Petteri Pyyny
24 Aug 2000 17:08
Ok, I know that this is not related to MP3s, DVDs, etc that much, but kind of anyway..
Intel released today their prototype for next generation PDA CPU -- XScale is based on existing RISC architecture, called StrongARM (and used in many PocketPCs). But this baby runs on 1GHz -- fastest available PDA currently is Compaq's iPaq which runs on 233MHz. And specially in RISC processors, the clock speed is almost identical to the actual speed of the CPU (in comparisions, I mean). XScale consumes 1,5 watts of power.
So, finally there's a chance to create a PDA that allows people similiar multimedia options as a regular desktop machine nowadays. This is a huge step towards the ideal situation where it actually doesn't matter what device you buy. Carry it with you, dock it in to keyboard and large screen -- why bother to buy a regular desktop if your PDA can do all the same tricks? Even in current PocketPCs, the video playback is very poor -- I have HP's 548 and SIF size MPEG1 runs only on 5-6fps..