Archive for: snapdragon
- September 15, 2011 2:16 pm
Qualcomm’s had a good run so far. The company’s current crop of single and dual-core SoC hardware is powering a considerable chunk of the mobile market. But it’s going to get even better.
According to the roadmap above, next-gen S4-powered hardware will be designed on a 28nm level and feature single, dual, and quad-core processors clocked up to 2.5 GHz as well as dual and quad-core Adreno GPUs, supprot for 3D and 1080p, 3G and LTE! Slightly less powerful multi-tasking and gaming mobile devices will make use of the 45nm “S3″ class: up to 1.5 GHz dual-core processors, Adreno 220 GPU, 3D and 3G HSPA+. S2 and S1 classes will round out entry-level hardware with 45nm platform/1.4 GHz/205 Adreno and 65nm platform/1 GHz CPU/200 Adreno respectively.
If everything goes according plan, Qualcomm claims the new hardware will be sent out to manufacturers by late-2012 and hit consumer channels in early 2012. Speaking of which, we’ll be combing the CES floor once again this year. Should qualcomm bring any of their new hardware, S4 class hardware specifically, we’ll be all over it. If they don’t make CES there’s always this little conference in late February by the name of Mobile World Congress…
Now that “4G” has been watered down to an almost useless term when used in the same sentence as “AT&T” and “next-gen network”, it seems phone manufacturers have their own keywords to milk. The new Chinese-bound Motorola XT882 features a “dual everything” nickname thanks to it’s use of dual-core processor (Nvidia Tegra 2), dual-SIM card support, and dual network support (either 2 GSM networks or 1 GSM and 1 CDMA).
A 4.3″ 540 x 960 qHD display, 8-megapixel camera w/ dual-LED flash, 1080p video recording, Android 2.3 w/ MOTOBLUR and 1,880mAh battery round out the “other” features list. If you happen to reside in the respective markets, you’ll be able to pick up the XT882 for ~ $830 USD from China Telecom.
Nvidia’s Tegra 2 may be the go-to standard for dual-core tablets in the here and now, but things will soon change if Qualcomm has their way. At Computex this week, Qualcomm had several different hardware vendors on display showing off their new dual-core Snapdragon processors.
One such manufacturer, Quanta, demoed the device you see above. While it’s not known whether the this tablet is powered by the same MSM8660 that’s in the HTC Sensation or the more powerful MSM8960, we’ll take comfort in the fact that reports claim the screen to be as vivid and colorful as a Super AMOLED. Toss in Android 3.x for good measure and you’ve got the start of something great.
Here’s to hoping we see some more Snapdragon-powered tablet hardware in the near future. Video of above tablet after the break…
Nvidia may be once again beating Qualcomm to the finish line with their quad-core Kal-El mobile processor, but that thankfully isn’t stopping Qualcomm from pushing onward with their own ventures. The previously announced 28nm Snapdragon processor (“Krait”) will be quite the performer on its own. How does a 2.5 GHz clock speed sound? Single, dual, and quad-core (APQ8064)? What about a claimed 65% increase in efficiency over current hardware? All will be coming with Qualcomm’s new silicon which is said to be sampling to manufacturers this summer and “available” late this year. Unconfirmed at this point, however is if the “availability” is to manufacturers or consumers.
To say we’re excited would be an understatement. We’ll update you right here once we know.
Qualcomm has some fightin’ words for their competitors, specifically ARM. MobileTechWorld has stumbled upon a leaked slide from an internal Qualcomm presentation detailing the company’s next generation of mobile SoC hardware — the MSM8270, MSM8930, MSM8960, and APQ8064.
With up to 5x the performance of current generation Snapdragon hardware, the single-, dual-, and quad-core SoC coming in 2012 is going to be awesome. Not only will we be dealing with 2.5GHz smartphones, but Qualcomm’s new hardware will suck down 75% less energy in the process. The graphics portion powered by Adreno silicon is likely 22x and possibly 3xx material. Regardless, Qualcomm promises a fourfold increase in performance which will equal consoles in graphics ability.
Other goodies include Dolby 7.1 surround, embedded multi-mode LTE, 3G, WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth and FM connectivity, 3D playback, and up to 20-megapixel cameras. In closing, Qualcomm adds that their next-gen hardware will be up to 23% faster than ARM’s upcoming Cortex-A15 SoC. How’s that for fightin’ words?
- February 15, 2011 8:58 am
The HTC Desire S which was announced today at MWC, brings a nice increase in performance to a largely unchanged package. A new all aluminum body, second-gen 1GHz Snapdragon processor (8255), front-facing VGA camera and rear-facing 5-megapixel camera, 3.7″ WVGA display and 1.1GB of user accessible storage. The final cherry on top: Android 2.4 (Gingerbread pt. 2) will ship at launch. Look for the Desire S to launch in Europe and Asia in Q2 of 2011.
Teaser video after the jump…
If you just entered the smartphone scene, you might think the only worthwhile mobile processor options moving forward into 2011 are tweaked Hummingbird processors from Samsung and Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 processor. However, Texas Instruments has some exciting stuff planned for later in the year. But for now, we’re focusing on Qualcomm and their upcoming dual-core processors, specifically dual-core Snapdragon processors + LTE support. Back in late 2009 and most of 2010, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor was “the” processor to beat. But as of late, the competition is getting fierce.
Speaking of competition, Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President of Cellular Products had some fighting words poised and ready to fire back. According to Amon, Qualcomm’s processors have a couple of big advantages over the likes of Nvidia, Samsung, and others. For starters, dual-core Snapdragons feature an “asymmetrical clock” design which Amon says will result in faster speeds and less battery drain. Furthermore, he states that Qualcomms combining of processor and wireless modem further turn the advantage to Qualcomms side.
With plenty of talent on hand at CES and now this from Qualcomm, 2011 is certainly an interesting year already. Will Qualcomm’s boasting ring prove true?
On a slightly happier note than Sony Ericsson needlessly abandoning their X10/Mini/Mini Pro Android phones comes the revealing of some very official looking Xperia Playstation Phone images. Chinese tech blog it168 went through meticulously previewed the phone giving us the images you’ll see inside after the jump as well as a slew of specs: 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Qualcomm Adreno 205 graphics processor, 512 MB of RAM and ROM (each), 4″ 854 x 480 display, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera w/ LED flash, and microSD card support. The Playstation Phone/Xperia managed a 1,733 in Quadrant — though we all know Quadrant isn’t exactly the most reliable benchmarking suite out there. Nevertheless, these new images showcase a very compelling device. Hit the link below to check them out…
- November 23, 2010 2:09 pm
ASUS is currently unveiling a bunch of new digital goodies in New York City at their official press event. But this particular gem stole the show — an unnamed smartphone that features 4.8″ 1024 x 480 display. For movie buffs, it falls nicely into that 21:9 aspect ratio meaning no black bars! On top of the gorgeous screen, a 1GHs Snapdragon, 802.11n WiFi, HSPA+ support, HDMI output, 8-megapixel rear camera/2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a flurry of accelerometers and gyroscopes all point to a monster of a phone.
Unfortunately, ASUS wasn’t as forthcoming about price. For that, we’ll have to wait until we get a little closer to the April 2011 release date. With that time frame in mind, Android 3.0 could be a possibility. Excited?
