Snapdragon (system on chip)

Snapdragon is a family of mobile system on chips by Qualcomm. Qualcomm considers Snapdragon a "platform" for use in smartphones, tablets, and smartbook devices.

The Snapdragon application processor core, dubbed Scorpion, is Qualcomm's own design. It has many features similar to those of the ARM Cortex-A8 core and it is based on the ARM v7 instruction set, but theoretically has much higher performance for multimedia-related SIMD operations.[1]

All Snapdragon processors contain the circuitry to decode high-definition video (HD) resolution at 720p or 1080p depending on the Snapdragon chipset.[2] Adreno, the company's proprietary GPU technology, integrated into Snapdragon chipsets (and certain other Qualcomm chipsets) is Qualcomm's own design, using assets the company acquired from AMD.[3]

The first chipsets in the Snapdragon family were the QSD8650 and the QSD8250 (System-on-a-Chip), available since the fourth quarter of 2008, both integrating a 1 GHz applications processor, a cellular modem and GPS. In 2010, the Snapdragon family was expanded to include MSM (Mobile Station Modem) and APQ (Application Processor) series.

Contents

History

  • The first chipsets in the Snapdragon family, the QSD8650 and the QSD8250, were made available.
  • The LG eXpo was the first US phone to utilize the Snapdragon SoC.[7]
  • The Nexus One was released, manufactured by HTC, and featured Android OS 2.1 powered by a Snapdragon running at 1 GHz (Qualcomm QSD8250).[8]
  • The HTC Droid Incredible was released, using the Snapdragon QSD8650 1 GHz SoC, and was the first Snapdragon device available on the Verizon Wireless network.
  • Qualcomm announced sampling of the MSM8x60 series of Snapdragon SoC's.[9]
  • The HTC Desire HD is released, featuring the MSM8255 SoC with Adreno 205 GPU.
  • Qualcomm announces the roadmap for Next-Gen Snapdragon SoC development, including the MSM8960, citing future improvements in CPU and GPU performance and lower power consumption [12]
  • A version of Microsoft Windows compiled for ARM is shown running on the Snapdragon SoC at CES 2011.[13]
The HTC EVO 3D features the MSM8660 Dual-Core SoC with Adreno 220 GPU.
The HTC Thunderbolt features the MSM8655 SoC.
Qualcomm announces plan to use simple names (S1, S2, S3 and S4) for Snapdragon processors so that the public can better understand the products. The bigger the number is, the more advanced functions that the processor has, which means S4 can perform better than S3.[15]

Current and future specifications

[9][16][17][18][19] [20]

Family / generation Model Number Semiconductor Technology CPU Instruction Set CPU CPU Cache GPU Memory Technology Wireless Radio Technologies Sampling Availability Utilizing Devices
Snapdragon S1 QSD8250 65 nm ARMv7 1 GHz Scorpion Adreno 200 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), UMTS/WCDMA (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS Q4 2008 Acer Stream/Liquid, Acer neoTouch S200, Dell Venue Pro (Lightning), Dell Streak, Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile REGZA Phone T-01C, HP Compaq AirLife 100, HTC Desire, HTC HD2, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Surround, HTC 7 Trophy, HTC HD7, HTC 7 Pro, Nexus One, Huawei SmaKit S7, Lenovo LePhone, LG eXpo, LG Optimus Q, LG Optimus Z, LG Quantum, LG Panther, Pantech IM-A600S, Pantech IM-A650S, Sharp LYNX SH-10B, Sharp LYNX 3D SH-03C, Samsung Focus, Samsung Omnia 7, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, Toshiba dynapocket T-01B/KG01, Toshiba TG01/TG02/TG03.
QSD8650 65 nm ARMv7 1 GHz Scorpion Adreno 200 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)		 Q4 2008 Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile REGZA Phone IS04(TSI04), Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile T006(TS006)/iida X-RAY(TSX06), HTC Arrive, HTC Droid Incredible, HTC Supersonic/EVO 4G, LG Apollo GW990, LG Fathom VS750, LG GW820 eXpo, LG GW825 IQ, LG Optimus 7, Sharp IS01(SHI01)/IS03(SHI03)/, Sony Ericsson S004(SO004)/S005(SO005)/S006(SO006)/iida G11(SOX02)/S007(SO007), Toshiba dynapocket IS02(TSI01)/K01, Toshiba T004(TS004), Pantech SIRIUS α IS06(PTI06), Kyocera Echo, 4Geek Horus, Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile T007(TS007), Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile T008(TS008), NEC Casio CA007, Kyocera K009(KY009), Fujitsu F001(FJ001), Sony Ericsson ARBANO AFFARE(SOY05)
QSD8250A 45 nm ARMv7 1.3 GHz Scorpion Adreno 205 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS Q4 2009  
QSD8650A 45 nm ARMv7 1.3 GHz Scorpion Adreno 205 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)		 Q4 2009 Lenovo LePad
MSM7225A 45 nm ARMv7 600 MHz CortexA5 Adreno 200 (enhanced) GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS Q4 2011 HTC Explorer
MSM7625A 45 nm ARMv7 800 MHz CortexA5 Adreno 200 (enhanced) GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)		 Q4 2011
MSM7227A 45 nm ARMv7 800 MHz CortexA5 Adreno 200 (enhanced) GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS Q4 2011 Motorola XT615
MSM7627A 45 nm ARMv7 800 MHz CortexA5 Adreno 200 (enhanced) GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)		 Q4 2011
Snapdragon S2 MSM7230 45 nm ARMv7 800 MHz Scorpion Adreno 205 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS Q2 2010 HTC Desire Z/T-Mobile G2, Acer Liquid Metal, HP Veer, Huawei U8800, HTC Ignite, HTC Prime, NEC Casio MEDIAS N-04C
MSM7630 45 nm ARMv7 800 MHz Scorpion Adreno 205 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A, SV-DO )		 Q2 2010 HTC Evo Shift 4G, Casio G'zOne Commando, HTC Merge
MSM8255 45 nm ARMv7 1 GHz Scorpion Adreno 205 Dual-channel 333 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS Q2 2010 Acer Iconia Smart, Acer Allegro, HTC Desire HD, HTC Desire S, HTC Incredible S, HTC Inspire 4G, HTC Radar, Huawei Vision, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini/Mini Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia acro SO-02C, Sony Ericsson Xperia ray, Sony Ericsson Xperia active, Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, T-Mobile myTouch 4G, SHARP GALAPAGOS 003SH/005SH, SHARP DM009SH, SHARP AQUOS PHONE f(SH-13C), SHARP AQUOS PHONE THE HYBRID(007SH/007SH J), SHARP AQUOS PHONE THE PREMIUM(009SH), SHARP 007SH KT, SHARP Yahoo! Phone(009SH Y), Fujitsu F-12C, Blackberry Bold 9900/9930, Blackberry Torch 9810, Blackberry Torch 9860, CSL Mi410, Huawei U9000 IDEOS X6, ZTE 008Z, Huawei Vision, ZTE Tania, Samsung Exhibit II 4G
MSM8655 45 nm ARMv7 1 GHz Scorpion Adreno 205 Dual-channel 333 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B)		 Q2 2010 Fujitsu Toshiba IS12T, HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Droid Incredible 2 [1], LG Revolution, Sharp IS05(SHI05), Motorola Triumph, Samsung Conquer 4G[21], Sony Ericsson Xperia acro IS11S, Casio G'zOne IS11CA, Pantech MIRACH IS11PT
MSM8255T 45 nm ARMv7 1.4-1.5 GHz Scorpion Adreno 205 Dual-channel 333 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS 2011 Samsung Focus Flash, Samsung Focus S, Nokia Lumia 710, Nokia Lumia 800, HP Pre 3, Samsung Galaxy S Plus [2], Samsung Galaxy S II Mini [3] SHARP AQUOS PHONE SH-12C [4], SHARP AQUOS PHONE 006SH, HTC Flyer, Sony Xperia arc S,[22] HTC Titan, Samsung Omnia W, Samsung Galaxy W[23]
MSM8655T 45 nm ARMv7 1.4-1.5 GHz Scorpion Adreno 205 Dual-channel 333 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B)		 2011 HP Pre 3, SHARP AQUOS PHONE IS11SH, SHARP AQUOS PHONE IS12SH, Toshiba REGZA Phone IS11T, SHARP AQUOS PHONE IS13SH, NEC Casio MEDIAS BR IS11N, Kyosera DIGNO ISW11K
Snapdragon S3 APQ8060 45 nm ARMv7 1.2-1.5 GHz Dual-core Scorpion L2: 512 kB Adreno 220 Single-channel 333 MHz ISM/266 MHz LPDDR2 Connectivity features not included 2011 HP TouchPad, T-Mobile Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, HTC Vivid, NTT DoCoMo, Galaxy S II LTE, LG Nitro HD
MSM8260 45 nm ARMv7 1.2-1.5 GHz Dual-core Scorpion Adreno 220 Single-channel 333 MHz ISM/266 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS Q3 2010 ASUS Eee Pad MeMO, HTC Sensation, HTC EVO 3D GSM, HTC Sensation XE, HTC Amaze 4G, T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide, Xiaomi M1, ZTE V71A aka Smart Tab 7 aka StarTab
MSM8660 45 nm ARMv7 1.2-1.5 GHz Dual-core Scorpion Adreno 220 Single-channel 333 MHz ISM/266 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)		 Q3 2010 Pantech Vega Racer, HTC EVO 3D, HTC Rezound, HTC "Puccini" tablet , LG Optimus LTE LU6200
QSD8672 45 nm ARMv7 1.5 GHz Dual-core Scorpion Adreno 220 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)		 originally Q1 2010; cancelled  
Snapdragon S4 APQ8064 28 nm ARMv7 2.5 GHz Quad-core Krait Adreno 320 Connectivity features not included 2012
MSM8960 28 nm ARMv7 1.5-1.7 GHz Dual-core Krait L2: 1 MB Adreno 225 Dual-channel 500 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ cat.29), MBMS,
LTE cat.3,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A),
TD-SCDMA		 Q4 2011
MSM8270 28 nm ARMv7 1.5-1.7 GHz Dual-core Krait L2: 1 MB Adreno 225 Dual-channel 500 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, DC-HSPA cat.21), MBMS Q4 2011  
MSM8230 28 nm ARMv7 1.0-1.2 GHz Dual-core Krait L2: 1 MB Adreno 305 Single-channel 533 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+ cat.14), MBMS Q3 2012
MSM8260A 28 nm ARMv7 1.5-1.7 GHz Dual-core Krait L2: 1 MB Adreno 225 Dual-channel 500 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+ cat.14), MBMS,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A),
TD-SCDMA		 Q4 2011
MSM8660A
MSM8630
MSM8627
MSM8227
APQ8060A
APQ8030
Snapdragon ?? MSM8930 28 nm ARMv7 1.0-1.2 GHz Single-core Krait L2: 1 MB Adreno 305 Single-channel 533 MHz LPDDR2 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ cat.29), MBMS,
LTE cat.2,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A),
TD-SCDMA		 Q3 2012  
MSM8974 28 nm ARMv7 2.0-2.5 GHz Quad-core Krait L2: 2 MB Adreno 320 Dual-channel 667/800 MHz LPDDR3 GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ cat.29), MBMS,
LTE cat.4,
CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A, 1xAdv Rev.A/Rev.B),
TD-SCDMA		 Q1 2013  

Some Snapdragon designs like QSD8672 were announced but have never made it into production and were superseded by a newer generation of chips.

Similar platforms

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.dspdesignline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204700527
  2. ^ "Snapdragon - Technical Features". Qualcomm. http://www.qualcomm.com/products_services/chipsets/snapdragon.html. Retrieved 29 December 2009. 
  3. ^ "Qualcomm Acquires Handheld Graphics and Multimedia Assets from AMD". Qualcomm. 20 January 2009. http://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2009/01/20/qualcomm-acquires-handheld-graphics-and-multimedia-assets-amd. Retrieved 14 September 2010. 
  4. ^ Qualcomm shows Eee PC running Android OS
  5. ^ Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (2009-06-02). "Microsoft strikes back at Linux netbook push". http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_strikes_back_at_linux_netbook_push. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
  6. ^ Charlie Demerjian (2009-06-12). "MS steps on a Snapdragon". http://www.semiaccurate.com/2009/06/12/ms-steps-snapdragon/. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
  7. ^ "AT&T and LG Mobile Phones Announce the First 1Ghz Smartphone in the United States, the LG Expo". ATT.com. http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=27621. 
  8. ^ Nexus One Phone, Google.com
  9. ^ a b "Qualcomm Ships First Dual-CPU Snapdragon Chipset". Qualcomm. 1 June 2010. http://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2010/06/01/qualcomm-ships-first-dual-cpu-snapdragon-chipset. 
  10. ^ "HTC EVO 4G is Sprint's Android-powered knight in superphone armor, we go hands-on". Engadget. 23 March 2010. http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/htc-evo-4g-is-sprints-android-powered-knight-in-superphone-armo/. 
  11. ^ "The Dirty Secret of Today's 4G: It's not 4G". Gizmodo. 5 November 2010. http://gizmodo.com/5680755/the-dirty-secret-of-todays-4g-its-not-4g. 
  12. ^ "Qualcomm Reveals Next-Gen Snapdragon MSM8960: 28nm, dual-core, 5x Performance Improvement". Anandtech. 17 November 2010. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4024/qualcomm-reveals-nextgen-snapdragon-msm8960-28nm-dualcore-5x-performance-improvement. 
  13. ^ "BBC News - Windows runs on Arm's mobile phone chips". BBC. 6 January 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12125541. 
  14. ^ "HTC Inspire 4G". HTC. http://www.htc.com/us/products/inspire-att. 
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  17. ^ "The World's Largest PDA Database". PDAdb. http://www.pdadb.net. 
  18. ^ http://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2011/02/14/qualcomm-announces-next-generation-snapdragon-mobile-chipset-family
  19. ^ http://www.mobiletechworld.com/2011/04/25/qualcomm-roadmap-detailed-quad-core-cpu-and-gpu-chipsets-coming-later-this-year/
  20. ^ http://www.mobiletechworld.com/2011/07/05/new-qualcomm-2011-2012-roadmap-and-soc-specifications/
  21. ^ "Samsung Conquer™ 4G fact sheet". http://newsroom.sprint.com/news/samsung-conquer-fact-sheet.htm. 
  22. ^ "Sony Ericsson unveils its fastest entertainment experiences to date with Xperia™ arc S". Sony Ericsson. http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/press/pressreleases/pressreleasedetails/xperiaarcspressreleasefinal-20110831. 
  23. ^ "Samsung Galaxy W I8150 - Full phone specifications". GSM Arena. http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_w_i8150-4114.php. 

External links