Apple iPhone 4S gets benchmarked; slower than iPad 2

Apple's iPhone 4S has been benchmarked, according to reports.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple's iPhone 4S smartphone isn't even on store shelves yet, but benchmarks have leaked out on the Web, suggesting the device holds up quite well against most products, except the iPad 2.

According to benchmark data obtained by Anandtech from a host of sources, Apple's iPhone 4S beats out all devices, except for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 in a JavaScript benchmark, but easily bests that tablet (and all other Android-based devices) in a Rightware BrowserMark benchmark. However, when the smartphone is pitted against the iPad 2, it falls short in processor integer performance and in a 720p-frames-per-second test, according to Anandtech.

That data makes Anandtech believe that the iPhone 4S comes with an 800MHz A5 dual-core processor, and not the same 1GHz A5 dual-core processor found in the iPad 2. Geekbench, which provided some benchmark information, says the processor frequency is about 716MHz.

Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S last week at a special event in its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. The company touted the iPhone 4S' dual-core processor, but stopped short of providing detailed information on the chip. That said, the company did say that the processor in the iPhone 4S will easily overshadow the A4 chip found in the iPhone 4.

Based on the data published by Anandtech, that appears to be the case. In nearly every benchmark, the iPhone 4S doubled the performance of its predecessor.

Still, it's worth noting that the iPhone 4S has yet to launch, and there is no way to prove the validity of the benchmarks. So, while they might be accurate, for now, it's advised to take them with a grain of salt.

Apple's iPhone 4S launches later this week on Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint networks. The device starts at $199 for 16GB of storage, and goes up to $299 and $399 for 32GB and 64GB of storage, respectively. So far, the smartphone has proven successful, setting a new preorder record of 1 million sales in its first day of availability.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20118590-17/apple-iphone-4s-gets-benchmarked-slower-than-ipad-2/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple

VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS

OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.

The New York Times has published Mona Simpson’s eulogy for her brother, Steve Jobs.

None of us knows for certain how long we?ll be here. On Steve?s better days, even in the last year, he embarked upon projects and elicited promises from his friends at Apple to

...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/h4fAH6Ny_nU/

MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY

New high-precision eye surgery robot helps doctors stay sharp

A researcher at the Netherland's Eindhoven University of Technology has invented a new type of eye surgery robot designed to steady the ophthalmologist's hands and minimize error -- always a good thing when it comes to having needles and knives near your peepers. Kind of like an Igor to a mad scientist, the robot is considered a "slave" to its "master" doctor, who controls the automaton's arms using two joysticks. The doctor is still in charge of the cuts, but the technology makes sure the MD jabs that needle in at the exact same entry point each time without shaking to minimize ocular marring. Another notable feature is the robot's ability to switch between tools quickly, ensuring that if this whole doctor thing doesn't work out, it'll at least have a job at Hibachi waiting. Jump past the break to check out the full PR.

Continue reading New high-precision eye surgery robot helps doctors stay sharp

New high-precision eye surgery robot helps doctors stay sharp originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/28/new-high-precision-eye-surgery-robot-helps-doctors-stay-sharp/

SYNOPSYS SYNNEX

Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3

If you've had your head under a rock for the last few days, here's this week's Firefox news in brief: Firefox 4 was finally released.

Yes, 13 months after the initial release of Firefox 3.7 alpha 1 and four more alpha builds, a renumbering to 4.0 and 12 beta releases, and finally a release candidate (or two), Firefox 4 has been released into the wild.

Just like every other Firefox release, initial reception for the new browser has been nothing short of insane. 7.1 million downloads were registered in the first 24 hours and the download rate continued to accelerate, clocking in more than 15 million downloads after two days. At the time of writing, three days in, Firefox 4 has been downloaded over 25 million times. In case you're wondering, the United States accounts for 7 million of those downloads, just beating out Germany's Firefox-downloads-per-capita.

But now that you've installed Firefox 4 (you have, right?), what do you do now? Well, obviously, in true Download Squad fashion, it's time to tweak Firefox 4 using add-ons and about:config hacks!

First up is an add-on called Stratiform that lets you change every aspect of the Firefox 4 browser chrome -- including the color of that orange button!

Continue reading Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3

Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/25/firefox-4-friday-25-million-downloads-anti-aliasing-and-how-t/

RESEARCH IN MOTION ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS

Refresh Roundup: week of October 24, 2011

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout attips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• Guess which phone's finally getting Gingerbread: the HTC Thunderbolt. Yes, we're being serious. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in, and thanks Eddie for the image!]
• Gingerbread is now rolling out to the Motorola Droid Pro and Droid 2 Global. [PhoneScoop]
• The HTC EVO Design 4G wasn't out for very long before it was ready for a maintenance release. It's called version 1.19.651.0, and no change log was found right away.
• More HTC stuff: the EVO 3D also offers a small bug fix in the form of a security update under the name of version 2.08.651.3. [AndroidCentral]
• The LG Revolution on Verizon's also officially gaining Android 2.3. [Pocketnow]
• In the UK, HTC Desire S owners are now finding themselves beneficiaries of the Android 2.3.5 firmware update as well as Sense 3.0. [AndroidCentral]
• How about a couple for the little guys? CSpire, formerly known as Cellular South, is pushing Gingerbread to its Samsung Galaxy S and Motorola Milestone X. [AndroidCentral(1) and (2)]
• Sony Ericsson announced this week that Android 2.3.4 is rolling out to the 2011 Xperia lineup around the world. Additional enhancements include 16x video zoom, WiFi DLNA, screen capture capability, ability to attach USB peripherals to Sony Ericsson LiveDock and more.

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• The Samsung Stratosphere on Verizon has been successfully rooted. [AndroidCommunity]
• HTC devices receiving the official Gingerbread kernel source from HTCDev this week: The Evo Shift 4G, the Thunderbolt and Droid Incredible. [AndroidCentral]
• When it rains, it pours -- the Thunderbolt, on top of receiving Gingerbread and its accompanying kernel source, has also found itself on the receiving end of an Ice Cream Sandwich SDK port. As can be expected, it's still in prealpha stages and has a few bugs to work out. [AndroidCommunity]
• If you're a CM7 user, there's now a file available that will turn your lock screen into one that resembles Ice Cream Sandwich's style. [Droid-Life]

Other platforms

• Microsoft's pushing a firmware upgrade to the LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone which seems to grace the device with WiFi tethering and the ability to locate hidden WiFi networks. [WMPowerUser]
• It's not a BlackBerry firmware update, but many people still have a soft spot for BBM and will be interested to know that RIM is putting out version 6.0.1 with a few enhancements. Head to the source to check it out. [MobileTechReview]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Windows Phone Mango now being delivered to 100 percent of compatible devices
• Windows Phone Apollo coming 'middle of next year,' says Nokia VP
• Nokia N8 gets Symbian Anna service pack update
• Symbian Anna update rolls out to compatible Nokia smartphones in the US
• Motorola Xoom will get updated with Ice Cream Sandwich
• Ice Cream Sandwich supports USB game controllers and HDMI
• RIM confirms PlayBook OS 2.0 delayed until February, still no BBM in sight
• Sprint issues OTA fix for HTC Android handset vulnerability

Refresh Roundup: week of October 24, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/tmu0gdwTjx4/

EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS

Qantas Indefinitely Grounds Its Entire Fleet [Airlines]

In a surprising move, Australia's Qantas Airways has officially grounded its entire fleet today, and stopped all domestic and international flights as part of an ongoing and messy dispute with the airline's three unions. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Q5M2fPTp_UA/qantas-indefinitely-grounds-its-entire-fleet

SCIENTIFIC GAMES SANDISK

Motorola shipped 4.8 million smartphones, just 100,000 Xoom tablets in Q3

Motorola Mobility just announced its third-quarter 2011 earnings, dropping word that it shipped 4.8 million smartphones for the three months ending Sept. 30. It also said it shipped 100,000 Xoom Honeycomb tablets. By comparison, it shipped 3.8 million smartphones in Q3 2010, The Xoom wasn't available until 2011, but consider that Motorola said it shipped 440,000 of them in the second quarter. That's quite the drop.

Moto also give an update regarding its merger with Google, but didn't do much more than just repeat that shareholders will vote on the deal Nov. 17, and that it's all contingent on passing legal muster in the U.S., Europe, Canada, China, Israel, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey, and that the whole deal could be final by the end of 2011, or in early 2012. Motorola's attributing $18 million in expenses to the merger.

No conference call this quarter. Too bad. They're usually pretty juicy. Hit the link below for all the financial nitty gritty.

Source: Motorola

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/DZtN4KCHbdE/motorola-mobility-shipped-48-million-smartphones-100000-xoom-tablets-q3

JDA SOFTWARE GROUP JACK HENRY and ASSOCIATES

Locking Handbag Thwarts Pickpockets and Easy Access to Your Keys [Security]

The best way to protect yourself from pickpockets and thieves is to ensure you don't look like an easy target. So maybe it's time to upgrade that trendy gaping shoulder bag you carry with this secure alternative that requires you to know the secret combination before it will even open. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/i581mTLvubQ/locking-handbag-thwarts-pickpockets-and-easy-access-to-your-keys

QUEST SOFTWARE QUANTUM

Rotisserie Grill In Aluminum Briefcase for Secret Agents? Cookouts

Carson's portable grill. Try getting on a plane with this, I dare you

What could be better than rocking up to a picnic carry this sleek aluminum briefcase in one hand and a parcel of delicious raw meat in the other, and then flipping the case open to reveal? A rotisserie grill?

Nothing, that?s what (as long as somebody remembered to bring the beer). The Carson Portable Rotisserie Grill is just the thing for camping or tailgating. Everything you need is inside the case.

The included legs screw into sockets on the bottom, the lid of the case becomes the rear and contains the electric motor that keeps the spits turning, and the heat comes from a tray of glowing charcoal that sits in the bottom of the case itself.

The only thing you need to bring is a very, very long extension cord.

There is a little trouble in this grilling paradise: at $720, you might not have much money leftover for meat.

Carson Portable Rotisserie Grill [Carson]

See Also:

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/10/rotisserie-grill-in-aluminum-briefcase-for-secret-agents-cookouts/

NIKON NINTENDO

Boomshine is a soothing-yet-frustrating time waster

One click; just one single well-aimed click. That's all you get in Boomshine.

That single click triggers a chain reaction; circles start exploding, and other circles colliding with the shockwaves explode as well, creating their own shockwaves, which then catch other circles.

It's been done before, yes, but this one is a great iteration. The soundtrack is mellow, with lots of piano and some nice percussion (not electronic - it sounds like drums).

At each level you need to make a certain number of circles explode to go on to the next level. I got up to level 12, where you get 60 circles and need to make 55 of them explode. And then I kept trying and trying, but simply couldn't get it. I did get to 54 circles a couple of times, but as they say, you don't get points for trying.

There's no time limit, so you can carefully study the pattern of motion and place your click at the exact right place to create the best chain reaction. I've found that clicking near the middle of the screen works quite well, especially if the balls are slowly moving in that direction. By the time the first shockwave dies off, the oncoming balls usually hit it and the chain reaction continues.

What level did you reach? Screenshots please!

Boomshine is a soothing-yet-frustrating time waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/16/boomshine-is-a-soothing-yet-frustrating-time-waster/

YAHOO XILINX

The Johnsville G Machine Sucked Astronauts' Teeth Out the Back of Their Heads [Video]

John Glenn is an American hero. He orbited the Earth at 17,526 mph and ain't scared of a damn thing—except, of course, the Johnsville human centrifuge. That "sadistic" machine terrified Glenn and his fellow astronauts for more than 50 years at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Pennsylvania. Here's how. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/CUstb2HorW8/the-johnsville-g-machine-sucked-astronauts-teeth-out-the-back-of-their-heads

CANON MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS

Porsche-Designed BlackBerry Is a Sleek Slab of Steel

In the immortal words of Ashford and Simpson, the Porsche-designed Blackberry is h-h-h-h-hot

What would you get if you took a Motorola RAZR (the original), a BlackBerry and a mid-1980s Bang and Olufsen stereo, tossed them in a blender and poured the results to set in a shallow cake tin? You?d get the Porsche Design P?9981 Smartphone you see above.

Specs-wise, the phone doesn?t do anything special. It simply checks the boxes required of a modern mobile telephone: 1.2GHz processor, 720p video camera, 8GB storage, 5MP stills camera and a microSD card slot for expansion. It?s relatively small 2.8-inch, 640 � 480 287dpi screen can be explained away by the backlit hardware QWERTY keyboard.

But design-wise, it?s a rather hot-looking slab of glass and stainless steel (no silvered plastic here), and even has a leather-coved back panel. It probably won?t help BlackBerry pull out of its terrible death spiral, but it will at least make e-mail addicted businessmen look a little less dorky.

Price and availability tba.

Porsche Design P?9981 Smartphone [BlackBerry]

See Also:

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/10/porsche-designed-blackberry-is-a-sleek-slab-of-steel/

FAIR ISAAC FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS