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Rivals AMD and ARM unite, summon others to become 'heterogeneous'
Rumors of a hook-up between AMD and ARM have been circulating ever since someone coined the phrase "the enemy of Intel is my friend." As of today, however, that alliance is real and cemented in the form of the HSA Foundation -- a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the dark arts of Heterogeneous System Architecture. It's a relatively old concept in computing, but the Foundation's founding partners (AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek and Texas Instruments) all stand to gain from its wider adoption. How come? Because it involves boosting a chip's performance by making it use its various components as co-processors, rather than treating them as specialized units that can never help each other out. In other words, while Intel pursues Moore's Law and packs ever-more sophisticated transistors into its CPUs, AMD, ARM and the other HSA pals want to achieve similar or better results through parallel computing. In most cases, that'll mean using the graphics processor on a chip not only for visuals and gaming, but also for general tasks and apps. This can already be achieved using a programming language called OpenCL, but AMD believes it's too tricky to code and is putting mainstream developers off. Equally, NVIDIA has long had its own language for the same purpose, called CUDA, but it's proprietary. Whatever niche is left in the middle, the HSA Foundation hopes to fill it with an easier and more open standard that is not only cross-OS but also transcends the PC / mobile divide. If it works, it'll give us a noticeable surge in computational power in everyday apps by 2014. If it fails, these new-found friends can go back to the less awkward custom of ignoring each other.
Gigabyte GSmart G1362, G1342 and M1348 at Computex 2012 (hands-on video)
Want a dual-SIM phone running Ice Cream Sandwich? You've come to the right place. Here at Computex in Taipei we uncovered three of the handsets Gigabyte announced yesterday -- the GSmart G1362, G1342 and M1348 -- and took two of them for a spin. First up is the G1362 which sports a 4.3-inch FWVGA (854x480) display, 5 megapixel AF camera with LED flash, 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU, 512MB or RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Next is the G1242, featuring a 3.5-inch HVGA (480x320) LCD, 5 MP autofocus camera with flash, 800MHz single core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM and a lowly 1GB of built-in flash. The M1320 M1348 was non-functional and hidden in a display case. It's expected to match the G1342 in specs but uses a 1GHz MediaTek CPU and offers 4GB of built-in storage. As previously mentioned, all three phones include two SIM slots (one of them HSPA 7.2Mbps-capable) and run Android 4.0.4. Despite packing a Snapdragon S4, the G1362 looks and feels like a mid-range handset, with a less-than-stellar display (poor brightness and viewing angles). The UI was reasonably responsive, however, which is pretty much what you'd expect from a phone with such a powerful processor. As for the G1362, it's basically your standard fare low-end Android handset albeit with dual-SIM support and ICS. Build quality was in line with other prototypes we've handled -- that is to say a little rough around the edges. Of course, it's important to keep in mind that we played with pre-production units running non-final software. The G1362 should be available in July for less than $300 unsubsidized, the G1342 is shipping this month (June) for under $200 and the M1348 is expected later this summer at a sub $150 price point. Want to know more? There's a gallery below and a pair of hands-on videos after the break.
Gigabyte outs four dual-SIM Ice Cream Sandwich phones at Computex
While Gigabyte was grabbing headlines at Computex with its world's lightest Ultrabook, the Taiwanese firm was also sneaking out a gaggle of new phones. Four new models, in fact, all of them Android 4.0, all of them dual-SIM. The rest of the specifications are a mixed bag, with the Gigabyte GSmart M1420 winning the camera wars, with an 8-megapixel shooter, backed up with a 4.3-inch 800 x 480 display and 1GHz MT6575 MediaTek processor. A lower specification M1320 was also announced which is more of the same, but with a smaller, 3.5-inch, display and weaker 3-megapixel snapper. The GSmart G1362 might be more interesting if 4.3 inches is a must, and Snapdragon's your thing (1GHz), but you'll lose 3 megapixels on the camera compared to the GSmart M1420 as a trade. Finally the GSmart G1342 which only packs in 800MHz (Qualcomm) and 3.5-inches of display. There's scant detail on price and availability at the moment, but have a sift through the source link if you want the blow-by-blow breakdown, and head to our Chinese site to get a hands-on with the G1342 and G1362.
New Baidu Cloud phone unveiled: Changhong H5018 with 100GB of cloud storage
That new Baidu Cloud phone we told you about last week? You're looking right at it! Following the flagship Dell Streak Pro D43 (which was branded with what was then known as Baidu Yi aka version 1.0 of the platform), this Foxconn-built Changhong H5018 is the second smartphone to have its Android Gingerbread system enhanced by Baidu, meaning it'll come with 300GB of cloud storage space (instead of the old 100GB), voice search, voice control and a set of other online services offered by the Chinese search giant. As for the hardware itself, we're looking at a 10.3mm-thick matte chassis housing a 650MHz MTK6573 processor, a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 display, a three-megapixel camera and a non-removable 1,400mAh battery, all of which would explain that highly affordable CN¥899 (US$140) off-contract price tag. That said, you'll still find a dual-SIM (WCDMA plus GSM) tray and a microSD slot hidden beneath the bottom cover. Not sure where ZTE is on this one, but for now, you can head over to Sina Tech for its hands-on report and photos. Update: Baidu just confirmed that it's actually the same old 100GB of cloud storage, so somehow Sina Tech got lucky with its 300GB edition. We'll let you know when we hear more.
MediaTek sees no reason cheap phones can't have Ice Cream Sandwich too
If you don't want to drop $300 on a phone we don't blame you -- honestly, the idea makes us feel a bit dirty too. MediaTek doesn't seen any reason for it either. The company has been working its way in to the mobile chipset business for a little while now, and its latest is aimed squarely at the lower end of the handset spectrum but still promises to deliver the latest in dessert-themed operating systems. The MT6575 is a single core Cortex-A9 solution with an unidentified 5-series PowerVR GPU on board and an HSPA modem. The 1GHz core probably won't win and benchmark competitions, but it's enough to push Android 4.0 to a qHD screen, power through 720p video and capture shots with an 8 megapixel sensor. It even is capable of supporting 3D displays and DTV broadcasts -- not too bad for something destined to wind up in $50 smartphones. Checkout the complete PR after the break.
Imagination Technologies unveils G6200 and G6400, first two GPUs based on PowerVR Series6
First announced in February of last year, Imagination Technologies has officially announced the licensing availability of its first two GPUs based on the Series6 platform. The PowerVR G6200 and G6400 each promise to bring low power graphics to unprecedented levels and are said to deliver up to 20 times more horsepower than the current generation while also being five times more efficient. In tangible terms, the Series6 GPU cores are capable of exceeding 100 gigaflops and are said to approach the teraflop range. All chipsets based on Series6 are backward compatible with Series5 and fully support OpenGL 3.x, 4.x and ES, along with OpenCL 1.x and DirectX 10. Further, specific models will also support DirectX 11.1 with full WHQL compliance. Poised to shake up the mobile gaming ecosystem, Imagination has already lined up partners that include ST-Ericsson, Texas Instruments, Renesas Electronics and MediaTek. The full PR, complete with all the bragging, can be found after the break.
Google TV adds LG to the fold, will demo new hardware along with Sony, Vizio (update: video, pics!)
The second round of Google TV hardware will be in full swing at CES 2012, and the folks at Mountain View just officially announced LG is joining the list of hardware partners at the show. While we know Logitech was taking a pass on the latest hardware, previously announced partners Samsung, Sony and Vizio are still in and the latter two will have new hardware to show next week. While this morning's announcement by Marvell revealed the platform's switch to ARM processors from the Intel chips it launched on, the company mentioned MediaTek is also on board to build compatible chipsets, while the line of products from LG will run on the company's own L9 setup. LG's press release (included after the break) reveals the HDTVs it's bringing out will feature its Cinema 3D FPR technology as well as support for a "Magic Remote QWERTY" that combines its gesture and voice control Magic Remote with, you guessed it, a QWERTY keyboard. It will have two lines of TVs based on the Android OS, while it continues to feature its own NetCast setup in other displays. While Samsung is mentioned as building new devices, it does not appear they'll have any to show off just yet, which matches the rumors that had gone around earlier. Update: LG has posted some pics of the Google TV sets (above, after the break) featuring its custom interface, although we're still waiting for a peek at that remote. According to the company, users will have the option of using LG's UI or the default Google TV build, so whichever way you prefer should work. The Google TV team has also uploaded a fresh trailer on YouTube ahead of CES, featuring several apps and promising this is just the beginning -- check it out embedded after the break.
MediaTek-powered ZTE MT73 packs TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, GSM, dual SIM and magic dust
Here's a funny one we spotted at China Mobile's booth at Mobile Asia Congress: a ZTE Android phone powered by a MediaTek chipset that supports TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, GSM and dual SIM! Of course, given that China Mobile is currently the exclusive carrier to the TD-SCDMA technology, we're not expecting this peculiar device to pop up anywhere beyond the Great Wall any time soon; but knowing that there's a dual-SIM LTE phone somewhere on this planet still makes our day. Spec-wise this MT73 prototype features Android 2.3.4, an 800MHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a 4.1-inch 854 x 480 LCD with capacitive touchscreen, a five megapixel main camera, a VGA front-facing camera and a 1,100mAh battery. As per usual ZTE build quality, there's an inevitable cheap feel upon laying our hands on this phone, but we'll give ZTE the benefit of the doubt and wait for the final version. As for a launch date, the folks at China Mobile said it'll depend on when will the government issue a commercial license for TD-LTE. To keep you occupied for the time being, we have a hands-on video right after the break.
Rambus files ITC complaint against just about everyone, wants to stop sale of just about everything
Rambus, which modestly describes itself as "one of the world's premier technology licensing companies," has meekly asked the International Trade Commission to block import and sale of an amazing array of products from companies including Broadcom, Freescale, LSI, MediaTek, NVIDIA, and STMicroelectronics -- the latter of which was sued by Caltech only yesterday. But wait, there's more! Rambus also indicates that other "companies whose products incorporate the accused semiconductor products" have also been named, selling things like "personal computers, workstations, servers, routers, mobile phones and other handheld devices, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, motherboards, plug-in cards, hard drives and modems." That should just about cover 95% of what's available at your local electronics store, and certainly puts our holiday wish lists in legal limbo.This is a follow-up to earlier disputes involving the company, particularly with NVIDIA, which will continue via patent infringement lawsuits filed in US District Court against those corporate entities mentioned above. Beyond that, Rambus is hoping that the ITC stops import and sale of any and all infringing products post-haste. That seems awfully drastic, but for its part Rambus indicates it has been trying with all its might to negotiate licenses with these supposedly dirty dealers and that it was told "the only way they would get serious is if we sued them." So, place your bets because here we go.[Thanks, Antonio]
Heavily-backed WiGig Alliance to stream everything over 60GHz
Yes folks, we're back to the drawing board. Again. With a litany of wireless technologies floundering about and struggling to find real traction in the market, a cadre of market powerhouses have joined up to take wireless streaming to the next level -- or so they say, anyway. The newly formed WiGig Alliance aims to use unlicensed 60GHz waves in order to stream just about anything you can think of: HD video, images, phone contacts, instant messages, audio, etc. This "unified" approach differs from most other alternatives, which generally pick one niche (1080p video, for instance) and stick to it. If the more than 15 technology firms have their collective druthers, the WiGig specification will find its way into everything from set-top-boxes to telephones to home stereos, ready and willing to stream to other WiGig-enabled devices at a moment's notice. The group consists of household names such as Microsoft, LG, Dell, Samsung, Marvell, Nokia, NEC, Intel and Broadcom (just to name a few), and when we spoke to executives about the announcement, they told us that plans were to have the specification available to member organizations in Q4 of this year. The sad part is that this likely means we won't see shipping products with the WiGig logo for another year after that -- if we're lucky. We can't argue that some stability would be nice in this volatile sector; after all, we've been waiting for promising products like Belkin's FlyWire to ship for well over a year. The execs we spoke with couldn't speak on behalf of the partner firms in terms of what WiGig products were looming on the horizon, but as we alluded to earlier, the playing field is wide open. Honestly, we'd love for this to take off and finally give high-bandwidth wireless applications the support it needs to flourish, but as we've seen over the past few years, the road ahead ain't an easy one to walk. The full release is after the break.
MediaTek and Sunplus to offer Blu-ray Disc chipsets next year
While the average consumer won't care an awful lot about what goes into a Blu-ray Disc chipset, here's something anyone working hard for every dollar they earn can appreciate: more competition. Word on the street has it that both MediaTek and Sunplus Technology, two Taiwan-based consumer IC design houses, are fixing to certify their own Blu-ray Disc chipsets and to ship 'em as early as Q2 2009. The two outfits are expected to compete with Samsung and Broadcom, though there's no word yet on potential customers for their wares.
IBM and MediaTek team up on uber-fast chipsets for HD streaming
IBM ain't the first big fish to dabble in the wireless HD chipset realm, and while we'd heard that the outfit was looking into the matter a year ago, things are seemingly now moving forward. Big Blue has joined hands with MediaTek in a "joint initiative to develop ultra fast chipsets that can wirelessly transmit a full-length high definition movie to and from a home PC, handheld device, retail kiosk or television set nearly as fast as a viewer can push their remote control." Apparently, the happy couple will both utilize their knowledge of millimeter wave (mmWave) radio technology in order to construct chipsets that allow end users to fling a 10GB file to its destination in just "five seconds" -- all without wires, of course. Visions of uncompressed HD streaming, syncing entire music libraries in seconds and giant bonfires fueled entirely by cabling (we kid, we kid) immediately come to mind.[Via Slashdot]
DTS licenses DTS HD Master Audio technology to ten IC producers
Although Dolby's TrueHD may be a more well-known moniker, it looks like you'll be hearing (quite literally) a lot more of DTS in the coming months. The firm has landed a deal with no less than ten integrated circuit (IC) manufacturers to incorporate its DTS HD Master Audio and / or DTS HD High Resolution Audio technology (not to mention the DTS HD LBR and encoder / transcoder jazz) into forthcoming chips. These microchips -- designed by Analog Devices, Broadcom, Cheertek, LSI, Matsushita, MediaTek, NEC, Renesas, Sigma Designs, and Sunplus Technology -- will contain DTS's high definition audio standards and will eventually find their way into next-generation HD DVD and Blu-ray players, AV receivers, and pre-packaged home theater systems. Additionally, the technology could even slither into the PC and automobile markets. While neither specific end products nor release dates were mentioned, we do know that devices coming out "in 2007" will be sporting the new protocols, and hey, we've got no qualms when it comes to options in audio (or video).
