First Windows 8 tablets to ship with Qualcomm dual-core and quad-core chips

ISTANBUL: Microsoft's Windows 8-based tablets will use Qualcomm Snapdragon processors as the firm aims to gain a foothold in the portable market.

The Windows 8 tablets, made by Samsung and debuted at the Microsoft Build event on Tuesday, are due to ship next year and will feature the latest S4 dual-core and quad-core Qualcomm processors. The 3G/4G multimode chipsets will have clock speeds of up to 2.5GHz.

Cristiano Amon, senior vice president of product management at Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, told V3 that the quad-core Windows tablets should be available in the second half of 2012, and that prices will match today's high-end devices.

"Devices are changing all the time, from desktops to laptops and now tablets and smartphones. We are much more focused on the latest form factors and will use our experience from the mobile to help make the Windows 8 tablets more affordable than the competition," he said.

"Price points will not be hit too much. There is an ongoing pursuit of performance and cost reduction so you can support the same device but with new performance attributes."

Nvidia is widely tipped to launch its quad-core Kal-El chips before the end of 2011, but Amon claimed that it is not always important to be the first to market.

"We have a roadmap in place and plan on bringing the best quad-core in terms of performance, power and size," he said.

Qualcomm faces further competition in the mobile market, with Intel and Google announcing a smartphone partnership, Nvidia developing a Tegra 2.5 processor for use in Windows devices and Samsung using an in-house chip in the Samsung Galaxy S II.

However, Amon played this down, maintaining that Qualcomm has a strong relationship with Microsoft as it "invested early and believed in the platform".

"We have also have a partnership with Samsung across different areas and our goal is to come up with processors that Samsung use and help them differentiate themselves in the market," he added.