Qualcomm's 1.5GHz Dual-Core ARM-Based Chip Due This Christmas For Smartphones

Both the greatest, and most troublesome part of the technology world, is the fact that it never slows down. Never stops. So, just because you bought the high-end device yesterday, doesn't mean it's going to be the king of the hill for long. We knew that faster processors than the 1GHz variants we have running around right now were on the way, but hearing news that Qualcomm intends to launch their 1.5GHz dual-core ARM-based chips by this Christmas, makes us look at all our shiny toys now, and just shed a tear.

As we've seen in devices like the HTC EVO 4G, Motorola Droid X, and Samsung Galaxy S (models), 1GHz can be surprisingly fast. That doesn't mean we don't want faster chips, because we do. We're like that. But, what we also want, are chips that don't consume battery life just because they are more powerful. Thankfully, Qualcomm's heard ours (and everyone else's) prayers, because that's exactly what one chip, the QSD8672, does. It's specifically designed for smartphones and tablets, and it's meant to offer up better power management. It will also allow for one CPU core to go idle when it's not needed, even as the other continues to work.

That means that the dual-core engine will only bust out the speed when you need it, and not just waste the energy all day long. As the title suggests, Qualcomm wants this chip in smartphones by Christmas, so that's what they're aiming for. No word on which device gets the honors, though. And while all of that sounds great, it actually gets better: Qualcomm is also building support for HDMI output and support for 1080p HD video playback onto the chip as well.

[via Liliputing]