Now the battle is really heating up…
Today chip maker Marvell has announced an ARM-based processor which it claims will be faster than Qualcomm’s much lauded Snapdragon. Called the ‘Armada 618′, it is based on an ARM v7 design and – like Snapdragon – runs at 1 GHz, while integrating 3G graphics with support for DirectX, Open GL ES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1.
If all that tech speak left your head spinning, I’ll put it in simpler terms: Marvell boasts it can operate at up to twice the speed of Snapdragon for true “PC-class performance”. Furthermore, with support for Full HD 1080p video playback, integrated HDMI and 802.11n Wi-F,i the Armada 618 is a fully rounded solution which Marvell also says will offer longer battery life than its rivals.
Naturally, like Snapdragon and Nvidia’s Tegra and Tegra 2 chipsets, Marvell has grand plans for the Armada 618 and its range of 600 processors in general. “[They will be] a common platform solution to build multiple products and formats for the always-on consumer–scaling from smartphones to eReaders to tablets without compromising either the multimedia performance or the battery life.”
This sounds like fighting talk to us and, what is more, unlike the original Armada, this one doesn’t look set to sink without a trace…
Gordon
