Compare Video play: Samsung Galaxy S v Acer Stream

Differences in playing Video between Samsung Galaxy S v Acer Stream via techboyarena who says:-

'I find that the Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Galaxy S is much much better than the AMOLED display on the Acer Stream'

View the first video below. What do you think? I'd say only marginal differences between the two phones when playing videos although maybe the Samsung looks a 'sharper', better contrast image. I'm not so sure if its significantly so.


 via AndroidHDblog.it  who says:-

'Galaxy S v Acer Stream in two tests: 55 v 40 and 26 v 10 frames per second, Acer Stream phone is a good phone  but the Acer Stream User Interface (UI) is not as good as Google Android 2.1 Eclair UI'

DataMind sell Acer Stream & Samsung Android Smartphones.

Google Android overtakes iPhone

source: Marketing Week & Fortune
Global sales of phones using the Google Android mobile operating platform have overtaken iPhone sales, according to new figures.


Figures from analyst Gartner reveal that Google Android’s market share has overtaken Apple’s iPhone.

Android’s share of the smartphone market has leapt to 17.2% from 1.8% a year ago while Apple’s share is 14.2%.

Smartphone sales: What the pie charts don't show, however, is that these are shares of a rapidly expanding universe. Mobile phone sales to end users grew 13.8% year over year according to Gartner, and smartphone sales accounted for 19% of them, a 50.5% increase.

Full Gartner report. I've included some excerpts here:-

Gartner, Egham, UK, August 12, 2010 — Worldwide mobile device sales to end users totaled 325.6 million units in the second quarter of 2010, a 13.8 percent increase from the same period in 2009, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales to end users accounted for 19 percent of worldwide mobile device sales, an increase of 50.5 percent from the second quarter of 2009.

“Crucially the sudden growth in media tablets, such as the Apple iPad, did not appear to hold back smartphone sales. We believe that most tablet users still feel the need for a truly pocketable, yet highly capable, device for those situations when it's inconvenient to carry a device with a larger form factor,”

Apple’s mobile device sales reached 8.7 million units or a 2.7 percent share of the overall mobile device market, but a 14.2 percent of the smartphone market. Apple maintained its No. 7 position in the worldwide mobile device market and held the No. 3 position in the worldwide smartphone market.

Advantages of Android over iPhone4

main source: Smartphone Essentials, issue 103 & other sources (see links)

On June 24th 2010 iPhone4 went on sale. What are the advantages of Android over iPhone 4?

"It is Google's Android OS (not that of Nokia, Blackberry or Palm) that is shaping up to be iPhone's biggest rival when it comes to setting the agenda in smartphones"  Smartphone Essentials, issue 103.

Screen Resolution

http://theiphonefever.blogspot.com/2010/05/iphone-4g-screen-multimedia-flop.html

Since 2004 the French company Archos have developed portable multimedia players. Now on their 6th Generation, Archos 5 Internet Tablet player has 800 x 480 pixels screen (~16:10 ratio) in a 4.8'' diagonal (L x H: 4.07" x 2.54") TFT LCD. This display has (by my calculations) ~192 pixels per inch (ppi).

The Acer Liquid (3.5" diagonal screen) and Stream (3.7" diagonal) smartphones have WVGA (wide VGA) screens at 800 x 480 pixels. They have the same ~16:10 ratio as Archos 5 but because the screens are smaller they pack in more pixels. The Acer Liquid has 266 ppi in the L x H 3" x 1.8" screen whilst the Acer Stream has 252 ppi (3.17" x 1.9" screen).

The iPhone 3 screen has a 480 x 320 pixels (3:2 ratio) in a 3.5" diagonal (L x H: 2.913"x1.942") display which has 165 ppi.

The iPhone4 screen has 960 x 460 pixels (~17:8 ratio by my calcs) in a 3.5" diagonal (L x H: ~3"x1.4" by my calcs) display which has 326 ppi (Apple's spec)

So the iPhone4 (326 ppi) has double the pixels per inch of iPhone3 (165ppi), 70% more than the Archos 5 display, 29% more than Acer Stream and 22% more than Acer Liquid.

In excess of the 'Retina Display' 300ppi, the retina ceases to make out individual pixels on the screen, claims Apple. Samsung says (Smartphone Essentials issue 103) that the increase from 250ppi to 300+ppi gives a 3 to 5% improvement in readability but at the cost of a 30% greater power consumption. The picture (from Apple's website) shown above, comparing iPhone3 v iPhone4 screen suggests that it would have been nigh-on impossible to read text on the iPhone3. But how many iPhone3 or Archos 5 users have said screen resolution was a problem?

Is iPhone4 stuffed with unnecessary pixels (hence reducing battery power without a noticeable benefit to readability or has Apple stolen a march over Archos 5 and the Acer Smartphones?

Update 7th August 2010: The Register 'Bryan Jones a retinal neuroscientist says that Apple's claim that the "Retina display's pixel density is so high, your eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels" is true.

Processor
The iPhone4 has a faster Apple A4 processor (the one used in the iPad) but Apple don't say in their technical specs page whether it will actually run at 1 Gigahertz (1Gz) as on the iPad. Which probably means that it doesn't.

Camera
The iPhone4 camera has been upgraded from iPhone3 three megapixels (MP) to 5 megapixels which will allow good quality A4 prints (at 300ppi) rather than just A5 prints from a 3MP camera. That is an improvement but many Android Smartphones already have a 5MP camera eg Acer Stream. The iPhone has a x5 digital (not optical zoom as in SLR cameras). Used at maximum zoom this will give pictures that cannot be printed to A5 size due to noticeable pixelation. The built in LED flash is useful under certain lighting conditions - but I prefer using natural lighting whenever possible. The iPhone4 has a VGA quality front camera (800 x 600 pixels) or 0.5 megapixels adequate only to print 3"x2" passport size quality (at 300ppi) prints.

HD Video Recording

The iPhone4 now supports HD video recording which means 1,280 × 720 pixels (720p) up to 30 frames per second (fps) with audio. This compares with SD (Standard Definition) 704 pixels × 480 (480p) which is the usual 16:9 aspect ratio of SD television in the UK. The iPhone3 had VGA video recording.

External Antennae issues
The iPhone 4 has a steel casing which doubles up as an external antennae with cellular on one half of the phone and WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS on the other. Unfortunately complaints about the iPhone 4's reception surfaced within hours of its debut, as buyers complained that touching the external antenna -- embedded in a steel band that encircles the case - often resulted in dropped calls or caused the signal strength indicator to plummet. Apple acknowledged that holding the iPhone 4 a certain way could weaken the signal, but told consumers to hold their phones differently or buy a case. Later Apple offered iPhone4 customes a free bumper case. The public relations black eye caused by the reception problems was compared, by a Microsoft executive, to the launch of Windows Vista (says Smartphone Essentials, issue 103).

'The iPhone hardware is still among the best, but the software still lags behind' Smartphone Essentials, issue 103.

More about the hardware features iPhone4 doesn't have at iphonefever.

More about the software soon in my next blog....

Acer Stream Reviewed

Acer Stream was reviewed by GSMArena on 3rd August 2010. With regard to multimedia performance of the Acer Stream they comment:-

• Acer Stream competes with HTC Desire 
• stronger multimedia features than Google Nexus One
• MicroHDMI video out port with 720 pixels (720p) support delivers HD video to compatible external displays
• 3.7" capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (800 x 480) resolution; multi-touch support
• Videos are captured in 1280 x 720 pixel resolution (720p) video recording at 24 fps
• amount of resolved detail is below 720p standards, closer to WVGA (800 x 480) standard. 
• clips have high noise levels 
• Continuous auto-focus is flawed leading to bad focus lock in most videos. 
• magenta tint
• videos stored in 3GP format with heavy compression and lots of visible artifacts. 
• some dropped or doubled frames
• videos can appear choppy

download a full untouched 720p video sample by the Acer Stream.

• XviD video support up to 720p
• Dolby Mobile; dedicated multimedia keys
• Two video players to watch videos
• nemoPlayer 
• stock Android player - DivX videos cannot run to 720p, XviD had no problem.
• Competitors 
• Motorola MILESTONE XT720 
• 8 megapixel camera with xenon flash, 720p video recording at 24 fps, HDMI port.
• Google Nexus One & HTC Desire - 5 megapixel cameras and Froyo (Android 2.2) upgrades enable 720p video recording.

Amazon says eBooks outsell hardback books for the first time

Amazon report that in the second quarter 2010 it sold 143 ebooks for every 100 hardback books. Amazon Kindle ebook reader price fell from £200 to £149 (3G+Wifi) or £109 (Wifi) in June 2010 and concommitantly sales of ebooks have risen threefold. But less than 10% of US population own an ebook reader so it will be several years before ebooks outgrow sales of paperbacks and hardbacks. source: Computer Shopper (October 2010). 

What size can the photos be printed up to after using a Plustek 35mm film scanner?

What size can the photos be printed up to for good quality after using a Plustek 35mm film scanner? asked Claire. In short you need a 3600dpi film scanner for A4 or A3 size prints and a 7200dpi film scanner for A3 size prints when the film is cropped. Here are my calculations:

• 35mm film is 36mm (1.41") horizontal x 24mm (0.94") vertical. 

• For high quality prints you need to print out typically using 300 pixels per inch.

An A4 print (11.7" x 8.3") needs:- 

• 11.7" x 300 pixels = 3510 pixels horizontal 
• 8.3" x 300 pixels =  1692 pixels vertical

An A3 print (16.5" x 11.7") needs:- 

• 16.5" x 300 pixels = 4950 pixels horizontal 
• 11.7" x 300 pixels vertical = 3510 pixels vertical.

The optical resolution dpi (dots per inch) of film scanners varies. Both horizontal and vertical pixels must be sufficient to give high quality prints. 

• 1800dpi film scanner
• 1800 x 1.41" = 2538 pixels horizontal (insufficient pixels to print to A3 or A4 size)
• 1800 x 0.94" = 1692 pixels vertical (sufficient pixels to print to A4 size, insufficient for A3 size)
• 3600dpi film scanner
• 3600 x 1.41" = 5076 pixels horizontal (sufficient pixels to print to A3 or A4 size)
• 3600 x 0.94" = 3384 pixels vertical (sufficient pixels to print to A3 or A4 size)

Rarely do you want to print to larger than A3 size so why are some film scanners 7200dpi optical resolution? The reason is that if you crop your film you will have less film to be scanned and therefore need the 7200dpi resolution. For example, if you crop your film by 50% then:-

• 7200dpi film scanner
• 7200 x 1.41"/2 = 5076 pixels horizontal (sufficient pixels to print to A3 or A4 size)
• 7200 x 0.94"/2 = 3384 pixels vertical (sufficient pixels to print to A3 or A4 size)
• 3600dpi film scanner
• 3600 x 1.41"/2 = 2538 pixels horizontal (insufficient pixels to print to A3 or A4 size)
• 3600 x 0.94"/2 = 1692 pixels vertical (sufficient pixels to print to A4 size, insufficient for A3 size)

Download the Excel spreadsheet Scanning Calculator by Dennis Curtin at shortcourses.com for:-

• pixels required per inch of print (as above)
• file sizes (depends on colour or bit depth of the scan eg 24 or 36 bit depth)

Amazon Kindle - Amazons' vision is to have every book written all available in under 60 seconds'