We should be far from being enthusiasthic about something which Apple touts now but, more or less, neglected a bit up to this point. Also, A5 might be a "major step up"...while at the same time ending up pretty much where other comparable SoCs are.
I don't think your description of Apple's modus operandi is accurate BTW - they actually like to wooe people with first attractive implementation; but during next gens, other providers tend to catch up (MacOS Classic & earlier Win versions; OSX & XP->Vista->7; iPod which...is vastly outsold by media players from other manufacturers; iTunes on the verge of loosing #1 spot in one of few markets where it's event present (Europe), iPhone & quickly catching up Android plus remaking of Symbian)
That also means everybody will do pretty much the same thing long term; there is not a lot of functionality which SoCs would need to have added, and limiting power consumption is something generally appreciated. Apple would have a hard time finding somebody who isn't also a competitor one way or another.
Is it so interesting? The other company involved somehow in this news, Samsung, also certainly makes SoCs which suit them and are used specifically within their company; and having 21% of mobile phones, versus 2% of Apple, and also directly manufacturing those chips, they are a bit more notable.
Generally A4 is certainly not much different from comparable SoCs used in mobile devices. But it certainly does have some "bloat" at least in some devices;p (like that would matter much...but, for fun, compare specs of iPad vs. iPhone vs. iPod Touch)
Don't you mean "The next gen chips, though, might be"? Plus - how much of an advantage can they really give, considering the expense of investing in heaviliy custom designs? Especially if Apple seems like to like the recent high margins afforded by using commodity hardware...
That's not very precise analogy IMHO; what Apple needs in SoC is pretty damn close to what other mobile phones need (plus...A4 is also for tablets; seems it could be not-so-optimal after all for one of the products in which it is used, don't you think?)
Also, from TFA: "What we found was an APL0398 chip, presumably the next-generation processor from the APL0298 that we found in the iPhone 3GS." And Samsung has the expertise, that's almost as good already. Or, here, grab the tools & data used with GPL CPU design mentioned in this article and play with creating your own chip.
Though who the society chooses is an indication of where that same society wants to take itself in the coming decades; not all choice are equivalent, even on the surface, after all (and decades is the timespan required to change things; generation or two)
Unlike other customers, Apple went deeper into the design customizations than other customers.
How do we know that? Sure, there are certainly many customers who might just take what Samsung offers, but are there no other who wanted their SoCs modified among some desired lines? (modifications which equal or exceeding those wanted by Apple). And it is quite likely that Samsung is already selling pretty close SoCs to others... Hell, for that matter why exclude Samsung themselves? You can bet they modify heavily their SoCs for their own needs.
@1. - last time I checked, Apple actually contracted virtually everything (while some phone manufacturers try to have the fabs uner their own wings)
All of the above of course only lessens the conspiracy theory of GP. Though...would Apple really object?
It's unlikely the CPU core was modified much, they probably used some more efficient in comparison to what they had DSPs/etc., or throttling methods of those; so A8 part doesn't really come into consideration (and even if - then Apple has it just in time for A9 SoCs showing up, for example)
Oh, and you overestimate how designing SoC can often look nowadays... (screenshot; yes, even basically point'n'click CPU customisation)
"Trick" as in - I wonder if there are perhaps at least some mostly psychoacoustic effects, not pure physical ones, which might give something, "a bit"(?). And managing to be much less irritating than any noise of course(?).;P
Hm, I guess many "sounds of nature" (perhaps with some slight, non-irritating background white noise added?) are probably the best form of that already?
Of course they didn't took "a general purpose processor", they just made some modifications to a design which is already pretty appropriate to have a SoC they want. Lots of companies do that...
Though some of those companies rely to much lesser degree on Chinese OEMs (the way Apple set up themselves like that). Most of their workforce elligible for any raises...also not there.
Well, to be fair - at least part of the companies you mention didn't set up themselves in a way which makes them rely to such a large degree on Foxconn (or similar); having their own fabs, most of them not in China, for starters.
Regarding the last part: you're generally correct of course - too bad that some measures of success work in a bit perverted fashion. Especially when we look at stock market. But also, overall, not rewarding long-term positive societal effects, for example.
***are you sure about this one? Even when looking at impressive number of apps in their store...very large part of those were ebooks packaged as single app. Or audiobooks. Or many non-stellar games (subpar n-th clones or in style of flash games. Having an ebook reader, audiobook player and flash support sort of covers most of the mentioned categories). Better not go into "entertainment" section; but take a look at apps which are essentially packaged rss feeds or UIs for webpages (is mobile Safari suddenly not enough?) or mobile radio stations. Come to think of it, that's sort of in spirit of how Apple probably wants to be the gatekeeper...
There is of course very worthwile content; few percent probably (on a platform which itself is a very small part of those mobile ones on which one can install apps). With equaivalents typically available on other platforms, "for quite some time" not being uncommon.
Some folks are pushing again the variant integrated "into" TVs...
And don't get me wrong, videocalling can have its places of course - the private scenario for example - in controlled surroundings, to which you don't have to pay attention. iPhone somehow falls under that, too, being WiFi-only - but in the process limiting you only to other iPhone4 users, and that's a miniscule group in comparison to some others. The latter part is really that little something one can have biggest problem with - there wouldn't be much of a problem with integrating also UMTS 3G videocalling, instantly giving access to hundreds of millions of other installed handsets (however underused it is also there). Or, if looking for something more "free" (regarding charges by the minute, etc.) - there's Jingle already available (also as already open standard), and using practically the same underlying networking & encoding technologies as this new Apple thing - but of course it wasn't good enough for Apple? (hm, could it be perhaps because Google is the initiator and probably the biggest "user" of Jingle?)
"For an American"?... I have only a small hop to your place, across the Baltic. If I wanted to, I could most likely made it to Sweden to see today's sunset (assuming one evening flight from my quite local airport is still there); though ferry from Swinoujscie is sort of nice, too...
Suffice to say you seem to at least lack perspective (and BTW you most likely didn't have many opportunities to experience firsthand places behind Iron Curtain). What's with the stab at healthcare? Of course it's not "free", everybody knows that - but just look at medical stats, your place is one of the best in life expectancy, etc. anyway. And not spending anywhere the level of "worst" amounts per capita (which would be still somehow understandable anyway, considering the positive stats) - that title goes to the US by a comfortable margin (US which is, according to CIA World Factbook, at around 40th place in things like life expectancy; virtually every country ahead of them has socialised medical system and is more efficient with funds; and don't tell that's "because they do research" - everybody does those, and most importantly the clients from across the world pay for them anyway)
Of course it hasn't "taken hold" (well, the only semi-common usage scenario seems to be: people showing the other party their surroundings; so it does work, but isn't really used as "intended"); seems like mobile videocalling has a bit too many problems; not very visible in SciFi... ("stationary" has some of those, too - false hints of avoiding eye contact, people suddenly feeling the need to care how they look, or a need to pay much fuller attention to the call; but at least it's usually in private, controlled environment - with onlookers not participating in the conversation (not only "who else can see me on the other end?", also the thing with enirety of the conversation being heard clearly by the surroundings)).
There was a craze over half a decade ago, but after few videocalls people usually didn't care anymore and now most 3G phones don't even come with front facing camera (it isn't that much of a problem for videocalling, it turns out - many of them still can do it, just with "back" camera...which is optimal anyway for the only semi-common usage...)
And AFAIK videocalling very much made it to your side of the pond - I can remember at least some UMTS mobile phones with front facing camera that are available at your place. Networks are also there, obviously.
Yeah, was thinking strictly about headphones / perhaps the manufacturers of noise cancelling ones have some lightweight models, & adequate for sport activities. After modification, to target primarily the trumpet frequencies, players would appreciate it, I guess;)
Too bad one needs to know the relative positions of microphone, picking the sounds to be cancelled, and headphone speaker doing the cancelling (though "fixed position relative to your ears" isn't as crucial, I imagine? (apart from obvious advantage that headphones are damn close to ears) After all, it would be damn hard to position them within less than a wavelentgt / it's mostly about the speaker outputting what microphone picks up, just shifted by half-wavelenght?). And too bad it couldn't be really made to work with, say, cheap corded headsets bundled with mobile phones (usual in-ear headphones + microphone & answer button on a cable). Or...perhaps there is some trick thanks to which such setup could at least work a bit?
Slashdot Mirror
For example Nokia owns all of their manufacturing fabs (over a dozen); most of them not in China / half of them in the EU.
http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia/company/production-units
You can check some of the rest as an exercise in using Google, etc.
One day, when dementia will take hold of most of you 5-digit UIDs and below - we, 6-digit UIDs, won't look so stupid anymore... ;p
Hey, some might get to admire such catchy quote as was used there...
Plus, it's not like I put much effort into the response ;p
We should be far from being enthusiasthic about something which Apple touts now but, more or less, neglected a bit up to this point. Also, A5 might be a "major step up"...while at the same time ending up pretty much where other comparable SoCs are.
I don't think your description of Apple's modus operandi is accurate BTW - they actually like to wooe people with first attractive implementation; but during next gens, other providers tend to catch up (MacOS Classic & earlier Win versions; OSX & XP->Vista->7; iPod which...is vastly outsold by media players from other manufacturers; iTunes on the verge of loosing #1 spot in one of few markets where it's event present (Europe), iPhone & quickly catching up Android plus remaking of Symbian)
That also means everybody will do pretty much the same thing long term; there is not a lot of functionality which SoCs would need to have added, and limiting power consumption is something generally appreciated. Apple would have a hard time finding somebody who isn't also a competitor one way or another.
It's probably better to say "...and enabled video recording"
BTW, I suspect it will be dubbed iPhone Death in some quite important markets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraphobia
Is it so interesting? The other company involved somehow in this news, Samsung, also certainly makes SoCs which suit them and are used specifically within their company; and having 21% of mobile phones, versus 2% of Apple, and also directly manufacturing those chips, they are a bit more notable.
Generally A4 is certainly not much different from comparable SoCs used in mobile devices. But it certainly does have some "bloat" at least in some devices ;p (like that would matter much...but, for fun, compare specs of iPad vs. iPhone vs. iPod Touch)
Don't you mean "The next gen chips, though, might be"? Plus - how much of an advantage can they really give, considering the expense of investing in heaviliy custom designs? Especially if Apple seems like to like the recent high margins afforded by using commodity hardware...
That's not very precise analogy IMHO; what Apple needs in SoC is pretty damn close to what other mobile phones need (plus...A4 is also for tablets; seems it could be not-so-optimal after all for one of the products in which it is used, don't you think?)
Also, from TFA: "What we found was an APL0398 chip, presumably the next-generation processor from the APL0298 that we found in the iPhone 3GS."
And Samsung has the expertise, that's almost as good already. Or, here, grab the tools & data used with GPL CPU design mentioned in this article and play with creating your own chip.
Though who the society chooses is an indication of where that same society wants to take itself in the coming decades; not all choice are equivalent, even on the surface, after all (and decades is the timespan required to change things; generation or two)
Unlike other customers, Apple went deeper into the design customizations than other customers.
How do we know that? Sure, there are certainly many customers who might just take what Samsung offers, but are there no other who wanted their SoCs modified among some desired lines? (modifications which equal or exceeding those wanted by Apple). And it is quite likely that Samsung is already selling pretty close SoCs to others...
Hell, for that matter why exclude Samsung themselves? You can bet they modify heavily their SoCs for their own needs.
@1. - last time I checked, Apple actually contracted virtually everything (while some phone manufacturers try to have the fabs uner their own wings)
All of the above of course only lessens the conspiracy theory of GP. Though...would Apple really object?
It's unlikely the CPU core was modified much, they probably used some more efficient in comparison to what they had DSPs/etc., or throttling methods of those; so A8 part doesn't really come into consideration (and even if - then Apple has it just in time for A9 SoCs showing up, for example)
Oh, and you overestimate how designing SoC can often look nowadays... (screenshot; yes, even basically point'n'click CPU customisation)
"Trick" as in - I wonder if there are perhaps at least some mostly psychoacoustic effects, not pure physical ones, which might give something, "a bit"(?). And managing to be much less irritating than any noise of course(?). ;P
Hm, I guess many "sounds of nature" (perhaps with some slight, non-irritating background white noise added?) are probably the best form of that already?
Of course they didn't took "a general purpose processor", they just made some modifications to a design which is already pretty appropriate to have a SoC they want. Lots of companies do that...
Though some of those companies rely to much lesser degree on Chinese OEMs (the way Apple set up themselves like that). Most of their workforce elligible for any raises...also not there.
Well, to be fair - at least part of the companies you mention didn't set up themselves in a way which makes them rely to such a large degree on Foxconn (or similar); having their own fabs, most of them not in China, for starters.
Regarding the last part: you're generally correct of course - too bad that some measures of success work in a bit perverted fashion. Especially when we look at stock market. But also, overall, not rewarding long-term positive societal effects, for example.
And that differs from any other highly integrated SoC from Samsung or everybody else?
Such rule is nice in principle - gov employee goes basically to the highest level after all.
Yeah, yeah, "don't hold your breath..."
***are you sure about this one? Even when looking at impressive number of apps in their store...very large part of those were ebooks packaged as single app. Or audiobooks. Or many non-stellar games (subpar n-th clones or in style of flash games. Having an ebook reader, audiobook player and flash support sort of covers most of the mentioned categories). Better not go into "entertainment" section; but take a look at apps which are essentially packaged rss feeds or UIs for webpages (is mobile Safari suddenly not enough?) or mobile radio stations.
Come to think of it, that's sort of in spirit of how Apple probably wants to be the gatekeeper...
There is of course very worthwile content; few percent probably (on a platform which itself is a very small part of those mobile ones on which one can install apps). With equaivalents typically available on other platforms, "for quite some time" not being uncommon.
Uhm, in pork it doesn't matter only at what level the agency/etc. buys something, it matters also to whom that contract goes.
Some folks are pushing again the variant integrated "into" TVs...
And don't get me wrong, videocalling can have its places of course - the private scenario for example - in controlled surroundings, to which you don't have to pay attention. iPhone somehow falls under that, too, being WiFi-only - but in the process limiting you only to other iPhone4 users, and that's a miniscule group in comparison to some others.
The latter part is really that little something one can have biggest problem with - there wouldn't be much of a problem with integrating also UMTS 3G videocalling, instantly giving access to hundreds of millions of other installed handsets (however underused it is also there). Or, if looking for something more "free" (regarding charges by the minute, etc.) - there's Jingle already available (also as already open standard), and using practically the same underlying networking & encoding technologies as this new Apple thing - but of course it wasn't good enough for Apple? (hm, could it be perhaps because Google is the initiator and probably the biggest "user" of Jingle?)
"For an American"?... I have only a small hop to your place, across the Baltic. If I wanted to, I could most likely made it to Sweden to see today's sunset (assuming one evening flight from my quite local airport is still there); though ferry from Swinoujscie is sort of nice, too...
Suffice to say you seem to at least lack perspective (and BTW you most likely didn't have many opportunities to experience firsthand places behind Iron Curtain). What's with the stab at healthcare? Of course it's not "free", everybody knows that - but just look at medical stats, your place is one of the best in life expectancy, etc. anyway. And not spending anywhere the level of "worst" amounts per capita (which would be still somehow understandable anyway, considering the positive stats) - that title goes to the US by a comfortable margin (US which is, according to CIA World Factbook, at around 40th place in things like life expectancy; virtually every country ahead of them has socialised medical system and is more efficient with funds; and don't tell that's "because they do research" - everybody does those, and most importantly the clients from across the world pay for them anyway)
Of course it hasn't "taken hold" (well, the only semi-common usage scenario seems to be: people showing the other party their surroundings; so it does work, but isn't really used as "intended"); seems like mobile videocalling has a bit too many problems; not very visible in SciFi... ("stationary" has some of those, too - false hints of avoiding eye contact, people suddenly feeling the need to care how they look, or a need to pay much fuller attention to the call; but at least it's usually in private, controlled environment - with onlookers not participating in the conversation (not only "who else can see me on the other end?", also the thing with enirety of the conversation being heard clearly by the surroundings)).
There was a craze over half a decade ago, but after few videocalls people usually didn't care anymore and now most 3G phones don't even come with front facing camera (it isn't that much of a problem for videocalling, it turns out - many of them still can do it, just with "back" camera...which is optimal anyway for the only semi-common usage...)
And AFAIK videocalling very much made it to your side of the pond - I can remember at least some UMTS mobile phones with front facing camera that are available at your place. Networks are also there, obviously.
Where are you now?
Yeah, was thinking strictly about headphones / perhaps the manufacturers of noise cancelling ones have some lightweight models, & adequate for sport activities. After modification, to target primarily the trumpet frequencies, players would appreciate it, I guess ;)
Too bad one needs to know the relative positions of microphone, picking the sounds to be cancelled, and headphone speaker doing the cancelling (though "fixed position relative to your ears" isn't as crucial, I imagine? (apart from obvious advantage that headphones are damn close to ears) After all, it would be damn hard to position them within less than a wavelentgt / it's mostly about the speaker outputting what microphone picks up, just shifted by half-wavelenght?). And too bad it couldn't be really made to work with, say, cheap corded headsets bundled with mobile phones (usual in-ear headphones + microphone & answer button on a cable). Or...perhaps there is some trick thanks to which such setup could at least work a bit?