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Written by Jordan Johnson
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Understanding how quickly a technology progresses is seen first-hand in the mobile phone sector. In the last year, we have seen phones released with 1 GHz processors. I can remember when I got my first computer that was over 1 GHz. Since phones are more like small handheld computers, what are the issues? Phones with these fast processors have some drawbacks. The HTC Desire, for example, remains a great phone, but it suffers from a short battery life and low memory. All the apps in an Android phone can be a critical flaw forcing the product to burn battery or to run slwoly. The Samsung Mesmerize in Samsung’s Galaxy S line of phones illustrates other issues. This phone had a couple of revolutionary advances. First off, it was the first phone with a Super AMOLED screen. This is the brightest, highest resolution and thinnest screen we had seen yet. It had a faster 1.0 GHz processor, a hummingbird processor to be exact. It also had half a gigabyte of RAM and ROM. Due to all of this and all of the operations being optimized, this equaled a phone that was easily twice as fast as the HTC Desire. Most of these high powered phones, though, have issues with battery life. While the Mesmerize is a still a very intriguing phone, the phone that I am most excited about right now is the HTC 7 Pro. This is a new Windows Phone 7 product. It has a 2nd generation 1.0 GHz processor over half a gigabyte of RAM and ROM. Instead of dealing with SD card issues and the lag associated with the interface, they decided to just build 16 gigabytes of memory right into the phone. The phone’s interface makes the phone extremely easy to navigate. This simple interface keeps the end user from feeling any latency while navigating the phone. Thanks to being a Windows based phone, it will effortlessly sync all Microsoft Office programs. While other devices will sync with Office, it often requires some kind of 3rd party application. The 7 Pro allows the user to play Xbox live games straight from their phone. It also included 25 gigabytes worth of space on Microsoft’s Skydrive. This is a form of Cloud PC. Usually when people hear about a Windows phone, they think of the old Windows Mobile® phones, and this is exactly what Microsoft wants to avoid. Microsoft knew their Windows Mobile® was a bad operating system and has since fired the entire team. After hiring an all new mobile team, they have produced the Windows Phone 7 operating system. It is arguably one of the most stable operating systems available on a smart mobile phone today. The greatest part about all this evolution is that this is just the beginning. We are starting to see 3D display phones and phones that shoot 3D video. It won’t be long before the mobile phone is something you put on in the morning like a piece of clothing. You will never notice it there, and you certainly won’t have to raise or put anything into your ear to use it. The possibilities in the evolving wireless industry are completely endless. |
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Written by Zac Kitson
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With graphics technology inching closer and closer to having photorealistic capabilities, many people might say that soon gaming will plateau and possibly die out. I would have to disagree. I believe that a graphical peak will allow for developers to focus more on quality of gameplay, artistic expression, and potentially, eSports.
If everyone is at the same level in the visuals department, game companies will have to step up their game in other areas. Without reliance on eye candy to promote sales, developers will be forced to focus more on compelling story and solid game mechanics, raising the bar for what qualify as "good" games. If Game A is just as visually impressive as Game B, but Game B has a more immersive story and better controls, Game B will probably be more popular.
Are video games an art form? The question has long been a topic of debate between game developers and the government. As technology continues to become more sophisticated, it will become easier to craft immersive and socially valuable experiences with video games. This could help solidify video games as an art form in the public eye.
The effects of photorealistic graphics could help promote eSports. People like to look at things that look good, and in order to be successful, every sport needs an audience. Also, with the aforementioned focus on solid gameplay, multiplayer games will tend to become more and more skill-based. Any kind of competition is interesting to watch if the participants are skilled contestants. People aren't as interested in a Little League game as they are in the World Series. Sports games that are immersive, and allow interaction between participants could be far more interesting than today’s generic offerings. |
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Written by David Johnston
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Back in 2007 the EEE series from ASUS, the netbook line, was released. It was exactly what people needed at the moment: something small, portable, light, and it could run Windows or Linux. Even if it was slow, all they wanted to do were basic computing tasks. After the release of the EEE series netbook, people instantly wanted more performance out of this new line of laptops.
To handle the need for performance, the processor for the netbooks would just keep getting a small performance boost each release and finally get a second core. This helped, if you wanted to run Windows XP on one of the devices, but with the release of Windows 7, XP was to be no more. If there is any indication that netbooks had an impact on the computer world, the release of Windows 7 Starter edition was a good show of that. This version of Windows was built to limit how many open applications a user could have. To get around this, the computer industry would have to redesign the compact laptop industry again. Thus, here enters ultrabooks.
Laptops that fit in the ultrabooks line are the MacBook Air and Samsung Series 9 type of laptops. They are very light, very thin, and most important they have a full processor, not an Intel Atom. With the advances in processor technology, companies can now have extremely thin laptops without giving up on performance. Steve Jobs made sure everyone knew you could get a compact laptop without losing the performance with the 2011 MacBook Air 2 model refresh. Samsung jumped on the boat with Apple when they released their Series 9 laptop in March which had a thinner thickest point but weighed a half of a pound heavier. ASUS revealed at Computex their entrance into the market with their yet to be released UX21 model. The hands-on performance that I have seen the UX21 is on par with everything the MacBook Air has to offer with it’s thinness or form factor. ASUS goes on to say that with the specs on the model, you should be able to jam a Core i7 in the form factor.
It is safe to say, in my eyes, netbooks should be counting down their days soon. The only life lines for netbooks are their price point. If you want the best performing netbook, it will still cost you a lot. To this I would say: save up the extra money and buy the cheapest MacBook Air. Ultrabook’s prices will have to come down once other companies start entering the market and that will happen sooner than you think. ASUS’ UX21 is set to be released in September of 2011, but there is talk that HP will beat them to it with two ultrabooks of their own. |
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