In actual fact, however, the OMAP 5 series is now quad-core in the desktop CPU sense; the chip actually contains two , which is where the real power lies--and two Cortex-M4 cores, which are there to take care of day-to-day work such as keeping the display alive while the device is in sleep mode. The A15 cores can be clocked up to 2GHz each and will remain dormant unless needed.

However, also onboard the chip are PowerVR SGX544-MPx graphics, which offer 3D acceleration, and there are built-in HD video decoders that can manage 1080p playback at 60 frames per second. Attach a stereoscopic display and you'll get 1080p playback at 30 frames per second.

In fact, you can attach up to four displays simultaneously; three will run at 2560x2048 resolution, with the fourth utilizing HDMI 1.4a 3D. Additionally, the chip can accept inputs from three separate camera sources. Such a high number of camera inputs will support , but each can capture images of up to 24 megapixels. TI suggests that OMAP 5-powered tablets could drive a projector, for example, while somebody controls the presentation by interacting physically with the projected images. That sounds like sci-fi but, as the , we live in incredible times.

The OMAP 5 series can use too, just like what's found in most high-end laptops.

In other words, this is pretty serious stuff, but it's all contained in a chip that's less than 2 centimeters from corner to corner. A 28 nanometer production process is used and although TI hasn't yet mentioned typical wattage figures, it does say power consumption is lower than previous generation OMAP offerings, which have already found homes in a variety of devices, including the Motorola Droid.