Hasta La Gadget!

AMD has revealed its new processor for tablets, the AMD Z-Series APU, intended to take on not only Intel’s Atom but the ARM-based chips found in the majority of slates on sale today. The AMD Z-60 has, with a 4.5W TDP, the lowest power consumption of AMD’s line-up, and is expected to bring its 1GHz dualcore speed to tablets as slim as 10mm with the first models – running Windows 8 – tipped for later this year.

The Z-60 includes Radeon HD 6250 graphics with 80 cores, as well as 1MB of L2 Cache and USB 3.0 support. There’s also support for AMD Start Now, the company’s fast boot/resume system, as well as an HDMI output capable of Full HD, and Microsoft’s DirectX 11.

AMD’s tablet reference design is built around a Z-60 paired with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 30Whr battery, and running Windows 8. On that sort of setup, the company says it’s seeing up to eight hours of browsing or six hours of playing back a looped 720p H.264 video with the display brightness set to 60 nits.

That’s on the dim side, mind. AMD’s own anecdotal research from back in 2009 found that many people set their displays at more than 2.5x that brightness as a level of minimum comfort, and that 60 nits is roughly equivalent to 20- to 30-percent brightness settings on notebooks tested at the time.

At idle, AMD is supposedly seeing up to 10hrs of runtime. AMD is already shipping the Z-60 to its customers, with tablets running the chip expected later in 2012. No word on what sort of pricing we can expect.

AMD Z-60 APU for skinny Windows 8 tablets revealed is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It would appear that if indeed Apple is going to show a new iPad mini inside the next few weeks, it’ll be released right alongside a new iPad (3rd gen) as well, complete with A6 processing power under the hood. A developer has discovered in their standard Apple developer’s logs that a brand new iPad – designation iPad 3,6 – pointing towards a modified version of the latest iPad on the market today. This release would come alongside an iPad mini at an iTunes-centered event inside October.

This iPad 3,6 comes after the three current-generation iPad 3′s on the market today, those being iPad 3,1, iPad 3,2, and iPad 3,3, each of them with their own specifications centered around the mobile carrier they are or are not with. This alongside a report shown earlier this month that there were two other iPads appearing in logs – iPad 2,5 and iPad 2,6 – have us wondering if Apple intends on updating their whole iPad line at once. With these “iPad 2″ releases it would appear that either Apple will be sticking with the low-resolution 9.7-inch tablet still on the market today for more inexpensive choices for the public, or the iPad mini will be appearing in the iPad 2 lineup.

If the iPad mini does appear in the iPad 2 lineup, this would work extremely well with the note from a few weeks ago that said the model would have essentially the same specifications as the 2nd-gen iPad, but that it’d have a 7.58-inch display instead. Several sources have spoken to this suggestion, saying the iPad mini would replace the iPad 2 as the cheaper choice for iOS lovers not needing the larger screen real-estate that the iPad 3 provides. The iPad mini has also been tipped as being a significantly less expensive device, this raising questions about how or if the device will be subsidized with mobile carriers.

Have a peek at our timeline of iPad mini stories from the past few weeks to get up to date on all things futuristic. This device has been dismissed as a cannibal of Apple device sales in the past, but with tip after tip saying the 10th of October will be the invite date while the actual Apple event will be the 17th, we’re guessing it’s the real deal. Apple will quite likely update their whole mobile range to the 8-pin dock real soon – with more power, too!

[via MacRumors]

New iPad 3 appears in code with A6 processor onboard is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple introduced a number of new job postings today, and one in particular is interesting given the company’s recent decisions relative to iPhone hardware. The posting is seeking an “SoC Modelling Architect / Lead,” or in the words of the job description, an individual who will be “at the center of a chip design effort interfacing with all disciplines, with a critical impact on getting functional products to millions of customers quickly.”

Essentially, Apple seems to be looking for a maestro for its own chip design efforts, which have taken on additional depth since Apple is now responsible for its own custom SoC design following the introduction of the A6 processor. What exactly does that involve? Well, basically, power and performance, and the management thereof.

When I recently spoke with iFixit’s Kyle Wiens, he emphasized that what Apple stood to gain by taking the reins on its own SoC design was improved power consumption and better performance, and every single core responsibly on the list of this new posting emphasizes those points. The posting also affirms what we already know about Apple – namely, that it loves when software and hardware work as closely together as possible.

So what’s the initiative? In all likelihood, we’re looking at a search for the leader of the design of the A7 or a later successor to the current A6, possibly a completely fresh start in Apple’s mobile chip-design. But there’s also the other, more tantalizing (but less realistic) possibility that this is the beginning of what TheNextWeb’s Matthew Panzarino wrote about in a piece earlier today, namely Apple’s reported plans to replace Intel processors with its own in-house designed variant. Transitioning away from Intel for Macs is something that’s been discussed plenty before, however, and it would involve significant challenges in terms of ensuring software compatibility  Still, the ad posting doesn’t say anything about “mobile” processors specifically, so the imagination tends to wander.

Update: A tipster notes that a similar listing was also posted back in May, so Apple either hasn’t found the right candidate yet or is looking for someone new to lead their chip design efforts.

Another rather fabulous step towards total cross-platform compatibility has been made this week as the AMD AppZone Player is announced with full BlueStacks power under the hood. What you’ll be doing here is working on your AMD-toting PC with an application called AMD AppZone Player – with this app you’ll be able to play any and all AMD AppZone Android-based apps at your leisure. At the moment you’ll not have direct access to the Google Play app store, but there’s always a workaround.

This announcement has the AMD AppZone Player made to work perfectly with Android apps even if they were made for phones or tablets. With the player, you’ve got BlueStacks providing you with an optimized experience that makes full use of AMD Radeon graphics and OpenGL drivers found in AMD APUs and GPUs. At the moment there are 50 free apps – some of the biggest names in the app universe in general – available for your perusal.

This technology also works with a Cloud Connect service that’ll allow you to sync both apps and SMS messages with your Android smartphone or tablet. You’ll need the BlueStacks Cloud Connect app on your Android device as well – but once you’ve got it, you’ll be up on both machines like a snap. Cloud Connect is up on the Google Play app store right this minute for you to download and utilize.

BlueStacks makes this process simple – just head to the AMD AppZone and download any app to your AMD-toting PC. When you do, you’ll have an automatic check to see if you’ve got the AMD AppZone Player, and if you don’t, you’ll have the option to download it instantly. So very simple for all the PC/Android lovers!

BlueStacks Android apps on PCs made simple with AMD AppZone Player is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

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.

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