Initial GPU benchmarks of Samsung Galaxy S III thrash the competition

With only a few short days remaining for the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S II to be unveiled in London, rumours of the handset are flying off the wall. The last we heard about this handset was that it was available for preorder on the German page of Amazon and it would be sold at a price of EUR599. The leaks of this handset do not stop there and this time around, phoneArena have come across the graphics benchmarks of the next Galaxy which goes by the codename GT-19300.

Outshines the competition

The benchmark had briefly surfaced on the results page of GLBenchmark and as per the GPU scores it appears that it will wipe out the competition. The website took the benchmark scores and pit it against the likes of the HTC One S, HTC One X, iPhone 4S and the new iPad. From the scores in the GLBenchmark 2.1 Egypt Offscreen 720p test, the upcoming flagship from Samsung beat the other smartphones and lost out to the new iPad only by a small margin. 

The report states, “The results from what is likely still a prototype Galaxy S III unit, beat the current Android king Snapdragon S4, beat Tegra 3 by a large margin, take over the iPhone 4S by a tad in most GPU test components, and even hold their own against the mighty quad-core PowerVR graphics in the new iPad. Since we already heard rumors about "superlative" benchmarks from the new Exynos, we are inclined to believe the same will be true for the CPU as well.” While this may be a prototype that was tested, the actual product could still be a really powerful handset that could hold its own for the foreseeable future. 

Here is a quick look at what is rumoured to feature in the next Galaxy smartphone:

• Android Ice Cream Sandwich
• 4.6-inch display Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1184 x 720
• 1,4GHz quad-core processor
• Mali-400MP GPU
• 16GB Internal memory
• Expandable via MicroSD card
• 1GB RAM
• 8MP rear camera
• NFC
• 2250mAh battery

Let us know your reactions about the graphics capabilities that are featured in the smartphone based on these scores that quite literally wash out the competing smartphones.

Google Doodles for the zipper inventor, Gideon Sundback

If you go to the Google.com homepage today, you'll see the Google logo, as if stitched onto cloth with a large zipper in the middle. Once you click on the zipper, it opens up to take you to the clickthrough page, the search for Gideon Sundback, inventor of the zipper. If you click on "I'm Feeling Lucky", you'll be taken to a page with all of Google's Doodles from 2012. Gideon Sundback was born on the 24th of April, 1880 in Sweden to a farmer and his wife. After studying in Sweden, Sundback moved on to Germany for further education. He took his engineering exams in 1903 and migrated to the United States in 1905. In 1906, he was hired to work for the Universal Fastener company in New Jersey, and between 1906 and 1914, he began the development of the zipper.

The zipper: keeping our pants on since World War II

In 1913, he made the Hookless Fastener Number 1, which had an increased number of fastening elements (from four per inch to ten or eleven per inch) and had two facing rows of teeth which were pulled together into one piece by the slider. In 1914, he invented Hookless Fastener 2, which is essentially the modern zipper. This version is based on interlocking teeth. The United States patent for the product, patent number 1219881 for the Seperable Fastener was issued in 1917. Sundback also invented the manufacturing machine for the zipper. The word zipper came about in 1923, by B.F. GOodrich who used the product on their new boots. Tobacco pouches and boots were the first products to customarily use zippers, however, following World War II, the zipper also found its place on men's trousers and women's skirts and dresses.

In 1951, Sundback was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. On the 21st of June, 1954, Sundback passed away of a heart condition. He was included in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006 for his invention of the zipper. And of course, Google Doodled for him today. The way the Doodle opens up is very realistic to how a fabric separates when a zipper holding it together is opened. If you haven't already, check it out

Ubuntu 12.10 named Quantal Quetzal, 12.04 comes 26th April

The Linux movement is primarily driven on the desktop by Ubuntu and its many variations, primarily Mint Linux. There are still many who use Ubuntu Linux and there’s a new version coming this Thursday, the 26th of April. It’s been called Precise Pangolin and it follows the tradition of Ubuntu versions being named after animals. Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux has put up a blog post talking about the naming of the next major update - 12.10, slated to launch in October this year. It’s just been named Quantal Quetzal, after the Quetzal, a bird found in Mexico. The Quantal part of the name most likely comes from the inclusion of the Quantum networking virtualization package in the 12.10 release.

Ubuntu 12.04, just a few days away

The nearest release, 12.04 has been in beta for a while now and the final build is expected to hit the web the day after tomorrow. Precise Pangolin is going be released as a Long Term Support release, which should offer an extended support period - this is particularly useful for organizations who don’t want to update their operating system every few months, instead only want critical and security updates as they come. The last LTS Ubuntu build was 10.04, back in 2010. Support for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS will end sometime next year, while support for 12.10 LTS is expected to last till somewhere around 2017.

For those of you who haven’t tried Ubuntu, you can give it a shot using the LiveCD release. Canonical even has a web-based version setup to get you accustomed to the interface. Ubuntu 12.04 will bring along a whole bunch of improvements over its older version. There is better support for trackpads, especially those which have physical buttons integrated into them. Accessing applications should be simpler now as well using a feature called HUD - users would be able to able to access menus and applications by typing a few keywords. The new build will also switch to Rhythmbox as the default media player. Updates to GNOME and LibreOffice are also present. An all new Linux kernel - version 3.2.14 will be plugged into the OS.

NEWS / CPUS Intel launches 3rd Gen ‘Ivy Bridge’ processors, succesor to Sandy Bridge

Intel Corporation today introduced the quad-core 3rd generation Intel Core processor family, delivering dramatic visual and performance computing gains for gamers, media enthusiasts and mainstream users alike. Available now in powerful, high-end desktop, laptop and all-in-one (AIO) designs, the new processors are the first chips in the world made using Intel’s 22-nanometer (nm) 3-D tri-Gate transistor technology. The combination of Intel’s cutting-edge 3-D tri-gate transistor technology and architectural enhancements help make possible up to double the 3-D graphics and HD media processing performance compared with Intel’s previous generation of chips. As a result, all the things people love to do on their PCs—from creating and editing videos and photos; surfing the Web, watching HD movies or playing mainstream games— are quicker and better. In the coming months, additional versions of the 3rd generation Intel Core processors will be available to power a new wave of systems ranging from Ultrabook devices, to servers and intelligent systems in retail, healthcare and other industries.

The best just got better

The performance gains found in the new processors are due in part to the three-dimensional structure of the new Intel transistors. Until today, computers, servers and other devices have used only two-dimensional planar transistors. Adding a third dimension to transistors allows Intel to increase transistor density and put more capabilities into every square millimetre of these new processors. Intel has once again re-invented the transistor and delivered a combination of performance and energy efficiency, thus sustaining the pace of technology advancement and fuelling Moore’s Law for years to come. The 3rd generation Intel Core processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000 delivers up to two times better 3-D graphics performance compared to the previous-generation processor, bringing more gaming fun with richer detail at higher resolutions. Intel HD Graphics 4000 supports Microsoft DirectX11, OpenGL 3.1 and OpenCL 1.1. The 3rd generation Intel Core processor also adds security features, including Intel Secure Key and Intel OS Guard to safeguard personal data and identity. Intel Secure Key consists of a digital random number generator that creates truly random numbers to strengthen encryption algorithms. Intel OS Guard helps defend against privilege escalation attacks where a hacker remotely takes over another person's system. Systems based on quad-core 3rd generation Intel Core processor products will be available beginning this month from leading system makers.

We’ve already had a chance to review the desktop counterpart of Ivy Bridge, the Core i7-3770K which will eventually replace the Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge CPU. Read our full review right here

In a ruling delivered by Judge Andreas Voss at the Mannheim Regional Court, Germany, Motorola Mobility, reportedly scored success over rival Apple, thereby confirming an earlier ruling and effectively implementing a ban on the latter's iCloud and MobileMe services in the country. An earlier ruling in this respect had ended with the court being convinced that Apple had been using a patented technology, which automatically informs Apple customers about their new messages on their iPhones, iPods or iPads, and that it owes Motorola Mobility for that. Further in a statement delivered by a court spokesperson, it has been revealed that Apple still cannot use the push feature when in Germany and is liable to pay damages. The court, further asked Apple to provide them with information, so as to aid them in calculating the damages that were to be paid. Apple may have to pay damages According to a post by Foss Patents, the latest decision was a second one, since a default judgment had come through against Apple in early November. It added, "Apple's counsel didn't show up for the originally-scheduled trial in late October. After Apple objected to the default judgment, a second trial took place on February 3, 2012 (with all the lawyers). The default judgment related to the following two patents: an allegedly standard-essential patent: 1. EP (European Patent) 1010336 (B1) on a "method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system"; this is the European equivalent of U.S. Patent No. 6,359,898 2. a non-standard-essential push notification patent: EP (European Patent) 0847654 (B1) on a "multiple pager status synchronization system and method"; this is the European equivalent of U.S. Patent No. 5,754,119." Apple has been battling it out with Motorola Mobility for a while now, along with separate legal tangles with manufacturers, like Samsung, globally. According to reports, however, it has been stated that Apple disagrees with the German court ruling and would appeal. Around this time, last month, there were reports about both Apple and Motorola Mobility discussing at length the possibilities of having a cross-licensing deal, which if successful could even put an end to the long standing battle between the two companies. We, however are yet to hear about the developments on this fron

If you wake up on holidays or anniversaries, eager to see what the Google Doodle for that day looks like, and / or you have some doodle ideas of your own, then this new job posting by Google may just be your thing. Google, reportedly is on a lookout for graphic designers/ illustrators (doodlers), who would work with their creative team responsible for those creative doodles on the Google homepage. A brief job posting by Google,  reads like this -  "First impressions matter. Every day, hundreds of millions of online users visit the Google homepage. Yes, to search. But also, to be delighted, informed, and surprised (And maybe even to laugh a little). The Google Doodle makes this possible -- it's the change that is constant on Google.com. As a Product Graphic Designer/Illustrator, more commonly known as a "Doodler," you have the world's best platform to showcase your stylistic skills -- as well as your sense of humor, love of all things historical and imaginative artistry. From Jules Verne to Pac-Man, you have the reins to our brand and iconic logo and can run free with your innovative ideas. Go forth and doodle!" 

Google Doodles for Robert Doisneau

The Google Doodle has been around, entertaining Google-ers for a while now and was born in 1998, even before the company was even incorporated. The story goes like, Google founders Larry and Sergey decided to play with their corporate logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. The first doodle, featured a stick figure that was placed behind the second 'O' in the word Google. Google adds, "the revised logo was intended as a comical message to Google users that the founders were "out of office"". Till date, Google has 1,000 doodles that were put on their homepages across the world.

Those Googling today would see that Google has doodled for French photographer, Robert Doisneau. He was born on this day in 1912 in Gentilly, Val-de-Marne, Paris.  When he was 13, Doisneau enrolled himself at the École Estienne, a craft school and graduated from there in 1929 armed a diploma in  engraving and lithography. Doisneau had a humble, very shy beginning with photography; and it was only after a while of photographing cobble-stones that he managed to click children and adults. It was in late 1920s that he bagged a job as a draughtsman (lettering artist) in the advertising industry at Atelier Ullmann (Ullmann Studio), a creative graphics studio that specialised in the pharmaceutical industry. It was here, at Atelier Ullmann that Doisneau developed into a staff photographer after initially helping out as a camera assistant. He, however, soon quit the studio and advertising to take up job as an assistant with the modernist photographer André Vigneau.

Doisneau is believed to have taken some of his best photographs in the post-war period. He soon returned to freelance photography and sold photographs to Life and other international magazines. He remained with Rapho agency throughout his working life. In 1948, he was even contracted by Vogue to work as a fashion photographer, but, a street photographer at heart that he was; Doisneau found himself capturing the streets of Paris on camera, whenever he found the time. But, it was in 1950 that he was to do the most recognizable work for Life and it was called - Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville (Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville), which essentially was a photo of a couple kissing in the busy streets of Paris. This photo went on to become an internationally recognised symbol of young love in Paris and the identity of the photographed couple remained hidden until 1992.

Doisneau died in 1994 and is buried in the cemetery at Raizeux beside his wife Pierrette.

Motorola Mobility scores a "push" e-mail win against Apple

In a ruling delivered by Judge Andreas Voss at the Mannheim Regional Court, Germany, Motorola Mobility, reportedly scored success over rival Apple, thereby confirming an earlier ruling and effectively implementing a ban on the latter's iCloud and MobileMe services in the country. An earlier ruling in this respect had ended with the court being convinced that Apple had been using a patented technology, which automatically informs Apple customers about their new messages on their iPhones, iPods or iPads, and that it owes Motorola Mobility for that. Further in a statement delivered by a court spokesperson, it has been revealed that Apple still cannot use the push feature when in Germany and is liable to pay damages. The court, further asked Apple to provide them with information, so as to aid them in calculating the damages that were to be paid. 

Apple may have to pay damages

According to a post by Foss Patents, the latest decision was a second one, since a default judgment had come through against Apple in early November. It added, "Apple's counsel didn't show up for the originally-scheduled trial in late October. After Apple objected to the default judgment, a second trial took place on February 3, 2012 (with all the lawyers). The default judgment related to the following two patents: an allegedly standard-essential patent:

1. EP (European Patent) 1010336 (B1) on a "method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system"; this is the European equivalent of U.S. Patent No. 6,359,898

2. a non-standard-essential push notification patent:

EP (European Patent) 0847654 (B1) on a "multiple pager status synchronization system and method"; this is the European equivalent of U.S. Patent No. 5,754,119."

Apple has been battling it out with Motorola Mobility for a while now, along with separate legal tangles with manufacturers, like Samsung, globally.  According to reports, however, it has been stated that Apple disagrees with the German court ruling and would appeal. Around this time, last month, there were reports about both Apple and Motorola Mobility discussing at length the possibilities of having a cross-licensing deal, which if successful could even put an end to the long standing battle between the two companies. We, however are yet to hear about the developments on this fron

ZOTAC launches ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus in India

ZOTAC International, a global innovator of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today redefines the mini-PC form factor with the extra small ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus mini-PC. The ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus is the world’s smallest PC capable of delivering a rich high-definition desktop computing experience. An AMD E-450 APU with Radeon HD 6320 graphics processing sits at the heart of the ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus to render beautiful Microsoft DirectX 11 graphics and playback stunning online and offline high-definition content. The completely new ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS chassis shrinks the ZBOX nano chassis by nearly 17-percent into a 106-milimeter box that is only 37-milimeters tall that can easily slip into a jacket pocket. ZOTAC has priced it at Rs.25,400. which is inclusive of all taxes. 

Honey, I shrunk the PC!

“Size matters when it comes to desktop systems. We are always trying to push full-featured systems into the smallest size possible,” says Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. “Our new ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus shows that you can pack a complete high-definition capable desktop PC into a miniature form factor that conveniently fits in the smallest places.” Solid-state storage makes a ZBOX debut in the ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus with a 64GB mSATA SSD as the internal storage source for lightning-fast boot times and system responsiveness. External storage expansion is available via eSATA, USB 3.0, USB 2.0 ports and a Memory Stick and SDXC compatible memory card reader on the ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus. New high-amperage USB 2.0 ports enable the ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus to easily charge the latest high-end smartphones and tablets while simultaneously transferring data. Integrated Gigabit Ethernet allows high-speed wired network transfers, while a USB 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter is bundled for users who desire wireless network connectivity.

Below are the detailed specifications of the ZBOX: 

• AMD E-450 APU (1.65 GHz, dual-core)
• AMD Radeon HD 6320 GPU
• HDMI output
• 2GB DDR3
• 64GB mSATA SSD
• 2 x SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports (back panel)
• 2 x High-Speed USB 2.0 ports (back panel)
• Combo eSATA / USB 2.0 port
• Gigabit Ethernet
• USB 2.0 802.11n WiFi adapter included
• 6-in-1 memory card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/MS/MS Pro)
• Combo analogue / mini-Optical S/PDIF output
• Microphone input
• Integrated IR receiver
• Bundled MCE-compatible remote w/ USB IR receiver
• Bundled VESA75/100 mount
• AMD Steady Video technology
• AMD Perfect Picture HD technology
• AMD VISION Engine
• Microsoft DirectX 11 technology

The new iPad vs iPad 2 - How much better is it?

It’s brilliant in every sense of the word. That’s the general consensus about the new iPad. Right. But has Apple really set a benchmark with the new iPad? Is it really ‘resolutionary’? Is the new iPad really a major improvement from the iPad 2? This and more has been delved into in our comparison feature. Let’s dive in.

Design and Build
Apple has managed to keep the design and the overall dimensions extremely similar between the two models. However, we did feel that the new iPad was slightly heavier in comparison and a quick glance at the spec sheet affirmed that. The iPad 2 (Wi-Fi + 3G) weighs in at 607 grams, while the new iPad (Wi-Fi + 4G) weighs 662 grams and though that might not make too much of a difference on paper, you’ll definitely feel the difference when you’ll hold it in your hand or pick it up. Also, the new iPad is 9.4mm thick, as compared to 8.8mm on the older one.

Looks identical!

Besides these two minor differences, there’s not much that changes in the overall look between the two models and if you’re holding them next to each other, it’s going to be hard to find a difference between them.

Screen
The first major change comes in the form of the new gorgeous Retina display. With a resolution of 2048 x 1536, the display doesn’t go beyond the perceivable pixel count of the human eye (320ppi), which they achieved with the iPhone 4. Despite this, Apple is still branding the screen as a Retina display, since their argument is that one holds a tablet a lot further away while using it, as compared to the iPhone, so pixel count needn't be over 320ppi in order to achieve the same effect.

Striking difference when compared

Our first sample image clearly shows the difference in the icons. When zoomed in, you can clearly see all the pixels on the iPad 2 compared to the new iPad. The new iPad is also a lot brighter, compared to the old one, so sunlight legibility is a tiny bit better and images and video appear more vivid.

No jaggies visible at all

The Retina display also makes a big difference when it comes to text, as there’s absolutely no jaggies around any of the letters and alphabets. This makes reading an eBook or web pages a lot easier and it just feels better as there’s less strain on the eyes. 

Performance All those extra pixels crammed into this screen size demands some good processing power and Apple has complemented the new iPad well with the new A5X SoC. Despite the rumours about the new iPad having a quad-core CPU, they’ve stuck with the dual-core CPU, but bumped up the graphics (now quad-core), since that’s what really needed to be beefed up in order to render all those extra pixels, while still maintaining the buttery smooth UI. The difference is instantly noticeable when it comes to loading apps, switching between them or the loading time in games. The new iPad is a lot more responsive and feels snappy. A more powerful SoC We ran a couple of benchmark apps to see how much of a difference there really is between the two. In iBenchmark Test, we ran the disk write test where the new iPad recorded a speed of 42.5 MB/s, as compared to 26.7 MB/s for the iPad 2. The read tests don’t show much of a difference with both clocking in at 182 MB/s. In the GLBenchmark app, we ran the GLBenchmark 2.1 Pro offscreen to gauge the difference between the two models and the new iPad clearly wins. It got a score of 12202 frames at 244 fps as compared to 7338 frames at 147 fps with the iPad 2. Interestingly, in the GLBenchmark 2.1 Egypt standard test, the iPad 2 gets a higher score than the new iPad. The newer model got a score of 3797 with 34 fps, as compared to 4354 with 38 fps on the older model. Camera The biggest improvement on the new iPad after the screen is the camera. Apples call it iSight, but what it is essentially is the same 5MP camera on the iPhone 4, but with slightly beefed up features, thanks to the more powerful processor. The 5MP autofocus camera features the same backside illumination sensor allowing it to capture a lot more detail even in poor lighting conditions. Thanks to the faster processor, the new iPad also supports 1080p video recording. Today, we’ll focus on the still images itself and compare the differences. You can have a look at the rest of the image comparisons in the gallery. Captures colours very well The difference is quite stark and you can easily see it even while capturing the image. The time taken to capture the image also feels snappier, not that the iPad 2 was slouchy in any way.  Viewing 1 of 4 Indoor shots with less ambient light are also a lot better. There’s very little noise in the dark areas and our subject (a very patient one, we may add) is clearly visible. Verdict The new iPad starts at a price of Rs.31,000 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model. Now if you already have the iPad 2 and don’t care about the camera or do any real productivity work, then the upgrading won’t make much sense. However, if you are in the market for a tablet, then we'd definitely recommend the new iPad for its brilliant screen, the best camera currently available on a tablet and the seamless user experience.