Related
IMPORTANT NOTE: this is the nth part of my MWC (Barcelona) report series (a lot more to come!). Of course, I’ll try to cross-post them here too (I couldn’t do so while in Barcelona because of the very slow & expensive Internet connection), but it’ll take a lot of time; in the meantime, feel free to check out the original articles. It’s REALLY worth checking out them: many of them contain info that you won’t ever read anywhere else. Furthermore, some of the more “thematic” articles discuss all the news of a given area (audio encoding, Web browsing, advanced Bluetooth etc.)
MWC Audio Encoding News Roundup; Skype cracked!
MWC: Breaking Sony-Ericsson XPERIA X1 news & pics!
MWC: Bluetooth news: A2DP news & reviews (e.g. Voyager 855); a new BT access point; Nokia’s new DVB-H transmitter
MWC: Web browsing: WebKit, Thunderhawk news; a dedicated Web browser handheld
MWC: the competition: BlackBerry (RIM) and Nokia
MWC: Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 to come with WM 6.5?
MWC: a really-really great e-paper & WindowsCE- based (!) phone & reader from Polymer Vision: Readius – the first foldable(!) e-book reader ever
MWC: more S-E Xperia X1 shots & info; it'll be based on the Qualcomm chipset?
MWC: more S-E Xperia X1 info & photos
MWC Report Part I: Opera Mobile 9.5 pics, i-mate, Nokia, MS Press Conference, MSN Direct news etc.
OK, now, to the article:
Samsung
Architecture-wise, it’s without doubt Samsung’s MWC announcement of a brand new, high-end chipset (also having a CPU), the S3C6410 (and its budget version, the S3C6430), that may be the most interesting to Windows Mobile users.
As you may already know, Samsung’s SC3244x (for example, the SC32442 used in the HTC P6300 (HTC Panda), E-Ten’s late 2007/early 2008 models like the X650 and the M800 etc – see the complete list HERE and HERE for the SC32442 and the SC32440, respectively), the chipset used in several current(!) Windows Mobile devices, is REALLY outdated. I’ve shown numerous examples and proofs of this (see for example THIS) - for example, the very bad CPU usage of A2DP (about 50% at 400 MHz) and the complete lack of advanced multimedia (MP3 / AAC) en/decoding support (this is why you can’t, for example, use the high-quality Resco audio codec pack with (old) Samsung CPU’s, as has also been pointed out HERE). These two tasks are all far better handled by any other, current CPU’s like Intel XScales (even the “old” PXA-2XX ones) and TI OMAP’s (again, even the oldest ones used in Windows Mobile 5+ devices). The only real advantage of the SC3244x is the CPU usage-independent power consumption – the other two, above-mentioned architectures can’t boast with this. (See the bottom section of THIS article for a proof.)
Before MWC, as far as their newer chipsets are concerned, only the S3C6400 was known. For example, E-Ten’s brand new, high-end, feature-packed V900 (to be released in April) will have this chipset. (Currently, there’re no other existing/announced devices (see THIS) with this CPU.)
This chipset is the base (the direct predecessor, parent) of the new S3C6410/ S3C6430 models. In this respect, it’s pretty much comparable to the Marvell XScale PXA270 as opposed to the PXA310, let alone the even more feature-rich PXA320.
The just-announced S3C6410, which is an even more advanced version of the S3C6400 , is even better; for example, it supports hardware 3D acceleration. Again, it’s like the PXA310 or the PXA320 compared to the PXA270. Unfortunately, currently, no future devices are known to have it.
(the 3D performance demo of the brand new S3C6410; you can see the S3C6410 flier I’ve also made some shots of here)
(multimedia demo on the older S3C6400)
(HD AX audio decoding demo on the older S3C6400)
(this is how an imaginary device could house the S3C6400)
Note that, currently, the only available online information is the above-linked one. While it does explain the advantages of the new S3C6410 platform over the “old” S3C6400 one, it’s definitely worth checking out their offline brochure I’ve taken a shot of (with my Nokia N95 – man, it DOES have a very nice camera. Hear that, Windows Mobile ODM’s? We want something similar on WM too!) Also note that Samsung’s portal doesn’t have any information on the S3C6430 at all. Finally, note that none of the other portals reporting on MWC have anything else on the new CPU than the above-linked press release (see for example MobileBurn, electronista.com, techon - these are the sites mentioning S3C6410 I could find via Google). That is, it’s in by me that you get a full rundown of the differences between the new CPU’s and the “old” S3C6400.
(again, click the pictures to get a full-resolution, readable one!)
As can clearly be seen, the S3C6410 is a much more advanced version of the S3C6400: it uses 65 nm technology instead of the 90 nm one (most probably resulting in major power and size savings), it has advanced 2D capabilities (for example, H.264 hardware decoding – as is also explained in the online version) and even 3D hardware acceleration. The “budget” S3C6430 seems to be exactly the same as the S3C6410; the only difference seems to be the complete lack of 3D hardware acceleration. Hope we’ll still see the latter (that is, the S3C6410) with proper (!) 3D drivers.
Also see THIS for their roadmap and THIS for a S3C6400 datasheet. Note that these pages only list the “old” S3C6400 and (still) don’t link to anything related to the S3C6410/S3C6430. By the time you read this, however, they may have already added info / links to this new info, though.
The S5L8900
Also note that Samsung has also had another, pretty much mysterious chipset for over a year, the S5L8900. It is, therefore, a year older than the S3C6410/S3C6430 (and is of about the same age as the S3C6400); this may also mean it’s still using the old, 90 nm technology, not the new, 65 nm one. It’s being used in many Apple products (including the iPhone) and only one WindowsCE (NOT Windows Mobile!)-based, announced Meizu M8 miniOne high-resolution phone. Unfortunately, it’s still not out and, again, it’s WindowsCE-based only, meaning NO (hacking-less) compatibility with the vast majority of Windows Mobile programs. You can find a full list of the mobile devices using the S5L8900 HERE.
Interestingly, Samsung’s official pages have absolutely no information on this chipset either – just like the case with the brand new, but, because of the lacking 3D hardware acceleration, not very interesting, “budget” S3C6430.
It’s stated to have a lot of goodies; for example, hardware 3D acceleration (a PowerVR MBX 3D processor). See THIS for more info, links and for some speculations on why Samsung doesn’t even mention it on their homepage.
All in all, way to go Samsung, and DO force hardware ODM’s use your S3C6410 – NOT the old S3C6400 or the budget S3C6430! (For example, could you force E-Ten to switch to S3C6410 from the already-outdated S3C6400?)
Finally, a somewhat unrelated shot of their new, power-saving LCD technology:
Imagination Technologies's stuff (incl. PowerVR)
When discussing the S5L8900 above, I’ve already mentioned the PowerVR 3D hardware accelerator used in the top-secret, only-for-Apple S5L8900 Samsung chipset. Now, let’s see what they have on offer. A LOT!
Note that the PowerVR 3D hardware graphics accelerator is used in several other chipsets; for example, the (advanced) Texas Instruments OMAP2420 chipsets used in the Nokia N93/N95/N82.
They have announced several advanced designs at MWC (see their original press release HERE). The new chipset is about two times faster than the currently available one in, say, the above-mentioned Nokia phones. Therefore, of course, first, I’ve asked them when we’ll see see their latest 3D mobile (low-power) hardware accelerator chipset to appear in mainstreams CPU’s (or CPU architectures) like the above-mentioned TI OMAP 2420 chipset. There isn’t any information on this.
I’ve also asked them on what they think of the Nokia N96 I’ve elaborated earlier on and whether they think its lack of a dedicated 3D accelerator, along with the lack of 3D hardware accelerator support in Next-Gen N-Gage games, means the end of using the PowerVR hardware acceleration technology in Nokia’s highest-end entertainment / multimedia / gaming devices. They consider the N96 a niche product – one that is not really made for gaming fans, but more likely those of watching TV in realtime. They also explained the lack of the 3D acceleration in the N96 is deliberate: Nokia didn’t want to totally cannibalize the N95 8GB (which was only released less than half a year ago) sales. And, I should add, those of the N82 – albeit, the latter phone also has a Xenon flash. All in all, they aren’t afraid of Nokia’s completely stopping releasing 3D-accelerated devices. They have also added that, sooner or later, Next-Gen N-Gage games will also get hardware 3D acceleration support (currently, they’re software-only, which pretty much sucks).
Turning to the question of Windows Mobile, while more and more WinMo models are receiving the more up-to-date TI OMAP chipsets, it still remains to be seen if any of these will have a chipset directly supporting 3D hardware acceleration. They didn’t have any information on this.
Unfortunately, the same stands for their new, mobile H.264 hardware accelerator solution. If you’ve read my H.264 Bible, you know well enough that, currently, no Windows Mobile chipsets support accelerating H.264 playback by doing the decoding in the much more efficient hardware. (Yes, in theory, the new Marvel PXA310 and PXA320 in the iPAQ 110 / 21x Pocket PC’s do – but whether there will be players to utilize this still remains to be seen. Hope the CorePlayer folks indeed manage implementing this.)
Note that they have also shown a 3D demo (still with their old drivers) of a non-3D hardware accelerated Nokia and on an accelerated one. The video can be found for example in THIS pocketgamer.co.uk article. (I’ve also made a video of it, but will only make it available later, when I have some time for transcoding it into high-resolution H.264 to avoid the problems associated with the low resolution of YouTube or Google Video).
Finally, a big-big thanks to the Imagination folks. Being pretty busy at discussing the H.264 issues, I’ve left my highest-end P&S camera (the 12 Mpixel Ixus 960 costing over 530 US$ in Europe) on their booth. When I wandered backwards (still having not realized my camera is missing – I’ve had a ScottVest on me, fully packed with mobile phones and PDA’s and, therefore, I haven’t promptly noticed the missing camera), they came to me and handed my camera back. Great and sincere folks – again, I can’t express my gratitude enough!
Qualcomm
First and foremost, if you’re a user of a HTC-manufactured, Qualcomm-based device like the Kaiser/Tilt, your first question will surely concern the 3D and the graphics drivers. (If you aren’t aware of the issue, just look around HERE, particularly around the sticky threads) Let me elaborate on this question first.
I’ve also spoken to a device manufacturer (an ODM). Their name must remain unknown (upon their request). They have a pretty nice (albeit QVGA) device with all the necessary (wireless & connectivity) goodies and is built on the current Qualcomm MSM7200 chipset (the one that lacks the 3D / real display driver in HTC’s current devices). They stated – XDA-Developers folks (and anyone else wanting a proper video / 3D driver for their Qualcomm devices), attention! – it’s in no way impossible to create a 3D driver for it. Some of the framework has already been produced but they have to work on the drivers too. We’ll see the results pretty soon, if the hardware manufacturer in question indeed manages to ready the driver before their deadline – which will be before the XPERIA X1’s release (or the Kaiser’s getting outdated). This also means that, should they manage to create a driver, the XDA-Devs hacks will have a decent source to get the already-written driver from – at last.
I’ve also talked to the Qualcomm folks themselves about the driver issues with HTC-manufactured devices. They didn’t want (read: refused) to comment on anything (pretty much understandably).
New Qualcomm chipset?
Of course, I’ve also spoken to the Qualcomm folks on whether they have anything to announce as, right before MWC, I’ve heard of their releasing a supposedly new chipset, running at 560 MHz and having a lot of advanced features compared to their current MSM7200. The MSM7200A (notice the trailing “A”) might not be the chipset in question because it “only” runs at 528 MHz (as has been also explained HERE). Unfortunately, the person in charge of answering questions like this wasn’t present so we’ll need to e-mail each other; I fill you in as soon as I receive some new info.
MWC: Chipset Vendors & New Chipsets - Part II has been posted to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1980944
Anyone tested psx4droid yet?
it works ok for me, however wiimote will not work on tnt. it will work on zpad however.
Plays a ton of games at full speed, but the v-pad sucks for most games. Gtablet plays the following games smoothly with sound. Please note that 1.5 and 1.6 are a LOT faster than 1.7 (current version in market).
Sound is fairly rough for a lot of games though: Some are ok.
Sample of more cpu killing games for other Android devices:
Dead or Alive
Bloody Roar 2
Crash Racing
Tekken 3
NFL Blitz 2001
NBA Live 2001
March Madness 2000
NBA Showtime
Tobal 2 (when in game)
Rival Schools
There are others, but Tegra 2 handles these very well. Of course, no current way to play the games decently, since no control options other then the virtual pad.
Games play rather well with the v-pad on the Incredible and Droid X, but smaller design (closer controls & lighter) and actual touch response & multi touch is better on those devices. Catch is those devices plays all the games noted above slow, except Crash Racing.
rushless said:
Plays a ton of games at full speed, but the v-pad sucks for most games. Gtablet plays the following games smoothly with sound. Please note that 1.5 and 1.6 are a LOT faster than 1.7 (current version in market).
Sound is fairly rough for a lot of games though: Some are ok.
Sample of more cpu killing games for other Android devices:
Dead or Alive
Bloody Roar 2
Crash Racing
Tekken 3
NFL Blitz 2001
NBA Live 2001
March Madness 2000
NBA Showtime
Tobal 2 (when in game)
Rival Schools
There are others, but Tegra 2 handles these very well. Of course, no current way to play the games decently, since no control options other then the virtual pad.
Games play rather well with the v-pad on the Incredible and Droid X, but smaller design (closer controls & lighter) and actual touch response & multi touch is better on those devices. Catch is those devices plays all the games noted above slow, except Crash Racing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice. You say 1.5 and 1.6 run smoother. Do you have .APK for one of the older versions?
h4x0rjdag said:
Nice. You say 1.5 and 1.6 run smoother. Do you have .APK for one of the older versions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes (from older Titanium BU), but it is apparently linked to my gmail account (would not work until I set my account up on Gtablet). It is a paid app, but the irony is the one on the market (1.7) absolutely sucks compared to 1.5 & 1.6.
Not sure why the dev takes backsteps.
You should have no problem finding the apk. In this situation, can not blame you since the current version is a lost cause.
so is 1.6 better than 1.5
ok so i got it but not sure which version, any way to find the version #.
the bios it came with, i also know nothing about. are there better bios than others?
do you know anywhere i can get a good pack of roms already packed
My Titanium backup showed 1.5, but a way to tell if you have 1.7 is they added some graphics options which are not in the older versions. There should only be scaling mode and framerate adjustment in 1.6 and lower. If you see extra settings for graphics in the menu (can not remember what they are), you have the new 1.7 version.
uh oh, 1.7 i guess haha. i'll look for some alternate .apk's
if anyone else has trouble finding apps for free i just google this...
".apk" "index of /" "NAMEOFAPPHERE"
works well for me!! thanks for all the info though!
searching for roms. is there a certain type that work?
i found listed as NTSC. not sure if there are other types but will these play probably ?
The version number is in the top right hand corner in application info (application manager). Mine says "1.5".
Best bet is eboot files, since they are smaller compressed versions of the iso files. I use eboots, since you can fir almost 2X the roms in the same space (on average).
Eboots are PSX games formatted to work on the PSP. They work here too.
rushless said:
The version number is in the top right hand corner in application info (application manager). Mine says "1.5".
Best bet is eboot files, since they are smaller compressed versions of the iso files. I use eboots, since you can fir almost 2X the roms in the same space (on average).
Eboots are PSX games formatted to work on the PSP. They work here too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool thanks, i can't find a good source for psx eboots. have any suggestions ?
mine is v1.0 i was looking at something else. is 1.0 reliable?
h4x0rjdag said:
cool thanks, i can't find a good source for psx eboots. have any suggestions ?
mine is v1.0 i was looking at something else. is 1.0 reliable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but 1.1 is best for speed, but has some graphics issues (example is special weapon boxes missing in Crash Racing). This is rare though.
1.1 is easy to find by doing a search for 1.1 and psx4droid.
Worth buying though- assuming the dev fixes the 1.7 fiasco. The dev should at least offer 1.5 or 1.6 as a separate market download for paid users.
I was told v1.61 is the best one available.
I mean v1.7 has the most/best features but sufferes from a lag.
v1.1 has the best speed which is equal in v1.6, but v1.6 is slightly faster for those weaker devices (eg Milestone).
v1.6 has some new features not present in v1.1
I'm guessing a v1.8 may be released later on which is simply v1.7 minus the lag
After that (v1.8) I believe it would remain quite stagnant as zodtt wants to focus on his other projects; vlc4droid and n64droid and not to mention his apps for iOS.
Yep, 1.5 & 1.6 are best for combination of speed and all graphics visible. 1.1 is fast, but gets away with it since some graphics are missing Example is Crash Racing. 1.5 seems as fast as 1.1, but has all the graphics.
1.6 begins the step to the dark side of lag (works for a few games well, most not so much). 1.7 is even more niche and a big step backwards for the app.
so i was reading this article
http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/T-Mobile-G2x-with-Google
and it says "Powered by a stock version of the Android™ 2.2 operating system", does that mean there's no bloatware and it's just like the Nexus? if so, there seems to be no greater phone than this one.
The G2 is stock android and it still has some bloatware not a lot but its still there. This will probably be near stock experience just like the G2!!
Seems like a great phone tho!!! But im sticking with my Nexus, there is nothing like a google supported phone!
Edit:
These are all the apps that will be preloaded on the device
* Need for Speed™ SHIFT HD, developed by Electronic Arts (EA), is an award-winning, authentic racing game that combines the true driver's experience with real-world physics, pixel-perfect car models, and a wide range of authentic race tracks.
* DTS Ultra Mobile™, which includes two innovative audio technologies – DTS Envelo™ and DTS Boost™ – for a premium surround sound experience. When listening to music or playing games on the T-Mobile G2x, customers will enjoy rich, enhanced sound that adds depth, dimension and volume levels that are robust without distortion.
* A demo of Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance - N.O.V.A., developed by Gameloft, is a fast-paced sci-fi action game in which players operate as Kal Wardin, an elite soldier established to protect humanity from alien threats.
* T-Mobile TV, offering live and on-demand TV including news, sports and full-length entertainment, plus full episodes of your favorite shows.
* Zinio eReader, the largest online newsstand, enabling customers to shop for, search inside, read, share and save digital content in new ways with more than 75,000 digital magazines from 26 countries.
* T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik™, enabling video conversations with friends and family through T-Mobile's network and Wi-Fi.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/22/lgs-t-mobile-g2x-announced-available-later-this-spring/
Stock Android but I prefer by updates being handled and maintained by Google especially with open sourcing kernels etc.
Although, LG does look really good in the Android game. If they live up to updating their phones in a timely matter. They're definitely going to gain the respect from the Android modding community.
bcl0328 said:
so i was reading this article
http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/T-Mobile-G2x-with-Google
and it says "Powered by a stock version of the Android™ 2.2 operating system", does that mean there's no bloatware and it's just like the Nexus? if so, there seems to be no greater phone than this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I owned a G2 and it looked like stock android but it totally wasn't. Cyanogen actually commented on this issue when porting CM6 to the device, he said it was not stock android and had lots of htc elements in the build. You will only find stock on the n1 or the ns natively
JD
Sent from my Google Nexus Magic Wand S
***YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG!!!***
This is a real breakthrough!!!!!
I own a HTC Desire HD, though there are some incompatibilities with many games made only for certain platforms! Though this is only the beginning, many, if not all games, can be played from other platforms on your high end android device.
1/ Download the free version of ChainFire3D from Market (got some bugs with the cracked pro one, so for the time being, use the free one to test).
2/ Install the app, install the driver in the app, and reboot.
3/ Download the 3 plugins for TEGRA, QUALCOMM and POWERVR drivers from here:
http://www.multiupload.com/18ECNP4UH1!
4/ Place them in the root of your SD card
5/ In the app, press install plugin and wait to find them (2-5 min), then install all 3 of them
6/ In Default OpenGL settings, select use Plugin and use nVidia to do a test.
7/ Download an incompatible game, for example Samurai 2: Vengeance (Tegra only) from the Site in here! Or Fruit Ninija THD, or I don't know what
Test it! It will work!
8/ Download any other game and test. Use the appropiate driver plugin.
NOTE: There might be some incompatibilies, so not ALL other games will work. Also, if your phone's hardware does not support the games h/w requirements, of course it will not work
LE: If the game requires too much RAM, be sure to tick the "Reduce texture quality" in the app (it will halve the ram needed), it will have almost no impact on the visuals in game. Cheers.
This has been tested so far on the below listed devices and reported to work 100%. You are free to test and report even you're not in the list, it may work on any 2.1+ device.
- HTC HD2 (MDJ on NAND, Adreno200)
- Samsung Galaxy S (2.3.3, PowerVR SGX540)
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" (2.3.3, PowerVR SGX540)
- Samsung Galaxy S II (2.3.3, Mali-400 MP)
- Motorola Atrix 4G (2.2.1, Tegra2)
- Motorola Droid 2 (2.2.1, PowerVR SGX530)
- LG Optimus 2X (2.3.4, Tegra2)
- Nexus S
- Samsung Epic 4G
Below ARe Tested:
Samurai 2: Vengeance - works
Fruit Ninija THD - works
Pinball HD Tegra - ok
GOF 2 Tegra -ok
Backbreaker THD - ok
Guerrilla Bob THD - okAlso got my Reckless Racing working using the POWERVR driver. It didn't work before.
n3wgames released a port for android which works very well!
This game is availaible on android market for a very fair price, though originally intended for tablets running honeycomb with tegra chip.
I have bought this game for my tablet and works wonderfully. I have thought of trying this on older hardware to see how this game demanding is.
AND IT WORKS!
I am successfully running this game on typhoon ROM HD2 with chainfire 3D(NVIDIA plugin) There are few problems, but it's nothing hard to fix. Current issue is with S3TC texture compression and rather slow emulation of NVIDIA Tegra part. Looking a way to overcome this.
I'm trying to fine tune graphic settings to:
-get most of detail on my tablet
-reduce quality on HD2 to improve gameplay experience
For example you can tweak some options under
/sdcard/android/data/com.n3vgames.android/trainz/files/userdata/settings
#globalmodule.txt
for example draw-distance can be set higher to increase viewing distance with cost of few FPS, also good/bad-weather-fog can have dramatic impact on game speed. In game options are quite lacking and doesn't have all tweaks needed.
I'm still looking for some settings to add in this file.
Thanks for adreno 200 support
Trainz is adreno200 compatible BUT you must use NVIDIA plugin or you'll get white textures. I'm looking atm for a way to disable S3TC texture compression, it's major performance hogger.
link
Link!!
So on a dhd it will work OK then if it works on a hd2
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA