Freescale Semiconductor Targets Netbook Market with Tool for OEMs Based on ARM Tech
January 20, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
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Freescale Semiconductor entered the netbook market with a tool designed to enable netbooks that feature 8.9-inch displays, deliver eight hours of battery life between charges and retail at sub-$200 price points.
Based on the new i.MX515 processor featuring ARM Cortex-A8 technology, the Freescale tool includes a lineup of software, components and resources original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can use to develop and deploy netbook products.
A netbook reference design based on the i.MX515 processor is available now. Created in concert with Pegatron, the reference design features the i.MX515 processor, the Canonical Ubuntu operating system, a new power management integrated circuit (IC) from Freescale, the SGTL5000 ultra-low power audio codec and Adobe Flash Lite software, the Adobe Flash Player for mobile phones and devices.
"We see a huge opportunity in the netbook market as consumers demand more cost-effective and higher-performing solutions," said Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager of the Freescale networking and multimedia group.
"Our solution for netbooks will enable OEMs to develop compelling products that feature cellphone-like battery life at extremely aggressive price points. We believe the combination of the i.MX515 processor and related enablement solutions will dramatically accelerate the evolution of this exciting new space," she said.
According to ABI Research, consumers are expected to purchase 140 million netbooks in 2013, compared with only 15 million sold in 2008. Often priced between $300 and $400, netbooks are streamlined, embedded devices for Internet-based activities such as social networking, surfing the web, using e-mail and other common tasks.
"As was evident in the 2008 holiday season, the netbook market has exploded due to consumer demand for affordable and compact devices that allow users to conduct routine tasks like social networking or shopping on the web," said Philip Solis, principal analyst at ABI Research.
"The netbook market is still in its infancy, and it represents a huge market opportunity for companies like Freescale. As advanced platforms for netbooks become increasingly available, price points will drop and the market will expand," Solis said.
Integrating an ARM Cortex-A8 core and manufactured using 65 nanometer (nm) process technology, the Freescale i.MX515 provides up to 2,100 Dhrystone million instructions per second (MIPS) and can scale in performance from 600 MHz to 1 GHz.
Advanced power management features included in the i.MX515 processor, such as a dedicated, hardware-based video acceleration block, allow for extended battery life and eliminate the need for fans or heat sinks.
The device incorporates highly integrated devices and low-cost printed circuit boards (PCBs) to keep bill of materials (BOM) low, Freescale said. In addition, the i.MX515 supports cost efficiency by featuring a memory interface supporting both double data rate 2 (DDR2) and mobile DDR1.
While mobile DDR1 can be used for the most power sensitive mobile Internet devices, DDR2 is better suited for netbooks as it provides low power at less cost, Freescale said. Although the i.MX515 offers support for both, many competing Cortex-A8 platform options offer mobile DDR1.
The i.MX515 offers both OpenVG and OpenGL graphics cores, enabling 2D and 3D graphics, as well as Flash and scalable vector graphics (SVG).
Another component of the Freescale netbook tool is the new MC13892 power management IC. Integrating a variety of discrete functions into a single device, the MC13892 contributes to reduced size and weight of end-products while extending their battery life through power management and control features, the company said.
The device incorporates a battery charging system, four adjustable buck converters for powering the processor core and memory, two boost converters for liquid crystal display (LCD) backlighting and red, green, blue (RGB) light-emitting diode (LED) displays along with serial backlighting drivers for display and keypad.
The Freescale netbook reference design is available now. The company is sampling the i.MX515 processor and MC13982 power management device to tier one netbook customers.
Volume production for the i.MX515 device is planned for 2Q 2009 to power netbooks designed for the 2009 holiday shopping season.
Source: Freescale Semiconductor Inc.