Hasta La Gadget!

This week the folks at Huawei have revealed – or teased, really – a new phone that’ll be coming out to the public at Mobile World Congress 2013. This event is next month while the tip here comes from CES and an interview with Engadget where the CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group Richard Yu made it plain that not only will Huawei be bringing a new next-generation super-thin P-series 2 smartphone to the market with a reveal at Mobile World Congress 2013 (next month – we’ll be there), they’ll also be bringing their very own octa-core (that’s 8 CPU cores, mind you) processor to the market in the second half of the year.

This announcement has an 8-core Cortex A15 bit of action being prepared for the mainstream, or at least China – given Huawei’s push to be inside the USA bit by bit over the past year, we wouldn’t be surprised if they made an effort to release a phone or tablet with the SoC inside the states by the end of the 12 month period. This release will join the likes of Samsung who will be bringing their own 8-core design to the market this year as well – how it’ll compare to NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 is yet to be seen, 72 GPU cores and all.

Huawei’s next-generation smartphone has been confirmed by Yu as being thinner than the Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra, that being just 6.45mm. For comparison purposes, the iPhone 5 is 7.6mm thin and the Samsung Galaxy S III is 8.6mm. With a smartphone that thin, the biggest issue you’re going to have are your nerves, thinking about how you’re in more danger of busting it with your fingers than with a drop to the cement.

Have no fear, though, the body of this machine will be “metallic” – whether or not that means it’ll be metal in this case is still up for debate. We’ll be seeing more of Huawei at Mobile World Congress 2013 without a doubt. Join us starting on in our growing [MWC 2013 tag portal] and Barcelona will be delivered straight to you!

Huawei tips 8-core processor and new P-series phone for MWC 2013 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

At CES 2013, Qualcomm has made an announcement that is likely going to set their tone for most of 2013: their new Snapdragon processors are here, and they come not only with much improved features and performance, but also with a new naming scheme. The changes are broad, and Qualcomm has tried to improve just about everything from the previous Snapdragon S4 Pro. Here are the changes that you must absolutely know about in the Snapdragon 800 and 600: (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: PowerA’s MOGA Pro Controller Announced, iHome iDL100G Stereo FM Clock Radio Features Triple Charging Docks,

Today the folks at Qualcomm have outlined their next generation in mobile processing for premium and high-end smart devices galore, starting with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and aiming for a double-whammy with the Snapdragon 600 too. These processors not only take what the Snapdragon SoCs of the past have done and make with the amplification, they also introduce new technology for connectivity, performance, and location services.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800

The Snapdragon 800 is made for what Qualcomm describes as “premium mobile and computing devices”, this meaning that we’ll certainly be seeing it in a set of what are considered now to be standard Smart devices like smartphones, but that we could also see it in machines outside this standard box as well. Inside the Snapdragon 800 you get next-level pieces of the Qualcomm family all around, including the Krait 400 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU, Hexagon v5 DSP, and the ability to connect to some of the fastest mobile networks in the world with a 4G LTE Cat 4 modem.

While the top-level processor made by these folks right now is the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, that being the one you’ll find in such gems as the Google Nexus 4 and the LG Optimus G, the Snapdragon 800 will soon take its place as the head hero. The Snapdragon 800 is said by Qualcomm to deliver “up to 75 percent better” performance than the Snapdragon S4 Pro. The Snapdragon 800 also moves Qualcomm to 28nm High Performance for mobile (HPm it’s also called) technology node so that you’re using “exceptionally” low power with this lovely piece of technology.

With the Snapdragon 800 you’ve got the Krait 400 CPU in quad configuration, that in simple terms meaning there’s four of the cores on your one mobile chip, each of these cores working at up to 2.3Ghz clock speed. This all works with a technology you may have heard of before when we’re talking about multi-core processors, that being asynchronous SMP – each core is used only when you need it, and the whole system is made to conserve power whenever possible while you get peak performing processing.

The Snapdragon 800 also brings you 2x32bit LP-DDR3 at 800MHz with memory bandwidth of 12.8GBps and Hexagon DSP V5 for top-notch floating point support, expanded multimedia instructions for low power performance, and dynamic multithreading. And if you’ve never heard of any of those terms before, the next one’s really universal in how simple it is to understand: IZat.

The location technology known as IZat is brand new, bringing on multiple tracking systems into one system that’s both high performance and extremely accurate. This technology is ready and rocking for both auto and pedestrian apps of the future. You’ll be able to connect through the future with Category 4 Third Generation 4G LTE, Advanced Carrier Aggrication, and both World Mode and multi-band support – and USB 3.0, Bluetooth, and FM radio support for good measure.

In the media universe, the Snapdragon 800 is capable of UltraHD video playback, capture, and display. UltraHD video, for the uninitiated, is four times 1080p pixel density – the Snapdragon 800 also supports displays up to 2560×2048 as well as Miracast wireless video streaming at 1080p HD – this will work well with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and above, an operating system that also supports Miracast standard wireless streaming technology.

This processor also works with HD multichannel audio with DTS-HD as well as Dolby Digital Plus technology for the most block-rocking of beats. Your camera will also be fantastic as the Snapdragon 800 works with dual Image Signal Processors (ISP), this newest amalgamation bringing on the best image processing in a Qualcomm SoC yet!

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor family has been announced this week as being in sampling and is expected to be “in commercial devices” by the middle of the year here in 2013. Then there’s the Snapdragon 600, another next-generation processor that takes on many of the great points of the 800 with a slightly lower clock speed and a few different components as well.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 600

The Snapdragon 600 is expected to be popping up in high-end mobile devices by the second quarter of 2013, so quite possibly a bit sooner than its slightly more powerful associate, the Snapdragon 800. With the Snapdragon 600, Qualcomm has put together a processor made to deliver “up to 40 percent better performance” than the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and is also said to do it at lower power.

This SoC works with a quad-core Krait 300 CPU clocked up to 1.9GHz per core and engages with a newly speed-enhanced Adreno 320 GPU as well as support for LPDDR3 memory. The Snapdragon 600 also brings on “system-wide” improvements in architecture as well as connectivity features and options.

Have a peek at our Snapdragon tag portal to see more about the next generation of Qualcomm processors and prepare yourself for the hottest smart devices ever in 2013!

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and 600 quad-core mobile processors head off 2013 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple’s attempts to extricate itself from reliance on Samsung components continue, with titters from Taiwan that TSMC will begin trial production of the Apple A6X chip (found in the latest iPad with Retina) ahead of a bid for the next-gen A7 contract. The test will kick off in Q1 2013, The China Times reports, with TSMC producing a new, 28nm version of the existing 32nm A6X that Samsung has been producing for the full-sized iPad 4th-gen; the smaller chip, which will likely be more power efficient as well, will debut in a new iPad 5th-gen and iPad mini 2.

Those product launches could take place as early as the middle of 2013, the Chinese paper suggests, though it’s unclear whether that’s based on Apple leaks or extrapolation from TSMC’s trial production run. Until 2012, Apple had worked on a yearly refresh cycle for the iPad, but broke that pattern when it bumped the 9.7-inch model to the 32nm A6X and introduced the new 7.9-inch iPad mini late last year.

Although Apple has been sniffing around TSMC production for some time now, a number of factors have apparently delayed any significant plans to shift to the company from Samsung. TSMC’s manufacturing capability has been unproved, for instance, and there were doubts that the firm could in fact supply Apple with sufficient chips to meet iPad and iPhone demand.

However, there were also licensing issues around the earlier A5 and A5X processors, which were covered in part by Samsung IP. Apple switched to its own, in-house designs for the A6 and A6X, meanwhile, which give it the freedom to shop around for production foundries.

The threat to Samsung’s bottom line is that, should TSMC prove itself capable, it looks a likely candidate for the next-gen Apple A7 chipset, which could go into initial production in the second half of 2013 the paper suggests. Apple is rumored to not only be considering ARM-based processors for new iOS devices, but for future MacBook notebooks as it shifts away from Intel. Suggestions of a “Project Azalea” that would involve working with non-Samsung suppliers emerged late last year.

[via 9 to 5 Mac]

Apple in 28nm A6X trial run with TSMC as Samsung faces chip contract loss is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve been hearing that Apple is looking to replace Samsung as the main manufacturer of the CPUs found in its iDevices, and it seems that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture Company (TSMC) will be the one to eventually take the reins. We’re learning today that this could be both good and bad for TSMC – good, obviously, because Apple sells a lot of iPhones and iPads and would therefore need to buy a lot of CPUs. This could be bad for the same reason, though, considering that TSMC is going to need to dedicate a lot of its time and energy just to get Apple the components it needs.

According to DigiTimes, that has some worried that TSMC may not be able to handle the demand coming from Apple without making its other customers upset. With Apple said to begin relying on TSMC for parts next year, one of the company’s biggest challenges of the year will be making sure it allocates its resources properly so it keeps everyone happy. Other TSMC customers include the likes of Qualcomm and NVIDIA, so TSMC can’t exactly put its other customers on the back burner in favor of Apple.

With Apple’s devices requiring 200 million mobile processors a year, TSMC certainly has its work cut out for it. It’s worth pointing out that TSMC can handle the massive orders Apple is bound to place, but the question is whether or not TSMC can do this while successfully filling orders from other customers at the same time. Having recently started in on the sixth-phase construction of its Fab 14 plant, TSMC will soon be able to begin mass producing 20nm SoCs, which should help with the demand a bit.

Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see what happens when Apple begins buying its CPUs from TSMC. If it can balance the demand from Apple with the demand from other companies, then TSMC stands to make a healthy profit, which is something else market observers will be keeping an eye on. Stay tuned for more information.

Apple CPU demand might be too much for TSMC to handle is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.