Cell Phones powering up!
- Thread starter RAMA
- Start date
Nvidia demoed a quad core ARM mobile CPU at MWC yesterday. I think Texas Instruments did the same the day before. ARM-based units don't have the same performance per clock as a x86, and isn't meant to, but is a lot more power efficient. Basically, we're talking about chips with roughly the computing power of a 8 year old desktop cpu with 1/100 of the power draw of those same 2003 Pentium 4 chips. Still sounds impressive.
So by 2017, yes, your phone will handle Crysis.
So by 2017, yes, your phone will handle Crysis.
Remember when phones were for CALLING? 
The modern smartphone isn't so much a phone as it is a mobile computing device that happens to make phone calls.
The nVidia chip that was just demoed (Kal-El) will actually be in devices by the end of the year. I think we're going to see a lot of really aggressive momentum in this space over the next few years, it'll be really fascinating to watch!
The nVidia chip that was just demoed (Kal-El) will actually be in devices by the end of the year. I think we're going to see a lot of really aggressive momentum in this space over the next few years, it'll be really fascinating to watch!
And therein lies the problem. Some just don't NEED all that extra crap.
That isn't a "problem" at all; normal phones still outsell smartphones I believe. No one is being forced to use anything that they don't want, so everyone wins!
I can't get along without it. I use most of the apps/functions every day...weather ch app, calorie counter, workout app, photobucket app, gps, gps pedometer app, txting, facebook, and yes phone calls. When I look at people with old fashioned flip phones I'm amazed, there are still so many out there. I'm in the process of upgrading from my blackberry tour to the EVO...1ghz chip.
RAMA
With all this power there is still one huge drawback.. the size of the screen.
You can put in all the resolution you can, the most amazing apps and lightning fast internet but you still have a screen the size of a slightly bigger cigarette box.
I just can't surf the web comfortably with these tiny screens or god forbid watch a movie on them. If they come up with a good solution for that i think it would be the final breakthrough.. maybe some kind of lightweight glasses where the date is projected onto the glasses and you can see almost any screen size you want (kind of like a HUD display).
But i agree that smartphones ar enow so much more than smartphones and the concentration of computing power and the versatility of it is sure making life a lot easier for people who are moving around a lot and still need to be connected.
You can put in all the resolution you can, the most amazing apps and lightning fast internet but you still have a screen the size of a slightly bigger cigarette box.
I just can't surf the web comfortably with these tiny screens or god forbid watch a movie on them. If they come up with a good solution for that i think it would be the final breakthrough.. maybe some kind of lightweight glasses where the date is projected onto the glasses and you can see almost any screen size you want (kind of like a HUD display).
But i agree that smartphones ar enow so much more than smartphones and the concentration of computing power and the versatility of it is sure making life a lot easier for people who are moving around a lot and still need to be connected.
EVOs screen is a full inch bigger than Iphone 4. Still, I am NEVER likely to look at a movie or show on my phone.
I have a cheap prepaid cell that is only used for emergencies. Most of the time it sits locked in my car's glovebox. I admit I do *enjoy* having a phone that can't do anything other than call....striking a blow against The Man (or should I say The Phone) and all that.
I do hope that phones like that can continue to be sold. Because I definitely cannot afford a smartphone. If I had money to burn, maybe.
And I also freely admit that I'm still bitter about the time I was in NYC and I had a cell which had the TOS communicator noise as a ringtone; it rang, and a dozen people started laughing at me.
But I guess that was my own fault for having a fancy ringtone. 
(Which is another thing my prepaid cell does not have. It feels good to be a Luddite...)
I have a cheap prepaid cell that is only used for emergencies. Most of the time it sits locked in my car's glovebox. I admit I do *enjoy* having a phone that can't do anything other than call....striking a blow against The Man (or should I say The Phone) and all that.
I do hope that phones like that can continue to be sold. Because I definitely cannot afford a smartphone. If I had money to burn, maybe.
And I also freely admit that I'm still bitter about the time I was in NYC and I had a cell which had the TOS communicator noise as a ringtone; it rang, and a dozen people started laughing at me.
I had a pre-paid phone as a backup phone years ago, and they pretty fragile and cheap.
If anything I've found my current smart phone needs to do MORE! Hence the EVO.
RAMA
