Feeling the post-MWC blues? Not enough smartphone hardware talk to get you through your Monday trudge? Fear not, we’ve grabbed a pair of Qualcomm demo videos from this year’s event in Barcelona that show off its MSM7×30 smartphone platform (first announced in November of last year). It has now made its way into some demo devices and its early performance points to a very happy future for all of us mobile media vultures. Equipped with the same CPU as resides inside Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, this system-on-chip comes with an HDMI output and the ability to play back 720p video on both its host device and your nearest HDTV. There’s also some very welcome 3D gaming on show as well as YouTube playback using Flash 10.1 (smooth and silky), but our attention was captured by a nifty picture browser provided by Scalado. It allows you to view up to 1,000 images at the same time, zoom into each individual one, or sort them by name, color and other attributes. Being able to handle all that, with only minor perceptible lag, shows we’re looking at what’s shaping up to be a pretty beastly chip. Check it out after the break, and expect it to show up in a lust-worthy smartphone near you by the end of 2010.
[Thanks, TareG]
Continue reading Qualcomm’s 7×30 offers stellar 3D and multimedia performance, coming this year (video)
Qualcomm’s 7×30 offers stellar 3D and multimedia performance, coming this year (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
ARMdevices.net, YouTube | Email this | Comments
tagged
3d gaming,
3dGaming,
7x30,
arm,
chip,
cpu,
flash,
flash 10.1,
Flash10.1,
gaming,
hardware,
hardware platform,
HardwarePlatform,
mobile hardware,
mobile platform,
MobileHardware,
MobilePlatform,
msm7x30,
mwc,
MWC 2010,
Mwc2010,
opengl,
opengl es 2.0,
OpenglEs2.0,
platform,
qualcomm,
qualcomm 7x30,
Qualcomm7x30,
scorpion,
smartphone platform,
SmartphonePlatform,
system on chip,
video
This one slipped the net during the excitement that was MWC this year, but it’s such a promising development that we have to give it its due attention. ARM and Globalfoundries have announced plans to start building new systems-on-chip using the latter’s ultramodern 28nm high-k metal gate production process, with the resultant chips offering up to 40 percent greater computational power, 30 percent greater power efficiency, and a terrific 100 percent improvement in battery longevity relative to their current-gen siblings. Mass production of these Cortex-A9-based units is expected in the second half of 2010, which means they should be among the very first chips off Globalfoundries’ 28nm assembly line. The good news, though, is that the technology is described as “ready for high-volume implementation,” so there should be no shortages when things finally get rolling. Let the wild-eyed anticipation begin.
ARM and Globalfoundries partner up for 28nm Cortex-A9 SOCs, invite great expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
DigiTimes | ARM | Email this | Comments
tagged
28 nanometer,
28Nanometer,
28nm,
arm,
chips,
cortex a9,
cpu,
dresden,
GlobalFoundries,
hardware,
high-k,
mwc,
MWC 2010,
Mwc2010,
system on chip
LG has told the press at MWC that it will not be developing its own smartphone platform “at least for the next two to three years.” We think companies should focus on what they do well, and given our ambivalence toward the S-Class UI, it’s probably a good thing that LG will narrow its operation down to churning out delectable slabs of electronics and leaving the software side to the geeks over at Google and Microsoft. The head of the company’s handset unit, Skott Ahn, has indicated that the future of LG smartphones will be shared between Android and Windows Phone 7 (sorry, Symbian lovers). It will have taken plenty of restraint to not respond to local nemesis Samsung — who has just introduced its first Bada handset — but LG appears to be of the opinion (which we share) that the smartphone OS sector is already overcrowded, and its expectation is that over the next couple of years the market will distill itself down to just three predominant operating systems.
LG not interested in proprietary smartphone OS, likes Android and Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Phone Arena | Fierce Wireless | Email this | Comments
tagged
android,
android os,
AndroidOs,
lg,
mobile os,
MobileOs,
mwc,
MWC 2010,
Mwc2010,
operating system,
operating systems,
OperatingSystem,
OperatingSystems,
os,
proprietary,
s class,
s-class ui,
S-classUi,
smartphone os,
SmartphoneOs,
windows phone 7,
windows phone 7 series,
WindowsPhone7,
WindowsPhone7Series
Aw, why don’t these CEOs say stuff like this in press conferences? Sony Ericsson’s head Bert Nordberg has shared with Swedish publication Sydsvenskan the rather salacious news that his company was asked to build the so-called Google phone before HTC… and it turned down the opportunity. Fearing brand dilution or something equally crazy, Nordberg states that Sony Ericsson is committed to building only its own-branded hardware and will not be a subcontractor to anyone. Haughty words from a company whose own Android device is still a good couple of months away from hipsters’ pockets, but we’re sure Bert knows best. After all, it’s not like HTC got a ton of positive press and brand awareness out of its partnership with Google, and it’s exceptionally clear that SE doesn’t need a dime of additional revenue. Oh, wait.
[Thanks, Michael N]
Sony Ericsson CEO: Google asked us to build the Nexus One, we refused originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Sydsvenskan.se | Email this | Comments
tagged
android,
bert nordberg,
BertNordberg,
ceo,
google,
google phone,
googlephone,
mwc,
MWC 2010,
Mwc2010,
nexus,
nexus one,
NexusOne,
oem,
smartphone,
Sony Ericsson,
sony ericsson ceo,
SonyEricsson,
SonyEricssonCeo
Our recent chance encounter with a multitouch-friendly iteration of HTC’s Sense UI turns out to have been a preview of the company’s latest version of the software. Announcing that it has “enhanced” the already quite delectable skin, HTC has noted it’ll be available preloaded on the brand new Desire and Legend handsets, and as a free download for the venerable Hero. So what’s new? The press event this morning told us about Leap, the new pinching function that allows you to view all your home screens at once (see above), and Friend Stream, which aims to be your social media aggregator du jour with its one stream combining Facebook, Twitter and Flickr updates. There’s also a new newsreader application and widget, along with additional improvements to the browser and web client. You’ll find the full PR after the break and early impressions of the new interface in our hands-on with the new phones.
Continue reading HTC enhances Sense with Leap and Friend Stream
HTC enhances Sense with Leap and Friend Stream originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
tagged
android,
android os,
AndroidOs,
desire,
friend stream,
FriendStream,
hero,
HTC,
htc desire,
htc friend stream,
htc hero,
htc leap,
HTC Legend,
htc sense,
HtcDesire,
HtcFriendStream,
HtcHero,
HtcLeap,
HtcLegend,
HtcSense,
leap,
legend,
mobile os,
MobileOs,
mwc,
MWC 2010,
Mwc2010,
sense,
sense ui,
SenseUi,
skin,
ui,
user interface,
UserInterface
Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore did a really thorough job yesterday of walking us through the key hubs on the shiny new Windows Phone 7 OS, but one area that was conspicuously missed out in the overview was the Marketplace. Well, let us fill in that gap of knowledge right quick with the above image of the interface. As you can see, the first thing visible when you enter the hub is a full-screen feature for individual games or applications — this could either work as with the music hub, wherein you see the last bit of content you accessed or, less awesomely, could function as a promotional (read: advertising) spot before you get into the market proper. The Marketplace is then fragmented into its constituent elements, with apps, games, music and podcasts leading you into their respective subsections. We’ve grabbed an image of how the Applications section will look as well, which you can see for yourself after the break.
Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series Marketplace gets pictured
Windows Phone 7 Series Marketplace gets pictured originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Pocketnow | Peter Wissinger | Email this | Comments
tagged
hub,
hubs,
marketplace,
microsoft,
mobile os,
MobileOs,
mwc,
MWC 2010,
Mwc2010,
operating system,
OperatingSystem,
os,
software,
windows,
Windows Phone,
windows phone 7,
windows phone 7 hubs,
windows phone 7 series,
WindowsPhone,
WindowsPhone7,
WindowsPhone7Hubs,
WindowsPhone7Series
Can’t get enough of hearing about implementations of ARM’s Cortex-A9 MPCore processors? Good. ST-Ericsson’s powerhouse U8500 system-on-chip has come a major step closer to appearing in mainstream devices with today’s newly announced support for the Android operating system. Having optimized the OS to take advantage of Symmetric Multi Processing — a method for extending battery life by sharing the load between the two processing cores and underclocking when necessary — the partner company is now ready to start dropping these 1.2GHz dual-core beasts inside the next generation of smartphones. The claim is that you’ll get all that additional power while sacrificing nothing, as devices based on the U8500 would maintain “the cost and power consumption characteristics of a traditional feature phone.” We’re promised built-in HDMI-out support, 1080p video recording, and 120 hours of audio playback or 12 hours of Full HD video off a 1,000mAh battery — pledges we’d very much like to see fulfilled.
ST-Ericsson’s U8500 brings dual-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 to the Android world originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Business Wire | Email this | Comments
tagged
1080p,
arm,
arm cortex,
arm cortex-a9,
ArmCortex,
ArmCortex-a9,
cortex a9,
cortex-a9 mpcore,
Cortex-a9Mpcore,
CortexA9,
cpu,
dual core,
DualCore,
Ericsson,
full hd,
FullHd,
hardware,
hdmi,
multicore,
mwc,
MWC 2010,
Mwc2010,
SoC,
st-ericsson,
st-ericsson u8500,
St-ericssonU8500,
symmetric multi processing,
SymmetricMultiProcessing,
system on chip,
system-on-a-chip
Texas Instruments has just made its OMAP 4 system-on-chip official, and garnished the announcement with the first development platform for it, aggressively titled Blaze. We already caught a glimpse of it in prototype form earlier this month, and the thing is quite a whopper — you can see it on video after the break and we doubt you’ll accuse TI of placing form before function with this one. The company’s focus will be on promoting innovative new modes of interaction, with touchless gesturing (or “in the air” gesture recognition) figuring strongly in its vision of the future. Looking at the SOC diagram (available after the break), you’ll find that its grunt will be provided by the same ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore class of CPU that powers the iPad, though TI claims it will be the only mobile platform capable of outputting stereoscopic 720p video at 30fps per channel. Perhaps its uniqueness will come from the fact that nobody else cares for the overkill that is 3D-HD on a mobile phone, whether it requires glasses or not. It’ll still be fascinating to see if anybody picks up the chunky Blaze idea and tries to produce a viable mobile device out of it — we could be convinced we need multiple displays while on the move, we’re just not particularly hot on the 90s style bezel overflow.
Continue reading Texas Instruments introduces ARM-based OMAP 4 SOC, Blaze development platform
Texas Instruments introduces ARM-based OMAP 4 SOC, Blaze development platform originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Texas Instruments (OMAP 4), (Blaze) | Email this | Comments
tagged
3d,
3d hd,
3dHd,
arm,
arm coretx a9,
ArmCoretxA9,
blaze,
blaze development platform,
BlazeDevelopmentPlatform,
cortex a9,
CortexA9,
cpu,
gesture recognition,
GestureRecognition,
gestures,
hardware,
hd,
multicore,
mwc,
MWC 2010,
Mwc2010,
omap,
omap 4,
omap 4 platform,
Omap4,
Omap4Platform,
system on chip,
texas instruments,
TexasInstruments,
TI
A touch of history might be appropriate here. Back in March 2008, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen proudly proclaimed that his team was about to start coding a Flash player for the iPhone, only for his company to promptly backtrack on those words a day later. Then, about this time last year, Apple and Adobe again announced that they were collectively working on putting the ubiquitous format on Cupertino’s mobile devices, but you won’t be surprised to hear that hasn’t born any fruit yet either. In fact, relations seem to have grown a lot frostier thanks to the iPad’s Flash-less introduction, and an escalating war of passive aggressive words culminated in Steve Jobs calling Adobe lazy. Lazy or otherwise, Adobe is keeping track of its download stats, and it’s taken the chance to boast that it received a cool 7 million download requests for Flash player from iPhone and iPod touch devices during December. We’re hardly shocked by this number, but it seems to illustrate well the fact that so long as the two heavyweights continue playing an increasingly complacent form of hardball with one another, the only winners will be their competition.
Adobe got 7 million iPhone and iPod touch download requests for Flash in December originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | San Francisco Chronicle | Email this | Comments
tagged
adobe,
adobe flash,
AdobeFlash,
Apple,
downloads,
flash,
flash 10.1,
flash player,
Flash10.1,
FlashPlayer,
iPhone,
ipod touch,
IpodTouch
With its eco-friendly design and spiffy solar panels, the Samsung Blue Earth is more than just a gimmick; it’s also an appealing cell phone with character.
Subscribe
