CortexA8

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  • Second-gen CherryPad rumored to feature better specs for a bigger price tag

    by 
    Ben Bowers
    Ben Bowers
    01.19.2011

    After seeing Android tablets galore at CES, it seems strangely fitting that a device bearing the CherryPad moniker could top off this month's tablet news dog pile. Specifically, Mobile Magazine is sharing "unconfirmed details" about a new 7-inch Cherry-branded tablet that's said to run Android 2.2 "at a minimum" and feature a 1024x600 capacitive multi-touch display, front and rear three megapixel cameras, a 1GHz Cortex A8 cpu, and either 8 or 16GB of flash memory. Other goodies on the sequel's spec list include an integrated HDMI output, accelerometer, microSD slot and even an unlocked GSM antenna. Unfortunately, these enhancements won't be available at the old CherryPad's $200 price point -- which was pretty much the only thing the original had going for it. Instead, the new device is rumored to cost $300 to $400. The same source also reports that an official announcement is expected in just a few weeks, so in the meantime, we'll pass the hours debating whether it makes more sense to name tablets after fruits or rocks.

  • iriver Story HD e-reader preview (video)

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    01.07.2011

    Our trailer was just visited by an iriver rep bearing his company's Kindle killer in waiting, the Story HD. This 6-inch e-reader touts a bodacious 1024 x 768 resolution, which contributes to an even better contrast ratio than on Amazon's E Ink slate, while software optimizations between now and release are expected to make the Story HD the fastest-refreshing device of its kind. The display itself is built by LG Display and is accompanied by a Freescale Cortex A8 CPU, 2GB of onboard storage, and an SDHC card-reading slot. Sun rays are, as expected, absolutely no problem and we have to admit that on first sight we thought the device had a sticker affixed to its front -- its that good at reproducing printed materials. Physically, it seems to have been constructed with the third-gen Kindle as its dimensional blueprint, albeit with quite a different control scheme. The hand-built proto unit we played with wasn't really ready to have its ergonomics judged properly, but iriver has plenty of time until the expected May launch to iron out any kinks. Content distribution partnerships have already been sewn up for the US, so now it's just a matter of patience until we get our e-reading on in gorgeous XGA resolution. Video hands-on after the break. %Gallery-113350% %Gallery-113351%

  • NEC gets official with dual-screen 7-inch LT-W Cloud Communicator

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    01.05.2011

    Is it an e-reader? A two-faced tablet? Something else entirely. Hard to say for sure, but just as it promised, NEC has furnished a boatload of details surrounding its heretofore mysterious LT-W Cloud Communicator. This dual-screen Android 2.1 device shares a pair of 7-inch resistive touchpanels, both of which have a non-glare (huzzah!) panel and an SVGA (800 x 600) resolution. Under the hood, we're looking at an ARM Cortex A8 processor, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a three megapixel camera, optional 3G, SDHC card slot, a single USB 2.0 connector, an ear-ratting monaural speaker and a bundled stylus pen. There's also an internal accelerometer, GPS sensor and a battery that's good for up to five hours in ideal conditions. It seems as if NEC is aiming this at folks looking for a more sophisticated e-reading device rather than those looking for a quirky alternative to the cadre of slates already on the market, but there's no word yet on a US price and release date. Needless to say, we'll be digging for both here on the show floor. One more look is after the break.

  • Nook Color processor revealed: ARM Cortex A8-based TI OMAP3621

    by 
    Donald Melanson
    Donald Melanson
    10.28.2010

    Barnes & Noble provided most of the specs for the Nook Color when it launched the device on Tuesday, but notably absent was any word on the processor that powers the e-reader. Thankfully, Texas Instruments has now come out confirmed that the Nook Color uses its ARM Cortex A8-based, 45nm OMAP3621 processor (still no word on the speed). What's more, the processor is actually part of TI's eBook Development Platform, which the Nook Color also relies on. That's particularly interesting considering that the processor and platform support a few features that the Nook Color does not, not the least of which is 3G connectivity. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll see a future Nook Color that takes advantage of those features, but at least we know it's not too much of a stretch for Barnes & Noble to add them. Update: Texas Instruments pinged us to say the chip within the Nook Color hums along at 800MHz.

  • Lumigon T1 with ICEpower amplifiers officially unveiled, to arrive 'by the very end of this year'

    by 
    Richard Lai
    Richard Lai
    10.21.2010

    Just as promised, Denmark-based Lumigon has finally lifted the curtains over its much hyped T1 Android handset. Specs include an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 chipset with an optional Qualcomm HSDPA modem, along with a 3.5-inch 480 x 800 capacitive touchscreen LCD, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, A-GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio. What the Scandinavian company's really selling here, though, is the phone's multimedia features: not only does it have a FM transmitter, a HDMI dock and Bang & Olufsen's renowned ICEpower audio amplifiers, but it also doubles up as an "innovative" universal remote control for your various AV devices -- pretty unique for an Android device, we'll give you that. Interestingly, the press release omits any mention of Froyo, so here's a glimmer of hope that Lumigon will manage to skin whatever the latest version of Android will be in time for the launch -- a few lucky outlets will receive the phones "by the very end of this year," just in time for your Christmas refunds. Oh, and remember the sister handset S1? We're now told that this T9 slider won't be out until Q3 2011. Sometimes it's better to take one step at a time, eh?%Gallery-105684%

  • Efika MX Smartbook now on sale for an exceedingly unattractive price

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    09.05.2010

    Ah, ha! If you'll recall, we happened upon a Lenovo-branded netbook of sorts back in June, but curiously enough, Freescale and Pegatron components were powering the thing. Now, it seems that yet another flavor has emerged as the Efika MX Smartbook. Frankly, we aren't too sure this thing fits into the 'smartbook' category (given the comparatively spacious 10-inch display), but we are sure that the $349 price point is borderline absurd considering the wealth of decent netbook options at or below that very MSRP. At any rate, those still interested should know that there's an 800MHz i.MX515 processor under the hood along with 16GB of NAND Flash, an MMC / SD card slot, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, a 1,024 x 600 resolution panel and enough oomph to power through HD video, supposedly. Tap that source link if you're looking to take a risk, but we'd probably recommend against it.

  • General Dynamics' GD300 is the Pip-Boy that runs Android

    by 
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    08.09.2010

    Yes, we totally stole this headline from our Spanish colleagues, but they summed it up perfectly -- the General Dynamics Itronix GD300 is right out of Fallout 3, well ahead of HP's model. It's a full-on wrist- or chest-mounted GPS unit with an unspecified version of Android at the helm, designed to deliver both real-time global positioning (with a SiRFstarIII chip and stubby quad-helix antenna) and connect to tactical radios. The eight-ounce ruggedized plastic package is MIL-STD 810G tested for durability and holds a 600MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 256MB of memory, 8GB flash storage and a 3.5-inch, 800 x 480 "glove-friendly" and "sunlight readable" touchscreen display. That's only about as powerful as your average consumer smartphone, but you're not going to be painting targets on your Nexus One, we suppose. No word on whether it will pick up post-apocalyptic radio stations as your mission unfolds. We've got a close-up photo and press release after the break, and you can find the full brochure at our source link.

  • DIYer constructs 4.3-inch Open SciCal graphing calculator, puts your TI-83+ to shame

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    08.07.2010

    What's 4.3-inches diagonally, costs $200 to build and has absolutely no reception issues when held as shown in the image above? Why, the Open SciCal! Matt Stack, the genius who pieced this gem together, relied on a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, 8GB SD card, WiFi module and a spartan web browser in order to concoct what's likely the most desirable graphing calculator this side of Pluto. The handheld device weighs about 1.6 pounds, runs Linux as well as the statistically inclined R, and is reportedly capable of doing roughly twice as much crunching as Texas Instruments' Nspire. Skeptical? Considering that this bad boy sucked down stock data from Yahoo! Finance and ran auto-correlation on the numbers in order to near-instantly report current trends, we're guessing TI (or any other graphing calculator company, really) has no room to argue. Hit the source for more details, and don't worry -- that feeling of insignificance wanes with time.

  • Lenovo IdeaPad smartbook appears, powered by Freescale and Pegatron

    by 
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    06.23.2010

    When Lenovo decided to shelve the Skylight smartbook, there were many tears here at Engadget HQ, but it seems the company's ambitions continue in the smartphone-turned-netbook realm. Notebook Italia reports that a new Lenovo IdeaPad has surfaced at the Freescale Technology Forum this week, powered by a Freescale i.MX515 SoC with an 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, smartphone-esque battery life, and a power management system reportedly robust enough that it doesn't even need to be cooled. If all this sounds rather familiar, it might be because you've seen it before -- it appears Lenovo simply tweaked the low-power Pegatron reference design that we wrote about early last year. Not that we're complaining or anything.

  • Nokia N900 drops to $369, unlocked

    by 
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    06.23.2010

    Hard to believe but after all this time the N900 remains the most powerful handset in Nokia's vast collection of cellphones. No other Nokia handset even comes close and that won't change until Nokia launches the Symbian^3-powered N8 or the MeeGo-powered N9. So if you've got the dough and a certain inclination to write Python scripts on a Friday night, you might want to think about sliding $369 (down from $649 at launch or $479 currently at Nokia USA) Espoo's way for a crack at the ARM Cortex A8 slider. Sure, it's not the freshest face on the block, but the development community will certainly help eek-out every last bit of value for many months to come. P.S. Don't forget to apply the coupon code LL17PBSTFKZ440 to get the reduced price.

  • Apple's A4 is like Samsung's S5, except where it's not

    by 
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    06.18.2010

    Though the Apple iPad and the Samsung Wave most assuredly share the same brain, EE Times would like you to know there's more to a chip than its core -- analyzing Apple's system-on-a-chip designs in detail back to early iPhones, the publication noticed that Cupertino's silicon both has custom design quirks on top of ARM and shows heavy influence from Samsung as well. EE Times claims that while the A4 and Samsung S5PC110 are similar, there are certainly differences, enough to call the A4 a custom design. Essentially, Apple has a taken a one-size-fits-all product originally engineered to meet the needs of a broad range of OEMs and reduced its complexity, footprint, and cost to match Apple's particular goals. As far as whether PA Semi or Intrinsity had a hand in that design, the authors suggest only the latter seems very involved. What all this means for intellectual property questions is anyone's guess -- we'll let the lawyers fight that one out -- but when you encounter diehard fans that claim one's ripping off the other, at least now you'll be able to calmly explain the situation. Find the deep technical dive at our source link.

  • Apple's A4 system-on-chip gets decoupled from iPad, investigated with the help of an X-ray

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    04.06.2010

    Ever so gently, we're starting to peel away the layers of mystery surrounding the A4 system-on-chip that powers Apple's fancy new slate device. iFixit, helped by reverse engineering firm Chipworks, have gone to the trouble of both dissecting and X-raying the iPad's central processing hub in their quest to lift the veil of ignorance. Their findings confirmed that the A4 is built using a "package on package" method, meaning that the 256MB of Samsung-provided SDRAM is stacked immediately atop the CPU, which is noted as being reductive to both latency and energy use. With a single core processor inside, the iFixit team concluded the iPad had to be running on a Cortex A8 -- which is very much the likeliest choice at this point -- but their assertion that it couldn't be a Cortex A9 MPCore inside is inaccurate, as those chips also come in single-core options. Either way, it'll be interesting to see how it stacks up against Samsung's Hummingbird chip, which was designed by Intrinsity, the same company Apple is being rumored to have recently acquired. Finally, the visual inspection of the iPad's mobo puts a model number to the already known PowerVR GPU, narrowing it down to the SGX 535, while also naming and picturing a number of other exciting components, such as the always popular capacitive touchscreen controller. Hit the source link below for all the lurid images.

  • Apple's A4 SoC faces Qualcomm Snapdragon in knock-down-drag-out benchmarking test

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    04.04.2010

    Up until now, a shroud of mystery has surrounded Apple's custom engineered A4 system-on-chip; we know it's clocked at 1GHz, likely tied to Apple's prior acquisition of P.A. Semi and manufactured by Samsung. Outside of that, the only other knowledge we've gained has come not from the mouth of Cupertino, but from the extracting wizards over at iFixit. The A4 contains at least three layers of circuitry layered on top of each other, though it's packaged just like the iPhone processor: microprocessor in one package and two memory modules in the other package. We also learned that the iPad RAM is actually inside of the A4 processor package, and we're expecting to learn even more from those folks in the coming days. All that said, there's still much debate on whether Apple's own silicon can stand up to Qualcomm's heralded 1GHz Snapdragon, the chip powering Google's Nexus One among other things. AnandTech pitted their iPad against the iPhone 3GS (600MHz ARM Cortex A8) and the aforesaid Nexus One (1GHz Snapdragon QSD8250), using a number of website loads as the primary benchmark. Overall, the A4 proved to be around 10 to 30 percent faster, though it's impossible to say what effect the operating system has on things. Have a gander at that source link for more -- we get the feeling the competitions have just begun.

  • Apple's A4 chip: less is more?

    by 
    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    03.01.2010

    Although early erroneous reports placed Apple's custom A4 chip at the leading edge of ARM-based design, things are slowly falling back to earth. First, we learned that the graphics subsystem was almost certainly the same PowerVR SGX component found in the iPhone, and now Ars Technica reports that the actual CPU is the familiar single-core Cortex A8 also found in Apple's handset. That makes the A4 seem an awful lot like an tightened-up, overclocked iPhone 3GS chip, which makes sense, seeing as it was actually in production in September of last year. So why the need for a custom part? The answer may well be efficiency and power savings: by cutting out extraneous Cortex A8 features and I/O that go unused in the iPad, Apple can further reduce the A4's size and energy draw -- which could be why Steve Jobs said the iPad's chips "use hardly any power." That might not make a huge difference when tied to a large LCD in a device like the iPad, but Ars speculates that this strategy combined with some of P.A. Semi's dynamic power optimization tech could result in a hyper-efficient chip for the iPhone somewhere down the line. That would certainly be interesting in the future -- but right now we've got the A4, and we can't wait until the end of the month to properly put this thing through its paces.

  • Freescale reveals 7-inch smartbook reference design, hopes to see it ship for $200

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    01.04.2010

    Freescale Semiconductor is helping to kick this year's CES off with a bang, as its latest reference smartbook design actually has somewhat of a sexy flair to it. Currently, the model is little more than a great idea, but the company is hoping to have it available for partner evaluation starting next month. In theory, at least, this "smartbook tablet" would boast an ultrathin form factor, weigh around 0.8 pounds and get powered by a 1GHz i.MX515 processor. Other specs would include 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,024 x 600 touch panel, 4GB to 64GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, optional 3G WWAN module, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, a USB 2.0 socket, audio in / out, 3 megapixel camera, inbuilt 3-axis accelerometer, an ambient light sensor and a 1,900mAh battery. We aren't quite sure what kind of bulk discounts Freescale is counting on, but it's hoping that this design will "enable a second generation of smartbook products with prices less than $200." We dig the ambition and all, but we're guessing OEMs will actually want to turn a profit should they sign on to sell something like this. %Gallery-81144%

  • Direct Insight debuts SODIMM-sized, ARM-based computer-on-a-module

    by 
    Donald Melanson
    Donald Melanson
    12.05.2009

    Well, it may not exactly be the computer everyone's been pining for, but those that have dreamed of an ARM Cortex-A8-based computer on a SODIMM module now finally one to call their own. That comes in the form of Direct Insight's new TRITON-TX51, which outdoes the Nokia N900 with an 800MHz Cortex-A8 processor, along with Freescale's i.MX515 system-on-a-chip, 128MB DDR400 RAM, 128MB of NAND flash, and a touchscreen controller that can drive screens at resolutions up to 1,280 x 768. You'll also get some other things nice to have on a computer like a 10/100 ethernet controller and a USB 2.0 interface, and even a reasonably capable PowerVR graphics engine that can do OpenGL ES 2.0 and hardware 720p decoding for MPEG-4/H264 video. Look for this one to land sometime next month for €150 (or just over $220).

  • Nokia N900 now shipping in the land of Ford freedom trucks

    by 
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    11.25.2009

    Love to tinker and tweak your smartphone? Find running beta apps a challenge, not a burden? Then you'll be happy to hear that Nokia's N900 running Maemo 5 is now shipping in the US, a week later than the press release suggested. This Cortex-A8 phone with 32GB of on-board storage is ripe with potential and the perfect holiday gift for grandma as long as she's comfortable dropping into the X Terminal for the occasional "rm -R /home/user/.microfeed" command. It's still listed for $649 unlocked from Nokia direct though that price will be dropping soon enough. [Thanks, Alex]

  • Sony Ericsson Kurara previewed way ahead of release

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    11.23.2009

    We were promised a preview of Sony Ericsson's Symbian-sporting Satio sibling, and indeed here we are, looking at the machine-translated Kurara analysis courtesy of Eldar from Mobile Review. He pulls no punches in his introduction by noting that the new handset will offer little in terms of specs to trump the Samsung i8910 HD, and sketching out the tough market it'll have to compete in once the Nokia X6 comes out and starts grabbing market and mindshare alike. As to the phone itself, he describes the 8.1 megapixel camera as an "inexpensive" unit and lets the sample photos and 720p sample video shot with it speak for themselves. Battery life was found to be "lacking," though we congratulate SE on electing to use a 3.5mm headphone jack and MicroSD memory expansion over its own proprietary formats. Overall, the Kurara was "pleasant to use," but lacked the necessary wow factor and its fate, says Eldar, will depend on just how keenly Sony Ericsson wants to price it.

  • Sony Ericsson Kurara has speedy Cortex A8, PowerVR purring inside

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    11.19.2009

    Eldar Murtazin, the man/legend behind Mobile Review has snagged one of those already leaked SE Kurara handsets, and he's got some juicy info to share with the rest of us. Apparently, the CPU on that little goer is a Cortex A8, backed by 256MB of RAM and a PowerVR graphics processor. It's no surprise then that the HD label we saw earlier has been corroborated by 720p video recording and playback capabilities, and the Symbian S60 interface is said to "fly." Eldar promises fuller impressions and more imagery by tomorrow, and indicates the second half of February as the likely landing date for the new handset, with a price point around €500 ($745) in Europe. [Thanks, Alex]

  • ZiiLABS ZMS-08 offers Cortex A8-powered Full HD and Flash acceleration for netbooks

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    11.09.2009

    We haven't even seen the Zii EGG make its long-anticipated consumer debut yet, but Creative is already building up steam for its next Zii venture. ZiiLABS' ZMS-08 is a third generation mobile media accelerator / system-on-a-chip that boasts its predecessor's 1080p playback and 24fps encoding, and HD video conferencing via simultaneous 720p encoding and decoding, while adding all-new OpenGL ES 2.0 support, an integrated HDMI controller, X-Fi audio and Flash acceleration. Paired to a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8, and running a custom flavor of Android alongside Plaszma OS, the new Zii chip will look for homes in "web tablets, netbooks, connected TVs" and the like, but seemingly not smartphones. ZiiLABS has already signed up a number of clients, who'll start receiving shipments in Q1 of 2010. Full PR and an architectural diagram after the break.