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Overkill? LG Phone Has 2560x1440 Display, Laser Focusing
MojoKid (1002251) writes LG is probably getting a little tired of scraping for brand recognition versus big names like Samsung, Apple and Google. However, the company is also taking solace in the fact that their smartphone sales figures are heading for an all-time high in 2014, with an estimated 60 million units projected to be sold this year. LG's third iteration of their popular "G" line of flagship smartphones, simply dubbed the LG G3, is the culmination of all of the innovation the company has developed in previous devices to date, including its signature rear button layout, and a cutting-edge 5.5-inch QHD display that drives a resolution of 2560X1440 with a pixel density of 538 PPI. Not satisified with pixel overload, LG decide to equip their new smartphone with 'frickin' laser beams' to assist its 13MP camera in targeting subjects for auto-focus. The G3 performs well in the benchmarks with a Snapdragon 801 on board and no doubt its camera takes some great shots quickly and easily. However, it's questionable how much of that super high res 2560 display you can make use of on a 5.5-inch device.
If I was the lead product designer, I'd take things in a new direction. I'd stop making low quality phones that freeze up constantly and break all the time. That might grab some market share.
...will be someone who has really small fingers.
Google Cardboard, like the Oculus Rift, zooms in on the screen making some pixels very large. Perhaps this QHD resolution will look nicer than average when used as a Rift replacement? (note: I'm well aware that it will not actually be a good rift replacement, just that it's abnormally high pixel density could make a difference in extremely specific circumstances.)
"I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
The principle reason to put 2560x1440 pixels on a phone is to further the embarrassment of monitor manufacturers who can only manage to get 1/4 of the pixels into a 19" screen.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
If this were a certain other high end phone manufacturer, the media would be falling over itself to explain how these improvements mark a new era in phone technology.
The improvements seem reasonable and unless they add excessively to the cost there's no reason to criticize them.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Galaxy, iPhone, Nexus and....G3.
If you want recognition, give it a name - preferably a cool name, but at the very least something people can pronounce without sounding like they're playing Battleships.
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
I don't know how accurate the laser would be for general purpose rangefinding, but if this device were available to apps in general, not just the camera, I could imagine all kind of interesting new apps one could develop.
laser bean for focusing the object for auto detection? will that do harm to our skin,eye,body? radiation is not good to health, now the laser beam, really?
It's true, the combination of dangerous radiation and now us all being exposed to lasers at the same time will mutate our DNA and turn us into lizard people. And that's what THEY want.
This is a substitute for a clever sig that fits within the maximum number of characters.
This is simply a stats arms race.
Seeing how Android flagship makers are using someone else's OS and app ecosystem, the only two places they can differentiate their products are through custom OS skinning (horrible) and product tech specs.
Considering how many Android users tend to be the "build your own PC" crowd who are hardcore gadget people, the specs bloat appeals to them.
Meanwhile, Apple is selling a smartphone with a tiny less-than-HD screen, a processor that toddles along at a whisker over 1 GHz and a tiny 1400 MaH battery, and they're doing quite nicely for themselves.
"Purpose Built" vs. "Specs in a Box" ?
THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
Wouldn't it be a shame if the voltage regulator failed and overdrive the lasers? Zap!
And where are our ancestors now? They're dead, that's where. AC is right, radiation is lethal!
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
Probably not, given that most reviewers tend to focus on technical specs or other flashy points after spending perhaps a week with the device before moving on to something else. A lot of consumers are going to buy whatever costs them the least, even if they still end up paying the same ridiculous amount every month for a contract. Even then, a lot of them will take whatever the sales droid pushes on them.
When Google still owned Motorola they tried to make some quality designs that had a lot more polish than the typical Android phone, but the sales didn't follow because it didn't have the bells and whistles that attract tech geeks or the type of people who fill buy based on some shiny, new feature. Similarly, none of the sales people were pushing it for any reason (usually some kind of kickback^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hsales incentive) and so sales were poor and Google ended up dumping Motorola because they couldn't make a profit with the company.
That and if they make a quality device that lasts for three years, they can't sell you a new phone after two. Why do you think so many of the manufacturers and carriers stop providing Android updates even though the device could easily support them or a different version of the essentially the same hardware is getting the update?
...they'll say something to the effect:
"I don't care, Retina Display is better."
I do not eat with scalpel and fork.
Wonder how well the laser works through glass or plastic windows, or other common transparent stuff you might want to take pictures through.
laser bean
the photonic flatulence can be a problem
suggest non-flammable cheese if possible
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Wonder if you can hack the laser rangefinder to work as a remote window listening device :)
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
It seems that for a long time (say, up to 90s or 00s) it was believed that Gates said that 640KB thing. Then people did some research and didn't find any solid evidence of him saying that. So for some years people were reminded that "Gates never actually said that". But during the recent 5 years or so, talks about it being true after all have been coming back. I personally haven't followed the research much to know what's the current opinion. Hmm.
The best argument I've read is that the complex characters in the Korean, Japanese, and Chinese languages really benefit from higher density screens, even over what the G2 was providing last year.
Focusing through windows is already problematic, so the laser likely won't make it worse.
The reason you need that sort of resolution is to get the most out of Google Cardboard.
More, more, more. The only thing i'm missing is battery runtime and no vendor gives a shit about it.
Actually L or Lollipop includes Project Volta, which will add battery saving tools for developers and users alike. A "Battery Historian" gives more info on exactly what's draining energy, while a battery saver mode lets users squeeze up to an extra 90 minutes out of each charge.
That is vampire modes that turn smartphones into to dumbphones to extend smartphone my several times. I have witnessed it with the samsung galaxy S5 and was very impressed. I own the current Nexus which I love, but comes with a battery life I don't. I L does not make a difference. I may change to a different vendor.
Just once, I'd love to see some side by side comparisons of the end-to-end RF ability of these new phones. While voice calls, the kids tell me, are a thing of the past we are getting more and more dependent on data connections. And how you get data is via RF link. And yet I haven't even seen link quality mentioned in a single review for at least two generations of smart phones.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I don't care how many pixels you stuff in there, it doesn't matter if the monster 5.5" screen doesn't fit in my hand.
...I'm feeling a bit smug about this development. I can hold it six inches away from my nose, peer under my glasses, and have the equivalent FOV and resolution of a 28-inch desktop display, handheld.
Of course, if I want to do anything with it, I have to use my fingers, which appear the size of fireplace logs...
I don't care how many pixels you stuff in there, it doesn't matter if the monster 5.5" screen doesn't fit in my hand.
There is a joke involved in you not being able to handle anything more than 4" ;). The dimentions of the phone are 146.3 X 74.6 X 8.95mm so its about seven and a half cm wide that is really not that big even for a young teenager.
It seems that for a long time (say, up to 90s or 00s) it was believed that Gates said that 640KB thing. Then people did some research and didn't find any solid evidence of him saying that. So for some years people were reminded that "Gates never actually said that". But during the recent 5 years or so, talks about it being true after all have been coming back. I personally haven't followed the research much to know what's the current opinion. Hmm.
At the time he is alleged to have made that statement, most versions of the then-dominant desktop OS, CP/M, were limited to a maximum of 64 KB. Weather or not he actually made that statement, at the time it would have been true.
Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
More importantly, does taking a picture of an airplane with this phone commit a felony?
Wonder how well the laser works through glass or plastic windows, or other common transparent stuff you might want to take pictures through.
Or underwater, 'cause, you know ... sharks.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
i consider the G3 a downgrade on the LG G2:
* battery life significantly worse, due to all the extra pixels
* less screen contrast - they've decreased the pixel size but the size of the channels between the pixels is the same, ergo less screen area is actual pixel.
* extra display resolution meaningless (withe the G2 you already need a magnifying glass to see the pixels)
plus the snapdragon 801 is a meaningless performance bump on the 800, although i guess the removable battery and SD slot is handy.
i dont want bigger screens or higher resolution in next year's smartphones. 5" is about perfect, 1080p is about perfect.
smaller case and better battery life would be nice though...
It bugs me that people, while taking in consideration the intelligence Gates has would ever say something like that and mean 640KB would last forever.
The same Bill Gates who, as late as 1995, dismissed the internet as a fad? That Bill Gates?
Captain Blork, arm the lasers!
(Hundreds of people end up in the emergency room blind after having their picture taken...)
The Linked article doesn't even mention voice or call quality. (Or are these features so well 'nailed' by now, they're taken as a given?)
However, the article might have, but I'm not clicking through more than 1 page of fucking advertisements. (yes, there is a 'print' view, but it's still bullshit to break things into multiple pages just for ad revenue.)
http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/...
What evidence do you have that Bill Gates is intelligent? I'm serious. What evidence?
His father is a lawyer. Bill Gates did what lawyers do. He was extremely hostile toward the opposition. Because most people were so ignorant about technology, Microsoft was able to dominate. In my opinion, the dominance of Microsoft was due to the hostility, not to the quality of Microsoft's products.
Read the book, Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft, by Paul Allen (PDF file). Paul Allen quit Microsoft because he did not want to be around Bill Gates' anger. For example, see this quote from page 157:
"Whenever we locked horns, I'd have to raise my intensity and my blood pressure to meet Bill's, and it was taking a toll. Some people can vent their anger, take a breath, and let it go, but I wasn't one of them. My sinking morale sapped my enthusiasm for my work, which in turn could precipitate Bill's next attack."
God no! I don't what a phablet. I want a phone that fits easily and inconspicuously inside my pocket, and doesn't look like I'm trying to talk into a tablet when I'm on a call. I don't need to watch HD movies on my phone. I have good eyes and have no reason for text to be any larger than it is now. You know where you can consume larger media files (if you really have nothing better to do than to consume movies all day): a tablet, a laptop, or a f'n TV.
Apple may give in to market pressure and start making larger phones. But if they don't continue to sell (what I, and many others) consider "normal" sized phones - I'll have to get a 5S and hope that baby lasts for years to come (considering how well my 4S is holding up, I think it'll last quite some time).
Would this be the same Bill Gates whose 1990s book "The Road Ahead" talked about how important the internet would be?
Good thing you posted AC though so noone has to see you stuffing your foot in your mouth.
I thought we hunger for upgrade, advancement? Guess no more.
So Average screen, with a lower price tag, will increase sales?
I've been running LG's F3 for a while, and there are things I love about it, and other things that I hate.
The good: Incredible battery life (can get two days with moderate use and still have battery to spare), slim design that can easily be operated with one hand, reasonably fast CPU, bright IPS display, good RF performance, and LTE. Also, it has a replaceable battery and a MicroSD slot.
The bad: That MicroSD slot is needed, because there's less than 1.3 GB of internal storage, and there's only 1 GB of RAM. Fortunately, Firefox allows you to move it to the SD card, otherwise I wouldn't be able to run it.
Suggestion: take the F3, and add more RAM and internal flash. A quad-core CPU would be nice, but isn't really necessary.
That being said, in spite of the overkill display, the G3 at least has brought back the replaceable battery and the MicroSD slot, which went missing on the G2.
Oh, no! You have walked into the slavering fangs of a lurking grue!
Bill Gates: More Profit Than Prophet
When I am tired, I sleep.
When I am hungry, I eat with a scalpel and a caliper.
Your cup is overful, You insensitive clod!
Yup, Taking a picture near an airport will now get you in jail...
I've got better things to do tonight than die.
You know there are things called glasses, contact lenses and Lasik?
I've got better things to do tonight than die.
And it was true.
The internet in the early 90s was _slow_.
I didn't get cable with 10 mbit until 1996ish, and even that was slow!
Encourage people around you to snap photos with planes or helicopters in sight, call the feds and have them arrested, and CASH IN!!! LG has just been uncovered as another player in the prison industrial complex /conspiracytheoried.
The iPhone has other drawbacks as lack of customization, lack of screen size choices, worse camera than the best competitors no waterproof alternative etc, but when it comes to actual app performance the iPhone 5s still beats all Android offerings giving a 100% lag-free experience. Lower resolution and a more efficient OS without single-thread bottlenecks in the internal UI code gives the iPhone a faster and smoother user experience which also can be measured. The iPhone 5s still holds the top place in web browsing benchmarks even though it is one year old and has a CPU which is behind the competition.
Where is QWERTY?
I don't know if this useful for your smartphone, but the virtual reality headset makers will be very happy.
No, Microsoft's domination is down to pure luck.
If Compaq hadn't cloned the PC BIOS, or the IBM PC been a flop, Microsoft would have been just a page in history now along with Lotus, Ashton-Tate and various other software houses that got borged by IBM and other large companies. With no IBM PC, MS-DOS would never have sold much, and would never have been the "Microsoft tax" that bankrolled the first versions Windows and Microsoft Office. Even Intel might be a secondary player today, it may have been Zilog who became Chipzilla as they became the preferred supplier for CP/M machines and their 16 bit (and later 32 bit) follow ons, with companies like NEC or SGS or possibly Mostek being where AMD is now as they were Zilog second sources. And Digital Research (CP/M vendor) would be the big bad monopolist instead of Microsoft.
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
The ability to do desktop resolutions from a smart phone makes sense to me if the ultimate goal is to transform the device into a Dell and HP killer by doing desktop functions from a mobile form factor. How can this be done? The high-res display could be projected onto a desk or wall with a bright laser, and either a USB or Bluetooth mounse and keyboard used or the laser could project a virtual keyboard and pointing device. The computer power of a smart phone rivals low-end desktops so a suitable dock could replace all the functionality of the desktop computer when the mobile device is brought to it. They are trying to kill the desktop, to eat its market share from the low end and if they get the desktop display right, they just might succeed.
There are other less ambitious ways to do the same. Just implement a good USB hub and plug the mobile device into that with its legacy display, mouse, keyboard and NAS. No more desktop computer needed.