quad-core

Quad-core phones will be big, but not everywhere

Earlier this week, I looked at some of the technical considerations of creating a quad-core smartphone. Although I was able to delve into seven myths about quad-core phones, there's still the business side to consider.

Make no mistake, processors are big business. Every phone needs one, and there are now even more players competing to supply them. In 2010, chipmakers earned $2.385 billion in global sales of mobile phone application and multimedia processors, according to Gartner analyst Mark Hung. Of that figure, smartphones drove $1.416 billion in revenue.… Read more

7 myths about quad-core phones (Smartphones Unlocked)

Editors' note: This article originally posted on April 8, 2012, and was updated on December 19, 2012.

Open up your wallet today and there are no fewer than five smartphones you can buy running on quad-core processors. Seven months ago, there was one, the HTC One X, and only if you bought the international version, which lacked the 4G LTE speeds coveted by U.S. phone-buyers.

After CES next month, expect the number of announced quad-core devices to double as the core war continues to heat up.

By summer, you may turn up your nose at perfectly fast devices running … Read more

Intel's Ivy Bridge chip expected at the end of April

Intel is expected to launch its latest and greatest processor, Ivy Bridge, during the last week of April, a source tells CNET. This will be followed by a crush of new product announcements, laptops, and desktops alike.

The announcement is expected the week of April 23 or soon thereafter.

Ivy Bridge will be the biggest statement by Intel to date on the importance of graphics. Not unlike -- broadly speaking -- the emphasis Apple is placing on graphics in the new A5X chip powering the third-generation iPad.

"Graphics are the part where you're going to see the most … Read more

A quad-core Windows 8 laptop more ultra than an ultrabook?

Can a quad-core Windows 8 laptop be as thin as an iPad? That's the design Qualcomm is aiming for. But we've heard this story before.

The San Diego-based chip supplier anticipates superthin laptops running Windows 8 on top of its Snapdragon chips, according to a report in PC World.

It's certainly an enticing idea: Laptops lighter and thinner than even Intel-based ultrabooks -- an idea also put forward by Nvidia, which already supplies its well-received quad-core Tegra 3 processor to Asus for its Tranformer Prime tablet.

At a macro level, this is about ARM versus Intel on … Read more

New iPad's performance gets iPhoto reality check

The new iPad's performance is less than stellar on iPhoto and lags the Asus Transformer Prime tablet in some tests because of Apple's aging central processing unit, according to a chip review site.

Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 3 chip -- used in the Asus Transformer Prime tablet -- is faster in some key tests than new iPad's A5X chip, according to tests conducted by Anandtech.

While Apple touts the A5X chip's quad-core graphics processing unit (GPU), it is silent about the CPU. The reason is pretty simple: the A5X sticks with an aging dual-core Cortex A9 … Read more

What makes the new iPad tick: A peek inside

The new iPad isn't waltzing into a competitive vacuum. That wow-worthy display notwithstanding, Apple still has to go head-to-head on performance.

Chip-review site Anandtech confirmed with Apple that sitting right next to the A5X's quad-core GPU (graphics processing unit) is a dual-core CPU (central processing unit).

Apple had nothing to say about the CPU (which typically garners the most attention) when it announced the new iPad, because the CPU really hasn't changed from the iPad 2.

The upshot is that Apple is pitting the A5X's quad-core GPU against a quad-core Nvidia CPU.

So, how does it … Read more

Quad-core HTC One X passes FCC en route to U.S. carrier

Of all the announcements from Mobile World Congress last month, one smartphone that really has Android fans talking is the HTC One X.

That's why we got excited this week when details surfaced that a quad-core variant could touch down on U.S. soil in the near future. Documents found on the FCC's Web site indicate that the bigger, badder edition of the HTC One X is en route.

Where it will end up remains to be seen, but reportedly T-Mobile has called dibs. Then again, Verizon Wireless has a history of snatching up some of the better … Read more

New iPad: Why quad-core graphics?

Apple has just elevated the graphics chip to superstar status. Why focus on the graphics?

Apple announced today at the iPad event in San Francisco that the new iPad has a quad-core graphics processing unit (GPU). (So much for the central processing unit, or CPU, which typically garners all of the attention.)

So far, chip review site Anandtech offers the best educated guess about the graphics engine. Anandtech cites graphics chip technology from Imagination (PowerVR SGX543MP4) and CPU tech from ARM (Cortex A9).

"Our guess? Dual-core Cortex A9 [CPU] plus a PowerVR SGX543MP4 [GPU], an upgrade over the 543MP2 … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1584: BOL special coverage: iPad announcement (Podcast)

Brian Tong and Molly Wood give you blow-by-blow analysis on the new iPad announcement, including rewriting the lyrics to John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland," specifically to accommodate the new iPad. Which, in case you haven't guessed by now, is just called "the new iPad."

PART 1 PART 2

Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (640x360)

RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS (640x360)… Read more