Tegra

So the HTC One X doesn't have quad-core. So what?

Today, CNET and other U.S. mobile reviewers got a chance to gush over AT&T's HTC One X superphone powerhouse. It boasts a stunning 4.7-inch display, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and 4G LTE muscle. But the spec that's tripping up many is the processor: a dual-core Qualcomm chip in the U.S. instead of a quad-core Nvidia chip abroad.

On the surface of things, the change within seems like a step down for poor U.S. customers. After all, four cores (and Nvidia's fifth, "power-saving core") are better than two, right? Not necessarily.

The U.S. version for AT&T and for Sprint's forthcoming HTC Evo 4G LTE (the One X by another name) both use Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 processor, a dual-core chip that's a strong contender in its own right.… Read more

How Nvidia can accelerate the graphics in your apps

If you want to create some pretty apps, look to Nvidia.

The company, best known for its graphics processors in PCs and laptops, has during the past year branched out into the mobile world with its ARM-based Tegra processor, specifically designed for mobile devices such as phones and tablets. The company has quickly gone from an outsider to a niche player, serving high-end devices.

Its Tegra 3 quad-core processor is found in a handful of top-tier products, including the Asus Transformer Prime, the first tablet with Google's Ice Cream Sandwich variant, as well as international versions of HTC's … Read more

Qualcomm chip in HTC One S is speed demon, says analyst

Qualcomm is proving that a phone doesn't have to be quad-core to be fast.

"Scoring 25 percent higher than its older siblings...in [central processing unit] performance benchmarks, shows Qualcomm has delivered on its promise for higher performance CPU," Jim Mielke, vice president of engineering at ABI Research, said in a note today, referring to the HTC One S.

That phone comes with the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) operating system.

The HTC smartphone taps the first Qualcomm 28-nanometer (nm) chip -- the "Snapdragon" MSM8260A. That's a big step up in chip … 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

Nvidia Tegra 4 chip leak whets appetite for non-iOS tablets

A roadmap of Nvidia's next chip, the Tegra 4, could also be a blueprint for the internals of future Android and Windows tablets.

If VR-ZONE's (in this case, VR-ZONE's Chinese-language site) sources speak the truth, then we've got plenty of tablets packing quad-core A15 chips to look forward to.

What's an A15 you ask? That's the next chip design -- officially the Cortex A15 -- from tablet and smartphone chip design powerhouse ARM.

Think of it this way: Four A15s are faster than the four Nvidia Tegra 3 Cortex-A9s now found in the Asus … 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

Tegra 3 Android tablets to cost as low as $199?

Remember the 7-inch tablet that Nvidia teased at CES earlier this year? The Tegra 3-powered device that was supposed to cost $249? It could turn out to be more affordable than we thought.

According to The New York Times, Nvidia's head honcho, Jen-Hsun Huang, indicated that the company is working on lowering the cost of its latest Tegra 3 processors. He also hinted that Android tablets will go for $199 by the second half of the year. … 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

Sony Chromebook coming sometime soon?

A recently declassified document on the FCC Web site reveals Sony's first Chromebook.

The legend of the Sony Chromebook stretches back to March of 2011, when Sony Insider first leaked news of its existence with specifications. The rumored features included a 1.2GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 (T25) dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor; an 11.6-inch (1,366x768) LCD; 1GB of DDR2 RAM; 16GB of flash storage; eight-hour battery life; and more.

A year later, new FCC documents for the Sony VCC111 laptop contain an assortment of photos, showing the device from multiple angles. You may notice the lack of a Windows button on the keyboard.

CNET also showed the images to a trusted source familiar with the matter, who confirmed the slim, ultraportable Sony laptop uses Google's Chrome OS. The final nail in the rumor coffin lies in the actual user manual for the Sony laptop, which clearly discusses how to turn on and operate Chrome OS. … Read more