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Broadcom announces yet another Android-friendly dual-core processor
Broadcom is giving Google a lot of love of late, with the announcement of its second Android-ready processor in as many months hitting us today. The new BCM28150 is a big step up from its predecessor (released in December), and sports a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 at 1.1GHz; an HSPA+ modem doing 21Mbps; and Broadcom's VideoCore IV VPU (vector processing unit). What's more, it touts 12-megapixel camera imaging, 3D video and gaming at 1080p, HDMI out, and the obligatory Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS amenities. If the BCM28150 is your bag, Broadcom plans to demo the thing in Barcelona next week, but if a trip to Spain is too rich for your blood, you can always check out the PR after the jump (and keep it locked right here for our own MWC coverage, of course).
Alcatel-Lucent's lightRadio shoves a base station in a box, minimalists cheer
They've been fashioned after palm trees, Christ on the cross, and what look to be Dyson Ball vacuum attachments. But now, Alcatel-Lucent is giving cellphone towers a makeover that might actually stick. The company's new broadband base station solution, known as lightRadio, eliminates the need for cumbersome huts at the base of cellphone towers and packs antennas into a series of 2.5-inch boxes, while simultaneously improving capacity and reducing cost. These so-called radio cubes combine 2G, 3G, and LTE antennas with an SoC for processing, making them small enough to prop up on a lamp post. They're firmware upgradable, and utilize beamforming to more efficiently connect to wireless devices; according to the company, groups of 'em can not only increase broadband capacity by 30 percent, but also cut operation costs and CO2 emissions in half. Clearly, lightRadio makes a compelling case for narrowing the digital divide, but it won't be available broadly until 2012, which means the creative cover ups will just keep on coming. Sorry, JC. [Thanks, Nathan]
Mediaroom rumors could put Microsoft IPTV on the fast track to success
We're hearing rumors today that Microsoft's already hardworking Mediaroom could be putting in overtime in the near future. According to ZDNet, not only is Microsoft working on a Mediaroom client for Windows Phone (aka Rome), but it's also got a Silverlight-for-Mediaroom project (aka Taos) in the pipeline, with a possible Silverlight-for-Mediaroom STB (aka Santa Fe) also on the way. As if it didn't already have a heavy workload, the platform is also up for a possible tie-in with Windows Media Center (aka Monaco). All this comes on the heels of chatter that the software giant is considering a new Xbox 360 TV service, incorporating Mediaroom, and news of a Silverlight SOC that could be worked into an STB like Santa Fe. All code names and acronyms aside, it looks like Microsoft is gearing up to give Apple and Google some serious internet TV competition, which means Mediaroom's going to have say goodbye to happy hour and hello to some serious all-nighters.
IBM forms new partnership with ARM in hopes of developing ludicrously small chip processing technology
We've seen IBM and ARM team up before, but this week both companies announced a new joint initiative to develop 14nm chip processing technology. That's significantly smaller than the 20nm SoC technology ARM hopes to create in partnership with TSMC, and makes the company's previous work with IBM on 32nm semiconductors look like a cake walk. The potential benefits, though, are faster processors that require less power, and feature lower per unit manufacturing costs Who knows if or when we'll see tangible results from the tag team, but if IBM's Watson can beat Jeopardy champions, further reducing the average size of a feature that can be created on a chip should be elementary, right? To read over the full announcement check out the press release after the break.
Qualcomm unveils dual-core Snapdragon reference handset at CES 2011
NVIDIA's Tegra 2 was tearing it up on the CES 2011 show floor in a host of new tablets, but unbeknownst to us, Qualcomm's long-awaited dual-core Snapdragon made a pair of cameo appearances as well. The first was in ASUS' Eee Pad MeMO, which showed off its pressure-sensitive stylus action on the floor, and the second is in the new Qualcomm reference design you see immediately above. According to a video released on Qualcomm's website -- which you can watch after the break -- Qualcomm attempted to distract tech journalists from Verizon's press conference by giving them a sneak peek at the HTC Thunderbolt here instead. Then, we like to imagine, the company brainwashed the lot into believing the 1.2GHz MSM8660 with Adreno 220 graphics is destined for a host of tablets and phones. Of course, if that's actually the case, we'll gladly join the throng. Where do we sign up?
Freescale Semiconductor and RealD working to improve active shutter 3D
Passive 3D seems to be the new home entertainment hotness at CES this year, but that doesn't mean the industry has given up on active shutter. Case in point, Freescale Semiconductor and RealD have announced they're developing an "enhanced 3D active eyewear solution" that combines Freescale's RF4CE platform for the over-the-air 3D synchronization with RealD's switching, filtering, and optical technology. Powered by Freescale's MC1323x System on a Chip, the new system hopes to eliminate many the problems plaguing IR-based active shutter like line-of-sight and of field-of-vision limitations. It should also allow 3D glasses to operate from longer distances, and since it takes advantage of the same radio frequency used by remotes, it could lower overall costs for manufacturers to boot. Keep in mind though that unlike NVIDIA's RF-based 3D Vision Pro Tech, all of these wondrous promises are just talk with no walk -- so we'll throttle our excitement until we can go eyes-on with some actual gear. For all the details hit up the PR after the break.
Microsoft confirms ARM support is coming in Windows, will play nice with SoCs too
Looks like the rumors were true: Microsoft has just confirmed that the next major revision of Windows, what we'll call Windows 8 for now, will include ARM support. The company also is throwing a little love to all the system on a chip (SoC) makers out there, indicating they'll be getting support out of the box as well. This is the sort of thing we've come to expect from Windows Embedded, but it's something new for the company's flagship product, and is something of a continued sign that the concept of a "personal computer" is only going to keep changing. Full details are in the release after the break, but be warned those details don't include anything even resembling a date. There are, however, about a zillion quotes from companies like ARM, which says: Windows combined with the scalability of the low-power ARM architecture, the market expertise of ARM silicon partners and the extensive SoC talent within the broad ARM ecosystem will enable innovative platforms to realize the future of computing, ultimately creating new market opportunities and delivering compelling products to consumers. Yep, it's a press release all right. Update: Want some more of that kind of language? Here's a whole second release full of it. Update 2: See that version 6.2.7867? It's what follows 6.1.7600, aka, Windows 7.
Qualcomm teases 28nm dual-core Snapdragons, pixel-punching Adreno 300 GPU
By the time Qualcomm's 1.5GHz QSD8672 Snapdragon finally makes it to market, it might be obsolete -- the company just announced that the new 28nm dual-core MSM8960 system-on-a-chip will have five times the performance and consume 75 percent less power than the original Snapdragon when it arrives in 2011. It's got the usual WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio modules but also a multi-mode LTE / 3G modem too, and reportedly four times the graphical muscle on board. Speaking of graphics, Qualcomm separately took the time to detail a new GPU: the Qualcomm Adreno 300 series, which will allegedly offer the gaming performance of an Xbox 360 or PS3. We'd say "We'll believe it when we see it," but that would imply doubt -- the reality is that we just want to feast our eyes on mobile gaming bliss as soon as humanly possible. [Thanks, PhineasJW]
Samsung Orion dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 chip spotted in the wild
We know it's a little tough to get excited about a chip, even if that chip is the hotly anticipated Samsung Orion. Still, bear with us, because this isn't your average slab of cellphone silicon -- the Orion's got a dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPU and a quad-core Mali 400 GPU on board. We spotted it at the ARM Technology Conference this week where it was pimping "Linaro" Linux middleware, as well as some stock Android 2.2. Unfortunately, the development boards still have a few kinks, so representatives couldn't show it pumping all those pixels to nearby HDTVs -- though we did get a butter-smooth demo of Futuremark's old Cyber Samurai benchmark running on the smaller screen. There are still rumors of this chip hitting some products late this year, but next year is much more likely. Either way, we're expecting some pretty impressive benchmarks from this thing when it inevitably winds up in the next Galaxy Tab or a flagship phone of some sort. %Gallery-107245%
Marvell's quad-core Armada processor won't see tablets or phones, destined for a mystery game platform
Looks like that quad-core Armada processor won't be having apps for breakfast after all -- confronting Marvell's Jack Kang at Mobilize 2010, he told us the chips proved too power-hungry for devices without a dedicated cord. That doesn't mean we won't see them soon, however, as the man let slip that it's actually the quad-core chip that will appear in a new game system, though we can probably rule out the Nintendo 3DS for the same reason as the phones. Marvell's still hoping to get in the mobile market in a big way, though, and that's what the tri-core Armada 628 is all about, which uses low power profiles to save battery life. According to Kang, however, the system's actually a little more exciting than that -- its two up-to-1.5GHz cores kick in when the system's under a multimedia strain, but actually shut off completely for day-to-day use, relying instead on the third 624MHz processor which slowly sips your battery juice. All we know is, we'd better find out which devices will sport these chips, and soon -- our curiosity is beginning to gnaw.
Caption Contest: NVIDIA CEO flaunts tattoo on stage, still serving cans of whoop-ass
Oh sure, NVIDIA might not have had any physical chips to show off at the GPU Technology Conference earlier this week, but CEO Jen-Hsun Huang did have one very, very special exhibit up his sleeve. Paul: "And below the logo is a picture of all the shipping devices running Tegra 2." Don: "Here are the new logo designs we've been working on, Mr. Huang." Ross: "Take a cue from Peter Moore and go with temporary. You never know where you'll be in even just a few years' time." Chris: "Huang's Boxee Box tramp stamp, of course, would remain a secret." Joanna: "And this is why I hate gun, er GPU shows." Darren: "Whatever. At least it's not a Zune tattoo." Richard Lai: "Yo Intel, this is how embedded is done." Vlad: "Jen-Hsun's displays of support for Notion Ink are starting to get out of hand..."
NVIDIA CEO: Tegra 3 almost done, Tegra 4 on the way, expect a new Tegra annually
Though NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference is primarily about the applications of GPU computing, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang hasn't shied away from revealing new silicon, and he just promised something quite unexpected to attending press: new Tegra chips. Though the Tegra 2 has yet to leave a single dent on the consumer marketplace -- the Boxee Box famously tossed it out -- Huang told us that not only is a Tegra 3 almost done and a Tegra 4 currently underway, but that we should expect a new Tegra SOC "every single year." Forgive us for being a mite skeptical of the company's ability to attract customers, but the only notches we see on Tegra's belt are the Zune HD... and Microsoft's failed Kin.
Intel plans to shrink its Atom chip circuits to just 15 nanometers, and other glorious tales of wonder
Earlier this week at IDF Intel dropped some very, very tiny news on us... namely that the Atom SoCs will soon include circuits which are 22 and 15 nanometers in size. The smaller, 15 nanometer width is the size of about 60 atoms -- seriously. Intel's processors, which are categorized by the size of their circuitry, are currently 32 nanometers at their smallest. So, we'd say you should be on the lookout for them but... yeah, well, you know where we're going with this.
Intel retires Tunnel Creek codename, debuts E600-series Atom System on a Chip
The light at the end of Intel's Tunnel Creek? The E600-series platform. As expected, this is an Atom-based system on a chip designed for embedded devices, offering up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, integrated USB and gigabit Ethernet support, plus an Ion-enabling PCIe bus. The processor itself is a 45nm chip available in speeds ranging from .6 to 1.6GHz, too slow to really rock anyone's proverbial socks, but these could make for a some mean little MIDs or perhaps a hot infotainment system for your next-gen Camry.
Marvell says Armada chips will power new game platform
Marvell's been teasing potent little processors for over a year now, but we've yet to see the firm's Armada appear in anything we'd actually want... but co-founder Sehat Sutardja just let slip that Marvell silicon will power a genuine game console of some sort. "Approximately 15% of the sequential increase [in quarterly sales] was due to the initial production revenue from our ARMADA application processors, primarily as a result of a major customer preparing to launch a new gaming platform," he told investors in a conference call last week, which roughly translates to "We just sold a load of processors for a new game console, yo" if our business-speak is correct. While there's absolutely nothing connecting this transaction to Nintendo's 3DS (which was confirmed to have a Pica200 GPU), we honestly can't think of a single other game platform slated to launch anytime soon -- so don't be surprised if there's a quad-core Armada 600 under that variably-stereoscopic hood. [Thanks, Roxanne]
ARM and TSMC team up for tinier 20nm Cortex SOCs
It's no secret that ARM ideas are powering much of the mobile revolution these days, but the company doesn't print its own systems-on-a-chip, that duty gets outsourced to silicon foundries -- like TSMC, who just got all buddy-buddy with the firm to transition future smartphone chips to the 28nm and obscenely tiny 20nm high-k metal gate processes. (We're not sure what this means for GlobalFoundries, who had a similar deal earlier this year.) As per usual with a die size reduction, ARM chips will see higher speed and have decreased power consumption, but since 20nm is (relatively) unexplored territory it could be years before chips hit the market. PR after the break, or hit the more coverage link for further explanation by an ARM VP of Marketing.
Intel reaches for the 'smartphone zone' with Moorestown-based Atom Z6, comes up shorthanded
We've seen the future of Intel's mobile platform, and it isn't all roses and sunshine. Three years after the chipmaker told us Moorestown would reduce Atom's energy consumption by a factor of 20, company execs told us earlier today that they've more than reached that goal with the new Z6xx series. Problem is, in the smartphone realm Intel's competitors haven't been sitting idle; according to one of Chipzilla's cantaloupe-and-magenta bar charts, it seems the company has merely caught up in terms of battery life. That's not to say the chips aren't worlds better than previous Atoms -- Intel sees 1.5GHz smartphone processors that slay Snapdragons and up to 1.9GHz in a tablet PC variety -- but 5 hours of web browsing is most decidedly not the 24 hours of productivity Intel previously promised. Besides, who knows: Qualcomm also has a 1.5GHz SoC in the works, though it may not be available by the time Intel's chips ship in the second half of the year. None of this is to say that Intel won't continue to dominate in the netbook marketplace -- we shudder to think at the potential when combining a nice, chunky battery with Intel's nearly leakproof new chips, and perhaps a small serving of switchable graphics while we're at it. But without a single new MID or smartphone to show us this morning -- Aava Mobile and OpenPeak's offerings seemed unchanged from our previous encounters -- we're not sure if the company's other mobile ambitions have any sway. Not technical enough of a discussion for you? Peruse our gallery for the nitty-gritty. %Gallery-92318%
Ars: Apple A4 CPU is a "feature-stripped ARM Cortex A8"
While much of the speculation over the iPad's Apple A4 CPU has been focused on the fact that it was a system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed by the minds acquired from P.A. Semi, Ars Technica's Jon Stokes has another take on the story. In a Sunday post, Stokes (who claims to have an inside scoop) notes that the chip really isn't anything more than an ARM Cortex A8 that has been stripped of much of its I/O functionality. The ARM Cortex A8, running at 600 MHz, is the SoC that powers the iPhone 3GS. Stokes goes on to note that the "A4 is a 1GHz custom SoC with a single Cortex A8 core and a PowerVR SGX GPU." What Apple appears to have done is to improve both battery life and speed by eliminating any functionality that isn't specifically required by the iPad. Common Cortex A8-based SoCs often have more onboard functions than are really required by mobile phones so that manufacturers don't need to design a special chip. As the article states, the usual Cortex A8-based SoC has infrared, RS232 serial, USB, keypad controller, and camera blocks to handle multiple input and output devices. The iPad, of course, will only need one USB port and one serial UART, both wired to the 30-pin connector at the bottom of the device. By stripping the A4 to the essentials, the heart of the iPad expends no CPU cycles or power doing anything that is unnecessary to the function of the device. Stokes believes that the real power of the device comes from the software, not from the A4, and in his conclusion he compares the iPad to the Nintendo Wii - "... another product that relies for its success not on its processor, but on its novel interface and broadly accessible software. I'm sure that if the iPad can do for mobile computing what the Wii did for console gaming, Apple will consider it a resounding success." With less than a month to go until the first iPads begin to make it into the hands of users, it's likely that other revelations about the hardware used in the devices will begin to make their way to the online media. [via AppleInsider]
iPad confirmed to use PowerVR SGX graphics, Apple job posting suggests A4 chip will hit other products
It may not be as big a surprise as the A4 itself was, but Apple has now confirmed via the latest iPad SDK Beta 3 documentation that the iPad does indeed use PowerVR SGX graphics hardware as part of its custom system-on-a-chip, which flatly contradicts previous reports of A4 using Mali, and lines up with what our pal Anand Shimpi has been telling us lately. What Apple doesn't confirm, unfortunately, is exactly which chip in the PowerVR SGX family the iPad uses, so it's still at least possible that it could pack a bigger punch than the iPhone or iPod touch. In related news, a recent Apple job posting has now also offered up the first hard evidence that Apple might actually be putting its huge investment in A4 to use other platforms besides the iPad -- shocking, we know. That job is for an Engineering Manager, who would lead a team focused on the "bring-up of iPhone OS on new platforms," and would otherwise be responsible for "low level platform architecture, firmware, core drivers and bring-up of new hardware platforms" -- experience with ARM-based SoCs is also an "additional success factor." Sound like the job you've been waiting for? Then hit up the link below for the complete details.
ST-Ericsson's U8500 brings dual-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 to the Android world
Can't get enough of hearing about implementations of ARM's Cortex-A9 MPCore processors? Good. ST-Ericsson's powerhouse U8500 system-on-chip has come a major step closer to appearing in mainstream devices with today's newly announced support for the Android operating system. Having optimized the OS to take advantage of Symmetric Multi Processing -- a method for extending battery life by sharing the load between the two processing cores and underclocking when necessary -- the partner company is now ready to start dropping these 1.2GHz dual-core beasts inside the next generation of smartphones. The claim is that you'll get all that additional power while sacrificing nothing, as devices based on the U8500 would maintain "the cost and power consumption characteristics of a traditional feature phone." We're promised built-in HDMI-out support, 1080p video recording, and 120 hours of audio playback or 12 hours of Full HD video off a 1,000mAh battery -- pledges we'd very much like to see fulfilled.
