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Qualcomm has begun shipping its first dual-CPU Snapdragon chipsets, the company announced June 1.
The two new chipsets, called Mobile Station Modem (MSM) 8260 and MSM8660, integrate two enhanced cores running at up to 1.2GHz. The former is designed for compatibility with HSPA+ networks – such as the one T-Mobile has been rolling out – and the latter for HSPA+/CDMA200 1xEv-DO Rev. B.
The third-generation in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon family of chipsets, the MSM models include, according to Qualcomm, a GPU with “3D/2D acceleration engines for Open GLES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1 acceleration, 1,080p video encode/decode, dedicated low-power audio engine, integrated low-power GPS and support for 24-bit WXGA 1,280 by 800 resolution displays.”
The new chipsets are intended to power smartphones and tablets, much like Qualcomm’s popular 1GHz Snapdragon processors – which are included in such devices as the Dell Streak tablet, Acer’s new Android-powered Stream smartphone, the Motorola Droid, the HTC Droid Incredible and the HTC Evo 4G.
“Qualcomm’s first-generation Snapdragon chipsets set a new standard for advanced smartphones and smartbook devices, and our second-generation solutions are already shipping in volume,” Steve Mollenkopf, Qualcomm’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “We are very excited by the innovation our customers are already showing as they begin designing products based on our dual-core MSM8260 and MSM8660 chipsets.”