07
Jan
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[CES 2013] Intel Uncovers Low-Power Atom Platform For 'Value Smartphone' Market, 'Bay Trail' Quad Core SoC For Tablets

Posted by in Android OS, News

Intel, not to be left out of the early CES fun, had a couple of announcements for tech fans today – a low-powered platform formerly known as "Lexington," (lovingly called Atom Z2420) for "emerging" value smartphone markets, and the Atom Z2760, codenamed "Bay Trail" headed for tablets and higher-end smartphones.

Intel says that it's already found partners in Acer, Lava International, and Safaricom for the Z2420 platform, and that the chip will be capable of 1.2GHz speed, 1080p hardware acceleration, and support for two cameras (with burst mode). With the Z2420, Intel is hoping to target what most call the budget smartphone market, which their release indicates will reach 500 million units by 2015 according to "industry sources."

The high-end Bay Trail SoC, meanwhile, is a quad core, 22nm chip that Intel hopes will expand tablet prospects in both the Windows 8 and Android arenas.

18
Sep
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LG Confirms That The Optimus G Will Launch In The US In November, Carrier Details Absent

Posted by in Carriers, LG, News, Optimus G
Last Updated: September 19th, 2012

LG has confirmed that its upcoming flagship, the Optimus G, will be launching in the United States this November. Carrier partners went unannounced, but given LG's historical relationship with Verizon, we'd hedge our bets there first and foremost, though AT&T could be another likely contender for the first major handset released with a quad-core Qualcomm processor.

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We do know the Optimus G is packing LTE, but that it must be courtesy of a discrete radio, as the APQ8064 Qualcomm S4 Pro chipset does not include a cellular modem.

What implications this may have for battery life or CDMA compatibility are unclear, but LG has rather sneakily let slip that there will be regional variants of the G, through a video regarding its camera.

05
Jul
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Nexus 7 Review: The Android Tablet, Rebooted

Posted by in ASUS, Jelly Bean 4.1, Nexus 7, Reviews, Tablet Reviews, Tablets
Last Updated: July 15th, 2012

Android tablets, for the last year plus they've existed, haven't been anything to get excited over. At least that's my opinion on the matter. And even if you've wanted one (a good one), most of them have been sort of expensive. But now that Google has unveiled the first true Nexus tablet (XOOM who?), for a mere 200 of your dollars, you can get in on the computing revolution. At that price, Google isn't shooting for the premium market. It's targeting first-time tableteers, boldly going where only Amazon and various Chinese knock-offs have gone before - into the sub-$200 slate market.

03
May
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Yep, It's Pretty Likely The Galaxy S III Won't Have A Quad-Core Processor In The US

Posted by in Galaxy S III, News, Rumors, Samsung

If you've been following the Galaxy S III news today, you know it has a banging new Exynos 4 quad-core processor that absolutely obliterates benchmarks. The problem is that the Exynos 4 platform is quite old at this point (for a mobile chipset), and was never designed to support LTE. That's why devices like the Galaxy S II Skyrocket don't use an Exynos chip. Devices with Exynos 4 chips that do, like the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE, use an external one - adding thickness and increasing power consumption.

While Samsung has hinted at times that the Exynos 4412 chip could, in theory, support LTE with an external (read: adding thickness, weight, decreasing battery life) modem, nothing concrete has come of those rumblings.

16
Mar
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[Updated: Here Are The Winners!] Cores Galore Giveaway: Win One Of Two 64GB ASUS Transformer Primes With Keyboard Docks From Android Police And NVIDIA

Posted by in Contests / Giveaways, Eee Pad Transformer Prime
Last Updated: April 3rd, 2012

So, we all know today marks the launch of a certain other popular tablet. But Android Police and NVIDIA are here to give you a chance to win the only cutting-edge tablet with a fully-functioning, battery-packing keyboard dock that allows you to transform your device into an Android-powered laptop, and rocks a quad-core processor (technically, 5 cores!) with a twelve-core GPU. Of course, we're talking about the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime.

This contest is now over. Here are our winners, selected at random:
  • Andrew Leatherbarrow
  • Chris (arcon)

Congratulations, guys - all of you will be contacted for your information in the near future!

01
Mar
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Sony Spokesman Says The Company Likely Won't Go Quad-Core Until 2013, Cites Battery And Performance Concerns

Posted by in News, Sony

Sony brought some sleek new devices to MWC, but we were surprised to see nothing truly groundbreaking - specifically, a lack of quad-core CPUs. CNET Asia got a few minutes with Stephen Sneeden, product marketing manager for Sony Mobile, and he clarified the companies stance, saying that we likely won't see quad-core phones from the company until early 2013.

"We're going to join quad-core when we feel that the performance matches the battery efficiency," he said. "Because right now we don't feel that is there. What we are going to be doing in the second half of the year is moving to the Cortex A15 architecture, which we feel outperforms the current quad-core architecture.

27
Feb
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[MWC 2012] Hands-On With The Huawei Ascend D Quad: Because Four Is Better

Posted by in Ascend D Quad, Huawei, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Videos

We descended upon the Huawei booth just a short while ago here in Barcelona, and there we found a whole gaggle of Huawei's new flagship device: the Ascend D Quad. I'm calling it the DQ for short  - because who doesn't like Blizzards? Anyway, we know the DQ is packing Huawei's first in-house processor, the K3V2.

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Basically, what you need to know is this: it's a Huawei device, so it will probably be priced pretty aggressively compared to other quad-core devices. Of course, the fact that it's a Huawei also means a US launch on any of the big four isn't super likely at launch - but you never know.

15
Feb
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LG's Tegra-3 Sporting P880/X3 Specs And Quadrant Leak - And It's Every Bit The Beast We Expected

Posted by in LG, News, X3/P880

Shortly after CES ended, we heard word of a new phone from LG that would be the first to sport NVIDIA's impressive new quad-core CPU, the Tegra 3. Other specs were rumored to include a 4.7" 1280x720 display, 16GB on-board storage (plus a microSD slot), a 2000mAh battery (!), an 8MP camera in the rear, and a 1.2MP front-facer.

Now, the extremely reliable Paul O'Brien of Modaco has word from a source that those specs are correct - the sole exception is that the front-facing camera is 1.3MP (not 1.2). The build used in the shots sent to him runs Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.3) and the latest kernel from NVIDIA, and suggests little UI customization by LG.

04
Dec
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[Weekend Poll] Now That The First Quad-Core Tablet Has Landed, Would You Still Buy A Dual-Core Tablet?

Posted by in Polls, Tablets

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see What Is Your Ideal Tablet Screen Size?

In light of the slew of Asus Transformer Prime (the first tablet to pack NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3 CPU) reviews and the pending release of said device, we are curious to know: would you still buy a dual-core tablet? Perhaps you would, but only for a secondary/budget tablet? Or only if it were smaller? Sound off in the poll below, and head down to the comments to share your thoughts.

Now That The First Quad-Core Tablet Has Landed, Would You Still Buy A Dual-Core Tablet?

30
Nov
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ASUS Transformer Prime Initial Impressions: Four Isn't A Prime Number, But It Sure Feels Special

Posted by in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer Prime, News, Reviews

Around midday yesterday, I received my review kit for the Transformer Prime, complete with dock, wireless gamepad, and HDMI cable - meaning I'm well equipped to take a deep dive into the hottest new tablet to hit stores. But to be completely honest, an in-depth review on a product this brand-spanking-new requires more hands-on time than can be had in two days. The full review will be up on Friday, but in the interim, enjoy the initial impressions and gadget porn below.

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First up, let's run over the specs, largely from our official announcement post:

  • 10.1-inch SuperIPS + display with Gorilla Glass
  • 1.3GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 Processor with 12-core GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 32GB or 64GB internal storage with microSD card slot
  • microHDMI port
  • 8MP F2.4 rear shooter with continuous flash for video recording, 1.2MP front camera (1080p camcorder!)
  • 8.33mm thin
  • 586g (1.29 lbs.)
  • 12 hour battery life playing 720p video, 18 hours with keyboard dock
  • Metallic spun finish
  • Two available colors: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold (show below, respectively)
  • Android 3.2.1 - will be updated to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) as soon as possible after release
  • $499 for 32GB model, $599 for 64GB, and $149 for the dock
  • North American availability is expected to begin the week of 12/19 - this is straight from Asus's mouth in the Prime details that were sent to us (and again confirmed a few hours ago), contrary to the other "official" date of December 8 that we heard earlier today.