Huawei claims quad-core chip outguns Tegra3
Rick Merritt
2/26/2012 11:45 AM EST
BARCELONA – Huawei Devices announced high-end smartphones and tablets using a homegrown quad-core applications processor that it claims significantly outperforms the competition including Nvidia’s Tegra3.
The 1.2-1.5 GHz KV32 was a two-year project of Huawei’s HiSilicon division. Officials said the chip delivers 30 to 50 percent more performance than the Tegra3 across a range of benchmarks.
A 64-bit memory bus--twice the width of the tegra3--is one of the main factors in the performance of the KV32, said Jerry Su, chief architect of the chip. Built in a TSMC 40 nm low power process, the chip fits in a 12x12mm package
The KV32 uses four ARM Cortex A9 cores and a 16 core graphics chip co-developed with an unnamed U.S. chip designer. The two collaborated on the GPU’s architecture and the U.S. partner handled its implementation.
The graphics handles 2-D and 3-D work and helps a handset deliver 35 frames/second video compared to 13 fps for Tegra 3 and 8.4 for a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon.
In addition, the chip sports new versions of several existing hardware accelerators. They include blocks to speed up audio, video, network processing and to handle power management functions.
The design was a big leap for the HiSilicon group whose last chip, released two years ago, sported just one A9 core.
“The time pressure is the biggest issue,” said Su. “We are moving faster than Moore’s Law,” he said.
Indeed, the group hopes to have a follow on design out in 12 months that uses A15 and A7 cores in a big/little brother configuration ARM announced last year.
Huawei is not widely known for its applications processors. However, the company has been designing handset chips for several years, said Su who has himself been with the mobile group for eight years.
Huawei showed smartphones and tabletds using the new chip. The Ascend D quad will go on sales in global markets this summer. It uses third party baseband chips to cover 3G and LTE networks.
Su said HiSilicon has an LTE multiband chip in the works that could be ready for the market in six months. The company already makes LTE chips for data cards.
*ttp://www.powermanagementdesignline.com/electronics-news/4236937/Huawei-claims-quad-core-chip-outguns-Tegra3
..............Huawei Ascend D quad (hands-on)
By Zachary Lutz posted Feb 26th 2012 at 11:19AM
Huawei Ascend D quad (hands-on) -- Engadget
It's no secret that Huawei is intent on joining the big boys in the smartphone arena, and the Ascend D quad is undoubtedly its most promising attempt yet. We just took an opportunity to play around with the potential game-changer, and our initial impressions were quite positive. Immediately, our attention was drawn to the display itself, which boasts incredibly vibrant colors and excellent viewing angles. We're going back for our second round with the device, and we'll have additional impressions to share with you shortly.
---------- Post added at 10:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 PM ----------
..............Hands-on With the World’s Fastest Smartphone, The Huawei Ascend D Quad
February 26th, 2012 by Dan Howley, LAPTOP Staff Writer
Huawei has debuted a monster of a smartphone here at Mobile World Congress, the 1.5-Ghz quad-core-powered, Ascend D quad. Huawei calls the processor its K3V2 and, in addition to sporting four CPU cores, it also packs 16 GPU cores, giving it that extra oomph needed to handle today’s demanding 3D games. Even more impressive is that the K3V2 is a 64-bit processor, rather than the standard 32-bit offered in other phones. The company says it developed the processor in-house with a partner company, although Huawei refused to say which one.
We spent some hands-on time with the Ascend D quad and can certainly attest to its speed. Swiping through menus was fast and fluid without a hint of lag. In our hands the 0.35-inch thick Ascend D quad felt solid. It has a thin rubberized texture on the back that helps make it feel more secure while holding.
During one demonstration we watched as the Ascend D quad streamed Transformers: The Dark of The Moon in crisp HD quality over its HDMI cable to a large roughly 60-inch display. In another booth we played Samurai II: Vengence and were impressed with how smoothly the Ascend D quad was able to render the game’s manga-style 3D world.
Beyond its processor, the Android 4.0 ice Cream Sandwich-powered Ascend D quad features a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 display, Dolby Digital + 5.1 surround sound, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage.
Giving the Ascend D quad life is an 1800mAh battery that, combined with low-power consumption technology, Huawei says will last for one to two days of regular use. In fact, Huawei claims its battery technology gives the Ascend D quad up to 30 percent better battery life than the competition. Better still, Huawei is also offering an Ascend D quad XL with a 2500mAh will last for two to three days of regular use.
As expected, the The Ascend D quad XL is slightly larger than the standard model, 0.4 inches versus 0.35. Huawei says the difference in weight between the two models will be less than roughly 0.7 ounces. And with the XL model weighing in at 4.6 ounces, you can expect the Ascend D quad to weigh in at around 3.9 ounces.
Huawei says the device will be available globally, including North America, in Q2 2012 as an HSPA+ model. A 4G LTE model is expected to follow towards the end of Summer 2012. Pricing and carrier partners have yet to be announced.
*ttp://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-the-worlds-fastest-smartphone-the-huawei-ascend-d-quad
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