Samsung outs a dual core ARM chip

KOREAN ELECTRONICS GIANT Samsung has announced a dual core chip destined for smartphones and tablets.

The chip has a pair of 1GHz ARM A9 cores coupled to 1MB of Level 2 cache with hardware video decode support for up to 30 frames per second at 1080P resolution. The firm is boasting five times the 3D performance of its current generation chips.

Perhaps what's interesting is that Samsung says the chip is designed for what it terms "package on package" stacking. The technology will stack memory and processor modules on top of each other to save space. It is somewhat similar to an Apple patent application that details the stacking of components. Samsung manufactures Apple's A4 chip that is found in the Ipad, Iphone 4 and the new Ipod Touch, so it would be interesting to see if the two firms can amicably work out any potential patent spats.

The Cortex A9 chip, which the firm dubs an "application processor", is being released to select manufacturers by the end of the year, though Samsung says the chip won't enter mass production until the first half of 2011. It is likely that products with the chip will first be displayed at CES 2011 in January.

Samsung also announced a new line of flash memory for smartphones with 8GB and 16GB capacities. The new memory should, according to the firm, increase operational efficiency and improve latency by using the latest e-MMC 4.41 standard.

Those chips are scheduled to head into production by the end of the year, suggesting that products using them are unlikely to tip up in time for Christmas. µ