3DMark Benchmark “Relists” Some Devices After being Removed for “Cheating”

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Last October, when the Galaxy Note 3 was arriving in testers hands, some people noticed that there was something up with the benchmarks they were getting. After some in-depth reviewing from Anandtech, it appeared that the Galaxy Note 3 was revving up it’s GPU for certain apps like benchmarks and games. Which as a result makes the Benchmark score higher. Which isn’t really a bad thing, since we expect the GPU to start running at a higher speed when playing games and such, but it gives an inadequate result for benchmarks. However, Samsung was not the only one to do this. Just about every OEM except for Google and ASUS were found guilty.

Due to this, 3DMark had decided to delist some of these devices from their database. Which was a pretty big chance they took. However, it did win them lots of praise from their customers and users of their apps. It also sent a message to the OEMs, that they wanted them to be fair and honest with their customers and potential customers.

According to 3DMark it appears that after some testing, they have added the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 back to their database – known as the 3DMark Device Channel. For the Samsung Galaxy S4, the 3DMark scores are valid when using Android 4.2.2 or 4.4.x or later, but are invalid when running Android 4.3 or 4.3.1. Then on the side of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the scores are valid when running Android 4.4.2 or later, but not on Android 4.3. Obviously the changes Samsung needed to make are in the KitKat update, which isn’t completely rolled out for either device just yet. But on the other hand, it’s nice to see that Samsung has fixed this so we have the true score when doing benchmarks for reviews.

While this is all good for OEMs and customers. I’d still urge everyone to take benchmarks with a grain of salt. As they mean little to nothing in day-to-day use. Which is why in our reviews we review the device based on how it performed from day to day to day. While we still add in benchmark results in the review as well.

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Galaxy S5 Zoom To Be Slimmer With More Hidden Lens

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Last year there were so many variations of the Galaxy S4 that customers had the choice to buy, that it seemed almost mind boggling. The Galaxy S4 Zoom was one such option which had an enhanced camera for taking much better pictures than the regular Galaxy S4. It looks like we could possibly see a Galaxy S5 Zoom this year as a variation spin-off of the Galaxy S5, which wouldn’t surprise us as Samsung likes to throw out plenty of options for consumers. Some of the rumored specs so far about the device are a 20MP camera sensor, and a 4.3-inch display with a 720p resolution. That’s definitely an improvement over the 4.4-inch display from the Galaxy S4 zoom and it’s 16MP camera sensor.

While the two details above are a good start, we want to know more about the camera optics and some of the specs that would make this worth considering over a different device. According to this new set of leaked of information that was sketched on a piece of paper(we feel like we’re passing notes in class and if caught by Samsung, they’d send us to the principles office), the Galaxys S5 Zoom is to have not only optical image stabilization, but also 10x optical zoom, 2GB of RAM memory, and a slimmer design, which wouldn’t hurt in the slightest as it might be beneficial to have the ability to more easily fit it in your pocket.

We can also see that the Galaxy S5 Zoom is to have a 1.6GHz quad-core processor although it doesn’t seem to mention the manufacturer of the chip, and run on Android 4.4 kit kat out of the box. Last years model of the Zoom had a dual-core processor and only 1.5GB of RAM, so Samsung has definitely made a few enhancements this time around if the Galaxy S5 Zoom comes to light. The lens this time around is also rumored to have a better design, and be tucked or hidden inside the casing to give off a more natural looking smartphone design instead of making the device look more like a camera. If these specs are true, than they turn out to be a little better than what they were though to be just ten days ago. For those of you that are photo enthusiasts and do more pictures with your smartphone than anything else, the Galaxy S5 Zoom might not be too bad of an option, especially if the price is lower than the regular Galaxy S5.

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Verizon Posts “HTC One Offer” Promo Video, Immediately Pulls It Down

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Finally, tomorrow there will be no more leaks of the HTC One. Not that I hate the HTC One or anything, I’m just tired of all these leaks, it seems like that’s all we write about lately. Last week we began seeing leaks and teasers from Verizon about the new HTC One which is due to be announced tomorrow. In fact they have signage up that says to hit refresh at 1pm ET on March 25th. Which would be amazing if HTC were able to sell their new phone the same day it was announced. Although we basically already know everything about the HTC One 2014.

According to Droid Life, Verizon had posted a new teaser on their website and YouTube, about a “HTC One Offer” and the video was immediately pulled, within seconds. But the web page is still up actually. They are saying “The Best smartphone of the year is about to get better” and they have a footnote at the bottom about why it’s being called the best smartphone of the year. Which is due to the GSMA award for Best Smartphone of 2013 that it won last year. It also appears that the new offer is being tied in with Verizon’s new More Everything plans, which are better than their Share Everything, but still not the best plans out there, however they do have the best coverage, and depending on where you live Verizon might be your only choice.

At this point, I’m getting tired of writing and reading about the HTC One, but tomorrow we’ll know everything officially, since we already know just about everything. However, I have to say that the thing that I’m most excited for is being able to pick up the HTC One 2014 on the same day that it was announced. That is pretty damn awesome. No other manufacturer has been able to do that. Now even the almighty and powerful Apple or Google. Google kind of did it with the Nexus 5 last fall, but it was only available from Google Play, not the carriers. The HTC One will be available at, at least one carrier on launch day.

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Another Look at the LG G Watch

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Last week, Google shocked us all. Well not really since we knew that the SDK was coming for wearables. But we didn’t expect to see wearables from both Motorola and LG already. LG didn’t really show off much of their G Watch compared to Motorola and their Moto 360. Heck, Motorola even did a Google+ Hangout answering questions about the new smart watch. While LG just posted a picture of the G Watch, which you couldn’t see much of. However today we’re seeing a new picture of the LG G Watch from LG, so this isn’t a leak or a render or anything. This is the real deal. Now compared to the Moto 360, it looks more like a smart watch and not just a watch. While the Moto 360 looks more like a watch.

Obviously, we can tell from the image above that there doesn’t appear to be any type of skin overlay on Android Wear, which is something I’ll be a big fan of because that should – in theory – mean faster updates. You can also tell that LG is going for a pretty minimalistic design here, and it looks really good. I’d have to say it’s right up there with the Pebble and Gear 2. I’m just not sure it’ll outsell the Moto 360, or even really be a contender. Of course, the pricing may change all of that.

The LG G Watch is just a square screen on your wrist. While there’s nothing wrong with that, Motorola made it a circle. Which is pretty cool and something different which will definitely differentiate themselves from all the other Android Wear devices we will see on the market in the next year or so.

What does everyone think about the LG G Watch now? Is it something you could see yourself buying and wearing everyday? Between the LG G Watch and the Moto 360, I think I’m going to have to wait and see what the release dates and pricing will be on these. Because we already heard that Motorola’s will be in short supply. Likely due to the manufacturing process for that smart watch.

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Google Releases for iOS First Too! Photowall for Chromecast Hits the App Store [Update: Android Version Coming Today]

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You know we’ve been complaining about companies developing for iOS before Android for quite some time. It’s quite puzzling from our perspective – you know because we aren’t developers. However, even Google releases for iOS before Android. Which makes it even more puzzling.

Today, Google released a new Chromecast app on iOS, called Photowall. This app is a Chrome experiment which allows people to produce a collage of photos by uploading them using the app or the web. You can then doodle on them using the built-in paintbrush tool, and then send them to a Chromecast, because you probably have one for each TV in your home. If you don’t, you should. Then the result of this can be exported to YouTube and shared with friends. It’s a pretty cool looking app actually, and I’d love to see it come to Android as well.

Currently, Photowall is only for iOS and there’s no word on when an Android version will be available. But hopefully we’ll see it land in the Play Store pretty soon. Some of you may be wondering why we’re covering this. Well there are two reasons. There are readers out there that use both Android and iOS, or both Google and Apple. In fact, I’m one of them. But it’s also to show everyone that even Google developers for iOS before Android, so it’s kind of like calling them out. It’s very strange why Google would release this for iOS before Android, but I’m sure they have a good reason over in Mountain View, as they always do.

How many of you have an iOS device and are going to check out Photowall? Be sure to let us know in the comments below what you think of the app.

Update: Google has made Photowall official and have also stated that an Android version is on its way today. As soon as it hits the Play Store we’ll be sure to add a link to the sources section down below.

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Motorola’s New Soak Test Procedures Begin With Earlier Updates

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It always intrigues me that every time there is a new upgrade that stories start coming out about how the upgrade destroyed this previous function or that the upgrade is preventing my device from using the SD Card – things such as these. It is not as if the new upgrades were not tested on hundreds of devices before that same upgrade was released to the general public via an OTA upgrade. These ‘Test Drives’ are called soak tests by the industry and I have a done a few myself with Motorola when I owned a Droid Bionic and participated in the Motorola forums. An invitation would go out to see if you were interested in participating in the soak test and then you would let them know – who wouldn’t be interested in getting to try out the new software! If selected, you would first sign your life away, promising not to discuss the test with anybody outside a private forum where you would go to and share your observations. After Motorola was satisfied it was working well enough, then they would do their OTA upgrade.

I am not exactly sure what Motorola changed under Google’s watch, other than officially naming it “Test Drive,” however the length of these Test Drives has apparently changed – when soak tests were rolled out previously, it was normally done on say a Thursday or Friday and then the OTA would go out the following Monday or Tuesday…generally three days after we did the Test Drive…in other words, it was a ‘done deal,’ or ‘Baked’ as they call it. Now the Test Drives are scheduled for a 3-4 week period so they may be releasing the upgrades earlier knowing there may be issues with the build, but leaving time to tweak it and re-test the bug fixes. Motorola even offers to replace your device should it become inoperative.

According to our source one of their readers sent them the email from Motorola (shown in its entirety below) inviting them to the Test Drive the 4.4.2 KitKat upgrade for their DROID RAZR M. The email looks like the ones that used to receive and our source is assuming that it is legit. If you want to participate in future Test Drives then your best bet is to hang around on the forums – I spent time on the Droid Bionic forum because of the random reboot issues on that device and volunteered for the first Test Drive and then was invited back for two more. I guess I should hang around the Samsung Note 3 forums…maybe I could get invited to one of theirs? Below is the complete email from Motorola:

Discussion Subject:

Welcome to the first MFN Test Drive program

Comment:

Hi.

Congratulations — you are the first group of Motorola Feedback Network members invited to take part in the Test Drive program. You were chosen because you have demonstrated that you keep your word — when we’ve provided you with software, you have provided feedback. Thanks for that! The value of end-user feedback has become evident over the years, though the contributions of Motorola Feedback Network members like you.

Test Drive is an effort to get end-user input earlier in the development process. This is not — or at least not necessarily — final software. We’ll be watching your input closely to see if there are changes needed before this is submitted for final approval.

I won’t mislead you. As this is our first Test Drive, the software is pretty baked. This is the stage of development where we expect to be close to final. As we get more comfortable with the Test Drive process, we will offer reviews earlier in the process. But make no mistake about it — you are the first in the program. And if you find issues of sufficient size and severity, we have time to get fixes in this version.

How is this going to work? For now, we’re going to try our usual soak test process, which you are all familiar with. We have topic-specific threads set up here for your in put, and we’ll ask for your input via surveys. There are a couple of key differences:

This soak will be a lot longer than usual. Plan for a month, give or take a week or so, if all goes as planned.

If we end up pushing you more than one version of the software, we’ll close the old threads and start new ones, just to keep comments and versions matched up.

In the Test Drive program, we expect 100 percent participation. That means some comments here in the private community, and responses to surveys, from every member. No taking the software and running.

The main difference is that there is, naturally, slightly more risk of a problem that could limit your phone’s performance. If that happens, you MUST post here in the forums using the tools provided to alert our team. DO NOT call Verizon or our regular call center support.

This is a key condition, along with perfect confidentiality. Any break with these conditions could jeopardize the Test Drive program. We’ve worked a long time to get to this point so I hope we can all work together and stick to these terms, and those outlined in the registration.

If you do have a problem with the software that causes a problem with your phone, we’ll do everything we can to correct it fast. We’ll fix the problem or get a working replacement in your hands as soon as we can.

Because this is brand new, we’ll also be making up some things as we go along. We’ll be creative.

If you have questions, please post below. I may not have answers but I’ll do my best.

For now, I’ll tell you that we expect to push software to you tomorrow, but I’m not sure of the time. Please get your Droid RAZR Ms ready, and do not Factory Data Reset until after you’ve upgraded.

Thanks!

Matt and the rest of the MFN Test Drive team

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Report: Android 4.4.3 In Testing Already

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According to famed leaker, @LLabTooFeR, it appears that a new build of Android is already in testing. And no it’s not Android 4.5, but Android 4.4.3. The build number is supposedly KTU72B, which is the same build that we saw pop up last week. Which we’re hearing it may fix a few bugs that are on Android 4.4.2 and on the Nexus 5. One of those bugs is with the camera, which the Nexus line has always been knocked for having a pretty bad camera, although we did see some updates since the first update to KitKat that have improved the camera. Back in December, Google posted Android 4.4.1 which did some changes to the camera and made it even better. One of the major things was that the shutter speed was a whole lot quicker compared to before. However it’s still not the best camera out there.

With @LLabTooFeR saying that it is in testing means that it’s in HTC’s hands for their HTC One Google Play Edition. Since this guy is a famed leaker for HTC and their devices. We should be seeing the update fairly soon for the Nexus line as well as all the Google Play Edition devices.

There are a few other bugs out there with Android 4.4.2, but nothing too big, and it appears to be fixed in Android 4.4.3. Since this build is pretty minor, we will probably see it before Google I/O in June, in fact I think we’ll probably see it in the next couple of weeks. The next major update – probably Android 4.5 – we’ll more than likely see at Google I/O in June, or shortly after. Since we didn’t get a new version of Android at Google I/O last year.

So for those having issues with the camera on the Nexus 5, we should be seeing an update to fix those issues pretty soon. How many of you have had issues with the camera?

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