quick ? about processors

[Premium1]

I am kind of new to wp and was wondering if wp will only work with snap dragon processors? It seems like every phone that comes out only has a snap dragon. Is this just something with wp or is that the only processor it supports?

 

[Dave Blake]

Snapdragon processors are popular but they are not the only processor supported. Most processors are qualcomm like the processor used in the Lumia 900 which is a Qualcomm APQ8055 + MDM9200 (WCDMA) but Samsung uses an 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor in the Focus S

 

[Premium1]

Snapdragon processors are popular but they are not the only processor supported. Most processors are qualcomm like the processor used in the Lumia 900 which is a Qualcomm APQ8055 + MDM9200 (WCDMA) but Samsung uses an 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor in the Focus S

Is there a reason they only choose qualcomm processors rather than others such as OMAP or in the case of samsung exynos?

 

[jeremyshaw]

Snapdragon processors are popular but they are not the only processor supported. Most processors are qualcomm like the processor used in the Lumia 900 which is a Qualcomm APQ8055 + MDM9200 (WCDMA) but Samsung uses an 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor in the Focus S

...


Qualcomm makes a SoC. It's called:

Snapdragon. Snapdragon includes a CPU, GPU, camera ISP, memory controller, and normally, a celluar radio (GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, etc) in a single IC (in addition to a lot of other components).

The CPU architecture is called "Scropion." It is ARMv7 ISA compatible (Cortex A8/9/15 are, too). It's performance, per clock, is slightly higher than a Cortex A8 design.

The GPU architecture is called "Adreno," designed by a former part of AMD (specifically, a former part of ATi, pre-AMD aquisition) that Qualcomm bought for pennies back in the '08/09 time period.


All WP7 devices, so far, are mandated to use one of several Qualcomm 1st and 2nd (Qualcomm calls them "S1" and "S2") generation SoC (System-on-Chip) models.



WP7 leverages the limited power of this old workhorse very well, as a result, its GUIs response is much smoother than most, if not all, competing platforms.


Don't worry about effective performance - all WP7 devices have more than enough to ensure the user will never feel the system is "too slow."

Currently, the S1 and S2 Snapdragon by Qualcomm chips are the only chips allowed, since MS WP7 is close to metal. Android is run on a VM layer, so it supports many SoC, at the cost of raw performance. iOS (Apple) is also close to metal, and only has, generally, 1-2 SoC designs supported by the latest OS (on an ISA level, the last 3 iPhones are nearly identical).


The last part was a slight edit/branch out to respond to the post that appeared above mine.

 

[jeremyshaw]

kk, done with edit. Have fun. I need to be somewhere

 

[jdevenberg]

Yes. By only allowing a very few chip options MS is able to optimize the OS for that chip to eke ever ounce of performance out of it. Android cannot do this because Google allows so many different chip options, so manufacturers attempt to optimize it for the chip they are using. This is what causes slow/buggy performance in Android that isn't found in WP. It is also a very, very large part of what takes updates so long to roll out for Android. If a manufacturer has 8 different Android phones it is actively supporting and each is using a different chip set, it has to custom build Android for each and every device.

 

[Premium1]

Yes. By only allowing a very few chip options MS is able to optimize the OS for that chip to eke ever ounce of performance out of it. Android cannot do this because Google allows so many different chip options, so manufacturers attempt to optimize it for the chip they are using. This is what causes slow/buggy performance in Android that isn't found in WP. It is also a very, very large part of what takes updates so long to roll out for Android. If a manufacturer has 8 different Android phones it is actively supporting and each is using a different chip set, it has to custom build Android for each and every device.

Most manufacturers stick with one chip. I would say the skins on top of android take more time for updates than a different chip.

 

[Dormage]

Yes. By only allowing a very few chip options MS is able to optimize the OS for that chip to eke ever ounce of performance out of it. Android cannot do this because Google allows so many different chip options, so manufacturers attempt to optimize it for the chip they are using. This is what causes slow/buggy performance in Android that isn't found in WP. It is also a very, very large part of what takes updates so long to roll out for Android. If a manufacturer has 8 different Android phones it is actively supporting and each is using a different chip set, it has to custom build Android for each and every device.

Actually i don't think that has anything to do with updates. As explained in an early post Android is run in a virtual machine so as far as the OS goes its always working on same hardware. The manufacturers have a choice of changing a version of Android OS as they please. Its more of a choice then a must ?

Supporting so many different versions for each device is then the manufacturers choice.
Android is perfectly capable of running on all devices without modifications.

 

[freestaterocker]

Actually i don't think that has anything to do with updates. As explained in an early post Android is run in a virtual machine so as far as the OS goes its always working on same hardware. The manufacturers have a choice of changing a version of Android OS as they please. Its more of a choice then a must ?

Supporting so many different versions for each device is then the manufacturers choice.
Android is perfectly capable of running on all devices without modifications.

Capable of running, certainly, but not optimized. Mango is blazing fast on 1st Gen hardware! In fact, my HD7 runs faster and smoother since the mango update. Ask one of the millions of original Galaxy owners who now has to turn to the hacking community for ICS, on a device with identical specs as my aforementioned HD7.

 

[Premium1]

Capable of running, certainly, but not optimized. Mango is blazing fast on 1st Gen hardware! In fact, my HD7 runs faster and smoother since the mango update. Ask one of the millions of original Galaxy owners who now has to turn to the hacking community for ICS, on a device with identical specs as my aforementioned HD7.

The hd7 got one update the original galaxy already got 2 without having to look to dev community. What foes that have anything to do with processor choice? Its the skins that slow down updates.

 

[ljkelley]

Currently WP7 only runs on Snapdragon S1 and S2. S1 was used in Gen 1 devices such as the Focus, HD7, etc... S2 is the current WP7 chipset used in HTC Titan, Nokia Lumia, Samsung Focus S, Focus Flash, HTC Radar etc... For Apollo we know for sure the Snapdragon S3 (latest chipset that everyone is using for the new dual core processors) will be supported.

But we do also know that Nokia wants to introduce other chipsets not made by Qualcomm due to their past differences. This will only help the platform grow, and help differentiate devices.

 

[PG2G]

For Apollo we know for sure the Snapdragon S3 (latest chipset that everyone is using for the new dual core processors) will be supported.

The rumors are that it will actually be the Snapdragon S4 that comes in Apollo. MSM8960 more specifically.

 

[Premium1]

Currently WP7 only runs on Snapdragon S1 and S2. S1 was used in Gen 1 devices such as the Focus, HD7, etc... S2 is the current WP7 chipset used in HTC Titan, Nokia Lumia, Samsung Focus S, Focus Flash, HTC Radar etc... For Apollo we know for sure the Snapdragon S3 (latest chipset that everyone is using for the new dual core processors) will be supported.

But we do also know that Nokia wants to introduce other chipsets not made by Qualcomm due to their past differences. This will only help the platform grow, and help differentiate devices.

The newest snapdragon is s4 and already demoed in android devices at CES so I would hope they use that in future wp devices.