AllThingsD » quad core

LG Shows Its Hand in Barcelona (After Already Tipping It)

Ina Fried — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:57:32 +0000

After announcing a ton of devices last week, there wasn’t much room for surprise by the time LG made it to Barcelona.

The company introduced four devices last week, as well as plans for a new design theme. However, the company is using the show to display the just-introduced devices, plus three other phones that are part of a new-look design for the company.

Those devices — L3, L5 and L7 — are similar in design, but with different screen sizes and going after different parts of the market, from low-end to midrange. The L3 will sbhip this quarter and runs on the Gingerbread version of Android; the L5 and L7 run Ice Cream Sandwich and are due out next quarter.

Along with those devices, LG has a range of high-end models, including a new 3-D phone with a wider viewing angle; a quad-core phone; and the LG Optimus Vu, with its ginormous screen. Or, as LG likes to put it, a device that is “four times smaller than an ordinary tablet.”

The moves come as LG is trying to deal with increasingly tough competition in the mobile space, particularly among Android makers.

Here’s a picture of the Optimus Vu, by the way, held next to a Nokia Lumia 800:

RELATED POSTS:

Tablets That Have a Certain Feel to Them

A Lytro in Hand Helps Bring Mobile World Congress Into Focus

Coming Soon: Phones That Learn to Rest When You Do

Microsoft Won’t Support Some Business Features on ARM, but Will Offer “Windows to Go”

Windows 8 Hits the Really Big Screen (Video)

Microsoft Says Hola to Windows 8 Beta in Barcelona

Microsoft Won’t Support Some Business Features on ARM, but Will Offer “Windows to Go”

Google’s Schmidt Insists Android “A Real Operating System”

Samsung’s Not Doing Well in the Tablet Market? You Don’t Say …

Interview: Clearwire CEO Sees 4G Opportunities Where Rival LightSquared Stumbled

RIM Exec: Developers Like Us Just Fine, Thanks

Intel Announces More Phone Customers, Plans for Speedier Chips

Mum on Own Phone Plans, Facebook Aims to Make Mobile Web App-Friendly

Sony Insists It’s Not Just Playing Around When It Comes to Phones

The Inside Story of Nokia’s 41-Megapixel Camera Phone: Five Years in the Making

With Lumia 610, Nokia Aims To Take Windows Phone To a New Low (Price)

Nokia’s Strategy Comes Into Focus in Barcelona

HTC Introduces the One Phone It Hopes Will Help It Regain Footing (Well, the Several Phones)

Sony Aims to Remake Name for Itself in Phones

LG Shows Its Hand in Barcelona (After Already Tipping It)

With Latest Galaxy, Samsung Looks to Project Its Android Lead

Barcelona Subway Strike Averted on Eve of Mobile World Congress

Complete Coverage of Mobile World Congress

A "Conservative" Estimate: Apple Will Sell 48 Million iPads in Calendar 2012

John Paczkowski — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:59:01 +0000

Whether it debuts in February or in March, Apple’s hotly anticipated iPad 3 will likely raise the bar for its rivals, and perhaps further buttress a postulate we’ve discussed here before: Consumers don’t want tablets, they want iPads. The only question is one of degree.

Recent reports have added 4G LTE connectivity and a quad-core processor to a rumored spec list that already includes Siri voice recognition, better cameras, a higher-capacity battery and a much-improved display with double the pixel density of the iPad 2.

All of which sounds entirely reasonable, and certainly like the makings of a formidable successor to the iPad 2. Enough of one that analysts are already tweaking their sales estimates upward.

“We believe this significant refresh will likely help drive higher iPad sales and help further differentiate from arguably the only real competitor in the market, Amazon’s Kindle Fire, and not to mention the myriad of Android offerings out there,” says Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. “We are currently modeling 48 million iPad shipments for calendar 2012.”

That’s an awfully big number, but it could prove too small before the year is out. Says Wu, “[48 million] could turn out conservative.”

iPad 3 May Run Quad-Core Chip, Support LTE

John Paczkowski — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:09:53 +0000

The iPad 3 has gone into production. That’s the word from Bloomberg, which says that Apple’s manufacturing partners are cranking out the device full-throttle ahead of a March launch. Sources tell the publication that the third generation of the Apple tablet will run on a quad-core processor and boast a high-resolution display and LTE support — all features that have been rumored for months now.

Nvidia’s Jen-Hsun Huang on Superman Quad-Core Chip, Microsoft and Apple: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:12:15 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.

An early pioneer in graphics chips, the tech company is now aiming at the market for processors driving smartphones, tablets and, soon, PCs. Nvidia’s latest effort is a quad-core chip code named Kal-El, which is the Krypton moniker of Superman.

Is Huang the Man of Steel? Or, at least, can he steal some of major rival Qualcomm’s thunder?

Here’s the video of his onstage interview with Walt Mossberg:

[ See post to watch video ]

HTC's Next Tablet Will Be Quad Core

John Paczkowski — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:49:35 +0000

HTC CEO Peter Chou says the company’s next tablet effort won’t be a “me-too” product, but rather one that stands out from the competition. Just how the company proposes to manage that isn’t yet clear, though some early details are beginning to emerge.

The most noteworthy, the tablet HTC plans to show off at Mobile World Congress 2012, will run on one of Nvidia’s quad-core processors. The most likely candidate here is the Tegra 3, an A9-based chip that Nvidia says offers three times the performance of its dual-core predecessors, as well as improved multitasking and smoother app performance.

Of course, HTC isn’t the only company plotting a Tegra 3-based tablet. Indeed, at our recent AsiaD conference, Asus Chairman Johnny Shih showed off the company’s next-generation Transformer tablet, noting that it, too, would ship with the quad-core Nvidia chip.

Nvidia's Quad-Core Tegra 3 Ready, Asus' Transformer Prime Almost Ready

Ina Fried — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:20:12 +0000

For those who have been waiting for a mobile device with a quad-core chip, the wait is over. Well, almost over.

Nvidia is announcing on Wednesday that it is ready with its Tegra 3 chip, previously known by its Kal-El code name. However, the first device running the chip, Asus’ Eee Pad Transformer Prime, won’t be shipping until December.

The Asus tablet is set to go on sale for $499 for a 32 gigabyte model and $100 more for a 64GB version, with the optional plug-in keyboard dock priced at $149. Despite some hopes it would ship with Google’s new Ice Cream Sandwich edition of Android, the tablet will initially come loaded with Android 3.2. An upgrade should be available in December, Asus said.

As for Nvidia’s chip, the company claims it will offer three times the graphic performance while offering 61 percent more battery life — meaning up to 12 hours of HD video playback on a single charge. The Tegra 3 name will come as no surprise to AllThingsD readers, as CEO Jen-Hsun Huang used it on stage at AsiaD. Asus CEO Jonney Shih also showed off the Transformer Prime during his appearance at our Hong Kong conference.

Although touted as a quad-core processor, the chip also includes a fifth processing core that can be used in place of the four main cores to run devices in a lower power state. Phones running the chip, along with more tablets, are due next year.

Nvidia first announced its plans for Kal-El at Mobile World Congress back in February.

The company, naturally, isn’t stopping with Tegra 3. Its road map shows a chip code-named Wayne due next year, with roughly double the performance; follow-on chips “Logan” and “Stark” are due in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and promise logarithmically better performance.

Nvidia's Quad-Core Mobile Chip Makes Its Debut–On YouTube

Ina Fried — Mon, 30 May 2011 05:26:23 +0000

Ahead of this week’s Computex trade show in Taiwan, Nvidia is showing off its forthcoming quad-core mobile chip which is slated to arrive on phones and tablets later this year.

In a video posted to YouTube, Nvidia shows the chip, known as Kal-El, powering a graphics-intensive demo called Glowball. A glowing ball is seen moving around, casting light and shadows as it moves through the game space. Nvidia said that the video reflects real, on-the-fly game play powered by an accelerometer as opposed to a canned animation.

“Given that dual-core processors are already on [the] market, you might be wondering how Project Kal-El’s quad-core technology will improve the mobile experience,” Nvidia said in a blog post. “Rather than try to explain it, we’ve put together a hands-on demo to give you a sneak peek at the new capabilities coming to superphones and tablets later this year.”

Nvidia first announced plans for the chip, code-named Kal-El at February’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. Kal-El, which packs 12 graphics chip cores in addition to its four processing cores, is slated to be the successor to the company’s Tegra 2 chip, which powers a number of current phones and tablets, including the Motorola Xoom and other Honeycomb-based Android tablets.

For more on how Nvidia sees its future powering mobile phones, tablets and even PCs, check out the on-stage interview I did back in January with CEO Jen-Hsun Huang at our D@CES event.

Nvidia is looking to take on not only ARM-based rivals like Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, but also traditional PC powerhouse Intel as Microsoft looks to support ARM chips with the next version of Windows. Qualcomm has said it expects to have a quad-core chip on the market next year.

Apple Rolls Out Quad-Core iMacs with Thunderbolt

John Paczkowski — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:45:05 +0000

The Apple Store went offline for an update Tuesday morning, returning a short while later stocked up with a new line of iMacs. The updated machines feature quad-core processors–ranging from a 2.5GHz Core i5 to a 3.4GHz Core i7, a new AMD Radeon HD graphics processors, a FaceTime HD camera, and the same 10Gbps Thunderbolt port that debuted in the new MacBook Pros earlier this year.

Aiming to Power Ever More Complex Graphics, Nvidia Plans Quad-Core Mobile Chip This Year

Ina Fried — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:14 +0000

Chipmaker Nvidia plans this year to introduce a four-core processor, code-named Project Kal-El, that should offer roughly five times the processing power of its existing Tegra chip and, what it says, has significantly more horsepower than an Intel Core 2 Duo chip.

Briefing reporters at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nvidia said it plans to include a 12-core graphics processor along with the quad-core CPU. All that processing oomph should support “Extreme HD” graphics with a resolution of up to 2,560 by 1,600 pixels. The chip is now sampling to customers, Nvidia said.

The company has more ambitious goals for subsequent years, with plans to more than double performance in each of the next three years with chips code-named Wayne, Logan and Stark.

Nvidia’s current Tegra 2 chip is at the heart of many Android phones and a number of Android Honeycomb tablets, including the Motorola Xoom, LG G-Slate and the just-introduced Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

However, Nvidia isn’t the only company ramping things up. Qualcomm announced a new series of ARM-based chips on Monday, though its quad-core chip isn’t slated to arrive until 2012.

For more on Nvidia’s plans for the future, check out the onstage interview I did with CEO Jen-Hsun Huang at our D@CES event in January.

[ See post to watch video ]

Operating Systems Offer New Choices in PC Shopping

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:02:04 +0000

Now that both Microsoft and Apple have finally shipped the new versions of their operating systems, Windows 7 and Snow Leopard, respectively, it’s time for my annual fall computer-buying guide.

This guide stresses laptops, which have become the prevalent choice, but most of its specs also apply to desktops. As always, it is aimed at average consumers doing typical tasks, such as Web surfing, email, social networking, word processing, photos, video and music. It doesn’t apply to businesses, hard-core gamers or serious media producers—groups that need specialized or heftier hardware.

[ See post to watch video ]

Consumers shopping for new computers this fall have a wide variety of choices with the new operating systems pre-installed, making the machines faster and better. Windows PCs are no longer burdened with the disliked Vista OS.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Windows hardware makers and retailers generally are trying to nudge you to spend more. They are anxious to guide consumers away from the popular, but low-profit, stripped-down netbooks to somewhat larger Windows 7 laptops from which they can make more money. This larger-size category goes by a variety of names, which can be confusing.

Windows vs. Mac: The arrival of Windows 7 makes PCs from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Dell (DELL) and others much better choices than their Vista-equipped predecessors were. Microsoft (MSFT) has closed most of the gap with Apple’s (AAPL) Mac OS X operating system. Also, Windows PCs are often priced hundreds of dollars lower than Macs, and offer many more choices.

But Apple’s hardware is stylish and sturdy, and, in my tests, Macs usually boot faster than Windows machines. Plus, Apple’s chain of retail stores offers a better buying experience and strong post-purchase support. Also, in my view, Apple’s built-in software still has the edge. Snow Leopard is fast and reliable. And it comes with a full suite of excellent built-in programs, including email, photo and video software. Microsoft has stripped Windows 7 of such programs. Some PC makers have restored some or all of these in certain models, although I consider Apple’s counterparts better. Another huge plus: The Mac isn’t susceptible to the vast majority of viruses and spyware.

Cost: Prices on Windows PCs are creeping upward. You can buy a Windows PC for under $500, but many stores are pushing costlier models. And those $250 netbooks are much scarcer. Now, they typically run between $300 and $450. Apple has mostly stuck with its same, higher, prices, though it has boosted the specs on many models. The cheapest Mac desktop, the minimalist Mac mini, is $599. The cheapest Mac laptop, the new MacBook, is $999. The heart of Apple’s line starts at $1,199.

New category: Windows PC makers this season are pushing a category of laptop that is meant to fit between a netbook and a full-size laptop. It goes by a variety of confusing names, such as “ultrathin” or “thin and light,” though these models are often no thinner or lighter than some laptops of the past. They typically cost between $500 and $800, and often have 13-inch screens.

Memory: All Macs come with at least two gigabytes of memory, which is plenty for running Snow Leopard well. Mainstream Windows PCs have at least three gigabytes. But the cheapest Windows machines sometimes come with less. I recommend at least two gigabytes.

64-bit: PCs have long been based on something called a 32-bit architecture, but many models now use a 64-bit architecture, allowing properly written software to use more memory and run faster. If possible, buy a 64-bit computer, which is likely to dominate eventually, even though some software and add-on hardware may be incompatible at first.

Graphics: The new operating systems allow software makers to speed up some tasks by offloading them from the main processor onto the graphics chip. So, if possible, get a “discrete” graphics processor, which has its own memory. Otherwise, find a potent “integrated” graphics chip, which shares your main memory.

Processor: Mainstream Windows PCs sport fast, dual-core processors from Intel (INTC) or its rival, AMD (AMD). These pack the equivalent of two brains onto one chip. But many lower-price Windows PCs have slower processors, such as the Intel Atom, which are best suited for light duty. Apple models all use Intel’s dual-core processors, except for the highest-priced desktops, which come with quad-core chips.

Hard disks: A 250-gigabyte hard disk should be the minimum on most PCs. On a netbook, look for at least a 160-gigabyte disk. Solid-state disks are faster and use less battery power, but often add hundreds of dollars to the price tag.

Touch: Windows 7 lets you control the computer by touching the screen with your fingers, and some PC makers add their own touch-screen features. But this only works fully with newer types of touch screens, adding cost. Make sure any touch-screen model you buy has a full multitouch screen that supports all Windows 7 gestures. Apple uses the laptop touch pad, or its new mouse, as the multitouch, finger-gesture mechanism, instead of the screen.

As always, don’t buy more machine than you need.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Apple Updates Mac Lineup, Announces Multitouch "Magic Mouse"

John Paczkowski — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:10:28 +0000

The Apple store went offline Tuesday morning and when it returned, it did so with a groaning board of new hardware, including a range of aluminum and edge-to-edge glass iMacs, Mac minis, a 13-inch unibody polycarbonate MacBook and a wireless, multitouch “Magic Mouse.”

The new iMacs boast LED-backlit 21.5- and 27-inch widescreen displays in an edge-to-edge glass design and all aluminum enclosure. They’re available with Intel (INTC) Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for even better performance. The low-end model is priced at $1,199, the same as the past generation, but its high-end sibling is now $200 cheaper, at $1,999.

The new MacBook features an 13.3-inch LED backlit display, a multitouch trackpad, and a $999 price tag. Though still housed in white polycarbonate plastic, it features an updated unibody design borrowed from the MacBook Pro.

The successor to the Mighty Mouse, Magic Mouse, eliminates mechanical buttons, instead, employing the same multitouch surface found on the iPhone, iPod touch, and Mac notebook trackpads, allowing users to navigate their desktops with simple gesture commands.

Accompanying the Magic Mouse is a a new Apple Remote. It’s got a new design and is, predictably, housed in aluminum.

Finally, Apple (AAPL) also updated the Mac mini. While its design is largely identical to that of its predecessor, it offers far more storage. Starting at $599, the entry-level Mac mini features a faster 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, a 160GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive.

There’s also a new $999 Mac mini that’s specially configured with a Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. It’s outfitted with two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage.

Quite a refresh and one analysts are already crowing about. In a bulletin released after the announcement, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster said Apple’s new machines will undoubtedly improve the company’s prospects for the December quarter.

“We expect the new iMacs, and to a lesser degree the new Mac minis, to help the desktop category rebound in the Dec. quarter,” Munster wrote. “In other words, the headwind that existed in the Sept. quarter due to aging Mac desktops has now turned into a tailwind for Mac units in the Dec. quarter….Bottom Line: Street Mac numbers may also be conservative if positive trends continue coupled with new Macs in the quarter.”

Apple Updates Mac Lineup, Announces Multitouch "Magic Mouse"

John Paczkowski — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:10:28 +0000

Accompanying the Magic Mouse is a a new Apple Remote. It’s got a new design and is, predictably, housed in aluminum.

There’s also a new $999 Mac mini that’s specially configured with a Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. It’s outfitted with two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage.

AMD Announces New Quad-Core Reorg

John Paczkowski — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:55:19 +0000

After three years, AMD is finally getting around to merging its microprocessor and graphics divisions, another stab at reaching profitability after more than two years of losses. On Wednesday afternoon the company said it would consolidate the two divisions into one–platforms and products–led by SVP Rick Bergman, who joined AMD after the company acquired ATI in 2006.

Platforms and products is one of four new operating units created in this latest restructuring, which also birthed an advanced technology group, a marketing group and a consumer group. Why this particular arrangement is any better than AMD’s reorg of a year ago–which spawned the Central Engineering Organization and Computing Solutions Group–is anyone’s guess. AMD CEO Dirk Meyer says it will optimize AMD’s operations and drive the company toward sustained profitability and long-term success. But then he said that about the last one as well.

Oh, speaking of that last reorg, Randy Allen, the 24-year AMD veteran who figured so prominently in the company, is leaving. AMD (AMD) offered no explanation for his departure and there’s no word yet on where he’s headed. That said, some surmise that he may be following a path beaten by two of his former colleagues, Raja Koduri and Bob Drebin, who both fled AMD for Apple (AAPL)

Intel: Screw Everything, We're Doing Eight Cores

John Paczkowski — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:41:10 +0000

If two cores make a good chip and four cores make a better one, then obviously six cores make the best damn chip on the market. Which is what analysts believe Intel’s (INTC) new six-core Xeon processor X7460 will be when it debuts Sept. 15. With six cores and a leviathan 16MB L3 cache, it’s easy to see why. “This is a big deal,” said Gabriel Consulting Group analyst Dan Olds. “It looks like, at least from the benchmarks we’re seeing, six-core chips offer more performance than quad-cores. So, yes, customers are going to want them. What we don’t know is how much power the chips consume and how much heat they will dissipate, and those are key concerns. But, all in all, this is a pretty big advance in the state of the art.”

For now. Because Nehalem, Intel’s next-generation processor, is expected to go into production soon and it’s packing eight cores …

Headline, with apologies to America’s Finest News Source …

Intel: Screw Everything, We're Doing Eight Cores

John Paczkowski — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:41:10 +0000

For now. Because Nehalem, Intel’s next-generation processor, is expected to go into production soon and it’s packing eight cores …

Headline, with apologies to America’s Finest News Source …

1 Million iPhones Down, 9 Million to Go

John Paczkowski — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:00:57 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Now if Only You Could Multi-Core Your Earnings

John Paczkowski — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:01:35 +0000

It’s slower than initial expectations and about six months later than originally promised, but Advanced Micro Devices’ quad-core Opteron (Barcelona) processor is still a milestone for the company and perhaps an antidote for its sagging financial fortunes.

The new server chip, which puts four processors on a single silicon die, is the first of its kind and AMD’s shot at regaining some of the market its lost to a resurgent Intel. The company’s market share was about 25% in the middle of 2006. By mid-2007, it had slipped to close to 13%. “There is nothing that we would have been more excited about than getting it out earlier,” AMD CEO Hector Ruiz told eWeek. “But you know we are not making excuses. This is a damn difficult thing to do, as I’m sure you can imagine. …This is 600 million transistors on a chip, four cores, complex technology and tremendous architectural features. It was, frankly, a little tougher challenge than we had anticipated and it frustrated the hell out of us because we wanted to get it out there earlier.”

Of course you did. The Quad-Core AMD Opteron arrives at market nearly a year after Intel began shipping quad-core processors of its own and follows a string of consecutive quarterly losses. The stakes here have been high for quite a while. But is the quad-core Opteron the winning hand for which AMD hopes? Perhaps. Perhaps not. “Barcelona is not the sweeping challenge to Intel they wanted to make,” analyst Rob Enderle told the Austin American Statesman. “This keeps them in the game and competing. But it’s not a leadership position.”

Certainly, Intel doesn’t think so. This morning the company announced that it now expects third quarter revenue to be between $9.4 billion and $9.8 billion, improving on its previous guidance of $9 billion to $9.6 billion.