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processor posts

Acer Liquid handled, evaluated, 'not too shabby'

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 5th 2009 @ 7:38PM

Looks like quite a few folks have got their hands on the Acer Liquid as of late, and lucky for us they've been rather loose-lipped with their thoughts on the subject. As suspected, the handset is running a 1GHz Snapdragon that's been under-clocked to 768MHz. And it looks like Acer didn't go crazy with the User Experience either, pretty much staying true to its Google Android 1.6 roots, albeit with a number of additions, including: social networking integration (Facebook and Flickr contacts and photo sharing), nemoPlayer for multimedia files, DataViz for Microsoft Exchange support, and the Spinlets music streaming service. In addition, Acer has redesigned some of the widgets, including the clock and the task manager, which now includes a preview of open apps. All-in-all, it seems to be a pretty solid Android handset with a few useful additions -- but as always, the verdict is out until we get our hands on one. In the meantime, hit up the read links below for a generous helping of screenshots, hands-on pics, and impressions.

[Via JK On The Run]

Read - PREVIEW: Acer Liquid Android 1.6 WVGA Touchscreen Smartphone
Read - Acer A1, Screenshot and Interface

Acer Liquid's Snapdragon processor to be clocked at just 768MHz?

by Darren Murph posted Nov 2nd 2009 @ 11:13AM

Ugh. Just weeks after we figured that Acer's first Android-based handset would indeed ship with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a new slide over at an international Liquid presentation is suggesting otherwise. As you can clearly see above, it looks as if the Qualcomm-sourced CPU will be underclocked to just 768MHz, which makes little to no sense on the surface. Granted, most average consumers couldn't care less about the CPU in their next smartphone, but it seems reasonable to think that the Liquid will lag behind its 1GHz contemporaries when used side-by-side. Who knows though -- maybe this is just the thing necessary to squeeze a full week of battery life out of this thing. Or not.

[Via MobileTechWorld, thanks Gully and Jose]

TI's OMAP-DM5x coprocessors promise 20MP cameraphones, 720p recording and freedom from heartache

by Darren Murph posted Oct 16th 2009 @ 9:26AM

Another season, another Texas Instruments coprocessor for us to wonder about. For what feels like ages now, TI has been pumping out silicon that promises to bring high-def recording capabilities to cellphones, but by and large, most everything has been stuck at VGA or below. Oh sure, we've seen our first batch of 12 megapixel cameraphones, but it's not like those things are replacing DSLRs en masse. Bitterness aside, the OMAP-DM525 coprocessor is supposedly capable of bringing 20 megapixel imaging to handsets along with 720p video recording, while the OMAP-DM515 hits the ceiling at 12 megapixels. Of course, the DM525 won't actually be ready for volume production until sometime next year, but here's hoping a sample or two slips out at CES.

[Via LetsGoDigital]

Palm Pixi processor, chipset specs get detailed at last

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 14th 2009 @ 6:29PM

Palm may have divulged most of the details about its new Pixi phone when it got official with it last week (and let us get our hands on it), but it was unfortunately staying mum about a few key specs, including the mystery processor at the heart of the device. Thankfully, Qualcomm has now come out and clarified that situation so Palm doesn't have to, and detailed the complete specs for the MSM7627 chipset that powers the Pixi. The big news there is that the chipset packs two ARM cores on a single chip, including one dedicated 600MHz applications processor, and a separate 400MHz modem processor to offload some of the heavy lifting. Otherwise, the phone is said to pack a 200MHz, OpenGL 2.0-supporting GPU for some decent gaming capabilities, and a 320MHz application DSP to handle multimedia on the device, including full 30 fps WVGA video encoding and decoding. Hit up the link below for the complete rundown.

[Thanks, Fernando]

Samsung, LG, and SKT hook up for chip design

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 27th 2009 @ 1:33PM

There's a lot of Kumbaya going around in South Korea this morning with the announcement that Samsung and LG -- normally the most bitter of archrivals -- will start working together to develop the next generation of chips for digital TVs and phones. Also being pulled into the love fest is domestic carrier SK Telecom, South Korea's largest, who will be working specifically on designing wireless systems-on-chip for use in handsets. Interestingly, it seems Sammy will be left out of the loop on actual design; that'll be left to LG and others, while Samsung will be responsible for manufacturing and testing the goods. For its part, the government seems to like what it sees here -- it's pumping some 19.5 billion won (about $15.7 million) into the project, though there's no word on when we'll see the fruits of the labor in a retail product.

ARM promises dual-core Cortex A9-based smartphones next year

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 16th 2009 @ 4:31AM

The world's two most visually engaging smartphones -- the iPhone and the Pre -- share very similar cores based on ARM's Cortex A8 architecture, and with the newer, more advanced Cortex A9 in the pipeline, you can't help but let your mind wander a bit as you envision what twice as much computational power could bring to a handset. The A9 employs more advanced instruction pipelining than its predecessor, but the biggest news has to be the fact that it can pack two or more cores -- and ARM fully expects dual-core A9-based phones to hit in 2010. Of course, power consumption is the biggest constraint when it comes to this category of device, and while the company says that peak drain will exceed that on today's crop of devices, average consumption will actually drop thanks largely to a move from 65nm to 45nm manufacturing processes. Add in 1080p video promised by TI's next-gen OMAP4 silicon wrapped around an A9 core, and you've basically got a home theater in your pocket that's ready to rock for a few hours on a charge. That and Snoop Dogg, of course.

Intel presentation promises Medfield-based smartphones by 2011

by Donald Melanson posted May 17th 2009 @ 7:21PM

We've been hearing about Intel's Medfield processor for some time now, but much of the talk so far has been about it being an Atom-replacement for netbooks and MIDs. A seemingly recent Intel presentation obtained by the folks at UMPC Portal is now shedding a bit more light on the matter, however, and it's looking like smartphones could actually be at the heart of Intel's long-term plans. As you can see above, and in the complete presentation at the link below, Intel sees its base of devices getting larger and larger as its processors get smaller and more power-efficient, and it looks like "mainstream smartphones" could become a reality as soon as 2011. That's due largely to the 32nm manufacturing process used for the smaller Medfield processor, which also makes uses a smaller board size that leaves more room for keypads, batteries and whatnot. Of course, we are still talking about Intel predicting the state of devices two years out, so who knows how things will shake out in the interim.

Renesas's 1080p-decoding processor coming soon to a cell phone near you

by Tim Stevens posted May 5th 2009 @ 6:59AM

Plenty of modern cell phones have HD-quality screens on them, but few can manage any sort of high-definition video content at a respectable frame rate. That's set to change with the release of the Renesas SH7370, a chip we first got wind of back in December with its promise to offer 1080p video at 30fps in a package small (and efficient) enough to be included in a handset. The first units are now shipping to manufacturers, and while the size has increased (it's about 1cm square vs. the 6.4 x 6.5mm package previously discussed) it's still impressively small given its functionality: 1080p H.264 video decoding and encoding along with on-chip Dolby Digital 5.1-channel output. Overkill? Maybe for now, but you might change your mind when the first head-mountable satellite speakers with subwoofer seat cushions hit retail.

Nokia N97 specs fully revealed

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 29th 2009 @ 10:33PM

The remainder of the N97's juicy technical details have now been spilled on Nokia's dev-oriented Forum Nokia site -- previously, only cursory data had been posted here -- and there are a couple notable bits that might be of concern to developers and would-be buyers alike. First off, the processor turns out to be a single-core ARM 11 putting along at 434MHz, just 65MHz faster than the 5800's. It's an improvement, yes, but when you consider that the competing i8910 from Samsung runs a higher-performance 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8, it throws a wet towel on the whole thing. Seeing how this is designed to be Nokia's premier device for 2009, couldn't they have gone for broke with the silicon? Secondly -- this is something we already knew, but the spec sheet reminded (and delighted) us -- the N97 supports charging via micro-USB, which the 5800 does not. Life's about tradeoffs, isn't it?

[Thanks, M.]

New high-end ARM processors could be powering cellphones by year end

by Donald Melanson posted Mar 23rd 2009 @ 2:58PM

ARM has been talking up its Mali-200 and Mali-400 processors for a little while now, but according to the company's graphics product manager, Remi Pedersen, they're now finally on track to land in some actual products, and the first cellphones using 'em could show up as soon as winter 2009. While Pedersen unfortunately didn't have anything to say about those phones themselves, he did make some pretty bold claims about the processors, which are able to run OpenGL ES 2.0 and can supposedly pump out 16 million triangles per second and 275 million pixels per second. Those numbers apparently apply to both the Mali-200 and Mali-400, although the later is multicore scalable (up to quad-core at 300MHz), and even able to produce 1080p resolutions. To bring all that home, ARM has whipped up a port of the original Project Gotham Racing game to demo at GDC, which reportedly runs just like the original Xbox game performance-wise, but "feature-wise it looks like an Xbox 360 title."

TI's OMAP 4 bringing 1080p support to smartphones and MIDs

by Darren Murph posted Feb 17th 2009 @ 1:59PM

Right around this time last year, Texas Instruments was busy showing off its OMAP 3 platform, which enabled 720p playback from a mobile phone. At this year's MWC, we've got a real live handset recording 720p, and TI upping the ante once more with a chip that handles 1080p. For those still with us after being blasted with resolutions, the predictably titled OMAP 4 aims to bring 1080p support, 20 megapixel imaging and "approximately a week of audio play time" to mobiles and MIDs that house it. Granted, TI also calls this stuff "future-proof," so don't believe it's totally incapable of uttering some pretty outlandish stuff. At the heart of the platform is a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 chip, a programmable multimedia engine based on TI's C64x DSP and a POWERVR SGX540 graphics engine. We're told that it'll play nice with Linux variants such as Android and LiMo, Symbian and Windows Mobile, though it'll have to be mighty impressive to outgun NVIDIA's Tegra. Battle on, we say.

[Via Linux Devices]

Marvell announces 1GHz processor for tiny things that need big power

by Tim Stevens posted Jan 10th 2009 @ 5:51PM

Everyone's heard of the Atom and its 1.6GHz worth of ubiquity providing the oomph behind many a netbook, and, while not directly targeting Intel's frugal juggernaut, Marvell may have itself a contender with the PXA168. It's an upcoming processor intended for mobile devices that's aspiring to speeds in the 1GHz and beyond range. While we're expecting it'll be most commonly found in smartphones and the like (particularly those from Asus), there's a chance these could show up in some low(er) cost netbooks, too, possibly helping to keep that race to the bottom going for a few more laps yet.

[Via GadgetMix.com, thx Kamal]

Nokia N97 carrying over old processor?

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 7th 2008 @ 5:11PM

You'd think that a phone promising to becoming Nokia's 2009 flagship would want some serious computational power under its shell, but the word on the street is that the N97 is actually going to carry over the same ARM 11 core used by its forebears. That might be a disappointment for anyone hoping that they'll be able to replace a MID, netbook, or eight-core Hollywood CGI workstation with an unsuspecting handset -- but if it's any consolation, other rumors suggest (thankfully, may we add) that the ARM 11 will be clocked higher than the E71, which comes in at 369MHz. For all we know, the processor specs haven't been finalized since they haven't shown up on Nokia's N97 site yet, so maybe we'll end up with 1GHz and seven minutes of battery life. Would be a productive seven minutes, wouldn't it?

[Via Slashgear and UMPCPortal]

Renesas aims to bring 1080p playback to your next cellphone

by Darren Murph posted Dec 1st 2008 @ 7:35PM

Believe it or not, this is far from the first we've heard of bringing high-def video to cellphones, and it's not even the first application to dabble in mobile 1080p. Still, we'll take all the innovation we can get in this space, and when the real Touch HD ever arrives, we'll be ready and waiting with Full HD capabilities. Announced at ISSCC 2009 in San Francisco, Renesas Technology is showing off an application processor that enables handsets to process 1,920 x 1,080 resolution video at 30 frames-per-second; the processor's core has a maximum operating frequency of 500MHz and supports MPEG-4 AVC / H.264, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video formats. There's no telling when the 6.4- x 6.5-millimeter chip will be available en masse, but we need the HTCs of the world to get us a 1080p phone and a retina implant or two to read 0.2-size fonts before it even matters.

Broadcom packs Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and FM transceiver on 65nm combo chip

by Darren Murph posted Oct 24th 2008 @ 8:20AM

You can just tell from the wording in Broadcom's latest press release that it's still beaming from the late September court ruling involving it and Qualcomm, as we've never seen any one company so excited about a piece of silicon. The BCM2049 combo chip is built on 65-nanometer technology and combines Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and an FM transceiver in one convenient place. Obviously, the chip is being aimed at up and coming music phones, and it also features SmartAudio voice processing, Bluetooth audio streaming and an FM transmit function that will surely be next to worthless in mid- to large-size cities. Whoever made it onto Broadcom's early access list can get samples now, but you'll have to bypass the bouncer in order to get pricing.