A month ago we saw weeks old OMAP 5 silicon running at CES. Earlier this week we got a chance to see TI's OMAP 5 reference platform playing back 1080p video. As a refresher, OMAP 5 features two ARM Cortex A15 cores and is widely expected to offer a significant performance improvement over current A9 based designs. Cortex A15 is a much wider OoO superscalar architecture than the Cortex A9, drawing obvious comparisons to Qualcomm's Krait. We still don't know a lot about Krait's internals so I believe a direct comparison between the two is still premature. There's also the issue of availability. OMAP 5 is expected to ship in devices next year, although we may see some customer announcements/demos before the end of the year if all goes well.

TI also demonstrated a lot of augmented reality applications in its booth at MWC. We saw the standard miniatures in a room demo where you could interact on a tablet with virtual models layered on top of a physical stage. TI had one AR demo that allowed me to try on sunglasses after training it to my face. There's an advertising revolution in the works as soon as someone can figure out the right way to naturally deliver augmented reality to consumer devices. I'm not entirely convinced the smartphone will be the portal to the revolution but I can feel it building...

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  • ImSpartacus - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    Does everyone at MWC dress so well?
  • SydneyBlue120d - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    No availability in 2012 = no Google Phone for OMAP 5, sorry :(
    Welcome Qualcomm S4 :P
  • ImSpartacus - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    Oh God, you're right. I might actually get to upgrade my Droid X. My contract is ending in like April, but I'll definitely wait for a Google phone.
  • Lucian Armasu - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link

    It could still use the Exynos 5250. But considering the next Nexus will be made by HTC or LG, there's a pretty low chance for that to happen.
  • peevee - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link

    The next Nexus, as well as all after it, will be made by Google itself, specifically its Motorola division.
  • SydneyBlue120d - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link

    You're both treating rumors as facts. AFAWN nothing is decided yet.
    BUT
    I suspect by this time they would have already choosen at least the SOC, and if it was Exynos 5250, I thought they would already choosen Samsung as manufacturer. We need to wait and see :)
  • 8steve8 - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link

    will Q S4 have any competition this year?
  • Lucian Armasu - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link

    Exynos 5250, dual core 2 Ghz Cortex A15 chip with Mali T604 graphics.
  • SydneyBlue120d - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link

    You will not see Exynos 5250 before Q4 2012 if not later ;-)

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