There is no doubt that processors are part of the factors that determine what kind of phones will be made possible with current technology. Despite the fact that most of the hardware features of most phones are getting smaller and smaller each year, the progress would be in vain if the handset itself did not have the right processor to handle the task.
This is why there is plenty of focus on the use of high speed core processors to handle tasks and issues on today’s smart phones. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon is the first choice when it comes to powering most of today’s Android devices. But so far, other ARM based CPUs are also taking the limelight.
Recently, Samsung has confirmed that they have come up with an update to the 1GHz Hummingbird – the Orion. This new ARM Cortex A9 based core is going to bring the same processing speed, at 1GHz, but with better graphics handling and HD video support.
Expect to see the Orion on the next Galaxy handset (most likely the Samsung Galaxy S 2/S Pro 2) which would be able to make the most out of this new technology.
Of course, processor speeds are not what limits most chip manufacturers such as ARM. The real issue is the battery consumption. Which is why the recent announcement from LG regarding the adoption of the new NVIDIA Tegra dual core chips is surprising. Apparently, NVIDIA has been able to create a new low cost alternative but still manages to deliver excellent graphics and even full 1080p HD video support.
With LG’s Windows Phone 7 handsets due to come out this coming October, it is likely that the first devices to use the new dual core Tegra chips will be the ones that will come out later this year.
Tags: google-android, hummingbird-cpu, Qualcomm-Snapdragon, Samsung-Orion