smartphone

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on ST Ericsson NovaThor L8580 Dual Core Processor To Match big.LITTLE Quad Core Processors Performance and Power Consumption

ST Ericsson NovaThor L8580 Dual Core Processor To Match big.LITTLE Quad Core Processors Performance and Power Consumption

ST Ericsson already showcased NovaThor L8580 Cortex A9 processor @ 2.8 GHz at CES 2013. The processor features a technology called eQuad, and as I previously noticed there’s no mention of the number of cores at all on the website and many websites reported the processor featured 4 cores. The processor actually features 2 Cortex A9 core, but thanks to FD-SOI technology they are able to do the equivalent of a Quad Core big.LITTLE processor (i.e. 2x Cortex A15 + 2x Cortex A7) electrically. Since this is just done electrically, you can use the same software as before and will consume much less power, whereas big.LITTLE requires a lot of kernel work. A Cortex A9 will obviously be less powerful than a Cortex A15, but since they are able to boost the frequency up to 3GHz (probably limited to 2.5Ghz in actual product) this can compensate the lower performance, and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview Is Now Available for the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4, 7 and 10 Devices

Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview Is Now Available for the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4, 7 and 10 Devices

As promised with the announcement of Ubuntu on Tablets, Canonical released a developer preview of Ubuntu 12.10 for smartphones and tablets that can be installed in Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 smartphones, as well as Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets. It is an experimental development snapshot that could potentially brick your device. Many features are still not available but you should be able to access the following: Shell and core applications Connection to the GSM network (on Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4) Phone calls and SMS (on Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4) Networking via Wifi Functional camera (front and back) Device accessible through the Android Developer Bridge tool (adb) You’ll be able to reinstall Android after trying it out, but all your data will be lost, unless you use apps such as Titanium Backup. The instructions to install Ubuntu 12.10 Touch are available on Canonical website, and you’ll basically […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Marvell PXA1088 Quad Core Cortex A7 SoC

Marvell PXA1088 Quad Core Cortex A7 SoC

Marvell has just announced the MarvellPXA1088, a quad-core Cortex A7 application and communications mobile SoC that integrates Marvell’s WCDMA and TD-SCDMA modem technology to provide a low-cost 3G platform for both smartphones and tablets. Marvell’s mobile platform also includes Avastar 88W8777 WLAN + Bluetooth 4.0 + FM single-chip SoC, L2000 GNSS Hybrid Location Processor, and an integrated power management and audio codec IC. PXA1088 is said to be pin-to-pin compatible with the earlier PXA988/PXA986 solutions (dual core SoC) so that current mobile device designs can be upgraded with a quad-core SoC without  additional development costs. Additional PXA1088 Features: Support for advanced WCDMA Release 7, TD-SCDMA HSPA+ Release 8, and class 12 EDGE 3G protocol stack certified on all major carrier networks and validated via IOT, GCF and field trail testing Support for popular full-feature operating systems (Including Android 4.2), and industry-standard development tools Multi-radio platform capabilities with WLAN/Bluetooth solutions Integrated […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Renesas Mobile Introduces MP6530 Quad Core ARM big.LITTLE Communication Processor

Renesas Mobile Introduces MP6530 Quad Core ARM big.LITTLE Communication Processor

Renesas Mobile has recently announced the MP6530, an LTE communication SoC that targets mid- to high-end smartphones priced between $200 and $400. MP6530 features big.LITTLE technology with 2 ARM Cortex A15 clocked up to 2GHz, and 2 Cortex A7 cores up to 1Ghz, as well as an Imagination Technology PowerVR SGX544 GPU. Compared to Renesas Mobile MP5232 platform (Dual Cortex A9 + PowerVR GPU + Same TD-LTE Cat-4 Modem), GPU performance and memory performance have both been increased by 300 percent. MP6530 is manufactured using 28nm technology. Other key features of MP6530 SoC include: Dual-channel LPDDR3-standard interface with a bandwidth of 800-MB/s per channel. Multimedia capabilities Full HD primary display up to FHD@60Hz Simultaneous HDMI/MHL external display output (1080p30) Full HD WiFi Display Support for simultaneous 1080p30 video encoding and decoding Up to 20 MP digital SLR-like imaging support On-the-fly support with real-time face detection, stabilization, noise filtering to replace […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on $99 WiMe NanoWatch is Both a Massive Watch And a Tiny Phone

$99 WiMe NanoWatch is Both a Massive Watch And a Tiny Phone

WiMe (pronounced “Why Me?”), a Taiwanese company, showcased an Android watch that can also be used as a phone (a Nanophone as the company calls it) at CES 2013. The NanoWatch runs embedded Linux, and features a 1.54″ Touch screen display, 256 Mb ROM, a 4 GB internal microSD card, and a SIM card slot. NanoWatch Specifications: Processor – Unknown System Memory – Unknown Storage – 256 MB ROM, 4 GB internal microSD Display – 1.54″ resistive touch display – Resolution 240×240 Network – GSM/GPRS Quad Band: GSM 850/900/DCS 1800/PCS 1900 MHZ. Data :GPRS SIM/UIM – One standard SIM card Connectivity – Bluetooth 2.1 USB connection – micro 5pin USB, USB 1.1 Video, photo and audio formats – AVI/MP4/3GP, jpg/gif/bmp, and MP3 Battery – 300 mAh Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Talking time: Approx. 4 hours. Standby time: Approx. 120 hours Misc – FM Radio, Voice recorder Dimensions – 51.6 mm x […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Always Innovating MeCam is a $49 Voice-Controlled Nanocopter Camera

Always Innovating MeCam is a $49 Voice-Controlled Nanocopter Camera

Earlier today, I’ve posted a list of some interesting sessions for the upcoming ELC 2013, and one of the talk entitled “Lessons Learned in Designing a Self-video Self-hovering Nano Copter” by Gregoire Gentil, Always Innovating CEO, caught my attention. In this presentation, he will talk about the technical challenges the company encountered when they designed MeCam, a self video nano copter to point-and-shoot yourself, that should sell for just $49 retail. The MeCam launches from the palm of a hand and hovers instantly. It streams video to an Android or iOS phone or tablet that can be easily shared on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. There’s no remote control for the MeCam as it’s either controlled by voice commands, or it can be setup to follow you around thanks to the follow-me feature. It can also do panorama shots automatically. The products is still in […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Mozilla Unveils Firefox OS Developer Preview Phones

Mozilla Unveils Firefox OS Developer Preview Phones

Mozilla has just announced an entry level developer phone for Firefox OS based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor, 512 MB RAM, and 4GB Flash. You may think the specs are quite poor, but this actually makes sense since Firefox OS is initially destined at emerging markets. Here are the full specifications of  this smartphone (Codenamed Keon): CPU – Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 1Ghz System Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4GB Flash + microSD slot Display – 3.5″ HVGA Multitouch Network – UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA), GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE) Camera – 3 MP rear camera Misc – Wifi N, Light and proxmity Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB Battery – 1580 mAh The phone supports over the air updates, and comes unlocked, so you can simply add your own SIM card. These developer phones are being developed by Geeksphone in partnership with Telefonica. If you don’t have the developer phone […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on ST Ericsson Demonstrates NovaThor L8580 Multi Cortex A9 SoC @ 2.8 GHz

ST Ericsson Demonstrates NovaThor L8580 Multi Cortex A9 SoC @ 2.8 GHz

We’ve first heard about ST Ericsson NovaThor L8580 in July 2012, and the company demonstrated their new processor at CES 2013. This SoC features 4 (or is it 2?) Cortex A9 cores, and a PowerVR SGX544 GPU, but the real advantage of this processor is the new process technology called FD-SOI (Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator) which, combined with some other power and performance optimization techniques,  allows some fun stuffs such as: 2.8 GHz dual core operation 1 GHz operation at 0.63V instead of 1.1V when using bulk CMOS technology. You can see those 2 use cases in the video demo. In the first demo, a phone prototype based on L8580 @ 2.8Ghz is clearly faster than the Samsung Galaxy S3 based on Exynos 4412, and the second demo shows power measurement of the prototype when ran at 1GHz. Other key features of L8580: Low-power eQuad processor clocked at up […]