Quad Cores\Dual Cores\Single Cores in Phones. Which one to buy?

  When you buy a Desktop/Laptop its easy to choose as you first look at what is the processor? Then the OS and so on... Naturally majority will go with Intel and others AMD but you know for sure which is better. And almost all are aware of the recent processors from Intel and AMD.

  But when it comes to mobile devices all you see is the processor speed. Many claim to have higher frequency but yet they fail to deliver it when it comes to loading an application or your beloved high graphics game. For example, certain Smart Phone Manufacturers claims to have 1.2 GHz freq with Quad Core processor and they

challenge(in Marketing) the likes of HTC, Samsung, Nokia to have come with a solution half the price. Is this possible? Read on to know more...

  An important aspect of the processors in mobile device is it does more than just processing.

Processing is a broad word. In fact they have one or all of these following things

1. 2G/3G/4G Radio.
2. Support for higher screen resolutions
3. Graphics
4. Single/dual SIM Support
5. Multimedia capabilities like capturing images/videos at high resolutions and higher frames per second

So how do you choose your phone by looking at the processors?

For that, you will have to understand the ARM Cortex series architectures and which of those architectures are powerful enough to deliver your requirement.

Check out the different arm cortex series and their processing power here: Cortex A Series

So now the processor that is running on most of the affordable Smart phones with Quad Core/Dual Core processors are of MediaTek or STEricson.

Check out the solutions from MediaTek (which powers most of low end phones with Quad & dual cores) here: MediaTek Processors

Did you notice the architectures used? That explains why it doesn't deliver on your favourite high graphics game and that it is affordable.

Check out the processors from Qualcomm used in high end Smart phones here: Qualcomm Processors

Here is a list showing the architectures used on these QUALCOMM processors: ARM architectures used in Qualcomm Processors

Did you notice the architectures used? That explains it all. QUALCOMM Snapdragons are one amongst the fastest and powerful processors around. Others include Samsung’s Exynos series processors and NVIDIA Tegra series. Intel is also jumping into mobile devices with their Atom Bay Trail processors.

I hope this explains you how to choose smart phones based on their processing ability.

And now on you will not be fooled by the Quad Cores of certain device manufacturers claiming to give Quad cores on very low prices compared to the established players.

And one final input on buying the smart phones; the most powerful processors come at a cost: Low battery backup. Some of the SOC processors use a combination of architectures to come up with a better solution for a good battery back up as well as processing power.

Choose your smart phone Wisely. Happy shopping.

Note: This article is not meant to be interpreted as supporting in favor of any manufacturer or tarnishing others. It purely explains the hidden aspects. In addition the user is also advised to check bench marking scores such as An tutu to get a clear idea.