Apple a4 cpu processor chip

Along with the iPad, the Apple chip has arrived.

Called the A4, (“A” presumably for Apple), the most obvious difference with the chip in the iPhone 3GS is speed. The iPad’s chip runs at 1GHz, compared to the estimated 600MHz (0.6GHz) of the iPhone 3GS. On Wednesday, at the event in San Francisco, the A4 was billed as “the most advanced chip” Apple has done yet. While fast, it’s also frugal with power. “The A4 chip is so power efficient that it helps iPad get up to 10 hours of battery life,” according to Apple’s iPad Web page.

By definition, the A4 is a system-on-a-chip, or SOC, that integrates the main processor, graphics silicon, and other functions like the memory controller on one piece of silicon–not unlike what Intel is trying to achieve with its future “Moorestown” Atom processor. And a similar SOC chip architecture is already used in the iPhone and other smartphones, such as Google’s Nexus One and Motorola’s Droid.

Based on what Apple has achieved with the iPhone 3GS, the chip should deliver a snappy interface. Of course, as in any 3G smartphone or laptop with a 3G connection, the 3G service can often be the weak link in performance, not the processor.

And speaking of 3G, the iPad will offer two AT&T plans. One is 250MB of data every month for $15; the other, an unlimited plan for $30 per month. Note that in the iPhone 3GS, Infineon supplies the 3G chip.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs called it the “best (Web) browsing experience you’ve ever had. A whole Web page right in front of you that you can manipulate with your fingers. Way better than a laptop,” in a video of the event streamed by CNET. That browsing experience, of course, will rely on the chip’s ability to handle the background tasks as users access images and video.