Qualcomm announces a slew of new Snapdragon processors, upgrades, mobile games
It's shaping up to be a busy morning for Qualcomm. The San Diego-based mobile chipmaker issued a bunch of announcements today, including a number of additions to its S4 line of next-generation processors. The list of new S4 chips includes the MSM8660A, MSM8260A, MSM8630, MSM8230, MSM8627, MSM8227, APQ8060A and APQ8030, which join the already announced MSM8960, MSM8930 and APQ8064. The new chips feature the Krait CPU, aimed at upping mobile performance, while offering better power management and battery life. Also on the list are upgrades to four members of the company's S1 entry-level smartphone chip line -- the MSM7225A, MSM7625A, MSM7227A and MSM7627A have been juiced up for better performance.
Oh, and there are games. The company is expanding its already voluminous Snapdragon GamePack to include titles like The Ball, Fight Game Heroes, and Galaga Special Edition -- casual and console games aimed at showcasing its chips' abilities. The list also includes the introduction of Snapdragon GameCommand, an app aimed at showcasing those showcasing apps, making them easier to find and offering up gaming news. GameCommand will be hitting early next year. The new games will be available through the Android Market for handsets packing Snapdragon processors. Lots of press info after the break.
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Qualcomm Unveils New Snapdragon Mobile Processors Across All Tiers of Smartphones and Tablets
NEW YORK – November 16, 2011 – Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) announced today the expansion of its Snapdragon S4 class of next-generation mobile processors and the enhancement of its Snapdragon S1 solutions for entry-level smartphones.
The addition of new Snapdragon S4 processors, which are aimed at lowering design, engineering and inventory costs while bringing leading-edge 3G and 4G Internet connection speeds, will allow OEMs to introduce S4-based devices with next-generation mobile architecture throughout their respective device roadmaps-from basic smartphones to high-end smartphones and tablets. The enhanced S4 processors are also optimized for use with a suite of software solutions available from Qualcomm that help enable OEMs to deliver industry-leading feature sets for multimedia, connectivity, camera, display, security, power management, browsing and natural user interface design.
The Krait CPU is the next generation of Qualcomm's micro architecture and is purpose-built from the ground up for significant mobile performance and power management advantages leading to enhanced user experience and better battery life. The Krait CPU is an essential part of the Snapdragon S4 class of processors. Today, Qualcomm announced several new S4 chipsets, including the MSM8660A, MSM8260A, MSM8630, MSM8230, MSM8627, MSM8227, APQ8060A and APQ8030. These are additional chipsets to the previously announced MSM8960, MSM8930 and APQ8064. Snapdragon S4 MSM processors include Qualcomm's leading-edge wireless modem technologies, including EV-DO, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, LTE FDD, LTE TDD and Wi-Fi® standards. Devices based on Snapdragon S4 processors are expected to appear in early 2012.
The Snapdragon S1 product line is driving smartphone growth in all regions, and it offers a significant opportunity for market expansion and migration to 3G. To further this trend, Qualcomm is also announcing an upgrade to four of its existing Snapdragon S1 mobile processors. The MSM7225A, MSM7625A, MSM7227A and MSM7627A have been upgraded to deliver better performance and will enable new mobile experiences for entry-level smartphone users, particularly those transitioning from 2G to 3G.
"Qualcomm is innovating on all fronts and continues to lead the mobile computing era with its roadmap depth, breadth and software support," said Cristiano Amon, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm. "Our next-generation hardware, optimized for use with our software suite, facilitates best-in-class performance and power for every smart device segment, from mass-market smartphones to high-performance tablets."
Qualcomm Snapdragon processors are classified by the S1, S2, S3 and S4 generations of products. The S1 class is meant for entry-level smartphones; the S2 class for high-performance smartphones and tablets; the S3 class for multi-tasking and advanced gaming; and the S4 class for next-generation devices.
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Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon GameCommand Application and Exclusive Mobile Games for Android
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced today the expansion of its 100+ games Snapdragon GamePack and launch of a new showcase application - Snapdragon™ GameCommand™ - further bolstering the supply of console-quality and casual games for mobile devices featuring Snapdragon processors.
The new gaming titles being introduced as part of the extended Snapdragon GamePack and the new Snapdragon GameCommand app are all expected to hit the Android Market in early 2012. Additions to the Snapdragon GamePack include several new, exclusive gaming titles that will be available through the Android Market, and which will initially be designed to operate exclusively on Android-enabled devices powered by Snapdragon processors. These titles include a number of high-end PC games, such as:
• "The Ball" from Tripwire Interactive, which has earned several accolades including PC Gamer's 2010 Action-Adventure Game of the Year, is built on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 and is debuting for the first time ever on mobile
• "Fight Game Heroes" from Khaeon Gamestudio
• "GALAGA Special Edition," the 30th anniversary edition of the perennial arcade favorite from NAMCO BANDAI Games.
While the GamePack is an ever-growing collection of great games, the new Snapdragon GameCommand app provides mobile users a way to quickly find and learn about the latest Snapdragon featured and exclusive games, with the added bonus of being able to keep and access all their favorite games in a single place with one group icon. The Snapdragon GameCommand app also provides gamers with a source for the latest gaming news from some of the most popular gaming news sites.
"Qualcomm has received great user feedback since launching the Snapdragon GamePack, so we are expanding the quantity and quality of games while making them easier to locate through the launch of the Snapdragon GameCommand app," says Raj Talluri, vice president of product management at Qualcomm. "With more than 60 percent of smartphone users regularly playing games on their mobile devices, the time is right to bring more console-quality and casual games to the Snapdragon platform. We are very excited to put our new Snapdragon GameCommand app and more great gaming titles in the hands of consumers in early 2012."
The Snapdragon GamePack, launched in June 2011 at Qualcomm's Uplinq® mobile developer conference, originally featured more than 100 game titles from some of the industry's top game development companies, including Advanced Mobile Applications Ltd., Babaroga LLC, Booyah Inc., Com2us USA Inc., Digital Chocolate Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., Eyelead Software S.A., FISHLABS Entertainment GmbH, Glu Mobile Inc., Guild Software Inc., Gameloft Inc., Khaeon Games BV, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., NaturalMotion Games Ltd., Polarbit AB, PopCap Games Inc., HandyGames, Southend Interactive, and Tripwire Interactive LLC. Qualcomm worked closely with them to utilize the advanced graphics capability of the embedded Adreno® GPUs in Snapdragon mobile processors and bring a better gaming experience to mobile users.
"We waited to enter the mobile market until we could bring a top-of-the-line PC game experience to mobile devices," said Alan Wilson, vice president of Tripwire Interactive. "Snapdragon processors now give us the power to do that."
"We are looking forward to the launch of the Snapdragon GameCommand app, which will bring our Snapdragon-optimized games directly to consumers and help to eliminate the search process," said Didier Pippel of Khaeon Gamestudio. "Android has emerged as a prominent medium for gaming, and we are excited to work with Qualcomm to give gamers the mobile experience they deserve."
"We have been able to maximize the advanced Adreno graphics in our premium 3D games like 'PAC-MAN Kart Rally,'" said Carlson Choi, vice president of marketing, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. "Our developers and producers are enthusiastically working with Qualcomm's gaming team to continue to expand the Snapdragon GamePack by bringing some of the industry's top franchises to the new platform."
