" The central processing unit is the heart of smartphones and it is getting faster and powerful by the day"
In the world of processing the heart of every computing device is its central processing unit (CPU). When a device is designed to run a single application, it doesn’t need much of a processing power and speed. But devices like cellphones, which have to perform multiple tasks, need high processing powers and speeds. In fact, few of us would be aware of the fact that even entry-level phones have processors with speeds of a few megabytes.
Speeding Up
In recent times mobile phones have evolved from being simple devices for making and receiving calls to digital assistants and even GPS devices. Such highly evolved phones pack in a lot in their small frames. Thus, they need a lot of processing power.
With the constant evolution in technology, processors of mobile devices are becoming faster by the day. The Asus P565 once held the title of the phone with the fastest processor running on Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system (OS). The phone was powered by Marvell TavorP CPU running at a speed of 800 MHz. Marvel is an ARM licensee, which manufactures ARM architecture-based processors.
The Samsung Omnia II also has an 800 MHz processor speed and runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. Interestingly, while they are available in other countries, India is now eagerly awaiting the launch of a processor that can run at 1 GHz. This product from Qualcomm is based on the Snapdragon platform that offers performance and optimised power consumption for next generation smart mobile devices. With this CPU, devices will remain connected, aware and deliver all communications needs of users, including 3G mobile broadband, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS.
The Snapdragon architecture-based devices are thin, ultra-portable and easy to use, with an intuitive user interface and mobile operating system. The QualcommSnapdragon platform has a series of QSD8X50 chipsets. This will consist of the QSD8250 chipset for GSM and QSD8650 for CDMA devices.
Smartphone Market
This race to develop the fastest processor has been fuelled by the growing global popularity of smartphones. A 2007 report by a research firm states that the global smartphone market will grow at more than 30 per cent in the next five years -- taking an increasing share of the overall phone market that is otherwise growing in single digits. According to a Gartner report, till the second quarter of 2009, 40.9 million smartphones were sold. This is a 27 per cent growth from 2008.
On The Platter
At the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, Spain, NVIDIA unveiled its first application processor -- basically the analog of a CPU in a PC. The APX2500 is based on a 750 MHz ARM11 core and is designed to work only with Windows Mobile. It will be capable of both encoding and decoding HD 720p videos (a first for the industry). The integrated Ultra Low Power GeForce GPU supports both OpenGL ES 2.0 and Direct3D Mobile. NVIDIA's processor is basically for enhancing the visual and graphic quality of devices.
Fastest In The Future
Besides this there are some devices with amazing processing speeds that will soon hit the market. The HTC Touch Pro3 will feature the 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, with a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with multi-touch support. This device will run the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 OS and will have a 5.0-megapixel camera. The HTC HD2 will also follow soon. Acer -- also in the race for using the fastest processor for mobile devices -- has released details of its latest smartphone, the Acer F1. The F1 has Qualcomm’s 8250 1 GHz processor (Snapdragon) and will come with Windows Mobile 6.5 OS. t has a 3.8-inch WVGA touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 x 800, and is quad-band GSM/tri-band HSPA. The F1 will sport a built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, an accelerometer and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The Toshiba TG01, which is available in some European countries, is a 9.9 mm-thick device with a 4.1-inch WVGA, 800x480, 384k pixel resistive touch screen. It supports 3G HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, A-GPS. The Qualcomm silicon supports high-definition (720 p) video decode, 3D graphics (up to 22 M triangles/ sec), XGA display support, a 12.0-megapixel camera and mobile broadcast TV. Typical ARM architecture chips used in mobile phones peak at about 500 MHz or a little higher at 800MHz. In the future the Qualcomm QSD8672 will be a dual-core Snapdragon with multiple CPU computing cores capable of 1.5 GHz performance. These will include HSPA , up to 28 Mbps download speeds, 1080p high-definition videos, Wi-Fi, mobile TV and GPS. The graphics core will be based on AMDs ATI unit's technology. Thus, as technology evolves, CPUs will offer faster speeds and will become even more powerful without consuming too much energy. The day is not far when mobile devices with high operating speeds will become as good as desktop devices and who knows, may be overtake them.
In the world of processing the heart of every computing device is its central processing unit (CPU). When a device is designed to run a single application, it doesn’t need much of a processing power and speed. But devices like cellphones, which have to perform multiple tasks, need high processing powers and speeds. In fact, few of us would be aware of the fact that even entry-level phones have processors with speeds of a few megabytes.
Speeding Up
In recent times mobile phones have evolved from being simple devices for making and receiving calls to digital assistants and even GPS devices. Such highly evolved phones pack in a lot in their small frames. Thus, they need a lot of processing power.
With the constant evolution in technology, processors of mobile devices are becoming faster by the day. The Asus P565 once held the title of the phone with the fastest processor running on Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system (OS). The phone was powered by Marvell TavorP CPU running at a speed of 800 MHz. Marvel is an ARM licensee, which manufactures ARM architecture-based processors.
The Samsung Omnia II also has an 800 MHz processor speed and runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. Interestingly, while they are available in other countries, India is now eagerly awaiting the launch of a processor that can run at 1 GHz. This product from Qualcomm is based on the Snapdragon platform that offers performance and optimised power consumption for next generation smart mobile devices. With this CPU, devices will remain connected, aware and deliver all communications needs of users, including 3G mobile broadband, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS.
The Snapdragon architecture-based devices are thin, ultra-portable and easy to use, with an intuitive user interface and mobile operating system. The QualcommSnapdragon platform has a series of QSD8X50 chipsets. This will consist of the QSD8250 chipset for GSM and QSD8650 for CDMA devices.
Smartphone Market
This race to develop the fastest processor has been fuelled by the growing global popularity of smartphones. A 2007 report by a research firm states that the global smartphone market will grow at more than 30 per cent in the next five years -- taking an increasing share of the overall phone market that is otherwise growing in single digits. According to a Gartner report, till the second quarter of 2009, 40.9 million smartphones were sold. This is a 27 per cent growth from 2008.
On The Platter
At the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, Spain, NVIDIA unveiled its first application processor -- basically the analog of a CPU in a PC. The APX2500 is based on a 750 MHz ARM11 core and is designed to work only with Windows Mobile. It will be capable of both encoding and decoding HD 720p videos (a first for the industry). The integrated Ultra Low Power GeForce GPU supports both OpenGL ES 2.0 and Direct3D Mobile. NVIDIA's processor is basically for enhancing the visual and graphic quality of devices.
Fastest In The Future
Besides this there are some devices with amazing processing speeds that will soon hit the market. The HTC Touch Pro3 will feature the 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, with a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with multi-touch support. This device will run the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 OS and will have a 5.0-megapixel camera. The HTC HD2 will also follow soon. Acer -- also in the race for using the fastest processor for mobile devices -- has released details of its latest smartphone, the Acer F1. The F1 has Qualcomm’s 8250 1 GHz processor (Snapdragon) and will come with Windows Mobile 6.5 OS. t has a 3.8-inch WVGA touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 x 800, and is quad-band GSM/tri-band HSPA. The F1 will sport a built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, an accelerometer and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The Toshiba TG01, which is available in some European countries, is a 9.9 mm-thick device with a 4.1-inch WVGA, 800x480, 384k pixel resistive touch screen. It supports 3G HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, A-GPS. The Qualcomm silicon supports high-definition (720 p) video decode, 3D graphics (up to 22 M triangles/ sec), XGA display support, a 12.0-megapixel camera and mobile broadcast TV. Typical ARM architecture chips used in mobile phones peak at about 500 MHz or a little higher at 800MHz. In the future the Qualcomm QSD8672 will be a dual-core Snapdragon with multiple CPU computing cores capable of 1.5 GHz performance. These will include HSPA , up to 28 Mbps download speeds, 1080p high-definition videos, Wi-Fi, mobile TV and GPS. The graphics core will be based on AMDs ATI unit's technology. Thus, as technology evolves, CPUs will offer faster speeds and will become even more powerful without consuming too much energy. The day is not far when mobile devices with high operating speeds will become as good as desktop devices and who knows, may be overtake them.
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