A shot in the ARM for Samsung – Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 to be powered by Intel
Samsung has chosen an Intel Clover Trail mobile processor to power its flagship tablet, the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, Reuters reports.
Having used the UK based ARM processors in the past, due to their excellent energy efficiency providing better battery life than many rival offerings Samsung has decided it’s time for a change.
Unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2013, the Intel Clover Trail is a 32nm SoC processor (System on Chip – meaning both CPU and GPU coexist on one chip) designed specifically for mobile devices. The main performance boost of the Clover Trail , as compared to its predecessor Clover Trail, is graphical. Clover Trail uses two PowerVR SGX 544 cores, similar to GPU used in the iPhone 5, but provides significantly better performance.
Rumours from GSMArena suggest that the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, convoluted name and all, will be released next month. However, no announcements have yet been made about whether Samsung will release a new version to the popular Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, although some rumours suggest a new version may be in the pipeline, possibly employing the 2560×1600 pixel screen Samsung supplied for the Google Nexus 10. If a new Note tablet is in the offing then, following this news, it is possible that it will follow suit and also be powered by Intel’s Clover Trail processor.
Providing the processor for the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is a significant coup for Intel as it is striving for a foothold in the burgeoning mobile market as PC sales continue to decline.
Samsung will be unveiling its line-up of Windows 8 “ATIV” tablets in London on the 20th June, but this is the first time it will be using an Intel processor in an Android tablet.
We’ll be at the event to provide you with hands on reviews and pictures of all the devices.