Tag Archives: ReferenceDesign

Qualcomm wants to help build more Alexa-powered Bluetooth earbuds

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When it comes to adding a voice assistant to a speaker or a pair of headphones, Amazon's Alexa has become the default choice for many OEMs, likely due to the openness and high adoption rate of the platform. Never one to miss a money-making opportunit...

Qualcomm to enable ‘conscious’ security cameras at lower costs

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Just as all eyes are on Qualcomm's next move after its recent realignment, the company threw a surprise by announcing its entry into the security camera market by way of a reference design. But what for, you ask? Well, it's all about reducing the b...

Intel reveals Merrifield processor in new smartphone reference design, promises ‘integrated sensor hub’

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Intel unveiled its first reference design for its new 22nm Merrifield smartphone processor. Showed off on stage by Tom Killroy, Executive Vice President of Sales at Intel at the company's Computex keynote, the new chip reportedly won't reach consumers til early 2014, but it promises (like Intel's other new series) performance gains and a substantial reduction in power consumption through an "entirely new Atom architecture." The hardware itself is pretty unassuming, but (at least from this distance) we reckon we're looking at a 4-inch device -- given how close initial models were to the Intel Medfield smartphones, it's worth some scrutiny.

Other notable features include an "integrated sensor hub" for personalized services and privacy protection. Whether that's eye-based, finger-based or otherwise, we'll tell you more about that when we hear it.

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Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 400 with built-in LTE, new reference tablet designs

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Qualcomm chip on a tablet

Qualcomm doesn't want to reserve the fastest wireless technology for its highest-end processors: it's launching a new quad-core edition of its Snapdragon 400 chip, the MSM8926, with both 3G and LTE built-in. The 1.2GHz, Cortex-A7 part will handle the faster wireless speeds alongside 42Mbps HSPA+ and China-friendly TD-SCDMA. It will also continue to support shorter-range technology like 802.11ac WiFi and Miracast streaming. The newer Snapdragon should arrive late this year alongside a matching Reference Design tablet.

In the shorter term, the company is also introducing 7- and 10-inch versions of the Reference Design tablet that will be based on earlier, 3G-only versions of the Snapdragon 400 (the MSM8230 and MSM8030). These variants are targeted at developing world markets, and should be display on the Computex show floor this week -- naturally, we're hoping to get a first-hand look.

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Source: Qualcomm

Intel’s Haswell-powered ‘North Cape’ reappears, promises 10 hours of battery life in tablet-mode (hands-on)

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Intel's Haswellpowered 'North Cape' reappears, promises 10 hours of battery life in tabletmode

We've just spotted a familiar friend at Intel's Innovation Future Showcase in London -- its Haswell-powered North Cape laptop / tablet hybrid. As a quick reminder, alongside that fourth-generation Intel Core processor there's a 13-inch 1080p display that detaches from the keyboard, and now we've been given a few important updates on the reference device, battery performance on Haswell and how Intel's reference design will transfer between tablet and Ultrabook mode. All that and more after the break.

Gallery: Intel 'North Cape' reference design hands-on

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Intel will discontinue desktop motherboards following Haswell release

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The decline in desktop PC sales is beginning to ripple throughout the industry, as Intel has revealed plans to wind down its desktop motherboard division over the next three years. According to AnandTech, the company will release boards that are based on the Haswell architecture before completely suspending development. Moving forward, Intel will instead focus its efforts on creating form factor reference designs for the Ultrabook, tablet and desktop markets. Curiously, one product that's currently immune from the announcement is the Next Unit of Computing (NUC), a miniature barebones system that will see continual development from Intel. While custom PC builders will likely take a moment to reflect upon the news, it's said that the transition is unlikely to affect the company's workforce. Instead, current employees will be absorbed into other divisions within Intel. After all, there's no point in showing talented engineers to the door, even in an age of market shifts.

[Image credit: huangjiahui, Flickr]

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Source: AnandTech

AMD shows off a reference device with a quad-core, x86-based Temash chip

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AMD shows off a reference device with a quadcore, x86based Temash chip

Earlier today AMD's director of global business units marketing, John Taylor, joined us on our CES stage to talk chips. Specifically, tablet chips, and laptop chips, and chips for products that have elements of both. While he was up there, Mr. Taylor flashed a reference device -- a laptop hybrid with the keyboard and touchpad built into the carrying case. Obviously, we weren't satisfied with just a quick tease, so we caught up with him afterward to learn a bit more. As it turns out, it runs a quad-core version of AMD's new Temash chip, which is being billed as the first quad-core, x86-based SoC. (There's also a dual-core version.) Built into the chip is an HD Radeon 8000 series GPU with AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture, so in theory you should be able to pull off PC-caliber gaming even on a tablet.

All told, it promises 50 percent more performance than AMD's Hondo processor, which you can find in Vizio's new Windows 8 tablet. Of course, those are just marketing claims, and besides we haven't had a chance to benchmark either a Hondo or a Temash system yet. So, to put that in better context, it might be helpful to hear AMD talk about its competitors. Obviously, Intel is a biggie, but in particular AMD says Temash should be able to compete with Clover Trail tablet chips, going all the way up to Core i3 on laptops. We're told Temash will ship sometime in the first half of this year, and that AMD will be revealing more details about the platform at Mobile World Congress, which kicks off in late February. Until then, we've got hands-on photos of the unit below, along with some performance impressions after the break.

Gallery: AMD Temash hands-on

Continue reading AMD shows off a reference device with a quad-core, x86-based Temash chip

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Meet ‘North Cape,’ Intel’s reference laptop with a detachable 1080p screen, Haswell CPU

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Meet 'North Cape,' Intel's reference laptop with a detachable 1080p screen, Haswell CPU

If you weren't following along with Intel's CES 2013 keynote, here's a partial summary: among other things, the company debuted its fourth-generation Core processors, which until now have gone by the codename "Haswell." In addition to talking speeds and feeds, though, Intel also showed off a reference laptop with a Haswell chip inside, a notebook called "North Cape." It was a hybrid, essentially -- a 13-inch, 1080p tablet with a keyboard dock. (Intel made it sound more exciting than it was, saying the CPU is behind the display and that there are batteries behind the display and under the keyboard.) In any case, we got to see it up close after the press conference wrapped, though Intel isn't actually letting members of the media touch it yet.

So far, we don't know much about the device (Intel won't even disclose battery life estimates) but we can say it looks thin for a 13-inch touchscreen device (the official spec is 10mm thick for just the tablet and 17mm for the tablet and dock). The viewing angles look promising, too, as you can hopefully tell from those odd camera angles. No word yet on which PC maker is going to pick up this design, but an Intel rep staffing the press conference told us it should arrive in time for the back to school shopping season, which usually kicks off in late spring. So when you see something similar to this surface in the May timeframe, just remember: you saw it here first.

Gallery: Intel North Cape Reference Laptop eyes-on

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.

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Toshiba to show reference design for SDHC card with TransferJet at CES

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Toshiba to show reference design for SDHC card with TransferJet at CES

SD cards won't be generating the same feverish hype as other gear breaking cover at CES, but nevertheless, Toshiba's let the world know it'll be bringing a new one to the show. The company won't have a finished product to flog, but instead will be exhibiting a reference design for an SDHC card with TransferJet technology. For those unfamiliar with TransferJet, it's a high-speed wireless transfer technology for sending and receiving files over short distances. While it isn't used nearly as much as its transfer protocol peers, hopefully it'll find some work to do if and when Toshiba takes its card from design to product.

Continue reading Toshiba to show reference design for SDHC card with TransferJet at CES

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