MediaTek, the Taiwanese chip-maker which is known for making low cost alternatives to offerings from higher priced competitors Samsung and Qualcomm has introduced a brand new Quad Core SoC based on the ARM Cortex A7 design.
The Hsinchu based company has announced the new SoC dubbed theMT6589. This quad-core system-on-a-chip (SoC) integrates a modem supporting HSPA+ and other international standards. MediaTek claims that this is the world’s first quad core chips based on the Cortex A7 design – although that claim might be a tad far-fetched as Qualcomm had beat MediaTek and introduced its Cortex A7 based S4 chips a few days ago.
It is however unclear as to when these Qualcomm chips would arrive on smartphones. MediaTek on the other hand has made it clear that the first devices based on its new Quad Core chip would be made available in the very first quarter of 2013. The MediaTek MT6589 supports 1080p 30fps/30fps low-power video playback and recording, a 13MP camera, and up to a 1,920×1,080 resolution display.
That sounds very enticing for manufacturers like Micromax and Karbonn mobiles who are already doing a good job in India by coming up with low cost handsets that have features usually found on devices a few price notches higher.
The arrival of this chipsets could be followed up with lower priced handsets and it remains to be seen how long it would actually take for manufacturers to bring the first handsets based on the MT6589. We are however very keen on the Q1, 2013 forecast projected by MediaTek.