Quad Core Smartphones Of 2012: Can An Extra Core Make These Phones Better?

This could very well prove to be the year of quad core smartphones. While a host of quad-core smartphones were unleashed at this year's Mobile World Congress, not all of them have been officially released yet.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm has forecast that phones with its quad core Snapdragon processor will ship in time for the 2012 holiday season.

Quad Core - What You Can Expect

A quad core is a central processor (CPU) that contains four cores rather than one or two CPUs, resulting into faster performance and better battery life.

To better understand the performance, just take the example of four people working on the same task instead of one and, therefore, finishing the task much faster!

Nvidia, while talking about the speed of performance, says that its Tegra 3 processor runs up to five times faster than its Tegra 2 dual-core predecessor. The company has also increased its chip for processing graphics (GPU) from 8 cores on the Tegra 2 version to 12 cores in Tegra 3. As a result, the work is done in a jiffy.

And if all goes according to plans, the company will also launch processors with added cores. The first one is codenamed Wayne, which promises to finish a task up to 10 times faster than Tegra 2. Logan that will come after Wayne will clock speeds 50 times faster than any dual core phones.

Now, in your quad core smartphone each core works less harder to accomplish a task, and therefore requires less battery power.

Additionally, a quad-core processor is expected to support sharp screen resolutions, load apps, photos and Web pages faster and process HD video much quicker.

The Latest Top Quad Core Smartphones

As we mentioned earlier, this will be the year of quad-core processors.

The MWC event was also dominated by the release of all devices powered by quad core processors.

While the debate on the functional improvement of quad core processor is gaining traction of late, we shall wait a little longer to review the upcoming quad-core smartphones. Meanwhile, check out the phones that we think will rule this year's quad core market.

Note, the list is randomly done and not on the basis of best functionality and features and the phones run from real to rumored ones.

HTC One X - The Taiwan-based company has launched its premium HTC One series at this year's MWC. The best in this line, HTC One X, has unanimously been selected as the number one smartphone. The phone will feature a polycarbonate unibody shell with a 4.7-inch Gorilla Glass 720p screen, UI HTC SENSE 4.0, a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and a 12-core NVIDIA graphics processor (the AT&T's LTE version will come with a Qualcomm S4 processor). This monster will run the latest Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). The HTC phone will also be available in a 4G LTE model.

HTC claims to have packed in top-notch specs and a fabulous new User Interface to give a lot of punch, and we can't help but accept it. The phone is expected to hit shelves very soon.

Huawei Ascend D Quad - Huawei has also unveiled a quad core phone line at this year's MWC. The line comprises three great phones such as Ascend D Quad XL, Ascend D1 and Ascend D Quad. We have picked our favorite, the new Ascend D Quad that comes with a big 4.5-inch 720p HD display and Huawei's own K3V2 quad-core CPU, clocked at 1.5GHz. According to the company, this phone is the world's fastest smartphone.

This Android 4.0 beast features an 8-megapixel rear camera, Dolby 5.1 surround sound, supports LTE and an 1,800mAh battery that claims to be backed by a proprietary energy management software that will last for up to two days.

LG Optimus 4X HD - LG, the producer of quality ware, has never quite made an impression in the smartphone market. But this time it's back with élan. At the MWC, the Korean electronics company has unveiled LG 4X HD, its first quad-core phone.

The latest LG phone comes with a 1280X720 HD resolution IPS display, a very capable battery of 2150 mAh capacity to support the monster quad core processor and HD display.

The phone is slated for release in June.

Samsung Galaxy S3 - If rumors are to be believed, this Samsung flagship phone will be the next big thing in this year's smartphone arena. The phone will continue the legacy of Galaxy S2 and will surpass it with the 4.6-inch Super AMOLED Plus full HD screen with 1,280×720-pixel resolution. It might also come with a bigger screen than the Galaxy Nexus along with edge-to-edge display and a much larger chassis. According to a BGR report, Samsung might launch S3 as its first phone with a 3D screen and the phone will sport a peculiar S-shaped bend in the 4.6-inch screen.

The phone is expected to feature Samsung's quad-core ARM A9-based Exynos 4212 chipset, clocked at a powerful 1.8GHz with 2GB RAM. In another claim made by BGR, a more modest 1.5GHz quad-core has been indicated in the S3.

Meanwhile, Samsung is also rumored to give hefty speed boosts on graphics and pack in some battery-friendly power-saving features with its latest device. There isn't much room for anticipation as Samsung will certainly pack Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS with its device. And the S3 is also expected to receive the latest TouchWiz UI version 5.0.

But as we always say, read all these features with a pinch of salt!

iPhone 5 - There's a strong assumption that the next Apple iPhone will also boast a strong quad core processor.

The other features of this much-awaited iPhone include a Retina display that comes in a screen size of anything between 3.5-inch to 4.6-inch. This time the phone can be 4G LTE enabled and can introduce path-breaking features like killer 3D imaging camera, universal remote control and iWallet along with features like Corning Gorilla Glass 2, Waterproof Nanotech Coating, Quad-Core Processor, Updated iOS with Siri 2 and Wireless Charging.