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In the second quarter of 2012, Samsung sold 50.5 million smartphones—twice as many as Apple—which sees the company extend its sales lead ahead of the iPhone. More »
from Gizmodo
Yesterday, we jokingly shared that you could purchase Qualcomm’s newest developer tablet that features the new Snapdragon S4 Pro chip and Adreno 320 GPU for a whopping $1300. Well, the chip is most definitely coming to tablets sooner or later (and maybe some high-end smartphones), but it still has some tweaks to work out. Here are some of the initial tests by AnandTech of its quad-core power that are beginning to surface on the web.
For a good comparison, keep an eye on the MSM8960Â S4 and Adreno 225 that is found in the HTC One X throughout these tests. For reference, here is the spec sheet of device running the benchmarks:
 
GLBenchmark – Pro – Offscreen 720p:
GLBenchmark Egypt Offscreen 720p:
SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark:
Vellamo – Qualcomm’s In-House Web Performance Benchmark:
To summarize, this is one of the faster Android devices ever created and I wish I had one. This is not the final production model and things could differ from what we see hit the market, but still, it’s a monster. According to the folks at AnandTech, who do happen to have one in their hands, we can expect the same great performance from the S4 Pro that we have with the current dual-core Snapdragon chip, but with the added cores and greater multi-tasking capabilities.
The main seller in our eyes would have to be this new Adreno 320 GPU. With stats nearing that of Apple’s iPad, we know that this is the direction that SoC manufacturers should be heading in order for Android users to experience the highest quality games and apps our devices can deliver.
Via: AnandTech
from Droid Life
If your company doesn’t have a camera with WiFi sharing somewhere in your lineup, many will say you’re not even in the photography game. Fujifilm is definitely playing: welcome the FinePix F800EXR, its first camera with wireless sharing as part and parcel of the experience. Its centerpiece is a free Photo Receiver app for Android and iOS devices that will catch as many 30 images at a time from an ad hoc WiFi camera link. The matching (if unceremoniously named) Camera Application can return the gesture by geotagging shots as well as finding existing photos on the map. Fujifilm will even pre-Instagram the photos through six new on-camera filters for those who can’t stand posting images online without at least some Lomo or tilt-shift effects thrown in.
As for the actual camera part of the camera, Fujifilm is keeping afloat in the competitive waters with a 16-megapixel, CMOS-based EXR sensor that can widen the dynamic range or lower the noise if sheer resolution isn’t all that vital. An equally noteworthy 20x (25-500mm equivalent) lens out in front will zoom in a lot closer than any phone camera — well, most of them. We’re otherwise looking at the technology we’d expect in a point-and-shoot of this class, such as full-resolution burst shooting at up to eight frames per second, 1080p video and a RAW mode for image quality sticklers. Stores should have the F800EXR in August for about $350, or about as much as the Galaxy Nexus that just might serve as its companion.
from Engadget
The last time we ran into Ben Heck, the tinkerer extraordinaire was waxing poetic at Maker Faire about the Raspberry Pi and cheese curds. One more thing he also talked about, however, was his latest 3D printer project, which he now explains in greater detail in the latest episode of the Ben Heck Show. Improvements made to the device include use of a Birdstruder for easier access to the filament and the ability print off an SD card if you don’t have a computer handy. The 3D printer also sports an expanded 200-square-millimeter print area with a solid copper cover for added sturdiness and accuracy. As usual, size matters for Mr. Heckendorn so the device got a boost in portability, now neatly folding James Bond-like into a briefcase that measures 18 x 14 x 4.2 inches. Interested in a briefcase printer of your own? Well, Heckendorn mentioned during the Maker Faire interview that he’s already working on an improved version and thinking about putting it up on Kickstarter so hope springs eternal. In the meantime, you can glean more details about the device by checking out the video after the break.
from Engadget
Fenix International launches Kickstarter campaign to bring $300 off-grid solar charger to U.S. customers while it seeks to expand in Africa.
It’s not often that technology designed in the United States for people in developing countries comes back to the U.S. But that’s exactly what’s happening with an off-grid solar charger.
We’re rather big fans of the Nexus 7 here at Engadget HQ — it’s just hard not to like a $200 tablet with a Tegra 3 SoC and 7-inch glass-bonded IPS display running pure Jelly Bean. Of the few missing features, there’s one we’re bemoaning more than the lack of rear camera, and that’s the absence of any kind of HDMI or MHL video output. So far, watching movies with the Nexus 7’s been relegated to using a Nexus Q and streaming content from Google Play or YouTube.
Enter Wi-Fi Media, an app available for free on Google Play that lets most Android devices like the Nexus 7 play movies, music and stills on any screen via any Cavium PureVu-compatible streamer, such as HTC’s $90 Media Link HD. We tested Wi-Fi Media with our Nexus 7 and Media Link HD and found it to work pretty much as advertised except for some caveats. First the app doesn’t mirror your screen — you’re limited to playing content stored on the tablet or on the network via DLNA, which means no YouTube, Netflix or games. Second, the app doesn’t handle some common file types — like AVI, for example.
While it supports watching movies, listening to music and looking at pictures, keep in mind that Wi-Fi Media is not a particularly polished app. In addition to playing local and remote DLNA content, you’re able to login to Facebook and Picasa and stream images directly from these accounts, but that’s pretty much it in terms of functionality. There’s also no way to configure the Media Link HD, so you’ll need a sanctioned HTC handset to setup the multimedia streamer before using it with a Nexus 7. Want to know more? Peek at our screenshot gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.
Gallery: Wi-Fi Media hands-on
Update: Since there’s some confusion in the comments, we’d like to clarify that the Media Link HD is not a DLNA device. It normally only works with select HTC phones like the One X, One S and EVO 4G LTE. WiFi-Media’s primary purpose is connect with a Media Link HD — it also just happens to support DLNA.
[Thanks, Matt]
from Engadget
