JamesDax
New member
The Sony Experia Z using the S4 pro is now also suffering from sudden death problems... Hmmm...
Nice reach. ***** harder.
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The Sony Experia Z using the S4 pro is now also suffering from sudden death problems... Hmmm...
Incorrect. No way MSFT only coded wp8 to use an S4 processor. They would not be that shortsighted.
Incorrect. No way MSFT only coded wp8 to use an S4 processor. They would not be that shortsighted.
@OP
IMHO this destroyed WP8's chance of ever pulling ahead of the pack in mobile gaming, because all WP8 games will now be restricted to running on whatever a 225 can handle at 1280x868... in other words, gaming on WP8 will never be more than 'me too' efforts. That could and should have been different.
I can't see how you can make any solid judgement on how games are going to perform on WP8, there simply aren't enough examples that truly push the platform to the limit. There are many advantages WP8 has over Android in terms of API and optimisation that make it a more attractive platform for developers (market share aside).
Regarding resolution maybe I'm getting old, but in my opinion most of the best games ever made had a native resolution of 576i (or below if you live in NTSC land). This obsession with HD resolution on sub 5 inch screens is just getting stupid as is summing up the performance of any component using a single metric; cameras in megapixels, processors in GHz or audio amplifiers in Watts. If you want to know why WP8 is a currently a "me too" gaming platform for high budget mobile titles, read Paul's articles on "How Microsoft can save Xbox gaming", they list the real factors that affect developers decisions as cited by the developers themselves, I don't remember seeing Microsoft's GPU choice in there.
You're referring to developer reasoning for not choosing windows phone to target from a business perspective, not the physical limitations of the hardware itself. Its no secret that the Adreno 225 is weak compared to the competition. The S4 is coming, the iPhone had it beat before it even released, and the Adreno can only beat devices of yesterday. This is what was meant by the platform never being able to reach a higher status in the gaming department because you simply can't hurdle hardware limitations, no matter how much love/hate you have for the platform...
It's pure technical beauty when you understand the entire picture.
What I'm not sure about is if Qualcomm developed the drivers for Windows Phone and sells them along with the chipset or if Microsoft develops these drivers. The manufacturers, like Nokia, could also be responsible and simply license the drivers to the others who want to save time.
I can tell you are a like minded developer! Completely agree again. That technical beauty is exactly what drew me into the WP platform, although I think that beauty extends to many of WP's related policies and strategies as well. All of this combines to form a perfectly coordinated system of technology, processes and rules that has remained surprisingly pure. I wish this was apparent to everyone. Even amongst developers the ability to see that deep into the system and appreciate it is rare!
Qualcomm develops the drivers for Android. For WP the drivers are a joint effort. From what I gather (I have contacts in Redmond), Qualcomm completes a few select tasks and offers guidance, but it is Microsoft that does most of the work.
Windows Phone 8 is not limited to the Snapdragon S4 in any way.
Windows Phone 8 resembles Windows 8.
They use driver files in the same format and same way.
Sure it is not limited to Snapdragon S4 but currently it is the ONLY SoC that is supported. OEMs can't use other processors until Microsoft says so and have driver ready. Same goes for screen resolutions. The Windows Phone 8 SDK already have resolutions like 1080p or even higher listed but currently OEMs can only make phones as high as 768p or 720p. They can not release 1080p WP8 phones until MS says so.
If you want to know why WP8 is a currently a "me too" gaming platform for high budget mobile titles, read Paul's articles on "How Microsoft can save Xbox gaming", they list the real factors that affect developers decisions as cited by the developers themselves, I don't remember seeing Microsoft's GPU choice in there.
I can't see how you can make any solid judgement on how games are going to perform on WP8, there simply aren't enough examples that truly push the platform to the limit.