Gizmo Ground

You seem to think your iPad is pretty cool? Wait for a new chip that will help make even more advanced generation of 'super smartphones'. ARM Holdings, the UK microchip unit behind the success of Apple's mobile devices, said its new chip, code-named Eagle, would allow Apple and other mobilephones makers, to create phones with five times the "brain power" of current models. 


Ian Drew, ARM's marketing director, said the new chip would help develop phones with "five times better content and five times better performance" by 2013, according to the Telegraph. "It will be like carrying a computer around in your pocket, but it will only be the size of a phone and will have the battery life to last all day," he said.

Drew said the new Cortex A15 chip would allow mobile phoneapplication designers to let their imagination soar to create a new generation of games and tools. Apple's iPhone4 and iPad are based on ARM's current Cortex A8 chip. ARM's designs are used in almost all of the world's mobile phones.

ARM has signed initial agreements with Texas Instruments, ST-Ericson and Samsung, and the vast majority of mobile phone makers are expected to follow suit. The new low-power design will also help ARM break into computer servers and TVs. 

Qualcomm announced its next mobile processor architecture for the Snapdragon family. The new processor micro-architecture, code-named Krait, in the next-generation Snapdragon will redefine performance for the industry, offering speeds of up to 2.5GHz per core and delivering 150 percent higher overall performance, as well as 65 percent lower power than currently available ARM-based CPU cores. These chipsets will be available in single-, dual- and quad-core versions and include a new Adreno GPU series with up to four 3D cores, and integrated multi-mode LTE modem.
The latest family of Snapdragon chipsets will include the single-core MSM8930?, the dual-core MSM8960? and the quad-core APQ8064. All chipsets in the family will integrate a quad-combo of connectivity solutions -WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and FM -and include support for near field communication (NFC), as well as stereoscopic 3D (S3D) video and photo capture and playback. Support for every major operatingsystem, across all tiers of products, comes standard on all Snapdragon chipsets.The MSM8930 will be the world?s first single-chipset with an integrated LTE modem. The chipset will include the new Adreno 305 GPU that is supposed to deliver six times the performance of the original Adreno.
The MSM8960 is the world?s first dual-core solution with an integrated multi-mode 3G /LTE modem. The MSM8960 will also support dual-channel LP DDR memory and will feature the Adreno 225 GPU which is supposed to churn around 8 times the original Adreno?s performance.The APQ8064 will include four asynchronous CPU cores and will include support for both PC and LP DDR memory, serial and PCIe interfaces, and multiple USB ports. Also integrated will be the Adreno 320 quad-core GPU, which is said to perform 15 times better.
The above chipsets clearly indicate at what rates we can expect our smartphones to improve, with 3D media content and games being an important asset. Samples for the MSM8960 should be out in the next quarter of 2011 while the MSM8930 and APQ8064 samples might launch early next year.
Qualcomm also delivers the latest Adreno GPUs in the software, which allow developers to use high-performance Adreno graphics capabilities to make amazing gaming and user experiences across all device tiers. The Adreno GPU has the largest mobile graphics ecosystems.The Next -Generation Snapdragon Chipset includes Adreno 320 quad-core GPU which will deliver 15 times more performance that the original Adreno. The dual-core MSM8960 is the world?s first dual-core solution with an integrated multi-mode 3G/LTE modem, which delivers eight times the performance of the original Adreno.