Month: September 2015

No video stabilization on Nexus 5X

"DB> Yea, same sensor (IMX377) and F/2.0 optics. But 6P has more CPU/GPU horsepower so has a few additional features like 240fps slomo (vs 120fps on 5X), Smartburst, and EIS."

If I'm interpreting this correctly, it means the LG +Nexus​​​ 5X will have no stabilization in video whatsoever.
It will need some confirmation in testing of course, but that's a huge letdown for at least two reasons:
– the Snapdragon 808 should be capable of software video stabilization. Heck, LG claims to combine optical and electronic image stabilization for better results.
– it's a regression compared to the 2 years old Nexus 5, which featured an optically stabilized camera module that's doing a very good job in video mode.

Edit 2:
Moto X Pure, has a very good electronic image stabilization in video for 1080p30, but not 1080p60 nor 4K it seems.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYxmstJ5NOI
Google's engineers answers is misguided then.

#supercurioBlog #camera #video #stabilization



Hi, I’m Hiroshi Lockheimer, here at Google with the team that build Nexus 5X & 6P…Ask Us Anything! • /r/IAmA
DB> Yea, same sensor (IMX377) and F/2.0 optics. But 6P has more CPU/GPU horsepower so has a few additional features like 240fps slomo (vs 120fps…

Source post on Google+

Nexus 6P AMOLED panel info

"SW: It has a Samsung WQHD AMOLED panel. We have spent a lot of time tuning the white-point and color gamut for these panels – hope you will enjoy the accuracy of the display."

"Yep, confirmed: Nexus 6P has the latest generation panels from Samsung. One of things we deeply care for is the quality and accuracy of the display through which all of us connect with the stuff we care about. We created a very tight spec (white-point temperature, delta-E variance, color-space accuracy, etc) for the 6P WQHD AMOLED panel, so it was important that we use the most cutting edge panel technology available."

That sounds good, and especially after +Dave Burke​​​​​​​​​​ claimed on stage that the display was "very vibrant", this promise of color accuracy will need independent verification 😉

Note that this answer doesn't specify to which color space or white point they decided to conform.
This display will show near exclusively content encoded to sRGB standard (which specifies the white point and RGB primaries, gamut and electronic-optical transfer function – aka EOTF aka gamma curves).
In case the display colorspace they chose is wide gamut, any color accuracy claim is automatically moot given the fact Android doesn't support color any management at the moment.

There are various ways to calibrate a wide gamut AMOLED to conform to sRGB specifications tho: using the panel's factory calibration in conjunction with either:
– the panel's color tuning
– Qualcomm Mobile Display Controller image processing, with basic colorspace conversion or 3D LUT
– the GPU (which taxes some GPU power however)

#supercurioBlog #display #color #calibration #Nexus



Hi, I’m Hiroshi Lockheimer, here at Google with the team that build Nexus 5X & 6P…Ask Us Anything! • /r/IAmA
Yep, confirmed: Nexus 6P has the latest generation panels from Samsung. One of things we deeply care for is the quality and accuracy of the…

Source post on Google+

In low-light-ish situations, it seems the latest +Nexus phones bump the ISO to avoid handshake blur due to the lack of OIS

The auto-exposure, blending several ones using to reduce the noise and increase sharpness with HDR+ (which is a superresolution kind of algorithm) ends up choosing 1/42s with an ISO equivalent of 573.

For an ISO equivalent of 573, that's quite a bit of noise remaining in the sky, but at least it has a relatively pleasant grain-like texture.
Something that's not good however is that the lens shading compensation is not calibrated correctly , as it's easy to notice a vignetting effect remaining in the sky.

#supercurioBlog

Originally shared by +Taylor Wimberly

Hand held night shot with Auto HDR+. I am not great at taking photos, but this phone makes my photos look great.

 

Source post on Google+

After +Ron Amadeo just earlier, another reviewer with a reputation of being able to publish tough critic gives an early take at the Pixel C tablet: +David Ruddock

And it's hard to disagree with any of the points made here.

Well, let's see if Google will now prioritize extending the desktop and productivity features of Android OS.
Starting with window management, which is the very first basic bloc required for desktop-like computing and missing entirely in Android 6.0 today.

It's even time for Google to play catch-up not only to Samsung & LG who popularized multi-tasking windowing features but now Apple who introduced Side Over, Split View and Picture-in-picture in iOS9 for tablets.

BTW, +PhoneArena just published an article making a good presentation of them: http://www.phonearena.com/news/iOS-9-multitasking-explained.-Split-View-vs-Slide-Over-whats-the-difference-and-should-you-care_id74250

Your turn Google!

#supercurioBlog



Editorial: I Used The Pixel C, And It Seems Like A Pretty Bad Idea
There’s no denying that the increased performance:power consumption ratio of CPUs has been benefiting laptops and tablets alike of late. Microsoft’s Surfac… by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, News

Source post on Google+

The +Nexus​​ 6P slow motion video shared by +Dave Burke​ is well chosen and a delight to watch

Properly exposed, satisfying colors, no visible noise, and busy background in an out of focus bokeh blur.

We can observe some aliasing artifacts however, likely due to line-skipping high speed readout from the sensor.
It might be more aliasing artifacts than the iPhone slow-motion, and comparable to other Android phones on the market.

Later samples and comparisons will tell!

#supercurioBlog #video #Nexus



Hummingbird on N6P

Source post on Google+

DXOMark evaluates new Nexus cameras

The numeric score is high.
But I guess you already know my opinion on averages of averages of numerical scores to evaluate image quality 😉

– it's always the same thing: each score is valid only if considered alone, and all that only in case the evaluation metric is indeed perceptual and not just arbitrary.

Pro / Cons comments are interesting tho.

#supercurioBlog #camera #Nexus



Google Nexus 6P review: Serious contender for mobile photography | DxOMark
Today Google unveiled the Nexus 6P. Having partnered with manufacturer Huawei to build this latest device, the Nexus 6P is the first to run Google’s most up-to-date version of its Android operating system — Android OS 6.0 Marshmallow (or “Android M”).Tech specs for the Nexus 6P include a large 5.7-inch (1440 x 2560-pixel) AMOLED screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and 16 million colors. The rear camera offers a 13Mp resolution on a 1/2.3”-type se…

Source post on Google+

Nexus 6P and 5X USB Type-C Charging

According to the product pages for the +Nexus 6P: https://store.google.com/product/nexus_6p and 5X: https://store.google.com/product/nexus_5x, both device conform to the USB-C standard instead of +Qualcomm QuickCharge 2.0.

On one side, it's great because it's a future-proof standard instead of a proprietary technology.
On the other side, +LG Electronics and +Huawei only ship a 5V charger.
Because the connector is of USB Type-C instead of Micro-USB, they pump up to 3A instead of 2A (QuickCharge 1.0 / Samsung) or 2.4A (Apple)
But 15W is less than to 9V / 2A (18W) or 12V / 1.8A (21.6W) from current QuickCharge 2.0 devices specs.

3A on 5V also means any long cable will waste energy, substantially less than 5V making it to the device depending on the cable quality and length.

Maybe these two phones will also accept 12V input as well (unlikely 20V) as it's part of the USB power spec.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Power
That'll be up to the reviewers to determine and measure that.

Meanwhile, don't expect these phones to charge as fast as the current Motorola or Samsung generation.
As mentioned in the presentation today, they'll still charge a lot faster than the iPhones.

#supercurioBlog #Nexus



Google Store – Nexus, Chromecast et plus encore
Sur Google Store, achetez des téléphones et des tablettes Android, des Chromebooks, et des appareils Android Wear, Chromecast et Nest, ainsi qu’une sélection d’accessoires.

Source post on Google+

+Samsung Mobile​​​ Galaxy Tab S 2 9.7" exhibits sharpening halos on its non pentile Super AMOLED display

Doesn't look nice!
Samsung is really a big fan of useless sharpening filters lately, regardless of the resolution.

(sorry for the poor examples, it's hard to capture as a picture)

#supercurioBlog

 

In Album 9/19/15

Source post on Google+

This new initiative and +SIGFOX​ network already deployed and extending are probably why you hear current carriers talking about making 5G networks adequate for the Internet Of Things

Using current GSM (2G,3G,LTE) networks for something like a battery-powered environmental sensor sending just a few bits, once in a while is probably not the most power and cost efficient.
Hence the creation and rise of better suited alternatives.

However, GSM networks worldwide coverage surpass by far those low speed IoT optimized networks today.
It's understandable carriers want to keep being the tech of choice for the explosion of IoT devices anticipated.

#supercurioBlog



IoT pretender Ingenu takes bite at mobile industry
Backed by heavyweight industry figures, Ingenu claims to be building the first nationwide, wireless network in the US dedicated solely to M2M and IoT.

Source post on Google+