The AnandTech Podcast - Episode 4

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• Kevin G - Monday, September 10, 2012 - link

  You on a tangent again about not being fortune tellers while simultaneously stating you look at product trends and have ideas. All the pieces are there and if you don't feel like putting them to paper, just speculate a bit in your podcasts more about future products further down the road map (you do do a bit of short term speculation on impending products but it is very, very light). Don't be afraid to use nuance or make clear prefaces about your predictions. Or you could just go another direction and flat say this a product you'd like to see without any company's label on it and then see who builds it.
  
  Also excellent podcast and we should hold you to covering the recent Amazon releases in next week's.

• Sabresiberian - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - link

  You guys said pretty much what I've been saying in posts on various sites - Microsoft needs to stop shooting for second or third place with their hardware.
  
  They also need to do something about providing their best phones to Verizon customers.
  
  I think pretty much everyone understands that even if customers tend to buy mid-range computer and electronics devices, they are greatly influenced by the top end. And, smart phone sales show that millions of customers actually do buy that top end - so, there's no reason to shoot for less. Microsoft and Nokia should be doing their level best to make us go WOW! The 920 looks to be nice, and the recent trend is heading in the right direction, but they need to do more if they want to make Win 8 phones a serious and significant part of smart phone business
  
  I don't have a smart phone, and I want a Win 8 phone. I'd have to learn Android if I went for a phone based on it, which isn't a big deal, but my exposure to it shows that, despite the claims by some that Metro isn't intuitive, it is a lot more intuitive for me than Android.
  
  I'm ready to buy a Win 8 phone Microsoft, standing here with cash in hand, will you please do what it takes to earn my money?
  
  ;)

• 1008anan - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - link

  Enjoyed every minute as always. Anand, hope your voice gets better. But given how busy this week is, it is going to be tough.
  
  Question on Snapdragon if I might. QCOM decided to use A-5 Cortex for baseband modem processing because that was the best available a few years ago. This is no longer true. QCOM is probably continuing to use A-5 Cortex because of inertia. When will QCOM trade up? With S5 based chipsets?
  
  It seems to me that ARM Cortex M-4 is a more power efficient solution. Am I wrong? If QCOM wants more higher performance, then the ARM Cortex A-7 is a superior solution.
  
  +++++++++
  
  I didn't know that INTC will be issuing 10 watt TDP limited edition Ivy Bridge parts for anything more than sampling. Very interesting.
  
  It looks like Intel will release a 22 nm etch Atom N product (Valley View with the Bay Trail platform) with 4 CPU cores and 8 CPU threads in Q4 2013. This will likely be part of a Tablet.
  
  Aside from this product--which really is not Haswell--what is the lowest TDP Haswell mobile processor planned with 4 CPU Cores and 8 CPU threads? The equivalent for Ivy Bridge was the 35 watt TDP mobile i7 skews.
  
  I was also surprised to learn that Intel was considering releasing Haswell parts with less than 10 watts TDP.

• Brian Klug - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - link

  The way that the MDM side of Qualcomm views it, the discrete AP inside those applicable products is more of a value add that never runs a screen, camera, or any real interface beyond at most a web server for a wireless hotspot. From their point of view it's more of a - here as a feature to reduce BOM for customers - than something that needs to be a big performer like you'd expect with a Cortex A7 or higher, I guess.
  
  -Brian

• 1008anan - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - link

  Brian, agree with you on the importance of further building out and developing our brain's peripheral vision's processing application. Texting or coding while skying makes a lot of sense.
  
  Especially M-4 Cortex but also A-7 Cortex can provide the same performance at a lower TDP than the A-5 Cortex. Maybe the A-7 Cortex is more expensive since it is more recent IP, but is the same true for the M-4 Cortex? Probably the MDM QCOM boys and girls shift to M-4 Cortex "inside those applicable products" as you put it in future product cycles.
  
  Which Intel and Apple sessions will you and Anand be attending? Are you meeting any more AMD folks?
  
  Does anyone know how to livestream any Intel or Apple presentations?

• Zanegray - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - link

  I am always so pleased to get quality news from anandtech. Excellent work!

• Lucian Armasu - Wednesday, September 12, 2012 - link

  I was hoping Nokia would continue with the PureView 808 technology and large sensors and lenses, and would get other manufacturers to follow this trend, too. I was disappointed to see they are giving up on it, and starting to use common lenses and sensors.

• quagga - Wednesday, September 12, 2012 - link

  One thing that struck me today during the iPhone 5 dog & pony show, was Brian's comments regarding folks comparing Android / iOS devices. I'm one of them considering moving my tablet experience to a Nexus 7 and passing the iPad 2 off to my Mom after today's announcements. My problem is I don't have a lot of recent experience with Android. I did have a Nexus One before the present iPhone 4s, but even someone as gadget-tasket as I don't move back and forth between phones or tablets often enough to really be able to compare current gen iOS vs current gen Android. Perhaps I need to invest in some tactical shorts ... :).
  
  Or I guess tactical clown pants for multiple tablets ...