MWC 2012: Rumors: Samsung Galaxy III (3) coming in two versions, dual-core and quad-core.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

If Eldar Murtazin is to be believed, the Samsung Galaxy S III will come in both dual-core and quad-core iterations and feature 12-megapixel cameras. What's more, the phones are said to run Android 4.0 with a "tweaked" UI, likely Samsung's TouchWiz, and feature an HD display. Assuming the latter is true, we might expect to see a similar screen size (4.5 inches and above) and resolution (1,280x720 pixels) as the Galaxy Nexus.

There is mention as to how much memory or storage is included in the next-generation smartphone, but rumors have been floating around for some time. With numbers that range from as low as 1GB RAM and 16GB storage to as outlandish as 2GB RAM and 64GB storage, it's tough to say for sure.

Source: CNET

Samsung Announces Dual-core:The Orion Mobile Processor with two 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores

Samsung has announced a dual-core application processor for tablets PCs, netbooks and smartphones that will be able to handle 1080p video playback and recording, the company said on Tuesday.

The Orion processor contains a pair of 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores, and its capabilities give a hint at what we can expect from mobile products in 2011.

Besides handling video playback and recording at 1080p and 30 frames per second, a smartphone based on Orion can be equipped with two displays, while at the same driving a third external display such as a TV or a monitor via an HDMI port, according to Samsung.

Samsung is also pushing Orion's graphics performance. With an improved graphics processor, Orion is capable of delivering five times the 3D graphics performance over the previous processor generation from Samsung, which is used on its smartphone Galaxy S and the newly announced Galaxy Tab.

Orion will be available to "select customers in the fourth quarter of 2010" and will go into "mass production in the first half of 2011," according to Samsung.

Samsung isn't the only company working on dual-core processors for smartphones and other smaller portable products, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments are also working on products.

OMAP™ 4 Platform - OMAP4430/OMAP4440

Chip Block Diagram

Enlarge

OMAP™ 4 Key Benefits

• Designed to drive smart phones and Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)
• IVA 3 hardware accelerators enable full HD 1080p, multi-standard video encode/decode
• Faster, higher-quality image and video capture with digital SLR-like imaging up to 20 megapixels
• Dual-core ARM® Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ with Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP)
• Integrated POWERVR™ SGX540 graphics accelerator drives 3D gaming and 3D user interfaces
• Highly optimized mobile applications platform
• OMAP4430 operates at up to 1 GHz
• OMAP4440 operates at 1+ GHz

Feature	Allows
45-nm CMOS process	The highest levels of processor performance and lowest power consumption
Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore with Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP)	Higher mobile computing performance PC-like web browsing 150 percent performance increase versus previous ARM Cortex-A8 core Faster user interfaces and less power consumption SMP’s scalable performance activates only the cores that are needed for that particular process
IVA 3 multimedia accelerator	Full HD 1080p30 multi-standard video encode/decode Hardwired codecs deliver high performance at low power levels Programmable DSP provides flexibility for future codecs
Imagination Technologies’ POWERVR™ SGX540 graphics core	2x the sustained performance compared to the previous SGX530 core Compelling graphics interfaces Supports large screen sizes at higher frames per second while still consuming less power than previous cores Supports all the major APIs, including: OpenGL® ES v2.0, OpenGL ES v1.1, OpenVG v1.1 and EGL v1.3
Integrated Image Signal Processor	Enhanced image quality Faster system performance Reduced external components Lower system cost Lower system power
M-Shield™ mobile security technologyenhanced with ARM TrustZone support and based on open APIs	Content protection Transaction security Secure network access Secure flashing and booting Terminal identity protection Network lock protection
SmartReflex™ 2 technology	Advanced power reduction Dynamically controlled voltage, frequency and power based on device activity, modes of operation and temperature
TWL6030/6040 power management/audio codec companion devices support	Maximized battery life Boosted system performance Significantly reduced board space and system cost Efficiently managed energy and audio functionality
Low Power Audio	Provides up to 140+ hours of CD-quality audio playback
Comprehensive Software Suite	Faster time to market Lower R&D costs Ensures highest performance possible in customer’s handsets

Support Features:

• Composite TV output
• HDMI v1.3 output to drive HD displays
• Larger, color rich display support up to WUXGA (1920 x 1200)
• MIPI serial camera and serial display interfaces
• MIPI® SLIMbus^SM
• MMC/SD
• USB 2.0 On-The-Go High Speed
• Comprehensive software suite supporting all major mobile OSes that is fully integrated and tested for real-world use cases to reduce development time and costs
• OMAP Developer Network provides programs and media components for manufacturers to create distinctive products delivered to market quickly

  

Qualcomm News and Events – Press Releases – Qualcomm Ships First Dual-CPU Snapdragon Chipset

Third-generation Snapdragon Solutions Feature Two Application Processor Cores Running up to 1.2 GHz to Enable Advanced Smartphones

TAIPEI, Taiwan – June 01, 2010 – Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), a leading developer and innovator of wireless technologies, products and services, today announced the Company has sampled its first dual-CPU Snapdragon™ chipsets. The Mobile Station Modem™ (MSM™) MSM8260™ and MSM8660™ solutions integrate two of the Company’s enhanced cores running at up to 1.2GHz. Targeted at enabling high-end smartphones, the MSM8x60 solutions are third-generation chipsets from the Company’s expanded Snapdragon platform, which has been powering smartphones, tablets and smartbook devices in markets around the world.

“Qualcomm’s first-generation Snapdragon chipsets set a new standard for advanced smartphones and smartbook devices, and our second-generation solutions are already shipping in volume,” said Steve Mollenkopf, executive vice president of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “We are very excited by the innovation our customers are already showing as they begin designing products based on our dual-core MSM8260 and MSM8660 chipsets.”

The MSM8260 for HSPA+ and MSM8660 for multi-mode HSPA+/CDMA2000® 1xEV-DO Rev. B feature two enhanced CPU cores running at up to 1.2GHz for high levels of Web application and multimedia performance, including a powerful GPU with 3D/2D acceleration engines for Open GLES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1 accelration, 1080p video encode/decode, dedicated low power audio engine, integrated low power GPS, and support for 24-bit WXGA 1280 x 800 resolution displays.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon family of chipset solutions includes:
• First-generation products: QSD8x50™ with 1GHz enhanced core
• Second-generation products: MSM8x55™ and QSD8x50A™ with 1GHz enhanced core, including multimedia optimizations and 1.3GHz enhanced core, respectively
• Third-generation products: MSM8260, MSM8660 and QSD8672 with dual-CPU architecture featuring enhanced cores running at up to 1.2GHz and 1.5GHz, respectively

    

Dual-core smartphones on the horizon

Francisco De Jesús  August, 13, 2010

Smartphones will reach everything you make on your computer desktop, laptops, netbooks and tablets with a smaller display screen. As well as the netboooks trend is to vanish sometime, you will using more time than now your next dual-core processor smartphone. LTE networks to launch late 2010 and in 2011 will clearly demand smartphones users, improved mobile hardware devices to take advantage in a better way of the higher speeds of the net.

You may be able to enjoy LTE with your 3G smartphone but not so fast as a  4G dual-core device.

- Smartphones are on the verge of becoming more powerful, with chip makers readying dual-core chips that could accelerate multimedia and application performance on handheld devices.


Most smartphones are only capable of 720p video and come with processors touching speeds of around 1GHz, but users are demanding more performance, analysts said. A new generation of dual-core processors could allow users to watch full 1080p high-definition video and run more demanding applications.


Phone makers haven't officially announced plans to put dual-core chips in smartphones, but the chip makers are getting ready. Qualcomm has already shipped its first dual-core processor, the MSM8660, and is due to start sampling a faster dual-core chip, the QSD8672, later this year. Texas Instruments is scheduled to ship a dual-core chip, the OMAP4430, later this year, and it could reach devices early next year.


People are running demanding applications on smartphones that require more computational power, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst of Insight 64. For example, Apple's FaceTime video-conferencing application demands a lot of performance with multiple video streams and picture-in-picture capabilities. As video images move to higher resolutions and video-calling capabilities reach more smartphones, devices will need faster processors.


Breaking up application execution over two processing cores will allow users to do more with smartphones while preserving battery life, Brookwood said. TI and Qualcomm said smartphones with their new dual-core chips will be able to render Web pages and video faster, and play back 1080p high-definition video.


"This benefit allows for far more concurrency in applications. You've got an additional processor to handle background tasks, running multiple applications or updating multiple web pages simultaneously," said Robert Tolbert, director of product management for the OMAP smart phone business at TI.


An alternative would be to speed up a single-core processor by ratcheting up the clock speed, which could lead to excess heat dissipation and battery drain, Brookwood said. Adding an additional core would be a more power-efficient way to boost chip performance.


"[Processors] typically require more power ... as you increase clock speed. If you keep the frequency lower, you can save enough power to drive two cores at a lower frequency," Brookwood said.


However, a big challenge is to make multiple cores as power efficient as possible without asking the user to pay a penalty in terms of battery consumption, Tolbert said.


"Dual-core doesn't necessarily bring power reduction since you are exercising more silicon area with two processors versus one processor," Tolbert said.


To tackle that issue, TI and Qualcomm are bringing unique power management capabilities to manage processing over multiple cores. The companies are introducing features to dynamically switch cores on and off. For example, depending on the task, one CPU core will be able operate at full speed, while the other could be clocked down to idle.


Smartphones are treading the path of laptops and desktops, which already include multicore chips. The first multicore processors were implemented in IBM's Power4 server chips, but the trend trickled down to PCs when chip makers like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices reverted to adding cores to microprocessors.
But the challenges of developing multicore processors are more taxing on smartphone chip makers because of the smaller device sizes.


"The size, power and thermal constraints put in place by the end equipment are more relaxed in a PC than in a smartphone," Tolbert said.


TI's OMAP4430 is based on Arm's Cortex-A9 processor design and will run at a speed of around 1GHz. The chip is in the final stages of development and qualification, the company said.


Qualcomm said devices with the MSM8660, which runs at 1.2GHz, are expected by the first quarter of next year, and potentially as early as the end of this year. The faster QSD8672, which runs at 1.5GHz, will start sampling by the end of 2010 and reach devices next year.

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