14 DAY TRIAL // Having already made public its view on the mobile computing market, talking about an upcoming wave of new ultraportable devices called smartbooks, Qualcomm has just announced the release of its next-generation Snapdragon platform, taking advantage of the company's new 45nm-based process technology. The new platform is said to be capable of providing end-users with a performance boost of 30 percent, while the upcoming Snapdragon-based devices will deliver a significant increase in battery life and additional features to cater to the requirements of the upcoming smartphones and smartbooks.
According to Qualcomm, the chipset is scheduled to begin sampling before the end of 2009, featuring a processor speed of 1.3GHz and enhanced 2D/3D graphics. Boasting the manufacturer's new 45nm process technology, the chip is expected to deliver an up to 30 percent increase in performance, while the power consumption has also been reduced by 30 percent. Compared to the company's previous generation of Snapdragon platforms, the new chipset enables a standby power of less than 10 milliwatts.
Among some of the other features that will be available on the new QSD8650A chipset, we need to highlight the faster bus speed and integrated multi-mode UMTS and CDMA 3G mobile broadband connectivity, all within the same 15x15mm package as on the company's current Snapdragon chipsets. The solution also comes with a power-efficient 2D graphics accelerator and an enhanced 3D graphics core, as well as integrated GPS, HD video recording and playback, Bluetooth, WiFi and mobile TV technologies such as MediaFLO, DVB-H and ISDB-T.
Due out before the end of this year, the new chipset is expected to power a number of new ultraportable computer devices that will provide users with an increased battery capacity and higher performance. Available for both smartphone and smartbook designers, the new chip has a considerable market potential.