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Alleged Exynos 5 specs leaked in slide show spyshot
Did the murmurings about a quad-core Galaxy S III this morning leave you feeling a bit... meh? We don't blame you. Sure, four cores and integrated LTE sounds great but (and this is a big "but"), Cortex-A9 is old hat. What we really want to hear about are those upcoming Cortex-A15 chips. Well, this should get your blood flowing -- a slide has leaked, allegedly loaded with detailed Exynos 5 specs. Looks like initial entrants will have a pair of A15 cores running at 2GHz, backed up by a quad-core Mali T-604 MP4 GPU. All of that will supposedly be built with Samsung's new 32nm High-K Metal Gate process. We've been unable to independently verify these details, but they are in line with what we've been led to expect. Still, until some Sammy PR comes down the pipeline we're taking everything with a grain of salt.[Thanks, John]
Unnamed Samsung exec says quad-core Exynos inside Galaxy S III, LTE on-chip
An unnamed Samsung exec hinted to the Korea Times that its upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S III, will include a next-gen quad-core Exynos chip that will incorporate LTE and WCDMA radios. Of course, such a revelation shouldn't come as too much of a surprise since both its predecessors were built around home grown silicon... at least originally. According to the source, Sammy is trying to become more self reliant and distance itself from Qualcomm which has provided single-chip solutions for a number of the manufacturer's high-end handsets. The new AP appears to be the 32nm slab of silicon we heard about before MWC, which is sporting four A9 cores and not the more powerful A15. The executive said the development of the all-in-one chip is complete and its simply a matter of sticking them inside smartphones. Now, when exactly we can hope to see such a device hit the market is still a bit of a mystery.
Taking next-gen augmented reality for an ARM-powered walk around the block
We know what you're thinking, because we initially thought it too, but this isn't your average AR. With the help of chip designer ARM, a number of developers are building a new type of augmented reality that is altogether more powerful than the usual sprite-on-a-surface routine. Instead of requiring well-lit, artificial and often indoor surfaces and markers, this new technology sucks every ounce of juice from a smartphone's processor in order to recognize, track and augment real-world 3D objects like people and buildings. It's still at an early stage and far from being practical, but the exclusive videos after the break ought to prove that this approach has potential. In fact, it's probably what augmented reality ought to have been in the first place. Read on for more.
iPhone 4S vs. the smartphone elite: Galaxy S II, Bionic and Titan
Now that we know how the iPhone 4S stacks up against the iPhone 4, let's take a look at how Apple's latest smartphone compares to its mightiest competitors on the other major platforms -- Android and Windows Phone. In Google's camp we chose the superlative Samsung Galaxy S II models (focusing on the announced US variants) along with the Motorola Droid Bionic for its qHD and LTE chops. We then picked the upcoming HTC Titan to bat for Microsoft's team. RIM's not included here since it's still stuck in the junior leagues. We left out the intriguing Nokia N9 because it's a niche player. Check out the fancy table after the break -- the results are pretty clear cut!
Samsung releases 1.5GHz Exynos processor and 16MP CMOS for mobiles, if you're nice
Samsung's just announced the newest and fastest version of its Exynos mobile processor. The 4212 is a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 clocked to 1.5GHz, built using a 32mn process that makes it 30 percent more efficient and 25 percent faster than the 4210. Last year's model was capable of many impressive feats, but its 3D abilities were hampered by the limits imposed by its HDMI 1.3 controller. The new boy gets version 1.4 and hence the freedom to run stereoscopic imagery at an impressive 70fps. The chips will be available in Q4 of this year, but only to "select customers" who -- we guess -- look after Mr and Mrs. Samsung's cats over the holidays. The chip comes too late for the Galaxy S II LTE but we can expect to see it in future superphones before too long. At the same time, the company released a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor designed for mobile devices. It can shoot stills at the quoted figure and is theoretically capable of 30fps video at around half that, although we're unlikely to see a device that can record 8 megapixel video in the near future. If you hadn't guessed, "select customers" will get their extra-polite hands on the Samsung S5K2P1 in November, other OEMs will have to wait outside, in the snow. Of course, as everyone knows, it's not about how big your megapixel count is, it's what you do with 'em that really counts.
