Samsung Electronics unveiled a new dual-core processor in Taipei, Taiwan Tuesday that promises to bring full-blown high definition and 3D video capabilities to next-generation smartphones and tablets. Code-named Orion, the new 1GHz chip is slated to begin sampling before the end of this year and attain mass market availability in the first half of 2011.
Though mobile device rivals will be able to deploy the new chip, Orion is also expected to help the company to build Samsung-branded gadgets while potentially avoiding critical component shortages similar to those that have plagued smartphone makers over the past several months. Just last week, Samsung predicted that it would sell 20 million to 25 million smartphones this year, and is targeting 50 million unit shipments for 2011.
“Mobile device designers need an application processor platform that delivers superb multimedia performance, fast CPU processing speed, and abundant memory bandwidth,” said Samsung Electronics Vice President Dojun Rhee. “Samsung’s newest dual-core application processor chip is designed specifically to fulfill such stringent performance requirements while maintaining long battery life.”
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To be manufactured using low-power 45nm process technology, Samsung’s Orion chip will be going head to head with the 1.2GHz dual-CPU Snapdragon processor that Qualcomm began sampling in June as well as NVidia’s forthcoming Tegra 2 chip. LG Electronics said Tuesday it will launch new Optimus smartphone models before the end of this year that will integrate Tegra 2, which the handset-maker said would feature a dual-core design.
“Taking full advantage of the two speedy 1 GHz processors sharing the workload in Tegra 2, consumers can experience up to 2x faster web browsing and up to 5x faster gaming performance over single core processors running at 1 GHz,” LG said.
Like Tegra 2, Samsung’s Orion application processor will integrate a pair of 1GHz Cortex A9 cores from ARM….