The race is on
"The real advantage that Snapdragon delivers for device manufacturers is that it offers the whole package, fully integrated - a great processor, world-leading modem, 3D graphics hardware and other capabilities," said Timmons.
"MSM8260 and MSM8660 are our first dual-CPU parts to sample, and they offer the same great level of integration. That's why Snapdragon has become the platform of choice for advanced wireless devices." The two part numbers refer to the wireless technology they support: HSPA+ and multi-mode HSPA+/CDMA2000, respectively.
ARM has had its Cortex A9 design, which is scalable up to four cores, available for quite a while now. NVIDIA has been the SoC-maker to most conspicuously embrace this design, with its second-generation Tegra chip being the first dual-core SoC announced. Furthermore, we could be seeing products running Tegra 2 as soon as this week at Computex.
If Qualcomm's MSM8x60 has only just started sampling to manufacturers, we're unlikely to see it in the wild this year, so NVIDIA can claim a victory over Qualcomm in this respect.
But Qualcomm has a massive advantage in terms of industry inertia, and even persuaded Microsoft to betray NVIDIA's loyalty in appointing it official chip-maker for Window Phone 7 handsets, so it can probably afford to take its time.
