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Author Archives: Eric Hale

HDXPRT 2014

As we’ve talked about in past blog posts, we have encountered a number of challenges in developing HDXPRT 2014. However, we’ve solved a lot of the problems, and this week we have a build that looks pretty stable. So, we’ve started installing and testing the new HDXPRT on a wider range of systems.

Even though we’ve just started testing, I’m happy to say that the new version solves one of the biggest complaints we’ve had about HDXPRT 2012. HDXPRT 2014 is only about half the size of HDXPRT 2012, and it will definitely be available by download.

It also installs and runs much more quickly than HDXPRT 2012. We’ve been able to get results in 2 to 3 hours, including the installation.

We’ll have more details about HDXPRT 2014 in the coming weeks.

A quick reminder: If you weren’t able to attend CES or MWC and would like to get a golden ticket (or one of our cool shirts), please email us at benchmarkxprtsupport@principledtechnologies.com. We don’t want any members of the community to feel left out!

Eric

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It’s always worth asking

Last week, one of our community members asked for a couple of enhancements to WebXPRT. They wanted WebXPRT to be easier to automate, and they made two specific requests:

  •  Add debug/result logs
  • Add the ability to start the test without UI interactions, by using a specific URL or a command line

This is a great example of why we put so much emphasis on the community. We have tried to make the BenchmarkXPRT benchmarks easy to use, but we don’t always face the same testing demands you do. If there’s anything we can do to make these tools more valuable, please let us know by posting on the forums or e-mailing us at benchmarkxprtsupport@principledtechnologies.com.

We are adding those abilities to the upcoming WebXPRT 2014 community preview. Speaking of the community preview, we have been working hard on it, and in the next few weeks, we’ll be talking about what will be in it.

Keep those requests coming!

Eric

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MWC is coming

As you probably know, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) starts Monday in Barcelona. Bill loves gadgets, loves Barcelona, and loves talking about technology, so he’s really looking forward to being there.

Bill’s got a lot to talk about. In January, we released the first community preview for TouchXPRT 2014. Then on February 7, 2014, we released the first community preview for a brand new benchmark: BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android. Not only that, HDXPRT and WebXPRT are in development. And he always loves to hear about new areas where you are interested in having benchmarks.

And that’s not all – If you read Bill and Mark’s post about being at CES, you’ll be happy to know that the Golden Tickets are back! The Golden Tickets let you join the community and get your device tested for free. If you’re a mobile device manufacturer, be sure to find Bill to get yours.

If you want to meet with Bill, send an e-mail to BenchmarkXPRTsupport@principledtechnologies.com. You can also DM us on Twitter at @BenchmarkXPRT.

We hope to see you there!

Eric

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BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android CP1

Last week we released the BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android Community Preview 1 (CP1). As I said in last week’s blog, You wanted it? You got it!, you are free to publish results from this community preview.

We hope you’ll submit results to be published in the BatteryXPRT database. You’ll find the file containing your results in the Android\data\com.batteryxprt\BatteryXPRT\results directory on the SD card of your device. The results directory will contain a time-stamped directory for each run – for example, “2014Feb11142239.” You’ll find a file named Results.xml in the appropriate time-stamped directory. To submit a result, just e-mail the Results.xml file from your run to BenchmarkXPRTsupport@principledtechnologies.com.

The benchmark includes a user manual in the UI. In addition to the benchmark itself, you can also find installation instructions and a design overview in the member’s area.

We’ll make the source code for the community preview available in the next few days.

Given the diversity and changing nature of Android devices, we expect that you may run into some issues. As with any of our community previews, if you encounter any issues, please let us know so we can continue to improve the benchmark as we prepare it for release.

Community previews are only available to community members. If you are not a member, this a great time to join.

After you’ve downloaded CP1, let us know what you think by posting to the forum or e-mailing us at BenchmarkXPRTsupport@principledtechnologies.com.

Eric

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BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android Community Preview 1 is available to community members!

As promised in You Wanted it? You got it!, we are releasing the BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android Community Preview 1. See Community Preview 1 is available! for the details. (login required)

If you are not a community member, it’s easy to join!

Eric

You wanted it? You got it!

As Bill said in Endurance, when we asked what new benchmark people most wanted to see, battery life was number one. Over the past few months, we’ve announced that we’re developing a battery benchmark, solicited input from the community, and have been hard at work developing BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android.

I’m happy to announce that we’re releasing BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android Community Preview 1 (CP1) later this week. CP1, as its name makes clear, is not the final BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android release. There’s still a lot of work to do on the user interface and the new results viewer. However, it’s a great way for everyone in the community to see the current state of our thinking and to provide us with feedback. You can run this version of the tool and see what you think!

As we’ve done with previous community previews, we’re also taking two more steps:

  • We’re not putting any publication restrictions on this preview release. Test at will, and publish your findings.
  • We’re releasing the source code to all community members. If you’re curious about not just what we’re doing but how we’re doing it, you can find out.

As the design document explains, BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android can estimate battery life in less than 6 hours. You can also use it as a rundown test if you prefer. In addition, CP1 is the first of our benchmarks to use the new UI design. Here’s a peek:

BatteryXPRT CP1 home screen

As you can see from the screenshot, you can run the test in Airplane mode or connected to the network. There are other cool features we’ll be talking about once CP1 is available.

We’re really excited about this one. I can’t wait!

Eric

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