Dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon handles 1080p
updated 03:05 pm EST, Thu November 13, 2008
Qualcomm Snapdragon 2-core
Qualcomm today unveiled its first dual-core chip in the Snapdragon family and a potential breakthrough in cellphone performance. The plainly-titled QSD8672 both adds the second core and ups the clock speed to 1.5GHz, lifting the speed to where it can be used for netbooks rather than the cellphones of the past. The multitasking performance gives enough headroom to both encode and decode 1080p video as well as render 3D and output images up to 1440x900.
It also carries built-in Bluetooth and GPS as well as built-in hooks for common cellular additions like DVB-H or MediaFLO for mobile TV as well as Wi-Fi for short-range networks. Qualcomm believes it particularly well-suited to HSPA+ and other very late 3G cellular Internet access.
Qualcomm is announcing Snapdragon early and won't start issuing samples to device makers until the second half of 2009. Finished products based on the dual-core hardware should ship in the next few months afterwards.
