移动商机致GPU战争白热化

根据市调机构Linley Group表示，移动系统的快速成长正推动业界迈向更优质的绘图芯片、更佳语音质量以及四核处理器。 优质的GPU 在移动系统成为游戏平台的首选之际，绘图处理器(GPU)似乎也成了具关键性的投资领域。Linley Group首席分析师Linley Gwennap指出，“我认为我们将看到智能手机上出现越来越多的游戏应用，而在任天堂(Nintendo) 3D与索尼的Playstation Vita这一类专用设备上的游戏变得较少，甚至连平板电脑也可能分掉一部份原只为游戏机开发的游戏。” 由于苹果新款iPad整合较前一代型号更高两倍的绘图性能，Nvidia正试图将游戏机上的多款游戏移植到该公司的 Tegra3芯片上。此外，高通公司(Qualcomm)最近也发布了专注于强化绘图性能的Snapdragon S4 Pro处理器。 “移动芯片的裸片照片显示，GPU的硅晶用量正开始显著增加。” Gwennap说。 更佳语音质量 移动网络和手机都已做好万全准备，通过支持更佳语音编码器的方式，进一步提升语音质量。Gwennap表示，“我们看到了运营商开始实施一种可提供更高音质的付费服务模式。” Tensilica公司和高通公司已在其芯片设计中加进这种功能了。他们还扩展对于更广泛音讯频率范围的支持，从传统200Hz～3.6KHz的扩展到未来的20Hz～20KHz范围。 Gwennap认为，相比在电脑上用SKYPE的用户听惯的高质量语音，手机目前所提供的语音就如一堆噪音。 四核处理器 另一项重大的移动产业发展趋势是逐渐转向采用四核架构的处理器设计。Nvidia稍早前已经推出Tegra 3超级芯片处理器，华为(Hwawei)在今年二月宣布一款类似的处理器芯片，而飞思卡尔(Freescale)也计划在今年稍晚出货其四核的处理器芯片。 “我认为搭配采用适当的软件时，显然可让四核处理器成为一款更好的解决方案，但大部分的Android应用程序并未善加利用四核架构的优势，而苹果公司的iOS基础架构也未超越双核心应用。”他说。 “当今大部份的移动软件还用不到三核或四核，但随着时间的推移，未来的一年将更有利于四核架构的发展。” Gwennap补充道。 编译：Susan Hong 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 参考原文：Analyst: Graphics war heating up in mobile，by Rick Merritt

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{pagination} Analyst: Graphics war heating up in mobile SAN JOSE, Calif. – Mobile systems are driving toward better graphics, better voice quality and quad-core processors, according to veteran market watcher. Graphics seems to be key area of investment, as mobile systems become the game platform of choice,” said Linley Gwennap of the Linley Group (Mountain View, Calif.) “I think we will see more game play on smartphones and less on dedicated devices like the Nintendo 3DS and Sony Playstation Vita—even tablets are taking away from game consoles,” he said. Nvidia is trying to get console game titles ported to its Tegra3 chip as Apple courts developers to port games to the new iPad that packs twice the graphics capabilities of its previous model. Separately, Qualcomm recently launched its Snapdragon S4 Pro, mainly focused on enhanced graphics, he noted. “The amount of silicon devoted to the GPU is starting to increase significantly as we look at die photos of mobile chips, he said. Addressing the trend, Neil Trevett, head of the Khronos Group, will speak on mobile graphics in a keynote at an annual mobile conference Gwennap is hosting in San Jose in April. Separately, mobile networks and handsets are gearing up for increases in voice quality through support of improved audio codecs, Gwennap said. “We see a business model where carriers implement higher quality voice for a fee,” he said. Tensilica and Qualcomm are already offering such capabilities in silicon. Some of the work involves expanding support for broader audio frequency ranges from the traditional 200 Hz to 3.6 KHz of telephony to a range spanning 20 Hz to 20 KHz in the future, he said. “People using Skype on a PC already get those good voice experiences, but once you go back to a mobile phone it sounds like tin cans and a string,” he said. A slow move to quad core processors is the other major mobile trend in the works. Nvidia is there with its Tegra 3, Huawei announced a similar chip in February and Freescale is set to ship one later this year. “I think it’s clear with the right software quad core is a better solution [but] most Android apps don’t take advantage of quad cores, and Apple hasn’t pushed the iOS infrastructure for more than two cores yet,” he said. “Most of today’s mobile software is not really going to use three and four cores, but that will evolve over time and things will become more favorable for quad core over the year,” he added.