MWC 2012: Qualcomm announces new Snapdragon

Qualcomm has shown off a brand new version of its Snapdragon S4 processor, with a 'Pro' version announced at MWC 2012 alongside displays of the latest LTE technology.

The chip giant's Snapdragon has become a familiar sight in mobile devices, and the company is keen to keep up momentum with the arrival of the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 Pro.

The processor includes the Adreno 320 GPU to support high res displays, new multimedia capabilities and the ability to tap directly into the computational capability of its GPU through new APIs like Open CL.

Pro version

"As a result of strong customer demand for Snapdragon S4 processors, we've added a new Pro version of MSM8960 to continue delivering the highest performing mobile processors in the industry," said Cristiano Amon, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm.

"By delivering the S4 Pro processor in 2012, we are fulfilling our promise that Snapdragon processors will remain the industry's barometer for excellence in mobile computing while helping our customers bring the most innovative smartphones and tablets to market."

The S4 Pro version of MSM8960 is optimized for the most advanced operating systems, including the highly anticipated Windows 8 system.

Qualcomm is also showing off LTE broadcast at the show, which enables network operatios to adjust coverage and capacity dynamically, and its latest LTE chipsets that take advantage of HSPA+ release 10.

MWC 2012: Intel announces dual-core Atom for phones

Intel has announced a major overhaul of its Medfield smartphone processor platform here at MWC 2012, adding two new Atom chips to its line-up.

The Atom Z series, which was unveiled at CES 2012, previously only featured the Z2460. That was a single-core chip based on the 32nm Penwell architecture famous for powering phones, tablets, low-cost PCs, netbooks and nettops.

The silicon giant has now added two more chips to its line-up, the dual-core Atom Z2580 and a low-cost Z2000, which is aimed at emerging markets.

Two-core hyperthreading

The Atom Z2580 features two cores that run at an improved 1.8GHz, but most importantly, has 4 hyperthreads, which act as virtual cores, enabling better performance when multitasking. While it's not a quad-core processor, hyperthreading enables the processor to split its power effectively, designating one thread to any given task.

Intel will hope that its hyperthreading capabilities can offset the gains made by Nvidia and ARM on the swathes of quad-core handsets that have been announced at this year's Mobile World Congress, such as the HTC One X and the Huawei Ascend D1, while delivering better battery life and power efficiencies.

Those power savings chiefly come thanks to the 32nm architecture, which enables the chip to run more efficiently than rivals using larger dies. With ARM Cortex A9, the chip at the heart of Tegra 3, running at 40nm, Intel-based handsets has the ability to make real gains in battery life, and still deliver top notch performance for media and games.

Aside from raw processing power, the Atom Z2580 has a dual-core graphics core clocked at 533MHz built into the Penwell SoC architecture, and 4G LTE.

Medfield's original single-core release raised questions about Intel's ability to compete, and the likes of Nvidia have been keen to shout that more cores equal more power. However, benchmarks of the original Z2480 processor have shown that not to be the case. Medfield's smart throttling of power, large dynamic range, and burst modes for intense work-loads revealed huge gains in terms of power efficiency and battery life.

Intel will be hoping that their dual-core update can retain the efficiencies of the original Medfield chip, and compete with the likes of Tegra 3 in terms of processing power.

The Z200 uncovered

The Z2580 has also been accompanied by a low-power Z2000, which should bring the technology of the original Atom Z Series to the developing market.

The Z2000 is essentially a hobbled version of the original Z2460, featuring a single-core 1GHz Atom processor, supporting a 300MHz graphics core, 720p playback and up to 8MP rear facing camera.

The sub-$200 market is a huge opportunity for Intel to make a serious play, in a space which is dominated by some pretty poor offerings. Most of the low-cost handsets by the likes of ZTE, Huawei and Lenovo use ARM 9 and ARM 11 chips, and the emergence of a 32nm Intel processor into this space could make a huge difference in terms of market share.

Intel hopes to have its new Z2580 and Z2000 Atom chips into smartphones by mid-2012.

Broadcom Announces New Combo Chips - BCM4334, BCM43241, Shows 802.11ac Once More

We've been covering the combo chip space for a while now, which is hugely important for both smartphones, tablets, and other form factors usually driven by ARM SoCs. Combo chips traditionally deliver WLAN, Bluetooth, and FM connectivity, and recently a few more air interfaces have joined the fray. The main players in the smartphone combo chip market have been Broadcom with their BCM4325, BCM4329, and BCM4330 parts, TI with their WiLink series, and newcomer Qualcomm Atheros. 

At Broadcom's event this morning, the fabless semiconductor company announced two new members of its combo chip portfolio - BCM4334, and BCM43241.

BCM4334 in a plastic package

First is BCM4334 which is the follow-up part to BCM4330 that we've seen in a bunch of devices. BCM4334 changes from a 65nm process to 40nm LP, which itself offers a power profile reduction. The change isn't a simple die shrink either, Broadcom says it has worked on and refined the existing BCM4330 design and reduced power a further 40-50% and dramatically reduced standby power by 3 orders of magnitude. I asked Broadcom to give me a realistic estimate of power consumption - BCM4330 in full Rx mode consumes around 68mA, BCM4334 consumes 36mA at the same voltage, just to give an example of the reduction. Air interfaces don't change between BCM4330 and BCM4334. The second part, BCM43241, is a 2x2MIMO combo chip that's geared at tablets and also is built on a 40nm process.

Gallery: Broadcom Booth - Combo Chips

Broadcom also showed off its 802.11ac solution again, including a 3x3:3 demo with wired links, and a system running one spatial stream over the air. The single spatial stream demo over the air was showing a transfer link rate of 350 Mbps in IxChariot, the closest I've seen to the theoretical 433 Mbps maximum for a single stream and 80 MHz channel. The three spatial stream demo was showing a repeating transfer of 1.04 Gbps. Interestingly enough, Broadcom whipped out a notebook running a WiSpy DBx and showed Chanalyzer 4 showing 802.11ac's 80 MHz OFDM window. 

]]>

The Portland Group Announces OpenCL Compiler for ST-Ericsson ARM-Based NovaThor SoCs

Amidst all the major hardware announcements at MWC2012 there are also some announcements coming out of the software side. The Portland Group (PGI) sent word this afternoon that their OpenCL compiler for ST-Ericsson’s ARM-based NovaThor SoCs is finished and will be available late next month. ARM has thrown their support behind OpenCL as of last year, but PGI’s compiler would be among the first commercial OpenCL compilers for ARM, and something we’d expect the rest of the field to follow sooner than later.

The PGI OpenCL Compiler For ARM will initially target ST-Ericsson’s NovaThor U8500 SoC, which is based on a dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU and coupled with an ARM Mali 400 MP GPU. As the name hints at, this is an OpenCL compiler and runtime for ARM, with all local OpenCL execution taking place on the U8500’s ARM A9 cores. Ultimately PGI will support additional NovaThor SoCs with this compiler, such as the recently announced L8540.

For the time being OpenCL execution will be limited to the ARM cores. We’d eventually expect support in some manner to broaden to GPU cores, but not until sometime in 2013 when ST-Ericsson’s PowerVR Series 6 based A9600 SoC ships.

Finally, on the operating system side of things PGI will be basing their support around Android, which makes sense as so far NovaThor SoCs have only appeared in Android devices. Notably they list the target OS as Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread), which will be the OS shipping on the first U8500 devices such as the Sony Xperias U and P. ICS isn’t expected for those phones until next quarter, though it’s not immediately clear when PGI’s compiler will reach parity.

]]>

Toshiba Announces Excite 10 LE, Shipping March 6th

At CES this year, we got a chance to go hands on with the Excite, Toshiba's latest and greatest Android slate. To recap, it's an OMAP4 device that features a 10.1" 1280 x 800 IPS display and measures in at a downright anorexic 7.7mm thick. At the time, we were given the price points Toshiba planned to hit, but no firm details as to availability or what OS it would ship with.Today, Toshiba announced that the Excite, formally titled the Excite 10 LE for the US market, will be available for purchase from retailers starting on March 6th, next Tuesday. Pricing is $529.99 and $599.99 for the 16GB and 32GB models respectively, as was known previously. 

Since CES, the clock speed of the OMAP 4430 SoC has been raised to 1.2GHz. Unfortunately, Toshiba has decided to launch the Excite with Honeycomb, promising an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich later in the spring. We demoed the Excite at CES running ICS, and it seemed relatively stable then, so it's a bit disappointing to see the shipping device on Honeycomb. 

We're on the list for an evaluation unit of the Excite, and we'll work to get the review out as soon as possible.

]]>

HTC Announces Initial Ice Cream Sandwich Rollout Plans

A while back, HTC announced the first suite of devices that it would be rolling out Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates to. The devce lineup included the entire HTC Sensation line (XE, XL, and 4G), followed by the Rezound, Amaze 4G, and new EVOs (Design 4G and 3D). Today, HTC has announced (also on its Facebook page) some further timing on just when devices will get those updates, and a few more devices making the cut.

First to the fray will be the HTC Sensation series (XE, XL, 4G, and sans moniker), which will get their ICS update before the end of March. Other devices getting an ICS update will see their update by a slightly more ambiguous and underwhelming "later this year." It's nice to see HTC committing to a date here, even though it's only for the Sensation line of devices. Hopefully as updates for the rest of the lineup draw closer those respective phones will see update timelines as well.

HTC also added a few more devices to its official list, which brings the tally to the following:

HTC Sensation (XE, XL, 4G, and sans moniker)HTC RezoundHTC VividHTC Amaze 4GHTC EVO 3DHTC EVO Design 4GHTC Incredible SHTC Desire SHTC Desire HD

Source: HTC (Facebook)

]]>

TI Announces WiLink 8 Family - WiFi, GNSS, NFC, BT, and FM Combo Chip

It goes without saying that connectivity is a hugely important part of smartphones. After all, without some sort of network connection, you've basically just got an expensive PDA or PMP. Today, TI is making formal the WiLink 8 family, the newest member of its popular WiLink series of WLAN combo chips, which is built on a 45nm process. WiLink 8 adds support for GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System - GPS + GLONASS) and NFC in addition to WiFi, Bluetooth, and FM receive/transmit like we've seen in WiLink 7 in a number of devices. 

The WiLink 8 family includes 15 different discrete solution options, and TI has provided a feature comparison for those parts. The configuration options basically afford OEMs the ability to choose whether they want GNSS (which they might not if the baseband or SoC provides it), NFC (possibly for low-end devices), and a simplified WLAN-only option.

TI WiLink 8 Series ComparisonTechnology OptionWL189x solutionsWL187x solutionsWL185x solutionsWL183x solutionsWL180x solutionsDual-band 2x2 MIMOWL1897WL1877WL1857WL1837WL1807Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/nWL1893WL1873WL1853WL1833WL1803Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/nWL1891WL1871WL1851WL1831WL1801Wi-Fi SS 40MHz (HT40)YYYYYGNSSYY   Bluetooth technologyYYYY Bluetooth low energyYYYY ANT+YYYY NFCY Y  FM Rx/TxYYYY 

WiLink 8 WiFi support builds on WiLink 7 by also adding both 2.4 and 5 GHz radio support, and most interestingly the option to connect using either dual-band 2x2:2 MIMO with a 20 MHz WiFi channel, or single spatial stream (1x1:1) on a 40 MHz wide channel. This is an interesting and unique feature that we haven't seen before from the other combo chip players, and I'm eager to see if OEMs opt to go for the 2x2:2 solution. Tablets are probably the most logical place for 2x2:2 considering that a larger device means better chances of getting two decently uncorrelated streams. The WiLink 8 series also includes an integrated NFC controller with support for all of the NFC forum use cases and modes, and TI tells us they've already partnered with a number of Secure Element (SE) providers (TI names Infineon and NXP in its release) as well for support. 

Integrated GNSS support is also very interesting, as for a while now Qualcomm has been the only player I've seen offering smartphone-tailored GNSS receiver with support for GPS and Russia's GLONASS constellation in newer SoCs and basebands. TI tells me they also have a different approach to managing use and prioritization of GPS/GLONASS than Qualcomm, whose solution right now only uses GLONASS when GPS SNR is low. We'll see products with WiLink 8 inside in the second half of 2012. 

Source: Texas Instruments

]]>

US Cellular Announces Initial 4G LTE Markets, Devices

Not to be left in the dust by their big national counterparts, regional carriers are also moving onward to 4G LTE, and US Cellular today announced its initial 4G LTE markets and two devices. US Cellular has made a coverage map tool visible with its initial rollout markets, and noted that additional market announcements will happen later this month. US Cellular also makes note of its intent to deploy 4G LTE onto 700 MHz spectrum licensed to King Street Wireless.

A quick check on the spectrum dashboard indicates that indeed US Cellular will likely deploy 4G LTE into a host of 700 MHz Lower A and B block licenses, both of which are 5 MHz FDD. A quick spot checking of the announced markets revealed that most are regions where both lower A and B are held, though Des Moines Iowa has both A and B, so it seems as though 5 MHz and 10 MHz FDD will be the name of US Cellular's LTE game.

King Street Wireless National 700 MHz Spectrum Holdings

The two devices US Cellular has in store are the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE, and the Samsung Galaxy S Aviator, the latter of which looks virtually identical to the Droid Charge we've already reviewed. No doubt the Aviator will turn out to be based on the same hardware platform given the similar choice of air interfaces shared between Verizon and US Cellular (CDMA2000 1x/EVDO and 4G LTE). 

Source: US Cellular (Devices), (Press Release)

]]>

Samsung Announces Galaxy S Advance

Reports about a new Samsung Galaxy series smart phone have been floating around for a few days now, and today Samsung has finally made it official by announcing the new family member: Galaxy S Advance. It's a 4" higher middle-class model, so it's not competing against Galaxy S II or Galaxy Nexus. Below is a comparison table including the new Galaxy S Advance.

Physical Comparison Apple iPhone 4SSamsung Galaxy S IISamsung Galaxy Nexus (CDMA/LTE)Samsung Galaxy S AdvanceHeight115.2 mm (4.5")125.3 mm (4.93")135.5 mm (5.33")123.2 mm (4.85")Width58.6 mm (2.31")66.1 mm (2.60")67.94 mm (2.67)63.0 mm (2.48)Depth9.3 mm ( 0.37")8.49 mm (0.33")9.47 mm (0.37")9.69 mm (0.38")Weight140 g (4.9 oz)115 g (4.06 oz)150 g (5.3 oz)120 g (4.2 oz)CPUApple A5 @ ~800MHz Dual Core Cortex A91.2 GHz Exynos 4210 Dual Core Cortex A91.2 GHz Dual Core Cortex-A9 OMAP 44601.0 GHz Exynos 4210 Dual Core Cortex-A9 (?)GPUPowerVR SGX 543MP2ARM Mali-400PowerVR SGX 540ARM Mali-400 (?)RAM512MB LPDDR2-8001 GB LPDDR21 GB LPDDR2768 MB LPDDR2NAND16GB, 32GB or 64GB integrated16 GB NAND with up to 32 GB microSD32 GB NAND8/16 GB NANDCamera8 MP with LED Flash + Front Facing Camera8 MP AF/LED flash, 2 MP front facing5 MP with AF/LED Flash, 1080p30 video recording, 1.3 MP front facing5 MP with AF/LED Flash, 720p30 video recording, 1.3 MP front facingScreen3.5" 640 x 960 LED backlit LCD4.27" 800 x 480 SAMOLED+4.65" 1280 x 720 SAMOLED HD4.0" 800 x 480 SAMOLEDBatteryInternal 5.3 WhrRemovable 6.11 WhrRemovable 6.85 WhrRemovable 5.55 Whr

First, let's discuss the SoC. Samsung only lists it as 1GHz dual core processor, so we don't have any concrete specs (hence the question mark). The SoC selection of the Galaxy S lineup is fairly fragmented as well. The original Galaxy S uses 1GHz single-core Samsung Hummingbird S5PC110, Galaxy S Plus uses 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255T, and Galaxy S II moved to dual-core with 1.2GHz Samsung Exynos 4210, though there have been reports of TI OMAP 4430 based Galaxy S IIs as well. Then we have T-Mobile version of the S II that uses Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 APQ8060. Galaxy Nexus is another oddball as it uses TI OMAP 4460. Pretty simple, huh? 

Luckily, the frequency gives us some indication of the core SoC. Snapdragon S3 isn't available at 1.0GHz, so we can rule out Qualcomm. That leaves us with Exynos 4210 and OMAP 4430, of which both are available at 1.0GHz. Given the track record of the Galaxy S series, our guess would be Exynos 4210 as Samsung seems to prefer in-house SoCs. Then again, we may see country specific models utilizing TI's OMAP 4430, in which case the GPU changes to PowerVR SGX 540. Either way, we should be looking at lower performance than what the high-end smart phones provide. 

Galaxy S Advance has Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) pre-installed, but unfortunately there is no word on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwhich) support. According to the press release, Galaxy S Advance won't be available in the US; the release will happen gradually in Russia, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Latin America, starting in February. No pricing has been released either but we are probably looking at €400-500 (i.e. ~€100 cheaper than the high-end models), although the price will vary depending on taxation and contract. 

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S Advance

]]>

Motorola Announces RAZR XT910 Developer Edition with Unlocked Bootloader

A while ago, Motorola announced plans to start unlocking bootloaders on devices "where operator and channel partners will allow it" sometime in 2011. While it's clear now (with that deadline behind us) that operators remain opposed to subsidizing sales of devices with unlockable bootloaders, Motorola is now moving forward with what would seem like an alternative means to a similar end, starting with creation of a Developer Edition XT910 device for Europe. The Developer Edition XT910 is similar to to the normal XT910, but includes an unlockable bootloader and is sold with no warranty - the device is currently available for preorder for €499.00. This is essentially the RAZR we've reviewed already but with GSM/WCDMA air interfaces and no LTE connectivity. 

Customers stateside will have to wait for a corresponding unlockable developer device which ostensibly will mirror the XT912 shipping on Verizon Wireless with CDMA2000 1x/EVDO and LTE air interfaces. Hopefully Motorola's plans to launch Developer Edition devices doesn't mean that it has failed to reach an agreement with carrier partners to enable currently shipping devices to be unlocked.

Source: Motorola Blog, Motorola Dev. Devices, XT910

]]>

Apple Announces Digital Textbook Availability, iBooks Author App

Apple today announced that it would begin offering digital textbooks on the iPad via its iBooks app. The books, which currently focus on high school-level subjects but will later expand to cover the entire K-12 curriculum, can cost up to $14.99, and Apple is working with publishing companies such as Pearson, McGraw Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and DK Publishing to make it happen. The textbook store is available in iBooks 2.0, which requires iOS 5 and is currently available as an update to the original iBooks app.

The digital textbooks can include interactive elements like pictures, video, or 3D models, which will be displayed more prominently while the tablet is in landscape mode, while flipping it into portrait mode will display a text-centric view. Students can highlight text in multiple colors and take notes, and use the app to automatically display flash cards of their highlights and notes mixed in with glossary terms from the book. Glossary terms, usually displayed in bold, can be tapped to bring up definitions of the word both from the book and from the built-in dictionary, and the text is fully searchable.

Of course, most of these features are imports from existing eBooks and old-school educational CD-ROMs - embedded video, highlighting, note taking, and many of the other things Apple showcased aren’t new innovations, though they appear to be implemented well here. More interesting was the iBooks Author app for OS X, available for no cost in the Mac App Store.

iBooks Author is used to create these interactive textbooks - pictures, videos, and Keynote presentations can be dragged into any of the provided templates, and authors of existing books can import their Word or Pages files to save time. More advanced coders can also create interactive widgets using HTML and Javascript. Publishing books requires an iBookstore seller account, the iTunes Producer app, and an active iTunes Connect contract with Apple - a full FAQ is available here. Once all of these requirements are met, the book can be submitted to Apple for review. Textbooks have a maximum size limit of 2GB. The technology behind all of this looks solid - iBooks Author makes eBook authoring and publishing relatively painless, and buying the books on the iPad is cheaper than buying a physical copy, at least at face value. Carrying around a single iPad is much less burdensome than carrying a book, and the ease with which students can look up words, take notes, and review material is impressive.

Even so, to my mind there’s a sizable gap between what Apple announced today and something that could truly make digital textbooks ubiquitous: the cost of entry, i.e. either purchasing an iPad for each student’s use or mandating that students purchase iPads for school use, is fairly high, even if you figure for a conservative 3-4 year replacement cycle (and even with AppleCare, iPad warranties run out after two years, making a 2-3 year cycle more likely, especially once you factor in iPads that are dropped, spilled on, or otherwise destroyed). Over time, the reduced cost of the books may offset the cost of the iPads, but the upfront cost (along with the cost of supporting the devices) is likely to scare away cash-strapped public schools. The announcements made today are less likely to revolutionize education, and more likely to increase the usefulness of iPads in school systems that are already using them.

iBooks Author requires Lion and is currently available for free in the Mac App Store. iBooks 2.0 is available for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch as an upgrade for the original iBooks app, though digital textbooks are not available on the smaller devices.

Source: Apple

]]>

Mozilla Announces Firefox Extended Support Release

Mozilla announced today that it would be offering a so-called Extended Support Release (or ESR) for Firefox to ease the pain of enterprises, universities, and other users put off by the company's earlier decision to switch to a rapid release cycle for Firefox. The ESR will be updated to a new major version about once a year, and then maintained with security patches until the next ESR, much as Firefox 3.6 has been maintained since Firefox 4's release. The first ESR should be Firefox 10, which is due on January 31 - six weeks after the stable release of Firefox 9.

The plan as currently proposed is to support each ESR for nine Firefox release cycles, which at the current rate of a new release every six weeks ends up being about 54 weeks. For each major release of Firefox, the ESR build will receive a batch of security updates and bugfixes (so, FIrefox 11 would bring Firefox 10.01, Firefox 14 would bring Firefox 10.04, and etc.) without making changes to the rendering engine or major features - extensions that break in major version updates should also continue working in the ESR when it is updated. As each new ESR is introduced, the previous ESR will receive 6-12 more weeks of official support before being discontinued.

The ESR proposal was created by Mozilla's Enterprise User Working Group, and will hopefully be the first step toward remedying Firefox's historically poor enterprise support - Internet Explorer and Chrome both offer MSI installers and Group Policy controls for use by Active Directory administrators who need to keep their users' browsers locked down and up-to-date. 

Source: Mozilla

]]>

HP Announces ENVY 14 Spectre Ultrabook

To keep the flow of CES coverage steady, HP has announced ENVY 14 Spectre Ultrabook. The use of glass makes Spectre special: The lid, display, palmrest and trackpad are all covered with scratch-resistant glass. HP claims that the glass makes the laptop more durable, although the actual chassis seems to be aluminum too. HP didn't reveal the full specifications but Engagdet listed the specs of the entry, $1399, model:

HP ENVY 14 Spectre SpecificationsScreen14.0" LED backlitResolution1600x900ProcessorCore i5-2467M (2/4, 1.6GHz/2.3GHz, 3MB)GraphicsIntel HD 3000 (350MHz/1150MHz)Memory4GB DDR3 (Up to 8GB)Storage128GB mSATA SSD (Up to 256GB)Ports1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, audio in/outBatteryUp to 9 hoursSoftwareFull versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, 2 years of Norton Internet Security 2012Dimensions (WxDxH)12.88" x 8.7" x 0.79"Weight3.79lbPrice$1399AvailabilityFebruary 8th (US) - March (others)

Spectre has a 14" screen but HP claims the chassis size to be more common in 13.3" laptops, which matches up if you compare it to e.g. 13" MacBook Pro (12.78" x 8.94" x 0.95"). The use of a bigger screen allows HP to use a higher resolution panel, as 1600x900 is more commonly found in 14" and 15" laptops (although there are 13.3" laptops like Sony Vaio SA and ASUS Zenbook with 1600x900). The stock configuration comes with Core i5-2467M but HP offers configurations with Core i7 ULVs as well (HP didn't list any SKUs, though). 

At 3.79lb, Spectre is definitely heavier than most Ultrabooks we have seen. If you're wondering how is this still an Ultrabook, Intel requires +14" laptops to be thinner than 21mm, which translates to 0.83" - there is no weight limit. For sub-14" laptops, the height limit is 18mm (0.71"). $1399 also makes Spectre fairly expensive, or premium as HP says. The bundled software is worth over $200, but it's always a risky move to include shareware software as the end-user may not use it at all but still pays for it.

Source: HP, Engadget

]]>

Sprint Ad Announces Galaxy Nexus with 1.5 GHz SoC

Sprint seems to be busy with its announcements today, and the latest comes in the form of an unassuming-looking advert on CNet. Ordinarily, a US carrier announcing yet another carrier-specific version of the same device isn't big news, but what's interesting about the Sprint Galaxy Nexus is that it notes the inclusion of a 1.5 GHz SoC. 

Both the GSM/WCDMA Galaxy Nexus (yajku) and the CDMA/LTE Galaxy Nexus (mysid) are currently based on a TI OMAP4460 SoC with a CPU clock of 1.2 GHz. Of course, OMAP4460's adveritsed maximum clock has always been 1.5 GHz. No doubt, Sprint has chosen to opt for the maximum OMAP4460 clocks for its very own Galaxy Nexus variant, which will also include CDMA and LTE. It will be interesting to see what the Sprint variant pegs its SGX 540 clock at as well, considering how (best I can tell) the current Galaxy Nexus variants put it at 307 MHz, and not the 384 MHz advertised maximum of the OMAP4460. We'll be paying attention to the Sprint variant and update if anything else emerges.

Source: CNet

]]>

Samsung Announces Series 7 and Series 9 Monitors

T27B750

Samsung has started CES early and has announced two new monitor lineups: Series 7 and Series 9. Series 7 is a premium consumer-grade series whereas Series 9 is mainly aimed toward professionals. Below are the specifcations:

Samsung Series 7 and Series 9 Specifications Series 7Series 9ModelC27B750XT27B750S27A970Screen Size27"27"27"Panel TypeWVA (?)TNPLSBacklightLEDLEDCCFL (?)Resolution1920x10801920x10802560x1440Brightness300cd/m^2300cd/m^2300cd/m^2Contrast Ratio5000:11000:11000:1Viewing Angles178/178170/160178/178Video InputsHDMI2x HDMI, VGAHDMI, dual-link DVI, DisplayPortOther Connectivity2x USB 3.0, USB 2.0, audio out, LAN, Central Station2x USB 3.0, USB 2.0, audio out, WiFi, HDTV tuner2x USB 2.0Speaker2x 5W2x 7W2x 7WMHLYesYesYesPrice$549$599$1199AvailabilityMarch 2012

C27B750X seems the be the successor of C27A750X, which was the first monitor to feature Central Station technology. We analyzed Central Station in last June and to summarize it briefly, it's basically a wireless laptop docking station. You connect a USB stick to your laptop and when you come within ~5 feet of the display, it automatically connects to the display. It acts as an external monitor but you can also use the USB devices connected to the monitor. Unfortunately, the display is still 1080p but the panel type has changed. Samsung lists the type as Wide Viewing Angle LED but as far as I know, there is no such panel type. It's definitely not TN as the viewing angles are much better. It's possible that it's a new panel type developed by Samsung or simply a fancy name for e.g. S-PVA or PLS. The price is down by $50 when compared to its predecessor, which is certainly a welcome action.

C27B750X

Samsung markets the T27B750 as a monitor but due to its HDTV tuner, it's more like an HDTV. However, it does feature a few USB ports and 27" is suitable for desktop use as well. Unfortunately, the panel type is TN so quality wise T27B750 is the worst of the three displays being launched. $599 makes it fairly expensive but its unique design (see photo at the top of this article) may be something people are willing to pay extra to get. 

As for the S27A970, it's currently the only member of the Series 9. It's 27" just like the Series 7 monitors but features 2560x1440 resolution instead of the more common 1920x1080. It uses a PLS panel which is similar to IPS, but according to Samsung provides better viewing angles and image quality. $1199 is a high price for a monitor but Series 9 has been designed for professional use, hence the price can be justified. However, it's still more expensive than e.g. Dell's U2711 or the Apple Thunderbolt Display, although the Samsung may feature a better panel (Dell and Apple both use an LG panel, while the Samsung ones seems to be in-house). 

Also, all monitors include MHL, Mobile High-definition Link. It's an interface found in some newer smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S II, Galaxy Nexus, and HTC Evo 3D. The interface is capable of carrying 1080p uncompressed video and 8-channel audio. MHL doesn't use a specific port and it can be tied to micro-USB and HDMI, both which are fairly common in higher end smartphones. While the availability isn't until March 2012, Samsung will have all three monitors on display at CES 2012.

Source: Samsung (1), (2)

]]>

Huawei Announces Ascend P1 S with 6.68mm thickness

We're at Huawei's press event where we just got to go hands on with the company's two new phones, both running Android Ice Cream Sandwich: the Huawei Ascend P1 S and Ascend P1. Both are based on a 1.5 GHz OMAP4460 SoC with PowerVR SGX 540 graphics and sport a 4.3" SAMOLED qHD display (960x540) with Gorilla Glass front face. 

The P1 S is impressively thin at 6.68 mm. Both the P1 S and P1 sport the same specifications, and only differ in battery capacity - the P1 S includes a 1670 mAh battery, whereas the slightly larger P1 includes an 1800 mAh battery and slightly thicker 7.69 mm waistline. Huawei's industrial design has come a long way in the last two years, this is an impressive device that felt subjectively pretty good in the hands and is clearly aiming at the high end market. Huawei claims that this is the current thinnest smartphone, and impressively includes pentaband WCDMA alongside it. 

Huawei Ascend P1 / P1 SSpecificationsHeight129 mmWidth64.8 mmDepth7.69 mm (P1) / 6.68 mm (P1 S)SoC1.5 GHz Ti OMAP 4460Network SupportPentaband WCDMA 850/900/AWS/1900/2100 MHz, Quadband GSM/EDGEBattery Size1670 mAh (P1 S) / 1800 mAh (P1)WiFi802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 HSCamera8 MP BSI Rear Facing / 1.3 MP Front FacingRAM/ROM1 GB RAM / 4 GB NAND

Gallery: Huawei Ascend P1 / P1 S

The Ascend P1 and P1 S are slated for worldwide availability sometime in April 2012. 

]]>

Adobe Announces New Tablet Apps

Adobe has announced a new suite of apps for Android and iOS tablets designed to integrate with the company's desktop applications, and to allow for basic editing and sharing of different types of Adobe files on the go.

There are six apps that make up the package, each with a different function:

Adobe Photoshop Touch is a standalone product that allows for basic image manipulation and sharing - it should be more capable than the current Photoshop Express, but less so than the desktop versions of the software.Adobe Debut allows users access to their Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator files on their tablets in a view-only mode to make it easier to show works-in-progress to people and get feedback.Adobe Proto helps you to build website and mobile app templates and mock-ups using a grid.Adobe Collage lets you create, um, "moodboards" from PDF, PSD, and AI files. The name is more self-explanatory: you can import files and assemble them into a collage.Adobe Ideas lets you create rough sketches on your tablet for importing and refining in the desktop versions of Photoshop.Adobe Kuler allows you to create and share "color themes" - color schemes imported from existing images.

All of the new apps will be available on Android for $9.99 apiece, and users can sign up to be notified when they (and the iOS versions, which are coming later) are available. Adobe Ideas is already available in the iOS App Store for $5.99.

Source: Adobe

]]>

Cooler Master announces Silent Pro Hybrid PSU

Cooler Master has announced its Silent Pro Hybrid Series PSU, which the company claims is "the industry benchmark to aspire to".

The Silent Pro Hybrid packs many features we've already seen in PSUs, such as modular cables to stop the inside of your PC looking like an unkempt branch of Maplin, and 90 per cent efficiency with 80Plus Gold Certification.

Additionally, the PSU adds three ports for system fans, such as your CPU heatsink and rear case fans.

Poor middle men

This means that the load and connections are removed from your motherboard, a move which Cooler Master describes as "cutting out the middle man".

The system fans can be controlled via a dial on a 5.25-inch fan controller module, so you can avoid accidentally sucking small furry animals into your case. The PSU's onboard 135mm fan can be controlled via a seperate dial.

The onboard fan can also be set to "fanless" mode, which turns it off until the power loads become more than 200W, substantially reducing the noise coming out of your PC.

The Silent Pro Hybrid Series will be released in 850W, 1050W and 1300W models for €199.99 (£171), €249.99 (£214) and €299.99 (£257) respectively.

We never thought we'd be excited about a PSU, but we look forward to getting our hands on one before their release in December.

Related Stories

• Tutorial: How to overclock your RAM

Broadcom Announces its first NFC Solution - BCM2079x

Near Field Communication (NFC) is quickly shaping up to be a must-have feature in this next generation of smartphones. We talked about it briefly in the context of the Nexus S, where it promised to enable contactless payments, tag reading, easier pairing, and simple peer-to-peer transfer. Though there is only one practicable NFC contactless payment implementation to date in the Nexus S 4G on Sprint, more are coming as carriers and payment processors work out the details. To date, the implementations we've seen in the Nexus S have used NXP's PN544, and there are other NFC controllers on the market from Inside Secure and STMicroelectronics. 

Today, Broadcom is joining that fray with their own discrete NFC controller, the BCM2079x family, which it claims will offer lower power consumption and package size than the competition thanks to its 40nm design. This is a part specifically targeted at smartphones and other mobile NFC applications. Broadcom claims its design is 40 percent smaller and uses 40 percent fewer components compared to others. 

Of course the real long term question is how long it will be until Broadcom can integrate its NFC controller into its mobile combo chip lineup. These are parts like BCM4329 and BCM4330 which combine WiFi, Bluetooth, and FM radio into one package, and are hugely popular in the smartphone space. Broadcom isn't ready to talk about that roadmap, but no doubt adding NFC to that list and keeping it all under one roof in the same die is on everyone's minds. For now, the BCM2079x family pairs with BCM4330 and others to enable NFC-enabled Bluetooth pairing and other scenarios.

Source: Broadcom

]]>

The Wait is Over: Samsung Announces the Galaxy Tab 8.9

When I first met the Galaxy Tab 8.9 in Florida earlier this year I felt like it may be the perfect tablet form factor: small enough to be really portable, while large enough to really be a tablet. Our own Jason Inofuentes is live at Samsung's press event where the company just announced availability of the 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab. The new tablet will be available nation-wide starting October 2nd in 16GB and 32GB configurations for $469 and $569, respectively. 

The specs of the Galaxy Tab 8.9 are virtually identical to its bigger brother. You still get a 1280 x 800 PLS display, just in a smaller form factor. NVIDIA powers the tablet, Samsung lists the SoC as a dual-core T250S, presumably running at the same clocks as the Tegra 2 in the 10.1. 

The weight also drops a bit to 447g. The 8.9 features two cameras (2MP front facing and 3MP rear facing), is WiFi-only and ships with Android 3.1 with Samsung's TouchWiz UX. Battery capacity is listed at 6100mAh. Jason should be getting our review sample in the next hour, expect a quick preview in the next day followed by our usual in-depth treatment next week!

Samsung 2011 Tablet Comparison Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1SoCNVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz)NVIDIA Tegra 2 (Dual ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz)GPUNVIDIA GeForceNVIDIA GeForceRAM1GB1GBDisplay1280 x 800 PLS1280 x 800 PLSNAND16GB16GBDimensions230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6mm256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6mmWeight447g565gPrice$469$499

 

]]>