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Want to know which phone, tablet, or PC has the fastest processor? You might turn to benchmarking tests like Antutu or 3DMark. These tests don’t always paint a solid picture of real-world performance, but they can at least help you figure out which device performs certain CPU or GPU-intensive tasks the quickest.
Or at least they would if you could trust the scores… but unfortunately many device makers employ tricks to boost the performance of their products when running those tests.
The good news is that benchmark makers aren’t taking this sitting down — one of the biggest names in PC benchmarks recently started offering tools for testing mobile devices — and in response to rampant cheating, FutureMark is refusing to rank devices with fishy scores — including recent big name products such as the Samsung Galaxy Note III and HC One.
Here’s a roundup of tech news from around the web.
- Cheaters never win: 3DMark delists benchmark results for some HTC, Samsung devices with suspicious scores
Smartphone and tablet makers have been known to include software tweaks on their devices to boost scores in benchmark tests — providing a slightly unrealistic picture of real-world performance. The benchmark makers are starting to fight back. [FutureMark] - Android 4.4 KitKat is rolling out to HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Editions
The fastest way to get Android updates is to have a recent Google Nexus device. But the second fastest may be to have a Google Play Edition device — the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 updates came pretty quickly. [+Android] - Samsung ChatON messaging app adds SMS/MMS integration (for Germany, Brazil only at launch)
Google isn’t the only company merging its chat app with SMS and MMS functionality. [Google Play] - OK Chromebook: Google launches voice search plugin for Chrome
As expected, Google is bringing voice search to Chrome OS. You’ll have to install a plugin at this point, since it’s still a beta. But once installed, you can start talking to your Chromebook or PC running Chrome OS (and maybe expect a response).[+Google] - ZTE smartwatch on the way
The list of companies *not* working on a smartwatch is starting to feel smaller than the list of those that are. [Digital Trends] - BLU introduces Life Pro $299 smartphone
Budget smartphone maker BLU has introduces its most powerful phone yet. But it’s still cheaper than most decent unlocked Android handsets. [Android Police] - Google Street View adds airports, train, subway stations
Find the nearest Dunkin Donuts or Hudson News. Oh right, it’s probably right behind you. [Google Lat Long]
You can keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.
Ehm i believe if everybody can live peacefully to each other then we can live much happier. Too bad now human are already very corrupted with those materialistic things. We are tend to kill our competitor so we can live longer.
I do missed the old day when live was more simpler. No fancy gadgets and those high-tech. Everything was still manual, i loved it. Called me old fashioned but don’t care. I do missed those olden day.
Nowaday we become too greedy and this is what happened if we only aim for profit. No more ethics and shamed. Sad really, the more we advance the more down “lesser human” we become.
It’s really sad that the Android phone makers resort to this.
It’s the kind of thing that happens whenever there’s a competitive marketplace, rather than a monopoly. Compare with telecoms, energy etc. Plenty of scamming going on there too (e.g. misrepresentation of wholesale gas prices etc).
You are sure easy to please. Monopolies are bad, competition is bad, what is good in your world?
In reality ethics wins out and generally respect taking a lifetime to build can be lost in a minute. Result? Nobody trusts Android benchmarks anymore. 5 years from now people will still not trust Android benchmarks. Was it worth it? Of course not!
Do you think the US will quickly gain trust for its Spygate scandal? NO!
For that matter, does anybody outside New England believe the Patriots really earned the first few Super Bowls with their Spygate scandal? NO!
Cheating is never worth it.