Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Mobile
    • Networking
    • PC Hardware

    Intel, ARM, Nvidia Contributing to Mobile Chip ‘Core Wars’: Analyst

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    February 23, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The LG Electronics Optimus 2X, the world’s first dual-core smartphone, was introduced in December and followed shortly after by the dual-core Motorola Atrix 4G and rumors of a dual-core HTC “Pyramid” headed for T-Mobile. From smartphones to PCs, more cores grab more attention. Consequently, according to analyst Jack Gold, with J. Gold Associates, whether they’re necessary or not, the mobile industry currently has a “core war” underway.

      “For simple e-mailing, texting and basic Web browsing, the need for multi-cores is minimal or non-existent. Current smartphones with capable single cores do quite well at these mundane tasks,” Gold said in a Feb. 21 report. Though for many of the newer capabilities being added to phones, such as 3D gaming and HD video viewing, there actually is a need for more processing power.

      However, Gold added, “in these scenarios the real benefit for multi-cores often comes not from having more CPUs, but from having more GPUs. And here, the core wars gets really interesting.”

      Gold said that Nvidia, with its 12 GPU cores and upcoming chips with four CPUs, has staked out the high end of the market and jumped ahead of rival Qualcomm – which will play catch-up with its own in-house-designed multi-core GPU in upcoming chips. Following behind them, Samsung, ST Ericsson, Texas Instruments and others will be joining the competition, albeit at a later date.

      Additionally, ARM is now battling long-time market leader Imagination Technologies in the graphics core licensing technology arena, as it’s decided whose GPU IP will be included in licensed chip designs for the vendors that don’t have their own graphics IP, Gold said. As ARM is a new player on this front, with Imagination Technologies having been the primary licensor of ARM attached graphics capabilities – and for other chip architectures, including Intel’s Atom – Imagination Technologies is winning for now.

      While ARM is often thought to be synonymous with mobile devices, Intel’s Atom line is putting pressure on the competition – especially as the popularity of the tablet form grows. (In December, Intel CEO Paul Otellini announced that manufacturer partners, including Toshiba, Lenovo, Fujitsu and Asus, are expected to introduce 35 Atom-based tablets in 2011.)

      “Intel will need to compete in the core wars, more for prestige and less for performance in my opinion,” Gold said in the report, explaining that while Atom may be able to do more per core than ARM, customers won’t understand this and so will demand the same numbers of cores.

      “Atom,” he added, “will need to show graphics-oriented performance on a par with multi-core GPU implementations from Nvidia and Qualcomm in particular.”

      In short, Gold concluded, the core wars are just heating up. Smartphones and other small devices with increased numbers of cores will take some time to emerge and, in order to take hold, will need to benefit from a trickle-down effect of “lower chip costs, reduced chip geometries for power savings and increased app functionality.”

      For now, he advised, “users should select a device not based on the number of cores, but on the overall performance, functionality required and tradeoffs desired (e.g., battery life, size of device, costs, primary use).”

      Avatar
      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×