Texas Instruments has announced its new OMAP4440 system-on-a-chip, an updated version of the OMAP4430. Designed for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the package carries a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor running at speeds up to 1.5GHz (OMAP4430 tops out at 1GHz), as well as two Cortex M3 cores for offloading time-critical tasks, and a graphics engine with support for 3D video.
Naturally, you don't release new hardware without boasting speed gains, and TI does precisely that. Compared to the OMAP4430, the OMAP4440 is 33% faster at loading web pages, it packs 25% more graphics power, has double the video playback performance, and offers improved video quality in low-light conditions. The OMAP4430 tops out at 720p stereoscopic 3D, while the OMAP4440 can handle full 1080p stereoscopic 3D.
The company plans to ship samples of the OMAP4440 sometime in early 2011 and mass production is expected in the second half of the year, or around the same timeframe as Samsung's Orion. Meanwhile, OMAP4430 is already in manufacturer's hands and should appear in products around the same time the 4440 starts sampling, but we're not sure what devices plan to use the chip. Feel free to speculate in the comments.