videocore
Latest
Broadcom releases new Ice Cream Sandwich-optimized chipsets at MWC
Broadcom's taken the chance to bust out some killer new internals for Android phones here at MWC. The new range of SoCs are optimized for Ice Cream Sandwich, based on single or dual-core 40-nanometer ARM Cortex A9s. The BCM21654G has a 1GHz CPU, integrated HSPA modem and VGA video support, it's likely we'll see this popping up in budget phones. The romantically named BCM28145 and BCM28155 are dual-core chips with HSPA+ modems and can handle 720p and 1080p video respectively. All dual-core chips will come with a "videocore," a third low-power chip to handle video playback without occupying the main CPU and draining power as well as an Image Signal Processor chip that can support cameras up to 42-megapixels (glances across to the Nokia 808). Other options you'll find appearing in the cellphones of tomorrow include hybrid GPS / Glonass units, low-power NFC and active dual-SIM capability. If you're a garage-based cellphone manufacturer and want to grab some of these for your own business, head on past the break for some PR.
Broadcom's VideoCore III multimedia processor bringing HD to mobiles
Broadcom's VideoCore III multimedia processor certainly isn't the first of its kind, but if it actually does everything it's said to be capable of, we can count on having "3D gaming and HD functionality" on our future handsets. Apparently, the chip can even "support up to a 12-megapixel camera," and could allow HD recording / playback to take place within a cellphone or PMP. Best of all, all this high-resolution goodness is said to not be a battery hog, which is good news for those carrying along HD films longer than half an hour or so. The processor can also provide "720p HD video encode and decode with H.264 main profile compression at low power levels," and if you're one of the lucky "early access customers," you can phone Broadcom up right now for pricing information on samples.
