It's easy to be impressed with the new mobile chips currently available. Between the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 and the Exynos 5 Octa-core from Samsung, we have seen some truly awesome scores ranging all the way to 28,000+. Luckily, that's just a start for the massive performance improvements we will see in 2013. It looks like NVIDIA's Tegra 4 architecture will take things to a new level of ridiculous. Some AnTuTu benchmarks of NVIDIA's Project Shield using the Tegra 4 chipset just showed up online, and if they are not faked, they are set to blow away the current crop of processors.

As you can see in the pic above, the score achieved was 32,150, which is 4,000 points faster than any current retail device we have seen before. The only time we have seen a faster benchmark was a Tegra 4 equipped reference tablet from NVIDIA when they first announced the new chipset. It hit a top score of over 36,000. If real, this new benchmark shows a real-world performance that is unparalleled in the industry right now. The benchmark was supposedly taken from a 1.9GHz quad-core Tegra 4-based Project Shield console with Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean.

Right now, the only unknown quantity in this chipset war is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800. Until we see some real benchmarks from the Snapdragon 800, it looks like NVIDIA will hold the performance crown. Of course, both chipsets are planned to launch later this summer, so it's possible they will fight for the "king of the hill" title at the same time.

As far as pure gaming devices are concerned, the Tegra 4 based NVIDIA Project Shield is likely in a league of its own. Here's a recap of Project Shield specs,

• 5-inch display with 720p resolution (294 PPI)
• Tegra 4 quad-core ARM Cortex A15 processor
• 72-core NVIDIA GeForce GPU
• Built-in gaming controls
• Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
• Support for Steam games

Source: NVIDIA Tegra 4-based Project Shield spotted in AnTuTu benchmark, score tops 32,000

Right now in the mobile world when it comes to operating system choice it is decidedly a two-horse race. Based upon sell-through numbers over the past year, Android and iOS are so far ahead of the competition, it seems like they are the only ones racing. Of course, there are alternatives. Microsoft has actually been able to raise their marketshare a tiny amount, but Blackberry has continued to decline.

This near-duopoly is likely not good for the mobile world as a whole, as it detracts from consumer choice and could eventually stifle competition (although right now the rivalry between Android and iOS has propelled it forward). Luckily, starting this year we might see some new entries into the mobile landscape come forward to challenge the primary leaders. Some of these players are not at all surprising, and have been trying to break into this market for a while, but we do have a couple of surprise entrants. More than likely these new players won't be able to make much of a dent in 2013, but it is a start. If any of these alternatives gain traction, we could start seeing changes in the mobile landscape as early as next year. Here's a breakdown of most of the players below with their developer next to them.

• Android - Google
• iOS - Apple
• Windows Phone 8 - Microsoft
• Blackberry - Blackberry
• Tizen - Samsung
• Alibaba - from the Alibaba Group
• Firefox - Mozilla
• Sailfish - Jolla

Update: We realized we forgot to mention Ubuntu. This is another open source alternative that received some attention not too long ago, but we haven't heard much about recently. Because it is open source it's possible it could get interest from manufacturers. Here's a link to it just for the curious: Ubuntu for phones | Ubuntu

The story for the first few is mostly a known quantity. Blackberry is on a rapid decline and has been for the last two years. Android took the global crown from iOS, but iOS is still a strong close second. Windows Phone is still a distant third to Android and iOS, but they have recently gained marketshare, which is a good sign.

We have been hearing rumblings about Samsung's Tizen for quite some time. This OS was jointly developed with Intel, so it definitely has some serious potential with big backers like these two juggernauts. More than likely we will be seeing a phone with the Tizen OS hit retail shelves sometime in August of this year. This OS is the one most likely to give chase to the dominant players.

We have heard of Alibaba before as well. This is the mobile OS from a company in China called the Alibaba group which previously became controversial because they were apparently stealing a large portion of their OS from Android. At one time Acer was going to put out a phone with the Alibaba OS, but Google asked them not to because it would violate the licensing agreements Acer has with Google for Android. Alibaba is moving forward with their revamped version and if they gain any traction it will be in the lucrative Chinese market. Google has had some problems in this market. They pulled their... [Read More]

We have a pretty spectacular deal for you guys today. Woot! has the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T 64GB version for just $439.99 + $5 shipping! Normally the 64GB model will run you $600 bucks before shipping, so this is a steal, especially considering these are "new" versions and not reburbs. Here's a recap of specs:

• 10.1" Super IPS+ Display @ 1920x1200
• nVidia Tegra 3
• 1 GB RAM
• 64 GB Flash storage + MicroSD slot
• 8 MP rear camera, 2 MP front camera
• Android 4.2.1

As you can see, this is a phenomenal 27% discount. The deal is limited so you should hurry if you want to snag this one. Here's a link below.

Source: Woot! Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T 64GB Version

Google's Chairman Eric Schmidt had some bold claims about YouTube recently at a presentation to advertisers in New York. Schmidt shared the opinion that YouTube has already displaced traditional TV. He shared the fact that YouTube recently cleared the milestone of over 1 Billion unique visitors every month. To be fair, he did elaborate a bit further to clarify his point, sharing,

"It's not a replacement for something that we know," said Schmidt. "It's a new thing that we have to think about, to program, to curate and build new platforms."

Robert Kyncl, YouTube's global head of content, also shared "I thought that YouTube was like TV, but it isn't. I was wrong. TV is one-way. YouTube talks back."

Some statistics were shared that were a bit eye-opening as well... more 18- to 34-year-olds watch YouTube than any cable network.

Kyncl added, "TV means reach. YouTube means engagement."

Additionally, DreamWorks CEO Jeffery Katzenberg contributed this statement, "This is a whole new form of content, content delivery and content consumption. It's the medium of the future and the future has already arrived."

What do you guys think? Is YouTube really that much of a game-changer, or is this just marketing double-speak?

Source: Associated Press

Google I/O is just a couple weeks away now, and it promises to have some exciting things to show off. The rumor-mill has been flying for the past year, and we could see anything from several new Nexus devices to a Motorola X Phone. More than likely many of the rumors will fall by the way-side, but will probably get a glimpse of Android 5.0/Key Lime Pie, and learn even more about Google Glass.

Google just a couple of days ago shared their Google I/O schedule, and what is most interesting is that they seem to have consolidated their keynote speech into one three hour session instead of their usual multiple events. The Google I/O 2013 keynote starts at 9:00 a.m. EDT on May 15th, and we are definitely excited to see what comes out of it. We will keep you abreast of any coverage coming from the event, so stay tuned!

Source: Google I/O Sessions

The more I see Google Glass, the more viable an idea it seems to become. At first, the concept seemed intriguing, but impractical and not altogether useful. Then it evolved into something that could have some potentially useful applications, but may be more of a gimmick. Now, after the last few demos and after seeing this newest "Getting Started" video, I am fully in the camp of, this could be something very cool and potentially game-changing.

The video very clearly shows some of the ways in which you can interact with the device. If they can pull off the Augmented Reality real world information gathering HUD (Heads Up Display), then they will nail it's "killer app" functionality and it could be the hot new device of next year. What do you think?

The folks at Google are getting a bit more serious about security for apps in the Google Play Store. Apparently, Google has banned app developers from performing updates unless they go directly through the Google Play Store. Here's Goggle's official statement on the matter,

An app downloaded from Google Play may not modify, replace or update its own APK binary code using any method other than Google Play's update mechanism.

What's interesting about this is actually how it came about. This new stricter policy was instigated by Facebook of all things. Apparently, the social network giant decided to update their pre-Facebook Home Facebook app, but did it directly through the app, bypassing Google's Play Store completely. Google was not happy about this, so they tightened up their policies.

Source: AndroidPolice