snapdragon

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

Microsoft is providing Windows 8 test PCs based on silicon from Qualcomm and Nvidia in an invitation-only seeding program.

The two chip suppliers are working with Microsoft to provide test PCs to select developers to test and optimize apps for future Windows on ARM PCs and tablets, both companies announced today.

Windows 8 marks the first time that a mainstream Windows operating system will run on processors from ARM chip suppliers in addition to those from Intel and AMD.

In Qualcomm's case, a pre-release version of Windows on ARM will run on a PC with a Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--H.264 is today's leader when it comes to mainstream video encoding technologies, but it will have to share the stage in 2013 with a successor called H.265 that can squeeze a video into nearly half the file size.

H.264, also known as the Advanced Video Codec (AVC), defines how a video can be compressed for reduced storage requirements and--very importantly given the online video explosion--for streaming across networks. H.265, also called High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC), uses new techniques to compress video even more.

Qualcomm, a San Diego-based chipmaker that's on the international standards group developing H.265, … Read more

Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 chip is racking up benchmark numbers that make the Samsung Galaxy S II's performance seem so last-year while turning Ice Cream Sandwich into a dreamy experience, said a chip review site.

"Occasionally we'll see performance numbers that just make us laugh at their absurdity," said Anandtech. "[Snapdragon S4's] Linpack performance is no exception. The performance advantage here is insane. The MSM8960 is able to deliver more than twice the performance of any currently shipping SoC (system-on-a-chip)."

And what about that Adreno graphics processing unit? "From a compute standpoint … Read more

Will Apple's next iPad reach performance nirvana with a monster quad-core chip? Nirvana, maybe, but not necessarily via quad-core.

But let's put aside whether Apple's latest chip will be quad-core for a minute and look at what others are doing. (See a post at The Verge on this topic too.)

One of the leading lights among ARM processor suppliers is Texas Instruments. They've made it clear that they're not going quad-core this year and not even next year (necessarily) with their first next-gen OMAP5 chips.

In a CES demo, TI showed off the next-gen OMAP5 … Read more

Qualcomm, along with Ericsson, has successfully completed a major hurdle that will enable Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE).

The technology, called Single Radio Voice Call Continuity, or SRVCC, enables continuity of service by seamlessly switching to a WCDMA network when a consumer on a VoLTE call leaves the LTE network's coverage area, Qualcomm said.

Qualcomm and Ericsson have completed the first voice call handover from an LTE mobile network to a WCDMA network using SRVCC.

A Snapdragon-powered Ericsson device, using Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 3G/LTE multimode processor, will be on demonstration at Qualcomm's Mobile World Congress booth, Qualcomm said. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor will be tucked inside hundreds of new devices, including a smart TV, a new color e-reader in China, a tablet for kids that can offer augmented reality, and mobile medical devices, the company said during its CES keynote address here Tueday.

Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm's CEO, used much of his CES keynote to tout the continually growing mobile industry and ushered a half-dozen guests onstage to show off various devices that use its Snapdragon chip.

The first smart TV powered by a Snapdragon processor is set to arrive this year, a Lenovo executive said during … Read more

Qualcomm's Snapdragon silicon made a sweep of all of the Windows Phone 7 smartphones announced today, rendering the hardware from various manufacturers relatively homogeneous inside.

Against a backdrop of phone announcements from companies such as Samsung, HTC, and Dell, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer posted a video today discussing the relationship between the two companies.

"Qualcomm and Microsoft have a long history of working together to optimize the mobile operating system for Qualcomm chips and platforms...We're excited to bring a new generation of Windows phones exclusively featuring Snapdragon mobile processors," Ballmer said.

"This really shows...what can happen when people bring together great software and great hardware," said Jacobs in the video.

But this collaboration also brings Windows PC-like hardware uniformity. Just as the PC world has the Windows operating system and Intel processors, this first crop of Windows Phone 7 smartphones feature a Microsoft OS and Qualcomm silicon.

"If all of them feature the same hardware (internal) and same operating system, what happens to the differentiation?" asked Ashok Kumar, managing director and analyst at Rodman & Renshaw. Other smartphone processor suppliers include Texas Instruments, Marvell Technology, and Samsung, who provide chips for Android and BlackBerry phones, among others.

And it remains to be seen if Windows Phone 7 devices can find a place in a very crowded market. "I think one of the biggest questions is what are the prospects of Windows Phone 7," said Kumar. "Most of the resources are targeted toward Apple and Android and then you have RIM and the QNX (operating system). There are many questions here, not least of which is what will the receptivity of the consumer be?" Kumar said.

Windows Phone 7 smartphones include the Dell Venue, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Trophy, HTC HD7, HTC Surround, HTC 7 Pro, LG Quantum, LG Optimus 7, Samsung Focus, and Samsung Omnia 7. Inside these products is Qualcomm's 1GHz application processor, a 3D graphics function, support for high-megapixel cameras, and the requisite 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, among other functions..… Read more

Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha set big expectations this week when he promised that his company would have an Android phone with a 2Ghz processor by the end of the year. But is such a goal really possible? We're not so sure.

Conceivably Tech first reported that Jha made the pledge while speaking Thursday at the Executives Club of Chicago. As the publication didn't quote Jha directly, we wondered if his comments were open to interpretation.

Today, however, Moto spokeswoman Juli Bruda confirmed with CNET that Jha promised such a device to his Chicago audience. We would have loved … Read more