Category: MobileXPRT

What are the implications?

on May 14, 2015

It’s been a couple of weeks since the Microsoft Build 2015 conference. There was a lot of interesting news and we are still digesting what it means for the XPRTS, especially TouchXPRT.

Rebuilding TouchXPRT as a universal app has the potential to let it run on a much wider range of devices: PCs, tablets, phones, even the Xbox. This would give TouchXPRT the kind of versatility that we enjoy in the Android space with MobileXPRT and BatteryXPRT.

It’s a lot more complicated to sort out the implications of Microsoft Continuum, which allows you to use your phone as a computer by connecting it to a docking station. The features of your device and the way the apps behave can change based on the display available. Connect the phone to a docking station and it behaves like a desktop. It also means that the hardware and features available on a device could potentially change while you are testing the device. TouchXPRT would need to detect any such changes and respond appropriately.

That’s a lot to think about, and we’ve been experimenting. If you have any thoughts about Windows 10 and benchmarking, please let us know.

Eric

Posted in BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android, MobileXPRT, TouchXPRT, TouchXPRT release cycle, Windows 10 |

WebXPRT 2015

By Eric Hale

on May 7, 2015

Tomorrow we’ll be releasing WebXPRT 2015, with mirror site in Singapore to follow soon. We’ve been talking about it for a while and we’re delighted to finally make it available to the public.

As we’ve discussed over the past few weeks, the new WebXPRT is a big improvement over WebXPRT 2013. Some of the changes are

An improved UI. In addition to a cleaner, sleeker look, the UI now has a progress indicator and on-screen test descriptions. There is also a Simplified Chinese version of the UI.
Test automation. WebXPRT 2015 lets you automate testing, giving labs more flexibility and making it easier to test lots of devices.
New and improved tests. In addition to enhancing the existing tests, WebXPRT 2015 adds two new tests, Explore DNA Sequencing and Sales Graphs.

If you haven’t checked out the new WebXPRT, now is the time!

And remember the design document for the next generation of MobileXPRT should be out by the end of the month. If there are things you would like to see, it’s a great time to let us know.

Eric

Posted in Android, Automation, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Collaborative benchmark development, Future of performance evaluation, MobileXPRT, WebXPRT |

Time for a merger of equals?

By Eric Hale

on April 16, 2015

As I said last week, we’re working on the design document for the new version of MobileXPRT, and we expect to have it out in the next couple of weeks. We have several ideas we’re pretty excited about.

One of the ideas we’ve been considering is merging BatteryXPRT and MobileXPRT into a single benchmark. This would be similar to what we’ve done with CrXPRT, which has tests for both battery life and performance. As with CrXPRT, you’d be able to run either test, and you could get performance and battery life for a device in a single day using a single benchmark.

If we as the community do decide to merge the benchmarks, there will be a lot to think about. For example, MobileXPRT is unaware whether it’s connected to the Internet, while BatteryXPRT not only detects how it’s connected, but selects the appropriate Airplane mode or Network-Wifi Mode test. And, of course, we’d have to figure out what to call it.

What do you think about merging the two benchmarks? Would it make your life simpler? What other features would you like to see in the new MobileXPRT? This is the time to speak up!

Eric

Posted in Battery life, BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Collaborative benchmark development, CrXPRT, Future of performance evaluation, MobileXPRT |

An updated MobileXPRT 2013 build is available

By Eric Hale

on February 20, 2015

Today we’re releasing a new build of MobileXPRT 2013 (b93) at MobileXPRT.com and the Google Play store. The build fixes a problem reported by a reviewer testing the LG G3. The device was going to sleep during the performance test, and causing MobileXPRT to crash after waking up. We’ve seen this problem only on the LG G3, but it may occur on other devices as well.

The new MobileXPRT build keeps the screen active during the run. Scores from this build are comparable with previous MobileXPRT scores.

Click here to download the new MobileXPRT installer (250 MB) directly from our site.

For users who have limited bandwidth or trouble accessing the Google Play store, downloading the APK files (16.9 MB total) may make installation easier.

Download the updated MobileXPRT APK (10.3 MB) directly from our site.

Download the updated MobileXPRT UX Tests APK (7.6 MB) directly from our site.

If you have any questions about the update or any other XPRT-related topic, feel free to contact us at BenchmarkXPRTsupport@principledtechnologies.com.

Posted in Android, BenchmarkXPRT development community, MobileXPRT, Performance benchmarking, Performance testing on tablets |

Staying Awake

By Eric Hale

on February 19, 2015

Here in the Eastern US, we’re in a deep freeze. Wherever you are, I hope you’re comfortable and safe.

Tomorrow, we’ll be releasing a patch to MobileXPRT. This patch fixes a problem first reported in a Tom’s Hardware review of the LG G3. The reviewer was not able to get MobileXPRT to run to completion on that device. We looked at the problem and found that the LG G3 was going to sleep during the performance test, and that when the device woke up, MobileXPRT caught an exception and crashed. This problem appeared to be specific to the LG G3, but could occur on other devices as well.

When we changed MobileXPRT to keep the screen active during the run of the app, the benchmark ran on LG G3 without any issues. We’ve tested this fix on our entire test bed and found that it works well. As always, the results remain comparable with previous versions.

We’ve made the same change in BatteryXPRT and are testing it now. Testing BatteryXPRT takes more time than testing MobileXPRT, but we hope to release the patch soon.

In other news, Bill is going to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, March 2-4, and he would love to meet you. If you are also planning to go, let us know.

Eric

Posted in Android, Battery life, BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android, Mobile World Congress, MobileXPRT |

Welcome to 2015

By Eric Hale

on January 8, 2015

Happy 2015! We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season. I certainly did.

Back at the beginning of December, we talked about an intermittent problem that BatteryXPRT was having on the Nexus 9. We fixed the problem shortly after that, but delayed the release to test it on Android 5.01. The testing is complete, and we’ll be releasing BatteryXPRT 2014 v102 next week. As before, it will be available from Google Play and from the BatteryXPRT.com page.

In the last blog post, we recapped come of the highlights of 2014. Moving forward into 2015, WebXPRT 2015 is in development and we’re thinking ahead to the next version of MobileXPRT. We’ll be at Mobile World Congress in March, and at IDF China in April. We’ll tell you about our plans for those conferences over the next few weeks. If you’re planning to be at either of those shows, let us know! We’d love to talk to you.

We’re also planning some exciting new things in 2015. We can’t talk about them yet, but, personally, I can’t wait!

Wishing you all the best in the New Year!

Eric

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Posted in Android, BatteryXPRT 2014 for Android, IDF, Mobile World Congress, MobileXPRT |

Category: MobileXPRT

What are the implications?

WebXPRT 2015

Time for a merger of equals?

An updated MobileXPRT 2013 build is available

Staying Awake

Welcome to 2015

Check out the other XPRTs: