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Feb

Confirmed: Netflix App Available Exclusively On Future Qualcomm-Based Smartphones, Starting With The LG Revolution

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, LG, News, Revolution, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: February 16th, 2011

Want Netflix on your current Android device? Too bad - as LG and Qualcomm told Engadget, the Netflix app will not be available on existing Android hardware (at least not officially).

Apparently, future Qualcomm CPUs will include additional DRM libraries that no current smartphone processor has, making the decision slightly more understandable (though still extremely disappointing). There's still no word on exactly what processors will support Netflix, but we do know that the LG Revolution will be compatible with it - meaning that the app works with single-core chips.

Disappointing news? Sure, but if it's any comfort, the app does look pretty sweet - check out Engadget's hands-on video:

Source: Engadget

Feb

Qualcomm Throws Down The Gauntlet With A 2.5 GHz Quad-Core CPU

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Devices By Manufacturer, News

If the latest iterations of the Snapdragon family have left you feeling hollow, lonely, and disappointed, we bring news to warm your MIPS-craving soul. In a move set to immediately banish the barely-available 45 nm MSM8260 from our minds, Qualcomm have just announced their Krait family. This series of 28 nm chipsets tops out at four 2.5 GHz CPU cores and a matching quartet of 3D processors, utilizing the latest in the Adreno GPU family.

What kind of performance can you expect from these? Well, QC state that performance will jump by 150%, along with a 65% reduction in power consumption - and that's just the CPU.

Feb

Get Ready For Augmented Reality Awesomeness - Qualcomm To Reveal Winners Of The $200,000 Challenge At MWC [Sneak Preview Video]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Apps/Games, Development, News, Videos

Back in June of 2010, Qualcomm issued a developer challenge to geniuses all over the world to create the best next-generation augmented reality applications using their Augmented Reality SDK for Android. With an impressive $200,000 total prize value, it's no surprise that developers have jumped into challenge head-first.

Qualcomm is planning on announcing the winners and showcasing their apps on February 15th at MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, but in the meantime provided a sneak peak at some of the submissions, which, I guarantee you, will get you excited. Let's take a look and start anxiously awaiting the 15th:

Source: Qualcomm

Feb

Mythical T-Mobile HTC Pyramid Rumoured With A 1.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in HTC, News, T-Mobile

Another day, another Android phone rumour. Android And Me received a tip from a "regular source" about HTC's first dual-core smartphone set to launch on T-Mobile in May 2011. The phone, codenamed the "Pyramid", will reportedly feature a 1.2GHz dual-core MSM8260 Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm, a 4.3-inch qHD display (with a resolution of 960x540), and support for T-Mobile's HSPA+ network for 4G connectivity.

We do not wish to speculate on the veracity of this rumour, however Taylor from Android And Me has stated that the regular source has provided accurate information in the past and in this case, TmoNews has confirmed the rumour through another independent source.

Jan

Sony Ericsson Announces Razor-Thin Smartphone: The Xperia arc

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12)

Sony Ericsson has announced its first of a "new generation" of Xperia smartphones, christened the Xperia arc. The super-slim device measures 8.7 mm at its thinnest point and weighs just 117 grams. It packs:

1GHz Qualcomm processor
4.2" 854 x 480 display
8.1 MP camera (with HD video recording and LED flash)
8GB microSD (upgradeable to 32GB)
FM radio, Bluetooth, and GPS
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Engadget managed to spend some time with the Xperia arc, and they highlighted the fact that it's "really thin."

Sony Ericsson phones generally have better-than-average cameras and the arc appears to be no exception: it ships with the "Exmor R" mobile sensor with a f/2.4 lens, enabling "the capture of high quality, bright pictures and HD videos even in low light."

Just a short while ago, Sony Ericsson confirmed that they would not be updating their Xperia X10 line of smartphones beyond Android 2.1 Éclair, so it's unclear whether the Xperia arc will be upgraded beyond Gingerbread.

Jan

Ultra Low Power Qualcomm Mirasol Color eInk-like Screen Technology Teased Ahead Of CES Demos

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Videos

Qualcomm's Mirasol technology has been in prototype form for a while, but at this year's CES, it seems like we'll finally see a working product - an Android e-reader by PocketBook that is called simply Mirasol.

For those who haven't been following Mirasol, it is a functional equivalent of a traditional black-and-white eInk display that has become so popular in e-readers over the last few years, except it is capable of displaying color and playing videos (refresh rates are rumored to be anywhere from 12 to 30 fps). At its core, Mirasol screens use a reflective display technology which "can create various colors through the interference of reflected light." Mirasol displays consume very little power and have superb visibility in direct sunlight.

Dec

AT&T Will Buy Wireless Spectrum For $1.93 Billion To Expand Its 4G Offerings

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in AT&T, News

AT&T will be purchasing wireless spectrum from Qualcomm, the computer chip manufacturer, for $1.93 billion to provide higher speeds for its 4G network. The spectrum is in the lower 700 MHz frequency band and covers 300 million people in the United States.

The AT&T mobile network has been criticized heavily for some time because of connectivity issues which have caused poor service for its iPhone users. The iPhone uses more data than any feature phone and most smartphones (but not Android phones), so having exclusivity over the phone has put a severe strain on AT&T's network. Customers in heavily populated areas, such as New York City, are known to experience dropped calls and generally slow Internet browsing speeds.

Nov

Qualcomm Unveils 2011 Dual Core Snapdragons: 5x CPU Performance, 1/4 Power Consumption, GPU Rivaling PS3/XBOX 360

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News

Despite all this talk about upcoming phones and tablets running on the Tegra 2 processor, you may want to stop and consider the new offering in the Snapdragon line of processors from Qualcomm. Taking a 28-nm dual core beast (MSM8960), the company promises speeds up to five times their current offerings, as well as 75% less lower power usage.

But the real shocker here is the updated GPU, which Qualcomm claims is capable of delivering gaming performance equal to the of an Xbox 360 or PS3.

We should certainly wait for some real life tests and comparisons to Tegra 2 before really hyping this up, but still: can you imagine the PSP phone launching with these capabilities?

Sep

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

Posted by Brian O'Toole 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.

Aug

T-Mobile G2 Running On New MSM7X30 Chipset: Native 720P 30FPS Recording And Playback, Better 3D Performance And More

Posted by David Ruddock in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, G2 (Vision), HTC, T-Mobile

Last Updated: August 27th, 2010

Based on a tweet by Cyanogen, the G2 isn't going to be sporting another rehash of the Snapdragon family of chipsets that has come to dominate HTC devices for the past 6 months.

You may remember back in November of 2009 (or maybe not, I didn't) that Qualcomm demoed an updated family of chipsets for mobile multimedia devices. The name of that chipset is the remarkably catchy MSM7X30 (really has a ring to it, no?), and it's bringing a little more to the table than its predecessors.

We already knew the G2 would be shipping with HSPA+ connectivity (the first phone to have it), but that's only one of the goodies Qualcomm's upgraded chipset will be offering:

720P video encoding (recording) and decoding at 30FPS
Integrated 2D/3D GPU's with OpenGL ES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1 API support
5.1 surround sound output
Up to 12 megapixel camera support
Integrated GPS
Support for processor speeds between 800MHz and 1GHz (Scorpion CPU's, same as Snapdragon's)

All of this considered, the G2's spec sheet could really cause some heads to explode.