TECH SPECIAL...Want quad-core?

In this never-ending rat race, companies continue to push the limit of what is possible with consumer gadgets, and cramming in cutting-edge technology is a trend that’s never going to fade. Looking at the mobile phone segment, the buzz word here is definitely ‘quad-core’ and whether you like it or not, these are only going to be commonplace sooner than you can blink. Currently, Nvidia Tegra 3 and Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 are the only two quad-core SoCs in the market, but Samsung and Ti OMAP will soon be joining the gang as well. Here’s a look at the first batch of quad-core smartphones heading your way and what sets them apart.

HTC One X HTC is the first to launch a quad-core Android 4.0 smartphone, in the world and and only recently, it became available in India as well. One X uses Nvidia’s Tegra 3 SoC — System on a Chip — making it the most powerful smartphone in the market today. The phone comes with Ice Cream Sandwich, along with Sense 4.0 running on top for a familiar experience. What sets this phone apart is the design and choice of material used. One X uses a unibody polycarbonate shell, like the Lumia 800, which makes it very light at 130g and slim as well at 9.7mm. It also packs in a 720p Super LCD2 display and the 8MP camera can shoot in burst mode as well. ZTE Era Chances of ZTE launching Era in India are slim, but we may just see this phone in the form of a Spice, Dell or Micromax branding. It will also run on Android 4.0, pack in a 4.3-inch screen and be thinner than One X at just 7.8mm. It’s also powered by Tegra 3, features an 8MP camera capable of 1080p recording and LTE support. LG Optimus 4X HD This will be LG’s flagship offering when it launches in coming months and is also powered by a Tegra 3 processor. The phone will have a 4.7-inch IPS screen, along with an HD resolution of 1280 x 720. Despite its size, it’ll be thin at just 8.9mm. The 8MP snapper onboard will easily capture Full HD Video at 30fps and will have one of the largest battery packs in the group, at 2150mAh. Huawei Ascend D Quad Last but certainly not the least, Huawei is all set to launch its Ascend D quad very soon. Powered by its own home-grown SoC called K3V2, this quad-core chip is said to be a lot more powerful and efficient compared to Nvidia’s Tegra 3. A 4.5-inch HD screen gives it a high ppi count just like the iPhone 4 and the 8MP BSI sensor in the camera should help in delivering much better indoor shots with low noise. It will also run Android 4.0 and chances of it launching here are high since they already have a strong presence in India. SIII: What to expect Slim form factor S II is known for its ridiculously thin and lightweight design and Samsung will definitely try to match, if not reduce, the thickness of the phone. But instead of plastic for the body, expect to see tougher and lighter materials like polycarbonate or even carbon fibre used in the construction. We doubt Samsung will use aluminium since although it looks and feels good, it makes the phone heavy. Whichever way it may turn out, there’s no denying that Samsung has something big in store for us and the level of secrecy involved only cements that fact. The firm has done it in the past and can do it again, all we have to do now is to wait and watch. Large Display This is again a bit obvious, but Galaxy S III will most definitely feature a 4.3-inch HD screen as the bare minimum. If the past is anything to go by, then we should expect a screen size of about 4.65-inches since that’s the size of the Galaxy Nexus, which happens to be made by Samsung. We can also expect Samsung to use the 2nd generation of Gorilla Glass from Corning to protect the screen. It’s hard to say if the electronic giant sticks with the Super AMOLED Plus display or perhaps go with an IPS LCD display like the rest of the manufacturers. However, Samsung prides itself in AMOLED screens, so we hope to see the company use it. Android 4.0 with TouchWiz While Android 4.0 is kind of a given, we think we’ll see an all-new version of TouchWiz on S III. Its current version is very clunky and not as refined as HTC’s Sense so we hope they strip it down and just give us the bare essentials since Android 4.0 is itself pretty naked, there’s no real need to dress it down.

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