Connectivity – The plaintive cry from the back seat of “Are we there yet?” is familiar to any parent who ever took a child on a car trip, even a short one. Perhaps this will be replaced with a cry of “Are we connected yet?”
The connectivity of mobile (and non-mobile) devices has increased dramatically over the past couple years to the point where the feeling that everyone is, and must be, connected to everyone else as well as everything at all times.
The heart and soul of this connectivity is the Smart Phone. In case you weren’t aware of just how far connectivity in smart phones has gone, the table gives the connectivity specifications for two of the latest and hottest smart phones, the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and the iPhone 6 Plus
| Samsung Galaxy Note Edge | Apple iPhone 6 Plus | |
| Display | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (Multitouch) with 5.6 inch (141.9mm) Quad HD Super AMOLED (2560 x 1440 + 160) The 160 pixels are on the edge so you can read the time and other things while the Edge is lying face down on your nightstand. | Retina HD display: 5.5-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit widescreen Multi?Touch display with IPS technology. 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution at 401 ppi. 1300:1 contrast ratio (typical). 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical) and full sRGB colorimetry. |
| Operating System | Android OS, v4.4.4 (KitKat) Multitasking and multi-window | iOS 8 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 | Apple A8 chip with 64-bit architecture and a M8 motion coprocessor |
| Cameras | ||
| Rear(For real photos) | 16 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Smart OIS, HDR (Rich tone), Selective Focus, Rear-cam Selfie, Beauty face, Virtual Tour Shot, Shot & More, Dual Camera. | New 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, autofocus with focus pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture, optical image stabilization, true tone flash, five-element lens, hybrid IR filter, backside illumination sensor, sapphire crystal lens cover,auto HDR for photos, panorama (up to 43 megapixels), burst mode, tap to focus. FHD video recording at up to 120Hz for slow-motion. |
| Front(For Selfies) | 3.7 Mega pixel camera with f1.9 for Selfie and Wide Selfie. | 1.2-megapixel photos (1280 by 960), ƒ/2.2 aperture, 720p HD video recording |
| Connectivity | ||
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO | Wi?Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| GPS | GPS and GLONASS, the Russian version of GPS. BeiDou, (AKA COMPASS) the Chinese version of GPS is expected on Asian versions of the phone | GPS and GLONASS, iBeacon microlocation |
| Other | NFC, Bluetooth v 4.1 (BLE, ANT+), IR LED (Remote Control), USB2.0, MHL 3.0 | NFC (Apple Pay), Bluetooth 4.0, Lightning connector. |
| Sensors & Interfaces | Gesture, Accelerometer, Geo-magnetic, Gyroscope, RGB, IR-LED, Proximity, Barometer, Hall Sensor, Finger Scanner, UV, Heart Rate Monitoring, SpO2 (blood oxygen level, Dependent on market) | Fingerprint sensor, Digital compass, barometer, three-axis gyro. Accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor. |
| Video and audio mirroring | AllShare mirroring using Android Miracast technology to any Miracast equipped smart TV. | AirPlay mirroring, photos, audio, and video out to Apple TV (2nd generation or later) |
| Source: Samsung and Apple, Compiled by Matthew Brennesholtz | ||
Oh, and by the way, you can also make phone calls on both phones, with GSM and CDMA versions available for both phones, depending on country and carrier.
These two phones have the tools needed to interface to almost anything, although there are a couple of holes. If you care about USB interfacing when you have Wi-Fi, don’t buy an Apple iPhone. MHL connectivity from Apple requires an external box. Also, Apple will only mirror content to Apple TVs, not to Android smart TVs such as Samsung or LG that use Qualcomm Miracast technology. While I’m sure the Galaxy Note will record video, the Samsung website was silent on the capabilities of the front and rear cameras.
There is no sign that the mobile industry is ending its race to add more interfaces and make interfaces smaller, faster, higher bandwidth, lower power, etc. Some examples of new interfacing hardware and software plucked from my e-mail inbox:
- Silicon Image announces automotive grade MHL products for the in-vehicle infotainment market to be shown at CES
- Ford SYNC AppLink and Life360 to introduce new feature to help drivers focus on the road and stay connected to family at CES. Is this an oxymoron? If you are connected to family, by definition you aren’t focusing on the road.
- Murata and Elliptic Labs will promote touchless gesture capabilities using ultra-sound at CES.
- If the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 isn’t good enough, the Snapdragon 810 is on the way for delivery in mid-2015.
- Analogix is shipping SlimPort, a mobile version of the DisplayPort interface.
- A keynote speaker won’t be good enough for CES – they are planning a keynote panel titled “How Mobile is Fundamentally Changing Our World” with panelists from Electrolux, General Motors, Philips and Qualcomm.
- Lattice Semiconductor announced industry’s lowest power “always listening” voice detection and recognition solutions for mobile devices on December 15th.
- MHL, LLC has developed an MHL Alternate Mode (“Alt Mode”) for the USB Type-C specification, which can support the MHL 3 specification, which includes 4K video, multi-channel surround sound audio, HDCP 2.2 and is backward compatible with existing versions of the MHL specification.
- Silicon Image launched on December 4th a new subsidiary to focus on Internet of Everything services. Qualcomm will participates with a strategic investment.
This is only a sample of advances in connectivity. We can expect many, many more connectivity announcements, demonstrations and products to be shown at the International CES, January 6 – 9 in Las Vegas.
What can you connect to? Well, the short answer is everything. Family, friends, business colleagues, the World Wide Web, your automobile, refrigerator, air conditioner, baby monitor, Christmas lights and virtually anything else you can name. If something isn’t directly connected, just get a home control system to connect it for you. My favorite? The Grush gaming toothbrush. Wireless connectivity, of course, and free apps for your smartphone. Soon we’ll be hearing, “Mom, I can’t brush my teeth because my toothbrush won’t connect!” If you don’t believe me, go see Grush at Eureka Park in the Sands at CES. –Matthew Brennesholtz
