results are reported in milliseconds (ms). If you want a reference point for your device, the 'Samsung Galaxy Nexus' has one of the best scores: 1879 ms.

Just remember that the more you score on 'Quadrant', 'Linpack', 'Nenamark 1' and 'Nenamark 2', the better. The lesser you score on 'JavaScript', the better.

We'll talk about the rest of the benchmark tests in future post. Stay Tuned..!!

Comparing Ultrabooks: Asus Zenbook, Toshiba Portege, Lenovo Ideapad and Acer Aspire

So, let's discuss the other 'Ultrabooks': The 'Toshiba Portege Z830 / Z835' and 'Lenovo Ideapad U300S'.

Parameter ---------- Toshiba Portege Z830 / Z835 ------------Lenovo Ideapad U300S

Thickness                          0.31 - 0.6 inches                                     0.6 inches

Weight                                     1.12 Kg                                             1.315 Kg

Battery Life                              6 - 7 Hrs                                              6 - 7 Hrs

Storage                                128 GB SSD                                       256 GB SSD

Processor                          Core i7 / i5 / i3                                       Core i7 / i5

Pricing                            Starting From 929$                            Starting From 1095$

Display Panel                        13.3 inches                                          13.3 inches

Resolution                         1366 * 768                                            1366 * 768

Sound                        Waves MaxxAudio 3                     SRS Premium Surround Sound

Connectivity    1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, HDMI, VGA           1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, HDMI

The battery-life times that have been quoted here are based on real-time testing done by many enthusiastic tech specialists and not the actual manufacturer quoted battery-life times (which are obviously higher). So, some of the categories in which the ultrabooks slugged it out: 

Best Audio: Asus Zenbook

Bang & Olufsen ICEpower is a Danish research and development company specializing in audio applications. They have worked closely with Asus and have integrated fantastic sound performance inside the Zenbook. Previously, audio performance in one of the Acer's other laptops, the NX90JQ, was also highly appreciated. So, it is a no-brainer that the best performance in the audio category had to go to Asus Zenbook. The audio performance in the other ultrabooks is certainly good for everyday listening, but as I said earlier, the standout performer is the Asus Zenbook.

Best Connectivity: Toshiba Portege Z830

The Portege Z830 just manages to steal the crown in this category from the Asus Zenbook. Both of them come with a similar set of connectivity options. But, the Asus has a mini HDMI and mini VGA connectors (adapters are supplied in the box) and a single USB 3.0 and another single USB 2.0 connectors where-as the Toshiba Portege Z830 has a single USB 3.0, Two USB 2.0, a HDMI and a VGA connectors. So, with an extra USB 2.0 connector and a regular sized HDMI, VGA connectors, which do not require any other adapter to be plugged-in, the Toshiba Portege Z830 out-does the rest of the competition.

Best Price: Acer Aspire S3

The 'Acer Aspire S3' is priced the least among ultrabooks. Although, you get less features when compared to the other ultrabooks, it certainly satisfies all the mandatory eligibility criteria for being an ultrabook. That is enough for the Acer to walk away with the prize in this category.

Best Battery-Life: Toshiba Portege Z830

In real world testing, the 'Portege Z830' has managed to beat the other ultrabooks in battery-life, although not by a huge margin. It has sacrificied performance, which is lower than that of the Ideapad U300S or Asus Zenbook, for achieving this feat. 

Best Display: Asus Zenbook

While all the displays contain the latest technology (being LED back-lit LCDs), the 'Asus Zenbook' offers a better resolution. In fact, it offers 1600 * 900 along with 1366 * 768 resolution. The 1366 * 768 resolution is offered in the 11.6 inch zenbook while the 1600 * 900 resolution is offered in the 13.3 inch zenbook. So, the best-display crown goes to the Zenbook.

Best Touchpad & Keyboard: Lenovo Ideapad U300S

Step aside from the specifications, and you have consider this factor, as there are people who type lengthy reports and spend considerable amount of time resting their palms, typing away to glory. The device has to make sure that the user doesn't feel uncomfortable while spending much time and that the touchpad is neither under-responsive nor over-responsive and this is where the Ideapad U300S scores. 

Best Performance: Asus Zenbook

Yes. The Asus Zenbook offers the best performance of all the ultrabooks with the Ideapad U300S coming in at the second position. The reason for this is that the Zebook contains a high performing SATA III disk that not only makes the laptop boot-up in a very short time but also allows it to transfer data in and out of the device at lightning speeds.

So, there you have it. All the 4 ultrabooks currently in the market compared. If you still think that you don't have enough options, wait for the 'Consumer Electronics Show' in January, 2012. A barrage of new ultrabooks are expected to be showcased there and they will soon make their way into the market.