[SparkyBC]

Wish people would speak before typing. Quad always use more juice vs dual core.

[howarmat]

Wish people would speak before typing. Quad always use more juice vs dual core.

that is not true at all

[donmateo]

Wish people would speak before typing. Quad always use more juice vs dual core.

Wish people would think before speaking.

[kelvinlin]

so what is the difference between a dual core and a quad core s4 pro? curious about the tradeoffs between the two.

[Roo Zilla]

so what is the difference between a dual core and a quad core s4 pro? curious about the tradeoffs between the two.

I could be wrong, but I suspect the difference is 2 cores.

[Stychill]

I could be wrong, but I suspect the difference is 2 cores.

LOL, good answer

[ekafara]

"@BlackberryScoop: The hardware specifications for #BB10 are going to be finalized by the end of the month and sent of to #BB10 manufacturers."

Seems like it's not finalized yet, so everything is still speculation.

[kelvinlin]

I could be wrong, but I suspect the difference is 2 cores.

and what are the implications of those two cores for performance and power consumption?

[Stychill]

"@BlackberryScoop: The hardware specifications for #BB10 are going to be finalized by the end of the month and sent of to #BB10 manufacturers."

Seems like it's not finalized yet, so everything is still speculation.

that...doesn't seem credible, if BB10 devices should be in customers hands early february like i've been hearing, shouldn't it be already finalized. and if it were true, then the BB10 devices would be in short supply similar to the nexus 4 i believe.

[howarmat]

they were suppose to be making the phones this month, so if the hardware hasnt been finalized then they are running behind which is not a good thing to think about. I am going to say that BScoop has got this one wrong and hope they are making the devices already.

[Roo Zilla]

and what are the implications of those two cores for performance and power consumption?

It depends on usage patterns. CPU power consumption tend to be non-linear as speed ramps up, consuming more as it approaches higher speeds. What that means is that a single CPU running at 2Ghz will usually use more power than 2 identical CPUs running at 1Ghz each. That's assuming the CPU was originally designed to run at 2Ghz.

Let's say you have an app, and it can complete a task in 5 seconds on a 2Ghz CPU. The same app, if designed to take advantage of multi-CPU processing, can theoretically complete the same task on two 1Ghz CPUs in the same 5 seconds. The advantage being, it would use less power because power use isn't linear.

Now, in the real world, there are a bunch of other factors that will make it impossible for the same task to be completed in the same amount of time. Things like badly written app, missed cache hits, memory bandwidth, out-of-order execution misses, and a bunch of others. Even with all that, the power savings is enough to make laptop makers use a dual-core 1,3Ghz CPU over a single core 2.4Ghz one.

Now, that's when the CPU is in use. The issue lies in when the CPU package is idle. Obviously a dual core CPU at idle consumes a lot more power than a single core one. Not exactly twice as much, since there are other things in a CPU package such as cache memory, and for mobile phone SoCs, GPUs.

That's not the end of story though. The more cores you have, the smoother your device will run. The is because if a core is busy with a task, and there isn't another one available, it has to wait until that task is completed. Multi-core computers tend to have less hiccups and the experience tends to be smoother overall.

Basically, the more you use a multi-core CPU package, the more advantageous it is from a power stand point to have it be used, over a CPU package with few cores.. Although double the cores can theoretically double performance, it usually doesn't happen. It's closer to 50-70% increase rather than 100%, although some tasks do show 100% increases.. Power usage can potentially be less on 4 cores than on 2, but it depends on usage patterns. If your usage pattern has it so that 2 cores are constantly running at close to top speeds, it's probably better from a power stand point to run 4 to keep the speed ramp up contained because CPU power consumption is not linear with speed.

That's the basics on effect on performance and power usage for multi-core computers. There's a lot I didn't get into, including the reasons why power consumption isn't linear, but that would turn this into a 10 page post.

Addendum: It is very easy to write code to shut down any number of cores. The LG Optimus G has the option to shut down 2 of it's 4. So basically, there's really no downside to using 4 cores over 2 if you use this option, with the obvious exceptions being additional cost, and additional space requirement in the device. Of course if you're Apple, you won't do it yet, because you figure that option is too complicated for normal people to understand.

[howarmat]

also you can factor in that sometimes, like in modern cars, you can shut down cores when not needed the same way a V8 engine can shut down and run on 4 cylinders to save fuel.

[Roo Zilla]

also you can factor in that sometimes, like in modern cars, you can shut down cores when not needed the same way a V8 engine can shut down and run on 4 cylinders to save fuel.

I realized I left that out about 30 seconds after submitting the post.

[taes123]

Why complain about the price and specs your gonna buy it also its a good blackberry now to buy why complain. If it was an iphone you would buy that asap even if I had **** specs so why complain cos its a blackberyy, I'm not a BB fan boy but from what I see the OS is so good IDK about specs.

[Stychill]

Why complain about the price and specs your gonna buy it also its a good blackberry now to buy why complain. If it was an iphone you would buy that asap even if I had **** specs so why complain cos its a blackberyy, I'm not a BB fan boy but from what I see the OS is so good IDK about specs.

this is crackberry, no one's talking about buying an iphone in this forum

[Stychill]

Thats what forums are for, discussions

[Roo Zilla]

Why complain about the price and specs your gonna buy it also its a good blackberry now to buy why complain. If it was an iphone you would buy that asap even if I had **** specs so why complain cos its a blackberyy, I'm not a BB fan boy but from what I see the OS is so good IDK about specs.

Apple operates a bit differently than other device makers. It's probably because they're so rife with cash they can do whatever they feel like. Specs on Apple tend to not be so much about Ghz on the CPU as just straight out performance. Take the A6 on the iPhone 5 as an example. In most benchmarks, it's more powerful than the S4 Pro. The A6 is a Cortex A-9 derivative, with additional custom code they named SWIFT. At same clock speeds to a standard A-9, it's about 40-60% faster on most tasks. Add to that 3 powerful GPU cores, and all of a sudden, you have a powerhouse of a SoC, that was more powerful than any ARM based SoC that preceded it. Quad-core S4 Pro didn't make it to the market until well after the iPhone 5 was released, and the A6 is competitive with it. So yes, Apple doesn't compete on specs, but they do compete on performance.

[Stychill]

They compete to see how long they can keep making minimal changes to their products as time progresses while maintaining incredible profit margins.

[Skeevecr]

"@BlackberryScoop: The hardware specifications for #BB10 are going to be finalized by the end of the month and sent of to #BB10 manufacturers."

Seems like it's not finalized yet, so everything is still speculation.

I am sorry but that tweet is clearly complete bollocks, you cannot submit non-final hardware to carrier labs as you would have to resubmit from the start for even fairly minor changes.

[juacas]

yes we all have been waiting, you make it sound like it came out but your stores are all sold out or something. Anyway, your whole point is moot because you talk about specs....who gets things for specs? Quick, what are the specs of your car/microwave/****/pants/watch/tv/video game system and their next two direct competitors? And why is it that people only talk about specs with phones, as said before, it is about the os and the experience not the specs. I could drive a range rover that has higher specs than my rav-4. But does a bigger engine and more expensive type of gas result in a better experience for me? Do sports cars that ride so low to the ground you can't see around them with powerful engines that drown out the radio result in a better experience?

At what spec points will you be satisfied? How many megapixels, cores, and pixels does rim need to put into their phone to please you? Seriously, what is the magic number? Does it have to be higher than someone else? Cuz, if that is the case, then when that phone is put in production, tested, marketed, and shipped....it will already be obsolete.

Thoughts.....you need to do more thinking. Close more apps, use the browser more often, and buy phones on contract to save more money. The nexus is an exception to the rule, and if you can afford that, you could easily afford a bb10 phone...and also, how much do you think it cost to make an s3? A note 2? An i5? Do you think their silicon chips come from mars, do you think their harddrives are from somewhere else besides thailand?

Do you know that just about everything you buy in life is marked up, be it for pure profit, or because someone has done work for you, testing, marketing.....people are here to make money, not give you money.

woooooooooow!!!!!!!

[crackcookie]

They compete to see how long they can keep making minimal changes to their products as time progresses while maintaining incredible profit margins.

If it ain't broke don't fix it right? Yes, they have nearly reached the pinnacle of their devices, but imagine if one day the Cammarro (I'm sure I didn't spell this properly, but why did autocorrect suggest mammary???) was turned into the Chevy Avalanche in the 2014 model, for the sake of drastic changes just to change?

[BB_Bmore]

Very well put CrackedCookie...and with that I'm gonna go check the specs on my wife's hair dryer to make sure Remington isn't getting over on her! Later!

Sent from my BlackBerry by Choice using Tapatalk

[ljbad4life]

I just want to throw this out there as someone on the android side of the fence. It's about the user experience.

I currently own a Galaxy s3, so do millions of other people and is the only phone in the USA to out sell the iphone on every carrier it's offered on. Why is that? it's not the specs. The HTC One x has the exact same CPU and Storage options (minus the micro sd slot) the One X has a better screen, better camera and is built out of better materials and has sold so few that HTC is floundering. The user experience is much better on the s3 with gestures that it elevates it above another android device.

Now before you rush and say look at the Nexus 4, it's the price. The LG optimus G is the exact same phone as the nexus 4, plus LTE, that you can get cheaper (with a contract) on the carriers that offer the S3, but people are STILL buying the S3, so clearly specs don't matter to lay people.

the only people that really give a hoot about specs are people on forums. Go to a best buy or a carrier's store and ask someone who just bought a smartphone, how many cores it has, heck even who made the cpu... please reply with the answer...

I am not impressed with the z10 specs per se, but I am impressed with the gestures, ui and usability of BB10 and if the z10 isn't straining under bb10 or apps then why should I care?

[Roo Zilla]

Now before you rush and say look at the Nexus 4, it's the price. The LG optimus G is the exact same phone as the nexus 4, plus LTE, that you can get cheaper (with a contract) on the carriers that offer the S3, but people are STILL buying the S3, so clearly specs don't matter to lay people.

There is a large segment of the population for whom the single most important factor in a purchase decision for certain items is brand name. I strongly suspect smartphones might fall into this category. Samsung is a very respected and desired brand name in consumer electronics and inspires strong brand loyalty. Given similar factors, I believe more people will choose a Samsung phone over a competitor.

[MrHomz]

Fair enough. But I dont think it would have killed them to put in 2GB of ram.

Apparently it's been confirmed that it will have 2GB.

Blackberry L-Series Z10 Handset Will Have 2GB of RAM - Mobile Magazine