South Korea working on 5G network 1,000 times faster than 4G

Source: www.techradar.com

The ability to download HD films instantly could be an everyday thing for South Korean mobile users in 2020.
South Korea's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) has revealed that it will be investing £900 million ($1.5 billion, AU$1.7 billion) to develop a 5G network around 1,000 times faster than 4G LTE.
Excited customers will have to wait a few years though as the country plans to roll out trials of the service in 2017 with a commercial edition of the network available by 2020. Key features are also in development according to MEST, including Ultra-HD streaming and even hologram transmission.

Big spend

The South Korean government estimates that sales for industries using 5G infrastructure could reach up to £187 billion ($310 billion, AU$354 billion) by 2026. According to the plan, telecoms operators, including Samsung, will be asked for cooperation in the project.
Samsung performed 5G tests itself in May last year, claiming to have produced a 1Gbps signal. Like MEST, it hopes to have it available in 2020.
South Korea isn't the only region looking towards 5G. Chinese hardware firm Huawei announced last year that it would be investing heavily into the future tech while the EU, in its Digital Agenda for Europe, marked its plans to enable the continent to be 5G ready by the year 2020 as well.
In the UK communications watchdog Ofcom announced that though it was trialling white space networking and had discovered a number of potential bands for improved mobile broadband in the future, 5G would probably not be possible in the country until at least 2018

4K TV comes to the Winter Olympics, but you won't be able to watch it

Source: www.techradar.com

The Olympics have historically been a hotbed for testing new entertainment technology. First came color TV in 1964, 1080p HD in 2008 and 2012 marked the first-ever Games in 3D.
This year's Sochi Winter Games are no different. While tech news surrounding the biennial spectacle have been keenly focused on new fangled speed skating suits, bomb detection methods and hackers, Ultra HD is also making an appearance at the global sporting event.
Unfortunately, the tech won't be standing on a podium.
Over the last couple of months murmurings swirled that electronics companies and TV networks were teaming up to record and show the Sochi Olympics in 4K. After a bit of digging, TechRadar learned that the Olympics would indeed be shot in 4K and even 8K.
However, these UHD Olympic takes won't be viewable to the general public save for those visiting NHK-sponsored public viewings in Japan. Otherwise, most of the footage will only be shown at special press viewing parties and other private events, making Sochi's 4K a more closed-off affair than the Super Hi-Vision (SHV) cinemas hosted by the BBC for the 2012 London Games.
There is some high-def developments worth noting for these Games, and we've gathered what the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and various firms have planned on the UHD front. Perhaps, by the time Rio rolls around, 4K will be ready for prime time.

IDC report highlights growth potential of Internet of Things

Source: www.techradar.com

Research firm IDC has released an Internet of Things (IoT) forecast for 2014-2017, revealing major growth opportunities for the consumer, discrete manufacturing and government vertical sectors.
The report suggests that technology and services revenue for IoT will go from $4.8 trillion (£2.9 trillion, AU$5.3 trillion) in 2012 to a staggering $7.3 trillion (£4.4 trillion, AU$8.2 trillion) in 2017, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 per cent.

IDC found that while the IoT market is growing quickly, there will not be consistent growth across all vertical markets. The automotive, transportation and utilities sectors will see the most immediate growth, thanks to their existing understanding of IoT.

Vertical opportunities on the horizon

IDC said that the greatest IT opportunities for IoT are driven from a vertical market perspective. These include the connected home, smart meters, connected cars, smart grids, and connected health.
"The Internet of Things market must be understood in terms of vertical markets because the value of IoT is based on individual use cases across all markets," said Scott Tiazkun, senior research analyst at IDC.
"Successful sales and marketing efforts by vendors will be based on understanding the most lucrative verticals that offer current growth and future potential and then creating solutions for specific use cases that address industry-specific business processes."
The report shows that IoT opens up the consumer market for many IT vendors, and while there are opportunities in the horizontal market, companies that focus more on long-term niche needs will likely see the biggest return.

The Oppo Find 7 with a 2K display might have a 1080p twin

Chinese electronics maker Oppo was more than happy in December to confirm that its Find 7 smartphone will sport a 2K resolution display, but now it seems like there may be a standard HD version in the works as well.
After all, QHD 2K screens pack a lot of pixels in - 2,560 x 1,440, to be precise - and the benefit to consumers has yet to be demonstrated. Having a cheaper version with a 1080p display sure makes a lot of sense.
Now Oppo has posted on the Chinese social and blogging network Weibo saying that Finds are coming - "are," not "is," as CNET points out.
And the site claims that a benchmark test leak in early February pegged the Oppo Find 7 with a 1080p display - curious, since we know that it actually has a 2K screen.

Unless there are two

Either clue might be an error or a mistake in phrasing, but combined they could point to something; a 1080p Find 7 being released in addition to the 2K Find 7.
Oppo may not want to bet all in on 2K screen tech for its next flagship, and having two SKUs would allow it to cover multiple price points while still nailing the high-res wow factor.
Besides this speculation about the display, little else is know about the Find 7, but it's expected to debut at 798 Art Zone in Beijing on March 19.

The pixel race

Oppo is far from the only company gearing up for the 2K phone race, though.
Samsung confirmed in January that it's working on not only 2K smartphone displays, but absurdly dense 4K smartphone screens as well.
In fact the upcoming Galaxy S5 may be the company's first QHD phone.
Back in December even Apple was rumored to be testing 2K and 4K resolution iPads as well.
Still, it remains to be seen how many pixels is too many.

Source: www.techradar.com

Running on Google time: Android dominates 2013 smartwatch OSes

Only 1.9 million smartwatches were sold globally in 2013, but 61% of them ran Google Android, according to research from Strategy Analytics.
Android's apparent dominance in smartwatches is thanks to the Samsung Galaxy Gear, the smart wrist tech with the most presence at retail and marketing.
It seems Google and Samsung are currently at the forefront of a segment of the tech industry that has a lot of room for growth, if the numbers are accurate.
Considering there were reportedly only around 300,000 smartwatches sold in 2012, that growth could be about to tip.

The saga begins

Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston said that the industry is mainly waiting for Apple to reveal its iWatch plans before really taking off.
Other competition could supposedly come from Microsoft, Tizen and the newly unveiled China OS, though in reality the future of smartwatches is still murky.
That's especially clear when you consider the sheer amount of negative criticism the Galaxy Gear - the most widely adopted smartwatch, mind you - has faced.
The Galaxy Gear 2 is expected to be better and cheaper, but facing the possibility of competition from Apple, who knows what other measures Samsung might take to attempt to secure its place in the saga of smartwatches?
Compare the number of smartwatches sold in 2013 to the numbers of tablets and smartphones - 1.9 million against 227 million and 990 million, respectively - and it becomes clear that this story is only getting started.

Source: www.techradar.com 

Accelerating supercomputing power

 

Who will win the processor battle?

In the supercomputing world there are lots of clever people trying to make software applications work faster and faster – to help researchers and engineers solve problems more quickly. It's been common practice for many years to 'throw' more CPUs at a computing challenge when results are needed quicker.
Recently however, the supercomputing world has been looking for alternatives to adding more CPUs. "Accelerating" supercomputer application performance has seen the introduction of products from the likes of ClearSpeed, IBM's CELL Broadband Engine and FPGAs.
Sadly, these tools were incredibly difficult to programme, expensive, limited in scope; and quite frankly, one needed a computer science degree to work with them! As a result, almost all of these options have since fallen by the wayside.
Another alternative, the GPU, has made an impact and is doing very well. Right now, GPUs have sole dominance over the accelerators market. Growth of GPUs has been mainly driven by NVIDIA, although AMD has been clearly innovating in the area.
GPUs are not a clear-cut option though - working with GPUs can be tricky [more so than working with CPUs]. It needs modern software code to port to GPUs, plus some spare time and money.
Most recently, one of the most exciting developments is the arrival of Intel's Xeon Phi processor. It seems easier to programme [developers can use existing coding skills and knowledge]; it's largely the same as programming a processor that most people have on their desktops.
Is it the beginning of sea change? Well, I still think people have just been dipping their toes in the water with accelerators.
I think what's most likely in the future is that if a customer has little financial resource for application coding, time or energy, or if the code is very old [often the case in academia] customers will continue to buy a traditional CPU based supercomputer.
If, however, customers' applications are suitable for parallelisation and they have the time, energy, skills and a suitable application, then a GPU accelerator is the right route.
However, Phi adds to the mix a middle ground – an accelerator that doesn't require quite as many new skills, but with all the benefits of a GPU. Customers always need choice and flexibility; different MPUs will suit different customers, but watch this space, because I think Phi is going to make an impact quickly.

Source: www.techradar.com

 

Google I/O 2014 slated for June 25 - June 26

Google I/O 2014 will kick off June 25 and run through June 26, Google has announced.
It may be two seasons away, but as Sundar Pichai noted on Google+, it's only 126 days till the mega dev conference kicks off, days that are sure to fly by.
This is the seventh Google I/O and as always, interested parties will be able to attend in person (if they successfully register) or follow along via broadcasts beaming from of San Francisco's Moscone Center.
Google is doing something different this year for on-sight attendee registration by having folks submit their interest in attending I/O. Applicants who make the cut will then be randomly selected and notified of their admittance, essentially leaving the choice entirely out of hopefuls' hands.
More details, including register information, are due next month.

What to expect from Google IO 2014

Though light on hardware, Google didn't leave consumers out in the cold during IO 2013. We saw a redesigned Google Maps take shape, Google Play Music All Access, and a full-court press on Google+ photos.
We also went hands on with Google Glass and met the stock Android Samsung Galaxy S4.
Though it's still early, some top contenders for Google IO 2014 include Android 5, an 8-inch Nexus 8 tablet, a Chromecast update and a deeper dive into the ear piece-wielding Google Glass 2.
And with its recent pick-up of Nest, we'd put cold hard cash on Google spending some time talking about the home.
Slightly more far flung but certainly within the realm of possibility, Mountain View may choose to unveil the rumored Google watch at the conference. As the company expands its focus to robotics and AI, we wouldn't be surprised if there's a distinct future-y flavor to this year's meet-up.

Source: www.techradar.com

High-Performance Computing – getting ready for the future

According to IDC, the global high-performance computing (HPC) market has recovered from the recession and is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8 to 7.8 percent through 2016.
Historically, the market has been dominated by academic institutions with the necessary funding to take on big supercomputer projects.

This is changing. Fuelled by an understanding of HPC's potential to reduce 'time to insight' and accelerate time-to-market, commercial organisations from engineering firms to geoscience companies are expressing interest in HPC.
In the UK, the Government is playing its part too, with the recent announcement that it will invest £270 million into research into quantum computing, highlighting the seriousness of its intent.
But for the commercial potential of HPC to be fulfilled, organisations need to address two perennial issues: the continuing engineering and computing skills shortage and the high cost and inflexible nature of many systems in use today. At Bull, we believe a combination of talent and technology holds the key.

Intel's next generation processor line-up leaked

Details of Intel's new processor line-up, codenamed 'Broadwell', have been leaked this week. Most likely to be aimed at the notebook and laptop market, smaller machines would set to gain the most from the changes in efficiency and Thermal Design Power (TDP) that the new Intel generation offers.
Broadwell splits the processor types into three: "H" high performance and "Y" and "U" for ultra low voltage.
"H" type processors (high performance) composed of dual chip and single chip types. The dual chip will include four CPU cores and the single chip two cores.
Dual chip processors will include the GT3e or GT2 GPUs and up to 6 MB of L3 cache. It will support up to 32GB of DDR3L memory at 1600mhz. The TDP will be set at 47 watts, and a new chipset, the 'HM97', will be introduced.
The "U" and "Y" series will be single-chip only platforms and house up to two cores with 4MB of L3 cache. "U" models will be able to support up to 16GB of DDR3L-1600 or 8GB of LPDDR3-1600 memory. Both chip types will have either 15 watt or 28 watt TDP.

High battery life

15 watt models of the "U" and "Y" series will come with GT3 and GT2 graphics, while Celeron and Pentium SKUs will be limited to GT1 graphics. 28 watt chips will only be available with the GT3 GPU and will only be offered as Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 products.
Possibly the most interesting in the Broadwell line-up are the "Y" ultra-low power SoCs. The parts in these will fit into a 4.5 watt thermal envelope and a 3.5 watt configurable TDP. The chips will have two CPU cores, GT2 graphics and up to 4MB of L3. The processors will work with LPDDR3-1600 memory and will support up to 8GB of RAM. With such a low power draw this configuration would give netbooks and tablets extremely high battery life.
The 'Broadwell' generation is set for release in Q2 of 2014.

Is Apple already trialling two iWatch prototypes?

According to a 'leak', Apple is already trialing two iWatch prototypes with an estimated launch date of October 2014.
G4Games, which cites Ctech as a source, claims that the iWatch will be released in October next year, possibly alongside a new iPhone. Much in the same way Samsung released the Galaxy Gear and Galaxy Note 3 together.
The website also makes the claim that the prototypes that are currently being tested will feature wireless charging of up to 1 meter away, and house a 100MA battery.
Apple, however, is yet to decide on a screen size for the smartwatch, the website reports.

His, hers, hello?

TechRadar previously reported that the iWatch may come in different sizes catering to both male and female wrists - a rumour that came from the Korean Herald.
But the fact is that we don't even know if the iWatch even exists. Apple has never confirmed or denied its existence and it could well be that these specification and style rumours are unintentionally doing the job for Apple. Whether it exists or not, stay tuned with TechRadar for the latest information.

Google believes voice recognition is the way forward, not screens

Source:  http://www.techradar.com
It's no secret that Google sees a bright future for voice recognition as it continues to expand the technology across devices.
Speaking to The Guardian, Scott Huffman, senior engineering director at Google, made it clear that Google sees voice as playing one of the biggest roles in this crazy new age of wearable tech - possibly more so than screens and keyboards.
"We have a super computer in our pockets, but also one in our watch, one in our glasses, maybe on our label as well as our laptop," said Huffman.
"Some of those have a screen and a keyboard but some won't, and we're seeing dramatic growth in the numbers of people interacting through voice recognition."
However, in light of the NSA surveillance ordeal, Huffman added that Google's standard of encryption will also be found in its voice tech.

Talking point

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster recently tested Google Now and Apple's Siri by putting 800 questions to each assistant, finding that Google Now had made the most significant improvement since last year – though both now stand at a C+ rating on the Munster scale.
With Google Glass preparing to roll out into the mainstream and a possible Google smartwatch on the horizon, a reliance on voice recognition means that the tech is going to have to be up to scratch.
"We're still working on the recognition of accents, and there are a litany of problems. But when it works, it is magic," added Huffman.
Even if he does say so himself.