Qualcomm: Quad-Core Snapdragon Coming Early 2012

While Qualcomm CEO Dr. Paul Jacobs was being coy about the exact timing of the release of company’s quad-core ARM-based CPU at the Qualcomm Uplinq conference, the company managed to release some details about its next-generation Snapdragon CPUs at Computex in Taiwan in relation to the new Windows 8 announcement.

According to Qualcomm, we’ll begin seeing dual-core Snapdragon chips for Windows on ARM first, and the company’s dual-core MSM8960 chipset will also integrate 3G and LTE capabilities along with clock speeds of up to 2.5 GHz.

The quad-core APQ8064 chipset will be coming in early 2012 and should feature up to 2.5 GHz per core and support a great multimedia and connected experience with either dual- or quad-core Adreno GPUs, 7.1 Dolby surround sound, and stereoscopic 3D capabilities and playback. WLAN, LTE, global 3G, GPS, Bluetooth, and a variety of connectivity options will also be part of this SoC.

In addition to Qualcomm, Microsoft will also be working with NVIDIA and Texas Instruments for ARM support, and also traditional chip-makers AMD and Intel.

Via: Engadget

Press Release:

Qualcomm Collaborates With Microsoft on Next Version of Windows

– Snapdragon Family of Processors Will Support Next Evolution of Mobile Computing –

TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) announced today that its upcoming award-winning Snapdragon™ family of smart mobile processors, including the MSM8960™ with integrated 3G/LTE modem, is designed to power devices running the next version of Windows. The companies’ collaboration continues to address the converging and fast-changing mobile computing landscape, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon family of dual-core and quad-core processors will enable optimal computing performance, extended battery life and connectivity, and top-notch graphics and multimedia in devices.

“Qualcomm and Microsoft have a long and productive history of collaboration focused on driving innovation forward, and we are pleased to be among the leaders of the next evolution of mobile computing,” said Luis Pineda, senior vice president of product management, computing and consumer products at Qualcomm. “Our upcoming family of Snapdragon processors is intelligently integrated, optimized for mobile and built smarter, making it the ideal processor to address consumers’ growing demands for new, innovative experiences and usage scenarios that we believe will be delivered by the next version of Windows.”

The first processor in the Snapdragon family to power devices using the next version of Windows will be the MSM8960, which is sampling this month, followed by the quad-core Snapdragon APQ8064™, which is anticipated to sample in early 2012. Qualcomm has built its Snapdragon family of mobile processors from the ground up to deliver enhanced power efficiency for devices running the next version of Windows. The MSM8960 from the Snapdragon family of mobile processors provides the first dual-core solution with an integrated multi-mode 3G/LTE modem and is designed to meet the multi-tasking requirements of the next version of Windows. The Snapdragon family of mobile processors will include dual and quad asynchronous CPU cores that can be independently controlled to deliver maximum performance at maximum efficiency.

“Windows 8 will enable customers to have the flexibility, connectivity and power that they expect from Windows today with new, touch-only devices like tablets. This will require high-performing, low-power processors like those from Qualcomm, with features like 3G and 4G wireless wide area network (WWAN) connectivity,” said Mike Angiulo, corporate vice president of Windows planning, hardware and PC ecosystem. “We collaborate with Qualcomm because Snapdragon-powered devices will help Windows 8 consumers experience more out of their Windows device and enable hardware manufacturers to try exciting new PC designs.”
Qualcomm will be showcasing the latest Snapdragon-powered tablets and smartphones at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2011. For more information on Snapdragon processors, please visit www.qualcomm.com/snapdragon.