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Monday, June 20, 2011

Android 4 - Nexus Rumors

[Update 19.10.11 Been really busy from 0600 through 2300 and ... missed all the great news of course. But then again, Android 4 seems to be even better than expected, so I'm happily looking forward to the upcoming hardware greatness, which will be announced in the coming weeks. What really bothers me, is that wife and kids are angry because of the long away time /]

(btw: i made above's pic - how about backlinking?)



Coming to you October 11th October 19th
livestream on youtube.com/android @ 10:00 HTK


Since the announcement we often get to read that the next Android release will be merging together the Android 2.x and tablet Android 3 branches to one release, handling all display resolutions with a Honeycomb style user interface (Update 19.09.11: YES it will - read through this dev post.)  . There's no official word on the naming of that next release - call it Android 4 - Android 2.4 with 2.6.35.7 Kernel - Ice Cream Sandwich - Android 3.4 - whatever. The next release is being told to bring new
  • face recognition features
  • better multitasking
  • better video conferencing
  • USB hosting
  • new launcher / new UI
  • a lot of goodies for developers!



Reading about all the next Nexus phone rumors? Man they are insane to say the least. I don't even want to name the sources, other than "the net"  ... it just doesn't make all to much sense at the moment. Altogether I belief that we're dealing with Android 2.4 rather than Android 4, we'll just have to wait and see.
Read for your amusement only and drool on. Android 4 stuff will be added here once the news condense in a more rational context.

Nexus 3 aka Nexus Prime promoting Android 4 - rumor summary as of june 2011
  • display 720p - 4 inch  (1280*720)
  • cpu Snapdragon 'krait' dual core, 1.2 to 1.5 GHz (or TI OMAP 4460)
  • gpu? (integrated into OMAP is the PowerVR SGX540)
  • 1 GB memory
  • of course with NFC and the whole rest
  • Hardware might come from LG > nexus 3 teasers like this one are wide spread
  • if the hardware comes from Samsung then we might face a 4.65 inch Amoled display in a device called GT-i9250. 1280x720 | 5MP cam 

What does that mean to me?
  • Wife's Arc is close to perfect. Great camera, perfect hdmi out, good design
  • Samsung? I don't like how they clone the iphone over and over, hardware is superb though
  • HTC Sensation reviews don't make me fully happy - camera and product design not adequate
  • LG firmware still featuring some weird bugs, bad launcher
  • Sony Ericsson and HTC released commitments to unlocked bootloaders
  • ...still being very happy with my HTC Desire?
  • hardly ever missing any Android functionality other than a really good camera?
  • not being an OS Upgrade Junkie?

I would like to see a Sony Ericsson Arc successor, with dual core to support vast media options, front facing camera, edge to edge display and the next Android release in Q1 2012. (Nope I'm not talking about the ST18i). So I guess that I won't buy the next Nexus.
[Update 13.07.] I just checked for news about the Sony Ericsson Duo. Head over to IBT Tech section for a good roundup. In Japan it might be released as the Nozomi ...
[Update 31.08.] today Sony Ericsson announced the "Arc S" single core CPU with 1.4 GHz. I guess that's not the successor I'm wating for but certainly a great device.

announced 09. January 2012: the Xperia S. Quite neat. Probably my next phone. click here for an overview of the phone's specs. (yup, fm radio with rds is included)


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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Samsung S24A450BW and S22A450BW

We are using Samsung Monitors for quite a while now. The overall experience we got for the money was always excellent. In June 2011 Samsung announced a new generation of monitors  > Series 4 business TFTs with LED backlight and 16:10 aspect ratio, models S24A450BW and S22A450BW.



images source: samsung.de

TFT/TN-Panel
1980*1200 S24A450BW
1680*1050 S22A450BW
very low switching times
matte panel, matte frame
 TCO5 certified | high adjustment flexibility
tilt -5° to +20° |  29W power usage
DVI-D, 15pin D-Sub (no hdmi, no display port)
full fact sheet (not yet avail in english)



The TN panel technology in use is very cheap because it's dominating the consumer market. IPS panels, S-PVA panels and so on offer better quality but usually lack fast response time. Lower production numbers and more sophisticated technology doubles prices in most cases.
So for most of us TN panels suffice. To avoid frustration, you should be aware of the downsides before ordering such a cheap monitor:
  • colour mixing happens with only 6bit per RGB channel, resulting in less available colours. TN panel builders use "dithering" to reduce the noticeability of the resulting effects. Often people only notice the lack of colors when being told. See here for more information.
  • limited viewing angles | but then again 97% of the time I sit in front of my comp alone - so I don't care about it. The colors remain enough stable to notice only very little color bleeding towards the edges.
  • Samsung suckz when it comes to older products. After a year they often switch from the good initial panel to cheaper AU Optronics panels - without changing the product name! So don't wait to long a time once the product has been announced.
BTW: Personally I would opt for 16:10 aspect ratio - because you get some extra height for  the task bar and menus. Movies aren't released in 16:9 either! wut? you didn't know?  2.39:1 and 1.85:1


If you want to buy a bigger 27" monitor with higher resolution, then I suggest having a look at the Samsung SyncMaster S27A850D. see pictures below.
Specs: 2560 * 1440 (16:9), PLS Panel (similar to IPS), LED, no hdmi, cheap!

more pictures here

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

8 light minutes away

a star 8 light minutes away - huge erruption on june 7 2011
(explanation and zoomed in, see here )



Tuesday, June 07, 2011

good music

Bought Sony Ericsson Arc for Wife a month ago. Overall impression is superb, especially the HDMI connectivity works like a total charm! Enough Tech bla-bla



This post is meant to be about perfect media. Dubstep - indie music at it's best. Brought to your inner cores through your precious audio gear  [bro, other bro, me]

focus! distraction by the noise is fatal - the level of perfection is extremely high. Very hard to accomplish in arts. On par with my other favorites, ie Johnny Cash's interpretation of Hurt.  go on, assimilate your headphones and click play below...
manually select 720p!



Beyond the airlock by korejekt (aka bro Remo)
"commander, there is something outside of our ship." - "i heard the rumors. the spacewalkers all believe it's the Geist."
 


bullet proof (Foamo Dubstep Remix)  >>  480p!

Adele - Set Fire to everybody  > 720p

http://youtu.be/md1QECWVRHs?hd=1


Flight Facilities - Crave you (Adventure Club dubstep remix)

http://youtu.be/ZeaIvjoH1FY?hd=1


Jawnae - Welcome to Rock City > 720p

http://youtu.be/T6upfkC2g44?hd=1


Preview: More monsters & Sprites  >>  480p!

http://youtu.be/LhDmt2sntXE
the remix EP available on Beatport June 7 and iTunes June 21


Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites >>  360p!
 13.8 Mio views since oct 2010 - krass

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