Everything is relative, so when a chip foundry like TSMC (which produces gear for the likes of NVIDIA) has a bad quarter, that means it only made a $1 billion in profit. Today’s numbers reveal that the company has managed to rescue its halting fortunes after turning over $4.8 billion and making a tidy $1.68 billion in profit. The cause of this upswing was that orders for its coveted 28-nanometer process doubled in the period — repaying some of the $8.5 billion spent developing it and keeping profits just a little over that of its close pal, Qualcomm.
Qualcomm and Project RAY have teamed up to create a multi-use smartphone for the visually impaired and blind. Referred to as the Project RAY phone, it uses a specially-created user interface that is optimized for eye-free operation. The device is designed to reduce the number of gadgets a blind or visually impaired person uses throughout the day by offering all of their features in a single device.
The majority of blind individuals use simple phones for making calls. Obviously, the average smartphone is not something that can be used sans-sight. To make life easier, the visually impaired use a variety of specialty devices, which are more expensive than their normal counterparts and require individuals to use and keep track of many items.
The Project RAY phone has been created specifically to eradicate the need for many of these devices by performing the actions itself. The phone is based on an off-the-shelf Qualcomm-powered Android smartphone, this eye-free mobile device offers constant broadband connectivity and an adaptive UI. The RAY smartphone is currently in the testing phase, with 100 participants in Israel.
The interface allows users to touch any location on the screen, which will then become the starting point for selecting a feature. It is synchronized with Israel’s Central Library for the Blind, Visually Impaired and Handicapped audio books. Services include texting, phone calls, navigation, social network services, object recognition, remote assistance, audio book reading, and more. Said Don Rosenberg, executive VP and general counsel for Qualcomm, “We believe the Project RAY device will enhance the ability of blind and visually impaired people to access resources and information independently.”
Smartphones have made juggling multiple single-purpose gadgets a thing of the past for many, but the blind and visually impaired often use a raft of devices built with eyes-free use in mind. Qualcomm and Project Ray, however, are aiming to consolidate phone calls, text messaging with voice read-out, navigation, object recognition, audio book reading and more for the visually impaired in a system built on an off-the-shelf Android phone. To navigate the smartphone, users leverage a handful of simple finger movements that can be started at any point on the handset’s touch screen. Voice prompts and vibration provide feedback to users, and the UI adapts to usage patterns and preferences. Currently, Ray devices have access to Israel’s Central Library for the Blind and are being tested by 100 folks in the country. For the full lowdown, head past the break for the press release.
You’ve heard it before: the more things change the more they stay the same. It wasn’t that long ago that we reviewed LG’s flagship Optimus 4X HD, the world’s first quad-core HSPA+ handset. Despite representing the company’s best engineering and design effort to date, it wasn’t quite able to match the competition’s global offerings — Samsung’s mighty Galaxy S III and HTC’s lovely One X. Today, just a few months later, quad-core LTE superphones are the state of the art. Samsung’s selling the global Galaxy Note II, HTC’s just announced the One X+ and LG’s betting everything on the Optimus G — the first handset to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro together with an LTE radio.
The Optimus G is a pivotal device for the Korean manufacturer, especially in the US, where rival Samsung is massively popular and LG’s success has been hampered by a series of forgettable products (hello, Intuition) and a lackluster track record for software updates. It’s so critical that LG even invited us to spend some quality time with the Optimus G at the launch event in Seoul last month. In the US, LG’s partnering with Sprint and AT&T and there’s strong evidence that Google’s upcoming Nexus will be based on the Optimus G. So, does the company’s latest powerhouse measure up to the competition? How different are the US versions from the Korean model? Does LG finally have a winning formula with the Optimus G? Find out in our review after the break.
With the LG Optimus G, this OEM brings on its most powerful device by a long shot, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor inside and a 4.7-inch TrueHD IPS+ LCD display up front, this running on AT&T’s 4G LTE network here in the USA. What we’re seeing here is a device that’s ever so slightly confused in its identity – with more power than it knows what to do with in a device that looks and feels fabulous, but is just a bit bigger and more slippery than a normal-sized human being will be comfortable holding. Perhaps this combination of looks and processing power are enough to convince us that LG has suddenly become as much of a top-tier contender in the USA as Samsung and Apple?
Hardware
The LG Optimus G’s display resolution of 768 x 1280 pixels across 4.7-inches of real-estate rings in at 317.6 PPI, right between the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the iPhone 5 for pixel density. The iPhone 5 (also the 4/4S, being that they’re all the same) works with 326 PPI, and the Galaxy Nexus is literally the next densest display-toting smartphone in the world on the grand chart of them all at 316 PPI. The Samsung Galaxy S III, just so you know, has a screen density of 306 PPI, while the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha has the densest display of them all with 355 PPI, (this followed closely by the HTC Rezound with 342 PPI.
But enough of that display hubub – what we really want to know is if LG can back it up with power to make it blast forth! Of course it can, in this case, with Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor under the hood. With this beast of a system-on-chip rolling out at a clock speed of 1.5Ghz with 2GB of RAM to devour and the Adreno 320 graphics core, you’ll not be left wanting. This device allows the shutting off of two cores if you like – if you only need two cores for normal everyday action, that is – this allowing you to save a whole heck of a lot of power if you’re just an average power-consuming citizen.
You’ll find that this device is slightly larger than your hand unless you’re a giant. In combination with the glossy front, back, and sides – that are also rounded – you might be dropping this beast more than once before you even turn it on. Beyond that, it’s a gorgeous model of an LG, that’s for sure. There’s a notification light that rings around the power button, the cover that sits above your microSD and SIM card slots is held more securely than we’ve ever seen on a smartphone before, that the back panel is a collection of multi-faceted gems under a panel of polycarbonate (LG calls this “Crystal Reflection”). And it all looks nice, very nice.
You’ll be working with 16GB of internal storage with 16GB additional via your microSD card slot (with a 16GB card in it right out of the box). This slot is able to work with a card that’s up to 64GB large, so go big! You’ve also got NFC, BLuetooth 4.0, and a microUSB port on the bottom center that also doubles as MHL for HDMI if you’ve got the right adapter – through it you’ll be able to play 1080p video like a charm. The single speaker appears at first to be the same delivery as in past devices with the tiniest of slits revealing its energy, but here we’ve got rather loud delivery and balanced sounds on the whole.
You’ll be working with an 8 megapixel camera that’s capable of collecting 1080p HD video on the back while you’re front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera is fairly standard, made best for working with video chat. The battery inside is a lovely 2100mAh and is non-removable. The entire back of the device is non-removable as well, the only access you’ll be given being the door with the cards previously mentioned. This device feels and looks extremely solid and high-quality, top to bottom.
Software
This device comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with LG’s newest and most high-quality user interface over the top. As LG likes to say, it’s more of an integration and pairing with Android’s system than it is an overlay as many devices have had in the past – regardless of manufacturer. Here LG presents a rather unique look at the abilities of Android 4.0 with customization, organization re-arranging, and features that Google hasn’t yet moved to their core system- but you wont be surprised when they do in the future.
The apps that come with this device are abundant, and as AT&T is want to do, you’ve got every single angle on the carrier tip. Telenav-powered AT&T Navigator, AT&T Locker (cloud storage), and AT&T Messages are all welcome additions – they all work extremely well and make me glad to be using an AT&T device specifically. LG also adds a collection of their unique apps and features that’ve been appearing on devices of all kinds over the past few months. One example is QuickMemo, allowing you to take a note on a blank page or a screenshot, this app revealed in all its glory back on the LG Optimus Vu (as reviewed by SlashGear as the Verizon-carried 4G LTE LG Intuition).
The app known as LG Tag+ makes full use of this device’s NFC capabilities with instantly-working profiles based on how each of your NFC stickers (sold separately) have been programmed. We’ve got a tag here programmed for “Office” mode which means we’re on wi-fi and want our mobile network shut off so we’re not using up precious data. You can see this ability working in this first hands-on video below – along with a lot of user interface excellence as well.
Another app is Video Wiz, this being the first time we’ve seen it working like a charm – it’s a rather strange (yet appealing) montage-making app that shows not only how silly the mobile universe has become, but how awesome the video-processing powers of this phone are. Watch the video below to see this as well as a feature called QSlide – here allowing you to watch a video in varying levels of transparency while you do other tasks. It only works for videos that are actually on your device, and has us completely baffled on why it exists at all – if someone can explain why someone would want to have a half-transparency video playing while they do any other task, please let us know.
Of course there is one obvious reason, as it was with the video editing app: QSlide might be best at showing the power of the processor in this device. You’ll also see this power existing in a variety of HD games we’ve got on tap right this minute. Start your gaming journey off right with a bit of the ol’ Asphalt 7 from Gameloft:
Next have a bit more car-on-car action entertainment with Indestructible from glu – it’s all the destroying of automotive with more guns than you’ve ever seen in a racing game before! This would be because it’s not a racing game at all, but a destruction derby with death wishes and wishes for murder ready for hours of fun. And it’s got a collection of rather-smart bots running around in it that not just any processor would be able to handle.
The final game you’ll see here is Wild Blood. This is another game from Gameloft, this time working with the Unreal engine for massive graphics power from top to bottom. Notice the hefty sword wielding and screen utilization – and all the killing of the monsters, to boot!
Benchmarks
This device destroys the competition almost without fail. Qualcomm brought on their Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor earlier this year and it very much appeared to have NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad-core processor on the ropes (see the HTC One X AT&T review to see that match-up). Now we’ve got four cores from the same company and they’re burying the rest of the processor architecture left and right. Have a peek at a few examples here.
And of course pay attention to the hands-on videos most of all throughout this review to get a real example of the true power this device has. Benchmarks can say a lot, but it’s the real working and playing that you’ll want to know the most.
Camera
The camera on this device has been changed ever so slightly coming over the sea, with our first look at this smartphone being in its international edition with 13 megapixels backing it up. There is another iteration of this device on a different carrier here in the USA with the same (or a rather similar) 13 megapixel camera as the original, but from what we’ve seen, this 8 megapixel camera is the winner across the board.
Ever so slightly truer colors in low-light and what appears to be a bit more ease in executing a final product – the 13 megapixel camera, needless to say, should not be your deciding factor when deciding between iterations here (data speed should be). The camera here is not perfect on the AT&T version of the device, but it certainly benefits from Qualcomm’s dedicated image processing power in the Snapdragon S4 Pro inside, and you will be able to knock out quality shots along the same lines as your favorite smartphones on the market today.
If you’re looking for the nicest smartphone camera on the market, this isn’t it (it’s the Nokia PureView 808) but you will not be let down if you’re willing to take the time to get the hang of it. For you camera addicts out there heading to AT&T specifically: try this device, the iPhone 5, and the HTC One X+ (or the X if the X+ isn’t out when you get there) to decide between the best. There’s also the Nokia Lumia 920 which we’ve not yet gotten to test – we shall see soon for the final Autumn battle.
Have a peek at a few different sorts of shots here in this section and in the final gallery below as well. There are a vast number of effects and shooting modes you can use, filters, panorama, non-stop shot, and a special feature shooting mode that takes photos “before” you take your final shot – that’s called “Time catch shot” and the only time it’ll come in handy is if you’re standing still and you want to capture the precise moment at which your child is smiling perfectly. Have a peek at this cat example first, then see some standard shots right after, along with some video as well.
Battery
With a quad-core processor and 4G LTE running with an ultra-bright IPS+ LCD display up front, it’s not difficult to see how this device’s 2100mAh battery would have trouble keeping up with day-to-day activities. If you’re worried about how quickly you’ll drain your battery, you can worry yourself right into a less-than-a-few-hours complete drain situation – stream some video, play with some benchmarks, and keep that display at full blast.
If however you’re thinking about conserving your battery, you’ve got several options. This device comes with an Eco mode that’s rather expansive in its options for how your phone will react to you reaching a low battery level. Once you’re down to 30%, for example, you could potentially be using 2 CPU cores instead of 4, your display brightness could be at near-zero, and your app syncing could be turned off entirely. You can also, of course, set your display to automatic brightness (with an added bonus of a brightness base to start with) – all that will do you great favors right alongside Qualcomm’s power-conserving abilities inherent in the S4 Pro – you just have to be smart about it, that’s all.
Wrap-up
This device is the most well-refined package that LG has ever delivered, with a generous amount of processing power, a high-class physical feel, and a final product that finally does justice to the display power LG has been bringing on for months in past devices. This smartphone has a display that’s viewable from all angles – there’s no bad way to see it – and if you’re not against having a glossy front and back, you’ll have a great time feeling like you’ve got a piece of slightly rugged jewelry in your palm.
That’s a bit of the problem though at the same time, with LG appearing to get into a space where they know their design identity, but they’ve not quite perfected setting the device in a human hand. This smartphone is just slightly too wide for my adult male hand, which would be perfectly fine if it weren’t for the gloss across the back and up the sides of the device. With a case or with some grippy backing, this unit will feel great. You’ll certainly be willing to make that extra jump when you see how powerful the heart of this device really is.
It’s time to take a peek at the LG Optimus G as it runs on AT&T’s 4G LTE network and busts out with the majorly powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor on a set of three lovely games. The first game we’re taking a peek at is Wild Blood, a hack-and-slash monster-slaying 3rd-person adventure from Gameloft. Gameloft also presents the second game we’re having a peek at, that being Asphalt 7, a racing game with lots and lots of drifting. Then it’s time for a glu-developed game by the name of Indestructible – one car destroys another with chain guns, missiles, and many, many bombs.
With Wild Blood you’ll see the Snapdragon S4 Pro working to keep you on the run between cut-scenes and actual massacring of monsters in no time at all – you’ve got lovely special moves and bashing on your side as well. This game takes a bit of time to load when you first fire it up, otherwise there’s nothing to complain about in the least here on the LG Optimus G. Expect to be waiting a bit longer on devices with only a single core, and for multi-core devices you’ll still want to make sure you’re not pushing any other tasks at the same time – here with the S4 Pro we’ve got no concerns.
Next have a peek at Asphalt 7, a game that if you’re not used to dragging your tail end whilst racing you’ll have a difficult time not crashing into walls with. When you’re playing this game outside an optimized-for-gaming environment, you’ve got definite lag in graphics. Inside the LG Optimus G, everything is smooth as butter.
Finally there’s the many-independent-minds game that is Indestructible. Here we’ve got a Twisted Metal vibe going on with more little vehicles than you’re going to be able to handle. With so many bots coming at you with minds all their own, it’s only your ultra-powerful processor that’s keeping everything working so smoothly.
Stay tuned for more LG Optimus G action as we complete our review this week – the device goes on pre-order for $199 starting tomorrow with AT&T. Will you be picking one up right out of the gate? If you’ve got one whole heck of a lot of questions, be sure to let us know what you need to know in the comments section below! We’ll do our best to answer all queries!
While Google and LG have kept quiet on the subject of any prospective Nexus phone, the leaky ship that is the LG E960 “Mako” popped another hole today as Belarusian site Onliner.by has apparently gotten its hands on a prototype unit. According to the site the specs match many of the previous leaks saying it’s similar to the Optimus G, rocking a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, 1280×768 4.7-inch display and 2GB of RAM, but only 8GB of storage built-in and an 8MP camera. It’s running the just-released Android 4.1.2 for now, so unfortunately there’s no hint of any potential Android 4.2 features. Hit the source link to check out a few more quality snaps of the “with Google” handset, but at this rate we’ll probably have more details any minute now.
It would appear that the 5-inch warrior currently code-named DROID Incredible X is showing up certified with Verizon as a big competitor for the Samsung Galaxy Note II. What we’re seeing here is the HTC6435LVW, an HTC device also known as the DLX, coming forth with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core 1.5GHz processor with a 5-inch FullHD display and 1.5GB of RAM. This device has also been tipped to be bringing 16GB internal storage (likely one of several choices), a 12 megapixel camera on the back, 2 megapixel camera on the front, and a 2500 mAh battery under the hood as the HTC One X 5.
This device has been suggested to be bringing Android 4.1.2 to the party as well as Sense 4+, not unlike it’s recently revealed cousin, the HTC One X+. This device will certainly be coming with 4G LTE with Verizon – if it comes at all, of course, and will be competing against not just the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but the LG Intuition as well. It’s time for a new era of gigantic displays, that’s for certain.
This device has also been tipped – though it would seem unlikely at this point – to be working as Google’s next Nexus device. At the moment, Google’s suggestion that they’d be working with more than one device manufacturer for their next Nexus smartphone seems less likely than them moving on to LG exclusively as they’ve not yet chosen that OEM to bring a Nexus to light. HTC on the other hand has, and Samsung has as well – and Motorola might have a Nexus in the future, but as they’ve been purchased by Google quite recently, it would make a whole lot more sense to show friendship towards LG – and fairness, as it were.
This HTC Incredible X will likely be essentially a gigantified version of the HTC One X+, a device that’ll bring quad-core power to AT&T. Here with Verizon, HTC hopes to continue their successful drive inside the DROID brand, Verizon’s own specific Star Wars-licensed environment for goodness. The image in this post shows a red ring around the device too, so it’s all but here – but the decision to believe is yours!
What do you do if you’ve been selling what’s arguably the best superphone on the US market and the competition is heating up? Make it better, of course, and that’s exactly what HTC’s done with the One X+ for AT&T. This is the same improved handset we recently played with in the UK, but unlike AT&T’s One X — which dropped the global model’s quad-core Tegra 3 with 32GB of storage in favor of a dual-core Snapdragon S4 with only 16GB of flash for the sake of LTE — AT&T’s One X+ gives you the best of both worlds: NVIDIA’s 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3 AP37 SoC combined with Qualcomm’s MDM9215m GSM/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA+/LTE radio plus 32 or 64GB of built-in storage.
Gone are the white and grey hues — you can have your One X+ any color you want as long as it’s flat black. Whereas the UK version of HTC’s new flagship incorporates red accents around the camera and in the Beats logo, the US model is completely black. The rest of the specs match the global version — you’ll find the same gorgeous 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display with Gorilla Glass 2, same impressive eight megapixel f/2.0 autofocus BSI rear camera with flash, same 1GB of DDR2 RAM, along with the updated 2100mAh sealed battery and 1.6MP BSI front-facing shooter capable of 720p video. Jelly Bean and Sense 4+ are on the menu as well, with snappier-than-ever performance.
Put AT&T’s One X and One X+ side-by-side, and other than the color difference you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart. The carrier’s logo is slightly different, but that’s about it — even the docking pins in the back line up perfectly. Other improvements common with the global model include Amplified Sound for clearer sound from the speaker, Sightseeing mode which lets the power button launch the camera and Auto Portrait mode which helps you take better self-portraits. There’s still no word on pricing or availability but we invite you to feast your eyes on the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.
What do you get when you raid HTC’s parts bin and combine the camera from the One V, the screen resolution from the One S and the design language from the One X? Say hello to HTC’s One VX for AT&T, a stylish mid-range smartphone running Ice Cream Sandwich and Sense 4. It features a 4.5-inch qHD Super LCD 2 display with Gorilla Glass 2, Qualcomm 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor (MSM8930) with GSM/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA+/LTE radio, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 8GB of on-board storage and a five megapixel f/2.0 autofocus BSI camera with flash and 1080p video recording.
The front glass incorporates the earpiece, AT&T logo and VGA shooter up top along with the usual capacitive buttons (back, home and recent apps / menu) below the display. A silver plastic rim traces the sides of the handset — it’s a simple and familiar layout, with the power / lock key, headphone jack and secondary mic on top, micro-USB port and primary mic at the bottom, and the volume rocker on the right edge. Pop the white plastic back cover and you’ll find micro-SIM and microSD card slots, a non-removable 1810mAh battery and the NFC antenna.
Unfortunately, we were given a non-functional dummy unit to play with so we can’t comment on things like screen quality or subjective performance. We can tell you that the phone is light, thin and feels good in the hand — it slots somewhere between the One S and the One X in terms of size, and looks nice despite being made of cheaper materials than its stablemates. AT&T and HTC are still mum on availability but we were told to expect aggressive, budget-friendly pricing. Want to see more? Take a look at our gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.
Update: we expect to see a working One VX at today’s AT&T announcement so stay tuned for more impressions.
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