quad-core

Quad-core smartphones: This is their year

This year's Consumer Electronics Show may not have produced much in the way of quad-core Android phones, save one Fujitsu-made Android prototype that was encased and untouchable, but make no mistake: this is their year.

Thanks to abundant and well-defined product leaks, we have strong expectations for next month's Mobile World Congress (MWC). Thanks to quad-core devices already in existence, like the Asus Transformer Prime tablet, we also have a real-world example of just how big a performance leap we'll see between dual-core and quad-core speeds.… Read more

Apple to sell at least 48 million iPads this year--analyst

Boosted by the iPad 3, Apple's popular tablet could see sales of more than 48 million this year, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu believes.

In an investor's note released yesterday, Wu attributed his forecast to recent speculation that the iPad 3 would be a "significant update" over the existing model and will reach customers in March.

Reports have also popped up that Apple's next tablet would be powered by a quad-core chip and support 4G LTE. Though Wu didn't weigh in on the likelihood of those features surfacing, he did say that such improvements … Read more

Fujitsu's quad-core Android plays games fast and furiously

LAS VEGAS--Fujitsu's prototype Android smartphone highlights that quad-core processing in smartphones is just around the corner.

Set up in the company's booth at CES, Fujitsu claimed the powerhouse device ran Nvidia's latest Tegra 3 CPU and was contained under a solid block of transparent glass. The phone's few connections to the outside world were an HDMI port linking it to an HDTV along with Bluetooth wireless to speak to a wireless gamepad.

The Fujitsu rep I spoke to eagerly touted the phone's impressive horsepower provided by its four main computing cores running in tandem. A … Read more

Acer teases tablet with highest screen resolution yet

LAS VEGAS--Not content to rest on the laurels of its recently announced A200, Acer today unveiled a new Iconia Tab tablet, featuring a screen resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels (1080p).

Typically, tablet screen resolutions top out at 1,280x800 pixels, but thanks to the faster speed of quad-core processors (Acer didn't reveal which quad-core CPU the new tablet would be using), look for high-res screens like this (and even higher) to become a trend over the next year.… Read more

Apple lists quad-core chip in iOS 5.1 beta, report says

The iPad and iPhone are going quad-core, according to a report citing references in the latest iOS beta.

9to5Mac said it has evidence that Apple will bump up future iPhones (iPhone 5?) and iPads (iPad 3?) to quad-core processing. The A5 chip used in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S is dual-core.

"While not quite confirming that a quad-core processor will power Apple's third-generation iPad, we have obtained evidence that suggests Apple is currently working on quad-core iOS devices," 9to5Mac said Friday.

That reference comes in the latest iOS 5.1 beta "processing-core management software," … Read more

Apple, Amazon, Asus: Three awesome tablet choices

Apple made the tablet viable. Amazon showed that a populist concept can work. Now Asus may bring the latest wrinkle to the market.

Before we get to Asus, let's look at two of the most prominent players as of December 2011.

Apple's iPad 2:

Screen: A gorgeous 9.7 inch screen: the perfect size for me. Interface: Ditto. iOS-based interface is the gold standard. Speed: Apple's A5 chip delivers good performance for a tablet. Responsiveness: No lag to speak of jumping between apps. Apps: Plenty of those. Battery: Acceptable but worse than the original iPad. Features: Two … Read more

More leaks on Acer, Lenovo Android 4.0 tablets

One thing is certain. The Android tablet crowd has beaten Apple to the punch with quad-core silicon--and the list is growing.

In the wake of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime becoming available for order at stores like Best Buy in the U.S., a few more details have leaked on upcoming quad-core tablets from Acer and Lenovo, according to an Asia-based Digitimes report. … Read more

Rumor Has It, Ep. 7: You can't fight the quad core (podcast)

Karyne may be up a point on the Rumor board, but I'm winning where it actually counts: on Twitter.

As of this writing, I have 232 followers and Karyne has 223.

OK, you can stop laughing now.

We realize, of course, that those numbers are embarrassingly low. So follow us, guys! (@EmilyDreyfuss, @karynelevy, @RumorShow.) Our new high-stakes side bet is who can get to 500 first. Maybe the lucky 500th follower of the winner will get a prize!

The rumors on today's show are of the spiciest variety: sightings of the first quad-core phone (which some people really don't want); two new iPads in 2012; all-new Apple products next year (huzzah); and Siri may ruin my life by coming to old iOS devices. … Read more

Intel's newest lands in an old standard: Commodore 64

Apple surprised many when it introduced quad-core processors into its MacBook line for the first time in February. But a Commodore 64 packing quad-core?

For the uninitiated, the Commodore 64 Keyboard PC was introduced back in 1982 packing a MOS Technology 6510 1MHz (yes, that's one megahertz) chip running the Commodore kernal accessed via BASIC commands.

That model competed with the Apple II and Atari computers.

Well, a lot has changed in 30 years. After resurrecting the Commodore name in April of 2010, the company came out with an Intel Atom-based design in April of this year. That's … Read more