Smartphones

Samsung is announcing today that it has begun mass production of 12 GB and 16 GB LPDDR5X modules in the industry's thinnest package. Samsung's shrunken memory packages measure approximately 0.65 mm in thickness, making them 0.06 mm (~9%) thinner than standard LPDDR5X packages. The company expects the new DRAM devices to be used to make for thinner smartphones, or improve their performance by enabling better airflow inside. According to the company's press release, Samsung achieved this ultra-thin design by employing new packaging methods, such as optimized printed circuit boards (PCBs) and epoxy molding compound (EMC). Additionally, an optimized back-lapping process was used to further reduce the height of the packages. The newly developed DRAM packages are not only thinner by 9% compared to previous models...

Intel Talks about Multimode LTE Modems - XMM7160 and Beyond

Since acquiring Infineon's wireless division and forming the Mobile Communications Group, Intel has been relatively quiet about its modem portfolio and roadmap. Pre-acquisition parts from Infineon have continued to...

39 by Brian Klug on 8/20/2013

A Tour of Moto Maker: Customization Meets the Moto X

A key part of the Moto X's story is one of hardware customization. At launch, those users buying Moto Xes on AT&T will be given the option of selecting...

26 by Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug on 8/16/2013

Ask the Experts: Intel's Aicha Evans Talks Wireless and Answers Your Questions

We've followed Intel's CPU team's march towards mobile for years now, but we've seen very little from the wireless group. That's all beginning to change. Earlier this year at...

47 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 8/15/2013

Nokia Lumia 521: Quality Smartphone on an Extreme Budget

The Nokia Lumia 521 is very interesting. It’s the T-Mobile US version of the Lumia 520, and ships with AWS HSPA+ for just $129 sans contract or subsidy. It’s...

117 by Vivek Gowri on 8/8/2013

Understanding Panel Self Refresh

Earlier today Brian spent some time with the G2, LG's 5.2-inch flagship smartphone based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) SoC. I'd recommend reading his excellent piece in order...

39 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 8/7/2013

Hands On with the LG G2 - LG's latest flagship

Today LG is announcing the LG G2, there’s no Optimus this time, it’s just the LG G2. The G2 is the successor to the Optimus G, the phone that...

81 by Brian Klug on 8/7/2013

Google Releases 4.3 OTA for HTC One and Galaxy S4 Google Play Editions

It's been a busy week in the Android space, and this evening Google appears to have hit the button on the Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean MR2) update for the...

26 by Brian Klug on 8/2/2013

Android 4.3 update for Nexus 10 and 4 removes unofficial OpenCL drivers

We had previously reported that Android 4.2 firmwares for Nexus 10 and Nexus 4 were found to contain OpenCL drivers. The drivers were an internal implementation detail and not...

13 by Rahul Garg on 8/1/2013

A Quick Look at the Moto X - Motorola's New Flagship

Since being acquired by Google, there’s been a lot of speculation about what’s coming next from Motorola. Last week they announced their Droid lineup for Verizon, this week they’re...

165 by Brian Klug on 8/1/2013

Update on GPU Optimizations in Galaxy S 4

Yesterday we posted our analysis of the Exynos 5 Octa's behavior in international versions of the Galaxy S 4 in certain benchmarks first discovered by Beyond3D user @Andreif7. Samsung...

38 by Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug on 7/31/2013

Looking at CPU/GPU Benchmark Optimizations in Galaxy S 4

Somehow both Anand and I ended up with international versions of Samsung’s Galaxy S 4, equipped with the first generation Exynos 5 Octa (5410) SoC. Anand bought an international...

112 by Brian Klug & Anand Lal Shimpi on 7/30/2013

Google Chromecast Review - An Awesome $35 HDMI Dongle

So I have a confession to make – I didn’t hate the Nexus Q. While I didn’t necessarily love it and use it daily like a small minority of...

105 by Brian Klug on 7/29/2013

Android 4.3 Update Brings TRIM to All Nexus Devices

One of the common complaints late in the life of the original Nexus 7 was slow storage I/O performance, leading to an inconsistent user experience. After a fresh flash...

46 by Brian Klug on 7/29/2013

What's New in Android 4.3

As expected, today Google made a management release for Android 4.2 official at their breakfast with Sundar event, bumping the release up to Android 4.3 and introducing a bunch...

69 by Brian Klug on 7/24/2013

Google's Breakfast With Sundar Pichai Event - Live Blog

We're in San Francisco again for Google, and this time we're expecting news about the next release of Android, and perhaps some news on the Chrome OS front, and...

27 by Brian Klug on 7/24/2013

NVIDIA Demonstrates Logan SoC: < 1W Kepler, Shipping in 1H 2014, More Energy Efficient than A6X?

Ever since its arrival in the ultra mobile space, NVIDIA hasn't really flexed its GPU muscle. The Tegra GPUs we've seen thus far have been ok at best, and...

141 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 7/24/2013

Samsung Galaxy S 4 ZeroLemon 7500 mAh Extended Battery Review

One of the chief differentiators with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 versus other current flagship Android devices is the continued support for user-replaceable batteries. Although removable batteries are becoming...

75 by Brian Klug on 7/23/2013

HTC Announces One mini - 4.3 inch display, aluminum, and Snapdragon 400

We knew it was coming, and after a long wait and endless leaks the HTC One mini is upon us. Smaller phones seem to be something everyone wants more...

42 by Brian Klug on 7/18/2013

Aptina Announces AR1331CP 13 MP CMOS with Clarity Plus - We Take a Look

Earlier this week, Aptina invited me out to their San Jose office to take a look at their new Clarity+ CFA (Color Filter Array) technology and 13 MP AR1331CP...

14 by Brian Klug on 7/17/2013

Samsung Galaxy S 4 Qi Wireless Charging Pad and Cover - Mini Review

For a while now, wireless charging has been slowly gaining momentum, and one of the phones that includes support is Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 (SGS4). For the past week...

33 by Brian Klug on 7/13/2013

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