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Tag: ion

  • Mozilla Firefox 83 Sports Major JavaScript Performance Boost

    Mozilla Firefox 83 Sports Major JavaScript Performance Boost

    Mozilla’s latest Firefox release, version 83.0, boosts a major increase to JavaScript performance.

    JavaScript, once mainly used for animations and menus, is one of the most important languages of the web. Thanks to JavaScript, developers are able to create complex web applications, many of which rival desktop applications for functionality.

    Unfortunately, running JavaScript-heavy websites is one of the most challenging aspects of a web browser’s duties. Every major browser manufacturer constantly works to increase JavaScript performance and responsiveness.

    Mozilla’s latest version of Firefox significantly boosts the browser’s performance thanks to a major update to its SpiderMonkey JavaScript engine. The new update, called Warp or WarpBuilder, makes changes to the Just-In-Time (JIT) compilers.

    With Warp (also called WarpBuilder) we’re making big changes to our JIT (just-in-time) compilers, resulting in improved responsiveness, faster page loads and better memory usage. The new architecture is also more maintainable and unlocks additional SpiderMonkey improvements.

    Traditionally, JavaScript is an interpreted language. That means the code is interpreted on the fly as it is executed. This can result in major performance issues, especially when code must be executed repeatedly, such as code loops. JIT compilers help solve this problem by compiling and storing frequently used code, speeding up operations.

    Firefox’s latest boost comes from significantly optimizing those JIT compilers, resulting in significant real-world gains over Warp’s predecessor Ion.

    Warp is faster than Ion on many workloads. The picture below shows a couple examples: we had a 20% improvement on Google Docs load time, and we are about 10-12% faster on the Speedometer benchmark.

    We’ve seen similar page load and responsiveness improvements on other JS-intensive websites such as Reddit and Netflix. Feedback from Nightly users has been positive as well.

    Although Firefox is no longer the leading browser, in terms of market share, it continues to be a major player. Its improved performance, not to mention emphasis on privacy, will hopefully help it gain some ground against its larger rivals.

  • Sony Announces Xperia Ion at CES

    Sony Announces Xperia Ion at CES

    The amazing phones keep rolling in and Sony is ready to tempt you away.

    Sony announced during CES their first LTE smartphone, the Xperia ion. The phone is significant for more than just its specs. It’s the first phone from Sony to drop the Sony-Ericsson label in favor of just Sony.

    The Xperia ion features a 4.6-inch HD display at a 1280 x 720 resolution that is sure to provide brilliant video. While it’s not as crazy as the HTC Titan II, the Xperia ion has a camera that more than makes for up its smaller size at a not-too-shabby 12 megapixels by featuring Sony’s new Fast Capture technology that has the phone going from standby to shoot mode in 1.5 seconds. Both the front and rear cameras provide HD recording capabilities as well.

    “With Xperia ion, we’re bringing together several firsts that will take users beyond the smartphone,” Paul Hamnett, President, Sony Ericsson North America said. “Designed to deliver a seamless experience across the multiple screens we use to play, watch, listen, and share, Xperia ion is the gateway to entertainment when and – most importantly – where you want it.”

    Xperia ion will also boast its access to the massive Sony Entertainment Network. Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited provide tons of choices for consumers. The device is also PlayStation certified so it will offer some of the best gaming experiences that a smartphone can deliver.

    The phone’s innards feature a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 16GB internal flash storage and runs on Android 2.3.

    The most interesting feature is the devices’s ability to display on a variety of screens using DLNA, HDMI or Sony’s own Bravia sync service. This means that users will be able to transfer the display and information from their phones onto their TV, tablet, laptop or other smartphones.

    CES 2012 is already proving to be the year that every manufacturer tries to bring something new to the smartphone arena that is actually worthwhile. Sony has made one of the best cases so far for their new device. The ability to transfer a phone’s display to a TV or any other device for that matter might end up being a major game changer for smartphones, but we have yet to see.

    Expect to see the Xperia ion from AT&T in the second quarter.