Hasta La Gadget!

Amazon is reportedly in “advanced negotiations” to acquire Texas Instruments’ OMAP chip division, bringing chip design for its Kindle tablets in-house, and helping TI refocus on embedded systems. The deal in discussion, Calcalist reports, follows TI’s public distancing from its own phone and tablet chip business in the face of rising competition from Qualcomm, Samsung, and others, though Amazon taking charge of OMAP could leave rivals Barnes & Noble in a tricky situation.

That’s because B&N’s NOOK Color and newer NOOK Tablet HD/HD+ tablets all use Texas Instruments’ OMAP processors, potentially leaving them sourcing chips from a company owned by their direct rival. Should the deal go through, B&N would likely turn to a alternative source for its silicon, though the cost of switching architecture could prove problematic.

According to the sources, the potential acquisition is valued in the billions of dollars. TI would be left to bring its attention to bear on embedded chips, which it has singled out as – though less instantly lucrative than mobile chipsets – more stable in the long-term than the highly competitive phone/tablet processor market.

For Amazon, it would be an opportunity to follow Apple and Samsung in developing chips tweaked specifically for its own purposes. Apple has used that freedom to create the A4, A5, and A6 that have appeared in recent iOS devices (and which have long been tipped to show up, in more advanced form, in future MacBook notebooks), carefully tailoring hardware to software so as to maximize performance and battery life.

In the case of Kindle, about which Amazon has already confirmed that it makes no profit on hardware sales, custom chips could mean cheaper tablets and ereaders, thus helping lower the cost of entry to new customers for ebooks, movies, music, and apps. TI has declined to comment specifically on the rumors, though reiterated its previous position of looking to transition its market of choice.

[via Bright Side of News]

Amazon weighing TI mobile chip business grab tip insiders is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Over the last few years, we haven’t seen the kind of gains in computing speed that one might expect if you’re strictly following Moore’s Law. We’re beginning to run into limits on the frequency of any single CPU or GPU, and one of the modern ways to get past this limitation is through the use of parallel computing architectures.

However, programming for parallel chips hasn’t been an easy transition for traditional programmers, and the technology has largely remained the domain of high-end engineering projects. However, one company is pushing an initiative to bring parallel computing to everyone.

Adapteva has been producing multicore chips with 16 cores for a little over a year now, and is now testing a 64-core chip. The plan now is to produce a low-cost parallel processing kit for as little as $99. The hope is by providing fully open source hardware and software, development for and adoption of parallel processing would increase dramatically. As this takes hold, the plan is to launch a computing platform called “Parallella.” According to Adapteva: “Once completed, the Parallella computer should deliver up to 45 GHz of equivalent CPU performance on a board the size of a credit card while consuming only 5 Watts under typical work loads. Counting GHz, this is more horsepower than a high end server costing thousands of dollars and consuming 400W.”

By launching its first kits on Kickstarter, the company aims to drive production costs down dramatically, and in exchange will open source the chipset as well as all documentation and software. The $99 kit will put an Epiphany-III based Parallella board in your hands, including a dual-core ARM A9 CPU, as well as 16 Epiphany cores on board and development software.

A pledge of $199 or more will get you the upcoming 64-core Epiphany-IV board – if the project is able to reach a stretch goal of $3 million. With 17 days left to go, the project has raised nearly $300,000 of its $750,000 goal, so there’s a way to go. If you’re into tinkering with the latest in technology, and want to see what you can do with an extremely powerful chip, then you might want to get in on the project and pledge.

If you know AMD mainly for its laptop and desktop processors, then some readjustment may be in order: as of now, the company is rushing head-long into the market created by Surface fever and the need for ultra lean tablet chips that can handle Windows 8. Specifically, we’re looking at the official launch of the Z-60, formerly known as Hondo, which AMD says will arrive in tablets “later this year” and satisfy even our most unreasonable demands for Windows 8 hybrids that last 10+ hours in tablet mode and which turn into full-scale PCs when docked. And if you’re thinking that Intel made much the same pledge during its recent Clover Trail announcement, then you’re dead right — we actually have all the makings here of a proper old-fashioned chip fight. Read on for a spot of pre-match banter.

Continue reading AMD enters Windows 8 tablet fray with Z-60 chip: ‘all-day’ battery life, graphics ‘you would never expect’

Filed under: Tablets, AMD

AMD enters Windows 8 tablet fray with Z-60 chip: ‘all-day’ battery life, graphics ‘you would never expect’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

It’s never easy playing second fiddle, but AMD is trying their best to keep Intel on their toes with its latest line of Trinity desktop chips. We were introduced to the Trinity last week, but now the official reviews are in from the usual specialist sites. The consensus seems to be that it provides solid performance for the price. The Trinity A10-5800K is in the same class as the Core i5 but sells at $130 on NewEgg, which is the going rate for the Core i3-3220 (Guess those price leaks were true). Hot Hardware notes that both the A10-5800K and the A8-5600K offer improved performance and decent overclockability, stating that it offers “roughly a 10 percent kicker in CPU performance” and “15 – 17 percent increase in GPU performance.” As for power consumption, Anandtech claims the Trinity isn’t quite as good as the Core i3, but “compared to Llano, Trinity is a bit more efficient” so it looks like there’s improvement from past AMD chips. TechSpot points out the Trinity also requires a new Socket FM2 motherboard.

Like most reviews, Hot Hardware recommends the Trinity chips as a solid choice for those who want an entry-level system. However, those hungry for power are probably still going to go Intel. Legit Reviews states that the AMD Trinity will do just fine for everyday use and some light gaming, leaving the pricier Intel chips for performance-chasers. Definitely peruse the links below for more details before considering a purchase.

Read – Hot Hardware
Read – Tom’s Hardware
Read – AnandTech
Read – Legit Reviews
Read – Benchmark Reviews

Filed under: Desktops

AMD Trinity review roundup: good bang for your entry-level buck originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Being the industry underdog means you’re always in need of a punchy pitch. Fortunately, AMD’s latest briefing to journalists in London yesterday contained exactly that: for something like the cost of an Intel Core i3 you’ll be able to pick up an overclockable Trinity A10-5800K which, we’re told, belongs in the same weight class as a Core i5 with HD 4000 graphics. Exact pricing won’t be revealed until the full stack of A10, A8, A6 and A4 processors hits shelves next week, but the top-end A10 will likely cost around $130, based on recent leaks and a glance at what Newegg currently charges for an i3. Unluckily, however, whereas Ivy Bridge was compatible with some previous-generation motherboards, Trinity will require the purchase of a new Socket FM2 motherboard.

The claim of performance parity with the Core i5 just cries out to be tested, but we’ll have to wait until early October before we can round up verdicts from full reviews on specialist sites. In the meantime, check out the More Coverage links below for some early previews. Also, if you require something more directly head-to-head with an Intel chip, then that’s exactly what you’ll find in the video after the break, albeit under AMD’s auspices and solely in relation to a single game, Sleeping Dogs. As you’ll see, there’s nothing to turn hardcore gamers against discrete graphics cards, and there are no clues about non-gaming performance (which is arguably more relevant on an APU-powered system). But the quad-core A10-5800K does offer plenty of scope for escapism on a low-power HTPC or all-in-one. Indeed, the more expensive Core i5 is left for dust, not least because it’s locked — unlike AMD, Intel charges a premium for its overclockable K-denoted chips. We’ll add further preview links as they become available.

Update: Just added HotHardware‘s preview, which shows that the A10 really does game as well as our video suggests in addition to providing a mostly fluid computing experience. As mentioned, however, it’s impossible to reach a final verdict until AMD allows sites to publish full benchmarks next week.

Continue reading AMD Trinity desktop chips due next week, promise Core i5-matching power at Core i3 price

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

AMD Trinity desktop chips due next week, promise Core i5-matching power at Core i3 price originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments