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MWC: Symbian report: Nokia N97, Samsung Omnia HD, Sony Idou etc.

Let’s take a look at how one of the competing operating systems, Symbian, fares. As you may recall, I use the Nokia N95 as my main phone because of the
• (comparatively) high-quality camera (no Windows Mobile or BlackBerries phone can match it, let alone the, in this respect, even worse iPhone 3G),
• call recording (no such thing on most WinMo phones and all BlackBerries/iPhone models),
• native support for HE-AACv2, the best audio format (no such thing on Windows Mobile without severe problems and drawbacks) and A2DP (nothing like this on the iPhone) and
• the quality stereo speakers especially well suited to listening to music – in a wonderfully wide(ned) stereo.
Fortunately, the Symbian folks have come out with some very nice, new products certainly worth taking a look at if you need a phone (even a secondary one – just like with me, who I prefer gaming / browsing the Web on my iPhone 3G and doing the e-mail stuff on my BlackBerry 8800). In these areas, Symbian certainly excels and well worth considering if you’re fed up with for example the mediocre camera quality HTC’s handsets have. (Speaking of HTC and Windows Mobile, they have just announced they aren’t even trying to replace digital cameras. No comment…)
Note that I only discuss the latest handhelds, not for example the new, announced games for the platform. You might want to take a look at All About Symbian and Symbian-Freak for more info on this. In this article, I mostly speak about my experience with the new handsets, along with my own shots of them.
Nokia
(Nokia’s booth)
N97 – the forthcoming flagship model
The model gathering the most interest at Nokia’s booth was the recently announced N97. I had the chance of playing with it a bit.
While it could indeed be better (for example, 3D acceleration and/or stereo speakers and/or DVB-T/H), I pretty much liked what I saw. Being a pre-production unit, the device I played with wasn’t the fastest.
Unfortunately, it seems the Web browser is (almost?) the same as in Nokia’s previous models. Nokia S60 Web was indeed great about two and a half-three years ago, when the first E-series devices with it (and, later, the N95) were released, but now, it seems to be heavily outdated. My biggest grief was the lack of dynamic text reflowing (something the latest Opera Mobile builds are capable of at any zoom level) when zooming in. The Nokia rep at the booth tried to come up with a pretty bad explanation of trying to stick to the desktop view. This, to a certain degree, is understandable on a (comparatively) high-resolution screen the N97 has; nevertheless, I still lack the ability of Opera Mobile of full text reflowing at any, arbitrary zoom level.
The camera seems to be the same as in the N95 (with a sliding lens cover), which is good news, particularly given that most other handsets (except for some models like Samsung’s Omnia HD and Nokia’s own N86) still have much inferior ones.
Gamers will definitely like the fact that Nokia will also make the N97 N-Gage-compliant – at least this is what I’ve been told by the rep. I’ve found the D-pad next to the QWERTY keyboard pretty gaming-friendly. Note that, as the D-pad is only accessible with the N97 open, you can kiss portrait-mode, one-handed gaming a good-bye. Hope the control methods the games implement will take advantage of the larger keyboard keys (like the space key) located far away from the D-pad to let for controlling games easily, without cramped hands.
Too bad the device doesn’t have 3D hardware acceleration.
The sliding (hinge) mechanism seemed to be sufficiently stable. No wobbling. The two (closed and open) states are both stable and the spring-loaded mechanism greatly helps in the transition between them – that is,
1. don’t expect anything like the HTC Wizard’s spring-less mechanism requiring the same force to switch during the entire transition
2. when closed, it seemed to be much more stable. When operating in single-handled mode, the fingers don’t accidentally cause the upper part of the bezel to wobble and sometimes even start opening the QWERTY – unlike with, say, the HTC Vox (s710), where this problem is so acute that a lot of people prefer keeping their handset always in their left hand in order to avoid this problem.
(Compared to the iPhone when opened. As can be seen, it’s a bit – but not much! – longer than the iPhone. Note that I’ve left my iPhone in its case, which added a bit to its (apparent) length and width. It was a bit thicker too – pretty understandable for a slider.)
As far as S60 5th ed (the operating system running on the N97) is concerned, it does have some shortcomings needing some rework. For example, in the mailer application, the only way to quickly scroll the messages is using the vertical scrollbar in the middle of the screen: you can’t just scroll the list of messages in the iPhone way of scrolling.
Not being a 3D (and, for that matter, 2D) accelerated phone means there were no cool transitions either. As both the other, just announced devices (the E75 and the N86) both have some kind of quick fade in/out application switching transitions (don’t expect anything like on the iPhone, though), I think the same will also be implemented when the N97 finally hits the shelves (around this June).
Finally, it’s pretty hard to say what people the N97 really targets. It’s much more a business model than any of the previous N-series handsets. Gamers and lovers of multimedia, on the other hand, won’t be fully satisfied because of the lack of the 3D acceleration and stereo speakers; two things that made the N95 a must buy (and the latter also makes the Samsung Omnia HD a very tempting device).
Nokia E75
The just-launched E75 is a QWERTY slider as opposed to all the previous, popular E-series devices (note that the E63 and the E71 are still current models; that is, Nokia hasn’t given up on the highly successful Blackberry-alike QWERTY line). Some shots:

This is one of Nokia’s models that are compatible with their DVB-H Bluetooth transcoder, which was showcased this year too.
The DVB-H Bluetooth transcoder
As with last year, no one could provide me any information on exactly which models the transcoder is and will be compatible with. I assume it’s only the (outdated and slow) N71 (as was last year) and the E75 – and nothing else. There are no plans of making it compatible with DVB-T either. Sure I know Nokia is probably the biggest driving force behind DVB-H and (also) providing DVB-T would result in decreasing the pressure on both traditional broadcasting companies and mobile phone operators to implement DVB-H as everyone would just stick with DVB-T, even with the traditional disadvantages of it (considerably lower battery life). However, now that DVB-H is still supported in very few countries (even in Finland, the home country of Nokia, only about 40% of the total population is covered, while the coverage of DVB-T is 100%) and there doesn’t seem to be a breakthrough in the near future, I do think Nokia could also come out with a DVB-T transmitter to please existing customers and to draw new ones to the platform. Why, you may ask? Don’t forget no such transcoders exist for Windows Mobile and it has only been recently that PacketVideo announced the same for the iPhone. And, the case is the same of the DVB-H equivalent in the U.S. and some other countries, MediaFLO – it’s only Qualcomm that offers a chipset (and a reference design) compatible with real smartphone OS’es (I don’t talk about feature phones, the ones that currently are only compatible with MediaFLO). Nevertheless, according to the Qualcomm reps I’ve talked to at MWC, there still isn’t any real manufacturer using the MediaFLO chipset to build a transcoder usable with the iPhone, Windows Mobile or any other smartphone OS. This means you’ll need to wait for at least half a year for such things to become existing. Until then, you will need to rely on traditional, IP-based (non-broadcast) transmissions, which can be pretty pricey if you don’t have an unlimited data plan and, of course, don’t cover all the DVB-T/H (Europe etc.), MediaFLO / ATSC (U.S.) etc. broadcasts available at your area. After all, some TV companies are pretty reluctant to provide a live Internet stream of their programs (they prefer broadcasting them instead); and, if they do, you still need an extensive data plan to watch them. If your operating system is compatible, that is – WMV, the most widely used format used for Internet streaming, isn’t at all supported in most popular Symbian E/N-series devices (I only know of the “flop” N96 as capable of playing them) and, before of PacketVideo’s announcement, on the iPhone.
This (the lack of DVB-T and much wider device support) is certainly bad news; I really hope Nokia acts very soon and.
New A2DP headphones
The Nokia folks have also come out with a new pair of A2DP in-ear headphones, the BH-214. I haven’t tested its audio quality and compatibility (my very thorough tests – see THIS – require at least a day of testing – this was simply impossible at MWC) – I’ll try to do this as soon as possible.
Nokia N86
Nokia’s just-launched N86 sports an 8-Mpixel camera (along with some other goodies like an OLED screen). It’s, as with most (more) recent N8x/N9x-series phones, a dual slider. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t allowed to transfer the test shots I’ve taken to my notebook for a more thorough comparison with the image quality of the N95. I have been continuously referred to the “official” demo photos on Nokia’s pages. Of course, this wasn’t sufficient for me – I would have preferred some real comparisons to see whether for example the low-light performance has indeed been improved (as was explained by the Nokia rep I talked to).

Note that the Mobile-Review folks managed to loan a review device and did publish a preview the Mobile-Review review with several (MWC) photos of their own. In general, these are pretty good. There are only two images that shows severe problems because of the limited dynamic range: burnt-in highlights (click the images for the original):
However, some other shots of the same scenery don’t show the same burnt-in highlights:
Also worth checking out is the second image. It shows very strong sharpening (look at the wall in the top left corner or the contours of box’s wood strips / staves). The same kind of sharpening can also be visible in THIS (otherwise, excellent) shot. Here, also take a look at the contours of the upper part of the black shoe in the center right of the shot – they are equally bad. Unfortunately, Nokia’s image processing algorithm has always suffered from oversharpening, resulting in artifacts like this.
In addition, if you look at the image sizes (900…1000 kbyes), you’ll understand some comparatively heavy JPEG image compression is taking place. The situation is exactly the same on the Nokia N95, where the heavy JPEG compression makes the images a little blocky (particularly visible if you take shots of, say, newspaper pages). I really, repeat, REALLY hope Nokia starts to offer a way of setting the compression level –over-compressing JPEG’s can certainly result in considerably bad image quality. (Of course, it’s still way ahead of what Windows Mobile devices or the iPhone are capable of, but still – this could be fixed by a very simple, additional menu item for controlling the JPEG compression quality.)
Also note that, in addition to the over-sharpening, (at least some of) the images also show low-resolution, washed-out low-contrast textures; that is, image smudging. This is quite visible in how the wood strips / staves are reproduced; I bet the situation would be the same with low-contrast greenish areas like a bunch of leaves of a tree. If you take into account that (over)sharpening is needed to “fix” the issues introduced by image smudging, which, in turn, is applied to “remove” noise, then, you’ll understand why there are issues like this with the N86.
Samsung Omnia HD
One of the biggest announcement (and demo) of the show was that of the Samsung Omnia HD: a brand new, touchscreen- and S60 5th ed-based, heavily enhanced version of the former, WQVGA Windows Mobile device. It sports a high-resolution, 640*360 (that is, 16:9) AMOLED screen. It being based on OLED also means really vivid colors and much better viewing range than with traditional TFT.
(Samsung’s booth. Just like with the previous year, most people were not permitted to take photos of anything; hence the lack of anything except for this shot.)
This device is what the true successor of the Nokia N95 should have been: better camera (at least when it comes to video recording: 720p as opposed to the VGA-only N95; note that it “only” records at 24 fps and not 30), much better and higher-resolution screen etc., while keeping one of the greatest features of the N95: the stereo speakers. (Which, again, were dropped for the N97.) What is more, the Samsung rep stated the speakers use some kind of a stereo widening. I couldn’t listen to the stereo 3D space at MWC; I can only hope it indeed can match the quality of the N95. The Mobile-Review folks stated the speakers are very loud, which is very promising – I REALLY hope they can even outperform those of the N95.
Note that it’s not only the 24 fps recording speed that is a bit problematic with the new device, but also the battery life while recording videos: according to the Mobile-Review article, HD video recording chews through the battery in about half an hour (!!!), which is plain unacceptable (for comparison: the Nokia N95 is capable of recording video at VGA and 30fps for a lot more time – I’d say well above one hour. The Canon PowerShot SD950 IS, with enabled LCD and using the 1024*768 at 15 fps mode, can record for about 40-50 minutes. I really hope this will be fixed in the final, production version. Incidentally, the same review also states the battery only lasts about a day under casual use, which is, well, far from perfect. Again, this has been measured on a pre-production unit.
Also note that, while the lens is recessed, there is still no lens protector, which is definitely a minus.
According to the Samsung rep I talked to, the Omnia HD supports not only 720p (that is, 1280*720) video recording, but also playback. I’m not sure whether this also means H.264 playback. The rep stated the Omnia HD has a dedicated video decoder circuitry but was a bit unsure about H.264 720p playback. Frankly, I don’t believe it is capable of flawless, stuttering-free H.264 playback (that would be quite a feat, even when done in hardware); hope I turn out to be wrong.
Visitors to the Samsung booth, unlike with Nokia, weren’t allowed to take the Omnia HD into their hands. This, unfortunately, also means I wasn’t able to give its Web browser (which was stated to be something like Safari on the iPhone) a quick try to find out whether it’s any good. I really hope it’s considerably better than Nokia’s now-outdated S60 Web.
There will surely be no Omnia HD with Windows Mobile, which is definitely bad news for WinMo users. Nevertheless, Samsung will definitely come out with Windows Mobile handsets in the future. It’s still not known what they will be like. I really hope they come out with a matching model (OLED screen, stereo speakers with clever widening algorithms, 720p recording / hardware playback, high-quality camera, call recording just like on the Samsung Omia) so that Windows Mobile users can also have a real multimedia / camera / for people that do need call recording, phoning device – something HTC has always been refusing to deliver (and for which the Toshiba TG01 isn’t the best choice either – again, it has no stereo speakers, no 3.5mm jack, no hardware acceleration, no call recording and no high-quality camera).
Make sure you check out the Mobile-Review review HERE. It has tons of comparative shots (even against the iPod Touch / iPhone screen) showing how much better AMOLED screens render colors.

Sony-Ericsson Idou
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Sony-Ericsson’s Idou is also pretty promising. It’s a Wi-Fi, GPS-enabled phone with a 12 Mpixel camera, Xenon flash (also sporting a lens protector slider) and a (comparatively) high-resolution (640*360; that is, 16:9) screen. See THIS for the official video (the page didn’t work under Opera 10 & Windows 7 – had to use IE to play back the clip).
Other articles
Yet Another Demo Video The Nokia N97 In All Its Glory! (just the official demo from Nokia; nothing closer shown)
Sony Ericsson Idou!??? Highend Symbian Devices With 12.1 MP Cam?! (some additional pics of the Idou)
Productivity comes first: New Eseries devices optimized for efficiency (E55, E75)
Samsung Omnia HD [i8910]: Samsung Unveils Its First S60 Touch Device!
ZEISS CAMERA STORY: Lights... camera... mobile... Nokia N86
Official Samsung Press Release: OMNIAHD Dazzles with Its HD Brilliance
Nokia E75 Gets Unboxed, Handled And Explained (with some videos)
Samsung Omnia HD Gets Reviewed! Eldar's In-Depth Preview Available In English! - links to the mobile-review.com review.
MWC 2009: First Day Summary: Nokia Puts Enhanced Internet Experiences - And Efficiency At The Heart Of New Solutions (a compilation of other news sources)
LG Unveils KT770: Attractive WQVGA 5 MPX Symbian S60 Slider! (as this phone does not have any really outstanding features, I decided not to elaborate on it)
Capture Your Life In More Detail With The Nokia N86 8MP (only the press release)
Nokia N86 Hands On, Promo and Designer Interview Video (better than the previous article; still no comparative shots)
Nokia N86 Eldar's Hands On: Tons Of Live Shots, Camera and Video Samples! - links to the Mobile-Review review.
MWC 2009: Nokia Round-Up
Rafe on the Nokia N86 8MP
Samsung Omnia HD launches - note that the data sheet in this review states the HD has a 1500 mAh battery. The Mobile-Review folks stated they couldn’t determine its capacity.
MWC: The E75 finally official
(Note that the last three articles also have dedicated threads; they are worth checking out.)

UPDATE (02/23/2009 2:09AM CET): Symbian-Freak frontpage with some additional pics

UPDATE: 1. the N97 does have stereo speakers. This is certainly good news - hopefully, they can match those of the N95, let alone the Omnia HD.
2. I haven't emphasized the N97 doesn't have 720p video recording, "only" VGA.

[GUIDE/INFO]Android buyer's guide

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Preface
Retailers use various marketing and technical terms to describe the droid they sell. Some of those terms represent meaningful phone characteristics, while others are mostly hype. To help smartphone shoppers understand what they're looking at, the definitions of the most commonly used specs(If you look at a detailed smartphone description, most of these terms are to be found under a heading marked ‘Specs.’ That’s short for specifications, which usually consists of a jumble of techno-speak supposedly describing the inner workings of each device) and explain why they are important.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These definitions can help you choose a phone whose specs meet your needs,they can also come in handy when you're trying to separate the truth from the hype in the sales pitches you encounter in commercials or in stores.
Before jumping over software,there is one thing you should decide, that is Get the Right Screen Size
Smartphone screens keep getting bigger, but what’s the right size for you? At this point, we would avoid anything smaller than 4 inches. The new sweet spot for smartphones is quickly becoming the 4.5 to 5-inch range, which is where you’ll find such handsets as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. You have to stretch your thumb a bit to reach all four corners of the screen, but these phones nicely balance portability with the extra size users crave for gaming, watching movies and even just typing on a larger keyboard.
Display:
Most smartphones and regular cell phones today use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, which offers reasonably sharp graphics and is relatively inexpensive to produce.
There are two main types of LCD displays on phones. TFT (thin-film transistor) displays use thin-film transistor technology to improve image quality. Unfortunately, viewing angles and visibility in direct light are poor, and TFT displays are relatively power-hungry. As a result, they tend to appear on lower-end, regular cell phones (sometimes called "feature phones").
IPS-LCD (in-plane-switching LCD) displays, found on the Motorola Droid X (marketed as a “Retina Display”), offers improved viewing angles and lower battery consumption than TFT LCD displays. Relatively powerful phones often use them.
AMOLED (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display technology is gaining popularity in high-end phones like the Google Nexus One and the HTC Droid Incredible. The displays are much easier to view in bright, natural sunlight than their LCD counterparts; however, some users have noted that AMOLED displays are prone to rendering oversaturated colors. Supposedly, AMOLED displays require less power and thus conserve a phone's battery life; but in real-life battery tests, they consume just as much energy as LCD displays.
Samsung’s Galaxy S was the first smartphone to showcase the company’s own Super AMOLED technology.
Processor:
The processor inside a smartphone acts as the device's brain, handling most or all of the device’s central processing functions on a single integrated circuit, or chip.
The number of cores in the central processing unit (CPU), coupled with CPU frequency (MHz/GHz), is often touted as the most important set of parameters in the specification of a mobile platform.
If you like gaming with your droid,the more number of cores gonna give you are better performance.
For example,For example, Broadcom’s new concept quad-core (2+2) architecture facilitates intelligent offload to both GPU and VPU (Vector Processing Unit) cores. Resultant power-savings enable performance up to 1080p high-definition video and support for up to 42-MP camera solutions.
So,while shopping an Android, take time to assess the tasks you want your smartphone to perform. If you expect to consume a lot of multimedia content, browse the Web frequently, or run complex apps for extended periods, you might be happier with a 1GHz chip inside your phone.
RAM:
As is true of computers, a phone's ability to run multiple applications simultaneously depends on the amount of RAM it contains. Vendors rarely advertise the amount of phone RAM a particular model has, so do some research before you buy. When it comes to RAM, you can never have too much.
In terms of memory, 2GB of RAM has become standard on higher-end phones, as has 16GB of storage.Heavy app users and multitaskers should aim for 512MB as their minimum RAM figure.
Battery:
What good is a high-powered smartphone that runs out of power by lunchtime? Based on the LAPTOP Battery Test, which involves continuous 4G Web surfing on 40 percent brightness, the average phone lasts 6:06. That’s good, but we’ve seen several handsets last 7.5 hours or longer. For example, the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx HD, which has a massive 3,300 mAh battery, lasted 8 hours and 13 minutes on our test. The Galaxy Note II, which benefits from a 3,100 mAH battery, lasted a whopping 10 hours and 12 minutes.
Camera:
Is there much practical difference in image quality between a picture shot with an 8-megapixel camera and one taken with a 5-megapixel camera? The megapixel count reflects the size of the camera’s sensor--a small device inside the phone that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. The higher the pixel count, the higher the resolution of your photos. But you’ll probably view most of your photos on your phone’s display or on a PC, where the two resolutions are typically indistinguishable. If you plan on printing your photos, however, a higher megapixel count will make a difference.
The HTC One, for example, shoots only 4-MP images but captures 300 percent more light than competing phones, giving you brighter photos. Also, pay attention to special features. For instance, the Galaxy S4 can shoot using both the front and back camera at the same time.
4G and HSPA+ Service:
The major wireless carriers are currently upgrading their 3G networks to 3.5G (HSPA+) or 4G (LTE or WiMax). Whether a specific smartphone supports these new network technologies (and their faster speeds) should be stated in the device's specifications.
Noise Cancellation/Suppression
“Noise cancellation” in smartphones might be better termed “noise suppression.” The phrase refers to isolating the sound of the speaker's voice while suppressing background sounds; noise suppression depends on having the design of a phone’s voice microphone (or microphones) work in concert with sound-shaping technology in the phone’s chip set.Since people rarely use cell phones in quiet rooms, noise suppression technology is an important feature.
Removable Storage: MicroSD Cards
SD (Secure Digital) cards and their smaller MicroSD and MiniSD memory-card cousins are the types of removable storage commonly used in portable and wireless devices to store data such as video, music, and image files. The main difference between standard SD, MicroSD, and MiniSD cards is their size.
If you're planning to store a large quantity of large media files (such as video) you may want to choose the largest-capacity card that your device will accommodate. The capacities of the MicroSD cards used in most cell phones range from 2GB to 32GB.
The SD Association has established various speed classes for SD cards. These classes represent the minimum speeds required to write various types of data to the card. Following are the most common speeds, together with the types of content they support, according to the SD Association.
Class 2 : H.264 video recording, MPEG-4, MPEG-2 video recording
Class 4: MEPG-2 (HDTV) video recording, DSC consecutive shooting
Class 6: Megapixel DSC consecutive shooting, professional video camera
Class 10: Full HD video recording, HD still consecutive shooting
Gyroscope vs. Accelerometer
Most smartphones come standard with an accelerometer, but only a few also include a gyroscope. Accelerometers help keep track of the position your phone is in; if you turn it onto its side, the display switches from portrait orientation to landscape mode. Accelerometers are also used in certain applications. In driving game apps, for example, the accelerometer lets you steer your car by tilting your phone from side to side.
Gyroscopes permit more-accurate recognition of movement in a 3D space. If you move your phone away from or toward yourself, the gyroscope can detect that motion. The feature is chiefly useful for gamers, as it makes precise motion-based gaming controls possible. In the future, the gyroscope may play a central role in controlling new and different types of apps. But for now, nongamers are likely to be content without this piece of hardware.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi have become common features on smartphones in recent years.
Bluetooth is a wireless technology that enables you to transfer and receive data between two devices at relatively short range--similar to the way two-way radios work. You can use Bluetooth to transfer files between a phone and an accessory such as a headset, or between a phone and a PC--for example, to transfer photos between your phone and your laptop for editing and viewing.
Wi-Fi 802.11 comes in several different protocols (a/b/g/n), each with different speeds and a different range. Having Wi-Fi on your phone allows you to connect to your home wireless network and use it to surf the Web, download apps, send e-mail, and perform other tasks. Most Wi-Fi enabled phones will at least support b/g wireless broadcasts (54 mbps for g and 11 mbps for b) as these are the most common protocols and have decent range (around 125 feet).
Get the Best Special Features
In the new smartphone arms race, designers want to deliver special features that let you do things with your phone you couldn’t before. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S4, LG Optimus G Pro and HTC One can all be used as TV remotes, because they integrate an IR blaster and a dedicated app. Samsung goes the extra mile with the Galaxy S4, offering new Air Gestures, health and translation apps, and the ability to broadcast the same song to multiple S4s simultaneously.
HTC touts Beats Audio for both its Android and Windows phones.
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Credits:
Blogs & sites I referred to
http://www.pcworld.com
http://blog.laptopmag.com
http://androidandme.com
http://androidandme.com
http://www.androidcentral.com/
& of course XDA & Me.
Peeps,I ain't a technical geek/pro or whatever..Than why this thread? Because,I saw my friends struggling in getting their new Androids,so thought it will be helpful for all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I may need this one

Nice guide buddy!!

Great guide. Nice work!

yajnab said:
Nice guide buddy!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hartok said:
Great guide. Nice work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All suggestions are welcomed.
If I have missed something, please do let me know
Thanks!

[Q] Custom ROM for Ramos X10F anyone?

Hello
I recently purchased a Ramos X10F on an impulse buy on a trip to the PP last month. I had been waiting longer than a year for an 8" 4:3 device that was not Apple with expandable memory and this one just made me succumb. Also I fell for the false data in marketing it as a cortex A9 and I thought a quad core A9 should be faster than my dual core A9 in the n7000. Actually it is a A5 or A7 (device details in cpuz mention some A7 blah).
The device has great potential to be an ipad mini killer as the hardware fit and finish is very good, the screen is IPS and it weighs only 360 grams. I can hold it in one had lying in bed without tiring myself. However performance is marred by the stock android 4.1.1. Intially I thought it was slow nand flash as when I enabled cpu stats, the nand-rw-flash process appeared to be the top process for a longish time, each time it stalled. However I later discovered, the device is very laggy when Wifi is on while actual WiFi throughput is very good - I get almost full speed 16mbs in the speedtest.net results. Unfortunately even with entropy seeder and a deadline or noop scheduler, the lagginess is only partially improved. Also the old linux/android decision of using input to randomize and seed the entropy is only good for desktops not servers or touchpads. I have to tap a few times to get a app screen to respond inexplicably and suddenly and it shows that the OS was waiting on input. The device is best for streaming as typically once the app is opened I never have a problem with lag a it is typically 30 mins of iewing before switching apps. Otherwise the poor performance means a task that should take normal time (like reading news in the morning for 15 mins) takes more than twice the time as I have to struggle with the slow app launches and screen loading mostly. But if Wifi is switched off and content is cached, everything is smooth and much better. Battery life is decent with display brightness set around or below 10% typically.
So my recommendation for a new buyer is - dont buy until a custom ROM is made available. Dont fall for the x10pro video on the utube yet. Real world performance is not the same. Once the smoothness of the 4.4.3 is acheived it will be a killer product.
I would like to upgrade the android from its 4.1.1 to a 4.4.x version. Also this version is vulnerable to heartbleed and the openssl bug that came after that in June 2014. The omnirom 4.4.3 on my n7000 is really smooth and I am hoping somebody will develop a custom rom for this device.
But I dont see a custom ROM or CWM for this anywhere. I installed a CWM recovery for another ATM7029 device (yarvik) and it boots, but I forgot about the display driver compatibility and I can no longer view the menu in recovery mode. Otherwise rooted it and running ok.
The specifications of the device are as follows:
OS: Android 4.1.1
CPU: Quad Core ATM7029
GPU: Vivante GC1000
RAM 1GB，DDR3 --> False. Real RAM is 686MB.
Storage 8GB
Screen: Capacitive Touchscreen, 1024*768 Full resolution Screen
Size: 7.85 inch
Resolution: 1024*768 Pixels
Flash: Support Flash 11.0 and HTML 5
Extend Card Support TF card up to 32GB extended
Camera Dual Camera Front 2.0M,Back 5.0M
Gravity Sensor Yes
Multi-Touch Yes, 5 points touch
Android Market Yes
Skype Yes
Email and Browser: Yes, built in
WIFI: Yes, 802.11 b/g/n
3G : support external 3G dongle
OTG Function: Support USB Mouse,Keyboard (2.4GHz)
Support:FAT,FAT32,NTFS
Earphone Interface 3.5mm
Soft:Support TXT,Adobe PDF,Microsoft Office(Word,Excel,PPT)
Video 1080P, AVI/MOV/MP4/RMVB/FLV/MKV…
Music MP3/WMA/WAV/APE/AAC/FLAC/OGG
Ebook UMD, TXT, PDF, HTML, RTF, FB2…
Battery: 4000mAh
What do I need to submit for a developer to build a custom rom for this device? Some kind of dump? ALso need a recovery manager with the right display driver. Either TWRP or CWM.
I hope a developer will volunteer.
Thanks
G0bble

old topic any answer to that ,cuz i have the same problem

KINGZONE Z1, 5.5 Inch, HD Screen, 4G/LTE, MTK6752 64Bit Octacore, 2GB Ram, 13mpx

KINGZONE Z1 Android 4.4 4G Phablet 5.5 inch HD Screen MTK6752 1.7GHz 64bit Octa Core 16GB ROM GPS 13.0MP Camera NFC​
Recently launched Kingzone Z1, it's a powerful device with a 5.5 inch HD display that runs on the new Mediatek 64Bit processor MT6752 octacore, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB Rom and it has a Micro SD slot that is up to 64 GB. The desing it's very look-a-like LG G3 but in the good way, it's very slim (7.5mm) and it has a fingerprint scanner on the back.
It has a HUGE battery with 3500 mAh removable battery, and with only a HD display this device could have 2 days of battery life without a problem even with all the data connections always on.
I found this phone on www.everbuying.net and with this coupon code EBKZ you can order it at 189.99$
Here are some pictures with this phone:
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FULL SPECIFICATIONS
GENERAL
Model: KINGZONE Z1
Dimensions: 153.5X76X7.5mm
Weight: 169g
OS: KOS V1.2 Base On Android 4.4
Colour: Dark purple, White
MAINBOARD
CPU: MT6752A 1.7GHz OCTA-CORE 4G LTE 28 nanometer
GPU: MALi-T760
Internal Memory: 16GB ROM storage , 2GB RAM
SIM: Standard-SIM & Micro-SIM
Card slot: microSD, up to 64 GB
3.5mm Jack: Yes
DISPLAY
Size: JDI HD 5.5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixels
Pixel Density: 320 dpi pixel density
Type: LTPS capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Multitouch: Yes ,5 points
Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Touch screen waterproof
CAMERA
Primary: 13.0 MP, phase detection autofocus, LED flash, check quality
Features: Stack Multilayer CMOS（Exmor RS）,Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR
Aperture: F/2.0
Video: Yes, [email protected], [email protected], HDR, video stabilization, dual-video rec., check quality
Secondary: 8.0MP, [email protected], dual video call
NETWORK & INTERFACE
Network mode: Dual card three mode, LTE FDD +WCDMA+GSM
Network Band: GSM：850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA：850/900/1900/2100MHz
LTE: FDD 800/1800/2100/2600MHz
Standby Mode: Dual SIM card Dual standby
Speed: Downlink 150 Mbps, Uplink 40Mbps
GPRS: Yes
EDGE: Yes
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Wifi-display, 5G WIFI
Remove Mobile AP: Yes
Navigation: GPS,GLONASS,A-GPS
Bluetooth: Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR, LE
NFC: Yes , MT6605N/A
USB: 5 PIN, USB On-the-go, USB Host
OTG: Yes,5 PIN
Earphone interface: 3.5MM
FEATURES
Fingerprint Identification: PASSION U101，password function; secure communication; moving your Finger left or right 、down or up over the sensor to control the app
Windows function: Yes,working with case
Operating system: KOS V1.2 Base On Android 4.4
Sensors: Electronic compass、Hall IC、 Light sensor、Proximity sensor、Graximty sensor
Breathing light: Yes
Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
Browser: HTML5
Radio: Yes,FM Radio
AUDIO AND VIDEO SYSTEM
Audio decoder: YAMAHA HIFI YDA165
Sound System: AAC BOX
Sound Effect: DTS Dolby
Microphone: Patch type double silicon microphone
Video shoot: RMVB、3GP、 MPEG-4、AVI
Video playback: 1080P
Audio Codec: AAC/AAC+/AMR/AWB/MP3/VORBIS/FLAC/APE/MIDI/ IMELODY/WAV
Audio and video: format mp3、mp4、3gp、ogg、amr、aac、flac、wav、midi
Ring Type: MIDI，MP3，AMR-NB，WAV，OGG，AAC
Flash Player: Support
Standard Accessories:
Battery 3500 mAh x 1 PCS
Charger: 1A
Headset: 3.5mm Interface
Data Cable: 5 Pin
OTG Cable: 5 Pin
User Manual: ENGLISH
Protective case:1 PCS
Giftbox: 162.5x151.5x36.5mm
Optional Accessories
Smart windows cover
You can see time/ data、 play music through the window and also can get the message prompt from window sleep funtion

Use in American markets
Can you get 4g and 4glte on American providers and witch one?

Chrismcgillx89 said:
Can you get 4g and 4glte on American providers and witch one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can check on this website : http://www.willmyphonework.net/ , select the manufacter, then phone model, country and then your provider .

What root programs do we know that works with latest Kingzone's?

alexeliasson said:
What root programs do we know that works with latest Kingzone's?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rooted my mtk6732 with vroot and i've heard that people with mtk6752 used the same tool to root their phones. It installs some bloatware but you can uninstall them soon as you've got rooted. No problem.

Rooting MT6732 and MT6752 phones / tablets
iRoot can root MT6732 (worked on Kingzone N3 Plus) and MT6752 (worked on Cube T7 tablet) devices. iRoot is apparently the successor of vRoot.
http://irootdownload.com/
Download and use the PC version because the Android (apk) version does not work.
iRoot installs its own version of SuperUser which works just as well as Chainfire or ChainsDD's versions. I have not tried using th iRoot SU version to grant root access to Chainfire or ChainsDD's SuperUser / SuperSU in order to replace the iRoot SU version.

Another rooting method
Apparently SRSRoot also supports Kingzone N3 Plus:
https://twitter.com/srsroot/status/575958069445853186
SRSRoot download

Impossible PPI value?
Hi guys. I have one question about this phone.
The manufacturer said in many places (comments, graphics, etc) that this phone has 320 PPI on 5,5" screen with 1280x720 (HD) resolution. According to results in every DPI/PPI calculator the proper value should be 272.02 PPI. How is it possible?! Is it a mistake that their marketing guys don't understand or care about?
Kingzone Z1 webpage (look at comments in the main and "comments" tab): kingzonez1.com
This webpage is rather official cause I was redirected there form the kingzone.cc page

If kingzonez1.com is official site?
Z1 is indeed a flagship smartphone,I love it more. I learn more about Z1 from kingzonez1.com

Can anybody help rooting kingzone z1?
I try several rooting apps and with pc, and no success in rooting my kingzone z1 mtk6752 with Android 4.4.4
Actually I tried all the methods described here and no luck..
Can anyone help me?
Thanks

Kingzone Z1 rooting
Thunder1.0 said:
I try several rooting apps and with pc, and no success in rooting my kingzone z1 mtk6752 with Android 4.4.4
Actually I tried all the methods described here and no luck..
Can anyone help me?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have rooted it with Vroot no problem

jad23 said:
I have rooted it with Vroot no problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you were right.. Vroot worked!!
Thanks
Now, do u know any app like mobileuncle tools that work for z1?
And also, any new rom for kingzone z1 and recovery?
Thanks again

Try to install a customer recovery. After this execute the superSU.ZIP.

OraXdaDevelopers said:
Try to install a customer recovery. After this execute the superSU.ZIP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't find any custom recovery compatible for z1, any ideas?
Thanks again

hey there,
just to let you guys know i will be carrying out an extensive test on this device as almost all reports show the device to NOT have a 3500mah battery but more like 2400mah/2800mah...also this device ships with a limited 3GB app partition which i will also be trying to increase as this is far to small for today's massive 3D games and apps
i should receive it very soon from gearbest.com and will update the thread here with my findings
also the 13mp camera is an interpolated 8mp shooter and the 5mp camera is also interpolated to 8mp,am still trying to find more info about if it is a true sony camera...as of now so far people are saying that it is not
post #207 for camera info please use google translate it is a russian site
http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=645969&st=200
battery info,(please read the comments at the bottom of the review)
http://www.gizbeat.com/7058/mt6752-kingzone-z1-review-specifications-2gbotg3500mah/

mrsim said:
hey there,
just to let you guys know i will be carrying out an extensive test on this device as almost all reports show the device to NOT have a 3500mah battery but more like 2400mah/2800mah...also this device ships with a limited 3GB app partition which i will also be trying to increase as this is far to small for today's massive 3D games and apps
i should receive it very soon from gearbest.com and will update the thread here with my findings
also the 13mp camera is an interpolated 8mp shooter and the 5mp camera is also interpolated to 8mp,am still trying to find more info about if it is a true sony camera...as of now so far people are saying that it is not
post #207 for camera info please use google translate it is a russian site
http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=645969&st=200
battery info,(please read the comments at the bottom of the review)
http://www.gizbeat.com/7058/mt6752-kingzone-z1-review-specifications-2gbotg3500mah/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just I have finished detal reviews in other boards in German language,
But here are the video reviews:
But I'm searching for a Customer recovery.
By the way, the finger printer does not worked and the camera has a red error
To camera and lences
View attachment 3244739
Please note my remarks to battery.
View attachment 3244732 View attachment 3244734 View attachment 3244735 View attachment 3244736

Battery and ROMS
Hi!
I've bought it 4 days ago and it's pretty awesome.
I've now two questions:
* First i'm just a bit desapointed about the battery (3500 -> 2400) I chosed it for the battery ... Is there any battery I can buy on the web ?? Like for other phones, with a better capacity ? (like 3000-4000 mAh)
* Now (thanks to this community) I've rooted it and know I'm looking for a custom recovery and by the way new ROMs too (like MIUI or Flyme OS) has anyone any information ?
Thanks a lot in advance
EDIT: Maybe this recovery will suit ? www . needrom.com/download/twrp-2-8-4-0/ It's for the same processor (MT6752)

NightlySide said:
Hi!
I've bought it 4 days ago and it's pretty awesome.
I've now two questions:
* First i'm just a bit desapointed about the battery (3500 -> 2400) I chosed it for the battery ... Is there any battery I can buy on the web ?? Like for other phones, with a better capacity ? (like 3000-4000 mAh)
* Now (thanks to this community) I've rooted it and know I'm looking for a custom recovery and by the way new ROMs too (like MIUI or Flyme OS) has anyone any information ?
Thanks a lot in advance
EDIT: Maybe this recovery will suit ? www . needrom.com/download/twrp-2-8-4-0/ It's for the same processor (MT6752)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
make sure you have a working backup recovery for your device before attempting to flash that one...it could be device specific
http://www.china-devices.com/Thread...-BIT-MTK-MT6795-MT6752-MT6595-MT6753-over-ADB

Hey guys!
So I'm asking still one question about the battery...
I was looking for something equivalent that I could put into my phone (like a 3000-3500 mAh battery) and it seems that the LG G3's one looks like the Z1's one ... but connectors are not at the same place ...
Did someone found a bigger battery for that phone ??
Thanks a lot in advance

A question (again)
I found this :http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=59321318&postcount=54
Do you think it will work with the Z1???

Cube i7 CM hands-on review: a cost-efficient convertible tablet powered by Core M

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Earlier this year, Cube astonished us all with the i7, also known as the first Core M powered tablet from a Chinese brand. The tablet itself enjoyed great amount of success in the domestic market, winning numerous awards and receiving more than 99% of positive customer feedback on JD.com (higher than the iPad Air 2). However, the RMB3,599 ($565) original price was a little bit uninviting for consumers with a lower budget. Trying to attract more buyers, Cube released two more Core-M powered Windows tablets - the i7 Stylus and the i7 CM, and priced them at RMB1,999 ($314) and RMB2,499 ($392) respectively.
As Cube has a tendency to confuse the buyers with their product naming, we feel that we need to help our readers distinguish the many Cube tablets with “i7” in their names.
The Cube i7 CM is considered as a lite version of the flagship Cube i7. It is powered by the same Core M 5Y10c processor and 4GB RAM, and has the same 11.6-inch Full HD IPS display and Windows 8 professional, only the SSD has been downsized to 64GB, and the dual 4G LTE support (TDD and FDD) has been downgraded to dual 3G (WCDMA and TD-SCDMA) support. Compared to the only slightly shrunk specs, the price drop seems quite enormous.
Cube i7 CM specs:
• OS: Windows 10 Professional
• Screen: 11.6-inch IPS, 10-point multi-touch, IGZO
• Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
• CPU: Intel Broadwell Core-M 5Y10c
• CPU Frequency: 0.8GHz (Base clock) – 2.0GHZ (Turbo clock)
• GPU: Intel HD Graphics 5300
• RAM / Storage: 4GB DDR3L / 64GB SSD
• Function: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 4G, USB Host, HDMI
• WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
• GSM: band2, band3, band5, band8
• TDS: band34, band39
• WCDMA: band1, band5
• Camera: 5MP back camera, 2MP front camera
• Battery: 7.4V – 5,000mAh
• Ports: Micro SD Card Slot, Micro USB 3.0 Port, Micro SIM Card Slot, 3.5mm Headphone Jack, DC Charging Port
• Size: 297*180*9.1mm, Weight: 840g
Retail Package
All the high-end Windows tablets from Cube have very beautiful and premium packaging, the i7 CM is no different. Inside the box we found an i7 CM tablet, a DC charger of 12V-2.5A, an OTG adapter, a user manual, a warranty card, a VIP card, and a quality certificate.
My test unit comes with a keyboard base, which is sold separately.
Design and build
The i7 CM doesn’t bring anything new in its design, instead it has the exact same chassis as the original Cube i7. The front is dominated by an 11.6-inch IPS capacitive screen, you can find the touch-sensitive Windows Key below and a 2MP front-facing camera as well as the light sensor above.
All the physical buttons and ports are hosted on the sides. You can find a power/standby key and a volume rocker on the top side.
Like the i7, the i7 CM is an incredibly promising tablet when it comes to connectivity. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a Micro SD card slot which supports cards up to 128GB, a Micro-HDMI port for an external display and – best of all – a micro USB 3.0 port as well as a Micro SIM card slot. With these two, it can connect to any USB 2.0 or 3.0 device that will run on Windows and access the internet almost anywhere. Fortunately, the i7 is charging through an independent DC port, and I personally prefer this design rather than charging through the Micro USB 3.0 port because we often need to use the USB port to connect to other USB devices such as a mouse or external storages. The only negative is that unlike the dual 4G SIM card slot on the original i7, the slot here on the i7 CM can only support 3G network (WCDMA and TD-SCDMA). But in a world where every smartphone supports mobile network sharing through Wi-Fi hotspot, it is not really an issue.
Look at the bottom of the tablet and you’ll spot a 5-contact connector which connects the keyboard base magnetically. With a keyboard base attached Cube i7 could rival the Surface 3 as a convertible ultrabook-style device.
The rear side of the i7 CM is a magnalium plate painted in matte blue, which gives the tablet a premium and expensive look. Unfortunately, the coat proves to have very little resistance to scratches, the unit that I am testing has already got 2 scratches on it back. The bottom side is also very easy to scratch when you try to insert the keyboard base into the tablet.
The build quality is extremely good, especially for a tablet from a second-tier Chinese brand. It is obviously not altogether as epic as the Surface Pro 3, which includes a flexible kickstand and a full USB 3.0 port, but it is already great.
Screen and sound
1920 x 1080 is the new baseline resolution for a high-end tablet, despite the operating system it runs. So we get a full HD 1080p 11.6-inch screen on the i7 CM. That’s tangibly larger than the screen on your average tablet, bad news for pixel density, but good news if you plan to get some work done, as that little extra bit of screen real estate makes it easier to see what you’re doing if you’re working on Office documents, browsing complex web pages or running several desktop applications on the foreground. With that said, we still prefer the 12-inch display on the Surface Pro 3, the 3:2 screen aspect ratio makes better sense for business use, which is the ultimate selling point of Windows tablets.
Quality of the i7 CM’s screen, meanwhile, is extremely good. Images appear detailed with no jagged text, and it proved very responsive to touch in our tests, and while the display isn’t the brightest we’ve seen – particularly when you compared it to the ultra-bright QHD display found on the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro– it does have wide viewing angles and an impressive richness and depth of color to compensate. It’s an excellent screen for entertainment, and a wonderful screen for productivity, as well.
We had mixed feelings about the audio performance of the i7 CM. The sound from the i7 CM’s built-in speakers (located on the left and right sides) is clearer and more detailed than you generally get from a tablet, with a wider stereo sound. Unfortunately it’s also a little thin, a little bit wearing and doesn’t offer much in the volume department, particularly if you’re playing music or watching some Action films. The Cube i7 is nowhere near what the Dolby enhanced Acer ICONIA W700 can do in terms of the volume and bass.
Plugging in a pair of high-end headphones could make a huge difference, as the Realtek ALC269 sound chip could drive the headphones at an ear-splitting level, easily blowing your average tablets and smartphones out of the water.
Keyboard Base
The keyboard base can easily be attached to the i7 CM through the 5-contact magnetic connectors, instantly turning the i7 CM into a full laptop. Sadly, the base can only make the i7 CM stand with a fixed angle, which can be uncomfortable for the users sometimes.
Here, the keys aren’t as squished as the ones on the Microsoft Surface Type Cover. The i7 CM’s keyboard is more expansive, with no shrunken or undersized keys. It didn’t take me long before I was typing at my usual brisk pace.
The keys offer decent travel, with every keystroke, I make a loud “clack,” letting anyone around me know I’m getting stuff done. Just so you know, I’m typing this sentence from the i7 CM. The thing is sitting on my lap, even. And you know what? I’m doing quite alright. This isn’t my favorite keyboard, but I do feel comfortable enough. Also, the i7 CM’s keyboard base is not as flimsy as the Surface Type Cover, Instead it is as sturdy and comfortable as most laptop keyboards.
The Cube i7 CM’s keyboard base brings a touchpad as well, and that’s a good thing, because the latest Windows 10 update made the OS much more mouse-and-keyboard friendly. Even though the touchpad is pretty precise and responsive, it’s still many steps behind the sort of glass touchpad you’d find on the MacBook Air or many Windows Ultrabooks. It sometimes takes multiple tries to get two-finger scrolling to work. Ditto for clicking and dragging windows and other objects around the screen. Other times, I accidentally navigated backward out of a web page when I was really trying to do some other sort of gesture. If you intend the i7 to be your daily driver, you are better off with a wireless or Bluetooth mouse.
Besides the standard functions a keyboard is meant to offer, the i7’s keyboard base also provides the users with two additional full-sized USB ports, making it easier to connect the i7 to a mouse and storage devices while saving you from the burden of always carrying the OTG adapter.
Software
The i7 CM ships with licensed Windows 8.1 Professional which, of course, is more adept at business tasks and networking than the Android and iOS. Fortunately, the i7 CM doesn't come pre-loaded with bloatware. Users can install the software they need right out of the box without having to spend time uninstalling unnecessary software or be left with annoying antivirus software subscription popup notices.
While most of the Atom-based Windows tablets such as the Cube i10 include one year subscription of Microsoft Office 365, the i7 CM only comes with a trial for Microsoft Office, you need to pony up to get this critical productivity software.
As we were testing this tablet, we got the official OTA upgrade to Windows 10, which is believed by many to be the best version of Windows yet, and greatly enhances the experiences of the i7 CM in both desktop and tablet modes.
Below are the top ten improvements we found in Windows 10:
1. Include 4 themes matching the following: Windows Classic, Luna, Aero, and Metro.
2. Allow customized placement of the start button.
3. Add a collapse button for the Metro Tiles on the start menu.
4. Include a thorough recycle context menu option for the Recycle Bin.
5. Add the option to add and remove extra taskbars to act as program docks.
6. Include an improved version of the NTFS file system that prevents file fragmenting.
7. Implement more choices of animations for minimizing and maximizing windows.
8. Provide an option for overclocking or underclocking and controllable fan speeds if supported.
9. Include the option to make a password encrypted partition and an option to hide/show available partitions in the disk manager.
10. Improve legacy support for older hardware and older software.
Besides the improvements mentioned above, the Windows 10 also brings many new features, the most talked about are Cortana and Edge.
Cortana
Cortana brings plenty of notable features to Windows 10. While setting it up, you can choose to have Cortana always listen for your commands (enabled by saying "Hey Cortana!"). You can ask her about basic things like the current weather or what's on your schedule, or you could have her search the web using Bing. Cortana can answer some queries without even launching a web browser. If you're not a fan of voice commands, you can also type in queries into the Cortana search box on the taskbar, and you can choose to have her only activate voice commands when you hit a button.
Cortana's true strength, much like Alex on Amazon's Echo, is her ability to handle voice commands at any moment. If you're in the middle of a work document, for example, you can tell Cortana to set a quick reminder or look something up without interrupting your workflow. Siri requires manual activation, unless your iOS device is plugged in, and while Google Now has become more widely available for voice commands on Android phones, it's still not as reliable as an always-on assistant.
Inspired by actual assistants, Microsoft also gave Cortana a notebook that contains all of your personal preferences. Many of them she learns over time, but you can also hop straight into the notebook and tell Cortana things like your food preferences, and what sort of restaurant you prefer. All of that will help her return more personalized answers for future queries. Cortana is also part of Microsoft's plan to bring its services to all of your devices: Microsoft is bringing it to Android soon and iOS eventually, and in each case the app will include Cortana's notebook of your preferences.
Cortana handles voice commands about as well as Siri and Google Now. It's pretty accurate when it comes to recognizing your voice input (although that also depends heavily on the quality of your microphone), and in many cases it even fetched more useful results than Siri. It's not nearly as preemptive with information as Google's offering, though. That assistant is smart enough to warn me when I should leave for my next meeting, or when my latest Amazon orders have arrived. Those are things we'll eventually see on every virtual assistant, but at the moment Google Now remains the smartest one overall, even if it's not much of a conversationalist. Cortana is the most human-sounding assistant; so there's that.
Edge
If you ever wanted Microsoft to just give up on Internet Explorer and create a web browser from scratch, Edge may be just what you're looking for. It forgoes all of the legacy protocols, like ActiveX, that turned Internet Explorer into a slow and insecure beast. And it takes a few lessons from Google's Chrome with a minimalist style and speedy browser engine. In fact, I ended up preferring Edge to Chrome in my testing, mainly because Google's browser has become a major memory hog over the years.
Edge may be the most elegant piece of software to come from Microsoft. Its interface is simple: tabs on the top; back, forward and refresh buttons below; and an address bar. The latter is smarter than other browsers as it also features Cortana (without the voice commands). You can type in questions and often get them answered right within Edge's location bar -- no need to hit Enter to complete your search. That's something Google has been dabbling with in Chrome, but Edge takes it to another level.
You can manage your Favorites, Reading List entries (articles you save to read later), History and Downloads from Edge's Hub, which mostly stays out of the way until you need it. Microsoft also gave Edge annotating capabilities: You can highlight and mark up web pages any way you like (the Surface's stylus comes in handy for this) and send them off to Evernote with just a few clicks. Those marked-up pages also retain your notes when you visit them again.
Performance
The Cube i7 CM is powered by an Intel Core M-5Y10c CPU, which has a base clock of 0.8GHZ and a Turbo clock of 2.0GHZ, Aided by the incredibly beefy Graphics HD 5300, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 64GB Solid State Drive, it is surprisingly fleet of foot. For those who don’t know much about Intel’s Core M-5Y10c processor, it belongs to the new Broadwell architecture for high-performance Windows tablets. Its strength is the high per-MHz performance with a very low power consumption compared with the Haswell precursors. The TDP is 4.5 Watts; the comparable Core i5-4202Y forerunner still had 11.5 Watts. The integrated HD Graphics 5300 (100 to 800 MHz) now replaces the HD 4200.
Given that the Core M is a lower-powered chip designed in large part to improve battery life, it's no surprise that the performance takes a slight hit versus the fourth and fifth generation Intel Core processors you'll find in most every other Ultrabook. The truth is, though, that's only borne out in benchmark tests. Yes, there's a bit of a dip there, especially in graphics tests, but in everyday use, the i7 CM felt just as snappy as any other skinny laptops. Bootup takes just nine seconds, which is about as fast as you're going get on a notebook priced twice as much.
However, the Fritz Chess Benchmark and many other benchmark scores show that the i7 CM’s performance is superior to the Acer ICONIA W700, which is powered by a Core i5-3317U CPU.
The AS SSD benchmark returned sequential read and write speeds of 450MB/sec and 73MB/sec respectively, while the read speed is almost on par with the 504MB/sec of the original i7 and the scores of most ultra-books, the write speed is only half as high as the 139MB/sec we got on the original Cube i7. With that said, it is already much faster than the eMMc in the Microsoft Surface 3 and many other entry-level Windows tablets.
Although the i7 CM is considered as a tablet, for a more all-day experience, you’ll want to add a keyboard and touch pad or mouse. Cube makes it easy, with a snap-on keyboard base that transforms the combined system into a traditional clamshell laptop.
Unlike the entry-level Atom Bay-trail powered Windows tablets, which normally struggle with heavier desktop applications. The Cube i7 CM is built for serious tasks, most of the heavy desktop apps worked brilliantly.
The i7 CM is clearly not a system designed for heavy 3D game lovers, although it is able to run most of the 3D games in acceptable frame rates. But as it is fanless, the heat could be overwhelming if you keep running graphic-intense games for a long period of time.
But if we are talking about business and everyday use, the Cube i7 CM, when paired with the keyboard base and a mouse, is nearly the perfect choice. After receiving the i7 CM, I can finally leave my 15.6-inch HP laptop, which weighs over 3KG with the battery and the charger at home during business trips. With the keyboard base connected, the i7 CM can do everything a normal laptop does, and offers a better battery life. The touchscreen can also come in handy when dealing with some special tasks.
The i7 CM might have been marketed as a business-focused tablet, but its potential in entertainment and social networking is also limitless. With countless desktop media consuming apps and traditional PC games at our disposal, we no longer need our iPads or Android tablets for tasks such as streaming TV shows and live sports, or browsing the updates on Facebook or Twitter. The large display of the i7 CM can even help you do many things simultaneously.
Battery Life
As power-efficiency is one of the greatest selling points of the Core M processors, you might expect an amazing battery life from the i7 CM. In fact, though, the runtime is not really all that exciting, especially when you compare it to those Atom-based models. With the keyboard base removed, the i7 CM held up through 7 hours and 21 minutes of continuous video playback. That's only ranked in the middle of the battery performances of today’s super-skinny laptops.
In a test which imitated the real everyday use, we opened 5-6 Google Chrome tabs, streaming high bitrate video on YouTube, with some social networking applications running in the background, we managed to run the i7 CM for 5 hours and 15 minutes. This may not look impressive for a tablet, but it’s definitely a very solid result for a system PC.
After a certain point, I suppose, you either need to make room for a bigger battery, or settle for slightly shorter runtime. That's a reasonable trade-off, but I also wouldn't want the battery life to be much shorter than this.
Cameras and Microphone
2 megapixels at the front, 5 megapixels on the rear. How do both cameras perform? The 5-megapixel primary camera just doesn’t deliver, with distorted colors and grainy snaps even in daylight. The front-facing camera is not good, either, but it should suffice for Skype chats.
Recordings with the stereo microphone are affected by a consistent noise that sounds like a subtle rustling. However, the voice is recorded with an almost consistent volume no matter whether from a distance of 30 centimeters or two meters.
We Liked
The i7 CM offers a lot of power in a compact and portable form factor. The 11.6-inch IPS screen with full HD resolution is quite good, and on maximum brightness it is even usable outdoors.
The keyboard base of the i7 CM is probably the one of the best tablet keyboard docks out there, with comfortable key size and decent key travel, and also two extra USB 2.0 ports to enhance connectivity.
In daily use, the i7 CM could become a relatively affordable tablet that replaces a laptop, tablet, and desktop and allows enterprises to focus on the task at hand rather than having to manage files, synchronize documents, and track changes to files if they were to use different computing devices.
We disliked
While the i7 CM delivers great performance in both tablet and laptop mode, usage as a tablet, especially when it is held in portrait orientation is a little awkward. Because of the 16:9 aspect ratio, portrait orientation made the tablet a little too long to be comfortable. In this view, reading letter-sized PDFs, digital magazines, and ebooks left a huge amount of black letterboxing at the top and bottom of the screen.
Additionally, the 11.6-inch widescreen display feels a lot more cramped than the 12.2-inch 3:2 aspect ratio of the newer Surface Pro 3. Personally, I wish Dell had gone with a screen with 3:2 or 4:3 aspect ratio, which feels more comfortable to deal with business tasks.
The keyboard base, as heavy as it is, doesn’t have a battery in it, so it has to rely on the power output from the tablet, thus shortens the battery life of the i7 CM.
Final verdict
The i7 CM offers a nice balance of performance and portability in a travel-friendly size. It allows you to access CPU and GPU taxing apps which the Atom-based tablets or convertibles just couldn’t handle, and also gives you the kind of portability you can’t find in business laptops. With a $392 price tag (the keyboard base is sold separately for $62.6), it is definitely much more cost-efficient than similar products from more celebrated brands. The Lenovo Yoga 3 11, which also features a Core M 5Y10c processor and 11.6-inch display, costs $799. The Microsoft Surface 3 (64GB model), with a weakerl Atom Z Cherry-trail processor, a slower eMMc drive and only 2GB RAM, is priced at $499, and you need to spend $129 for the Type Cover.
For those who relies heavily on horsepower and performance, the confines of an 11.6-inch display may be a little too rigid to maximize productivity. Opening more than a few windows on the small display will trigger claustrophobia. If you need to be more productive, there are bigger ultrabooks with touchscreen, such as the Lenovo Yoga 13 and the Dell XPS 13, but they all require you to dig a lot deeper into your pocket.

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