25
Apr
exy

Samsung Announces 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad: A Quad-Core Processor Destined To Power The "Next Galaxy Smartphone"

Posted by in News, Samsung

Completely out of the blue Samsung has officially outed its next generation system-on-a-chip (SoC). The Exynos 4 Quad is very much what it sounds like: an updated version of the previous dual-core Exynos chip with four cores instead of two. Each core will be clocked to 1.4GHz, much like the last generation, and it is still going to be based on ARM's Cortex-A9 architecture.

Exy 4

I expected that Samsung would be moving to Cortex-A15 to more adequately compete with Snapdragon S4 and its Krait cores. Perhaps the 32nm manufacturing process, High-K Gate technology, dynamic voltage control, and advanced power management in the Exynos 4 Quad will make up for that.

18
Apr
samsung-logo2

Fasten Your Seatbelts - Samsung To Release 2GHz Dual-Core Handset By Next Year

Posted by in News, Samsung

Get ready to drool: a "high-ranking" Samsung executive recently told the Maeli Business Newspaper that Sammy is working on a smartphone that can lay claim to "performance levels matching desktop PCs" - in fact, the company is said to have a 2GHz dual-core handset in the offing. Mind you, that's not some multiplication game; rather, it's an admirable 2GHz on each core!

Better yet, the aforementioned company official also let slip that this smartphone will be released "by next year." Oh, and Samsung is reportedly considering selling the CPU units to other smartphone manufacturers, meaning that if all goes well, you could see the chip in, say, an HTC handset.

22
Nov
image

Notion Ink's Adam Tablet Website Goes Live, Reveals Glorious Specs

Posted by in Adam, News, Notion Ink
Last Updated: November 25th, 2010

We've been hearing about Notion Ink's high-end Android tablet, Adam, for quite a while now, and it's already been announced that we could be seeing this device by Christmas. While that hasn't been confirmed, we now have quite a few more details on the tablet thanks to the fact that Notion Ink's website has been updated with all sorts of information on the tablet, including this massive helping of specs:

Size+Weight

  • Thickness: ~14 mm
  • Width: 191 mm
  • Length: 269 mm
  • Weight: ~1.6 pounds

System on Chip

  • NVIDIA Tegra 250
  • Dual Core Cortex A-9
  • ULP GPU

Memory+Storage

  • 1GB DDR2 RAM
  • 1GB SLC
  • 8+ GB Flash
  • Micro-SD Card support

Power & Battery

  • Universal Charger
  • 3 cell 24.6Whr battery

Display

  • 10.1" WSVGA (1024 x 600)
  • Optional Pixel Qi display:
    Transmissive, transflective,
    and reflective modes
  • Multi-touch
  • Matte finish
  • Anti glare coating
  • Scratch resistant
  • Finger print resistant

Camera

  • 3.2 MP Auto Focus Swivel
    Camera

Communication

  • WLAN - 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 2.1 A2DP
  • WWAN - 3G HSDPA

Audio

  • Stereo loudspeakers
  • 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Built in microphone

Input/Output Ports

  • USB 2.0 Host x 2
  • Mini USB
  • HDMI
  • Micro SD slot
  • SIM Card slot
  • DC connector

Sensors

  • 3-Axis accelerometer
  • Ambient light sensor
  • GPS
  • Digital Compass

Bonus mystery feature ;)

If you're wondering what that "bonus mystery feature" is, look no further than the page's source code, which includes a very interesting message: "For any sneaky fellows looking through the code, here's a tidbit for you, there's a very awesome hidden sensor we’re gonna be revealing soon." I haven't the foggiest clue as to what that means, but it certainly sounds interesting.

08
Sep
image

Qualcomm : Dual-Core 1.5 GHz Chips Coming … At The End Of 2011. Yay?

Posted by in News

Looks like Qualcomm, the company responsible for the cherished Snapdragon and not-so-cherished MSM7200, is having a bit of a press event today.

While the prospect of 1.5 GHz dual-core processors in our smartphones remains a tantalizing one, the news that we’ll have to wait for what looks like it could be another 12 months is enough to dampen our spirits. Still, we should be seeing the 1.2 GHz dual-core MSM8X60 some time in early 2011, even though that itself is still quite a wait.

With Samsung and Texas Instruments having already made their next-gen intentions clear with the Orion and OMAP4 respectively, it looks like things are gradually coming together for the impending Cortex A9 chipset battle.

07
Sep
conan_orion

Samsung Announces Orion - A Cortex-A9 Based Dual-Core Mobile CPU

Posted by in News, Samsung

Remember the Cortex-A9 we talked about just a few days ago - the one that can clock in at well over 2 GHz on a 28nm process? Turns out Samsung has had its eyes on that bad boy for a while - they've now announced a mobile CPU based on the architecture (one caveat, though - the chip is manufactured on a 45nm process).

The lack of a major die shrink may keep things running at a more reasonable clip (1 GHz), but the improved architecture still allows for huge improvements over today's tech. Namely:

  • Dual 1 GHz A9 cores
  • 64 KB data and instruction cache
  • 1 MB L2 cache
  • HDMI 1.3a
  • Full 1080P video encode/decode at 30 fps
  • Triple display controller
  • Up to 5x the 3D graphics performance over previous Samsung processors

Further, it looks like we're looking at a fairly flexible chip here:

For design flexibility and system BOM cost reduction, Orion integrates a set of interfaces commonly used in mobile devices to configure various peripheral functionalities.

03
Sep
cortexa9

Next Up In Mobile CPUs: ARM Cortex-A9 - Dual Core, 2.5 GHz

Posted by in Devices By Manufacturer, News

It's hard not to love Moore's law, isn't it? Global Foundries and ARM revealed some details on the upcoming Cortex-A9 CPU architecture during GTC, and boy does it look like a hardware nerds dream. Thanks to a massive die shrink coupled with other architectural optimizations, word has it that the A9 will boast huge performance gains and significantly less power draw.

The majority of the benefits come simply from the die shrink. Modern chips (such as the ubiquitous Snapdragon CPU's) are based on the ARM Cortex A8 series, which is manufactured on either a 65nm or 45nm process. The A9, on the other hand, checks in at just 28nm; diminutive indeed.