News and notes on the latest from Google.
Last week, we reviewed the Nubia Red Magic’s performance and how well it fared as a dedicated gaming device. But, unlike a Nintendo Switch, it can do much more than gaming. Let’s see how it fares as a smartphone.
Continue reading “Nubia Red Magic Review Part 2: How does it fare as a smartphone?”
There’s no denying the fact that standing out from the crowd is getting increasingly difficult for phone manufacturers. With cheap flagships becoming more mainstream and mid-range phones becoming powerful enough for your day-to-day needs, there isn’t much point in shelling out the extra hundred bucks or so of your hard-earned money on premium devices. However, there is one particular group that will simply not settle for cheap: hardcore gamers. Until recently, hardcore gamers were forced to spend 700 bucks on the glorious Razer Phone to fulfill their insatiable desire of endless gaming. But the Razer monopoly on “gaming” phones might end soon. There’s a new kid on the block to watch out for…
Continue reading “Nubia Red Magic Review Part 1: Gaming phone for those on a budget”
Ever since the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit the news, a lot of people have been deleting their Facebook or at least making an effort to use it less. But for a lot of people, this has been a complete awakening to the whole internet privacy controversy and consequently, there’s been a growing trend to boycott all internet services known to be collecting user data. The one other company talked about most in this regard is Google. There have been complete guides going around the internet on how to stop using Google services completely and instead use alternatives for each of its services. That means no Google search, no Google Maps, Photos, Drive, or YouTube, and there are people actually trying this. Believe it or not, there have actually been people attempting to replace their YouTube usage with Dailymotion! As a Google-centric news blog, we are obligated to address this madness. Continue reading “Should you be worried about sharing your data with Google?”
So far the OnePlus 5T has been above and beyond, ticking all the checkboxes and often blowing the competition out of the water. Boasting top-of-the-line internals and catching up with the trends, the OnePlus 5T does give its contenders a good run for their money. But how about the small things that OEMs often turn a blind eye to? Well, let’s find out.
Continue reading “OnePlus 5T Review Part 3: The small things”
Last week, we had a quick look at the OnePlus 5T’s design and display and reviewed its cameras, one of the most important features you consider when purchasing a new phone. Today, we are going to take a deep dive into the OnePlus 5T’s performance, one of the potential dealbreakers of any purchase in my personal opinion.
Continue reading “OnePlus 5T Review Part 2: Performance Analysis”
Silently setting their own trend of taking the holidays by a storm, OnePlus refreshed its flagship lineup with the OnePlus 5T. While last year’s T model brought us slightly upgraded internals, OnePlus has decided to change the phone’s looks this time around. And that’s for a very good reason – the OnePlus 5 looked too 2016-ish for a lot of the discerning customers. In a world where companies almost literally cut the corners to trim the screen bezels as much as possible, the OnePlus 5 touted chunky chins and an outdated design. Not to mention the camera woes in low light conditions.
Continue reading “OnePlus 5T Review Part 1: A solid all-rounder”
Android Runtime (ART) is the heart and soul of Java applications running on Android. Ever since ART was revealed as a developer setting in Android KitKat, I was fascinated by the details of how the apps that I used on a daily basis actually ran on the device I was using, which at the time was a Nexus 4.
There are many parts of the runtime, which includes the compiler, garbage collector, interpreter, and ART’s internal files such as OAT and dex files. I will focus on the runtime’s upcoming new internal file named “Compact Dex” and what it means for the end user.
Continue reading “Upcoming possible improvements to Android Runtime”
When a computer talks back to you, it almost seems magical. However, there is a lot of research that goes behind converting text-based answers to speech ones. Initially, during the early days, lots of audio based outputs were recorded by natural human voices. However, with a large number of words present in the human language, it is largely clear that we need to teach the computer how to speak properly.
Continue reading “In-Depth: How Google talks to you and what WaveNet is all about”
Ever since the iPhone 7, there has been an addition to the list of things smartphones can usually endorse as features – the inclusion of a headphone jack. Not that Apple was the first to exclude what for years has been considered a mandatory part of any personal computing device from their smartphone. But because it’s Apple and the iPhone is the most popular phone in the world. So it sets the standard.
To start off, ARM Holdings is a chip design company, which is owned by Soft Bank Ltd. ARM stands for Advanced RISC (Reduced Instruction Computer) Machine. RISC is something that people in Computer Science domain should definitely be aware of, but for the uninitiated, RISC is a microprocessor that is designed to perform a smaller number of types of computer instructions so that it can operate at a higher speed. Its speed is measured in MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second). Today, we take a look at the Cortex A53.
Continue reading “In-Depth: Understanding the Cortex A53 on Mobile SoCs”
