The tablet market is currently dominated by ARM RISC-based chips designed by industry heavyweights such as Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung and Nvidia.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped both Intel and AMD from entering the hyper-competitive and highly lucrative space with their respective x86 SoCs.
Indeed, the latter company recently showcased its Temash (tablet and hybrid) SoC at the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
As previously discussed on TG Daily, Temash can best be described as a quad-core APU based on AMD’s Jaguar architecture equipped with powerful Radeon HD graphics that support 1080p and DX11.
VR-Zone’s Connor Huffine spotted the chip at MWC and confirmed that it was extremely battery friendly, despite a “very large amount” of processing horsepower.
“Drawing only a purported 1 watt for low powered tasks like web browsing and text editing, and 5.9 watts while in battery mode, this chip will power the next generation of Windows 8 smart tablets, and help them stay [on] longer,” Huffine explained.
“When docked with the power station, the processor draws 15 watts and unleashes its full potential. The docked Temash [even] beats a higher powered Core i5 in some tests, and crushes Intel Atom based tablets all-round.”
According to Huffine, the reference tablets at the show boasted both USB 3.0 and HDMI ports, something the iPad lacks. Plus, he says, the tablets are equipped with the power and convenience to compete in a market where speed and power consumption are two of the most critical factors.
“While an ‘iPad killer’ will never be able to overcome Apple’s dedicated market, the Temash based tablets of late 2013 and 2014 will certainly bring some powerful options to the table,” he added.
