Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MDP Benchmarks

A few days ago, I saw some benchmark results showing Xiaomi M3 smartphone powered by Snapdragon 800 SoC getting a ridiculous score above 80,000 points in Antutu, but thought it was really odd, and it turned out to be a fake Antutu screenshot. The actual scores for Snapdragon 800, are much lower, yet one of the fastest mobile platform ever, according to benchmarks performed by Engadget, which hold of Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Tablet and Smartphone MDPs. Engadget provided comparison of the benchmark for 12 devices, but I selected the 4 most powerful of the lot in the table below.   S800 MDP tablet (MSM8974) S800 MDP phone (MSM8974) Samsung Galaxy S4 (Exynos 5 Octa) Nvidia Tegra 4 ref device Quadrant 2.0 20762 22022 13326 16436 Vellamo 2.0 2997 2914 1977 N/A AnTuTu 3.x 35783 33828 28167 36305 SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms) 543 566 732 499 SunSpider 1.0 (ms) 657 674 N/A N/A […]

Tronsmart T428 mini PC Review

Geekbuying was kind enough to send me another RK3188 mini PCs for review. Tronsmart T428 is very similar to MK908 I reviewed earlier, with 2GB RAM and 8GB flash, but the latest device runs Android 4.2.2, its Wi-Fi module supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, and T428 can also be used as a Miracast Display. Geekbuying sells for the device for $96.99 including shipping, but before to buy the device I strongly recommend you read the review. I’ll post some unboxing pictures first, then carry on with my first impressions, video playback capabilities, Wi-Fi performance and some benchmarks. Tronsmart T428 Unboxing I received the device is in the package below. T428 comes with a short HDMI cable, a 5V/2A power supply, and a USB to microUSB cable for power. A close look at this mini PC shows the casing is made of plastic and metal (on the lengths), comes with […]

Tronsmart MK908 Quad Core HDMI TV Stick Review

Yesterday, I published some pictures of MK908, and this morning I updated it to the latest firmware, so it’s time to review this mini PC powered by Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 SoC. First Boot, Settings, and First Impressions First of all, the firmware update has not changed the Home Screen, and we still get a standard Android Home Screen with an animated wallpaper. Screenshot and volume buttons are shown in the status bar, but there’s no soft power button, and no full screen button. Hopefully the power button can be added in next firmware update, and as we’ll see later the lack of full screen button is not really an issue. As usual, I’ve gone to the settings menu to configure Wi-Fi, and I had no problem to connect. The device also supports Bluetooth (built-in), and you can setup to device with VPN, as a hotspot, and add […]

Nvidia Tegra 4 Benchmarks on Tablet Reference Design

Mobile World Congress 2013 has just started. Nvidia is showcasing both a smartphone reference platform based on Nvidia Tegra 4i (Phoenix reference phone) and an unnamed tablet reference design with Tegra 4 during the event, and several Android benchmarks have been run on the platform including Antutu and Quadrant. The results in the quad-core Cortex A15 Tegra 4 are really impressive with over 36,000 in AnTuTu and 16,000 in Quadrant, which are the best scores ever reported (by far) on those two benchmarks, as the top score in Antutu achieved with an overclocked Galaxy Note 2 is just over 27,000, a phone like the HTC One X scores around 5,600… Android Police also ran two other benchmarks that can help to access web browsing performance: Vellamo (HTML5) and SunSpider. The Tegra 4 completes SunSpider in 494ms (vs 1124ms with HTC One and 208ms in my desktop PC), and scores 3300 […]

Pipo Max M9 Android 4.1 Tablet Powered by Rockchip RK3188

I first heard about Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 at the end of 2012,  Rockchip showcased an RK3188 tablet development platform at CES 2013, and we were told the first tablet would ship in March without more details about available models. It appears Pipo Max M9 may be one of the first RK3188 available for purchase. This Android 4.1 tablet features a 10″ IPS display with 1280 x 800 resolution, 2 GB RAM, and 16 GB Flash. Here are the full specifications for PiPO MAX M9: SoC – Rockchip RK3188  Quad core Cortex A9  @  1.8GHz with Mali-400MP4 GPU @ 533 MHz. System Memory –  2 GB RAM Storage – 16 GB flash + microSD slot Display – 10.1″ IPS display with 10-Point capacitive touch screen. Resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1 3G via external USB dongle Camera – 2.0MP front camera, 5.0MP rear […]

Tronsmart Prometheus Review

Now is the time to review another device sent to me by Geekbuying. Tronsmart Promotheus is an Android 4.1 Android set-top box powered by AMLogic AML8726-MX (aka AML8726-M6) with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash, 3 USB ports, as well as Wi-Fi and Ethernet for connectivity. This device, which looks like a spaceship (my wife said it looks like a buffalo), has the potential to run XBMC with full hardware acceleration in Android and/or Linux. Tronsmart Prometheus Unboxing I’ve received the box in the package below. Apart from Promotheus media player, the package contains a 12V/1A power supply, an HDMI cable, an AV cable and a user manual in English that appears to be useful for once. It explains how to connect to device to the TV, to the networks, and to the power, how to do firmware upgrade, and how to troubleshoot it. It is presented in a way that […]

Review of Measy U2C Rockchip RK3066 Mini PC With Built-in Camera

I’ve received 2 new devices to play with this week, as Geekbuying sent me Tronsmart Promotheus set-top box and Measy U2C, a mini PC with a webcam, so that I can test and review them. Today, I’ll leave the “Spaceship” set-top box parked in another galaxy, and I will review Measy U2C mini PC. This HDMI dongle is powered by Rockchip RK3066, runs Android 4.1.1, and comes with 1 GB RAM, 8GB Flash, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth connectivity, and a built-in 2MP Webcam. For complete specs, you can check my post about B12 mini PC since this device uses the same board internally. Geekbuying sells this all-in-one mini PC for $74.99 including shipping. As usual, I’ll post some unboxing pictures, and then review the device, this time, with a section dedicated to the webcam, since this is the key selling point of this mini PC. Measy U2C Unboxing Measy U2C comes […]

Kimdecent Droid Stick A2 Review

At the beginning of December 2012, I wrote a post about Droid Stick A2 mini PC based on AMLogic AML-8726-MX to show some pictures of the device, but I could not really test as the firmware was not complete, and was promise a working firmware soon. Unfortunately, things did not really go according to plans for this hardware, so the firmware never showed up… Luckily, Kimdecent found another version of the device with basically the same specs, a slightly different casing, and more importantly a “working” firmware. The company was kind enough to send me another sample for review. Droid Stick A2 Unboxing Here’s what the new Droid Stick A2 and its accessories look like. Beside Droid Stick A2 mini PC, the package contains a power adapter (5V/2A), a mini USB to USB cable, a short HDMI cable and a user’s manual in English. A close up shows the device […]