Friday, August 31, 2012

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Engadget
Jelly Bean makes a surprise appearance on Vodafone's Samsung Galaxy S III LTE
Aug 31st 2012, 15:11

Blink and you might have missed it -- we almost did. It's Android Jelly Bean (4.1.1), running on a German Samsung Galaxy S III LTE -- what seems to be a plum colored model, to be exact. It's not the first time we've seen it in some official form, but playing with the handset on display at Vodafone's IFA booth certainly made the inevitability of the upgrade all that much more real. Using the handset next to one running ICS, the differences in the buttery smoothness weren't too apparent, though the OS certainly felt quick. Video evidence after the break.

Continue reading Jelly Bean makes a surprise appearance on Vodafone's Samsung Galaxy S III LTE

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Jelly Bean makes a surprise appearance on Vodafone's Samsung Galaxy S III LTE originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Xperia sola: a pint-sized Android handset with floating touch (hands-on)
Aug 31st 2012, 15:01

Sony Xperia sola a pintsized Android handset with floating touch

Sometimes getting lost in the maze-like sprawl of the Messe can turn up unexpected surprises. In this case, we chanced upon Sony's Xperia sola hiding in plain sight at Sparhandy's booth. The petite Android handset, formerly codenamed "Pepper", was officially announced earlier this spring and even crept up in FCC filings. But until now, we'd never had quality hands-on time with the 3.7-inch Gingerbread device. For its diminutive size, the wee phone sports a 854 x 480 LCD display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine, a dual-core CPU clocked at 1GHz, 5-megapixel rear shooter and NFC functionality for Smart Tag use.

As you might expect, the sola fits quite nicely into the palm of your hand, though its tiny screen can pose an issue for those with larger digits. And speaking of touch navigation, this Sony phone separates itself from the rest of the Xperia pack with the inclusion of floating touch technology -- much like the Galaxy Note 2. What's that? Well, turns out this device can detect your finger's presence up to 20mm away from the screen, allowing users to highlight links, but only from within the browser. Apart from that neat touch, which in practice, is a bit awkward to properly use, the phone functions exactly as it should for the low-to-mid range it occupies. Performance is appreciably quick and pages loaded up in the browser in just about 30 seconds time.

There's still no word on whether the sola will ever make it stateside, but if you're keen to see that hovering functionality in action, head past the break for a video demo and check out our gallery below.

Mat Smith contributed to this report.

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Sony Xperia sola: a pint-sized Android handset with floating touch (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FCC seen reviewing rules for carrier spectrum sales, might try one-size-fits-all model
Aug 31st 2012, 14:57

FCC seen reviewing rules for carrier spectrum sales, might try onesizefitsall model

The FCC currently decides on concerns of wireless spectrum concentration on a case-by-case basis: what's acceptable in one deal might be forbidden in another. That inconsistency can be maddening to carriers and advocacy groups alike, which is why FCC Chairman Juilus Genachowski is reportedly on the cusp of distributing an order to review the process. Talking to The Hill, an official at the agency claims that the review would ask for input on creating a universal standard that would apply to all deals, hopefully providing "clarity and predictability" for any company making a spectrum grab. The order could be distributed to the FCC's commissioners next week and voted on next month, although there's no sign of an impending revolution -- it's just a call for opinions, after all. Regardless, the two sides of the spectrum debate already like the idea, as it could both prevent complaints by carriers of ambush regulation as well as toughen up rules that critics say hands too large a slice of the airwaves to the incumbents.

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FCC seen reviewing rules for carrier spectrum sales, might try one-size-fits-all model originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple and publishers offer deal to put price fixing scandal behind them in EU
Aug 31st 2012, 14:36

Apple and publishers offer deal to put price fixing scandal behind them in EU

In the US, the e-book price fixing scandal appears to be winding towards its inevitable conclusion. Many of the publishers settled with the DOJ right off the bat, and now the states themselves have gotten three publishing houses to cough up $69 million in their own agreement. (Of course, Apple, Macmillan and Penguin have all decided to go the trial route, but we'll have to wait till next year to see how that plays out.) In Europe, the battle is still raging on, but Reuters is reporting that the accused are offering concessions in a bid to put the antitrust allegations behind them. The only name missing from the list is Penguin, which may or may not be part of the plea deal. Not all the details of the proposals have been revealed yet, and there's no guarantee the commission will accept them. The heart of the settlement, however, would involve allowing Amazon to sell e-books at a discounted price for two years. Would cheaper Kindle books be good, clean fun for the whole family? Sure, but it certainly pales in comparison to the potential penalties if Apple and their publishing partners go to trial.

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Apple and publishers offer deal to put price fixing scandal behind them in EU originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft confirms first wave of Xbox games for Windows 8
Aug 31st 2012, 14:21

Microsoft confirms first wave of Xbox games for Windows 8

Been wondering what your gaming options will be when you first take a new Windows 8 PC or Windows RT tablet out of the box? Microsoft has confirmed today that its first wave of Xbox titles (as they're now known) for the OS will include 40 games, 29 of which come from Microsoft Studios. Those include quite a few familiar titles like Angry Birds (and Angry Birds Space), Cut the Rope, Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, as well as the old mainstays like Solitaire, Minesweeper and Mahjong -- anyone hoping for the likes of a Halo or Gears of War title are out of luck for now, though. As we'd heard previously, all Xbox games will be accessible from within the pre-installed Games app, and they'll each boast most of the Xbox Live features you'd expect, including achievements and leaderboards. You can find the full list after the break, and Microsoft promises that more will be added "through holiday and beyond."

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Microsoft confirms first wave of Xbox games for Windows 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony demos Bravia HX950 flagship HDTV at IFA, confirms pricing from €2,999 (hands-on video)
Aug 31st 2012, 14:10

Sony demos Bravia HX950 flagship HDTV at IFA, confirms pricing from 2,999 handson video

Eager to get your hands on a top-of-the-line set without shelling out five figures for a super-slick 55-inch OLED? Sony's Bravia HX950 may have caught your eye, with its Intelligent Peak LED Backlight that's said to deliver "the best contrast Sony has to offer." According to representatives at IFA (who don't always tend to offer the most consistent specifications), the full-array system includes 196 individual zones, letting the television adjust backlighting on a more granular level, resulting in brighter whites and deeper blacks. We caught up with both the 55- and 65-inch flavors of Sony's HX950 at the company's booth, where several demo stations were arranged to highlight the backlighting, along with features called 3D Super-Resolution, Internet Video Super Resolution and HD Super Resolution. All of the side-by-side demonstrations provided noticeable improvements, though all three Super Resolution settings may be a tad too sharp for some viewers.

The set itself is as gorgeous as you'd expect for a flagship model, with a black glossy bezel and a narrow design that's sufficiently svelte without stepping into ultra-thin territory. The specially designed glass panel does indeed help to reduce glare, as we experienced in the visually congested IFA booth. Perhaps most interesting is the price -- €2,999 (about $3,800) for the 55-inch model, and €4,999 (about $6,300) for the 65 incher -- a steep drop from the 650,000 yen (about $8,270) the HDTV is commanding in Japan. We weren't able to confirm US availability or pricing, which will likely come in below the European tag, but reps did quote a November 1st ship date, which seems to be in line with the November 10th date we heard for Japan earlier this week. You'll have but two months to wait before adding this monster to your collection, but you can snag a look today in our gallery below and hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Sony demos Bravia HX950 flagship HDTV at IFA, confirms pricing from €2,999 (hands-on video)

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Sony demos Bravia HX950 flagship HDTV at IFA, confirms pricing from €2,999 (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei's Ascend G600 will be available starting next month in 'select markets'
Aug 31st 2012, 14:09

Huawei's Ascend G600 will be available starting next month in 'select markets'

By now, you're likely aware that Huawei has pushed out a plethora of new slabs at IFA 2012, including a couple of fresh Ascends and a pair of new MediaPads. What you see above is the company's G600, which, as you might've noticed during our hands-on time with this 4.5-inch handset, comes boasting a slice of Google's Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.4, to be precise), a dual-core 1.2GHz CPU, 4GB of onboard storage and a screen resolution of 960 x 540 -- of course, let's not forget it's also sporting the novel Emotion UI. More importantly, however, Huawei's noting the G600 is set to be up for grabs as soon as next month -- but, unfortunately, that's only expected to be in some undisclosed "select markets." Either way, at least you know you'll be able to take your pick between that Mysterious Black or Pure White when it eventually comes to your area (if it does at all).

Continue reading Huawei's Ascend G600 will be available starting next month in 'select markets'

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Huawei's Ascend G600 will be available starting next month in 'select markets' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hi-Fun's call-receiving Bluetooth gloves, hands-in (video)
Aug 31st 2012, 13:53

Sometimes the most fascinating bits from a tradeshow come from those booth in between major manufacturers, and while we're certainly not claiming that the Hi-Call is "the best product at IFA" as its spokesperson suggested to us with a smile, they're nothing if not interesting. Hi-Fun's gloves are Bluetooth headsets -- or, well, handsets -- with the speaker built into the thumb and the mic in the pinky, so you can talk by doing the traditional "call me" hand gesture.

Pairing is simple enough for anyone who's done the process on a more traditional headset -- the button is built into the top of the glove, along with a button to end the call. We took the gloves for a spin, as you can see in the video below, calling the rep's very confused boss. In spite of turning up the handset volume as loud as possible, we had a lot of trouble actually hearing something on the showfloor -- and the fellow on the other end seemed to be having similar issues, leading to quite probably the first time I've ever used the phrase "I'm sorry, I can't hear you, I'm talking into a glove."

Hi-Call will be out in the beginning of October, just in time for the cold weather. It'll run you a not particularly cheap €49 for the pleasure of speaking into your pinky. Video evidence after the break.

Continue reading Hi-Fun's call-receiving Bluetooth gloves, hands-in (video)

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Hi-Fun's call-receiving Bluetooth gloves, hands-in (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spotify gift cards now available at Target in $10, $30 and $60 values
Aug 31st 2012, 13:45

If any of you tuning in from the US have ever wondered why you can't buy a Spotify gift card for the internet radio lover in your life, well, you can quit pondering: Target is now selling Spotify credits in its brick-and-mortar stores -- a first in the US. The cards are available in $10, $30 and $60 amounts, which translates to one, three and six months of service, respectively. As you can imagine, you need a Spotify Premium account to redeem them, so make sure whoever you're buying for has a subscription or at least intends to sign up. Still, we have to say: a month of ad-free radio and offline playback could make for a nice last-minute gift, even if the lucky recipient chooses not to hang around after the included free days expire.

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Spotify gift cards now available at Target in $10, $30 and $60 values originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 55: a cautionary tale of the state-supported 38 Studios
Aug 31st 2012, 13:30

Distro Issue 55 the cautionary tale of 38 Studios and state investments

In 2004, Curt Schilling and a badly injured ankle led the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years. That's right, he was the ace that helped break the "Curse of the Bambino" from the mound. Fast forward to 2010, where Schilling had hung up his cleats and lobbied for Rhode Island officials to give his video game outfit, 38 Studios, a $75 million loan guarantee. Just two years later, the studio filed for Chapter 7, leaving the state's taxpayers holding the tab. In this week's issue, Jason Hidalgo takes a look at what went down in New England and examines the risk of public funds being used to support private tech companies. We had folks on the ground in Berlin to monitor the happenings at IFA this week and a few notable gadgets from said event occupy "Hands-on". As far as full-on reviews go, we put the Archos 101 XS, Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE and Acer Aspire V5 through their paces. "Forum" is chock full of even more reads, eSports commentator John Sargent stops by for the Q&A, "Time Machines" kicks it old school and "Eyes-on" takes on 35mm, retro-style photography. The week is over, so hit the link that you fancy the most to grab your copy and let the relaxation begin.

Distro Issue 55 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

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Distro Issue 55: a cautionary tale of the state-supported 38 Studios originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your 2 hourly digest for Engadget

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Samsung slips into AMD's HSA party, may seek parallel processing boost for Exynos
Aug 31st 2012, 13:24

Samsung slips into AMD's HSA party, may seek parallel processing boost for Exynos Trust us, this should ultimately make a lot of sense. As we already know, AMD recently set up the HSA Foundation to promote its vision for better parallel processing -- and especially GPU compute -- in mobiles and PCs. Its semi-rival ARM was one of the first big players to join up, and now Samsung has decided to hop onboard too. Why would it do that? For the simple reason that the Korean company still makes its own chips, based on ARM designs, and we've seen that GPU compute is going to be a big feature in its coming Exynos 5 processor with Mali T604 graphics.

Now, anything else at this point is pure speculation, since we only know about Samsung's HSA membership from the appearance of its logo on a relevant slide at AMD's keynote speech at IFA, and there's no official word on Samsung's intentions. At a bare minimum, the company could simply be firming up friendships and hedging its bets on the future of computing. We wouldn't be surprised, however, if Sammy is looking to work with ARM and AMD to implement further aspects of the HSA philosophy into even more advanced Exynos chips down the line -- chips that are able to use both GPU compute and smaller transistors to achieve leaps in performance while also gobbling fewer volts.

Continue reading Samsung slips into AMD's HSA party, may seek parallel processing boost for Exynos

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Samsung slips into AMD's HSA party, may seek parallel processing boost for Exynos originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carphone Warehouse stocking Sony's Xperia T, J and Tablet S for wannabe James Bonds
Aug 31st 2012, 13:05

Carphone Warehouse stocking Sony's Xperia T, J and Tablet S

Given that James Bond himself is rocking Sony's Xperia T as his handset of choice in Skyfall, it's natural that wannabe Bonds will be clamoring for similar gear. Fortunately, Carphone Warehouse has announced that it's stocking the T, Xperia J and Xperia Tablet S when they make their debut in the UK. The two smartphones will be arriving on the increasingly busy September 5th, while the Tablet S's arrival date is still in the air, but we know it'll cost you £330 for the WiFi or £430 for the 3G version.

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Carphone Warehouse stocking Sony's Xperia T, J and Tablet S for wannabe James Bonds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei's MediaPad 7 Lite gets detailed specs, shipping dates
Aug 31st 2012, 12:59

Huawei's MediaPad 7 Lite gets detailed specs, shipping dates

When Huawei revealed its new MediaPad 7 Lite slate, it wasn't generous with the details, but now we've got a few more to share with you. The final specifications are out, so we now know for sure that the ICS tab will arrive packing a 7-inch IPS display (1,024 x 600) supporting 1080p, a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor, 1GB RAM and 8 gigs of storage, expandable via microSD (up to the usual 32). To keep you connected, you've got Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi of the a/b/n varieties, or the option of sticking a SIM in it for HSPDA 3G speeds on the move. The cameras are nothing to shout about, but 3.2 megapixels on the back and 0.3 on the front will probably do for the odd Skype call or emergency picture. We can't see how much later into August you can get, but the PR states shipping will begin then, to South Africa, China, Russia, the Philippines and Taiwan, and to Indonesia and Malaysia in September. Seven inches just not enough? Then how about its keyboard-endowed bigger brother?

Continue reading Huawei's MediaPad 7 Lite gets detailed specs, shipping dates

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Huawei's MediaPad 7 Lite gets detailed specs, shipping dates originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Camera accessories include flashes, wireless charging pad, barn doors (eyes-on)
Aug 31st 2012, 12:47

Samsung Galaxy Camera accessories include external  ring flashes, wireless charging pad, barn door ring eyeson

Samsung's going all out with its Galaxy Camera accessory lineup. In addition to the cases and Flip Covers we saw at Unpacked earlier this week, the company had some external flashes and professional-looking holsters on hand at its IFA booth, including a grip-mounted adjustable strobe, a ring light set and a sophisticated carrying rig, complete with hinged barn doors to block out unwanted glare. There were also hard covers in multiple dark colors, a handful of soft rubber-looking covers in light colors like aqua and lime green, along with an oversized wireless charging pad mock-up. In typical IFA fashion, booth attendants were unable to provide any information whatsoever, so it's anyone's guess what any of these gadgets cost, or if they'll even make it to market. It's also unclear whether or not any of the accessories are functional at this point, or simply mock-ups of add-ons under consideration. In the meantime, you can take a closer look in the gallery below.

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Samsung Galaxy Camera accessories include flashes, wireless charging pad, barn doors (eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer announces Aspire M3 and Aspire V5 laptops with touchscreens (update: hands-on photos)
Aug 31st 2012, 12:45

Acer announces Aspire M3 and Aspire V5 laptops with touchscreens

In case you haven't noticed, there are two kinds of Windows 8 devices on display at IFA this week: laptop / tablet hybrids, and already-announced laptops, refreshed to include touchscreens. Acer's newest two Ultrabooks fall into that second category: the company just announced touch-enabled versions of its Aspire M3 Ultrabook and Aspire V5 thin-and-light. For now, Acer isn't saying a word about price or availability, so for now you'll have to be content with a few spec details, all embedded after the break.

Update: We've added some more pictures of Acer's new touch-friendly Ultrabooks in the flesh.

Continue reading Acer announces Aspire M3 and Aspire V5 laptops with touchscreens (update: hands-on photos)

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Acer Aspire ZS600 AIO announced at IFA 2012: 23-inch multi-touch Windows 8 PC (hands-on)
Aug 31st 2012, 12:40

Acer Aspire ZS600 AIO announced at IFA 2012 23inch multitouch Windows 8 PC

As we inch closer towards that October 26th release, the glut of announced Windows 8 devices continues to grow and today is no exception. At Acer's press conference here at IFA 2012, the company unveiled its new all-in-one PC: the Aspire ZS600. At first glance, the AIO's adjustable aluminum frame enclosure didn't much strike us "contemporary" per the company's claims, as it seemed to blend into the vast array of similar PCs showcased at the booth. And without any available keyboard dock to help us navigate that vibrant 23-inch full HD display, we were left to make use of the screen's 10-point multi-touch which proved a tad frustrating, bordering on ineffectual -- at least on this demo model. We also witnessed a considerable amount of glare in our brief time testing the product, though it's worth noting we were surrounded by a multitude of showroom lighting.

Powering this multimedia-focused family AIO along is Intel's 3rd generation chipsets (up to Core i7) joined by Dolby Home Theatre 4.1 for superior sound and AcerCloud for convenient personal media streaming. The company's offering users the ability to configure it with up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 640, as well as a generous 2TB SATA hard disk. As far as optical options go, consumers can choose from a Blu-ray player or standard DVD drive. You'll have to sit tight for this fella to head to market, but rest assured you should see it on retails shelves before year's end -- we hope. While you wait, why not check out our gallery below?

Mat Smith contributed to this report.

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Acer Aspire ZS600 AIO announced at IFA 2012: 23-inch multi-touch Windows 8 PC (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AcerCloud blows into Europe, bringing remote access to your (Acer) laptop
Aug 31st 2012, 12:36

DNP Acer Cloud

We took a good look at the AcerCloud service early this year and its companion Android handset, the award-winning CloudMobile phone. Now, Acer has launched a beta service in Europe, so buyers of the company's new laptops and desktop machines over there will be able to try it out for themselves. To get it working, you can install the portal app onto your Android device and Acer PC, allowing you to download images and other files between the pair. You can also send files back to your computer for backup, expanding the storage of your smartphone or slate through your own mini-cloud. Everything will be synced through the service, which will store the data if your home machine isn't fired up -- and transfer everything when it's alive again. There's no word on when users will be able to partake stateside, but if you're across the pond, hit the source link for the mobile app.

Continue reading AcerCloud blows into Europe, bringing remote access to your (Acer) laptop

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AcerCloud blows into Europe, bringing remote access to your (Acer) laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei Ascend 330 appears at IFA, looking for smartphone first-timers (hands-on)
Aug 31st 2012, 12:21

Huawei Ascend 330 appears at IFA, looking for smartphone firsttimers handson

Perhaps obscured by Huawei's other new -- and bigger --smartphone, the Ascend 330 also made it's first appearance here in Berlin. For a smaller price tag (200 euros, around $250) you'll be getting a slightly humbler 4-inch smartphone, with a 1GHz dual-core processor and up to 5.76 Mbps through its HSPA connection. The 800 x 480 TFT screen is noticeably jaggier than Huawei's other new devices, but for an entry-level model, we've seen plenty worse. It's also aided by Android Ice Cream Sandwich, offering a more up-to-date mobile OS experience than existing starter smartphones. There's a 5-megapixel camera on the back, while a 1,500mAh battery resides under the cover. The phone will land in Europe this November, in the single Black Matte option you'll find in our gallery below.

Continue reading Huawei Ascend 330 appears at IFA, looking for smartphone first-timers (hands-on)

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LCD and E-ink dual-screen prototypes show up at IFA, one vendor already said to be on board
Aug 31st 2012, 12:07

LCD and Eink dualscreen prototypes show up at IFA, one vendor already said to be on board

Well hells bells, it was only yesterday that the idea of an e-ink / LCD screen mash-up device was the stuff of patent dreams, and now it's a reality. The chaps at Stuff were shown the prototype handsets at a closed meeting at IFA, as expected with a regular screen on one side, and the e-reader-style display on the other. E-ink was apparently tight lipped about possible vendor interest, but they did confirm that one firm was working with the concept already. We're not about to make any leaps, but if we'd applied for the patent, we'd also want first dibs.

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Blue Microphones Mikey Digital portable microphone for iOS devices hits shelves, offers mobile tracking for $100
Aug 31st 2012, 12:00

Blue Microphones Mickey Digital portable microphone for iOS devices hits shelves, offers mobile tracking for $100

The second of Blue Microphone's CES trio has broken cover. Mikey Digital, a mobile recording peripheral for the iPad and iPhone is now available at select retailers. If you're in need of a refresher, the retooled version of the original Mikey tracking unit connects to you Apple smartphone or tablet via the dock connector. The mic houses the same two condenser capsules found on the more robust Snowball and Yeti USB mics while sporting built-in sensitivity control and CD-quality analog / digital conversion. A 3.5mm audio jack is included for monitoring or either stereo line-in or mic-in -- if you're looking to tack on a few more gadgets when recording with the 230-degree rotating kit. USB pass-thru allows for charging while in the midst of a session and a LED clipping indicator keeps tabs on volume levels to ensure the best results. If all of that sounds too good to pass up, the Mikey Digital will hit your wallet for $99.99 just as soon at you can enter your shipping info.

Continue reading Blue Microphones Mikey Digital portable microphone for iOS devices hits shelves, offers mobile tracking for $100

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Blue Microphones Mikey Digital portable microphone for iOS devices hits shelves, offers mobile tracking for $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II gets early benchmark treatment at IFA
Aug 31st 2012, 11:36

DNP  Samsung Galaxy Note II gets early benchmark treatment at IFA

Here at IFA, the Galaxy Note II's glossy plastic build is practically fading under the ambush of cameras snapping away at Samsung's booth, but clearly this phone is more than just a (super sized) pretty face, and it's time to take a look at what's under the hood. As mentioned in our hands-on, Samsung upgraded the original Note's dual-core 1.4GHz chipset to a quad-core 1.6GHz Exynos processor. We put the device to the test today to see how those amped-up insides reflect in the Note II's benchmark scores. As you'll see below, Sammy's latest handset fares significantly better than the original Note and the Galaxy S III.

Galaxy Note II

Galaxy Note (international)

Galaxy S III (I9300)


AnTuTu

11,736

N/A

11,960

Quadrant

6,644

3,810

4,454

Vellamo

2,466

901

1,751

SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms, lower is better)

1,330

2,902

1,460

CF-Bench

15,305

N/A

13,110

GL Benchmark Egypt Offscreen

114 fps

N/A

99 fps

Oh, what a difference a processor makes. Clearly the step up to a quad-core CPU is to thank for the large performance delta between the Note II and the last-gen Note, though the international version of the Galaxy S III, with a quad-core 1.4Ghz Exynos processor, also falls behind in Quadrant and other tests. The Note II also trumped its Samsung siblings on the browser-focused Vellamo benchmark, which hints at snappier performance on this phone. The phone's graphics chops look pretty good, too, if the GL Benchmark score is any indication. Our testing got cut short before we could run SunSpider, but we'll add that figure shortly.

Update: We've added SunSpider as well -- the device clocked in at 1,330ms, which is a hair faster than the Galaxy S III.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II gets early benchmark treatment at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 07:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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