Articles about Qualcomm

By now I am sure that everyone with an interest in smartphones has heard about One Plus and its One phablet. It is undoubtedly among the most interesting Android devices launched this year, and one of the most hyped also. How did OnePlus, basically a new player in the mobile space, achieve that? Well, One managed to make a splash in no small part thanks to its $299 entry-level price, which allows it to undercut virtually every known rival, paired with some of the best and most powerful hardware around. That's a recipe for success in the Android realm, and OnePlus knows it all too well.

But, what tops its lovely hardware and the low asking price is that One has never actually been available to the general public, per se. Sure, people have been able to buy One, but they have been able to do so only through invites. As a way to sell smartphones -- commodities, really -- that is crazy. But, what is even crazier is that, even as One is still not generally available, OnePlus reveals a launch date for its successor.

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Samsung is single-handedly responsible for creating the phablet category three years ago with the original Galaxy Note. Back then, big smartphones were believed to be nothing more than a niche, with no chance of ever enjoying mainstream approval. At first, I was actually one of the non-believers. But, as every Galaxy Note iteration has proved time and time again, consumers are actually quite fond of the idea of touching a big screen day in and day out.

But, the phablet market has changed dramatically since the original Galaxy Note was released, with more and more Android vendors competing for a slice of the pie. Heck, even Nokia got in on the action, representing Windows Phone, late last year with Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320. Despite the increased competition, Samsung continues to be viewed as the pack leader, thanks in no small part to the dedicated features its flagship phablets pack. So, what does this year's Galaxy Note has in store?

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Apple started the 64-bit smartphone craze in September 2013 with iPhone 5s. It was the first 64-bit device of its kind to reach store shelves and, even now, it continues to be unrivaled in this regard by competing flagships. That's because other vendors could only use 32-bit high-end processors from major chip makers like Qualcomm and Nvidia.

While that has yet to change, other 64-bit smartphones, targeting a less demanding crowd, are on their way as, today, Taiwanese maker HTC announces its first 64-bit smartphone, touted to bring "super-fast LTE connectivity at an affordable price point". It's called Desire 510.

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Following in the footsteps of fellow maker Samsung, LG just unveiled a beefed-up version of its current flagship smartphone, G3. Called G3 Cat. 6, the new Android handset comes with a faster processor and support for speedier cellular networks as its main highlights.

G3 Cat. 6, like Galaxy S5 LTE-A, is compatible with LTE-Advanced cellular networks, that enable top download speeds of up to 225 Mbps (theoretically speaking) courtesy of the Qualcomm Gobi 9 x 35 modem. In the power department, LG's device employs a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor to do the heavy lifting.

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While Apple is the only major mobile device manufacturer to have a 64-bit processor inside its high-end smartphones and tablets (the A7 powering the latest iPhone and iPads), its rivals will be able to join the party thanks to Qualcomm's new top-of-the-line 64-bit processors.

The US chip maker has announced the Snapdragon 810 and Snapdragon 808, its first high-end mobile processors with 64-bit support. Both come with impressive specifications and features, joining the previously-announced Snapdragon 410, Snapdragon 610 and Snapdragon 615 in Qualcomm's 64-bit processor lineup.

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If it is not obvious enough by now, 64-bit is the new black in mobile processors. Apple has the A7 that powers the iPhone 5s and latest iPads, and Qualcomm has the Snapdragon 410 and, as of today, the Snapdragon 610 and Snapdragon 615. Intel now also joins the party with its own 64-bit offering and contender, the Z3480, codenamed "Merrifield".

The Z3480 was unveiled today at the MWC conference, in Barcelona, as a 2.3 GHz quad-core solution aimed at Android smartphones and tablets. Intel says its new processor delivers "the ideal combination of fast, smart performance and long battery life", for the devices that it will power. The Z3480 competes with Qualcomm's similar Snapdragons which also target the open-source mobile OS.

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The mobile processor market is slowly moving away from 32-bit architectures, as more 64-bit solutions are set to hit the shelves. At MWC 2014, Qualcomm leads the pack with two new 64-bit offerings, the Snapdragon 610 and Snapdragon 615, that combine quad-core and octa-core power, respectively, with ARM's latest ARMv8 instruction set.

The ARMv8 instruction set, that is also at the heart of the Apple A7 processor in the iPhone 5s, ushers mobile devices into the 64-bit era, while, at the same time, maintaining compatibility with 32-bit software. Of the two new Snapdragons, the 615 is the most buzzworthy one to use it, so let us kick off with that.

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Android vendors may like to announce bigger smartphones (because, bigger is better, isn't it?), but they also launch smaller versions of their flagships, to cater to a larger audience. Samsung has the Galaxy S4 Mini, HTC has the One mini and, now, LG takes the wraps off G2 mini. Heck, even the indicative has a small first letter.

The downsizing applies to the physical dimensions, as the screen is now a 4.7-inch unit with a resolution of 540 by 960, and also to the internals. LG has chosen not to severely underpower its new smartphone. Compared to its big brother, it still offers a quad-core processor in both the 3G and 4G trims, but those cannot compare to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 in the G2.

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Hours after Nvidia announced its new Tegra K1 processor, rival US company Qualcomm took the wraps off two new chips, called Snapdragon 802 and Snapdragon 602A, designed for home entertainment and in-car infotainment solutions, respectively.

The Snapdragon 802 is an iteration of the year-old Snapdragon 800, which was presented at CES 2013. The processor is aimed at the next generation of smart digital media adapters, set-top boxes and TVs. Unsurprisingly, it comes with 4K support and a number of technologies designed for efficient power consumption and resource-intensive applications, such as games.

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The main reason why 64-bit processors are needed is to utilize hardware configurations with more than 4 GB of RAM. To make this possible, the operating system also has to support the architecture, and apps have to be properly designed as well. This is the case with PCs which top the mentioned memory capacity and have the right software for it, but when it comes to mobile devices the advantages are mostly limited to bragging rights at the moment, with a few exceptions (like Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 -- it runs the 64-bit Windows 8.1 Pro and can be had with 8 GB of RAM).

Apple's iPhone 5s is the best example of why having a 64-bit processor offers no real benefits (other than allowing developers to adjust to the change): iOS 7 and the apps may support the architecture, but the smartphone ships with just 1 GB of RAM. This means that at no point is 64-bit needed, because the memory capacity does not warrant it. Former Qualcomm chief marketing officer Anand Chandrasekher was among the first to point this out, but here we are today with the US company also revealing its own 64-bit processor, dubbed Snapdragon 410.

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Finnish mobile maker Nokia has taken the wraps off its latest, and largest, Windows Phone 8 devices, called the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320. The smartphones represent the company's entry in the phablet market, which so far has been dominated by Android handsets from Samsung's Galaxy Note series.

Nokia has built the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 around Windows Phone 8 Update 3, that ships with support for 1080p displays and quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processors. Both hardware features have been available on Android smartphones but were missing from devices running Microsoft's tiled OS which only supported up to 720p displays and older Snapdragon S4 processors.

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Following rival maker Samsung, HTC continues the smartphone flagship miniaturizing trend by unveiling a smaller iteration of the company's popular One. The new handset, simply called One mini, offers appealing hardware specifications in a package that targets a wider market audience.

The One mini packs a 4.3-inch Super LCD 3 panel with a resolution of 720 by 1280 (341 pixels per inch density). The device is powered by a 1.4 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, backed by an Adreno 305 graphics card, 1 GB of RAM and a non-removable 1,800 mAh battery. The smartphone ships with 16 GB of internal storage and no microSD card slot (therefore, users will be limited to the out-of-the-box capacity).

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Most people can think back to a time when we didn’t have mobile phones, so imaging a world without them isn’t too much of a stretch.

But Qualcomm has created an amusing video seemingly set in an alternate reality where all the products and services we use today -- ranging from email, Facebook and Twitter, to video and games -- still exist, but smartphones and tablets don’t.

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The Galaxy S4 LTE-A is the flagship Samsung should have launched instead of the Galaxy S4. The handset, which was unveiled earlier today, is the least compromising and most powerful entry in the maker's high-end Android lineup.

Samsung touts the Galaxy S4 LTE-A as "the world’s first commercially available LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) smartphone". That's a rather bold claim, considering the pretty vague release date -- "this summer". The South Korean maker does not provide exact numbers, but says that the cellular technology offers "double today's LTE speeds" (which, on the Galaxy S4, are 100 Mbps for download and 50 Mbps for upload).

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Following Samsung, LG and other makers, today, Sony officially enters the phablet market with the new Xperia Z Ultra. The handset, which is designed to compete with devices like the Galaxy Note II and Optimus G Pro, packs a whopping 6.44-inch display and runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

The Xperia Z Ultra features a TFT "Triluminos" screen with a resolution of 1080 by 1920, which can be used with "any pencil and selected stylus or pen" with a tip diameter larger than one mm. Power comes from a 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor backed by 2 GB of RAM and a non-removable 3,000 mAh battery. Like the older Xperia Z, the Xperia Z Ultra complies with the IPX5/8 and IP5X standards for dust and water-proofing.

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