Talk about an unusual position. Intel finds themselves very much currently outside when it comes to mobile SoCs for phones and tablets. After several attempts at soul-searching and a true understanding of the term “low-power” (not meaning 3W, but instead < 1W), they finally have a part – in the form of “Medfield”, aka the Atom… Read More
Author: Don Dingee
Smart mobile SoCs: NVIDIA
When the name synonymous with personal computer graphics decided to turn their engineering talent toward the mobile business, heads turned. NVIDIA has rather quickly gained a foothold in tablets by squeezing four high performance processing cores, twelve graphics cores, and more onto a Tegra 3.… Read More
Smart mobile SoCs: Apple
Apple sells devices. Lots of them. Their success is due to many things related to design and tech religion, and an important part is the SoC inside those devices which creates the experience people want. The official Apple information on their parts is minimal. Their SoCs have been dissected with more fervor than Roswell aliens.… Read More
Smart mobile SoCs: Texas Instruments
TI has parlayed its heritage in digital signal processing and long-term relationships with mobile device makers into a leadership position in mobile SoCs. They boast a relatively huge portfolio of design wins thanks to being the launch platform for Android 4.0. On the horizon, the next generation OMAP 5 could change the entire… Read More
Smart mobile SoCs: Samsung
There are few companies that impact the overall mobile supply chain more than Samsung. They are one of Apple’s largest suppliers, fabbing the processor and LCDs in the iPhone and iPad. They also design and fab the Exynos SoC at the heart of their own Galaxy line of phones and tablets.… Read More
Smart mobile SoCs: Qualcomm
In the opener to this series, I alluded to a company designing their own approach, and it goes way beyond the graphics core in their solution. Qualcomm is unique in a holistic approach to a smart mobile device with their vertically integrated chipset, the Snapdragon S4.… Read More
The best graphics chip is the one seen the most
If I say “graphics chip”, most techies will say NVIDIA or AMD. But in the new post-PC world , neither of these players holds the key to the future. One that does is a little company making 43 cents on every latest version iPad and iPhone. Another is designing their own approach. Should you care what graphics is in your phone?… Read More
No, gosh darn it, I said the NFC is near!
Getting a feature to take off in today’s smartphone market is tricky. It requires a combination of hardware support, OS support, app integration, and maybe most importantly carrier adoption. Ideas that seem ready technologically, like NFC, get stopped in their tracks by silly things like the William J. LePetomaine Thruway… Read More
FPGAs connect users over TV whitespace
New embedded computing standards always take a while to get traction, and a burning question for innovators is what to do in the period between concept and acceptance. Sometimes, new ideas come when commercial silicon changes direction.… Read More
Does 14nm magically put Intel back on the lead smartphone lap?
I’ve often wanted to publish a book with nothing but photos of police cars, so that people wouldn’t have to slow down and gawk at them when they have someone pulled over on the side of the freeway. Intel roadmaps seem to have the same effect on people. No matter what is on them, even if there’s nothing really new, they… Read More
More Headwinds – CHIPS Act Chop? – Chip Equip Re-Shore? Orders Canceled & Fab Delay