Nvidia Tegra – PPCGeeks.com https://www.ppcgeeks.com Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:52:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.ppcgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ppcg_banner-150x78.png Nvidia Tegra – PPCGeeks.com https://www.ppcgeeks.com 32 32 Is The Zune Phone Alive? Maybe! https://www.ppcgeeks.com/2010/02/01/is-the-zune-phone-alive-maybe/ https://www.ppcgeeks.com/2010/02/01/is-the-zune-phone-alive-maybe/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:52:55 +0000 http://www.ppcgeeks.com/?p=2862 We’ve heard the rumors of a Zune Phone for a while now, and many Windows Mobile users feel that it would be a great interface to have on a phone. Similar to how Apple made the iPod Touch into the iPhone, Microsoft would be taking its popular mp3 player, the Zune, and making it into a phone. Spanish tech site MuyComputer has started a new rumor that the Zune Phone will be announced this month, possibly at the Mobile World Congress. While we call it a rumor, they say it is 100% confirmed.

The Zune Phone is said to have a NVIDIA Tegra inside, 480 x 272 screen, HDMI out, and weigh about 2.45 ounces and run Windows Mobile 7. If its true that WM7 will be announced at the MWC this month, what would be a better device to use as a demo?

Source: MuyComputer via Slashgear

]]> https://www.ppcgeeks.com/2010/02/01/is-the-zune-phone-alive-maybe/feed/ 15 Why everything is running an ARM A8 Cortex Chip https://www.ppcgeeks.com/2010/01/28/why-everything-is-running-an-arm-a8-cortex-chip/ https://www.ppcgeeks.com/2010/01/28/why-everything-is-running-an-arm-a8-cortex-chip/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:15:35 +0000 http://www.ppcgeeks.com/?p=852

In the following months, the mobilephere will be overtaken with several new devices and most of them will be running the same underlying chipset design. As any mobile power user will tell you, support for HD video and hardware-accelerated graphics are must-haves for future devices. What will most of these devices have in common? Several things actually. Nearly all will be based on the ARM Cortex A8 chipset, which means they are running the same basic chip with manufacturer-decided variations and branding schemes.

What is most exciting about this chipset is that HD video and hardware-accelerated graphics are now a reality for everybody. As a bonus, this chipset design also meets the ‘required specs‘ that Windows Mobile 7 purportedly has. These specs include-

Quote:
Core requirements:
Processor: ARM v6+, L2 Cache, VFP, Open GL ES 2.0 graphics HW (QCOM 8k, Nvidia AP15/16* and TI 3430 all meet spec)
Memory: 256MB+ DRAM, 1G+ Flash (at least 512MB fast flash – 5MB/s unbuffered read @4K block size)
Display: WVGA (800×480) or FWVGA (854×480) 3.5” or greater diagonal
Touch: Multi-touch required
Battery: Sufficient to meet Days of Use LTK requirements.
Controls: Start, Back, Send and End are required (soft controls allowed as long as they are always present).

Following is a list of each ‘branded ARM A8 processor’ and their specifications. I have also listed an example device known to run that chip (is possible).

Make sure to check out this excellent explanation on the differences between the previous generation ARM 11 chipset and the new ARM Cortex A8 chipset if you want to get dirty with the details of why this is such an advancement in technology.

TEGRA

The Tegra chipset, manufactured by Nvidia, is to support

Quote:
Key features:

  • 720p HD video capture and playback
  • The lowest power for demanding applications like 720p HD video
  • 3D user interface that enhances browsing and content navigation
  • Premium HD video playback with NVIDIA® PureVideo® technology
  • Ability to access visually intensive online applications like mapping and gaming

Known Device- Zune HD

SNAPDRAGON

The Snapdragon chipset, designed by Qualcomm, has the following features-

Quote:
  • 1 GHz CPU
  • 600MHz DSP
  • Integrated 3G mobile broadband
  • Support for Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® connectivity
  • Built-in seventh-generation gpsOne® engine with Standalone-GPS and Assisted-GPS modes
  • High-definition (720p) video decode, and multiple video codec support
  • High-performance 3D graphics – up to 22M triangles/sec and 133M 3D pixels/sec
  • High-resolution up to WXGA (1280×720) display support
  • 12-megapixel camera support
  • Multiple audio codecs: (AAC+, eAAC+, AMR, FR, EFR, HR, WB-AMR, G.729a, G.711, AAC stereo encode)
  • Support for mobile broadcast TV (MediaFLO™, DVB-H and ISDB-T)
  • Support for Windows Mobile®, Android, and a number of Linux®-based operating systems
  • Qualcomm’s hybrid mode alternative solution

Known devices-

Windows Mobile- Acer neoTouch S200 F1, HTC HD2, Toshiba TG01, LG Monaco,
Android- Acer Liquid A1, HTC Dragon, Sony Xperia X3

ARMADA

The Armada chipset, made by Marvell, includes the following features-

Quote:
  • Scalable CPU core frequency and voltage for power-efficient operation
  • Tightly coupled DRAM controllers for low latency CPU access while supporting balanced I/O throughput
  • Hardware video acceleration to offer up to 1080p encode and decode
  • 3D graphics acceleration at up to 45 million triangles per second (MT/s)
  • Suite of award-winning Qdeo video technology
  • Wide flexibility in I/Os spanning mobile devices (MIPI DSI/CSI/HSI/SlimBus, mobile DDR), consumer/embedded devices (PCIe, Ethernet, SATA, 5-in-1 card reader, desktop DDR) and generic (SDIO, eMMC, USB 2.0, parallel, and more)
OMAP

TI (the company, not the rapper) will be releasing their OMAP chipset, which will include-

Quote:
All of the devices feature hardware 2D/3D graphics acceleration except for the OMAP3610, OMAP3630/OMAP3640 are capable of 720p HD video playback, according to TI.Ti says all of the OMAP36xx SoCs offer support for XGA displays up to 1024 x 768 pixels, or WXGA displays up to 1280 x 800, and provide composite and S-Video TV output too. The devices include three high-speed USB 2.0 interfaces and one USB 2.0 On-The-Go interface, the company adds.

As you can tell, there are quite a few names to describe the same basic feature set. All and all, it looks to be quite an exciting time for phone launches. With Windows Mobile 7 set to be released sometime later this year, expect a bevy of devices with the ARM A8 chipset to be announced and launched. Already we have seen leaks of a possible HTC HD3 and the HTC Oboe, and more are sure to come!

Sources of information-

Nvidia Tegra Info- Nvidia.com

Qualcomm Snapdragon Info- Qualcomm.com

Marvell Armada Info- Marvell.com

TI OMAP Info- LinuxFordDevices.com

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