Plateau (v.): a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress.
As it currently stands, the smartphone industry is the perfect example of what it means to plateau. It’s stale and easy to predict, but it wasn’t always like this.
It looks like the stable of Android Wear device makers is about to grow.
Two new videos have been posted to Huawei’s official YouTube channel that show off the “Huawei Watch,” a new Android Wear-powered smartwatch. The first video highlights the features of the Huawei Watch, including activity tracking, Google Now, notifications, and a “timeless design.”
Tomorrow’s the day that the HTC One M9 will finally make its official debut, but unfortunately for the company, a hands-on video showing its new Android flagship appears to have leaked out ahead of time.
As there are no reference versions of the new GTX 960, it's all up to the manufacturers just how far they go with their cards. Nvidia has put out its own guidelines for base and boost clocks, but that's all they are.
Because of that, the GTX 960 has spawned a glut of factory-overclocked cards being first out of the gate. But is that really where the sweet-spot lies for Nvidia's mid-range Maxwell?
As is its wont, Asus has released an owly version of the GTX 960 under its STRIX branding, replete with the always-impressive DirectCU II cooler.
The stock 1,126MHz base and 1,178MHz boost clock laid out for the GTX 960 has been torn open once more, with the STRIX sitting at 1,291MHz and 1,317MHz respectively.
Again though we didn't see the card at those frequency points once during testing. Our sample was instead intent on rock-solid gaming at 1,354MHz.
That shows just how much overclocking headroom there is in the GTX 960.
Though the fact that the EVGA GTX 960 SuperSC version is clocked even higher, yet still posts incredibly close gaming frame rates, does mean there's not really any great advantage to running at these speeds.
But there's almost no reason not to.
Temperature isn't really an issue, especially with the formidable cooling that Asus has layered on top of its GPU. The DirectCU II cooler on the STRIX kept our review sample running at its top overclock at only 58ºC, considerably cooler than the ACX 2.0+ cooler on the EVGA SuperSC version.
Likewise noise isn't a problem either.
The STRIX's fans only spin up once the GPU reaches 55ºC, which means that on your Windows desktop the card is running entirely on passive cooling. And again those fans are incredibly quiet when they do get going.
So, why wouldn't Nvidia set its recommended clocks higher?
Mostly for reasons of marketing and allowing its partners to charge that little bit more for overclocked iterations of its cards. After all, having huge overclocking figures on the packaging is a good sell for both Nvidia and the card makers.
Thankfully prices on Asus' GTX STRIX 960 have dropped quite considerably since launch. At the beginning the fact it was so much more expensive than the competition, and yet no faster, was a bit of an issue.
Now it costs less than EVGA's GTX 960 SuperSC card which makes the fact it's a tiny bit slower in our gaming benchmarks less of a problem too.
It's not able to match the EVGA card's heady overclocking performance - even with the excellent Asus cooling - but when the extra MHz don't translate into extra FPS we can forgive that slight mismatch.
Our card tapped out at 1,478MHz, even though it was still only whispering away at some 58ºC.
But this is the real triumph of the GTX 960. No matter how relatively underwhelmed we've been with the mid-range Maxwell's overall performance, Nvidia has made a card where 1080p performance has been utterly nailed in a relatively small form factor and where noise, power and temperatures have all been rendered complete non-issues.
When such overclocked cards as the STRIX GTX 960 had hefty price-premiums attached to them it they didn't look so appealing. The GM 206 GPU doesn't really need the might of the DirectCU II cooler to achieve cool and quiet performance.
But now the prices aren't nearly so high the super-cooled, super-quiet Asus cooling array makes for an excellent choice of GTX 960.
The biggest strength of the Asus STRIX GTX 960 OC Edition is that powerful cooling array attached to it. It stays silent until the GPU hits 55ºC and even then you'll be straining to hear it.
We're also mighty impressed that prices of this premium card have dropped so much since launch, making it a much more tantalising a prospect for the mid-range upgrader.
There's also the fact the Asus card is really quite tiny. For a small form factor machine it really is worth a look.
We're still not massively excited by the GM 206 GPU. It does essentially all it needs to do to perform at this level, but nothing more. The 2GB frame buffer isn't going to provide any sort of future proofing so it really is just a 1080p card for today.
The Asus STRIX GTX 960 is a seriously quiet, incredibly cool little mid-range graphics card. Now that the prices have dropped this card is really vying for top GM 206 honours.
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Taken from PC Format magazine
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We’ve seen a few different Best Buy-exclusive smartphones in the past, like the blue versions of the HTC One (M7) and LG G3, but today Sprint announced a Best Buy-exclusive plan.
Beau HD recommends ten iOS apps for the month of February. Some of the apps mentioned in this video are new, some have received new updates, and others are just plain awesome.
The apps mentioned in this video include: Trivia Crack, Yahoo Weather, Jelly Jump, Hopper, Clash of Clans, Quora, CloudMagic, Reaper, IF, and Funny or Die Weather.
Beau HD recommends ten Android apps for the month of February. Some of the apps mentioned in this video are new, some have received new updates, and others are just plain awesome.
The apps mentioned in this video include: Portalize, S Converter, Google Opinion Rewards, Maplets, WeatherBomb, Calcu, Bar Launcher, Wikipedia Preview, Play Music, and Pocket Tanks.
Leaks happen, and sometimes it’s not entirely by accident. It should come as no surprise to anyone to hear that some leaks are meant to happen, especially the closer you get to a device’s announcement. Now, some are obvious and others not so much, and we’re not here to discern which is which. Let’s just get down to the point of a leak, whether it’s orchestrated or not:
Results.
Most of the recent Samsung leaks have focused on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, but the latest leak is switching things up a bit.
Capitalizing on the stylus craze to give tablet owners more precision input, Lenovo asks users of its $299 (£195, AU$385) Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows to not only touch and poke at the screen, but to key it, stab it, and slash it with almost any metal object. Though Lenovo is merely iterating on its Yoga Tablet design, the real highlight - and really what distinguishes the tablet from others in the crowded space - is its AnyPen technology.
With AnyPen, the Yoga Tablet 2 owners benefit from the finer accuracy of a digital stylus, but with the convenience of being able to use most everyday objects as a pen. Rather than carrying a specialized digital inking device that could get lost or stolen, AnyPen lets you create your own makeshift stylus.
Lenovo hopes that the convenience of AnyPen will help the Yoga Tablet 2 command a premium price. The Yoga Tablet 2 is priced higher than the $150 (£100, AU$195) 8-inch Dell Venue 8 Pro with an optional Active Stylus, but Dell's advantage is that you can add a folio and compact keyboard with physical keys to turn the slate into a netbook. Those who prefer Android and need pen-enabled support can opt for the $330 (£215, AU$425) Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
Without stylus support, pricing for Windows tablets with screens eight-inch or under drop to below $200 (£130, AU$260). Options in this spectrum include the $149 (£100, AU$190) Asus VivoTab 8, the $79 (£55, AU$100) 7-inch HP Stream 7 , and the $179 (£115, AU$230) HP Stream 8 with a built-in 4G modem. If you're happy with iOS, Apple's $399 (£260, AU$510) iPad mini 3 is a great choice.
Measuring 8.27 x 5.87 x 0.28 inches or 210 x 149 x 7 mm (W X L X H), the Yoga Tablet 2 is an extension of Lenovo's Yoga vision in offering customers a single device that transforms into different form factors.
Like the first generation Yoga Tablet, the Tablet 2 with Windows sheds the 360-degree hinged keyboard from Lenovo's Yoga Ultrabook series. Cloaked in black, you're presented with the familiar slim design, barreled edge that is home to a flip-out kickstand (and the battery inside), and metal flourishings. Although the sides, barrel, and kickstand are constructed from metal, the backside is made of textured, matte plastic.
A crisp 8-inch, full HD, 1080p IPS display graces the front of the tablet. Because of the barreled edge, the tablet feels more balanced in landscape mode when used on a flat surface. In this position, the rear of the tablet is elevated while the front edge is lower, making it more comfortable to look down on the screen when you're sitting at your desk and easier to type on the touchscreen.
In portrait mode on a desk, the barrel creates an elevated spine that prevents the tablet from fully laying flat. As a result, you're left with an inclined side, which is fine for casual web surfing and reading, but makes typing awkward.
To make the tablet slim, Lenovo relies on the barrel for several functions. The barrel houses a pair of front-facing, Dolby-tuned speakers. As this is the thickest point on the tablet, it provides more space for the speakers to produce richer sound.
The battery is housed in the barrel as well to keep the overall tablet slim. Lenovo also placed the rear 8-megapixel camera on the barrel. Additionally, the barrel serves as a hinge to stow the mechanical kickstand.
The metal kickstand is activated when you apply force to push down. This opens up the kickstand and you can then pry the stand fully open. The kickstand allows the tablet to be used in four modes.
According to Lenovo, with the stand closed, you can hold it like a tablet. With the stand engaged, you can stand it up similar to the larger Microsoft Surface Pro 3. You can tilt the tablet on a desk, so it's propped up for easier viewing and more comfortable on-screen typing.
Finally, you can fully open the stand, revealing a small hole in the center of the kickstand that allows you to hang the tablet. This last mode is great if you want to to hang the tablet in a workspace so you can watch videos or multitask.
As a tablet, the barrel also serves an ergonomic purpose, making the Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows comfortable to hold for long periods of time. In use, it feels like wrapping the cover of a paperback book around the spine.
Coupled with the tablet's light 0.94-pound (0.43kg) weight, it makes for a very pleasant companion to read an e-book on the couch or in bed. However, magazines, PDFs, and larger format materials will feel cramped on an 8-inch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
The weight of the Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows is comparable to the 0.87-pound (0.39kg) Dell Venue 8 Pro, and is about the same weight as the 0.96-pound (0.44kg) iPad Air 2, though Apple's device has a larger 9.7-inch display. The nice thing about the Lenovo slate is that it feels balanced; when holding the tablet in bed, I never felt like the tablet would fall and smack me in the face.
The Yoga Tablet 2 comes with a minimum array of buttons and ports. Neatly fit on one end of the barrel is a circular power button. The button is surrounded by an LED ring, which lights up when the tablet is plugged in for charging.
The other end of the barrel is home to a 3.5mm headphone jack. A slim Windows button sits on the tablet's bezel, along with a single micro USB port and volume rocker on its side.
Unlike many other Windows slates, the placement of the Windows Start button on the side of the tablet makes it awkward, especially when used in portrait mode. For right-handed users holding the slate in their left hand, the Start button will be on the bottom edge of the device, making it difficult to reach.
Noticeably lacking on the Yoga Tablet 2 are ports. This means that tablet owners will likely need to use the Lenovo Tablet 2 primarily as a consumer tablet or rely on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi for expandability. Unless you're in the market for portability, business owners may want to shop for a larger tablet with full-sized USB ports.
That said, the issue of limited ports is fairly standard across a number of smaller slates, including those from Dell, Asus, and HP. Here's the Yoga Tablet 2 with AnyPen configuration sent to TechRadar for review:
The micro USB port on the side is used to charge the tablet. If you need full USB functionality, you can pick up a micro USB on-the-go (USB OTG) adapter, which gives you access to a full-sized USB port. With an adapter, you can plug in a hard drive, keyboard, or flash drive.
Another feature that is missing is a video output port. The micro USB port on the Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows unfortunately does not support MHL capabilities, meaning you cannot get a dongle adapter and plug it into the HDMI port of an HDTV or monitor.
However, if you need to output your display to a larger screen, you can use wireless display (or WiDi) technology to mirror your screen. Likely Yoga Tablet 2 owners will live within the confines of their 8-inch panel.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, as the 8-inch IPS display is beautiful, with wide viewing angles and a crisp 275 pixels-per-inch (ppi) resolution. The display looks fantastic indoors and under shade, but gets quickly washed out when under direct sunlight. If you're planning on using the Lenovo Tablet 2 as an e-reader on the beach, you may want to reconsider your option despite the excellent ergonomics and long battery life.
Unlike the Dell Venue 8 Pro, there isn't a custom keyboard accessory to transform the Yoga Tablet 2 8 Windows into a portable netbook. You can connect a full-sized Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, but the keyboard is almost twice as big as Lenovo's footprint for the tablet, negating the portability benefit.
Using Windows on an 8-inch screen feels cramped, and this is an endemic problem with running a desktop OS on a small display. Modern UI apps that are designed for touch work fine, with large buttons for finger use, but legacy programs for the classic desktop don't fare well. Navigating small text-based menus with fat fingers was problematic, unless you're poking at it with a pen via AnyPen technology.
This brings us to another quirk of the tablet: Lenovo's adoption of AnyPen. The technology makes stylus use convenient, as you can use almost any everyday object as a stylus. The problem is that choosing the wrong instrument could leave your screen with scratches over time.
Theoretically, you can use a knife, keys, a paper clip, scissors, or any metal object to draw with the tablet. However, if you use a knife and press too hard, you're not only making digital ink marks, but you can potentially leave analog etching on the glass screen. Similarly, choosing to write with a ballpoint pen can leave physical ink residue on the screen that's hard to wipe away.
Another issue is that some specialized inking apps, like Microsoft's popular OneNote, fail to recognize the metal object you're using as a stylus alternative. This means that you can use a paperclip to pan around or select menu items, but you can't write or draw.
I was successful in using the handwriting input panel, instead of the software keyboard, to input text that way. Though this seems slower than tapping on-screen keys, it could come in useful for inputting text in character-based languages.
On the Paint app, I didn't have any issues with sketching, but AnyPen lacked the pressure sensitivity that more advanced pens using N-Trig's or Wacom's technology offer. As such, AnyPen may not be suited as a stylus substitute for writing or drawing. You'll be fine if you're using your AnyPen stylus alternative to pan around the screen, select items, or do anything you traditionally would do with a mouse (or your fingers) for input.
The screen was too small for me to test palm rejection technology with AnyPen, but I can rest part of the side of my hand on the display while drawing on the screen with a ballpoint without issue.
Even though the benchmark numbers seem low, performance from the Yoga Tablet 2 is surprisingly snappy for general computing tasks. However, you won't want to play graphics-intensive games or do processor-stressing tasks, like Photoshop or video editing, on this tablet.
Unfortunately, I ran into many issues installing 3DMark, and Fire Strike is simply incompatible with this slate's quad-core Intel Atom (Bay Trail) processor. Worse off, I wasn't able to install Maxon's Cinebench to measure CPU and GPU performance, as the tool was designed for 64-bit systems. The Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows was loaded with a 32-bit version of Windows 8, and sadly, Lenovo does not offer the tablet with a 64-bit version of the OS.
In observed performance, compared to Intel's more powerful Core series of processors, you won't notice any difference in surfing the web, streaming YouTube videos or opening the occasional Microsoft Word document or Excel spreadsheet.
If your life is in Google Apps and you play in the clouds of Netflix, Pandora, and Amazon, the Yoga Tablet 2 does a great job displaying photos and videos on its vibrant display. Audio from videos sound rich on the tablet's Dolby-tuned speakers, but don't expect the volume to fill a room.
Another issue that professional users will encounter is the limited amount of storage space on the tablet. Available in a single configuration with 32GB of space, the Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows shows only 19.4GB of free storage out of the box.
A micro SD card slot located behind the kickstand will alleviate some of your storage needs, but users who install a lot of applications will find that the available storage on the tablet will quickly disappear. Lenovo says the Yoga Tablet 2 supports up to 64GB micro SD cards, a 128GB card works fine in my test.
Battery life for the Yoga Tablet 2 is strong. Lenovo claims the 6,400mAh battery lasts up to 15 hours on a full charge. Using PCMark 8's home battery life test, the tablet recorded just over six hours. In real world use, I squeezed 12 hours and 45 minutes before the tablet powered itself off.
The Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows comes with minimal software installed. Aside from the standard pre-loaded Windows 8 apps from Microsoft, you'll find a one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365. There is also a Lenovo Yoga 2 demo app with videos highlighting some of the features of the slate for new users.
Aside from your Office 365 subscription, the most useful pre-loaded app on the tablet is the SHAREit app. The app allows you to share files between your tablet, a desktop PC or a smartphone.
You'll need to install the SHAREit app on your other companion devices to transfer files and share photos. Given that the tablet doesn't come with a USB port, unless you acquire a USB OTG cable, SHAREit comes in handy as you can't readily plug in a USB flash drive.
Priced more expensively than competing 8-inch slates, the Yoga Tablet 2 commands a premium price for its unique features. Lacking a full-sized USB and display-out port, the tablet feels less productive than Dell's $429 (£280, AU$550) Atom-powered Venue 11 Pro.
The Venue 11 Pro is less portable than the Lenovo, but the 11.6-inch display gives you more screen real estate. You also gain the versatility in being able to transform the tablet into a desktop by connecting a display, keyboard, and mouse, or into an Ultrabook form factor with an optional keyboard dock accessory.
The main reason to choose the Yoga Tablet 2 over Apple's iPad mini 3 at the same price is for the ability to run a full desktop OS. Given Apple's large touch-friendly catalog of apps compared to small menus designed for keyboard and mouse input on Windows, the Lenovo's advantage becomes less clear.
A gorgeous display, long battery life and ergonomically slim design helps to keep the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with AnyPen a competitive tablet. Lenovo added some useful tweaks to differentiate its slate, but those OEM customizations make the tablet more expensive than other seven-to eight-inch Windows tablets.
A unique barreled edge houses a large battery to give the Tablet 2 long battery life. Rated for 15 hours, we got close to 13 hours of real-life usage on a single charge. The built-in kickstand and crisp display make the tablet a joy to consume videos while traveling.
The lack of a full-sized USB port and a video-out port keeps the Yoga Tablet 2 limited to its 8-inch screen, as you won't be able to output to a larger HDTV beyond Intel's WiDi solution. Users will need to rely on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to connect peripherals like keyboard, printers, and hard drives to the tablet rather than plugging in a cable.
While innovative, Lenovo isn't first to market with AnyPen. Rival Sony implemented the technology in its Xperia Z Ultra phablet. The technology offers users the ad-hoc convenience of having a stylus, but the drawback is that your screen can become scratched over time if you use a sharp metal object as a stylus replacement. Furthermore, AnyPen does not offer the pressure sensitivity that digital artists need for sketching or drawing on the tablet.
And though the lack of apps is more an issue with Windows 8, Lenovo's choice of Microsoft's desktop OS makes the tablet a little cumbersome to use. Users will be able to tap into legacy apps on the desktop, but text-driven menus are small and difficult to press, making it less than ideal.
The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows is a solidly-built tablet. Though the hardware design offers a lot of ergonomics, the software choice makes it clumsy. The lack of touch-centric Modern UI apps for Windows, coupled with a less than ideal experience of navigating text-driven menus in the classic desktop mode, negates the benefit of having long battery life to be more productive.
With the Yoga Tablet 2, Lenovo aims to differentiate itself in the tablet market with AnyPen, but the solution feels unpolished. Unless you've got your heart set on using any metal object as a stylus replacement for input, you can find cheaper 8-inch Windows tablets elsewhere. Buyers should choose the Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows for Lenovo's excellent hardware design, ergonomics and lengthy battery life.
Back at the end of November, Huawei announced that it would update the Ascend Mate2 to Android 5.0. Huawei hasn’t said much about the update since, but today the company broke its silence to confirm that the Lollipop bump is still coming.
When AMD tells us it's sending over a new FX-series CPU, we can't help the sudden rush of excitement. It's an automatic response, born of a time when a new AMD CPU had the potential to offer something genuinely competitive.
But those days seem long gone. All we get now are half-hearted revisions of increasingly elderly chips.
The FX-8320E is the perfect example of that. AMD released this chip late last year, along with the FX-8370E as a pair of lower-powered octo-core CPUs for the more power-conscious consumer.
These two chips use AMD's Bulldozer processor tech and squeeze into a 95W TDP. They're able to do this by utilising a lower base clock, but retaining the same Turbo clock as their non-E brethren.
To that end, this FX-8320E is running at 3.2GHz as standard, with the ability to hit 4GHz as needed. The standard FX-8320's clockspeed sits some 300MHz higher at 3.5GHz.
So far, so good. For 30W less power you only sacrifice 300MHz of CPU horsepower, which seems like a pretty good trade-off.
But the fact these CPUs are still running with an outdated version of the Bulldozer architecture makes them seem more like an afterthought than a proper processor release. In the Kaveri APU, launched a year ago, AMD used the latest revision of Bulldozer, codenamed Steamroller. Its next APU, Carrizo, will use the final Bulldozer revision which is codenamed Excavator.
This 95W processor then, using the old Piledriver architecture, is two generations behind AMD's top x86 CPU cores.
And it doesn't look like it has any interest at all in shifting the FX range over to the Excavator design, despite the IPC (instructions per clock) boosts that both the Steamroller and Excavator tech have over Piledriver.
What's the game with the FX-8320E then?
You'd assume that with the focus on hitting a lower TDP, this chip would be looking at small form factor machines, but that 95W TDP is still higher than the 84W Haswell Core i5 processors, even the K-series versions.
But then there's the price. At just over £100, this is the cheapest eight-core CPU around – even if you baulk at referring to its quad-module design as a full octo-core setup it still sits as the cheapest, eight-threaded processor you can buy.
In this context, suddenly the FX-8320E looks like a more intriguing purchase.
That's especially true if you're sitting on a lower core-count AM3+ chip and feel the need for an upgrade. In performance terms – in both straight CPU and gaming tests – the FX-8320E is evidently behind both the FX-8350 and Intel Core i5-4570, but it's a good £30-50 cheaper than those more powerful chips.
And because it's an AMD chip, without the needless limitations imposed on it by overzealous marketing execs (looking at you, Mr Intel K-series), you can get happy with the overclocking. Well, should your chosen chip and board be capable of it anyways.
Our sample wasn't very happy running anything above 4GHz. We got a little more out of it with some voltage tweaks, but not enough to keep it stable on the MSI 970 Gaming motherboard we were testing it in.
Still, at that speed on all cores it runs mighty close to a stock-clocked, full-fat AMD FX-8350.
For the AMD upgrader then, it's not a bad budget option. If you're looking to build an all-new machine though we'd still struggle to recommend an AMD setup.
Even though you're getting eight threads of processing power, a resolutely quad-core, un-overclockable Core i5-4570 will still deliver better CPU performance, and in a smaller power envelope too.
The Intel platform is also going to be more up to date and not much more expensive either. While AMD's AM3+ chipsets were queuing up for their pensions, Intel's motherboard chipsets were busy fitting themselves out with native USB 3.0 and PCIe 3.0 support…
And then there's gaming.
If you're a PC gamer, your AMD CPU is stealing frames from your graphics card. The difference between the Intel Core i5-4570 and this FX chip is nearly 20fps on average at 1080p settings with the same GPU. And that's with a 50W peak platform power saving over the AMD offering too.
Yes, it's initially a cheaper option, but you're paying a different price going the AMD route.
It's all about the pricing of this AMD CPU. At under £100 it's the cheapest eight-threaded CPU you can buy. If you're into your multi-threaded productivity applications then the concurrent performance of the FX chip's quad-module design will deliver a lot of processing power for the money.
And you can overclock too. Running at 4GHz you're getting almost the same level of performance as the pricier FX-8350.
AMD's processor platform is looking seriously geriatric these days. Without native support for either USB 3.0 or PCIe 3.0 it has to rely on the board manufacturers to bring in third-party silicon to deal with such things. And that introduces more performance barriers.
Gaming is also a problem for the FX-8320e - you could potentially lose out on a lot of the performance potential of your graphics card opting for an eight-thread FX chip over a quad-core Intel.
As a budget eight-threaded option the FX-8320e is a decent choice of chip for the productivity folk, but if you're looking to build a budget gaming rig you will be losing out on some of the performance potential of your GPU.
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Taken from PC Format magazine
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