Huawei Ascend Y210 Review : What does $78 buy you?

I recently raved about the Nokia Lumia 520. It was the first $150 prepaid phone that I’ve tried that didn’t suck. Of course now that you can buy the 520 for $150, many entry-level Android phones are going to have to drop in price to stay competitive.

So now we have a pair of $78 Android phone: the Huawei Ascend Y210 for TELUS which is available exclusively at Walmart and the Huawei Ascend Y201 on Virgin Mobile. We’ll be looking at the Y210 today.

Before I start we need to have a reality check. The Y210 is a $78 phone. That pretty much makes it the cheapest Android phone you can buy. With a fancy phone, a review is usually about its fancy features and what you get. With the Y210 it’s more about what compromises have to be made to hit the $78 price point and whether they’re acceptable.

It’s also worth exploring whether the Y210 and it’s ultra-low price point are a worthwhile alternative to a feature phone.

Huawei Ascend Y210, Apple iPhone 5 (just to compare size)

Huawei Ascend Y210, Y201

Y201 and Y210

The plastic covered screen measures 3.5” with a resolution of 480x320. While the resolution isn’t very high it’s only 3.5” in size so it has a pixel density of PPI 162 which isn’t THAT bad. Still 480x320 isn’t very high so while it’s not that coarse, it does feel a bit cramped at times.

Now you’re obviously not going to get a TFT screen for $78. Still, the Y210’s STN display doesn’t look all that bad. Viewing angles are better than I was expecting. Colour is also pretty nice. There isn’t too much ghosting.

The plastic screen shows a lot of reflections and gets oily very easily.

I haven’t had a chance to use it under direct sunlight yet.

You won’t confuse it with the HTC One’s display but it’s actually not a bad display.

Camera:

There’s a 2 megapixel camera on the back which can record video at 640x480. There’s a long 2 second lag from when you press the shutter button to when it takes the picture.

Now, megapixels are a poor indicator of image quality. So does the Y210 sport a revolutionary new 2 megapixel sensor where each pixel looks perfectly? Unfortunately no. Even with lots of light pictures are slightly foggy looking and aren’t very clean. It reminds me of a camera phone from 6 years ago.

Video isn’t very good either. The sensor isn’t very sensitive so it has to use slow shutter speeds which results in video that is often choppy and blurry. The microphone doesn’t sound all that great either.

Body:

The plastic on the back is hard and unpainted - It reminds me of the dash on my car. Still, overall the Y210 doesn’t feel cheap. It doesn’t creak or shift much when you squeeze it.

One refreshing thing about the Huawei is that its small size makes it very easy to use with just one hand.

Software:

While the latest phones are rocking Android 4.1 and 4.2, the Y210 soldiers on with Android 2.3 (For phones it goes Android 2.3 -> 4.0 -> 4.1 -> 4.2). In the case of the Y210 it’s probably better that it ships with an older version of Android since a newer one would probably require more resources.

If you’re wondering what differences there are between 2.3 and 4.x phones, with regards to the Y210 the most important one is that you can’t kill programs from the task switcher. While I don’t normally have to worry about killing programs, this ability actually becomes more important with the Y210 due to it’s limited resources.

There are many other differences like the ability to disable programs, an improved UI, more lock screen options, etc but most probably won’t run well on the Y210’s anyways.

It uses a custom launcher. The most significant difference is that there are toggles for WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, mobile data and an orientation lock. Here’s a tip; if you have trouble running a program try disabling GPS. That will free up some memory.

The keyboard works alright but it has trouble keeping if if you go really fast on it.

There’s also a FM radio and QuickOffice.

Performance:

SunSpider:

SunSpider is a benchmark that runs in the browser and tests javascript performance. Since I don’t review a lot of entry-level phones, I didn’t have any direct competitors (like the LG Optimus L3 and HTC Desire C) to compare with the Y210. Instead, I grabbed some older Android handsets I had sitting around to see how the Y210 compares with them. One thing to consider is that the Y210 has a 480x320 display whereas the other phone’ are 800x480. I do have an old Samsung Galaxy (the original non ‘S’ one) which has a 480x320 display but it has a much older processor and version of Android which would have an effect on benchmark results.

Lower scores are better.

Huawei Y210: 3800
Samsung Galaxy S: 5780.7
Google Nexus One: 5796.7

While all phones have 1Ghz processors and are running Android 2.3, the Y210’s higher scores mean its processor is more efficient in this instance.

Peacekeeper:

Peacekeeper is another benchmark that runs inside a browser. It test HTML5 performance.

Huawei Y210: 195
Samsung Galaxy S: 160
Google Nexus One: 151

At its heart, the Y210 has a Qualcomm MSM7225A processor clocked at 1Ghz. It’s a Cortex A-5 processor.

Most of the time, the processor actually provides adequate performance. The problem is that the Y210 only comes with 256MB RAM and 512MB storage.

When you turn the Y210 on, it only has 80MB of free RAM left. That’s not so bad right? It’s not so bad until you consider turning on location based services uses up around 10MB, opening up the settings to check how much free RAM you have eats up another 10MB. If you stick Facebook Messenger on that actually eats up 20MB of RAM.

If you browse a large webpage and press the home key you’ll actually get to see the launcher re-launch itself. While the Y210 still functions with so little RAM it does so - barely. It can definitely use more.

Many people who get the Y210 will probably give the built-in navigation a try. Before you can use voice-guided navigation first you have to install text to voice. When I tried to install it, Google Play closed (probably due to lack of RAM). After a second try it went on.

When I was actually using navigation it would also close. Ditto for when I’m surfing a large webpage.

In order to run Vellamo, I basically had to remove Facebook Messenger and disable my Gmail.

Another problem is that out of the 512MB of built-in storage only 160MB is left over for programs and storage. While Huawei does supply a 4GB MicroSD with the Y210, some programs can’t be installed onto the MicroSD, so the built-in storage can also fill up quickly. In fact, I don’t even advise updating the built-in programs because many of them (like Google Play, Maps, etc) can’t be moved to SD.

If you get the Y210, the best thing to do would be to install as few extra programs as possible. Also, make sure all your programs are installed to the SD card.

settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications -> choose the program -> Move to SD.

Many lighter apps like Facebook Messenger will run fine as long as you have enough space for them.

If you’re wondering how it does with games, it’s best to stick with only the most basic games. I managed to install Angry Birds, but it doesn’t run very well. Sometimes it will close - probably due to lack of RAM.

When viewing larger webpages the Y210 tends to bog down - sometimes it feels unresponsive. Again, I suspect this is due to lack of RAM.

The key to the Y210 is to not install too many extra programs on it. If you want to try lots of different apps you should probably look for something with more RAM and storage.

As a Media Player:

Huawei includes a 4GB microSD card with the Y210, while most of it’s competitors omit this but give you more built-in storage. I’ll be honest, while the 4GB card is nice, more built-in storage is more useful given how little space there is for programs.

I downloaded BS player and found that while it was able to playback 480p DiVX files just fine, 720p mkv’s were very choppy and not really watchable.

The headphone out is pretty adequate. It sounds fine and should be loud enough for most people.

The built-in speaker doesn’t sound that great. While it’s not that loud it’s louder than I was expecting.

As a Phone:

RF performance is average. The earpiece and speaker phone are both loud enough.

Sound quality is also adequate.

Despite the meager specs the Y210 sports a surprisingly large 1750mAh battery. As such, battery life is very good. It’s one case where a using a Smartphone doesn’t mean sacrificing battery life.

Conclusion:

In the end, the Huawei Ascend Y210 doesn’t really contain any surprises but then again, I wasn’t expecting any. Of course if you can swing it, I’d advise you get something with more RAM, storage and a higher resolution screen. When it comes to buying stuff and you’re debating price vs functionality there’s usually a curve. Usually there’s a sweet spot in the middle where you get most of the functionality you want for a reasonable price. I’ll be honest, the Y210 sits low on the curve; while you don’t pay much you don’t get a lot either.

That said, at $80 the Y210 is obviously aimed at an entry level buyer. Someone who’s curious about smartphones but doesn’t want to spend $700 or sign a contract. Someone who’s not a power user and most importantly, someone who’s mostly going to stick with the built-in apps and not going to install many apps.

The Y210 will do an adequate job - barely. Otherwise I suggest you keep saving and wait for a more powerful phone to go on sale. While researching competitors I noticed that the Samsung Galaxy Discovery on Bell is on sale for $99.99 at Futureshop. It actually has a slightly slower processor but it comes with 512MB RAM and 4GB of built-in storage which should make it much more usable.

Is it better than most other Android Phones? No? Is it better than a feature (dumb) phone? Probably.

If Huawei decides to quickly come out with a successor for 10 dollars more I recommend they include 384MB of RAM (512MB would be even better), ditch the included microSD and include 2GB (4GB would be better) of built-in storage. If they’d do that I’d probably be pretty excited about it because then it would be much more capable.

Now the Y210 is only $78 bucks. Since it’s only 78 bucks there’s really no point listing the camera as a con. For $78, the only thing I expect from the camera is that it’s present. So in that sense, I don’t have that many pros or cons for the Y210.

Pros:

• Cheap
• Reasonably well built
• large battery
• adequate as a phone

Cons:

• Needs more RAM
• Needs more built-in storage

This article was written by guest blogger via howardforums, you can also post yours contact me!

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How-To Read Embedded NAND Flash Chips

NAND flash chips are used in all sorts of electronics for storing information/firmware etc. If you are interested in trying to get the information out to study, then I may have something useful for you. This is how I read the flash chip without removing it from the device.

DISCLAIMER- Not an easy task, and not foolproof either. This procedure can be rough on both the device you are trying to read, and the reader used. NAND chip specs are also changing all the time, and so are card readers, so there is no real way of knowing if this pertains to “ALL” NAND Flash and “ALL” readers. This has been used successfully on Samsung small block flash using a Dazzle SmartMedia/xD reader.

First, you’ll need to get a Smartmedia/xD card reader. The reason for this is Smartmedia and xD flash cards are basically just NAND flash chips in a friendly, removable card. Other types of flash media also use NAND, but have a controller in them that handles the interfacing between the flash chip and the host, be it a camera, cell phone, card reader, etc. This controller gets in the way or reading data off embedded chips, because they are looking for partitions/files in a particular formats (FAT16 for example) that embedded flash rarely uses. Typically, we’d be trying to get the raw data off the embedded NAND to study.

Knowing that Smartmedia/xD cards are basically straight NAND chips, we can connect the card reader directly to the NAND chip by cross-referencing the chip pin out to Smartmedia/xD card reader. You can get the card pinouts here.

• Smartmedia Card
• xD card

Note- These pin outs are for the cards themselves, not the readers.

An example for wiring to a Smartmedia reader is pictured below. Pin one of the reader is at the top of the picture, and the pin out is as follows.

Pin 1 — Vcc (+)
Pin 2 — Vss (ground)
Pin 3 — I/O 5
Pin 4 — not used
Pin 5 — I/O 6
Pin 6 — I/O 4
Pin 7 — I/O 7
Pin 8 — I/O 3
Pin 9 — I/O 8
Pin 10 – I/O 2
Pin 11 – not used
Pin 12 – I/O 1
Pin 13 – not used
Pin 14 – WP
Pin 15 – RY/BY
Pin 16 – WE
Pin 17 – RE
Pin 18 – ALE
Pin 19 – CE
Pin 20 – CLE
Pin 21 – not used
Pin 22 – not used

The battery select is dependent on your NAND chips voltage (either 3.3 or 5 Volts) and the write-protect switch is used if needed.

Connecting the reader to the chip can be the hardest part. The chips I have done have all been TSOPs, which are surface-mount chips with .5mm pitch. Quite small! I have done it several different ways. First way was to use some 30 gauge Kynar (used for wire-wrapping), soldering a wire from each pin on the NAND chip to its corresponding pin on the reader. An old IDE hard drive cable can provide wire of a similar size. It was doable with an extremely fine-tipped soldering iron and plenty of patience, but was by no means easy. Depending on the device, you may be able to trace out some alternative points to solder to, instead of directly to the NAND chip. It gets pretty tight trying to solder to 4 of those tiny pins in a row without bridging anything with solder!

Another approach used some flexible ribbon cable. The wire in the cable had the same pitch as the chip, making it easier to keep all the wires aligned while soldering to NAND chip. A few places sell this cable, such as Mouser and Digikey, but you may also be able to scrounge some from an old DVD player or drive, or even possibly old CD drives. They are used to connect the laser assembly to the main board.

If you have some .5mm TSOP/TSSOP prototyping boards around, this can be the easiest. Cut down to size, and beveled where they will meet the chip, you can make a set of wedges that will solder up fairly easy. Just line them up, and drag some solder from the board down to the chip to solder in place. A little flux will help, but you won’t have to use any additional solder, just what is already on the prototype board. Once you are done, a little wiggle will free the board from the chip without damage. No need to desolder anything, either. The following pics should clarify this.

Once you have the NAND chip hooked up to your reader, you have to get the data off it. Leaving power to the device you are trying to read OFF (preferably Batteries out, unplugged, etc.), plug in your reader to you computer. Depending on your OS, you can get the data off a couple of ways.

Linux users can mount the card reader and use dd to dump an image of the Flash chip. The resulting image can the be studied with the hex editor of your choice.

For Windows, I used a product called OnBelay by Compuapps. A very similar (identical?) product is Recovery Manager by Vaiosoft. Both these will work the same way. The main screen has a list of drives it can access, choose the one that corresponds to your reader. The program probably won’t recognize the file structure of the flash, so it says “no media present” or something to that effect. Along the top of the screen are tabs, one of them is labeled “Tools”. When you click on that, you’ll have the option to back up your media. Press it and it will allow you to back up the chip to a specified folder. I also check the box to backup both used and unused space. The backup image is in .FMB format, which can be browsed with any hex editor and studied.

Hope this can be of use to someone!

via uC Hobby

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List of Best Dual Core Android Phones

For people who live by their smartphones for whatever reasons, there are times when the average single core processor won't be enough. Whether its for work, file share, socializing or gaming, the rate at which all the apps in the world are evolving demands for a faster smartphone. So here are the best upcoming dual core smartphones that you can choose from.

Top 5 Dual Core Android Smartphones

They are big, they are powerful and they are a must have for anyone who lives on the go. Take your pick from among the best of the best.

Motorola Droid Bionic 4G

Features:

• Android 2.3.4
• 4G LTE Networks
• 1 GB RAM, OMAP4 Dual-core 1GHz processor
• 1735 mAh battery
• 4.3 qHD 540×960 TFT LCD
• 16GB internal storage memory RAM, microSD
• 8-megapixel camera

The Droid may win the race based on its battery power. The problem with dual core processors is that they use up too much power and the slimmer your phone, the weaker your battery and the shorter time for which your phone remains usable. But the Droid offers 10h 40min of talk time on one full charging. As far as competition with the iPhone 5 is concerned, rest assured that the Droid's 4G LTE Network is faster than what the iPhone can come up with, including the AT&Ts HSPA+.

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II

Features:

• Android 2.3 Gingerbread
• 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor
• 16GB or 32GB of storage, micro SD apart from 8GB of phone memory
• 1GB of RAM
• 4.3 inches SUPER AMOLED Plus touchscreen of 480 x 800-pixel resolution
• 1080p video recording at 30fps
• Standard battery, Li-Ion 1650 mAh

There are only two things that can bother you about the S II. The first one is the price. The original reports stated the price of the phone to be around $800, which later settled to be around $599-$699 for the 16GB version. The other problem is the low resolution. But it really isn't that big of a deal as the colors the phone has are vibrant enough to nullify any pixellation. Also, the phone lacks a hardware camera button and you need to remove the battery when you want to take out the SIM card. Apart from that, the phone is regarded as the perfect dual core smartphone for anyone. If you can afford it, you will be a very happy Android user.

Motorola Photon 4G

Features:

• Android 2.3.3
• 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual-Core processor
• 48GB combined storage capability
• 1GB of RAM
• 540 x 960 pixel resolution and 4.3 qHD display
• 8 Megapixel camera
• Standard battery, Li-Po 1700 mAh

The Photon will sell mostly because of its international GSM capability (via Sprint), making it a very convenient option for people who travel countries a lot. The other plus point for the Photon is its superb web browsing capability that actually manages to make surfing on the phone a fun thing to do.

HTC EVO 3D

Features:

• 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm 8660 Snapdragon CPU
• 4.3-inch qHD 960 x 540-pixel Autostereoscopic 3D display
• dual rear 5-megapixel cameras with dedicated camera button, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera
• HDMI 1.4
• Standard battery, Li-Ion 1730 mAh
• 1GB internal storage, 32GB microSD external storage
• 1GB RAM

The biggest problem with this phone is its battery life. This sort of dampens the joy of having a phone with features too many to count.

HTC Sensation 4G

Features:

• Android OS, v2.3
• 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Adreno 220 GPU, Qualcomm MSM 8260 Snapdragon
• S-LCD capacitive 540 x 960 pixels, 4.3 qHD
• 1 GB storage, 8 GB internal with microSD extension up to 32GB
• 768 MB RAM
• Standard battery, Li-Ion 1520 mAh
• 8 Megapixel camera

The phone wins for its 1080p video recording and stereo audio recording capability. The resolution of the screen is quite good too. There have been few minor issues with the phone heating up during usage, but nothing too serious.

More Phones

Those are the best in the business of dual core Android smartphones. There are other phones that are good too, but I found the above phones much better compared to them.

• Motorola Atrix 4G: The phone runs on Android version 2.2 Froyo (upgradable to 2.3.4 Gingerbread), the Tegra 2 AP20H chipset and comes with configurable camera settings.
• LG Thrill 4G: It comes with a 5 Megapixel camera and a 4 inch capacitive touchscreen.
• LG G2X: Slower than others due to its 526MB RAM, runs on Android 2.2 but will soon be ready for 2.3.

All phones are available in the market now. These smartphones are set to redefine what blazing fast on the mobile means. You would be joining many, if you intend to buy one of them and use your older smartphone as a second phone. All you need now is carrier information and you're set to buy your very first dual core smartphone.

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Huawei is 3rd in global smartphone shipments, LG grows, Apple slows, Samsung leads

A new report by research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics outlined global smartphone shipments for Q3 2013. Total smartphone shipments reached a record 251 million last quarter, a rise of 45 percent overall. Here are some of the firm’s findings:

Huawei

China’s Huawei smartphone shipments grew 67 percent since this time last year to 12.7 million units. That makes Huawei the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, confirming IDC’s findings in Q4 of last year.

Huawei might still be hitting hurdles from government regulators (most recently in Taiwan), but the company is steadily expanding its global reach.

Samsung

Samsung (KRX:005935) leads the pack with a 35 percent share of all smartphone shipments worldwide. It grew 55 percent annually and shipped 88.4 million smartphones, increasing its lead from 33 percent.

Apple

Apple (AAPL) sits in second place, but only grew half as much as the industry average. It shipped 33.8 million iPhones, but only grew 26 percent. Apple just released a decidedly weaker earnings report today.

LG

LG (KRX:066570; LSE:LGLD) actually grew the fastest of any smartphone maker, putting it in fourth place, according to the report. The South Korean smartphone maker has been expanding rapidly in Europe, growing 71 percent overall.

Lenovo

Lenovo (0992.HK) took fifth place with 10.8 million smartphones shipped and a four percent market share. Even with Huawei and Lenovo’s combined market shares, Chinese smartphone makers still trail far behind Apple and Samsung.

(Source: Herald Online)

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Progskeet 1.2 Testing Nand/Nor PS3

After a long while with progskeet 1.2 and trying to dump a NAND YLOD PS3, I can confirm that Progskeet 1.2 is completely working for NAND ps3's ..

Yesterday at D3M irc .. I talked with sir bailey and though it would be useful to make a detailed thread about what I did..

Setting up before using anything..

1. Install progskeet 1.2 drivers for windows xp "drivers_winusb_111121"
2. Install injectus drivers that comes with "InfectusProgrammer-3.9.9.0"
3. Pogram the progskeet 1.2 with the newest bitstream "130415_2019 (NAND) & 130412_1647 (NOR)" the NAND one.
4. Download the newest winskeet "WinSkeet40000_130425_2056 for 1.2"

Now I had everything set up and I was ready to test :D

After testing on a TSOP-48 DIP adapter i had notice the NAND would be only recognized when connecting pin 12 on a 3.3v pin on skeet and pin 13 on ground from one side of the nand .. the other side of the nand wich has pin 37 3.3v and pin 36 GND must be connected to another "3.3v and GND" points on progskeet !

Then and only then the progskeet 1.2 would recognize my Samsung K9F1G08U0A-PIB0 chip as ECF1801540 when clicking AUTO button on winskeet.

Using TSOP48 socket for NAND/NOR Chips jumpered to Progskeet 1.2

Flashing and Dumping with correct chip ID, NOR tested. @ DigiProg , Helpful tips for NAND setup to be noted as follows:

- zif socket TSOP48 with awg30 wires
- Vcc and Gnd taken from ProgSkeet 1.2
- Short and shielded flat 15-pin cable
- Short usb cable
- R7 closed and R8 open as default
- Bitstream 1223 or 2019 (2019 is a little bit faster, about 5/6 seconds, almost identical)
- Winskeet, latest stable release, v111205

Samsung K9F1G08U0A-PIB0 is recognized as ECF1801540 Samsung, while Samsung K9F1G08U0B-PIB0 is recognized as ECF1009540 Samsung.

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Understanding the difference between AMOLED vs LCD

Display technology is often a key battleground when it comes to top of the line handsets. But it’s not just display resolution and screen size that you’ll find on a spec sheet, manufactures also list different display types to choose between as well. Often you’ll find that manufactures stick to a particular display type, such as Samsung with its AMOLED technology or HTC opting for LCD, citing certain benefits over the competitions’ technology.

So let’s find out if really there’s a noticeable difference between these two displays technologies, if there is what sort of differences we can expect, and if the company marketing hype is to be believed.

The technology

First things first, let’s quickly go over the technological differences between the two display types before we delve into how this affects the consumer experience.

We’ll start with LCD, which stands for Liquid Crystal Display. The properties of this liquid crystal are a little complicated, but the important thing to know is that liquid crystals untwist when an electric charge is applied to them, which affects the frequency of the light transmitted through it. Combine this will two polarized panels and you can control the flow of light by twisting and untwisting the crystal molecules.

However, these liquid crystal materials don’t emit any light of their own, so a backlight is used behind the filter layer in order to generate light. A grid of integrated circuits is then used to control each pixel, by sending a charge down into a specific row or column. Colors are created by the use of red, green, and blue filters, known as sub pixels, which are then blended by varying degrees to produce different colors.

The construction of a red LCD pixel

AMOLED, on the other hand, uses lots of tiny colored light emitting diodes (LEDs) to produce light and different colors, which sounds quite a bit simpler. By adjusting the voltage, and therefore the brightness, of each of these red, green, and blue LEDs you can create a wide range of colors, or lack of colors (blacks).

The showdown

The most noticeable difference between these two screen types is the range of colors that can be displayed. The available colors that can be displayed are known as the color gamut, which is a portion of all colors that can be seen by the human eye.

Most types of media fit into the standard RBG color gamut, which most LCD screens aim to match. This is often why LCD screens are considered to be the most natural, but that’s simply because it most closely matches the color range used by other sorts of media. AMOLED displays offer a much larger gamut than LCDs, which can cause images to look much more vibrant.

The reason for the large differences lies in the way that these technologies work. Because LEDs can be individually controlled to a much greater extent, and development isn’t so concerned with the quality of filters as is the case with LCD, it allows the display to produce a wider gamut due to superior blending of primary colors. Another benefit of AMOLED is the greater control over blacks, which is achieved by dimming or turning off individual LEDs.

A gamut comparison between the Galaxy S4′s AMOLED display and the HTC One’s LCD display. The curved shape represents the visible spectrum, the black triangle is the sRGB gamut, and the white line is each display’s gamut. Notice the additional greens and blues with the S4.

However, a wider range of colours isn’t always better, as it can lead to images look oversaturated and can cause pictures to end up looking a tad distorted in extreme cases.

The strange thing here though is that LCD manufactures often aren’t satisfied with the look of their displays. In an attempt to make their displays look more vibrant, possibly just to keep up with the marketing of AMOLED displays, some LCD device manufactures often mess around with the levels of saturation, which can also end up ruining the color balance. If you’re looking for vibrant colors, then you’re probably better off with an AMOLED display with a decent colour balance, rather than an oversaturated LCD display. If you’re interested in a closer look at AMOLED/LCD saturation, then I highly recommend this video by Erica Griffin.

But it’s not all bad news for AMOLED displays, the technology does have some advantages over LCD. For a start the viewing angle tends to be a bit wider, as light can only travel through the LCDs crystal molecules and polarized panels at a limited angle, although this does vary from handset to handset. LEDs also react faster to changes in voltage than crystal molecules, which means that response times are often faster on AMOLED displays too.

One final point to consider is power consumption. As LCD displays are constantly powered by a backlight they tend to draw more power than OLED based displays, which can turn off LEDs when displaying darker images. However, different colored LEDs have different levels of power consumption, so energy draw is more consistent and predictable when used LCD technology.

This chart shows the lifespan of different colored PHOLEDs. Although the technology is a little different to AMOLED, the difference in colour lifespans is typical of all LED based displays.

The different LED energy levels can also shorten the lifespan of the displays. The blue pixels in LED displays require the most energy to power, but that also means that they can burn out faster. After a long time this can result in a slight tinting over part or all of an AMOLED display.

So which display wins

I know it’s a cop out, and you might here this a lot, but in the end it really is down to personal preference. Even within the same display types there are varying levels of saturation, gamut, and differences in calibration, so picking the best display type for yourself isn’t really an exact science. You could like HTC’s LCD displays but absolutely hate the look of LG’s. Typically, those looking for more vibrant displays will be better off with AMOLED, but well built and properly calibrated LCDs may provide a more realistic look.

On top of that, each technology has its own advantages and disadvantages that are also worth considering. If you’re looking for a long lasting display then you might be better off with LCD to avoid pixel degradation, whilst consumers looking for a better battery life and a wide range of colors could be better off with AMOLED. - source

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The World’s First 4G/LTE Speedtest on TeliaSonera in Stockholm

In October 2009 Long Term Evolutionist featured interoperability testing for Samsung GT-B3710 USB LTE modem on TeliaSonera’s LTE network in Stockholm.

In December, TeliaSonera became the first operator in the world to offer commercial 4G/LTE services, in the central parts of Stockholm and Oslo.The Stockholm 4G city network is supplied by Ericsson. The Oslo 4G city network is supplied by Huawei.

TeliaSonera has three nation wide 4G/LTE licenses in the 2.6 GHz frequency band; in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The agreement with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks cover network roll out during 2010 and 2011.

During TeliaSonera’s LTE launch event, download speeds that exceeded 40 Mbps were achieved, judging by Bredbandskollen. The upload speeds measured were more in line with the 5 Mbps that Northstream experienced.

Recently a market research company, Northstream tested 4G/LTE network using Samsung GT-B3710 USB LTE modem on TeliaSonera’s LTE network in Stockholm.

Here’s the LTE Speedtest report,

Overall first LTE experience is a very positive one.It works, and that’s respectable.The instalation of Samsung USB LTE modem is very easy suprisingly both connection manager software and modem firmware required an immediate upgrade.

Browsing experience was rather good.Lower latency compared to 3G networks. But the throughput measurements were sort of a disappointment.It never exceeded 12 Mbps in downlink even though TeliaSonera boasts super-fast mobile broadband speeds up to 10 times higher than with Turbo-3G.. More impressive in that case was the 5 Mbps uplink.

TeliaSonera’s LTE network, which uses spectrum in the 2.6GHz band, is still in its infancy. The distance from Northstream’s offices to a base station could explain the lower-than-expected download speed, according to Northstream CEO Bengt Nordström.

“It seems like the capacity drops off fast as the distance from a base station increases,” said Nordström.

Questions to TeliaSonera about the distance from its offices to a base station went unanswered, according to Nordström.

TeliaSonera does not want to enter a technical discussion on why Northstream was not able to get higher speeds, according to a spokeswoman.

The actual bandwidth in any kind of mobile network will vary depending on where you are, the number of users in the network and what kind of service the subscriber is using, she said.

TeliaSonera continues the build out of 4G in Sweden and Norway. The common 4G/LTE core network will be delivered by Ericsson and the radio networks by Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks.

TeliaSonera’s current 4G networks cover the central city areas of Stockholm and Oslo. The 4G network roll-out will continue to Sweden’s 25 largest municipalities and recreation areas and to Norway’s four largest municipalities to offer communication services for the future.

This is a good news for LTE deployment around the world. Congratulation TeliaSonera.

Northstream’s Blog Via PCWorld

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The Next Global Smartphone Revolution: Made in Taiwan

There are almost 7 billion people on the planet, only 1 billion or so of whom have a smartphone. That means 6 billion people do not have one. The biggest tech company you’ve never heard of wants to flip that statistic, and in so doing make 2013 the year it brings the world online.

MediaTek is the largest mobile chipmaker in Taiwan. Its chips power devices from the likes of Lenovo, Sharp and Acer, as well as Chinese giants like ZTE and Huawei. It generated about $3 billion in revenue last year selling chipsets for some 500 million phones, easily eclipsing Samsung, HTC and Apple in total volume. Yet few know who MediaTek is.

“We are,” says Finbarr Moynihan, who runs new business for MediaTek, “one of those best-kept secrets.”

That will soon change, because MediaTek wants to fundamentally remake the global phone business.

The company doesn’t sell phones under its own name. Instead, it supplies what it calls “reference designs” — which include the chip and the operating system, camera, display and more — that need little more than polish and personalization from the manufacturers branding and selling them. MediaTek intends to take that formula, which has worked exceptionally in the feature-phone market, and apply it to smartphones.

In 2013, for the first time ever, global smartphone sales will exceed feature-phone sales — an area MediaTek has thoroughly dominated in China and South Asia. Most of those sales will be in the developing world, where unsubsidized smartphone prices are expected to fall to $50. But MediaTek is going after both ends of the market, with a plan to sell high-end phones as well. It is rolling out fast chipsets and gorgeous displays so handset manufacturers can target the emerging global middle class. If MediaTek can pull this off, it’s going to flip the smartphone-to-feature-phone global equation, boost Android handset sales by an order of magnitude, and bring hundreds of millions of people online, many for the very first time.

Perhaps the one thing more impressive than MediaTek’s vast size is the speed with which it grew. The company was founded in 1997, spun off from the R&D arm of giant Taiwanese chipmaker UMC. It initially made chips for optical drives in computers and home stereos, and remains the world’s largest chipmaker in that segment. It expanded its operations into Wi-Fi, televisions and, most notably, mobile phones.

MediaTek quietly entered the mobile phone business in 2004, making chipsets that powered mobiles in China. Then it moved into the emerging markets of Indonesia, India, Brazil, Russia and more. Today, it is a feature-phone colossus.

Cheap handsets that offer only the most rudimentary features and run only the most basic apps comprised about 70 percent of global mobile sales in 2012. But MediaTek is betting that end users are ready to make the leap to smartphones, based on both hardware costs coming down and the rollout of 3G networks. Within four years, MediaTek estimates, the market for unsubsidized smartphones that cost $200 or less will be in the neighborhood of 730 million units.

And the subsidization issue is key. In China, and much of the rest of the world, phones are sold in retail shops you find in strip malls and markets, not the Chinese equivalent of an AT&T store run by a telco. These phones aren’t subsidized by carriers, so price is a prime concern. The phone and SIM often are purchased separately.

Go to a mall anywhere in China or the developing world and you’ll see a staggering array of form factors from manufacturers you’ve never heard of. To some extent, this is a reflection of necessity. Networks and needs vary from place to place — for example, customers may want a phone with multiple SIM cards for different carriers — so phones are built to suit local needs. MediaTek pioneered this approach in China, where it fueled the market in off-brand mobile phones. As it expanded internationally, that model turned out to be well-suited for a global scale.

“A lot of this stuff is consumer use case developed because of the retail aspects of those countries,” explains Moynihan.

One of MediaTek’s biggest selling points has been flexibility. Operating at enormous scale, MediaTek can pack lots of features into its phones at lower cost than manufacturers operating on a market-by-market basis. It can deliver cheap phones with rich multimedia experiences, while letting local brands to do the hard work of establishing identity and consumer recognition.

For example, because it isn’t beholden to carriers, its phones have long supported multi-SIM and dual band. This is essential in markets where consumers might use different SIMs to call different people, or different countries, or at different times. In some markets, like Brazil, MediaTek phones might have as many as four SIM slots.

The company plans to take the cooperative model that made it China’s biggest supplier of mobile phone chips and apply it to smartphones. The company sells hundreds of millions of feature phone handsets each year. Now it wants to flood the world with affordable Android smartphones, localized to suit particular markets. It developed a powerful quad-core chipset for use in phones that will compete with high-end models from the likes of Samsung and LG, yet sell for as little as $200. Don’t have that kind of cash? No problem. MediaTek has single and dual core chips too, so it can hit lower price points.

“MediaTek has created a barbell market for the global smartphone market,” explains Gartner analyst Mark Hung. “There is growth on the high-end, and significant growth on the low-end.”

The low end is no less important than the high end. Apple operates at the high end. Although it doubled iPhone sales in China during the last quarter of the year, it is in sixth place there overall, according to IDC. It trails Samsung, China Wireless Technologies, ZTE, and Huawei — the last two of which use MediaTek designs.

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Legacy Huawei Echolife BM622 4G WiMAX Modem Router Endless Life

The Huawei Echolife BM622 4G WiMAX broadband modem router is a legacy wireless residential gateway CPE manufactured by Huawei Technologies for Globe Telecom ISP in the Philippines.  The BM622 device is still popular until to date although this device has been already ended its life by the makers likewise the supplier has no longer issuing for their new user on internet wireless broadband subscriber.

It is astonishing for this legacy CPE the BM622 without any technical support by the Huawei Technologies and likewise the Globe Telecom ISP it can still be up and running. As a repairman like me I have reviewed this bulky 4G WiMAX broadband wireless modem router that even for a less techie person this equipment is handful to be fix, servicing this unit is not as difficult if compared to other SOHO gateways.

In addition to that, there are so many pdf and html file format tutorial that can be download with help of Google search engine to locate this manual. Forumers also did their part making step-by-step guide on how-to fix/repair this device, not only that but they have also provide a chat for interaction such Facebook on how-to Do-It-Yourself (DIY) for the homemade hardware flasher kit.

Even myself I have contributed the cross-reference Chips/IC for easy substitution of none local availability of ST Micro M25P32 4Mbit Serial Flash Memory likewise for the Spansion S29GL064 64Mbit NOR Flash Memory of this legacy residential wireless broadband modem router.

4G WiMAX CPE / Huawei Echolife BM622 Cross Reference 64Mbit Parallel Flash Memory Substitution
Manufacturer	Part Number
AMD	AM29LV64XD	link1 link2 link3 link4
AMIC	A29L640	link1 link2 link3 link4
Atmel	AT49BV642D	link1 link2 link3 link4
EON	EN29GL064A, EN29LV640A, EN29LV640H/L, EN29LV640T/B, EN29PL064, ES29LV640	link1 link2 link3 link4
FUJITSU	MBM29DL640E	link1 link2 link3 link4
Macronix	MX29GL640E, MX29LV640D, MX29LV640E	link1 link2 link3 link4
Micron	JR28F064M29EW, JS28F064M29EW, PC28F064M29EW, PZ28F064M29EW, M29DW640F, M29DW641F, M29W064F, M29W640F, M29W640G	link1 link2 link3 link4
Samsung	K8D6316UTM/K8D6316UBM, K8P6415UQB, K8P6515UQB	link1 link2 link3 link4
Spansion	S29GL064	link1 link2 link3 link4
SST	SST38VF6401/2/3/4, SST39VF6401B/2B	link1 link2 link3 link4
Winbond	W29GL064C	link1 link2 link3 link4
4G WiMAX CPE / Huawei Echolife BM622 Cross Reference 32Mbit Serial Flash Memory Substitution
Manufacturer	Part Number	link1 link2 link3 link4
AMIC	A25L032, A25LQ032, A25LQ032A	link1 link2 link3 link4
Atmel	AT25DF321, AT25DF321A, AT25DQ321A	link1 link2 link3 link4
EON	EN25B32, EN25F32, EN25P32, EN25QH32	link1 link2 link3 link4
ESMT	F25L32PA, F25L32QA	link1 link2 link3 link4
GigaDevice	GD25Q32, GD25Q32B	link1 link2 link3 link4
Macronix	MX25L3205D, MX25L3206E, MX25L3225D, MX25L3235D, MX25L3235E, MX25L3236D, MX25L3237D, MX25L3237E,	link1 link2 link3 link4
Micron	M25P32, M25PX32, N25Q032,	link1 link2 link3 link4
Spansion	S25FL032P	link1 link2 link3 link4
SST	SST25VF032B, SST26VF032,	link1 link2 link3 link4
Winbond	W25Q32BV, W25Q32FV, W25Q32V, W25X32AV, W25X32BV, W25X32V	link1 link2 link3 link4

Courtesy of SPANSION Cross Reference Guide.

I have concluded that the Huawei Echolife BM622 4G WiMAX broadband wireless modem router will have an endless life as long as the Globe Telecom will provide its network connectivity in the Philippines. There is no doubt that this CPE will have an endless life!  If you have any question regarding about the Huawei Echolife BM622 you can leave your comment I am willing to answer your queries, I can repair it for you my services is available nationwide.

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