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The immediate future of mobile devices is visible at industry shows like CES, MWC and CTIA. I want to share my pick of the smart mobile device technology that is going to revolutionise the user experience of Smartphones over the next year. As it happens, on the last day of Mobile World Congress my mobile phone disappeared which means I’m back using my battered and bruised old cell phone for a while and on the lookout for something new and shiny.
If you looked carefully at some of the devices on show at CES in Las Vegas and MWC in Barcelona you would have witnessed the start of what will turn out to be a profound change for the mobile industry. In the thousands of devices on show there were a handful that represented the next generation, with high-performance processors, high-definition video capability and stunning screens. They were generally slim, cool, high-performance, web-centric mobile devices powered by the ARM Cortex-A8 processor or Qualcomm Snapdragon (both ARM v7 architecture). The applications processor represents the brains of the Smartphone, MID or netbook and having a Cortex-A8 typically provides a 3- to 5x jump in computing horsepower over last year's devices. The world’s first Cortex-A8 based mobile phone to be announced was the Palm Pre, which is based on TI’s OMAP3 processor. When Jon Rubenstein talked about the performance he said the processor “had laptop-like performance with a mobile power footprint”. Why is this important? Many of the applications on your next smartphone will be Internet-centric and using Javascript for web interaction and Adobe’s Flash technology for presentation of graphics and video. Having a Cortex-A8 or ARM v7 processor is going to make a considerable difference to the user experience.
Palm Pre in depth can be seen here…..
and John Rubenstein’s launch of the Palm Pre at CES (chapter 3)
Another fundamental shift is the widespread use of graphics processors such as the ARM Mali-200 and Mali-400MP. They are used to provide acceleration for both 3D (OpenGL ES 2.0) and 2D (OpenVG) graphics. The results are stunning UI’s, layered graphics, fast panning, blending effects as well as exceptional gaming. onsumers can expect a GPU to be present alongside their Cortex-A8 processor and provide a radically different user experience to the device they bought 1 or 2 years ago.
What else is available? Toshiba’s TG-01 looked impressive based on Windows Mobile with a skinned UI. It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon (ARM v7) running at 1GHz to give a highly responsive device with a large 4.1'' touchscreen.
Both the TG-01 and Palm Pre measure less than 10mm in thickness so pack a lot of functionality in a very small space. Getting this level of performance and integration in a slim device without a fan takes some serious engineering for which the ARM silicon partners are famous.
Another stunning device was the Symbian-based Samsung OmniaHD which can record and play video in 720p HD amongst its many accomplishments. We can expect HD DVC functionality to become a common requirement in Smartphones over the next couple of years, which will drive the need for multi-standard video engines to be integrated alongside the applications processor and the graphics processor. This S60 Symbian implementation looked amazing with its OLED display, which gives great viewing angles and handles dynamic content such as video with ease.
If you want to know more about OLED display technology you can find background info here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMOLED
If you prefer digital camera functions and megapixels then Sony Ericsson 12MP Idou, a top end touchscreen smartphone, might be the thing.
I stopped carrying a separate camera when I got an N95 a couple of years ago. The 12MP Idou will be worth checking out later this year.
Two out of my last three of my phones have been made by Nokia so the N97 is definitely a candidate to fill my pocket. This is the first N Series with both a touchscreen and keyboard. The N97 has a ton of features but curiously one of the things I like about the N97 is unlikely to appear in any write up or YouTube video: it charges up through the USB connector. I haven’t tested it with a data cable but if that works it will be welcomed by every road warrior out there.
So there you have it – the future of Smartphones, at least for 2009. We can expect the performance of a notebook in the power and size footprint of a mobile phone with Cortex-A8/ARM v7 processors, a step change in graphics capability, HD digital video function and 12MP digital camera features together with stunning OLED displays. You might not find all the features in one mobile phone for a while, but they show what is possible and why the Smartphone market is unlikely to decline this year.
Which Smartphone are you looking to buy? What are you expecting to get from your next Smartphone?
Rob Coombs, Director of Mobile Marketing, ARM, focuses on mobile gadgets that can fit in your pocket and is excited about the next wave of Smartphones that promise to be smarter and wow us with stunning graphics. This new class of Smartphone, which will focus on personal Internet and user experience, will change the industry and delight users. The ARM mobile marketing team are at the centre of the mobile industry and this provides a great place for Rob to look at the trends, and comment on the news that drives the industry and our business.
Shortlink to this post: http://bit.ly/L3HO6
If you looked carefully at some of the devices on show at CES in Las Vegas and MWC in Barcelona you would have witnessed the start of what will turn out to be a profound change for the mobile industry. In the thousands of devices on show there were a handful that represented the next generation, with high-performance processors, high-definition video capability and stunning screens. They were generally slim, cool, high-performance, web-centric mobile devices powered by the ARM Cortex-A8 processor or Qualcomm Snapdragon (both ARM v7 architecture). The applications processor represents the brains of the Smartphone, MID or netbook and having a Cortex-A8 typically provides a 3- to 5x jump in computing horsepower over last year's devices. The world’s first Cortex-A8 based mobile phone to be announced was the Palm Pre, which is based on TI’s OMAP3 processor. When Jon Rubenstein talked about the performance he said the processor “had laptop-like performance with a mobile power footprint”. Why is this important? Many of the applications on your next smartphone will be Internet-centric and using Javascript for web interaction and Adobe’s Flash technology for presentation of graphics and video. Having a Cortex-A8 or ARM v7 processor is going to make a considerable difference to the user experience.
Palm Pre in depth can be seen here…..
and John Rubenstein’s launch of the Palm Pre at CES (chapter 3)
Another fundamental shift is the widespread use of graphics processors such as the ARM Mali-200 and Mali-400MP. They are used to provide acceleration for both 3D (OpenGL ES 2.0) and 2D (OpenVG) graphics. The results are stunning UI’s, layered graphics, fast panning, blending effects as well as exceptional gaming. onsumers can expect a GPU to be present alongside their Cortex-A8 processor and provide a radically different user experience to the device they bought 1 or 2 years ago.
What else is available? Toshiba’s TG-01 looked impressive based on Windows Mobile with a skinned UI. It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon (ARM v7) running at 1GHz to give a highly responsive device with a large 4.1'' touchscreen.
Both the TG-01 and Palm Pre measure less than 10mm in thickness so pack a lot of functionality in a very small space. Getting this level of performance and integration in a slim device without a fan takes some serious engineering for which the ARM silicon partners are famous.
Another stunning device was the Symbian-based Samsung OmniaHD which can record and play video in 720p HD amongst its many accomplishments. We can expect HD DVC functionality to become a common requirement in Smartphones over the next couple of years, which will drive the need for multi-standard video engines to be integrated alongside the applications processor and the graphics processor. This S60 Symbian implementation looked amazing with its OLED display, which gives great viewing angles and handles dynamic content such as video with ease.
If you want to know more about OLED display technology you can find background info here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMOLED
If you prefer digital camera functions and megapixels then Sony Ericsson 12MP Idou, a top end touchscreen smartphone, might be the thing.
I stopped carrying a separate camera when I got an N95 a couple of years ago. The 12MP Idou will be worth checking out later this year.
Two out of my last three of my phones have been made by Nokia so the N97 is definitely a candidate to fill my pocket. This is the first N Series with both a touchscreen and keyboard. The N97 has a ton of features but curiously one of the things I like about the N97 is unlikely to appear in any write up or YouTube video: it charges up through the USB connector. I haven’t tested it with a data cable but if that works it will be welcomed by every road warrior out there.
So there you have it – the future of Smartphones, at least for 2009. We can expect the performance of a notebook in the power and size footprint of a mobile phone with Cortex-A8/ARM v7 processors, a step change in graphics capability, HD digital video function and 12MP digital camera features together with stunning OLED displays. You might not find all the features in one mobile phone for a while, but they show what is possible and why the Smartphone market is unlikely to decline this year.
Which Smartphone are you looking to buy? What are you expecting to get from your next Smartphone?
Rob Coombs, Director of Mobile Marketing, ARM, focuses on mobile gadgets that can fit in your pocket and is excited about the next wave of Smartphones that promise to be smarter and wow us with stunning graphics. This new class of Smartphone, which will focus on personal Internet and user experience, will change the industry and delight users. The ARM mobile marketing team are at the centre of the mobile industry and this provides a great place for Rob to look at the trends, and comment on the news that drives the industry and our business.
Shortlink to this post: http://bit.ly/L3HO6
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