Microsoft is planning to use Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon processor in a version of its next-generation Surface RT tablet, claimed a new report.
The next-generation Surface RT tablet will come in several versions carrying chipsets from different manufactures. However, the company will continue its partnership with Nvidia to power the upcoming Surface RT tablets, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with Microsoft's plan.
The existing Surface RT tablets are powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core mobile processor, packs 2GB of RAM and comes in two storage variants - 32GB and 64GB.
The upcoming Surface RT is speculated to include the recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset integrated with Adreno 330 graphics processor unit. The processor has been noted for topping the benchmarks results on several mobile platforms.
Qualcomm dominates the LTE market with its LTE modem chip that closely integrated with its mobile processor. This could be the other reason for Microsoft to consider Qualcomm chipset for its next Surface RT. It also makes a point that the upcoming Surface RT tablet will support LTE connectivity.
Microsoft entered the tablet market with the launch of two Windows 8/RT powered tablets - Surface Pro and Surface RT, in 2012.
It is rumored that the Redmond-based company is also working on a smaller version of the Surface tablet that is expected to go into mass production later this year.
In May, DigiTimes reported that the smaller version of Surface tablet will sport a display panel that is manufactured by Samsung Displays. The website citing industry sources also confirmed that LG Display and other display manufactures in Taiwan will also be included in the list of panel suppliers for the Surface tablet.
It seems that the company wants to keep its pace in the rapidly growing small-screen tablet market, which is currently dominated by Google's Nexus 7 (7-inch tablet) and Apple's iPad Mini (7.9 inch).
