Qualcomm has a history of creating reference devices to draw in developers and drive attention on tech blogs during trade shows, but the actual sale of such devices is usually a rare event, reserved for hand-picked developers with well-known products or ODMs looking to become familiar with the chipmaker’s latest chipsets for future integration into new devices. The latest device in the series is Mobile Developer Platform Smartphone and looks to change that pattern by opening up device purchases to any interested developer, provided one is willing to spend the $799.99 for the device.
The Android 5.0 smartphone features a 6.17-inch Quad HD (2560×1600) display with 10-finger multi-touch capability underpinned by a Snapdragon 810 64-bit octa-core processor, paired with the new Adreno 430 graphics unit and 4GB of LP-DDR4 RAM with two sets of four Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 cores built on a 20nm manufacturing process. The new cores are claimed to be up to 50% more powerful than the ARM Cortex-A15 core on which the current Snapdragon 805 Krait 450 cores are based. The Cortex-A57 core is also built on a 20nm process.
The new Adreno 430 GPU is also claimed to be 30% faster than the Adreno 420 unit in the Snapdragon 805 and is also capable of both 4K video capture at 30 frames per second and 1080p video capture at 120 frames per second. The Adreno 430 can also drive 4K primary and external displays via HDMI 1.4a or Miracast, while the phone features a 13-megapixel main camera with dual LED flash and optical image stabilization with 4K video capture at 30 frames per second and 1080p video capture at 60 frames per second. The front facing camera is a 4-megapixel unit with autofocus that can capture 1080p video at 120 frames per second. The dual imaging chip in the 810 is capable of driving a 55-megapixel sensor with the aforementioned capabilities, but is restrained for cost reasons.
In terms of sensor support, the phone features a myriad of sensors with a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis magnetometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, pressure sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, UV sensor, and a Mobeam sensor for scanning barcodes. Additional features include 11.1 surround sound with Dolby and DTS audio support, 32GB of internal storage, USB 3.0 support, microHDMI port, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, Snapdragon StudioAccess and QuickCharge 2.0 technology, SecureMSM digital rights management. A fingerprint reader, 8 microphone array and microSD slot round out the phone’s key features.
Good god. Outrageous spec-Monster of a beast. I’m sure spontaneous uncontrollable nerdgasims are happening all over the interwebz.
can I order one just cause i want it?
Will it work with sprint?
It’s quite likely that the phone doesn’t have a cellular radio – spec sheet lists only Bluetooth and 802.11ac – making it the most powerful PDA ever built.
That said, hate to share some bad news… you probably can’t buy one.
“This product can only be sold to approved companies developing for snapdragon processors”
In other words, it’s only going to be sold to developers that Qualcomm approves.