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iPhone 3G S and Pre head-to-head benchmarks: iPhone wins

by Laura June posted Jun 20th 2009 @ 11:29PM

Now that we know the iPhone 3G S and the Palm Pre share extremely similar 65nm ARM Cortex A8-based internals, it's time to break out the stopwatches and see how these blood brothers stack up. Anandtech has the first head-to-head tests we've seen, and it seems like the 3G S has the slight edge, loading a series of web pages ~~11 percent faster~~ and a whopping 54 percent faster than the iPhone 3G. ~~Not too shabby, but not exactly a thorough drubbing either -- especially when you consider webOS is still 1.0 and there's likely some optimizations to come.~~ Full results at the read link.

Update: Anandtech had some uncharacteristically bad math going on -- the 3G S is actually 21 percent faster than the Pre, which is quite notable considering the similar hardware and WebKit-based browsers.

Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1a prodded by the FCC

by Joshua Topolsky posted Nov 12th 2008 @ 12:09PM

If you've read through our thorough review of Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1, by now you're probably champing at any number of bits to get your hands on the device. Well, thanks to the FCC, you can rest easier knowing you're one step closer to actually touching, holding, and hugging the phone (the US-destined X1a, that is). Amongst other things, the documents seem to disclose -- we'll stop short of saying confirm -- that a black version will be in play when it arrives in the States, though we feel that page 46 of the 114 page test report was more revealing in many ways. Don't believe us? Hit the read link and take a look for yourself.

TV broadcasters pleased with MPH mobile TV test results

by Darren Murph posted Nov 12th 2008 @ 9:41AM

The world needed another mobile TV standard about like it needs another hole in the ozone layer, but regardless of that, we've still got broadcasters backing MPH. We originally heard that said protocol was being tested by Raleigh's WRAL back in July, and since then, a whopping 800 local stations (which make up the Open Mobile Video Coalition) have joined in to work out the kinks. Currently, the general consensus is one of satisfaction, with the group now hoping to "prove the viability of the proposed system before the ATSC." If all goes well, a candidate standard will be ready to present next month, which "would keep handset manufacturers on schedule to have commercial devices available by the holiday 2009 shopping season." OMVC is also planning a multi-station demo at CES in January, so you can bet we'll be there giving it a run for its cheddar.

[Via RCRWireless]

RIM teams with DeviceAnywhere for testing of BlackBerry applications

by Darren Murph posted Oct 23rd 2008 @ 5:25AM

Palm already did the deed by partnering with DeviceAnywhere in opening its Virtual Developer Lab, and now it looks as if RIM's doing the same for its BlackBerry lineup. The Waterloo-based handset maker has joined hands with the aforementioned testing outfit in order to let "outside developers test their applications on a single system that represents 100 BlackBerry models running on 16 networks." We're also told that RIM is currently working with 100,000 developers to "create applications for such uses as gaming and navigation that link customers more tightly to their devices," which shouldn't come as any surprise given the pressure from Apple and Google. There's no word on when the virtual dev facility will open its doors, but we'd bank on it being sometime between "now" and "real soon."

LTE trial deemed a success: 170Mbps downloads in a moving car

by Darren Murph posted Sep 19th 2008 @ 9:13AM

Controlled LTE trials have been going pretty well of late, but the first test "under everyday conditions" has just gone down in Germany. We're pleased to say that everything went off without a hitch, as a connection using the next-generation (4G) mobile communications standard was maintained while inside a moving car traveling at around 42mph. Aside from the thrill of not dropping in and out of Pidgin at random, experimenters were able to pull downloads of up to 170Mbps and upload at up to 50Mbps. According to Hamid Akhavan, head of T-Mobile, it will still be 2010 (at the very earliest) before any of its markets go live with LTE, but at least we're moving in the right direction, eh?

[Image courtesy of ChrisHarrison]

Raleigh, NC's WRAL testing MPH mobile DTV system

by Darren Murph posted Jul 23rd 2008 @ 10:45PM

Although Raleigh, North Carolina is set to become one of the first DVB-SH test markets in America, WRAL is already testing out yet another standard. The station known nationwide for taking its local newscasts to the world of HD while everyone else sat and moped in their SD control rooms is currently teaming with CBC in order to test out the ATSC-compatible MPH mobile television transmission system. As we've seen before, the system enables "local broadcasters to deliver digital television to mobile devices including cellphones, laptops and personal media players," all while moving quickly in vehicles, hoverboards, rocket-powered scooters -- you name it. There's no word on what exactly will happen once the trials conclude, but we'll be keeping an ear to the ground just in case it's something big.

[Via BroadcastingCable]

Super 3G hits 250Mbps downlink in NTT DoCoMo field test

by Darren Murph posted Mar 26th 2008 @ 8:53AM

Just think -- this time next year, we'll all look back at this milestone and wonder how on Earth we thought it was impressive. For now, however, we wouldn't blame you for high-fiving everyone around, as NTT DoCoMo has stretched the boundaries again with a recent Super 3G field test. Reportedly, the outfit was able to record "a downlink transmission rate of 250Mbps over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental Super 3G system," and while it's not quite the 300Mbps we'd heard about before, you won't find us kvetching. If all goes to plan, the firm is hoping to "complete development of the technologies required for the eventual launch of a Super 3G network" by 2009, but who knows how long we Americans will have to wait to indulge after that.

Report from bizarro world: Centro, i760 best designed phones

by Darren Murph posted Dec 6th 2007 @ 8:13PM

Although "innovative" isn't exactly the word we chose to use when summing up Palm's Centro, apparently the public at large sees things a little differently -- or, so says this report, anyway. According to a buyer behavior writeup from Strategy Analytics, the Centro "attracted the most attention from nearly half of the tested US consumers who are intending to purchase a new mobile device" in Q4, and it even ranked ahead of the second-place Samsung i760 in the "appealing" department. Both of the aforementioned handsets were hailed as the top choices (saywha?) for folks "seeking a multifunction, fully integrated device," while the Nokia Prism and LG Rumor also got a few props along the way. Of course, it's always best to take these "studies" with a healthy serving of salt, but if you wanted something to debate about, you've found it.

[Via MobileWhack]

iPhone trumps HTC Touch, N95 in usability study

by Darren Murph posted Sep 24th 2007 @ 10:35PM

We've given you your chance to choose a champion amongst the iPhone, HTC Touch and LG Prada, and while the latter wasn't included at LG's request, the other two were recently pit against Nokia's N95 in a study of usability. The test was reportedly conducted by Perceptive Sciences, a Texas-based usability consulting firm, and relied on data from just ten individuals who had "never used any of the three devices." The group was asked to "perform a series of tasks on each handset with quantifiable results, such as the time needed to find and use the on / off switch," and when all was said and done, the iPhone managed to snag the gold. Of course, we wouldn't take these results to be the bonafide truth, but if you're interested in seeing what all the mobiles (and guinea pigs) went through before a winner was chosen, head on over to the read link.

[Via iLounge]

Nokia swings open doors to Beta Labs

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 19th 2007 @ 5:19PM

A popular trend in the software industry seems to be letting end users have at it with the latest, greatest goodies in the pipe before they're ready for prime time. Frankly, it's great -- power users get access to cool stuff faster, companies get feedback, and there's no one to take the fall when it fails. Nokia's the latest to hop on the bandwagon, inviting the public to take a gander at its "Beta Labs" with products like Mobile Codes (basically a fancy 2-D code generator) and Sports Tracker for the athletic types. It looks like there's more coming down the pike, too -- so even if you don't see something that strikes your fancy, might as well hook up to the RSS feed and keep an eye out.

[Thanks, Ed]

Option brags about successful HSUPA tests

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 12th 2006 @ 1:01AM

They can't claim to be the first to rock HSUPA outright, but Belgian outfit Option appears to be the first to hit up the 3G+ tech via an honest-to-goodness data card. As a reminder, HSUPA is the de facto successor to HSDPA in the GSM family tree, leaving the plenty-fast HSDPA downlink speeds be to concentrate on boosting the uplink; it's capable of topping out at a whopping 5.7Mbps up, compared to HSDPA's measly 384kbps. Of course, those crazy upload times do us no good without somethin' we can plug into our lappies; that's where Option comes into the equation, demonstrating a prototype card using Qualcomm's MSM7200 chipset in a variety of real-life scenarios (including a car traveling at 50 km/h), managing a respectable 1.3Mbps up and 2.7Mbps down. Now that testing is in full swing, Option says we can expect commercial HSUPA products from their camp in the first half of 2007.