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Thursday, April 16, 2015

Apple Devs Play WWDC Lottery

apple-worldwide-developers-conference-2015
Apple on Tuesday announced that its 26th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place in San Francisco June 8-12.
The event will include more than 100 technical sessions on developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and OS X technologies.
Attendees will get access to the latest innovations, features and capabilities of the OSes, as well as best practices for enhancing an app's functionality, performance, quality and design.
In hands-on labs with more than 1,000 Apple engineers, devs can learn how to integrate new technologies and fine-tune their apps.
The Apple Design Awards ceremony will be a highlight of the conference.
Devs can apply for US$1,600 event tickets at the WWDC website through 10 a.m. PT this Friday.
As in the past, Apple will issue tickets through random selection; the lucky devs will be informed by 5 p.m. PT on April 20.
Apple is offering up to 350 WWDC scholarships, under which students and members of certain STEM organizations worldwide can get free tickets.


Everything Old Is New Again

The WWDC's tagline is "The Epicenter of Change," but it remains to be seen whether the conference will live up to that claim.
"The next versions [of Apple OSes] are always announced at WWDC, so ... I'd absolutely expect to see iOS 9 and the next version of OS X," said Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research.

Rumors and Whispers

Reports that Apple will unveil its Beats Music-based subscription service have been making the rounds.
That unveiling "seems extremely likely, given the new music app that [Monday] debuted in the beta of iOS 8.4, which seems designed to incorporate that service when it launches," Dawson told TechNewsWorld.
Apple released the beta less than a week after the public release of iOS 8.3. The music app has a new design that makes exploring users' music collections easier, and makes it simpler to discover music on iTunes Radio. Other new features include a new global search option and the ability to discover what's next in a music playlist queue.
Rumor also has it that a new Web TV service might be unveiled for Apple TV.
This "might well debut at WWDC too, but there's a lot of work still to be done on it," Dawson remarked.
Music and TV "constitute two of [Apple's] biggest future growth opportunities," noted Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.
"One of the biggest questions will be what, if any, announcements are made around Apple TV," he told TechNewsWorld. "Competitors have been moving much more quickly in TV technologies and services in the past year than Apple. Absent true blockbuster TV offerings or partnerships, Apple is on the edge of being left behind."
Apple also might make an announcement about CarPlay, which is expected to show up in 40 car models this year.
Then there's HomeKit -- the home automation system the company rolled out in iOS 8.
"I'd expect HomeKit to get some time, since not much has happened publicly since it was announced at last year's WWDC," Dawson suggested. "I feel like Apple has been building up to this for some time and may be ready to finally make a splash."

What About the Apple Watch?

The company said little about the Apple Watch, despite the healthy demand reported since preordering began last week.
There are expectations that Apple will release an SDK for the Watch OS, but "when or how Apple will widely deliver it is an open question," said King. "I expect developers would prefer something more substantial."
Apple could announce that it will let devs create native apps for the Apple Watch rather than limiting them to making companion apps to the iPhone, Dawson speculated.
"It promised to do that later," he said, so WWDC "seems an obvious time to announce that change and what it implies."

HTC One M9 Plus ("Hima Ultra") w/ QHD, Duo Camera


Device should offer nice compromise for those who value raw performance above battery life

Not satisfied with HTC Corp.'s (TPE:2498) One M9 (codename: "Hima") and its 5.0 inch 1080p screen?  Well you may want to keep your eye out for the rumored upcoming HTC One M9 Plus (codename: "Hima Ultra"), which will reportedly be announced soon.

It is rumored to pack a QHD screen.  Some rumors indicating that the One M9 Plus will swell the screen size from 5.0 inches to either 5.2 or 5.5 inches.  The device is also expected to add a Duo rear camera (at 20 megapixels) w/ OIS and fingerprint scanner.

Some sources are also claiming the HTC One M9 Plus will drop the Snapdragon 810 chip from Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) for a more powerful 64-bit alternative from Taiwanese fabless chip designer MediaTek, Inc. (TPE:2454) -- likely the MT6795.  The MT6795 chip is outfitted with four of ARM Holdings plc's (LON:ARM) new 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores, and four 64-bit Cortex-A57 cores.  All the cores are clocked at 2.0 GHz, versus the Snapdragon 810, which clocks the A53s at 1.5 GHz.  Consequentially the MT6795 outperforms the Snapdragon 810 in early benchmarks.


MediaTek
[Image Source: GSMArena]

This chip is built on a larger circuit node (28 nm) compared to the Snapdragon 810 (20 nm). Consequentially true, battery life could take a big hit in the One M9 Plus, given the more powerful, but less power efficient SoC and new QHD screen.  The good news is that the MediaTek chip packs a more powerful GPU -- a PowerVR G6200 "Rogue" design from Imagination Technologies plc (LON:IMG).

HTC's One E9+ ("A55") Unveiled, Packs Quad-HD; 1080p One E9

The HTC One E9+ smartphone/phablet embraces a premium display at the cost of a lower end chipset

For those miffed at HTC Corp.'s (TPE:2498) decision to snub quad-HD (QHD) (aka "2K") display technology with its flagship HTC One M9 (codename: "HTC Hima"), the HTC One E9+ (codename: "HTC A55") may be the device you were hoping for.

The E9+ was quietly announced via HTC's Chinese language website.

With a 5.5-inch display, the E9 Plus is bigger than the HTC One M9.  It's big enough you could call it a phablet, although some will view it more as a "large smartphone".  The star of the show is a new QHD screen.  The body is a little less premium with a hybrid plastic/metal design, versus the all metal two-tone diamond cut unibody of the One M9.  The processor is more powerful, but less power efficient.

HTC E9 Plus

HTC One E9+

HTC One E9+

Here's a more in-depth look at what's different between the HTC One E9 Plus and One M9:

  • Looks
    • Materials
      • The backplane is now metal-tone plastic, although the front frame is metal and glass.  This makes this a hybrid design somewhere in between the premium One M7/8/9 line and the Desire line.
    • Colors
      • There's metal two tones, but the available colors are a bit different.  You get to pick between Gold trim & gray back; Gold trim and white back; or gunmetal trim and back (black).
    • Dimensions
      • The device is bigger with a 156.5 x 76.5 mm (6.16 x 3.01 in.) front face vs. 144.6 x 69.7 mm (5.69 x 2.74 in.) on the HTC One M9.  Thanks to the hybrid body it's also thinner @ 7.54 mm (0.296 in.) thick vs. 9.61 mm (0.378 in.) thick for the HTC One M9.
    • Weight
      • With its battery the One E9+ weighs in at 150 grams (5.29 oz.).  That's a little lighter than the 157 grams (5.54 oz.) the One M9 weighs.
  • Display
    • There's now a 5.5-inch QHD 2,560x1,440 (534 ppi) (16:9 aspect ratio) display onboard.  That's a step up from the 5.0 inch 1080p in the HTC One M9.  Some may view this as superfluous and the higher resolution will adversely impact battery life.  But to some the higher resolution may be worth the cost. 
  • Chipset
    • The HTC E9+ is driven by a  MediaTek, Inc. (TPE:2454) system-on-a-chip (SoC), the MT6795M.  This is a 64-bit instruction width design utilizing four ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A53 cores and 4x Cortex-A57 cores which can clock up to 2 GHz.  Speeds are controlled by MediaTek's CorePilot technology.  Graphics are provided by the onboard PowerVR G6200 "Rogue" GPU from Imagination Technologies plc. (LON:IMG).  The Mediatek chip is buil on a 28 nm process.
    • MediaTek MT6795 benchmark

      By contrast the One M9 uses a Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Snapdragon 810 which packs a mix of 4x Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.5 GHz and 4x Cortex-A57 cores @ 2.0 GHz, along with an Adreno 430 GPU.  This chip is built on a 20 nm process.

      In raw processing power, Geekbench scores put the Mediatek chip ahead of the Snapdragon 810.  It's midway between Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) Exynos 7420 (which is found in the Galaxy S6) and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 in its Geekbench score.

      In other words, expect the HTC One E9+ to pack more processing power than the HTC One M9, but some of that power will be eaten up by the cost of rendering for the higher-resolution screen.  Additionally expect inferior battery life to the HTC One M9
       
  • Other differences
    • Memory
      • The chipset uses LPPDR3 clocked at 933 MHz, rather than the LPDDR4 uses by the One M9
    • Camera
      • The dual LED flash has been replaced with a single LED and the camera enclosure goes from a square barrel to a circular one.  The resolution (and supplier) are otherwise unchanged, though.
    • Battery
      • The battery is a tiny bit smaller -- 2800 mAh on the E9 Plus and 2830 mAh on the One M9.
Otherwise the spec (32 GB NAND storage; microSD/microSDHC/microSDXC up to 128 GB; 3 GB LPDDR4; 20 megapixel rear camera; 4 megapixel "Ultrapixel" front-facing "selfie" camera / Bluetooth 4.1 / NFC / 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac / multi-mode 4G LTE cellular / Boomsound stereo speakers) is identical to the HTC One M9.

HTC One E9+


HTC One E9+

Here's some additional pics of the E9 courtesy of Chinese Twitter Inc. (TWTR) leaker @upleaks:The E9 Plus is expected to get a downgraded baseline companion the HTC E9 (sometimes referred to as the HTC E9 "Minus") (codename: "HTC A53").  This device has not been announced, but is expected to pack a lower resolution (13 megapixel) rear camera, 16 GB of NAND flash, 2 GB of LPDDR3, and a lower resolution 5.5-inch full high definition (FHD) 1,920 x 1,080 pixel (aka 1080p) display (16:9 aspec ratio).

Sunday, April 5, 2015

HTC One M9


HTC
HTC One M9
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Votes:
523
Also known as HTC M9, HTC One Hima
NETWORKTechnologyGSM / HSPA / LTE
LAUNCHAnnounced2015, March
StatusAvailable. Released 2015, March
BODYDimensions144.6 x 69.7 x 9.6 mm (5.69 x 2.74 x 0.38 in)
Weight157 g (5.54 oz)
SIMNano-SIM
DISPLAYTypeSuper LCD3 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size5.0 inches (~68.4% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution1080 x 1920 pixels (~441 ppi pixel density)
MultitouchYes
ProtectionCorning Gorilla Glass 4
- HTC Sense UI 7.0
PLATFORMOSAndroid OS, v5.0.x (Lollipop)
ChipsetQualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810
CPUQuad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57
GPUAdreno 430
MEMORYCard slotmicroSD, up to 128 GB
Internal32 GB, 3 GB RAM
CAMERAPrimary20.7 MP, 5376 x 3752 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, check quality
FeaturesAutomatic simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face/smile detection, HDR, panorama
Video2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps, HDR, stereo sound rec., check quality
Secondary4 MP, 1080p@30fps, HDR
SOUNDAlert typesVibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
LoudspeakerYes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jackYes
COMMSWLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
Bluetoothv4.1, A2DP, apt-X
GPSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
NFCYes
Infrared portYes
RadioStereo FM radio with RDS
USBmicroUSB v2.0 (MHL 3.0 TV-out), USB Host
FEATURESSensorsAccelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
MessagingSMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
BrowserHTML5
JavaYes, via Java MIDP emulator
- Fast battery charging: 60% in 30 min (Quick Charge 2.0)
- Google Drive (100 GB cloud storage)
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- XviD/MP4/H.264/WMV player
- MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV/FLAC player
- Document editor
- Photo/video editor
BATTERYNon-removable Li-Po 2840 mAh battery
Stand-byUp to 391 h (2G) / Up to 402 h (3G)
Talk timeUp to 25 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 21 h 50 min (3G)
MISCColorsGunmetal Gray, Amber Gold, Silver/Rose gold, Gold/Pink
Price group
TESTSPerformanceBasemark OS II: 1526 / Basemark OS II 2.0: 1365
Basemark X: 19848
DisplayContrast ratio: 1221:1 (nominal), 2.334 (sunlight)
CameraPhoto / Video
LoudspeakerVoice 65dB / Noise 64dB / Ring 76dB
Audio qualityNoise -94.8dB / Crosstalk -93.7dB
Battery life
Endurance rating 62h