So 8-core mobile processors?

Samsung announced a monster, an 8-core mobile processor based on BIG.Little ARM. This set up runs two quad-core processors. The power house quad will be a 1.8GHz A15 and for smaller task there is the 1.2GHz A7 quad plus the die will be on a 28nm process.

Keep posted here for more information! 

Sourced from Engadget!

Nikon D5200; Worth snapping up?

Source: Engadget

Nikon Inc. revealed at their booth at CES this week that they would make the D5200 available to US shoppers (and indirectly the Caribbean) by late January. The long overdue upgrade to Nikon's entry level DSLR line would be available for $899.95 US, a little cheaper than the previously anticipated price tag of over $1000 US. 

Much like the recently released D3200, the 24.1 megapixel  D5200 will have wireless capabilities and a powerful new Expeed 3 processor. The D5200 also has a whopping 39 focus points, rather than the 11 its predecessor has. As Nikon refreshes its line of entry level DSLRs we're slowly seeing their bar being raised, and unavoidably, the price tag. 

Should DSLR-owners-to-be skip the entry level options all together? 

20 inch 4K resolution Tablet unveiled!

Image source : The Verge

While tablets are on everyone's minds these days, I don't think anyone expected what Panasonic brought to the table; A 20" Windows 8 tablet with a 4K resolution. 4K or Ultra HD , a relatively new term, refers to a resolution of either 3840 x 2160 pixels or 4096 x 2160 pixels. Panasonic revealed at their CES presentation that the tablet is aimed at photographers and architects. The super-sized tablet runs windows 8, which from the videos is clearly not properly optimized yet for the device and takes up a little under 50% of the screen when it comes to the active tiles. Many have doubts as to whether this device would last on the consumer market, if it ever makes there in the first place. While this is certainly not the most portable tablet out there, the screen real estate and quality far surpasses any tablet currently on the market and may be just what some consumers need. What do you think? Too much? Well needed?

Qualcomm takes it to the next level!

Qualcomm announced four lines of mobile CPUs, the Snapdragon 800, 600, 400 and 200. The Snapdragon 400 and 200 are geared towards the low end of the market. The 600 and 800 are the real beast of the offering.

First lets take a look at the Snapdragon 600, the S4 pro of last year was touted as one of the most powerful processors of 2012, this gives you an idea of how to compare this year's generation. The Snapdragon takes all that power and increases it by 40%! 

Above the Snapdragon 600 is the 800. Let me pause to say, wow this takes mobile computing into a new generation of power at your mobile finger tips. This takes the performance to a 75% increase from last year! It can manage up to 2560 * 2048 resolution screens! Faster LTE! Up to 2.3 GHz processing speed! Come mid-year things are going to get so much better for the mobile space. 

Stay tuned! Color me EXCITED!

Android's March to the bottom!

Acer announced the Iconia B1-A71. Specs includes 8GB internal storage, dual-core 1.2GHz MediaTek processor, 0.3 MP front facing camera and 512 MB RAM. 

Image source: Engadget

Thoughts: Competing with the iPad has been tough for OEMs, Amazon first successful attack on the giant came in the form of a ultra affordable tablet, the Kindle fire. Amazon can afford to sell these kindles at ridiculously low prices as a result of the leverage in the content package they possess (Books, Movies, Apps, Music, Tv shows etc). I fear however for other OEM like Acer who are now competing with both Apple, Google and Amazon. The $329-$500 price space will continue to be dominated by Apple and the $200-$250 space will be Google's Nexus devices and Amazon's offering. 

Can Acer and other OEMs find their way? Only time will tell.

Android Apps on Windows.....Blue Stacks!

One of Windows 8 major downfalls is the absence of apps which are geared towards touch. This is a significant hole in their strategy because that is the direction Windows is trying to push the pc space. Windows have taken one of the boldest steps forward since Apple introduced the iPhone. Thou it has been met with lukewarm response Windows 8 addresses some key gaps that were needed to be filled for Microsoft to remain relevant. 

BlueStacks allows Windows to run Android Apps giving Windows 8 a needed boost in that department. Lenovo announced a partnership with BlueStacks to brings their Android app player to their Windows 8 machines. Buying a Lenovo machine just got more exciting!

Nvidia Tegra 4!

Nvidia looks to set the pace for the processor performance wars with their introduction of Tegra 4. In years past handset makers have favored Nvidia offering because of it constant trend setting introductions. Tegra 3 dominated in the processor space during the first half of 2012, with the introduction of Tegra 4 there is no doubt in my mind this processor will be the one handset makers choose at least in the first half of the year. 

Diving into the processor! Four major components of Tegra 4: 5 core CPU, 72 core GPU, improved HDR photo production and a new adoption of 28nm size processing die. Tegra 4 maintains the same four core + 1 set up, having four high performance cores and one companion core for low power processing. One of the eye opening features of the Tegra 4 processor is the 72-core graphics unit. Side note: Games launching this year should just be absolutely STUNNING! The architecture has also now been shrunk down to 28nm with this shrinkage Tegra 4 should be much more power efficient than that of last year's Tegra 3. 

Drawback! Tegra 4 does not include integrated LTE, the world is marching forward, 4G/LTE is the future of cellular data. Having no integrated LTE leaves wide room for Nvidia's competitors to one up them on their current offering. This also presents the problem of less efficiency in the battery department. Hopefully Nvidia update this before the year is out.

The Next Big Thing?

I’m 22. One year older than Mark Zuckerberg was when he founded Facebook, and three years younger than Larry Paige and Sergey Brin were when they opened Google as a private company. In this relatively new age of technology, the truth is that our generation is running the show. This statement may furrow the brow of many a veteran in this game, but an inability to think fresh, irresponsibly and crazy, means an inability to create the next big thing. I’m only a third year Computer Science major at the University of the West Indies, located on the tiny island of Barbados but I believe I have meaningful commentary on this shiny new toy called technology. 

When I was very young, my father founded a computer business in my home country St.Vincent and the Grenadines, which give me exposure to a lot of things which are now considered archaic. I remember playing games such as Jacks and a colorful stick game and fiddling with the arm that secured 5 ¼’ Floppy disk. Sometimes I left the computer purposely idle so as to see my favorite maze screensaver complete with a sorry excuse (in terms of graphics) rat. Chip’s Challenge, Pipe Dream and Ski Free, were later added to things I enjoyed most about computer as a kid. Times have changed since then, and I now own my own laptop, an Apple device and blackberry both equally useful to me. My blogging partner Maurice, often categorizes me as an Apple Hater, and I in turn tend to categorize him as an Apple Fanatic. Both claims we refute to anyone willing to listen. It’s going to be particularly interesting to see how our views compare and contrast on various aspect of this ever changing world. With CES 2013 starting soon, things can only get more heated.

I am also a professional photographer, with a fair knowledge on the use of Adobe Photoshop and a long history of designing websites. From learning basic HTML on my own at the age of 16, I can now build a fully-fledged website from “scratch” and still learning more. I am also no stranger to blogs as one night in college after being kicked out of the school library, I posted my commentary on the library experience anonymously to a blog I titled ‘Man About College’ which was well received, and snow-balled into Brainstorm Inc, a website I founded to be a hub of a number of similar blogs with multiple contributors.

I have no doubt that this blogging experience would be as interesting as before, and hope to learn as much from you the reader as you would learn from me.

- Janique-ka John

Geek iRice Reports...

Who is Maurice John? Tech junkie by day, tech junkie by night, that sums up who Maurice John is for the purpose of this blog. Technology was not my first love, I was sold the idea of civil engineering by my father through the belief that the best way to live life is by the merits of your own establishment. I kept the idea of self-sufficiency but rejected the engineering when I fell in love with tech way back in high school. It might have had something to do with the stunning I.T teacher but the end result brought forth sweet fruits.

Technology has evolved to a point where it’s now the focal point of every aspect of life. The world marches to the beat of tech, with my ears firmly planted on the ground I want to translate those notes to the masses. 

With the goal of translation in mind, my blog posts will be geared towards critically analyzing the movements in the technological space and assessing how they will eventually affect us as a Caribbean body. My colleague, Janique-ka John and I will be first tackling CES, which begins on the 8^th of January.

Quest to self-sufficiency! I’m currently in the infancy stages of creating my own business, (M.John IT Solutions) at this moment I provide only website creation services. As time progresses and I have completed my studies I would move deeper into software space through apps for every screen we utilize today.

-Maurice John