Smartphones
Samsung is announcing today that it has begun mass production of 12 GB and 16 GB LPDDR5X modules in the industry's thinnest package. Samsung's shrunken memory packages measure approximately 0.65 mm in thickness, making them 0.06 mm (~9%) thinner than standard LPDDR5X packages. The company expects the new DRAM devices to be used to make for thinner smartphones, or improve their performance by enabling better airflow inside. According to the company's press release, Samsung achieved this ultra-thin design by employing new packaging methods, such as optimized printed circuit boards (PCBs) and epoxy molding compound (EMC). Additionally, an optimized back-lapping process was used to further reduce the height of the packages. The newly developed DRAM packages are not only thinner by 9% compared to previous models...
iPhone 4S Launches October 14th
As expected, Apple unveiled its new iPhone 4S at its media event this afternoon. It’s available for pre-order on October 7th, and will begin shipping on October 14th. Availability...
27 by Andrew Cunningham on 10/4/2011Apple iPhone 4S includes HSPA+ 14.4, GSM/CDMA Dual Mode, Diversity
Apple got up on stage today and announced the iPhone 4S, and alongside it confirmed that the smartphone will have a reworked cellular architecture complete with dual-mode HSPA+ and...
42 by Brian Klug on 10/4/2011Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" Update Now Available
Microsoft has been hyping the Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" update for quite some while now. They have been claiming that it will be the biggest update for WP7 platform...
15 by Kristian Vättö on 9/28/2011Introducing the Tizen Project
When Intel first announced its intentions to enter the smartphone space it needed an OS that demanded the additional silicon Intel was willing to invest in this market. With...
10 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/28/2011Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 & 5.0, Available October 16
Alongside availability of the Galaxy Tab 8.9, Samsung also announced the availability of the Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0: Samsung's iPod Touch competitors. Both will be for sale starting...
32 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/26/2011T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 2 Available October 12
This morning, Samsung officially announced the last set of details surrounding the relatively enigmatic T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 2, which we have been following pretty closely. First up, Samsung...
5 by Brian Klug on 9/26/2011Broadcom Announces its first NFC Solution - BCM2079x
Near Field Communication (NFC) is quickly shaping up to be a must-have feature in this next generation of smartphones. We talked about it briefly in the context of the...
2 by Brian Klug on 9/26/2011HTC Rhyme Coming To Verizon, Accessories In Tow
Long rumored and now unveiled, the HTC Rhyme (nee Bliss) will be hitting Verizon Wireless on September 29th for $199, a high price point for a phone with relatively...
6 by Jason Inofuentes on 9/20/2011Kal-El Has Five Cores, Not Four: NVIDIA Reveals the Companion Core
Last week NVIDIA provided an update on its Tegra SoC roadmap. Kal-El, its third generation SoC (likely to launch as Tegra 3) has been delayed by a couple of...
74 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/20/2011HP Offers Refund to European Touchpad, Pre3 Buyers
The HP Touchpad's troubled saga continues: the company's European arm is now offering partial refunds to anyone who brought the tablet at anything other than the bargain-basement fire sale...
8 by Andrew Cunningham on 9/14/2011Samsung Confirms APQ8060 for T-Mobile Galaxy S 2
After the Samsung Galaxy S 2 launch announcement, I made an educated prediction that the T-Mobile variant would come with a Qualcomm SoC and not Samsung's own Exynos. The...
13 by Brian Klug on 9/13/2011Intel's Medfield Gingerbread Smartphone Reference Platform
Earlier this morning Paul Otellini showed off Intel's Android smartphone reference platform running a version of Gingerbread. We just got up close and personal with the device as you...
11 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/13/2011Intel Oculus: Preparing Intel for Competition in Smartphones & Tablets
Intel has been quietly working on its plans for smartphones and tablets. This is a significant departure from the waves it was making just a couple of years ago...
4 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/13/2011The Updated Tegra Roadmap: Kal-El+ in 2012, Wayne in Late 2012/Early 2013
Last week we confirmed NVIDIA would be introducing a Tegra SoC with integrated Icera baseband called Grey, but we got the timeframe down. Above you'll see the updated Tegra...
7 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/12/2011Motorola Droid Bionic - A Quick Preview
Hot off the heels of finishing our Samsung Galaxy S 2 review, I'm off to Microsoft's BUILD conference with Ryan while Anand covers IDF. Before we get knee deep...
64 by Brian Klug on 9/12/2011Samsung's Galaxy S 2: The Smoothest Scrolling Android Device Around
One aspect of differentiation between Android smartphones has always been how smoothly they scroll both in the OS and in the browser. Later versions of Android have addressed the...
13 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/12/2011ARM's Mali-400 MP4 is the Fastest Smartphone GPU...for Now
Earlier this morning we published our long awaited review of the Samsung Galaxy S 2. In it we dedicated a few pages to investigating Samsung's own Exynos 4210 SoC...
30 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/11/2011Samsung Galaxy S 2 (International) Review - The Best, Redefined
The road to our Galaxy S2 review has been a long one. The first time we saw the device was at Mobile World Congress, where it was initially announced...
133 by Brian Klug & Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/11/2011NVIDIA Announces "Grey", First Tegra SoC with Integrated Baseband Due in 2012
Four months ago NVIDIA announced the acquisition of Icera, a baseband solution provider. Icera's technology didn't make it into any smartphones but it did have some success in the...
13 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/9/2011Nexus S 2.3.6 Update Lands - Voice Fix Included
If you're a lucky owner of a Nexus S, Google's second flagship device that launched in December, chances are that you're well aware of the rather nagging voice search...
1 by Saumitra Bhagwat on 9/2/2011