Looks like Samsung has “unpacked” a little early and let the cat out of the bag regarding what processor will be powering their “Next Galaxy” device. In an official announcement, Samsung has unveiled the new Exynos 4 Quad processor along with the fact that the “Next Galaxy” will be the first to be fitted with the chip. Samsung is boasting double the processing power at a 20 percent lower power bill over its predecessor, the 45nm process based Exynos 4 Dual. That claim, while impressive, is backed by its 32nm HKMG low-power process and power-saving design, hot-plug functionality for on-off switching of cores, full HD 30 frame per second video hardware codec engine, embedded image signal processor interface and HDMI 1.4 interface (whew).

It looks as if Samsung has also included a companion chip to help manage power delivery for the Exynos 4 Quad processor. Hmmm, now where have we heard that word “companion” before? Of course the biggest question for us in the states remains whether or not Samsung’s new quad-core chip will support LTE or not. We’re going to assume it will, and if that turns out to be true, NVIDIA will have some catching up to do. While the new Exynos 4 Quad is scheduled to debut on the “Next Galaxy,” Samsung states it is also sampling it to other major handset makers and that it’s pin-to-pin compatible with the 32nm process based Exynos 4 Dual. That’s great news for any current device manufacturers looking to adopt the new chip without any headaches or extra costs.

“Quad-core” always causes a buzz within the mobile world and as you can tell by all the excitement going around today, that word still holds its mystical powers. Even though “quad” doesn’t always equate to better, it sure sounds better. Can’t wait to see this thing on May 3rd, how about you?

• SourceSamsung