Qualcomm has had great success in the mobile industry with their Snapdragon line of processors. The Qualcomm chipset is the most widely-used CPU solution in smartphones today. However, when it comes to dual core CPUs, NVIDIA and their Tegra 2 chips are in control with countless devices introduced at CES. Qualcomm first spoke about ther dual core processor last year, but they can’t be found in any devices currently. The only announced device using it so far is the Asus Eee Pad MeMO.
NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 is a very powerful processor with 2 cores flying along at 1 GHz speeds. Early testing has shown that it is in a different league than anything else on the market. Qualcomm has previewed an equally powerful device with a few extra features up its sleeve. For starters Qualcomm does not make just a processor and GPU, but provides the entire chipset for a mobile phone. That means all the necessary radios: cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS; all from one source. That makes Qualcomm an easy choice for cellphone manufacturers.
Another forward-thinking design the new Snapdragon chip features is the ability to have each core operating at different frequencies and voltages in order to provide better battery life. It is safe to say that the Tegra 2 has the lead currently, but by mid-year things could begin to swing back towards Qualcomm. At least they aren’t resting on their laurels and are continuing to innovate. Hopefully products featuring this core are released sooner rather than later and the performance lives up to expectations. We will have more information on the Snapdragon 2 as the year progresses.