Yesterday, Samsung introduced the first quad-core Cortex A9 application processor built on the High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process technology. the The Exynos 4412, clocked up to 1.4GHz, targets smartphones and tablets and enables double the processing power at a 20 percent lower power bill over the 45nm process-based Exynos 4210 (Dual core Cortex A9). Power efficiency has been improved thanks to hot-plug functionality to support on-off switching for each core and per-core dynamic voltage & frequency scaling (DVFS). The Exynos 4412 is pin-to-pin compatible with the 32nm process based Exynos 4 Dual (aka Exynos 4212) making it simply a replacement part for existing designs based on Exynos 4212. The new processor also features a video hardware codec engine capable of recording and playing 1080p video @ 30fps (MPEG4 ASP/H.264 HP/H.263 P3 encoding and decoding, and MPEG2/VC1 and WMV9 decoding) , an embedded image signal processor interface for high-quality camera […]
Samsung Exynos 5250 Dual-core Cortex A15 and GAIA SMDK Development Board
Samsung showcased its new Exynos 5250 Dual-core Cortex A15 processor at Mobile World Congress as well as the corresponding Samsung Exynos 5 GAIA SMDK Development board. Announced in November 2011, the new Samsung Exynos 5250 processor features 2 Cortex A15 clocked at 1.7 GHz or 2 GHz, with a Mali-T604 GPU and support for dual-channel 800 MHz LPDDR3 RAM that allows for a data bandwidth of up to 12.8 GB/s. The processor is manufactured using 32-nm HKMG (High-K Metal Gate) technology that reduces leakage by 30% proving lower power consumption. Samsung claims the new Exynos 5 processors are twice as fast and consume twice as less power than its previous Exynos 4 application processor based on Cortex A9. This seems to confirm TI OMAP 5 vs. Nvidia Tegra 3 benchmark results. The Exynos 5250 supports embedded DisplayPort (eDP) interface up to WQXGA resolution (2560×1600), which is handy for Samsung since […]
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) Runs Android 4.0
Samsung has just announced its first Tablet to run Android 4.0 (ICS), the Galaxy Tab 2. The tablet features a dual core 1GHz processor with a 7″ touchscreen display (resolution 1024×600), 1GB RAM and 8, 16 or 32 GB flash expandable via a microSD Slot. There are also front and rear (3MPixel) cameras. Here are Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) Product Specifications: Network HSPA+ 21Mbps 850/900/1900/2100 Processor 1 GHz Dual-Core Processor Display 7” WSVGA(1024×600) PLS TFT OS Android 4.0(ICS) Camera Main(Rear): 3 Megapixel Fixed Focus CameraSub(Front): VGA for Video Call Video Codec: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, VC-1, DivX, WMV7, WMV8, VP8Format: 3GP, ASF, AVI, MP4, WMV, FLV, MKV, WebM Playback/ Recording: Full HD@30fps, HD@30fps Audio Codec: MP3, AAC, AC-3, AMR, FLAC, MID, WMA, WAV, VorbisMusic Player with SoundAlive 3.5mm Ear Jack Value-added Features Samsung TouchWiz/ Samsung L!ve Panel UX Samsung Apps Samsung Kies / Samsung Kies air Samsung Hub* – Readers Hub/ […]
Samsung Merges Bada OS With Tizen
Samsung has announced that it was merging Bada operating system with the new Tizen project (Linux OS with HTML5 API) at CES 2012. The work has already started, but Samsung did not provide any estimated completion date. If you have been developing Bada applications, the good news is that Tizen will support mobile applications written with bada’s SDK (software development kit) and previously published bada apps will be backwards compatible. Bada and Tizen developers will be given the same software tools (SDKs and APIs) so that if you know how to program in Bada, you will also be able to make Tizen apps. Samsung expects Tizen will be used in entry-level smartphone powered by single core processors as well as other devices targeted by Tizen such as tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and In-vehicle infotainment (IVI) devices. One or two Tizen devices should be released in 2012, and the company said […]
ChromeBooks Get Cheaper and Chrome OS Update
Google announced that the Wi-Fi only version of the Samsung Chromebooks Series 5 and Acer Chromebooks will drop by 50 USD to to 300 USD. Apparently the Chromebooks sales are not going so well. This may be improving however, as the Samsung Series 5 Wi-Fi 12.1-Inch Chromebook currently ranks 25 in Netbooks (Amazon US) and Acer AC700-1099 Chromebook (Wi-Fi) ranks quite well (maybe after the discount) at position 9 in Netbooks. Still, even after this discount, it seems difficult to justify the price compared to a “real” netbook with hard disk (the Chromebooks use the cloud for storage) and a few other extra features. I have an Acer Aspire One AOD255E that now costs 279 USD on Amazon with a 250 GB hard disk running Windows 7 starter. Unless the Chromebooks price is reduced to about 200 USD I don’t really see it selling like hot cakes even though they […]
MHL (Mobile High Definition Link) Turns Your Phone into a Set-Top Box, Game Console and more
MHL (Mobile High Definition Link) was introduced at Mobile World Conference 2011, some progress has been done since then. For now Two HDTVs are MHL compliant: the Toshiba WL800A and the Samsung UN46D7000. The Toshiba TV already have a firmware upgrade that provides MHL support, a firmware upgrade will come later for the Samsung HDTV. MHL provides market disruptive features that such as the ability to charging MHL compliant phones and tablets, control them with the TV remote through one simple MHL connector (micro-USB to HDMI). In the demo below, they show the phone connected to the Toshiba WL800A and being controlled with the TV remote control to play videos (including trick modes: pause, ffwd, etc..), play Android games and use a web browser. Once you install Google TV 2.0 in your phone (you’ll probably need Android 4.0) or tablet, you can get a great TV experience via your mobile […]
Long Term Support Initiative (LTSI) Linux Kernel for Consumer Electronics
The Linux Foundation announced a new project, the Long Term Support Initiative (LTSI), created by the Consumer Electronics Workgroup (CE WG) at Linuxcon Europe 2011 in Prague. LTSI aims at reducing duplication of effort in maintaining separate private industry kernel trees. The LTSI project intends to deliver an annual release of a Linux kernel suitable for supporting the lifespan of consumer electronics products and regular updates of those releases for two to three years. The project is backed by several companies in the consumer electronics industry including Hitachi, LG Electronics, NEC, Panasonic, Qualcomm Atheros, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Sony and Toshiba. LTSI will allow device makers to spend less time doing significant back-porting, bug testing and driver development on their own, which carries substantial cost in terms of time-to-market, as well as development and engineering effort to maintain those custom kernels. In some ways, this is similar to Linaro, […]
Samsung Demoes a WQXGA (2560×1600) 10.1″ LCD Panel
Samsung developed a 10.1-inch LCD panel that supports 2560 x 1600 resolution and exhibited it at FPD International 2011, which takes place on October 26 to 28, 2011, in Yokohama, Japan. This display using IGZO (In-Ga-Zn-O) TFTs technology. It is targeted to tablets and consume the same amount of power as current 10.1″ 1280×800 (WXGA) displays thanks to “Pentile” technology that uses red, green, blue and white color filters (CFs) as two pixels. The brightness and contrast ratio of the panel are respectively 400cd/m2 and 900:1. Its maximum power consumption is 3.4W. The power consumption of the panel excluding its backlight is just 26mW. Source: http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20111026/199826/ Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com