Sunday, November 17, 2013

MediaTek to launch true 8-core, 2GHz MT6592 chipset in November?

MediaTek to launch true 8-core, 2GHz MT6592 chipset in November? data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 322};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20645220' !== '') ? 'bsd:20645220' : ''; var postID = '20645220'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"misc",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"richard-lai", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-14d",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store Hands On More Betterer HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93308280", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});MediaTek to launch true 8-core, 2GHz MT6592 chipset in November? MobileBypostedJul 2nd, 2013 at 2:29 PM 0

MediaTek to launch true 8core, 2GHz MT6592 chipset in November

Samsung may already have its 8-core Exynos 5 Octa offering, but the cunning "big.LITTLE" implementation means only up to four cores work together at any time -- either the Cortex-A15 quartet or its lesser Cortex-A7 counterpart. In other words, we'd rather rename the chipset range to something like "Exynos 5 Quad Dual." But according to recent intel coming from Taipei and Shenzhen, it looks like Taiwan's MediaTek is well on its way to ship a true 8-core mobile chipset in Q4 this year.

The first mention of this 2GHz, Cortex-A7 MT6592 chip came from UDN earlier today. The Taiwanese publication claims MediaTek started introducing its first octa-core product to clients last week, and it's expected to enter mass production using TSMC's 28nm process in November. The first mobile devices to carry this hot piece of silicon are expected to hit the market in early 2014 -- hopefully just in time for the Chinese New Year shopping rush.

UDN adds that the MT6592 scored close to 30,000 on AnTuTu, which is pretty high but still some distance behind Qualcomm's 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800. Of course, chances are MediaTek's offering will be much cheaper, as evidenced by all the affordable MediaTek-powered devices in China these days.

In a separate article from last week, UDN pointed out that judging by over a hundred job openings released by MediaTek last month, the company is clearly putting an emphasis on 4G LTE technology, alongside GPU and Android development. The publication also quoted chairman Tsai Ming-kai saying he will launch an LTE solution in Q4 this year, by which point MediaTek will only be one or two years behind its competitors.

The second piece of info came from HQ Research analyst Pan Jiutang, who posted an alleged spy shot of MediaTek's upcoming roadmap (pictured left). There the octa-core MT6592 is listed with a clock speed of 1.7GHz to 2GHz, along with 1080p 30fps video decoding support. There's also a quad-core 1.7GHz MT6588 accompanying its octa-core sibling in the same period on the timeline, though it appears to be just a faster version of the current 1.2GHz MT6589.

For the sake of phone manufacturers, both new chipsets will apparently be pin-to-pin compatible with the quad-core 1.3GHz MT6582 due Q3 this year, thus lowering R&D costs. Better yet, the roadmap also states that the MT6290 LTE modem -- as teased by Tsai above -- will be compatible with these three chipsets.

With MediaTek quickly catching up ahead of China's eventual TD-LTE launch, Qualcomm will need to tread carefully to keep its Chinese QRD partners happy.

[Thanks, Ryan!]

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‘Do Female Astronauts Wear Bras in Space?’

Socratic social network Quora recently questioned the effect of zero gravity on breasts. Faced with the slightly rude query, "Do female astronauts wear bras in space?" NASA astronaut trainer Robert Frost cited physics: "Even though there is no noticeable pull from gravity, there is still inertia. So while they are running on the treadmill, their rib cage is constantly changing its direction of motion and other more delicate parts are resisting those changes." Thus, sports bras. Now you know.


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The 5 Best Poolside Beauties From the Movies

When you or I get out of the pool, it's a sight to behold: Chlorine-irritated red eyes, slimy sunscreen skin, and George Washington hair (when your hair gets flipped underwater and you look like our first president). In the movies, they get it right: Regardless how the actresses enter the pool or how long they've made out underwater, hair and beauty teams ensure leading ladies exit looking like Botticelli's Venus. Then there are those who sidestep the drowned rat possibility, of course, and never submerge themselves. It's a near-cheat, but they look good despite the sun and sweat.

In light of the upcoming Fourth of July festivities, here are some of the most memorably beautiful poolside beauty moments — whether underwater or casually lounging near it. (Share your own suggestions in the comments below.) Don't forget to wear sunscreen and happy early Independence Day, everyone!

5. Cruel Intentions: Reese Witherspoon
Annette Hargrove didn't actually go underwater. But how pretty does she look with the water's reflection dancing on her visage? It's no wonder Sebastian was all over that jam. Beauty trick: Don't get your hair wet.

4. National Lampoon's Vacation: Christie Brinkley
The eighties were all about aggressive makeup and boatloads of hairspray, so much so that even Christie Brinkley's fine hair could withstand the wind forces of a convertible Corvette. But while one skinny dip in a motel pool deflated her feathered 'do, her pink frosted lips and shadowy eyes remained intact. Beauty trick: Hang out with Chevy Chase, preferably in motel pools.

3. Fast Times of Ridgemont High: Phoebe Cates
Pre-pool entry: Perfectly arched brows. Long, swishy brown hair. Bee sting lips. Post-perfect dive: All of the aforementioned, just wetter. Beauty trick: Youth. Also, the eighties.

2. Legally Blonde: Reese Witherspoon
Here we see Elle Woods displaying the classic messy knot/sunglasses-as-headband combo. But again! No underwater action. This is clearly Witherspoon's signature pool beauty move. Beauty trick: Set your mind on getting into Harvard Law.

1. Romeo + Juliet: Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio
First, she swims around in a tiny tank with hundreds of crew members watching her. And she's simultaneously making out with Leo underwater. That's how to ensure a true beauty moment upon surfacing. Beauty trick: It's in his kiss. That's where it is.


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40 Looks We Want From the Spring 2014 Menswear Shows

Street style during the menswear shows tends to bring out the best in the dapper male attendees, but it's the women who stand out. While some (like Anna Dello Russo and Caroline Issa) tend to keep their looks feminine, many get into the boy-meets-girl spirit with suits, ties, and brogues. Esther Quek, group fashion director for The Rake, takes that styling cue literally, often showing up for menswear shows in perfectly tailored three-piece suits complete with vest, tie, and pocket square. And while menswear is notorious for the ridiculous, many of this season's pieces were on-trend, handsome, and highly covetable — for women. Head-to-toe florals were big at Alexander McQueen, Comme Des Garçons, and 3.1 Phillip Lim. Mixed prints were also everywhere (in dot, leopard, tie-dye, and stripe forms) helping the models at Dries Van Noten, Dolce & Gabbana, and Lanvin look perfectly mismatched. Meanwhile Valentino and Raf Simons both showed beautiful, color-blocked jackets with sleek silhouettes that would look fantastic thrown over a black dress and finished with a pair of heels.

Other times it's an entire outfit that inspires lust, like the relaxed navy leather trousers at Hermès worn with a crinkled silk tee or Acne's fitted checkered sweater and slouchy trouser combo. Other times it's individual pieces, like Saint Laurent's form-fitting, sparkly leopard tuxedo jacket, which would look perfect on Kate Moss, or Dolce & Gabbana's oversized shimmery tweed top, just asking to be worn with jeans and stilettos. For all of the talk about "borrowing from the boys" style, spring 2014 menswear transcends gender lines by incorporating cuts, patterns, and colors into the pieces that suggest these pieces shouldn't be borrowed, rather stolen. See the  looks we covet most in the slideshow below.


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National Republicans Stay Clear of Texas Abortion Debate

After spending the second half of 2012 extracting party candidates’ feet from their mouths, national Republican leadership is staying far away from the abortion debate playing out in Texas’s state legislature, Politico reports. Neither Republican National Committee officials nor the Growth and Opportunity Project members (dedicated to avoiding a 2012 repeat) responded to Politico’s requests for comment on the proposed legislation, which would ban abortion after twenty weeks and close 37 out of 42 of the state's abortion clinics. Though the state Republican Party Chairman did say that the mobilization of Democrats in support of Wendy Davis convinced the national party to give him more money to hire full-time staffers.

GOP pollsters argue that political distractions — rock star personalities, perceived bullying, rude comments — aside, most Texans support a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, when “nonpartisan medical experts say the fetus can feel pain.” For the millionth time, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (a group that has a financial stake in babies being born, after all) says there is "no legitimate scientific information that supports the statement that a fetus experiences pain." No one has polled about the clinic-closing TRAP laws that would make first trimester abortions so hard to get that the twenty-week deadline would become difficult to meet.


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How to Pull Off Pajama Pants (With Flat Sandals)

Pajama dressing graced the runways at Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton while celebrities like Rihanna, Jessica Alba, and Rashida Jones took the look to the red carpets. For the average person, attempting the same bedhead-chic vibe can be tricky. You could quickly wind up looking sloppy and shapeless. To properly achieve that relaxed effect while remaining polished, take a cue from the way this stylish show attendee has styled her pants. Rather than adding a heel as to "dress up" the outfit, she fully embraces the pajama and slippers look by adding a flat sandal. Recreate this outfit by first choosing a dark, patterned pair of silky trousers hemmed so they graze the tops of feet. Then add a metallic flat for shine, and finish off with a rich jewel-tone textured clutch. On top, you'll want to avoid busy patterns or anything boxy: instead, wear a simple fitted silk tank or tee to keep the silhouette clean. Click ahead to see three ways to try out pajama dressing, at every price level, without looking like you're headed to bed.


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