iPad..

[matty-hodgson]

I know this probably belongs in hardware but I feel it deserves it's place in GD.

So, basically, my girlfriend bought an iPad on Thursday and I got to have a very lengthy go on it last night, and wow! It's absolutely amazing .

It was sooooo fast and it wasn't actually a bad size either, battery life was good, screen was really sharp and vibrant and games like Traffic Rush and Plants vs Zombies were just ace.

And it even played HD movies.. even though the screen is only 1024x768, but still, it played it without any effort at all.

Now what I wanna know is, why can't a netbook play HD movies? From what I understand, the Atom processor consumes more than the entire iPad's "CPU/GPU/RAM" but the Atom is way way way inferior.

So why? If the iPad's 1GHz A4 can push out HD why can't Intel's 1.6GHz Atoms do it too?

[mrochester]

The iPad has a fairly beefy GPU and I presume hardware decoding.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I know this probably belongs in hardware but I feel it deserves it's place in GD.

So, basically, my girlfriend bought an iPad on Thursday and I got to have a very lengthy go on it last night, and wow! It's absolutely amazing .

It was sooooo fast and it wasn't actually a bad size either, battery life was good, screen was really sharp and vibrant and games like Traffic Rush and Plants vs Zombies were just ace.

And it even played HD movies.. even though the screen is only 1024x768, but still, it played it without any effort at all.

Now what I wanna know is, why can't a netbook play HD movies? From what I understand, the Atom processor consumes more than the entire iPad's "CPU/GPU/RAM" but the Atom is way way way inferior.

So why? If the iPad's 1GHz A4 can push out HD why can't Intel's 1.6GHz Atoms do it too?

The Ion netbooks and those with HD decoders can play HD. The older netbooks use the ancient 945G IGP which cannot do HD decoding.

Also the iPad is slower than a modern netbook for web browsing.







Many of the newer tablets coming out in the next few months will either have a similar CPU to the A4 found in the iPad with a decoder like the Broadcom Crystal HD or a suitable IGP. The A4 is in fact no more faster(or some cases slower) than the CPUs found in some smartphones like the HTC Touch Desire. The A4 is actually derived from the Cortex A8.

There are also quite a few tablets also being released with the newer Intel Atom processors which will have similar HD decoding abilities(do to the inclusions of improved IGPs or HD decoders) and probably better multi-tasking abilities than Apple A4, Cortex A8 or other tablets based on similar CPUs.

The Cortex A9 OTH looks like it will be very fast. It would not surprise me if the next iPad is based on this!

[TooNice]

Perhaps because of the VXD375 chip? (Only a guess)

[kalniel]

So why? If the iPad's 1GHz A4 can push out HD why can't Intel's 1.6GHz Atoms do it too?

HD is something suited to a graphics processing unit rather than a central processing unit. Any system that has a GPU is going to be better than those that don't. If you add a GPU into your CPU package, like Intel have started doing, like Apple have started doing, and like AMD are about to do, then you get HD performance from the same chip. Otherwise you have to add in the GPU through something like nVidia's ION.

So to answer the question, you're comparing a CPU+GPU chip against a CPU only chip. Better to compare it to a CPU+GPU chip, especially when that's a more appropriate price comparison as well.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The VXD375 is part of the PowerVR SGX 535 GPU found in the A4. The A4 basically contains an A8 based core with a PowerVR based GPU.

[mrochester]

HD is something suited to a graphics processing unit rather than a central processing unit. Any system that has a GPU is going to be better than those that don't. If you add a GPU into your CPU package, like Intel have started doing, like Apple have started doing, and like AMD are about to do, then you get HD performance from the same chip. Otherwise you have to add in the GPU through something like nVidia's ION.

So to answer the question, you're comparing a CPU+GPU chip against a CPU only chip. Better to compare it to a CPU+GPU chip, especially when that's a more appropriate price comparison as well.

Well the net book he's talking about does have a gpu, it's just a really lousy one that isn't powerful enough to secede HD content.

[kalniel]

Well the net book he's talking about does have a gpu, it's just a really lousy one that isn't powerful enough to secede HD content.

The atom is just a CPU, not a netbook.

[mrochester]

The atom is just a CPU, not a netbook.

Every computer has to have a GPU of some sort otherwise there'd be nothing to output to a screen. The netbook he's talking about has a lousy GPU that can't decode HD content, and as the processor isn't powerful enough to do that either, the netbook can't do it.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The AMD based netbooks do have a decent IGP. The Acer Ferrari One is an example of one and has a dual core CPU.

There are also netbooks like the Acer Timeline 1810TZ which have a Core2 dual core and a GMA4500MHD IGP.

[kalniel]

Every computer has to have a GPU of some sort otherwise there'd be nothing to output to a screen. The netbook he's talking about has a lousy GPU that can't decode HD content, and as the processor isn't powerful enough to do that either, the netbook can't do it.

I should clarify, by GPU I mean accelerated GPU, which is the common usage (ie they have hardware to process graphical instructions, rather than simply buffering display output constructed in software on the CPU - this would not be a GPU because they are not really processing units). Current atom chips (pineview) do come with GPUs, just like Apples A4.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I just realised an iPad costs around the same as a Acer Timeline 1810TZ or an Acer Ferrari One netbooks!! These are more like sub-notebooks with Athlon X2 or Core2 dual core CPUs(much faster than the Intel Atom),11.6" screen and a good enough IGP. The Acer Ferrari One even has an XGP port for an external Mobility HD5870 graphics card:

http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news...i-netbook.aspx

[kalniel]

That's true Cat, but you have to compare like for like - if all you want is something to browse the internet on then it's better to have something like the ipad which is basically a huge battery and large display stuck on an ipod touch. It can't even run a proper OS like OSX. But if you don't need it to then the nice display and long battery life are perfect - that's why I suggested Matty get one instead of his MacBook.

On the otherhand if you want something to actually do some processing or be more flexible then the likes of the timeline or ferrari one are far more suitable, and you can forgive the battery life compromise.

[Agent]

I can accept the lack of keyboard on a touchscreen phone due to the convenience, but if I was to want to browse on something the size of the iPad, it would have to have a keyboard. It would drive me mad!

[this_is_gav]

I just realised an iPad costs around the same as a Acer Timeline 1810TZ or an Acer Ferrari One netbooks!! These are more like sub-notebooks with Athlon X2 or Core2 dual core CPUs(much faster than the Intel Atom),11.6" screen and a good enough IGP. The Acer Ferrari One even has an XGP port for an external Mobility HD5870 graphics card:

I said this a week or so back: The Ferrari One is a fantastic piece of kit. I hate the aesthetics even more now than when I saw the reviews, but as a piece of technology they're stunning. It's a shame there's not an option for one without the garish Ferrari badges, as they'd fly off the shelves.

I've seen the first genuine use for an iPad recently - when Jake Humphrey, presenter of the F1 coverage on the BBC, started using one at the Monaco GP. That's the first genuine demonstration of one of these slates that I've seen where they'd be of benefit over either a smartphone, PDA or netbook.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Acer Timeline is meant to have very good battery life. IIRC, for light web browsing it has a 6 to 8 hour battery life which is excellent as it is running Windows 7.

Here are some lists of alternatives to the iPad being released this year:

http://www.technewsdaily.com/tablets...s-coming-0603/

The WeTab looks interesting but has been delayed until September:

http://wetab.mobi/en

There is the Dell Looking Glass:

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/3270...s-tablet-leaks

The Notion Ink Adam also looks promising too:

http://www.notionink.in/adamfeature.php

The display on the Notion Ink Adam looks very interesting indeed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxgRBC47SAo

It has a dual mode display which means it can run as an eBook.