NEC's liquid-cooled smartphone: Gimmick?

[Dari]

Title says it all. If someone could explained what the advantage/disadvantage of this is (in a smartphone), I'd be grateful. I'm in the process of building new computer and considered water-cooled system. But I heard that you will eventually get molds in your computer case. I'd hate to have mold growing out of my smartphone and into my ear...

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NEC's Medias X smartphone for DoCoMo features first-ever liquid-cooled CPU


NEC's just broken some new ground with the Medias X, the world's first liquid-cooled smartphone that was launched as part of DoCoMo's summer lineup. Rather than aiming it at the propeller-heads usually associated with that tech, though, NEC and DoCoMo are marketing it toward women in the same patronizing manner as the infamous HTC Rhyme and Fujitsu Arows Kiss F-03D. But back to the handset itself: cooling for the quad-core Snapdragon 600 CPU works via a liquid-charged tube from the processor to a graphite "radiator" along the system board that disperses heat. We're not exactly sure why the phone needs it, though, as the rest of the specs don't exactly scream overheating: Android 4.2, a 4.7-inch 720p display, LTE and a 13.1-megapixel Exmor RS camera. Though NEC claims the phone runs much cooler than a standard model (see the graphic after the break), we haven't heard too many complaints about hot phones lately -- but perhaps we're hanging with the wrong crowd.

 

[chimaxi83]

Title says it all. If someone could explained what the advantage/disadvantage of this is (in a smartphone), I'd be grateful. I'm in the process of building new computer and considered water-cooled system. But I heard that you will eventually get molds in your computer case. I'd hate to have mold growing out of my smartphone and into my ear...

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Mold out of your phone and into your ear.... You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?

 

[Skurge]

Liquid does not always mean water.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Meh, 720p screen. Save your fluid, give me pixels.

 

[Eruditass]

Cooling phones is hard, this can allow much better hardware... but honestly, mobile fans are fast enough as it is. Battery life and software need to catch up.

Also, I'm curious about ruggedness?

 

[Eruditass]

Meh, 720p screen. Save your fluid, give me pixels.

Sure that's one use of extra hardware (and use battery life), but anything around 300 dpi is more than enough for me.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Sure that's one use of extra hardware (and use battery life), but anything around 300 dpi is more than enough for me.

I can EASILY tell the difference between 1080p and 720p phones at normal viewing distance.

Especially the Note 2. The fonts on that thing look like my old S2.

 

[Dari]

Mold out of your phone and into your ear.... You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?

Yeah, into your ears. Molds are pretty flexible when it comes to where they live. I'm sure the moist, dark canals of our ears would suit them just find, genius.

 

[ChronoReverse]

To be fair, the Note 2 isn't 300dpi (only about 267?).

 

[darkswordsman17]

I think its a good idea but a little unnecessary right now.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

if this actually works it would be cool. my razr gets pretty hot sometimes, esp when i rippin' off varizin and watchin' videas using ma hotspot

 

[Crono]

I can EASILY tell the difference between 1080p and 720p phones at normal viewing distance.

Especially the Note 2. The fonts on that thing look like my old S2.

I don't think the resolution makes much of a difference, the pixel density of the display and the display type does. You might be able to discern the difference if you had two of the *exact* same phone but running at different resolution side-by-side.

Even on a 60" display at 10 feet, 1080p vs 720p isn't an appreciable difference. You really need something like an 80" display to appreciate 1080p. Even more for a 4k display.

 

[poofyhairguy]

You might be able to discern the difference if you had two of the *exact* same phone but running at different resolution side-by-side.

Yes.

When I went to the AT&T store they had the LG Optimus G right next to the HTC One. The Optimus G screen looked TERRIBLE next to the One.

 

[Skurge]

I don't think the resolution makes much of a difference, the pixel density of the display and the display type does. You might be able to discern the difference if you had two of the *exact* same phone but running at different resolution side-by-side.

Even on a 60" display at 10 feet, 1080p vs 720p isn't an appreciable difference. You really need something like an 80" display to appreciate 1080p. Even more for a 4k display.

I can easily tell the difference with smaller TVs at that distance. I can't imagine using an 80" TV at "Only" 1080p.

 

[Zaap]

Yeah, into your ears. Molds are pretty flexible when it comes to where they live. I'm sure the moist, dark canals of our ears would suit them just find, genius.

Yes, because of course it wouldn't be a closed loop or anything, just liquid sloshing free in the phone and out the earpiece.

Anyway.... I've always thought maybe liquid cooled laptops would make sense, but smartphones? Seems like if a phone was overclocked enough to warrant it, the battery life would be crap.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Maybe it's just a heatpipe and they're just making a big deal out of it in order to have a "unique selling point"

 

[Ravynmagi]

My Nexus 4 with a Qualcomm S4 Pro and a 1280x768 display gets hot as hell. Some parts of the back almost get too hot to touch. It's certainly a very uncomfortable level of heat.

And it was Anandtech's review that showed the phone throttling due to heat (and maybe software issues).

So I can definitely seeing improvements to cooling being a benefit for the Nexus 4, if not other phones. Dunno if this phone is really doing something new and innovative or if it's just a marketing gimmick though. But I'd like to see better cooling solutions on phones and some tablets could use them too.

 

[Hunt3rj2]

Alternatively, we can make the phone out of a metal unibody and accomplish the same thing?

Seriously, just try running the AC over a phone like the One. The rate that it cools down is on the order of tens of seconds. Polymer-bodied phones take minutes.

 

[QueBert]

15 minutes in GPS mode in my window dock in Cali heat and my Nexus 4 shuts off. It's completely unusable in the summer as a GPS. Every other cell phone I've had did the same thing, some just took longer than others to shut down. My standalone GPS could go an hour in direct 110 degree heat and never shut down. Phones need A LOT better cooling imho.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I wonder if the glass back on the Nexus 4 screws up this thermal dissipation properties?

 

[Crono]

Yes.

When I went to the AT&T store they had the LG Optimus G right next to the HTC One. The Optimus G screen looked TERRIBLE next to the One.

Those are two different screens, though. The LG Optimus G has 320 DPI vs 468 DPI, and they are probably calibrated differently. If you want a good test, try looking at 720p vs 1080p content on the same phone. There is a very minimal difference - very hard to tell - between 1080p and 720p on my One. 720p video looks just about as good as 1080p on it.

I can easily tell the difference with smaller TVs at that distance. I can't imagine using an 80" TV at "Only" 1080p.

I'm not doubting that you could, but given the same television with the same source material but at different resolutions, 1080p vs 720p, there isn't a significant difference at normal television viewing distance. Now maybe you are more sensitive to video quality or you are looking very carefully, but in a blind quality test most people probably either wouldn't able to tell the difference or it wouldn't be enough to sway a purchasing decision.

Closer to the television, though, like with computer monitor viewing distances and yes 1080p makes a bigger difference.

 

[Eruditass]

I can EASILY tell the difference between 1080p and 720p phones at normal viewing distance.

Especially the Note 2. The fonts on that thing look like my old S2.

So can I, that wasn't my point. I said for me, the difference hardly matters, for my most content and use cases. For videos, compression level matters way more. Also, the Note 2 is 267 DPI.

One area it could be useful for me is desktop real estate with per-app DPI and multitasking.

 

[Imouto]

Mold out of your phone and into your ear.... You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?

Mold in his brain likely.

 

[zaydq]

I can EASILY tell the difference between 1080p and 720p phones at normal viewing distance.

Especially the Note 2. The fonts on that thing look like my old S2.

That has to do with pixel density... A 4.7" 1080p screen has > pixel density than a 4.7" 720p screen.


Likewise for the optimus g. One has higher ppi. Its not the res only. Its res and screen size.

Im sure the screen on a one will look 100x better than your 42" 1080p tv at the same viewing distance of a phone... Just common sense.

 

[Dari]

Maybe it's just a heatpipe and they're just making a big deal out of it in order to have a "unique selling point"

It's marketed towards women...