Qualcomm Demos Eee PC Running Android OS 125
angry tapir writes "Qualcomm has showed off a version of Asustek Computer's Eee PC based on its Snapdragon processor at the Computex exhibition, including one running Google's Android operating system. The new laptop — which Qualcomm calls a smartbook — is thinner and lighter than current members of Asustek's Eee PC netbook lineup because the 1GHz Snapdragon processor that it uses does not require a heat sink or a cooling fan."
Wait for Pandora (Score:5, Informative)
I ask for ARM UMPCs and get ARM netbooks.
Is an "ARM UMPC" essentially a PDA with a keyboard? If so, then wait for Pandora [openpandora.org] to enter mass production.
Re:Because Snapdragon Is an ARM Processor! (Score:3, Informative)
That's still order of magnitude more than ARM.
Re:Wait for Pandora (Score:3, Informative)
Or the Nokia n810, which you can get for $200 now. Or wait for the next gen tablet. Actually, the next Maemo device coming from Nokia is actually going to be a phone, not a tablet, but rummer has it that they are still planning more tablet models.
Re:Because Snapdragon Is an ARM Processor! (Score:5, Informative)
Pare away the heat sink and all that junk, add super small RAM and flash storage and ... hand held computers (like the article notes from Toshiba). Microsoft better not be resting on its laurels and should either be beefing up Windows Mobile or porting Windows 7 to ARM ... or they're going to miss out big time again.
People keep saying this sort of thing, but I really don't see it being viable. A Snapdragon is probably going to end up being at best the same speed as an Atom for native code. Windows 7 is probably quite portable and from the tests I've done on the Beta on Atoms might run quite okish on an 1Ghz Snapdragon if it were ported. Even there we're talking about a 1Ghz in order core with a memory controller designed for cellphone SDRAM. High performance desktop memory is really different to the stuff used in cellphones - the buses are narrower and slower. Here's are the details for an Atom
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLB73 [intel.com]
Note the bus speed, 533Mhz and the cache size, 512KB. By desktop standards the Atom is slow. Most Arm systems run memory much slower than this and have less cache. Look at the Snapdragon based Toshiba L01
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1855&view=1&c=toshiba_l01 [pdadb.net]
It uses "mobile DDR SDRAM". I don't know the clock speed, but look at this
http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800457078_499486_NP_197bb814.HTM [eetasia.com]
Hynix claims 'fastest' 512Mbit mobile DDR SDRAM with a 185Mhz clock speed.
See the thing is that the sort of memory you get in a cellphone is a lot slower than the stuff you get in a desktop because the power budget is so much less. If you want to run desktop applications or emulate an x86 that will really bite you.
Once you get past the OS it gets worse. Office is probably less portable than Windows and Office 200x runs terribly on an Atom and would be worse on Snapdragon given the lower performance memory. Most Windows applications will not be ported and will run even worse in emulation - a Snapdragon emulating x86 will be unusably slow.
Of course maybe ARM will do a Jazelle style extension where common x86 instructions are turned into ARM ones via an extra pipeline stage. I think that would mean a Snapdragon chip would run x86 code say 90% as fast as an Atom at the same clockspeed. Still a 1Ghz Atom is not a quick chip.
'Asustek puts Android netbook on ice' (Score:5, Informative)
Of course, the Android-based Eee was demonstrated by Qualcomm, not Asustek. Yet, Asustek's distancing itself from the machine while competitors like Acer are announcing Android plans [infoworld.com] is a little bit intriguing.
Re:Because Snapdragon Is an ARM Processor! (Score:5, Informative)
ARM + chipset runs at 0.5 watts, according to this CNET article from last June [cnet.com].
Phillip.
Re:That's great, but... (Score:4, Informative)
But Qualcomm's Gobi chipset [qualcomm.com] purportedly supports EV-DO and HSPA in a single chipset, thus it's at least technically possible that they have done exactly as they say. It even includes GPS... so long as you have room for all the antennae (dead space behind the screen for example) then it should be a non-issue to make it into a truly "multi-radio" machine.
Hmm... wonder if Apple's been talking to Qualcomm for the next gen iPhone... ;)
Re:Because Snapdragon Is an ARM Processor! (Score:3, Informative)
One would think you would at least check wattage drain of ARM SoCs before comparing them to some x86...
And those Snapdragons are actually relatively power-hungry...for an ARM! (comparable to Geode LX in performance would be 0.1 W probably, perhaps 0.2)