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GDC 2010: Samsung's Wave revealed as more powerful than iPhone 3GS

Supercharged by PowerVR SGX 540

GDC 2010: Samsung's Wave revealed as more powerful than iPhone 3GS
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When Samsung announced the first device in its bada mobile platform, we expected it to be solid but not that impressive in terms of its technical specification.

After all, bada is designed as a mobile OS for mid-range smartphones.

However, it seems that Samsung is designing bada for future mid-range smartphones, not the current mid-range as the launch device, the Wave (or S8500) phone is actually one of the most powerful devices in the market.

Its CPU is an ARM Cortex-A8 processor while the GPU is an Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX 540; a four pipeline 3D chip design which is the current top of the range. The entire silicon is rated at 1 GHz.

In contrast, the iPhone 3GS uses a combination of a Cortex-A8 and an older PowerVR SGX design, rated at 600 MHz.

Perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise however as the mobile market is always improving its technology, with the new devices from Nokia and Sony Ericsson impressing developers with their capabilities, especially in terms of gaming.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.