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Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 400 with built-in LTE, new reference tablet designs
Qualcomm doesn't want to reserve the fastest wireless technology for its highest-end processors: it's launching a new quad-core edition of its Snapdragon 400 chip, the MSM8926, with both 3G and LTE built-in. The 1.2GHz, Cortex-A7 part will handle the faster wireless speeds alongside 42Mbps HSPA+ and China-friendly TD-SCDMA. It will also continue to support shorter-range technology like 802.11ac WiFi and Miracast streaming. The newer Snapdragon should arrive late this year alongside a matching Reference Design tablet. In the shorter term, the company is also introducing 7- and 10-inch versions of the Reference Design tablet that will be based on earlier, 3G-only versions of the Snapdragon 400 (the MSM8230 and MSM8030). These variants are targeted at developing world markets, and should be display on the Computex show floor this week -- naturally, we're hoping to get a first-hand look.
Qualcomm's two new 1GHz dual-core chipsets make S1-to-S4 migration easier for manufacturers (updated)
If the most recent batch of S4 chips from Qualcomm wasn't enough to completely satiate your thirst for new SoC's, the folks from San Diego are adding two more options to the already heapin' pile. At the 2011 Uplinq China Conference in Shenzhen, Qualcomm announced the MSM8625 and MSM8225 S4-class dual-core chipsets, both of which can clock up to 1GHz and pack an Adreno 203 GPU plus a 3G modem. While these numbers aren't relatively exciting at this day and age, the real selling point here is that these chips are actually software and hardware-compatible with the entry-level MSM7x27A and MSM7x25A S1 chips, meaning some of the existing S1-based designs can be quickly and easily adapted to these new S4 chips. Interested manufacturers can nab some of this new silicon from the third-generation Qualcomm Reference Design (QRD) program -- which was also announced today as Qualcomm enters the smartphone reference design business -- or standalone in the first half of 2012, but let's just hope we won't end up seeing too many familiar-looking phones. Press release attached after the break. Zach Lutz contributed to this report. Update: We just did a hands-on with one of Qualcomm's new reference designs -- the one we played with had Dianxin OS installed, but we also came across one powered by Aliyun OS. Neither were running smoothly but we've been told they were slightly rushed so we'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Anyhow, enjoy the photos. %Gallery-141412% %Gallery-141413%
