Hasta La Gadget!

To use NVIDIA’s graphics technology, you’ve typically had to buy gadgets using NVIDIA chips — good for the company’s bottom line, but not for influencing the industry as a whole. The firm is expanding its ambition today with plans to license some of that technology on a broader scale. Beginning with the Kepler architecture, other firms can use NVIDIA’s GPU cores and graphics-related patents for their own processors and chipsets. The deal could affect a wide range of hardware, but it mostly pits NVIDIA against the likes of Imagination Technologies: a system-on-chip designer could integrate a Logan-based GPU instead of the PowerVR series, for example. While it will be some time before third-party silicon ships with NVIDIA inside, it’s already clear that the company’s in-house design is now just one part of a larger strategy.

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Tablets, NVIDIA

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Source: NVIDIA

Why in the world would it make sense for AMD to let loose an announcement about their willingness to work with groups to bring their processor architecture to Android and Chrome-toting machines here in the spring of 2013? Because of Intel. This past week, Intel paired with both Samsung and ASUS to push their silicon

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Intel has shown off its new chips for tablets, smartphones, and LTE-enabled devices, with Silvermont, Bay Trail-T, and Merrifield all revealed at Computex 2013 today. Merrifield, due to show up in Intel-powered smartphones from early 2014, is the company’s next-gen smartphone platform, a 22nm Atom SoC that was, for today’s show, wrapped up in a new touchscreen reference design.

Intel was coy on specific details about the phone, and indeed about Merrifield, though did let slip a couple of elements the new Atom chip will bring. Unsurprisingly there’s talk of both more performance and more battery life; however, there’s also apparently an “integrated sensor hub” that will be used for “personalized services.”

Intel hasn’t said exactly what those services might be – nor, indeed, what types of sensors will be included – but it does remind us of Motorola’s comments last week about the incoming Moto X, and how the company was looking to contextual understanding for its new range of phones. Merrifield will also include “capabilities for data, device, and privacy protection,” Intel says.

As for tablets, first up will be Bay Trail-T, the 22nm quadcore Atom SoC that’s expected to crop up in slates for the holiday season. Bay Trail-T is good for more than twice the processor power of current Atom for tablet chips, Intel claims, as well as a boost in processor performance; 8hrs or more of battery life is supposedly possible, based on a 10.1-inch Full HD slate with a 30Wh power pack. “Weeks of standby” and support for Android and Windows 8.1 are also promised.

However, down the line there’s Silvermont, Intel’s 22nm “low power, high performance” architecture for phones and slates. Still no word on when, exactly, that will be ready for prime-time, however.

Finally, Intel has at last rolled together its own 4G LTE modem, a multimode system to pair with next-gen 22nm quadcore Bay Trail-T Atom SoCs for tablets. Intel is promising global LTE roaming – no small feat, given the array of different networks in operation around the world – from the XMM 7160, despite the chip also apparently being one of the world’s smallest.

Intel details Merrifield new phone chip; Homegrown LTE for Bay Trail tablets is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The team at MAINGEAR have this week let it be known that they’ll be offering 4th generation Intel Core i7 “Haswell” processors in both desktop and laptop machines. Bringing this technology to the SHIFT, F1131, Potenza, and Vybe on the desktop end of the spectrum and the Nomad 15 and Nomad 17 in laptops, MAINGEAR is making it clear that they intend to remain on the cutting edge in custom gaming rigs. Intel’s 4th generation Core “Haswell” processors will be appearing first on the 4th of this month at Computex.

Where MAINGEAR’s business lives well within the bounds of the gaming universe, they’ve expressed their excitement this week over not just performance, but power efficiency, next-generation connectivity, and security features offered by the Haswell generation of Intel architecture.

Performance gets a boost in MAINGEAR machines with Haswell’s ability to work with overlocking independent of other system components. Power efficiency is a mainstay of the Haswell generation as Intel continues to emphasize the trend toward mobile machines – here offering 10 day battery life on MAINGEAR notebooks in connected standby (for example.) Compared to the first generation of MAINGEAR machines working with Intel Core technology (that’s 1st gen Intel Core, too, mind you), they say users will be working with 42% less power draw – not that you’re still using a system from several years ago, right?

But of course you are – which is exactly why you’ll see more than one comparison in the next few weeks to the first generation of Intel Core processor technology. Performance, says MAINGEAR and Intel, has increased 236% since the first generation – that’s a whopping bit of change – one you’ll likely notice if you are, indeed, switching from such an “old” system.

Intel’s Haswell generation of processors are bringing MAINGEAR systems up to speed with automatic connections to wireless hotspots as well as wireless streaming of HD and 3D video and games to your TV with Intel Wireless display. Security gets a boost with Intel’s new security features, enabling users to lock devices down and bring on aid with recovery – like freezing your partner and taking that Alien out of them when you get back to Earth.

You’ll want to have a peek at our MAINGEAR Potenza review from last year to get a peek at the hardware within. Here lies some heavy metal business on the outside, big-name gaming on the inside.

MAINGEAR brings Haswell to the custom-built gaming space is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

With the Samsung GALAXY S 4 in consumer hands internationally, fully stocked with Exynos OctaCore processors, so too has a new Chromebook been tipped with the same technology. While the big.LITTLE ARM processor architecture suggested for this next-generation machine has been implemented on the GALAXY S 4 (the international edition, that is) for a split between obvious “big” and “little” tasks, its usage in Chrome may be a bit less obvious. This device could very well be introduced at the June event teased by Samsung as well.

While the technology used in the Samsung GALAXY S 4 sets “big” tasks as high-powered games, video processing, and GPS tracking, Chrome OS doesn’t generally have such high demands. Low-powered “little” tasks appear much more regularly – messaging, music, and background bits and pieces galore. These low-powered tasks are assigned to lower power cores in the SoC, therefor keeping energy demands as minimal as possible.

It’s likely that this, not so much the high-powered end of things, would be the main reason a Samsung Exynos 5410 (or something similar) would be used in a Chromebook. The tip sent to MobileGeeks this week suggests this device might never actually come to the market, mind you.

But consider the possibilities: perhaps this means Samsung will be releasing a device not unlike the Chromebook Pixel, complete with super-high-definition display and touchscreen abilities! It was no small deal when the entirety of Google I/O 2013 was given a Pixel to develop with – Samsung may just be following up with their own high-powered web-based machine soon.

Samsung tipped to bring big.LITTLE ARM power to Chromebook is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.