MegaFon Mint - answers to questions, denials of allegations

What does the MegaFon Mint ticket scanner look like? Is it true, as Eldar Murtazin writes, the WiDi interface does not work in Mint? What are the performance indicators of the device, based on the most popular tests? Does Mint have GLONASS support? Which games go to Mint and which don't? What are the prospects for updating Android? As agreed, in this post we answer the questions of the viewers of the hub users, as well as our own.

What does a ticket scanner look like?

As already mentioned in the first post, the communicator is equipped with an NFC interface - Near Field Communication, which allows you to exchange information wirelessly over a short distance. NFC has recently become a fashionable topic, but its real applications - one, two, and miscalculated. It’s all the more pleasant to see in MegaFon Mint not only acting, but also a useful thing - a ticket scanner in the subway, working just through NFC. How the scanning program works is visible in the photo.



The program starts automatically when a ticket is presented, it can also be launched with the MegaFon TicketInfo shortcut.
The next step would be logical to go directly to the fare using a telephone, especially since NFC was created just for this.

What is the performance of Mint?

As usual, the use of the new platform raises a lot of questions about its performance. Naturally, having received communicators on hand, testers began to drive various tests and programs on it. We also decided to keep up and compared the main indicators of the popular AnTuTu test with Mint and the most popular communicators of the same price range.

	MegaFon Mint	HTC One S	Samsung Galaxy S II	Sony Xperia P
CPU Integer	1297	2405	2055	1364
CPU Float	896	1001	858	903
2D Graphics	288	300	294	292
3D Graphics	722	1266	1244	1013
Read / Write from SD	150/169	299/116	226/81	679/222
Memory	907	1514	1382	718
Total score	4894	7170	6336	5048

As we see, Mint as a whole loses to its ARM rivals, which, with a high degree of probability, is associated with optimizing the test for the ARM architecture. Surely in the near future there will be tests compiled for Intel, then we will measure honestly. The low 3D performance is most likely related to the same thing: there is hardware acceleration, but the test does not know how to use it.
In the last column, I cited a phone that is slightly inferior to the others in terms of filling, but nevertheless relevant at the moment and, moreover, located in the same price category due to the mark-up for the brand. As we can see, the results are approximately the same (Sony's crazy reading speed will be left without comments). Thus, Mint cannot be called an outsider, rather, it is a platform that has not yet revealed its potential.

Does Mint Wireless Display (WiDi) work?

We have repeatedly written about Intel WiDi technology on Intel 's blog . WiDi support is declared in the list of Mint functionality, however, in the test of the communicator on the mobile-review site, Eldar Murtazin mentions that he could not get it to work:

It was not possible to get this technology to work under Windows 7 and MacBook Air 2012. After going through all the computers at home, he waved his hand. I don’t think that this proprietary technology will be in demand by anyone.

Let's figure it out - and there are actually two questions.

1. Is it possible to transfer images from a communicator to a laptop or PC using WiDi? The answer is negative. WiDi is a technology for one-way image transfer from a laptop (with a specific hardware) to a TV or set-top box. The laptop cannot act as a WiDi signal receiver, only as a transmitter. Therefore, the experience of Eldar was doomed to failure in advance. We also note that WiDi software works only under the Windows 7 operating system, so the MacBook Air doesn’t snap on WiDi in any way.
2. Is the WiDi interface functional in MegaFon Mint? The answer is yes. The WiDi performance was demonstrated directly at the launch of Mint, when the video shot on the communicator was displayed on the plasma panel using WiDi. Moreover, for re-testing, we conducted an experiment with the device that fell into our hands. Everything went without a hitch, without a hitch - exactly as in the video below. Only in Russian. Taking this opportunity, I want to thank vikky13 for valuable advice, moral support and provided equipment.

Demonstration of Intel WiDi on Orange San Diego - the twin of Mint

As for the demand for WiDi - we will not enter into the discussion, we will only express our point of view. Wireless image transmission technology is necessary in the ecosystem of home or office portable electronics, it logically fits into the concept of “a mobile device should not have wires”. So this kind of standard will certainly find its application, and whether it will be WiDi or some other - the question is complex. We can only say for certain that Intel will make every effort to advance its technology.
By the way, Mint is the only WiDi-enabled device on the market right now. So exclusivity is also present in it.

Does Mint support GLONASS?

The statement about the presence of GLONASS appears again in the mobile-review test.

GPS - there is hardware GPS, including GLONASS support, no complaints.

So, GLONASS in Mint is missing . Generally absent. Well, that is, he is not there at all. Honestly.
More at this point to say, it turns out, nothing. And a screenshot of the lack of GLONASS also does not work.

What about video and games in Mint? Will there be an Android update to ICS for Mint?

These questions are not coincidentally combined.
Unfortunately, to date, many video formats are not played on Mint due to the lack of codecs. Installing third-party players and codec libraries does not solve the problem, since they are all written for the ARM architecture and do not know how to use its advantages. Therefore, please do not try to install programs like MX Player - now you know why they do not work. What are the benefits of the Intel Atom processor?? It can decode a number of video formats in hardware (MPEG4.2, H.234, WMV & VC1). Using these formats, video playback quality increases dramatically, and energy consumption decreases. The solution pre-installed in MegaFon Mint, which allows using hardware decoding, is a doubleTwist player. The agent of the player installed on the PC, when transmitting video to the communicator, decodes on the fly video in a format that is digestible for the device. The result is visible with the naked eye - you can try.


Player interface doubleTwist

The problem will be solved on the other hand. Updating Android to version 4 (ICS) will increase the number of natively supported video containers by the system.MegaFon Mint with Android ICS on board in nature already exists and is being tested. The update will be available to users this fall ; it should ease the situation with the video.
With games, the situation is as follows. We delivered from the Market about ten of the most popular games - they all work fine and do not slow down. There are those that do not work - many have already written about this. These are games with heavy three-dimensional graphics, in their hardware requirements in capital letters it says: "processor - only ARMv7." It is strange to expect that they will go to Intel. Let's wait until the games are adapted for the new platform. By the way, someone asked if Quint 1 ported to Android works on Mint. Yes, it works fine, but the picture does not stretch to full screen.

In conclusion of the two-part story about the launch of MegaFon Mint, I would like to say the following. For all the contradictory opinions on the apparatus, its exit was necessary. The disadvantages of Mint are clearly visible to everyone - this is both an overpriced and an old version of Android - we will not list them all. But the main advantage of the communicator is not immediately apparent, however it is. Mint (in various guises) signals the world community of users and developers about the emergence of a new family of devices. No one will write applications for the most beautiful platform, if it is not embodied in real popular models of devices. And popularity also does not come immediately, it must be earned with sweat and blood. But you have to start with something.
It’s important that Mint is followed by new Intel Atom models without loss of pace. Otherwise, its existence simply loses its meaning.