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Qualcomm shows off MSM8660's slick video performance on development kit (video)
If you've been closely tracking the development of Qualcomm's 1.5GHz dual-core MSM8660, you would've already seen AnandTech's impressive set of benchmark results back in early April. But of course, it'd be more convincing to actually see this chipset in action, so Qualcomm's latest videos of its Mobile Development Platform should satisfy your curiosity. As demoed after the break, this Snapdragon's Adreno 220 is seen effortlessly handling in-page HTML5 video streaming, Flash video streaming, and 1080p playback. And as a sideshow, Qualcomm even put its current-gen single-core QSD8255 head-to-head with a rival dual-core chipset -- no doubt a Tegra 2 in an LG Optimus 2x -- and easily won the Flash video contest. All of this might lure you into getting the MDP as your next everyday phone, but here's the bad news: this professional kit will cost you a dear $1,350. So unless you're feeling very generous, you'd probably want to wait for the consumer devices to arrive in the summer -- think EVO 3D, Sensation (with GSM-flavored MSM8260, naturally), and TouchPad.
Apple confirms LTE iPhone is at least one generation away
During its earnings conference call, Apple re-confirmed it is not adopting the current generation of LTE chipsets in its iPhone handsets. According to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, Apple would have to redesign the iPhone to accommodate the first generation LTE chipsets used in smartphones, such as the Verizon Wireless' HTC Thunderbolt. Apple is not willing to make that concession at this point and will wait for future generation LTE hardware before it adopts this 4G technology. For iPhone fans, this means an LTE-enabled smartphone from Apple is at least a generation away. The iPhone 5 may hit this year, but it will support current 3G technology and possibly the 4G HSPA+ technology that AT&T is rolling out on its network. Folks looking forward to downloading full-length HD movies in one minute will likely have to wait until 2012 for this high-speed connectivity to land on their iPhone.
Qualcomm reports record quarterly revenues, boasts 100th Snapdragon device
Qualcomm's back again with yet another set of impressive numbers. For the second quarter of this fiscal year, the chip giant saw record earnings of $3.88 billion, up 46 percent from the same quarter in the previous year, and collected $999 million of sweet profit which is a 29 percent jump from last year. This is no doubt to do with the 70 percent increase in the MSM7000- and MSM8000-series Snapdragon shipments in this half of the fiscal year (compared to 2H 2010), and it should be noted that this quarter also saw the 100th Snapdragon-powered device announced by a Qualcomm client. Additionally, EVP Steve Mollenkopf reassured us that the recent events in Japan won't have any significant impact on upcoming shipments, so the 30 Snapdragon tablets in the pipeline should arrive as scheduled. Excerpts from the financial report can be found after the break.
Gigabyte motherboard with Intel Z68 Express chipset on sale in Taiwan ahead of schedule
Intel's Z68 Express chipset and its SATA 6Gb/s connections, CPU and memory overclocking, and SSD caching capability weren't supposed to hit store shelves until the eighth of May. But, at least one Taiwanese retailer didn't get the memo -- or maybe it's just another instance of Intel's early far-east distribution on the down-low -- because pics from across the Pacific show a shiny new Z68 Express motherboard from Gigabyte can already be had for the princely sum of NT $11,900 (about $407 here in the land of greenbacks). That's quite a stack of cash for a place to put your speedy Sandy Bridge CPU, but perhaps its expeditious performance can be had for a more reasonable price once it lands on western shores... or maybe we should just start saving now. [Thanks, Daz]
Intel to support USB 3.0 alongside Thunderbolt, coming with Ivy Bridge in 2012
We were just pondering this very thing yesterday -- would Intel dedicate itself to Thunderbolt and give USB 3.0 the cold shoulder -- and now we have our answer from the Santa Clara crew, albeit delivered from Beijing. The Chinese capital is the site of Intel's currently ongoing developer conference, which is where Kirk Skaugen, VP of the company's Architecture Group, assured the world that the promise for native USB 3.0 support in Intel chipsets will be fulfilled. Not this year, mind you, but it'll be with us in 2012 as part of the Ivy Bridge CPU refresh. That matches AMD's plans to support USB 3.0 in Fusion APUs, and was augmented with a strong word of endorsement from Skaugen about the connector's future. He urged developers to embrace USB 3.0 on an equal footing with Intel's proprietary Thunderbolt interconnect, describing the two technologies as "complementary." If you say so, captain.
Intel teases 32nm Cloverview tablet processor, 22nm Ivy Bridge CPU
It hasn't even been a week since Intel rolled out Oak Trail, and it's already teasing us with yet another tablet-ready chip called Cloverview. What's more, we're also seeing unofficial details emerging for its next generation Ivy Bridge CPU. Starting from the top: PC World is reporting that Intel's Doug Davis introduced the Atom-based Cloverview at the firm's Developer Forum in Beijing Tuesday, touting its 32nm architecture and low power consumption. Meanwhile a set of rather convincing slides are showing off the 22nm stylings of Sandy Bridge's successor, Ivy Bridge. From the look of things, the CPU will support DirectX 11 graphics, USB 3.0, and 1600MHz DDR3 memory -- its desktop platform has been christened Maho Bay. Ivy Bridge is reportedly expected to arrive in the first half of 2012, but we're still waiting on Cloverview's ETA. Isn't silicon fun?
Intels of Intel's X79 chipset exposed: 14 USB 2.0 ports but not a one with 3.0?
Finally all's well in the Sandy Bridge camp, Intel exorcizing the demons and getting its current generation of hardware flowing smoothly. You know what that means: it's time for the next, a revision called X79 that will supersede the current X58 chipset sometime toward the beginning of 2012. According to the leaked slide above, X79 motherboards will feature 2011-pin LGA sockets for E-series CPUs, where 'E' stands for "Enthusiast" not "Elephant." 14 SATA connections are available, 10 of which will manage 6Gb/s, and another 14 USB 2.0 ports means you can have just about every USB-powered member of the Crapgadget Hall of Fame connected simultaneously. That said, there's no mention of a single USB 3.0 port, something of a bummer for those hoping that standard would be, well, standard by 2012. Of course Intel's thrown its weight behind Light Peak Thunderbolt, but curiously there's no integrated support for that, either.
Apple selects Taiwan's TSMC to produce its A5 chip
Apple is reported to have inked a deal with Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC to produce the A5 dual-core chip for the iPad 2, in a substantial blow to former producer Samsung. TSMC was apparently chosen over Samsung because tests showed it was consistently producing the chips more efficiently at 40 nanometers than was Samsung at 45 nanometers. It had the most capacity and highest yields in each batch. There are now suggestions that the deal between Apple and TSMC could stretch into the future, with the Taiwanese company producing the next generation of 28 nanometer quad-core chips. Samsung made the A4 chip in the original iPad along with the processor for the iPhone, but as a competitor producing the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab, it's probably in Apple's interests to move away from Samsung if Apple feared the company would give production priority to its own devices in the future. Apple still depends on Samsung for the majority of the flash memory it uses in iPads, iPhones and iPods, but it has switched manufacturing partners in the past when it sees a commercial or technological advantage. [via Electronista]
Qualcomm ships dual-mode Gobi3000 WWAN chip, intros LTE / HSPA+ chipsets galore
Qualcomm just refined the term "blowout" here at Mobile World Congress. It's obviously a critical show for the wireless supplier, and while the 2.5GHz Snapdragon CPU is the undisputed highlight, there's quite a bit of chipset action worth paying attention to if you'd prefer that your next handset / mobile hotspot be capable of handling the world's most advanced network technologies. First off, there's the Gobi3000 modules, which Qualcomm just announced were shipping en masse. Compared to the Gobi2000 that has been infiltrating laptops and MiFi devices for the past year, this one doubles the HSPA downlink speed and enhances the Gobi common application programming interface (API) functionality for enterprise applications. The design supports single-mode (UMTS) and multi-mode designs (CDMA / UMTS), and should be popping up soon in devices from Huawei, Novatel Wireless, Option, Sierra Wireless and ZTE. Next up are the MDM9625 and MDM9225 chipsets, which are designed to support LTE data rates as high as 150Mbps within mobile broadband devices. These guys are fabricated using the 28nm technology node, and are backwards compatible with previous generations of LTE and other wireless broadband standards, giving consumers using USB modems powered by the MDM9625 or MDM9225 chipsets an uninterrupted broadband data connection on nearly any network around the world. These are being launched alongside the MDM9615 and MDM8215, which are similar chips designed to support multi-mode LTE and dual-carrier HSPA+, respectively. As for the MDM8225? That's being released today to support HSPA+ Release 9 (the latest version, obviously), which will support 84Mbps on the downslope (not to mention dual-carrier HSUPA operation) and should fit into at least a couple of T-Mobile USA devices by 2012. Finally, Qualcomm has nailed down a deal that'll enable all future Snapdragon-powered Android devices to "have access to instant streaming of TV shows and movies from Netflix." Just sounds like a pre-loaded installation to us, but hey, we'll take all the optimization we can get when it comes to streaming video on the mobile.
Intel to start shipping remedied Cougar Point chipsets on February 14th
Well, it looks like Intel's $700 million problem with its Series 6 Cougar Point chipsets is now one step closer to a resolution -- the company has just announced that the fully remedied B3 revision of the chipset will start shipping out on February 14th. That will bring with it an updated BIOS, full pin compatibility with the previous B2 chipset and, most importantly, a "minor metal layer change" that promises to improve "lifetime wear out with no changes to functionality or design specifications" -- in other words, a fix for that rogue transistor affecting SATA ports. Hit up the source link below for Intel's official notice (in PDF form).
Intel's partners can resume shipping Sandy Bridge laptops... if they agree to a workaround
Fret not, to-be Sandy Bridge buyer -- it looks as if the laptop delays won't be as severe as expected. According to Intel, it's working hard (read: coercing) with OEMs to keep Sandy Bridge laptops flowing from the factory, and apparently, that involves a pinky swear that partners won't utilize the four affected ports. That means that existing machines can be shipped with the first two SATA ports on the mainboard enabled, and considering that most lappies have just a single HDD, one optical drive and no eSATA sockets, the vast majority of 'em should be able to ship sans issue. An Intel spokesperson wouldn't confirm to Laptop the exact vendors who were agreeing to the terms, but at least Chipzilla is now aiming to have newly designed (and unmarred) parts in the channel by "mid-February."
Dell, Gigabyte and MSI pull products in wake of Sandy Bridge chipset flaw, HP faces delays (updated)
Every time we write about Intel's flawed Sandy Bridge chipset and the need for it to be physically replaced, the financial costs go up. Intel initially projected a $300 million hit to revenues, but then it set aside $700 million to cover repairs and replacements, which together brings us to the current estimate of $1 billion lost in "missed sales and higher costs." Those missed sales will be coming directly from guys like MSI and Gigabyte, two of the major motherboard makers, who have stopped selling their Sandy Bridge-compatible models until Intel delivers untainted stock, and also Dell, who has nixed availability of its Alienware M17x R3 gaming laptop. CNET did spot that HP and Dell were still selling laptops with the offending chipset in them yesterday, but we imagine both will get their online stores straightened out in due course. For its part, HP says it's pushing back a business notebook announcement due to this news, much like NEC has had to do. Moral of the story? Don't let faulty chips out of the oven. Update: Dell says the M17x R3 is just the tip of the iceberg here: "This affects four currently available Dell products, the XPS 8300, the Vostro 460, the Alienware M17x R.3 and the Alienware Aurora R.3, as well as several other planned products including XPS 17 with 3D. We're committed to addressing this with customers who have already purchased one of the four products and will provide further details on this as it becomes available." [Thanks, geller]
Samsung offering refunds for PCs affected by Sandy Bridge glitch, NEC looking at delays
We finally received full details on the issue affecting Intel's Sandy Bridge chipsets this morning, and now we're hearing of what looks to be the first confirmed recall. Samsung is indicating it will offer refunds for affected computers and, while it isn't saying exactly which models will be affected, it did give a number: six models sold in South Korea and one available in the US will be eligible for return or refund, about 3,000 total machines. NEC, meanwhile, who just went all-in with Lenovo, is indicating that it may push back the release of four separate models. Naturally we'll keep the updates coming as we get more details. [Thanks, Peter]
Intel Sandy Bridge chipset flaw identified as a rogue transistor affecting SATA ports
Intel raised quite a few eyebrows yesterday by disclosing that its Cougar Point chipsets suffer from an incurable design issue that would potentially degrade Serial ATA transfers over time. AnandTech has gone to the trouble of getting in touch with Intel to seek more information and the problem, as it turns out, is a single transistor that's prone to a higher current leakage than tolerable. This can not only diminish performance over the 3Gbps SATA ports, it can actually make them fail altogether. There is more comforting news, however, in that the pair of 6Gbps SATA ports on the chipset are untroubled by this ailment, so devices and users that never plug into the 3Gbps connections can just carry on as if nothing's ever happened. For everyone else, a repair and replacement service is taking place now, with Intel's budget for dealing with this problem said to be a generous $700 million.
Intel finds Sandy Bridge chipset design flaw, shipments stopped and recalls beginning
A problem requiring a "silicon fix" is bad news in the chipset business, and sadly that's what Intel is announcing. Its new Intel 6 Series chipset, Cougar Point, has been found to have a flaw, something to do with the SATA controller. Intel is indicating that the ports can "degrade over time," leading to poor i/o performance down the road. All shipments have been stopped and a fix has been implemented for new deliveries, but it sounds like recalls will be starting soon for those with this ticking time bomb silicon within. It isn't a critical problem right now, though, so if you own a Sandy Bridge Core i5 or Core i7 system keep computing with confidence while looking for a recall notice, but it is bad news for Intel's bottom line: the company is advising a $300 million hit to revenue. Update: Jimmy sent us a chat log with an Intel customer service representative indicating that this recall only affects "some desktop boards based on Intel P67 chipset," that the H67 chipset boards appear to not be affected, but that the company doesn't have a comprehensive list yet. We've certainly seen cases where CSRs don't have all the info in this sort of situation, but still we'd advise waiting a bit before tearing your new mobo out and bringing it back to the store. [Thanks, Matt]
Apple hacker digs up Qualcomm baseband proof by decompiling iTunes?
We're a little short-staffed on Qualcomm chipset engineers at the moment, so forgive us if we can't immediately confirm this tale, but we're hearing iPhone hacker Zibri has discovered proof of the Apple / Qualcomm collaboration in his very own build of iTunes. Zibri claims that by tearing apart the latest version, he found the chunk of code above, which contains files that are allegedly the exclusive "building blocks" of Qualcomm radio firmware. That doesn't tell us anything about a supposed iPhone 5 or iPad 2, unfortunately, as it's probably just referring to that CDMA chipset in the Verizon iPhone 4... but with the right building blocks, one can craft any number of wonders.
Alleged 3DS, PlayStation Phone disassembled
Not one but two ritualistic device dismantlings have been exacted in recent days, an alleged 3DS and PlayStation Phone the sacrificial lambs. Spilled across a TVGZone forum thread are the guts of an apparent 3DS, posted by a Taiwanese tinkerer who claims to have obtained the stolen unit (not unlike the one supposedly lifted from an assembly line earlier this month) and promptly taken the tools to it. The de-casing has revealed only a typical arrangement of circuitry and plastic bits, leaving us to wonder if the plundering of this poor portable was in vain. As it we hadn't seen enough already, TGbus, which had apparently tired of displaying its alleged "Xperia Play" PlayStation phone alongside its comprehensive collection of the world's handheld devices, broke out a set of Torx bits and proceeded to tear the thing down. The meticulous disassembly, however, failed to uncover what some might have hoped would be an intact, teensy-weensy PlayStation system -- just more circuitry (including what's suspected to be a Qualcomm MSM7x30 chipset) and plastic bits, it seems. Are you finished yet, you monsters?
Texas Instruments ups the wireless power game with industry's first Qi dev kit
We have yet to see a flood of Qi-enabled devices at CES, but here's a little something from Texas Instruments that will hopefully boost the number of products supporting this newfangled wireless charging standard. What we're looking at is the bqTESLA, the industry's first Qi-certified wireless power development kit that consists of a single-channel transmitter (presumably the transparent pad with a copper coil underneath), a direct-charge receiver (the black object) and "associated magnetics for applications requiring five watts of power or less" such as cellphones, MP3 players, cameras, etc. Interested techies can pick up one of these toys for $499, or for just $250 throughout CES 2011.
Option's refreshed GTM601 / GTM609 module is the smallest with voice, HSPA, EV-DO, GPS, GLONASS, and alphabet soup
Besides a healthy consumer modem business, Option is one of the world's big suppliers of cellular chipsets -- and it just unleashed a particularly interesting one here at CES this week. No bigger than a postage stamp and about as thick as a nickel, the second-generation GTM601 and GTM609 is billed as the world's smallest to support voice, GSM / HSPA, CDMA / EV-DO, GPS, and GLONASS, which stands to make your next phone design (assuming you are, in fact, designing a phone) more svelte and power-conscious than ever before... and as a bonus, it'll work around the world with the world's most popular 2G / 3G standards and frequencies. Follow the break for the full press release.
Olive Telecom rolls out HSPA+ / EV-DO Rev. B dual-mode modem in Russia
Qualcomm's MDM6600 RF chipset might not ring a bell for you, but the ultra-flexible silicon -- introduced earlier this year -- has launched in a product you may have heard of: Motorola's Droid Pro for Verizon. What makes it so special? Basically, it supports just about every 3G+ standard you could possibly want, up to and including HSPA+ at 14.4Mbps and EV-DO Rev. B (with backwards compatibility to A, naturally) up to 14.7Mbps, and India's Olive Telecom is apparently the first to deploy it in a modem. It's not going to India, though -- instead, they've teamed up with Russian carrier Sky Link, which means you should theoretically be rocking among the best wireless speeds in Moscow regardless of the network technology in your local area. Follow the break for the full press release. [Thanks, Bhuvaneshwari]
