Is it even worth buying if we're on the verge of quad-core?

[SpaceHippie]

Why buy a car today when you know that next year will be a faster better looking model

 

[Auzo]

Why buy a car today when you know that next year will be a faster better looking model

That is a bad example. Car models don't have major changes but once every 5-7 years. I would gladly wait a year or two if I knew they were releasing a new chassis/engine then, instead of buying the current one.You also don't get a new car every year (or 6 months for some people ).

I do know what you mean though and I do agree with the premise. the longest I would wait for a newer phone is 1-2 months, but that doesn't actually work very well since you rarely know the carrier's release schedule that far ahead of time.

I feel like they would rather you feel screwed when a month after you get your phone a better one comes out than to have a bad sales month. Verizon is the worst about that.

 

[robrecht]

It's not so much quad core, per se, but what we expect to see incorporated into the 28 nm quad core chips (significant die shrink). Someone said the next generation GPUs will be 5x more powerful, which has gotta help with HD screens. Integrated 2nd generation LTE radios? I'm actually more interested in hearing about advances in the radio tech, 'though we may have to wait longer for Verizon to work out the kinks in their eHRPD/LTE network. The Nexus Prime would be an excellent upgrade for anyone who's still stuck in 3G-Land, but I'm still quite happy with my ThunderBolt so I'd rather wait a bit and see what's next.

Thanks, Robrecht

 

[trenton]

Yes.

 

[BigDFSU]

Can't really say much new, but I can provide you my own personal experience.

Last year around this time it was the same issue. Mostly single core phones, but Tegra 2 was talked about and I figured in a few months there would be a dual core worth getting. Well between delays and devices not coming to Verizon, I'm still waiting. I'm getting the Nexus. You can wait, but as most have said, there will always be something better just around the corner. The great thing about a Nexus is not the hardware, they have never really been bleeding edge, but the software and fast updates. Other phones might have better hardware, but that hardware might not work as well with the software and any software issues could take a while to receive an update.

It is up to you, if you have a phone that you like now then feel free to wait. Read about Tegra 3 though and you will see that NVIDIA is already working on the successors(code-names Wayne, Logan, and Stark) and they are trying to release one each year. By the time you see the quad cores start coming out in most phones, you might have the next gen of cores around the corner.

 

[Poopai]

Last year around this time it was the same issue. Mostly single core phones, but Tegra 2 was talked about and I figured in a few months there would be a dual core worth getting. Well between delays and devices not coming to Verizon, I'm still waiting. I'm getting the Nexus.

It is the same with me, but this year was just completely thrown out of wack because of 4g. Things should go a lot smoother next year.

 

[StuMcBill]

At the end of the day, if Google didn't think that the OMAP processor and associated GPU were not up to the job, they would not have put them in their Flagship device.

I have a 2 year old HTC Desire (I have no idea what SoC this runs), and it still runs almost anything I throw at it!

 

[Akuma]

At the end of the day, if Google didn't think that the OMAP processor and associated GPU were not up to the job, they would not have put them in their Flagship device.

Put perfectly, I would ask anyone questioning the gpu and processor to explain why Google and Samsung, who are smarter and have more inside knowledge of future hardware and software comparability, as well as having their own reputations to worry about, would be so willing to put this phone together the way they did... instead of knocking it...just for a minute please take the tact of explaining why they used out dated hardware?

 

[robrecht]

Put perfectly, I would ask anyone questioning the gpu and processor to explain why Google and Samsung, who are smarter and have more inside knowledge of future hardware and software comparability, as well as having their own reputations to worry about, would be so willing to put this phone together the way they did... instead of knocking it...just for a minute please take the tact of explaining why they used out dated hardware?

No need to be defensive, I'm not knocking the Nexus. I think it's a great phone. I don't think the hardware is out-dated, but it's not the next generation, which is what people are talking about here. Newer GPUs tend to be incorporated with significantly new chips, especiallically as the die shrinks.

 

[djwyman]

the nexus is not about bleeding edge hardware...it is about bleeding edge software that works better with the hard ware it comes with...If you prefer better stats on hardware even though the software is not optimized for said hardware then get one of the other 100 different android devices...If you want the newest software that is optimized to squeeze the most out of the hardware it comes with then get this phone either way I am getting this phone because I want it and it will be worlds better then my htc evo which in its current state (rooted and cm7) can do anything I can think of.

With this phone I will get better processor, better screen, more ram, more storage than I have, faster storage, no more having to wait for some one to make software I like to work with said hardware, a better network (though I loose my unlimited data) and most importanly ICS and any update that comes after it for probably 2 to 3 years if I keep it that long way before any other phone does.

 

[Akuma]

No need to be defensive, I'm not knocking the Nexus. I think it's a great phone. I don't think the hardware is out-dated, but it's not the next generation, which is what people are talking about here. Newer GPUs tend to be incorporated with significantly new chips, especiallically as the die shrinks.

I'm not being defensive at all. You didn't answer my question though.



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[whitecomet]

The nexus one still holds it's own today. I know it's easy to get caught up in the specs but the nexus maxes the most of what it has heck a nexus one still can smoke quite a few phones out right now. To me the big was the second gen 4g lte radio now I hardley care maybe it's a little faster and you can get 4g voice when in 4g but the next phones will be better on battery and that will be nice. Wost case sell you nexus for 300 next fall for nexus jelly bean for 300 more if it's so much better.

 

[robrecht]

I'm not being defensive at all. You didn't answer my question though.

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You say we're knocking the Nexus, but we're not--that's why it seems that you're being defensive about the phone. I don't really accept the premise of your question. Samsung & Google designed the phone based on available technology. It's a great phone. We're trying to talk about next generation technology, which is not yet available, which is why Samsung & Google didn't use it in this phone. But they will in the future. Time is linear.

Thanks, Robrecht

 

[CynicX]

You say we're knocking the Nexus, but we're not--that's why it seems that you're being defensive about the phone. I don't really accept the premise of your question. Samsung & Google designed the phone based on available technology. It's a great phone. We're trying to talk about next generation technology, which is not yet available, which is why Samsung & Google didn't use it in this phone. But they will in the future. Time is linear.

Thanks, Robrecht

The premise of his question is why didn't Google + Samsung use the latest tech available? You do not except there are better CPU's and GPU's on the market?

I'm personally satisfied with the specs. As long as the price matches other phone with the same/similar hardware I'll be happy...

 

[Akuma]

You say we're knocking the Nexus, but we're not--that's why it seems that you're being defensive about the phone. I don't really accept the premise of your question. Samsung & Google designed the phone based on available technology. It's a great phone. We're trying to talk about next generation technology, which is not yet available, which is why Samsung & Google didn't use it in this phone. But they will in the future. Time is linear.

Thanks, Robrecht

I don't accept the premise of your answer, "faster" gpu's are in phones already released. Available technology you say? If you can't answer the question in a non argumentative way...don't respond



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[robrecht]

I don't accept the premise of your answer, "faster" gpu's are in phones already released. Available technology you say? If you can't answer the question in a non argumentative way...don't respond

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Why do you think I'm being argumentative? I was specifically talking about next generation GPUs that are supposedly 5x more powerful. Don't expect anything like that to be integrated into today's chips. They will come with the newer chips. Now do you better understand the premise of my answer? It was in my earlier post too.

Thanks, Robrecht

 

[Cory Streater]

I don't think debates and differing opinions should be killed. It's when a discussion turns personal that I take issue with. So please don't discourage people to shut the conversation down, but one way to do it, would be to stop responding to this thread and let it get buried on page 2-3. I see no evidence of that though.

 

[Absurdo]

I don't accept the premise of your answer, "faster" gpu's are in phones already released. Available technology you say? If you can't answer the question in a non argumentative way...don't respond
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Maybe there is a reason why the engineers decided to use an OMAP chip? The OMAP4460 is the latest processor in the family; it was just released in Q4 of 2011 according to Wikipedia. The next OMAP chip is probably 6 months to a year away I would guess from the dates listed on Wikipedia. There is a lot more in picking out a device like a processor than just looking at trying to get the highest processing power possibly. As some one who regularly does these types of things in his day job here are a few:

• Price
• Availability
• Errata
• Support
• IO Peripherals needed (i2s, i2c, spi, uart, usb, eth, gpio)
• Complexity of implementation

Maybe Google believes that the TI roadmap is the most viable and is trying to develop closely with TI? Without actually being a fly on the wall of the cubicles where this specific device was chosen you might not ever know why they didn't go with a Samsung, Qualcomm, or Nvidia processor. Maybe it as simple as the engineers having more experience with TI and seeing that as the path with the least learning curve and quickest implementation.

 

[ManBearPig618]

I read somewhere OMAP pushes HD better.

 

[Akuma]

I am happy with the specs, I originally commented on this thread to ask people who are knocking the GPU /processor to tell me why they think google went with the processor they did...as opposed to comparing it to what they didn't use... Robert, above said I was being defensive, clearly not understanding the post I had written. He is irrelevant since he has missed the point of the post -multiple times - and instead of approaching the question from the way I had requested...directly accused me of being defensive.

Fin

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