MobilityLeaks: 800MHz Ought to Be Enough
Thought I’d read up on this MIX thing and I sent the fellas an email seeking clarification. Little did I know I was waltzing into a shitstorm of firestorms! Help!
On 4/14/2011 4:27 PM, Doug Simmons wrote:
Oh lawd. Reading about this Mix11 thing, seems Microsoft has a huge announcement about new and improved bare minimum hardware specs including some random shit and a whopping 256MB of ram and an awe-inspiring 8GB of storage with 800MHz bare minimum humming under the hood. Also, freedom of choice on gyroscope hardware inclusion which only ignorant schmucks would turn around and say hey wait a minute, I’m not the only one with a fragmented thing.
Perhaps those specs are to align with Nokia’s might. One guy points out these low specs will lead to too wide a range of hardware capabilities making some programs perform poorly on certain lower-end devices which people will blame on the platform, another guy quickly corrected him saying No man, you’re thinking of Android. iPhone’s the other extreme, so Microsoft’s trying to find the sweet spot and it’s the right thing to do.
Whatever bitches, you’re about enter a retroactive world of hypocrisy with all your days of Android fragmentation bitching coming back to bite you on the ass between this and only a fraction of you getting the big daddy update, and maybe the majority of that small fraction getting it through unofficial channels that Microsoft identified as disabling functionality of your phone and possibly even bricking it.
Here’s one guy’s take on why WP7 at 800MHz for the next round of any devices that are made is nothing to scoff at: "iOS ran smooth on the 1st iPhone with a 412mhz CPU. Unlike Android that needed a 1ghz."
Seems Microsoft, big powerful Microsoft, is bending over to both AT&T on software and Nokia on hardware who, when seeing Microsoft bent over like that on a trashcan with a red carpet trailing toward it, just sort of shrug thinking "That’s a sad sight… well, what the hell, might as well tap that anyway."
What a joke. GIVE UP Microsoft, you’re embarrassing your fans.
David K:
This all fits squarely into mis-reporting. The 800mhz 256ram were ALWAYS the minimum specs. The NEW news is that there are two new chipsets that are now permissable. Both Qualcomm and it’s the new Adreno cores.
To repeat – the new minimum specs are actually old and the only new news is that two new chipsets (that are better) are now available. The rest is people like uhm…you who don’t know the background and start barking 🙂
Danny Lam:
In their defense, windows phone ran smoothly on the Samsung Taylor which didn’t have a 1ghz CPU. In addition, by the time this need chasis hits the market, mango will be out. Mango brings modest speed improvements unlike with new iterations of iOS which further bog down performance. The 800mhz CPUs should be more than adequate for all but the heavy processing stuff which is likely only used in games. As long as performance in everyday use isn’t hamper, I doubt it matter much to most consumers. In fact, they will probably enjoy the increased batterylife. Side note, doesnt the newer 800mhz chips from qualcomm perform equal or better than the spandragons current in wp7 phones?
Sent from my Windows Phone
Doug Simmons:
"In fact, they will probably enjoy the increased batterylife."
Hey fartnose, you just identified something as being both factual and probable in the same sentence. I hope your new Snapdragon chipsets processes less inventively than that.
How can you look at me as a man and tell me that this isn’t Microsoft lowering what started out to be the no-riffraff standards of uniformity and performance because they are so desperate to entice OEMs to cook up a device with their fruity tiles on it? Man up call it the spade it is, a sad flop. It fucking flopped and you fartnoses know it.
David K:
Original hardware specs: http://www.mobiletechworld.com/wordpress/wp–content/uploads/2011/01/Hardware_foundation.jpg
notice there’s no 1ghz minimum. There never was one
Doug Simmons:
But the passage of time when measured in terms like half a year, when you think of that, do you expect to get a few more hertz or cores along the way as the new minimum or do you just hang onto some fruity ass link to refer people to who are too big on steady progress for your standards?
Ramon:
Software is key. Not hardware. Ask Apple, why you think they will be no new iPhone yet. Don’t believe me….ask Android. Why is my hd7 still faster than a dual core phone. Hardware is not the key…hardware optimization is.
Oh yea…btw…dough tell me real quick….what was the last Microsoft product to fail….and when….
Sent from my Windows Phone
Doug Simmons:
Last Microsoft product to fail was Windows Phone 7 and it occurred, what’s the term, DOA. Before that, Windows Mobile and Vista. And the Kin of course but that’s a cheap shot.
So you got your new 800MHz minimum, well congrats. In my world, last year someone thought it would still be cool to sell a phone with 800GHz. Maybe they were just kidding around because in no time it was overclocked to a less modest 2GHz, stable at 1.9GHz. Maybe the same could theoretically be done to your 800MHz phones but because you prefer the platform that’s locked down like Fort Knox minus everything of value you will never know.
Bunch of Advanced Settings Pussies is what you are, the lot of yous. ASP.
Chris Leiter:
“what was the last Microsoft product to fail”Say it with me now. KAY EYE EN Whats that spell?! KIN!
David K:
Ramon is right. The iPhone typically has a CPU that’s not the fastest but the OS has always been heavily optimized to use the CPU they use and that’s why everyone gives it such high marks for performance. YOu can get your 1.5ghz all day but if your software isn’t optimized for a dual core chip then you’ve just blown it… MS is only signing off on optimized chips and that’s why it’s only Qualcomm now. I wish they opened it to other CPUs but I understand their point. That’s also why CDMA took so long. They wanted to make sure the chipsets performed properly. This is a mass market product. Not a throw away generic Android phone that looks great on paper but locks up, reboots during calls and has 5 hours of battery life using entirely generic drivers that aren’t optimized.
The Google approach – release first, test later
If that fails…release newer shit and test that after release. If that fails just keep the beta name on it for years…release it and test later.
Ramon:
Windows mobile failed???? LMAO!!! Windows mobile single handed put palm out of business and brough HTC to the icon it is. It was around for 15 years!!!!! Show me an apple or google product that as done that.
Don’t worry….i’ll wait….
Murani:
To be candid I don’t like the lower specs. It is however a necessary evil. I mocked Android for their fragmentation issues and see Windows Phone heading that way, just not as alarming as Android.
The reason is simple, Microsoft isn’t interested in pushing the boundaries of hardware tech. Their focus is and will continue to be taking established well performing chipsets and optimizing the OS with it.
I’ll never touch the lower end.
Sent from my Windows Phone
Ramon:
Apple tv? Mac os? Imac? Mac puck? Kin had shit to do with Microsoft. That was a Verizon failure. You want to sell a phone for teens with a $30 monthly charge you're a fucking idiot.
Ramon:
Lower specs and hardare keyboard = blackberry fucked. Or did you guys not think that far. Hmmmmm
Chris:
For the record, Apple TV is awesome. I use it everyday
Ramon:
Are you saying it did not fail?
Chris:
Yes.
Ramon:
Ah...so because apple loves to hold number sales high...how were/are those apple tv sales?
Chris:
http://isource.com/2011/01/27/more-netflix-streaming-done-on-new-apple-tv-than-other-apple-devices/ this was about 3 months ago. Once they open the Apple TV up to apps, it'll be even more sales. Not bad for something they launched as a HOBBY
Ramon:
Any other apple device? What does that mean. You're not talking sales numbers to me. When you talk apple you talk sales and app numbers. What are those sales numbers?
Chris:
not getting into a debate as to whether it's successful or not. It's selling and it works well. Sounds like a non-fail to me.
Doug Simmons:
Can’t disagree with that logic. You have to be a Windows Phone phone owner to take issue with that sort of reasoning.
Ramon:
Fuck Apple
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About The Author
Doug Simmons
Biographical info.. hmm. I have a history of not being able to strike the balance between what is "safe" to put into these forms and what is, in my mind at least, funny. Can't do it.
*grin*
What you’re all missing is the fact that the 800MHz 2nd gen CPU (which comes on a SoC with the Adreno 205 GPU – which ~doubles GPU performance) performs as fast as the current 1GHz 1st gen CPU. This is also to be considered the low-end WP7 device as there will also be a 2nd gen 1GHz option which will outperform todays SoCs.
While I would have loved to see 3rd or even 4th gen chipsets being used they really are not needed at this point. Sure, it would be nice to get 1080p video encoding (and decoding – heck, I would settle for 720p high bitrate decoding) but WP7 isn’t trying to be “high-end”, it targets the average consumer and rightly so as that’s where the users (and hence, the money) is.
As for the optional Gyroscope, all that means is that devices without a gyro will offer slightly lower resolution in terms of movement. The APIs provided are clever enough to give you, the developer, the same dataset with or without a HW gyro so any apps utilizing this will run either way. No fragmentation. At all. Which is less than can be said of a certain other OS which IMO doesn’t belong in a WP7/iOS comparison at all – if anything it should be compared to WM6.5, a product which is still hugely popular – you know that UPS guy bringing you a package? He has a WM device, as does the majority of other logistic workers around the world.
Heh… I miss the posting and fun… don’t miss the emails that I would probably be backing Ramon on … 🙂
Doug Simmons is an asshat.
I categorically deny being an asshat. Why would you call me that?
Yeah frank, why would you offend asshats by saying simmons is one?
@Doug Simmons: i love me some doug. the fan boy of my enemy’s enemy is my friend! three cheers for doug damn it!
Please do not forget that it is the GPU thatnreally matters, as the WP7 GUI is fully GPU accelerated. On the other hand please check benchmarks of MSM7x30 against the good old MSM8x50 and you will see that CPU performance is almost identical despite the lower core speed for the 7230. In everyday life it will be faster and cheaper while providing improved battery life thanks to the 45 nm manufacturing process. I see it as a good deal.
stick to animal pictures
or hot chicks, but whats with the anorexic looking chinese kid?
Yeah you’re right, animals or hot chicks.. thought I’d try to reinvent myself by calling my opponents here limpwristed sissies and had space for one more limp wrist but all I could find that wasn’t overtly and offensively homophobic was the Chinese kid.
You’re right. I’ll work on that.