Next-Gen Phones And Tablets Are Gonna Do Crazy Shit

TI’s current-generation OMAP4 processors are already hardcore: They’re what’s behind simultaneous 1080p-playing, Quake-raging BlackBerry PlayBook. But TI’s next-gen OMAP5 chips are on a whole ‘nother level of crazy. Multi-core chips built on ARM’s fastest Cortex A15 processors – that ramp up to 2GHz each with another pair a pair of Cortex M4s thrown in for fun.

TI’s building its OMAP5 chips for smartphones and for tablets. The OMAP5430 will decode or encode 1080p video at 60fps, or support 1080p 3D content 30fps; handle shooting 24MP 2D photos or 12MP 3D photos; drive four LCDs and four cameras simultaneously; push 3D stuff out over HDMI; and support USB 3.0. The PowerVR SGX544 graphics chip will quintuple graphics performance and drive 3D interfaces. For low-level stuff, the ultra-low-power M4s will take over to save battery life.

TI is promising some serious sci-fi business here:

Imagine using the same device to conduct a stereoscopic 3D (S3D) video conference for work. Imagine being in a meeting and projecting a document from this device, which you can edit by simply touching the projected image on a surface. Imagine going home and switching the device to your personal operating system to drive a next-generation game on your HDTV using wireless display technology.

I might not go that far, but think about if your smartphone wasn’t just a “pocket computer”, but a full desktop computer shoved inside a phone. Because that’s the kind of power it’s approaching. Microsoft had a great slide at CES showing how mobile computing power is rapidly intersecting where the desktop is in terms of clock speed. My laptop has dual-core chip clocked at 2.4GHz. My next phone might be just as fast. Motorola’s phone that pretends it’s a laptop? It’s gonna seem like a fake-y faker fake in a year. [TI, TI]