04/06, 5:45pm
ATT Galaxy Nexus may be close based on SIM info
A rumor from an uncommon source has an AT&T version of the Galaxy Nexus close. A tipster leaked stock units to Andro Rev that pointed to full-size, likely LTE-capable SIM cards intended for the phone, implying that the phone itself might support the faster data. Most if not all of AT&T's LTE-capable devices to date, including the just-shipping Lumia 900 and the new iPad, are using micro-SIMs.
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02/27, 4:10pm
Imagination hints at big deals in near, far future
Imagination Technologies outlined some plans for its far and near futures after Electronista stopped by its Mobile World Congress booth on Monday. The PowerVR developer showed a demo of a real-time raytracing graphics engine, where an app calculates the paths of individual light beams in a scene, that it expects to reach mobile devices. As shown in a demo running on a Mac, it could use surface properties rather than unchanging textures to generate the chrome effect on a car, even reflecting another car which in turn had a reflection of the sky.
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02/14, 8:50pm
AMD CTO Eric Demers leaves for non-GPU firm
Another AMD executive departure has fueled speculation Tuesday. Graphics division CTO Eric Demers is known to be exiting the chip designer as of February 17. Former Apple executive and current primary CTO Mark Papermaster would temporarily take over during his absence.
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02/08, 7:10pm
iPad 3 may parallel Galaxy Tab in faster dual core
An incidental rumor floated next to talk of a purported iPad 3 case back has raised the possibility that Apple's expected A6 chip isn't quad-core. Citing unnamed sources, The Verge claimed that it would stay dual-core but have a "significantly more powerful" graphics core. Although not mentioned, it's presumed the clock speed, architecture, or both would be upgraded with the new chip.
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01/10, 5:35pm
Could be used in future iOS devices
Imagination Technologies has announced a new line of PowerVR GPU chipsets, Series6. The first of these are the G6200 and the G6400; the former uses two computing clusters, while the G6400 has four. In both cases Imagination projects the GPUs being used in many different forms of electronics, including phones, tablets, computers, consoles, and TVs. The chips run as much as 20 times faster than the current generation, Imagination claims.
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12/15, 6:15pm
Deal is for display IP, not GPU technology
Imagination Technologies has confirmed that it is licensing its display solutions to Qualcomm. The deal will give Qualcomm, best known for its Snapdragon processors used in smartphones, access to Imagination's PowerVR technology used for frame rate conversion and image boosts on display screens. The relationship currently does not extend to Imagination's graphics cores, which are used in iPads, iPhones, and Android or PlayBook devices using TI chips.
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11/19, 1:05pm
Galaxy Nexus 1st Android to beat iPhone 4S in web
Early benchmarks of the Galaxy Nexus have shown it to be the first Android phone that can outperform an iPhone 4S on the web. The AnandTech tests show that Google's late addition of dual-core processor support gave the phone the edge over Apple both in the SunSpider JavaScript test and Rightware's BrowserMark. The only other Android device to get close, the Droid RAZR, slightly won in one test but lost in another.
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11/10, 3:40pm
Samsung hints PowerVR SGX MP in Galaxy Tab, phones
Imagination Technologies gave a clue as to the future of Samsung's Galaxy phones and Galaxy Tab lines after it revealed that Samsung had licensed its PowerVR SGX MP graphics. The deal would see the multi-core video show up in mobile devices and general home devices. Neither side provided a direct clue as to what would arrive or when.
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06/15, 10:15am
Imagination PowerVR 6 gets six licenses
Imagination Technologies hinted strongly at the roadmap for Apple and other mobile device makers late Tuesday with word that it had handed out the first licenses for PowerVR 6 series graphics. It confirmed that ST-Ericsson's future Nova chips, as well as later TI OMAP processors and unnamed hardware from MediaTek, would use the new technology. Three others were also onboard but were being kept secret, alluding to Apple as one of the clients.
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06/08, 9:45pm
We chat with id's Rafael Brown at E3 2011
Legendary first-person shooter developer id Software was at the Bethesda booth for E3 2011 as part of its tie in with ZeniMax, and we got a chance to talk to the company's Rafael Brown, who handles much of the company's mobile work. He discussed the company's current hesitation on Android and gave us brief hints about iPad 2 and iPhone 5 plans, the Sony PSVita, and even hints of a Mac port of Rage.
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06/01, 5:10pm
May be targeting entry level smart phone market
GSM Arena has leaked pictures and preliminary specifications of a new variant on Samsung's Galaxy S II smartphone. Indications are that the phone, bearing model number I9101 may actually not be as powerful as Galaxy S IIs already launched by Samsung.
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05/14, 1:50pm
Motorola Droid 3 gets benchmarking
Motorola's Droid 3 got some of its first hard spec confirmations through a test run using NenaMark. The Android slider was shown using PowerVR SGX540 graphics, a sign Motorola had skipped the Tegra 2 for TI's equally dual-core, 1GHz OMAP 4430 processor. It also gave away the 540x960 screen resolution and that the phone would likely ship with Android 2.3.3.
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03/17, 4:10pm
Intel snaps up Silicon Hive for media in mobile
Intel on Thursday bought Silicon Hive in a sign of its deeper push into mobile. The former Philips company is best known for making chipsets for media processing in smartphones, media hubs and other small technology. Company chief Atul Sinha made it clear his company would be folded in to help improve the media performance of Atom system-on-a-chip processors.
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02/18, 8:00am
Imagination slips out first PowerVR SGX600 details
Imagination Technologies in a low-profile step has given out the very first details of its next-generation PowerVR mobile graphics. The 6 series, nicknamed Rogue, is expected to be an exponential speed boost; it should be at least 20 and as much as 100 times faster than the SGX500 series graphics it would replace, the chip designer said. Simultaneously, it won't use any more than one milliwatt of power, keeping it suitable for smartphones and tablets.
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02/15, 6:15pm
We see the next iPad's PowerVR SGX543 at MWC
Most now expect the next iPad to have Imagination Technologies' dual-core PowerVR SGX543 at the heart of its graphics. Although it's seemingly a small numeric upgrade from the SGX535 in the current model, it promises to be as much as four times faster. We saw the SGX543 person at a live, raw demo at Mobile World Congress and have quick impressions as well as the implications for what the future iPad will do.
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02/08, 6:15pm
iPad 2 leak says production on, two carriers due
Apple has already started production of the next-generation iPad, a leak asserted Tuesday night. The unnamed sources backed views that production would start in February as well as most of the widely leaked hardware details. The WSJ understood it would have a "faster processor," faster graphics and more RAM along with the expected dual cameras, but a similar 1024x768 resolution for the display.
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01/16, 7:25pm
Apple to use dual PowerVR SGX543 in iPad, iPhone
Apple's move to faster mobile graphics for the next iPad and iPhone gained elaboration tonight as a leak Sunday may have clarified its choice. The company is now thought to be using the SGX543MP2, the dual-core version. The new video is estimated by AppleInsider to have about four times the theoretical performance of the current SGX535.
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01/14, 5:25pm
iOS 4.3 teases next-gen PowerVR graphics
More clues have been unearthed in the iOS 4.3 beta that have given a preview of the graphics Apple will use in 2011 iPad, iPhone and iPod updates. A driver bundle is included that makes reference to the PowerVR SGX543, a video core not used in any shipping Apple product. The MacRumors tip didn't link it to a specific device, but Apple has usually implemented a single graphics technology equally across all its iOS devices.
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12/14, 12:50pm
Imagination buys Caustic, boosts PowerVR video
Imagination Technologies this morning said it had bought Caustic Graphics in what could be a major boost to the graphics on future iPhones and Android devices. The $27 million deal gives Imagination access to real-time raytracing technology and will improve the performance of PowerVR mobile graphics. The move will let phones and other mobile hardware get "cinema quality" lighting effects, Caustic CEO Chip Stearns said.
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11/19, 9:35am
Samsung Galaxy TAb sequel may get ARM Cortex-A9
Samsung is readying a second generation of the Galaxy Tab that would use its custom Orion processor, an uncredited claim asserted on Friday. The combination would give it a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 chip built on a 32 nanometer process combined with a four-core version of ARM's recent Mali 400 graphics. No launch information was given by the Digitimes source.
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06/11, 2:15pm
Imagination shows possible next-gen iPhone GPU
Imagination on the heels of the iPhone 4 launch has unveiled what should be the graphics for future smartphones, possibly including Apple's. The SGX544 is intended as the most powerful graphics possible for very low-power devices and is fast enough to handle non-mobile video: it can hardware-accelerate all DirectX 9 and OpenGL 2.1 features on the desktop, such as high dynamic range, in addition to OpenGL ES 2.0 for mobile.
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04/26, 10:40pm
Imagination and MIPS team to fight ARM
Imagination Technologies and MIPS today agreed to an alliance that would see the two promote each other's chips. While the two won't explicitly cooperate on projects, they will encourage partners that decide to use both Imagination's PowerVR graphics and a MIPS processor in the same device. The ability to run Android, Flash and other relatively demanding tasks requires it, MIPS' marketing VP Art Swift said.
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03/10, 6:20pm
Imagination expects 720p mobile games
Smartphones will have graphics on par with a PlayStation 3 in three years, Imagination Technologies said in an interview on Wednesday. The company estimates for Gizmodo that long-term future mobile PowerVR graphics cores in development today and will not only produce much more 3D detail but will do so at 720p, whether through an HDMI output or on similar-resolution displays that should be readily available at the same time. Multi-core graphics are likely to be a central ingredient of the new technology.
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02/23, 5:25pm
Confirms use of PowerVR SGX graphics
Apple has released a third beta of iPhone SDK 3.2, an update of the company's iPhone OS development tools. Few details of the beta have emerged, but Apple notes that it allows "existing iPhone projects to include the necessary files" to support the iPad. Developers should thus be closer to producing working iPad apps, as there is now a Universal Application binary format that wraps iPhone, iPad and iPod touch code into the same bundle.
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01/09, 12:00pm
PowerVR SGX545 handles OpenCL too
Imagination has used its time at CES to unveil a new PowerVR SGX graphics core that is likely to find its way into the next iPhone. The SGX545 is the only mobile phone video chip capable of both OpenGL 3.2 and DirectX 10 level visual effects, including their newer geometry and texturing features. OpenCL support is equally unique: unused processing cycles on the PowerVR chip can be used for general purpose computing and offload work from the main CPU.
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11/16, 10:20am
Nintendo DS 2, PSP 2 nay get fast CPUs
Talk of Nintendo using Tegra 2 gained support today through new sources of information that also point to a faster Sony PSP. Detailed explanations given to DigitalFoundry say the sequel to the DSi should use the future NVIDIA processor and not only see a "colossal" jump in speed versus the DS line but could be as fast as the Wii while supporting more visual effects.
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06/26, 7:30am
Apple Boosts Imag Stake
Apple today dramatically increased its stake in PowerVR graphics designer Imagination Technologies through a purchase of a total of 13.72 million extra shares. The move, which includes both 2.2 million extra shares as well as 11.52 million shares on the existing market, well over doubles the original 3.6 percent stake bought late last year to 9.5 percent. It's believed the extra investment is a reaction to Intel, which last week increased its own stake a second time to 14 percent.
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04/27, 2:05pm
Apple Hires ATI CTO
Apple has quietly signaled a new emphasis on graphics by hiring an influential graphics chipset designer from AMD. The former CTO for the company's ATI graphics product group, Bob Drebin, has indicated on his LinkedIn profile that he is now a Senior Director for an unnamed group within Apple. What products he covers are unknown, though in addition to leading GPU engineering at ATI since 2000, he also spent significant time developing products at Silicon Graphics and, during a 2-year span at ArtX, helped create the "Flipper" GPU that formed the heart of the Nintendo GameCube.
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03/18, 3:25pm
PowerVR SGX543MP
Imagination Technologies fulfilled early promises by detailing its first multi-core, smartphone-class graphics chip in the PowerVR SGX 5XTSeries. The SGX543MP is now known to come in at least a dual-core version and scales up to 16 cores depending on the version; the change lets the graphics scale from low-power devices like small phones up to gaming consoles and other very 3D-intensive devices.
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02/12, 9:55am
HP Joins Symbian Found
Nokia today bolstered the Symbian Foundation with the addition of multiple key new members. HP, MySpace and SanDisk lead the new sign-ons and each have their own different reasons for joining the open-source mobile OS project. HP hopes to improve its support for managing Symbian; MySpace hopes to further refine its MySpace app for the phone throuhg the open code; SanDisk hopes to improve the use of storage for multimedia apps. None of the three has given clues as to how soon products will appear that take advantage of Foundation membership.
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01/09, 9:15am
PowerVR SGX543 and iPhone
Imagination Technologies has quietly introduced a new PowerVR SGX chipset at CES that may point to the future of the iPhone and other graphics-intensive smartphones. The PowerVR SGX543 is the first to use a new platform which its creator estimates is much faster than older SGX and MBX chips. Its new, more vector-friendly graphics engine is about 40 percent faster than the previous SGX series in very effects-heavy graphics, the company claims, and is much faster in floating point math, geometry setup, and culling unneeded parts of the scene than the previous generation.
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12/23, 7:45am
Intel Stake in Imagination
Intel has countered Apple's investment in Imagination Technologies with an increased stake of its own. The semiconductor maker says it has bought just over 6.9 million shares in Britain-based Imagination to gain a 3.04 percent stake in the company and warns in a required statement that it may respond to any bid to acquire the company with a counter offer of its own, though it adds that there is no immediate intention to launch a takeover itself.
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12/18, 11:10am
Apple buys into IMG
Apple has made a heavy investment into another chip manufacturer, according to an announcement. The company has bought 8.2 million shares in the Imagination Technologies Group, giving it a ownership stake of 3.6 percent. IMG is perhaps best known for producing the PowerVR series of chips, used to accelerate graphics in mobile devices; as a result, Apple may now be in a position to use the chips in future iPods and iPhones, or else some unknown device.
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09/04, 6:25pm
Imagination signs deal
System-on-a-Chip manufacturer Imagination Technologies on Thursday unveiled it has signed a multi-year licensing deal with an anonymous "international electronics systems company" which could confirm earlier rumors regarding Apple. In April, Imagination was found to be exploring a secret licensing deal with Apple, a move that would let Apple have exclusive distribution rights to its PowerVR SGX chipset, and access to the Imagination's video IP cores.
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04/30, 8:30pm
PowerVR SGX-based iPhone
Apple could have exclusive rights to a new 3D chip for its next incarnation from Imagination Technologies – the company behind the current device's Samsung-constructed graphics platform. AppleInsider reveals that the processor manufacturer entered into a secret licensing deal with Apple last July to supply the latter with its new graphics chipset, the PowerVR SGX. Samsung is currently licensing the SGX design for manufacture.
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