Know something About Intel's 4th Generation Core™ Processors

After more than 18 months of anticipation, the Intel Haswell architecture is finally here. Haswell, officially known as 4th Generation Intel Core, promises to reduce power requirements and boost performance, especially in the arena of graphics.

"The 4th generation Intel core processors offer the most significant gain in battery life ever achieved by Intel which is claimed to be up to nine hours, up to double graphics and significant CPU performance improvements," Intel South Asia Managing Director (Sales and Marketing Group) Debjani Ghosh. The US-based firm's latest offering will also serve as the foundation for computing in two-in-one devices, which work as a PC and can also serve as a tablet, she said.

Haswell chips are built on the same 22 nm process as Ivy Bridge, so the power savings aren't achieved through miniaturization  They’re the result of two technical innovations. The first is a new power management framework, which lets the CPU handle device driver events in scheduled batches, rather than in real time, so it can spend more time powered down between bursts of activity. Intel estimates this improvement can cut power consumption on a regular laptop by around 20%. The company is optimistic that the 4th Gen processor will usher in a new wave of ultrabooks and 2-in-1 devices which will give the user the power to use it as both, a tablet and a PC.

The second innovation is a structural change. In low-power processors aimed at Ultrabooks and tablets – denoted by model numbers suffixed with U and Y – the chipset has been moved into the CPU package. This reduces the amount of energy wasted as heat, and gives the processor better control over its power budget. Intel says this allows a “20x” increase in battery life, although in reality this applies only to laptops or tablets in standby mode.

Some of the capabilities that ultrabooks and devices embedded with 4th generation processors will be enabled with the ability to manufacture more sleek designs, with increased responsiveness, more interactivity, improved voice command control, faster transfer capabilities and most of all extended battery life.

The table below shows the new features available in the Intel's 4th generation core processors. 

Features	Benefit
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology4 2.0	Dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom when operating below specified limits.
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology4	Intel Core i7 delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.
Built-In Visuals	Intel® HD Graphics — Enhanced 3-D1 performance for immersive mainstream and casual gaming. Can support up to three UltraHD* (4K) displays and collage display.
	Intel® Wireless Display — Wirelessly stream HD / 3-D video and games to your TV or projector for presentations and entertainment.
	Intel® Quick Sync Video — Delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.
	Intel® Clear Video HD — Visual quality and color fidelity enhancements for HD playback and immersive Web browsing.
	Intel® InTru™ 3D¹ — Stereoscopic 3-D Blu-ray* playback in full 1080p resolution over HDMI* 1.4 and premium audio.
	Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions — A set of new instructions to improve software performance for floating point-intensive applications such as audio processing, audio codecs, and image and video editing applications.
Integrated Memory Controller	An integrated memory controller offers stunning memory read/write performance through efficient prefetching algorithms, lower latency, and higher memory bandwidth.
Intel® Smart Cache	The shared cache is dynamically allocated to each processor core, based on workload. This significantly reduces latency, improving performance.
Intel® Virtualization Technology4	Allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. Offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.
Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions	New AES instructions add hardware acceleration to AES algorithms and speeds up the execution of AES applications.
Thermal Solution for Boxed Processors	Includes a four-pin connector for fan speed control to help minimize the acoustic noise levels generated from running the fan at higher speeds for thermal performance.

WiMAX: What's the new buzz in the town?

WiMAX ,the newly introduced technology for reaching internet, is an IP based, wireless broadband access technology that provides performance similar to 802.11or also known as Wi-Fi networks with the coverage and QOS (quality of service) of cellular networks. WiMAX is actually a short form for "Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX).

WiMAX is a wireless digital communications system, also known as IEEE 802.16, that is intended for wireless MAN (Metropolitan Area Network). WiMAX can provide broadband wireless service up to 30 miles (50 km) for fixed stations, and 3 - 10 miles (5 - 15 km) for mobile stations. In contrast, the WiFi wireless local area network standard is limited in most cases to only 100 - 300 feet (30 - 100m). This make this system quite economic compared to the existing Wi-Fi systems.




NTC goes WiMAX:
On 9^th November ,2012, NTC launched it's service on WiMAX. Although initially it was aimed towards corporate sector, now WiMAX is available for the residential customers(as categorized by NTC). NTC claims that this technology is totally secure as NTC's WiMAX Broadband runs on fully licensed and protected radio frequencies. This technology provides as much or more security than traditional wireless Internet solutions.
According to NTC, it's WiMAX base stations range extends from approximately 10 km in built up areas with lots of obstacles, to approximately 20 km in ideal conditions such as flat land. As the speed is what concerns most, NTC claims that customers can get upto 20 Mbps depending upon the types of CPE used and the location of Base Station.
To connect to the WiMAX, you should first have an WiMAX enabled device or you have to use a router or a wireless access point. Multiple users are also supported for the customers if they use these devices.

Should you start using it?
 Although NTC has recently launched its plans for residential users, it has only launched volume based package. In such case, this will be a deal for the users who use heavy bandwidth. But if you can limit the use of your bandwidth, the rates offered are cheaper than the cost of the plans of Wi-Fi presently available in the market. Another drawback of the WiMAX provided by NTC is it's installation charge is very high(not clearly available yet though). So if you see major portion of feature is in your favour then you should certainly go for it. If you want the tariff plan for this service you click here .


Is This The End?
 In the world market, a technology LTE (long term evolution) has already arrived and has almost displaced WiMAX. Why wont it be so popular when it provides us a bandwidth if 100Mbps compared to the 20 Mbps of WiMax! So may be the major rival of NTC, NCell, is planning to launch this technology in Nepal in order to overtake the market covered by NTC in ISP business.

Sources:

Nepal telecom

www.wimax.com

A Glance To Samsung's Galaxy S4

The brand-new flagship smartphone launched by Samsung lately, which runs the latest Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean ( the next version of Android, Key Lime Pie, is being launched on May 15th this year so Samsung will certainly provide updates for it) , has upgraded its hardware and also has added a lot of new and innovative features. With lots of more added features than its previous release Galaxy S3, which was also a buoyant product from Samsung, now is far off the Apple’s iPhone in terms of technology being used.

 Although it comes with the same design pattern as of Samsung galaxy S3, most of the features are just unbelievable. High battery life with 2,600 mAh battery, larger screen size of 5 inches and the resolution of 1080p, two choices of processor available one 1.9GHz quad-core or another 1.6GHz octa-core, 13 Megapixels main camera and 2 MP front facing camera.  Its ultrasensitive screen is so much sensitive that it can sense the touch over it even through a winter glove. After hearing about all these features of Galaxy S4, it seems like that Samsung has accomplished its mission of overtaking the lead from the Apple’s iPhone.

At the First look 

                       

S4 looks like its predecessor S3 in the build but little bit larger and slimmer. With the thickness of 7.9 mm, height if 136.6mm and width of 68.9 mm 130 g isn’t that heavy as you may have expected. Actually it’s a little lighter than the galaxy S3 compared to 133 Gms of S3 (I had said a little lighter). According to its dimensions, it just lays between S3 and Galaxy Note series.

As the rumors and leaks foretold, the GS4 has a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a 1,920x1,080 -pixel screen resolution. Above the display you'll find the usual array of sensors and the 2-megapixel front-facing camera lens. There's no front-facing flash on the GS4. Below the screen, you'll find the solitary physical home button, accompanied by capacitive menu and back buttons. On the top of the phone is where you'll find the IR blaster, which shoots out infrared light to control your TV directly from the handset and this works on all TVs, not only Samsung’s. This is one of the added features of the S4.Samsung uses TouchWiz to add a lot of software enhancements, like gestures, and a beefier notifications tray that offers a ton more toggling options to quickly turn settings on and off. In addition to your usual toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS, you'll also see toggles for call-blocking mode and eye-tracking gestures. Now, when Samsung spots a trend, it pounces. Thus the birth of S Health, a calorie-counter/pedometer in one that uses phone sensors like the accelerometer and barometer to track your steps, jogs, hops, jolts, snacks, and perspiration. Combined with one of its new Samsung-branded fitness wrist bands, Samsung is attempting to replace specialized third-party apps that do these functions already.

 Smart Pause and Smart Scroll are two features that build off the Galaxy S3's optional Smart Stay feature, which kept the screen from dimming when you looked at it. In the GS4, tilting the screen up or down while looking at it scrolls you up or down. This could be a more convenient way to catch up with news while on the bus. The idea of Smart Pause is really smart, which halts a video you're watching when your eyes move away from the screen, then resumes when you start paying attention again. Hover your finger and you can preview a video clip or image from the photo gallery, glance at browser tab thumbnails, find your place on a video timeline, and check out an e-mail. You'll also be able to magnify calendar events and get a closer look in speed dial. Flipboard has built a customized app to work with Air View, which lets you hover over a tile to see which articles lie beneath.

In addition to hovering with a fingertip, you can wave or wipe your whole hand in front of the screen (and camera sensor) to navigate around. For example, enable this gesture and you can agitate your palm to pick up the phone or switch songs in a playlist. Steadily sliding your hand back and forth can advance photos in a gallery, or browser tabs. You can also scroll up and down in a list.

 In terms of storage and memory, the Galaxy S4 has 2GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, and another 64GB available through the microSD car slot. In today's market, you can't get more than that.

Samsung hasn't shared pricing yet, since it differs by region and by carrier, but you can expect comparable pricing structures to what you saw in your area for the GS3.

Here is a table that compares the recently launched Galaxy S4 and Apple’s iPhone5

Spec	Samsung Galaxy S4	Apple iPhone5
Operating system*	Android 4.2.2	iOS 6
Dimensions	5.38 x 2.71 x 0.31 inch; 4.6 ounces	4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inch; 3.95 ounces
Display	5-inch full HD Super AMOLED; 1,920x1,080 pixels, 441ppi	4-inch IPS LCD; 1,136x640 pixels, 326ppi
4G LTE	Yes	Yes
NFC	Yes	No
Rear camera and recording	13-megapixel, 1080p HD video	8-megapixel, 1080p HD video
Front-facing camera	2-megapixel	1.2-megapixel
Processor	1.9GHz, quad-core Snapdragon 600; or proprietary 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos 5 Octa	Proprietary A6
Capacity	16GB, 32GB, 64GB	16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Expandable memory	Up to 64GB	No
Battery	2,600mAh	Not disclosed by Apple
Price	Not disclosed About the same price of S3	$199.99, $299.99, $399.99(US) About Rs.80000 in Nepal's market
Available colors	Black, white	Black, white

Sources: cnet.com