Smartphone Archives - Technical Direct

The Importance of An Impartial Third Party Testing Lab

04/21/201705/11/2017EN_Tech_Direct

As more and more of us rely on smart devices to lubricate and ease the perpetual motion of our daily activities, we may have alluded or taken for granted the safety and precautionary measures hence provided by industries and manufacturers.

Recent media coverage regarding the safety of consumer electronic devices, have caught our attention; especially when many of our gadgets today are manufactured and tested by the same institutions. Hence, possibly causing flaws or biased judgment during the certification process. Therefore, when another related incident from a product which, was born via this “α & Ω solution”. We as a responsible and professional institution had to ask ourselves the dodgy question we’ve all known for a while by now. “Is a one way arrangement from drawing board to certification and manufacturing, really what we want?” However, in defense of multinational conglomerates one must understand the implications and benefits of having everything wrapped up together as a single package. The following, will endeavor to shed light on these issues and possible alternatives that may further and promote better safety and scrutiny towards certification and compliance standards.

[The Dual between Titans] The Search for performance Excelsior

08/25/201605/11/2017EN_Tech_Direct

With the dazzling appearance of ever more sophisticated, cheaper and cool smart phones many providers are faced with the unprecedented challenge of churning up ever more sophisticated devices, to satisfy the unquenchable thirst of our gadget addicted society.

Naturally we look towards our surrounding tech gurus or nerds for inspiration, especially when our pockets are involved. Yet, instead of a prejudice overview we are bombarded with an objective view from their personal experience. Here at Allion we examine each product with an omnipotent perspective; starting from 2015 we have routinely published “The smart phone user experience” as a pinnacle towards the review of various smart devices. With state of the art equipment to examine the display, camera, acoustics and GPS functions, with exceptional reviews from our readers.

For this review our study group has chosen 4 upcoming high-end smart phones for a review and Competitive Analysis; this not only helps producers better understand their products, but also has a definitive effect on market placement and SWOT analysis. Through this we at Allion are able to locate possible flaws and provide optimal solutions for our clients.

Smartphone Wi-Fi Analysis

05/30/201605/11/2017EN_Tech_Direct

Smartphones have many functions. We have talked about four functions in the previous articles (display, camera, audio and touch). This time around, we introduce Wi-Fi testing for smartphones. In Wi-Fi testing, we test in the laboratory and in simulated real-world environments, such as office and home. By testing in different environments, our tests results will more closely resemble consumer behavior.

Smartphone User Experience Analysis-Touch

02/15/201605/11/2017EN_Tech_Direct

Most smartphones include touch interfaces so that users can use simple gestures, like dragging, scrolling, sliding, or swiping to interact with their phone. Although touch technology is not new, some touch screens still perform poorly. In the ultra-competitive smartphone market, delivering a quality user experience is the key to success.

In this article, we explore some important factors that contribute to smartphone touch screen quality. To understand these factors, we present some recent testing that our smartphone validation team performed. These tests evaluated touch screen sensitivity, interference capability, scroll/drag performance, etc. To help the reader understand the test details, we have provided visual aids and summary tables below.

Smartphone User Experience Analysis – Audio (II)

02/01/201605/11/2017EN_Tech_Direct

It is difficult to find information about smartphone audio input testing because the techniques are so uncommon and complicated. Since Allion has conducted audio testing for many years, we have accumulated a body of knowledge and practical experience in audio input testing, including testing of headphone input jacks and built-in microphones. In this article, we present our audio input test methods and some sample test results based on some recent test data.

Smartphone User Experience Analysis – Audio (I)

01/20/201605/11/2017EN_Tech_Direct

Many people use smartphones to play music or record sounds. Due to the fast pace of technological change and fierce competition, consumers have high expectations of smartphone audio performance. Audio tests are usually subjective, but Allion applies objective laboratory methods to detect differences in smartphone audio quality.

Smartphone User Experience Analysis – Camera

12/18/201505/10/2017EN_Tech_Direct

Photo taking is a popular smartphone activity, as reflected in the rise of the selfie and apps like Instagram, and as a result, camera performance is important to users. As technology advances, camera module specifications steadily improve. At this point, image resolution and feature sets are comparable to those found in consumer-grade digital cameras.

Smartphone User Experience Analysis – Display

11/30/201505/11/2017EN_Tech_Direct

Thanks to the rapid adoption of mobile communication technology, smartphones are now central to our daily lives. At the same time, smartphone manufacturers are constantly seeking innovative ways to differentiate their products in a crowded global marketplace. As a result of this consumer demand and industry innovation, smartphone technology is constantly evolving with new and improved features, such as high-resolution cameras, enhanced touchscreens, and optimized audio. Since consumers are so much more discerning, smartphone vendors must not only upgrade hardware specifications; they must also focus on the user experience.

The Rising Technical Standard (3): Car Connectivity Consortium

01/02/201205/10/2017EN_Tech_Direct

clip_image002[4] In recent years, consumer electronics (CE) products with smart features have always become the hottest topic in everywhere. Apart from the already widely-spread CE products, the automotive field has also started being part of the“smart family”. For the automotive market, the Smart Car must be more functional and user-friendly to allow advanced technology adoption, such as In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) and satellite navigation system. As the core device for in-vehicle connectivity, Smartphone plays an important role to make car ‘smart’ in the in-car environment. Thus, two different market fields – Smartphone and In-Vehicle Infotainment, must be compatible with each other. With so many different technologies and functions are added to these two product types, it becomes challenging for them to work together effectively. With the needs of two-way connection between Smartphone and in-vehicle monitor, the latest standard MirrorLink™ introduced by Car Connectivity Consortium is therefore released.