Some of the most advanced mobile devices on the market today are built around cores based on ARM's Cortex A8 architecture, including a couple you may be familiar with: the Palm Pre and the iPhone 3GS. The 3GS, for example, runs a Samsung S5PC100 system-on-chip clipping along at a healthy 600MHz, enough to make it noticeably snappier than the 3G it replaces -- but time marches relentlessly forward, as always, and that S5PC100 is suddenly starting to look a little long in the tooth with today's news. Sammy has partnered up with silicon design firm Intrinsity to develop what it's billing as the world's fastest Cortex A8 core, a 1GHz unit codenamed "Hummingbird" that's based on 45nm manufacturing techniques and can deliver peak performance at a single volt with power consumption characteristics favorable for mobile use. Translation: this thing should be nipping at the heels of Snapdragon once Samsung finishes up work turning this core into a system-on-chip that can be sourced by manufacturers, and it should do so without causing batteries to beg for mercy. Unfortunately, there's no word just yet on exactly when we'll see phones running this setup in the market, so Pre, 3GS, you're safe for now -- but the clock's ticking.

And here you were thinking Mercedes-Benz's Attention Assist system was the thing in driver alertness aides. In a rather odd, nearly jocose press release, Nissan has revived our faith in corporate R&D with the glorious introduction of the Forest AC. In short, this new air conditioning system "systematically controls cabin temperature, ventilation, aroma and humidity to create an optimal interior environment." Still bewildered? It means that the system can tap into an array of sensors in order to find out exactly what environment is best for your current state of mind, and if it needs to, it'll blast your nostrils with gusts of fresh forest in order to increase alertness while keeping stress levels down. The zaniest part of all, however, isn't the idea of using various aromas to keep one's attention; it's the fact that this system is actually scheduled for installation on a vehicle (the Fuga) that'll ship this fiscal year in Japan.