I have to admit – when I heard about the launch CPUID’s newCPU-Z tool for Android devices, I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.
Since people have started migrating more of their digitallife over to the world of handheld devices, there’s been far less interest inhardware speeds and feeds and more focus on whether of not the device works asanticipated. So I thought, with not a bit of exasperation: we’re going back to this again?
But I also have to admit that the first thing I did when I heard about this new tool is that I put it onto my various devices to see what was inside. I can’t help it; I used to build PCs from scratch, and as much asI’m glad to see the end of my days fretting about MHz this and GHz that, my curiosity still gets the better of me sometimes.
The app is brought to you by the folks who put together theWindows version of CPUID, which gives a lot of data about your system hardware(without having to open up the case and remove components).
When you fire up CPU-Z on Android, you get information onyour device’s System on Chip components; if you’re not familiar with the term,that includes the CPU architecture, and core breakdown (including processorload on each core).
Swipe over to the System tab and you’ll learn more about themanufacturer of your particular device, display spec, RAM information, and yourAndroid version.
The Battery tab includes info on the health of the battery,current charge, voltage and temperature.
The Sensors tab gives you information on all of the different gyro, accelerometer, magnet, gravity and other sensor measurements your Android device can handle (flip your device around a bit and you’ll seethe numbers dance).
Lastly, there’s an About tab if you want more information,would like to switch between Metric and Imperial measurements, or would like tosubmit a bug report to the app’s authors.
Okay, so yeah, firing this app up and playing with it mademe relive my days tweaking desktop computers systems and figuring out what madethem tick. In so many ways, that’s just not me any more.
But at the same time, looking at all the displays in thisapp reminds me that there is still a use for information like this, especiallyon a platform like Android where hardware variety isn’t just large…it can beepic. It’s a full time job just keeping all the specs straight for thedifferent handsets in your life.
With the app running, it’s now easy to quickly identify yourexact model and specs all from one handy control panel, so you’ll know whataccessories/apps will work with your handset. If something is going wrong withyour battery, you’ll see what’s up on the Battery tab. Even if you just want toknow the exact pixel count of your screen: bam, there it is.
Sure, a lot of this information is available from otherapps, but this one compiles most of the need-to-know information in a singleplace, which is a boon for power users, IT departments, or the simply curious.
