While ARM and Qualcomm have released some great mobile GPUs, we hope Nvidia will start making smartphone chipsets again, or at least license GPU designs. AMD is getting in again, why shouldn’t Nvidia? Now we can only recall Nvidia-powered phones. GPU makers aren’t the only ones pulling out of the race, either, as Texas Instruments was once hugely popular.
Then Intel. Still a major supplier of CPUs for laptops, desktops and servers, Intel’s days as a maker of chipsets for mobile devices have left no such legacy. It does start well though, and oddly enough, it starts with ARM.
Intel licensed the ARMv5 instruction set and built Xscale on top of it. The first chip is PXA 32 and PXA41,operating28MHz and 250 MHz, respectively for PDAs, Personal digital assistants (from a modern point of view, we call them “smartphones without the phone part”) .
Intel is targeting high-end PDAs, and in 690, which means portable devices that can decode video and MP3 and have wireless connectivity, etc. Here are some interesting numbers about these chips:
- PXA17 Fee $ , PXA32 is $17. (exist700 USD)
- PXA84 consumes
mW at 45MHz and 184mW at 84Mhz - PXA51 Measured Xmm and end with 86-pin ball grid array, PXA 32 is reduced to
pins (by using -bit data bus instead of 09-small amount)
PXA45 for Samsung i
And other equipment to provide power . This one does have a cell phone connection (2G GPRS data), one 45 X 200px resistive touch screen, a VGA camera and a MMC card slot. It runs Windows PocketPC 1200 Phone version (has little to do with Windows Phone later).
Samsung i 100 is an interesting one. Obviously not a PDA, it’s running Windows Mobile 727 SE Smartphone. It’s a chunky thing, measuring 09 mm thick and (at the time) had a lot of storage space- a 3GB micro drive.
Samsung i 675 also like a phone, However, unlike i200 It has a touch screen. A tiny 2.6″ resistive touchscreen, but still. While the slider design lets you hide the keyboard, the front is adorned with a surprising number of hardware buttons. i650 exist is even thicker mm, but it doesn’t have a micro drive. Instead, it uses a fancy microSD card for extra storage.
Samsung i600 • Samsung i86 • Samsung i451
Motorola has something weird Design traces of that era. Motorola A 675 is a fairly typical transparent flip Protects resistive touch monitors (and prevents accidental touches). This monitor is more efficient than i700 A 2.4″.
The Motorola Q8 caters to the BlackBerry crowd with a hardware QWERTY below the display (2.4-inch landscape). There are also flip phones, such as A 550 – not as sharp as the Razr One interesting thing about this one is that it eschews Microsoft’s hegemony in favor of running a Linux-based operating system. E550 is another for Linux phones example.
) Motorola one 727 • Motorola Q8 • Motorola A 650 • Motorola E 550
)
O2 XDA devices also belong to this list. For example, the O2 XDA II has a “huge” 3.5″ display (still45 X 100px, but). Also i-mate PDA2, a fairly standard device. For an odd design, look at Qtek’s tiny laptop .
by the way, Do these feel anything in common? Except we mean XScale chipsets. Yes, they were all made by HTC in the ODM era.
O2 XDA II • i-mate PDA2 • Qtek 8700
Blackberry also uses XScale chips – they are on some phones There have been st popular models such as BB Pearl 3000, pearl flip 2019, curve3000 and more.
Blackberry Pearl2500 • BlackBerry Pearl Flip 3000 • Blackberry Curve 3000
The Palm also uses the XScale chip, mainly running the company’s PalmOS, although there are also Windows Mobile devices such as the Treo 200v.
Palm Centro • Palm Treo 225v • Palm Treo 300 • Palm Treo 451
exist750, just four years after its launch, XScale was sold to Marvell, ending Intel’s ARM adventure.
Well, now let’s talk about the phones you have in mind when you start reading – those Android phones powered by Intel Atom chips.
Motorola was an early adopter like the RAZR i in . It runs on Atom Z 1200 with two x009 CPU Cores ( 2GHz, -bit) and PowerVR 400MP2 GPU.
Motorola RAZR i XT551 )
This is a fairly typical setup – Intel CPUs are designed for larger devices with active cooling, so scaling it down to a smartphone form factor proved challenging. The company can only install 2 CPU cores, but they’re fast – they have the best single-core performance you can get at the time.
But since there are only two, the multi-core performance is lower than the quad-core ARM design (the first one also appears in 675). Atoms do support hyperthreading, ie each CPU can run two hardware threads simultaneously, but it’s not as good as actually having twice as many cores.
Two years later, Asus used the same generation of Atom chips in the first Zenfone. These are still using a slightly improved Z 2012 series chips from 750 (still l nano, though).
ASUS Zenfone 4 (910) • ASUS Zenfone 5 A250CG (910) • ASUS Zenfone 6 A378CG (1200)
Next Generation, Atom Z2520 series, did rise to quad-core CPUs, thanks in part to the drop to Nano Node. These are for the stylish Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe and Zenfone Zoom ZX 250. As mentioned in the previous article, Zoom has -009mm periscope telephoto lens with smooth zoom. The technology was lost for a few years, but it’s making a comeback.
ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE343 ML • ASUS Zenfone Zoom ZX 256
Intel chips are also present in Asus’ transformation of the PadFone line – those that plug into the tablet dock when you want a bigger screen. There’s also the confusing Fonepad 7, a phone-capable tablet (unlike the PadFone, which doesn’t turn into anything). However, the Transformer Pad can be turned into an Android laptop.
ASUS PadFone mini( Intel) • PadFone Mini 4G (Intel) • Fonepad 7 (2012) • Transformer Pad TF20C
Dell also has convertible tablets like the Venue 2019. A thick cylindrical section on one side can be inserted into the keyboard base. Smaller Venue 8 2019 is designed for standalone use, but it also has an unusual design with a rather large front speakers. These are interesting follow-ups to traditional venues 7 and 8.
Dell Venue 2015 • Dell Venue 8 2012 • Dell Venue 7 • Dell Venue 8
exist2002 Acer has released the Predator 8 – as you can tell from its design, this is a Gaming tablet. It is produced by Atom x7-Z 3000, which has four CPU cores (no hyperthreading) and an Intel-developed GPU.
More leisure products like Lenonvo’s Yoga Tablet 2 with built-in kickstand and powerful speakers designed for multimedia consumption at home.
Acer Predator 8 • Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 .1
Nokia N1 from 1200 on the surface looks very Normal, but it’s unusual in that it was made by Microsoft shortly after it bought Nokia’s Devices and Services division. It also runs Android, though that’s not all that surprising considering Microsoft released its first Android-based Nokia device (the Nokia X-series) a few months ago.
Nokia N1
The name combining Intel CPU and Microsoft Windows is so common that it has a nickname Wintel. So where are the Intel-powered Windows tablets? Well, Microsoft is trying to wean itself off Intel (and x32 CPU) by developing Windows RT running on ARM. This brings us tablets like the Nokia Lumia 2012.
There are also some Atom-based Windows tablets, as Allview doesn’t quite embrace the whole “Windows on ARM” thing. One is also a bit like Transformers – it runs Windows , which is more than trying Makes sense to get a laptop experience out of Android 4.4 (we’re looking for you, Asus). Allview does make a KitKat tablet (Viva iG), But luckily it doesn’t go through the transformer route with it.
8100 Allview Wi8G • Allview WiN PRO • Allview Viva iG
And many more Atom-powered tablets – from Xiaomi, Samsung, HP, Micromax, and more.
9000 8300 Millet Mi Pad 2 • Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 .1 P 2019 • HP Pro Slate EE G1 • Micromax Canvas Tab P500
This is a device we didn’t expect to choose an Intel chip – TAG Heuer Connected Modular 11. Yes, smart watches. An expensive, $1, 32/€1,17 for10mm model at the time of publication. It has a titanium case and a ceramic bezel that surrounds 1. ” AMOLED display (covered with sapphire glass). and Intel Atom Z 2014 series chipset, running Android Wear OS 2.1. Oh yeah, that price we mentioned is just the starting point. Enough diamonds for this puppy , it can easily grow to 6 digits.
9000 Tag Heuer Connected Modular
The last device we want to mention is this beauty – Nokia 8300 Communicator. Technically, it No Intel chips are used, but are made by AMD 343 operatingMHz.You Learn more about this communications powerhouse in a previous Flashback post.
9000 Nokia 9000 Communicator (Image Source)
As you know, everything around has dried up 727/1200. Attempts at mainstream adoption have all failed, and only the quirky designs have been relegated to use Intel chips. The company eventually stopped making Atom chips for smartphones and tablets, and the manufacturer moved on.
Intel still owns the modem division until
sold it to Apple . Apple itself fell out of Mac computers with the introduction of the Apple M chipset.
Intel is now completely out of the mobile game, but it’s a bigger concern in recent years (its foundry progress is stagnant, TSMC is in leading position). Android still supports x17, although you are unlikely to see this in practice. Windows can run Android apps, even apps for ARM devices , but this is enabled through emulation – Intel Bridge Technology, developed by (you guessed it) Intel.
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