Qualcomm does not intend to compete against other manufacturers of Android devices with their newly launched smartphone. Instead, this is meant as a platform developers and device manufacturers can work on without any hardware limitations.
The Qualcomm smartphone is any Android software or hardware developer’s dream, as it has some extreme features. That being said, it’s rather unusual for a chipset manufacturer to launch a full-fledged device in order to showcase the capabilities of a mobile CPU. The MDP (Mobile Development Platform) smartphone features the newly-developed 64-bit octa-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, an Adreno 430 GPU and 32GB of internal storage. The 4K capable 13MP rear camera is accompanied by a 4MP camera in the front.
“The Mobile Development Platform Smartphone (MDP/S) is an early development platform for developers. This next-generation smartphone provides application developers and device manufacturers with early access to a high-performance platform for development, testing and optimization of Android applications. This development device is based on Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 810 Ultra HD processor, which includes a 64-bit octo-core CPU, Qualcomm Adreno™ 430 GPU and the newest Qualcomm Hexagon™ DSP, along with the latest available Android OS.”
In terms of sensors, the MDP packs the usual suspects, along with UV and Mobeam sensors, which should find their way into our smartphones in the not-so-distant future. Other unusual features are the 8 microphones and the ultrasound emitter. As far as security is concerned, users authenticate themselves using the fingerprint reader found on the back of the device.
After the CPU, the second star of the show must be the 6.17” QHD (2560×1600) 490ppi multi-touch capacitative screen, something that I’d love to see… cough, Apple try. Given these extraordinary specs, it should take long until device manufacturers launch one or a few models based on the Qualcomm MDP. In fact, we might see some similarly specced devices as early as February, when the MWC 2015 takes place in Barcelona. Of course, manufacturers will only present prototypes at that point, with launch dates schedule sometime during the summer or fall.
The 3,020 mAh will be easy to fill up, due to the QuickCharge 2.0 technology. That’s yet another thing I’d like to see in more devices, but it’s up to the other manufacturers to pick up this design and make their own based on it.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MDP is available on the Intrinsyc website for $799.
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