Want to catch a glimpse of HTC’s thinnest Android smartphone ahead of Mobile World Congress? A YouTube video just appeared online which reveals the HTC Ville, a device that is rumored to feature a metal unibody design under 8mm thick.

Additional details that have been leaked so far include Android 4.0, Sense 4.0, 4.3-inch qHD [...]]]>

Want to catch a glimpse of HTC’s thinnest Android smartphone ahead of Mobile World Congress? A YouTube video just appeared online which reveals the HTC Ville, a device that is rumored to feature a metal unibody design under 8mm thick.

Additional details that have been leaked so far include Android 4.0, Sense 4.0, 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 8 MP rear camera, VGA front camera, HSPA+, Bluetooh 4.0, and a 1,650 mAh battery.

The dual-core Snapdragon S4 will feature Qualcomm’s new Krait CPU core that offers a 60% performance increase compared to the existing Scorpion micro-architecture found in the Snapdragon S1, S2, and S3. A new Adreno 225 GPU will also provide 50% faster graphics performance.

In the video we can see the performance lags quite a bit, but this is pre-production software. Hopefully HTC can achieve the same smooth performance that we have seen on the Transformer Prime.

HTC is scheduled to hold their MWC press conference on February 26th at 8:30 PM (Barcelona Time) and we will be on-site to check out whatever they announce. Be on the lookout for more details over the coming weeks.

Update: The video has been pulled at the request of HTC. We saved a copy, but don’t want to piss off HTC by re-uploading it. A screen capture can be seen below.

When it comes to new phones, we’re all a little curious as to how they’ll perform when compared to devices currently on the market. Since Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) CPU with Adreno 225 GPU will be all the rage at Mobile World Congress next month, you can probably imagine our ecstasy to see the first benchmark [...]]]>

When it comes to new phones, we’re all a little curious as to how they’ll perform when compared to devices currently on the market. Since Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) CPU with Adreno 225 GPU will be all the rage at Mobile World Congress next month, you can probably imagine our ecstasy to see the first benchmark scores for the new chip hit the web.

Over the weekend, a mysterious device running Android 4.0.3 with a 1024×600 resolution display (a typical resolution for 7-inch Android tablets) hit NenaMark’s website, posting a score of 54.9 for NenaMark2. A score of 54.9 may not sound much higher than the 46.2 the Samsung Galaxy S II received running on a Cortex-A9 paired with the Mali-400MP GPU, but it does translate into an 18.8% performance increase. Add in that the mysterious device is pushing 60% more pixels than GSII, and you have yourself a pretty impressive feat.

Benchmark scores don’t always paint a full picture of how a device will perform in the real world, but they do give us an idea of how a device will be able to handle 3D gaming and multitasking. While we only have one benchmark to go on, it looks like the Snapdragon S4 chip will live up to the high expectations that Qualcomm has set before us.

How many of you are looking forward to purchasing a new phone powered by a Snapdragon S4 chip in the near future?

Earlier this month Qualcomm launched their GameCommand application into the Android Market to showcase all the titles that are optimized for their Snapdragon devices. The app couldn’t be installed on non-Snapdragon devices and the design of the layout was rather uninspiring, but Qualcomm is investing a lot of resources to make sure that GameCommand [...]]]>

Earlier this month Qualcomm launched their GameCommand application into the Android Market to showcase all the titles that are optimized for their Snapdragon devices. The app couldn’t be installed on non-Snapdragon devices and the design of the layout was rather uninspiring, but Qualcomm is investing a lot of resources to make sure that GameCommand is a success.

Recently we had the opportunity to sit down with Dave Durnil, Director of Advanced Content and Gaming at Qualcomm, who provided a quick walk-through of the app and talked about the future of the program. He told us that the next version of GameCommand is already in development and it should launch next month around the time of Mobile World Congress. New features include the ability to add custom RSS feeds to the news reader, a landscape layout for tablets, and new filters to sort games by category, publisher, and more.

Dave also told us that Qualcomm now has an in-house studio dedicated to making Android games for Snapdragon devices. We don’t know the exact size of the team, but we were told their goal is to release one flagship title per year. Their first game will be a full blown sequel to the mini-game Desert Winds.

GameCommand already boast over 100 titles, which is more than NVIDIA’s Tegra Zone. Not every game is a blockbuster, but Qualcomm has already made deals with Gameloft and EA Mobile to release exclusive titles. Both Gameloft and EA Mobile were originally listed as partners for Tegra Zone, but we never saw any games come from that.

Qualcomm actually shipped more mobile GPUs than anyone else last year (thanks to the integrated Adreno GPU found in Snapdragon), so developers have a lot of reasons to target Snapdragon devices. GameCommand has yet to crack 5k installs, but if Qualcomm refines the app and pumps out some exclusive titles they might be able to catch up with NVIDIA’s Tegra Zone (currently 1 million+ installs) this year.

If you have a Snapdragon device, have you tried out GameCommand yet? Let us know what you think of the app and list the things that Qualcomm could do to improve it in the comments below.

Update: Snapdragon S4 could still be the first platform to enable WiFi Display, but OMAP4 is more likely to beat them to the punch.

Wouldn’t it be cool to walk into your living room and have your smartphone’s content automatically displayed on your TV? WiFi Display is a new industry standard that allows users [...]]]>

Update: Snapdragon S4 could still be the first platform to enable WiFi Display, but OMAP4 is more likely to beat them to the punch.

Wouldn’t it be cool to walk into your living room and have your smartphone’s content automatically displayed on your TV? WiFi Display is a new industry standard that allows users to easily share content from device to device without the need for an Internet connection or access point.

The WiFi Display technology that allows a direct, peer-to-peer wireless connection is known in the industy as WiFi Direct. Analysts predict that every consumer electronics device will be WiFi Direct enabled by 2014, but Qualcomm will deliver this new wireless standard to Android devices this summer.

Every Snapdragon S4 device will support WiFi Display, but the first ones to ship will not have it enabled out of the box. Android already supports the WiFi Direct software stack, but the WiFi Display still needs to be tested and finalized.

The Wi-Fi Display standard should be certified by the WiFi Alliance in Q2 and the first Android devices to support it will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 platform. Today at CES we spoke with Kishore Jotwani, Sr. Director of Product Management at Qualcomm Atheros, and he estimated we could see working WiFi Display on Android by June if things go according to plan.

Once the standard is ratified, existing Snapdragon S4 devices will have it enabled by a firmware over-the-air update.

All devices that support WiFi Display can discover each other automatically and establish a secure connection. Once two devices are paired, they can easily exchange data and services. An example of this would be full screen mirroring of your smartphone onto any screen that has WiFi Dispaly enabled.

For the current generation of TVs and projectors that do not support WiFi Display, a special HDMI dongle can enable this feaure. Expect these dongles to retail for under $100.

Gary Szilagyi, vice president and general manager, consumer electronics group, Qualcomm Atheros said, “Allowing devices to connect and share video and audio content wirelessly eliminates the need for messy cables and allows for viewing from the comfort of your sofa. These new WiFi Display-enabled solutions will encourage manufacturers to create a new generation of interoperable and compatible devices that make for friendlier device connectivity and easy content sharing.”

I’d love to sit down on my couch and browse the web on a big screen using only my smartphone, while it rests in my pocket or sits on the table. Paired with a wireless keyboard and mouse, it would create a PC-like experience, which is pretty damn cool.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 is shaping up to become the do-it-all mobile platform. Check off WiFi Display as one of the must-have features of the next-generation of superphones.

Yesterday Lenovo announced their IdeaTab S2, the first consumer device we’ve seen with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon S4 processor. Some readers were disappointed by the fact that the Snapdragon S4 is only dual-core, but this is Qualcomm’s first processor to feature their new 28nm Krait core, which far outperforms the Cortex-A9 core found in [...]]]>

Yesterday Lenovo announced their IdeaTab S2, the first consumer device we’ve seen with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon S4 processor. Some readers were disappointed by the fact that the Snapdragon S4 is only dual-core, but this is Qualcomm’s first processor to feature their new 28nm Krait core, which far outperforms the Cortex-A9 core found in other quad-core SoCs like Tegra 3.

We got to spend a few minutes with the IdeaTab S2, and I was impressed with the overall design of the device. It is very similar to the ASUS Transformer Prime with its keyboard dock, but the IdeaTab S2 dock has a larger battery. The Transformer Prime boasts 18 hours of battery life with the dock, and Lenovo was able to top that with 20 total hours of battery life. (10 for tablet + 10 for dock).

Taking a closer look at the IdeaTab S2 keyboard dock, we found it features two full-size USB ports and one micro-USB port. The touchpad had two buttons and the keyboard had several Android-specific hotkeys.

Lenovo said the IdeaPad S2 should be available in early Q2.

Check out the video below for a quick idea of what to expect. Hopefully we can spend some more time with the device later this week and see how the performance stacks up against Tegra 3.

Gallery

Lenovo has just announced their IdeaTab S2, a keyboard docking Ice Cream Sandwich tablet set to go head to head with ASUS’ Transformer devices.

Coming in at a familiar 10.1-inches, the IdeaTab S2 is Lenovo’s stunningly gorgeous attempt at a tablet with a keyboard dock. Along with an extra 10 hours of battery life, [...]]]>

Lenovo has just announced their IdeaTab S2, a keyboard docking Ice Cream Sandwich tablet set to go head to head with ASUS’ Transformer devices.

Coming in at a familiar 10.1-inches, the IdeaTab S2 is Lenovo’s stunningly gorgeous attempt at a tablet with a keyboard dock. Along with an extra 10 hours of battery life, the keyboard dock for the IdeaTab comes with two USB ports, and a handy card reader. As far as specs on the tablet itself go, it’s certainly no slouch.

• 10.1-inch display
• 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait processor
• 1GB of RAM
• 64GB of storage
• 1.27 pounds
• 8.7mm thick

Lenovo is saying that the IdeaTab S2 is a China exclusive for now, and they’ll announce worldwide availability sometime in the future.

What do you think of Lenovo’s Transformer challenger? Will it turn out to be a cheap imitation, or is it a full-on competitor to the original? Either way, there’s no denying the thought put into the IdeaTab S2′s design. The render of the device certainly looks good; we’ll just have to wait and see how it performs.

Though we’ve often criticised the idea of chipset-exclusive applications, it appears games tied to certain chipsets are here to stay.

Qualcomm has announced this morning that they will be launching their TegraZone competitor GameCommand next week at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. More specifically, their GameCommand app is expected to [...]]]>

Though we’ve often criticised the idea of chipset-exclusive applications, it appears games tied to certain chipsets are here to stay.

Qualcomm has announced this morning that they will be launching their TegraZone competitor GameCommand next week at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. More specifically, their GameCommand app is expected to launch on the Android Market on January 10th.

GameCommand functions in much the same way as TegraZone; it is an application that showcases games that are optimized for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform. Qualcomm’s CES booth will feature UFC fighter Alistair “The Reem” Overreem, who will be showing off one of the latest games optimized for Snapdragon, Fight Game Heroes.

We expect Qualcomm will follow the same model that NVIDIA has been using since TegraZone launched, partnering with game developers to develop exclusive content for devices that feature the Snapdragon architecture. Now, individuals who enjoy gaming on their Android smartphones will need to be even more mindful of which handset they purchase, as more and more games will continue to work on only one platform for at least a brief period of time after they’re released.

We’ll bring you live coverage from Qualcomm’s booth from the CES floor next week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Stay tuned!

According to a new leak, HTC is working on yet another Android device that will debut in the first half of 2012. The new handset is currently known as the HTC Elite and is expected to run on Android 4.0 with Beats Audio integration. While rumors about the HTC Ville and HTC Edge [...]]]>

According to a new leak, HTC is working on yet another Android device that will debut in the first half of 2012. The new handset is currently known as the HTC Elite and is expected to run on Android 4.0 with Beats Audio integration. While rumors about the HTC Ville and HTC Edge came with a few more details, all we know for now is that the HTC Elite is scheduled to launch during the second week of April on AT&T’s 4G network and could bear the name HTC Congressional.

We’re going to assume that the HTC Elite will feature support for AT&T’s 4G LTE network and will have a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor and a large display, but we’ll need another leaked rumor in order to confirm any of our suspicions.

If an AT&T handset isn’t what you need, might we suggest the HTC Fireball? The new handset recently made an appearance in Verizon’s inventory system as the ADR6410 and is listed as a 4G device. No other details are available at this time, but we’re going to assume that the HTC Fireball is simply another variant of HTC’s 2011 dual-core lineup. We suspect Verizon will announce the HTC Fireball at CES in a few short weeks.

HTC’s next generation of Android handsets may be right around the corner (Q2 of 2012), but we know some people simply can’t wait that long. How long will you hold out before you make your next purchase?

Early this year we made our annual trip to Las Vegas to cover CES. I chose to focus on all the semiconductor companies since I’m processor nerd, and I scheduled meetings with Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and NVIDIA. After talking with each company and interviewing a couple employees (like NVIDIA’s Michael Rayfield), I came away with a [...]]]>

Early this year we made our annual trip to Las Vegas to cover CES. I chose to focus on all the semiconductor companies since I’m processor nerd, and I scheduled meetings with Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and NVIDIA. After talking with each company and interviewing a couple employees (like NVIDIA’s Michael Rayfield), I came away with a wealth of knowledge about the mobile industry.

I studied everyone’s position and strategies then predicted NVIDIA would win round 1 of the dual-core wars because of their time to market advantage, premium content strategy, and consumer marketing. When it came to Android tablets, that turned out to be mostly true. NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor controlled 70% of the Android tablet market until just recently. Now the low-priced Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet have sold millions, all of which used Texas Instruments’ OMAP4 processor.

As we gear up for CES again, I am starting to wonder who could come out on top in 2012. One company I expect to do extremely well is Qualcomm, who completely overhauled their Snapdragon brand this year.

For an example of how far Qualcomm has come, check out this response to a question I asked Raj Talluri, VP of Product Management at Qualcomm, back at CES.

Q: Does Qualcomm have a strategy to highlight premium content designed for dual-core Snapdragon products? Similar to NVIDIA’s Tegra Zone?
A: We allow the operators to differentiate their devices. The most important customers for us are the phone makers and the operators, not the end-user who buys the phone.

Qualcomm use to openly admit they were not focused on the end-user, but that has completely changed in the span of under a year. In 2011 we saw Qualcomm launch a new site for Snapdragon, go after the competition, reveal Snapdragon Game Pack for OEMs, change the naming conventions for Snapdragon processors, invite us to demo their Snapdragon S4 processor, talk up mobile gaming, launch a viral video, announce Snapdragon GameCommand, show off Android 4.0, promote dual-core location, and now they are renaming Qualcomm Stadium to Snapdragon Stradium.

All efforts to increase the Snapdragon brand awareness.

Snapdragon Stadium will be their boldest move yet, with over 30 million people expected to watch the three football games that are planned at the stadium during the 10 day promotion. Game include the Chargers vs. Baltimore Ravens Sunday Night Football on Dec. 18, the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 21, and the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28.

Tim McDonough, Qualcomm VP of Marketing, described the reasons behind the name switch in a company blog post. Tim said, “When it comes to mobile tech, consumers are becoming more and more savvy. It’s only natural that these same consumers want to understand how their mobile devices work. By renaming Qualcomm Stadium to Snapdragon Stadium, we are creating more mobile user awareness of Snapdragon processors, which in turn will allow us to inform these same consumers on how Snapdragon processors help their smartphones and tablets do more.”

Dan Novak, another Qualcomm spokesman, echoed his remarks by saying, “We want people, when they are thinking about buying their next device, to ask if it has Snapdragon inside.”

Based on the way things have been going, I would say they are off to a good start. Now their next biggest challenge will be convincing the carriers to actually put the Snapdragon S1, S2, S3, and S4 logos on the product packaging, since this type of information is often hidden from customers.

What is your opinion of the Snapdragon brand? Do we have any brand loyalist that will only buy mobile devices with Snapdragon processors? Let us know what direction you would like to see Qualcomm take next.

Ever wish your Android phone had better GPS performance? Today Qualcomm revealed that phones featuring their Snapdragon processor are now capable of accessing two satellite networks. Most Android devices provide access to the Global Positioning System (GPS) which is a network of 27 satellites, but there’s a second network of 24 satellites operated for the [...]]]>

Ever wish your Android phone had better GPS performance? Today Qualcomm revealed that phones featuring their Snapdragon processor are now capable of accessing two satellite networks. Most Android devices provide access to the Global Positioning System (GPS) which is a network of 27 satellites, but there’s a second network of 24 satellites operated for the Russian government by the Russian Space Forces called the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS).

Select Snapdragon devices can now access both networks, which Qualcomm’s Rob Chandhok refers to as a “dual-core” location system.

Today Qualcomm announced that any device with a Snapdragon S2 or S3 processor is capable of accessing both satellite networks, but the feature must be enabled by the carrier on each specific device. Qualcomm told us the Samsung Galaxy S II on T-Mobile is one new smartphone to offer this exciting new feature and they will provide a list of other phones in the coming weeks.

Some might find it ironic that the T-Mobile SGS2 is one of the first Android phones to support this feature since GPS was virtually broken for many T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant owners.

Having access to GPS and GLONASS is said to offer increased battery life, better reliability, increased accuracy, and a faster fix on location. Using both networks should really come in handy in dense urban areas, where it can be difficult to get a line of sight signal.

Still confused? Check out Qualcomm’s cool video that explains “dual-core” location for your phone.