MWC: Big Picture Experience from Mobile Devices is One Step Closer to Reality

Texas Instruments DLP announces production availability of new imaging chipsets for pico-projection in 2008

DLP Technology from Texas Instruments (TI), announced today production availability of a DLP Pico chipset, which includes an imaging chip and a processor to enable a new class of handheld and mobile projection products. These ground breaking chips, which will be available in the second half of 2008, deliver functionality that will improve the visual display experience from handheld devices and transform their use from “tiny screen” viewing to “big picture” viewing allowing others to share in the video and graphics experience. The DLP pico-projector prototype will be on display in the Texas Instruments booth located in Hall 8, #8A84 at the 2008 GSMA Mobile World Congress.

Building upon the recent excitement and momentum DLP generated at the
2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in January where the
pico-projector garnered several best of show awards from top outlets, the
DLP Pico chipset is geared to meet the growing mobile needs of consumers
for communication and entertainment devices. While tiny by nature and
easily able to fit into a mobile device, this new DLP offering produces
unmatched image quality that leverages the core technologies behind
hallmark DLP home theater projectors and DLP Cinema.

 

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MWC: Texas Instruments to demonstrate Android Mobile Platform

TI’s OMAP application processors and connectivity portfolio together with Android open source platform spur creativity and differentiation in mobile device market

Today at Mobile World Congress, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) announced it will demonstrate an early look of the Android mobile platform in two forms: a prototype handset based on TI’s OMAP850 processor that also includes TI’s Wireless LAN (WLAN) and Bluetooth(R) wireless technology solutions, as well as an OMAP3430 processor-based Zoom Mobile Development Kit from Logic PD. Both demonstrations highlight the flexibility of the OMAP platform’s multi-core architecture to deliver high-performance multimedia and sophisticated user interfaces (UI) on the Android platform.

Android, currently released as an ‘early look’ to developers, is an
open platform for mobile devices that includes an operating system,
middleware and key applications, is designed to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that maximize the fullest potential of an OMAP processor-based solution while allowing handset manufacturers and carriers to customize their solution quickly. The UI on this mobile
platform will provide quick and easy access to the most important
applications on the device including web browser, email, messaging and
video. Using TI’s WiLink(TM) WLAN and BlueLink Bluetooth technology,
the Android mobile platform features integrated connectivity options that
allow consumers to seamlessly connect to exciting, interactive applications. These demonstrations of the platform highlight how TI is pushing the limits of the mobile market, driving development of creative and unique applications for mobile devices through the support of open source activities such as those sponsored by the Open Handset Alliance.

 

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Universal Flash Storage

Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Spansion, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments have announced that they support the creation of a far-ranging industry specification for removable memory cards and embedded memory solutions being standardized by the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association (JEDEC), a leading open-standards organization in the semiconductor industry. JEDEC is well known for its expertise in the standardization of component technologies and solutions.

The new specification, dubbed Universal Flash Storage (UFS), reflects the industry’s need for a universal memory solution that removes the need for adaptors to accommodate different removable memory card sizes.

Widespread demand for higher densities and higher performance, plus the surging popularity of multimedia content, is accelerating the need for advanced memory solutions as removable card or embedded formats. UFS will provide a revolutionary leap towards supporting very low access times required for memories, as well as enabling high-speed access to large multimedia files, while reducing power-consumption in consumer electronic (CE) devices. The target performance level is expected to be a significant advancement beyond that of the varied flash cards popular today. Today, users experience a three-minute access time for a 90-minute (4 Gigabyte) high-definition movie; with the new standard, this would be reduced to a few seconds.

Major applications such as mobile handsets, digital still cameras and other CE devices will benefit from the convenience of a universal open standard based specification that is intended to reduce the time-consuming process of enabling interoperability among the various types of removable and embedded memory solutions at the system level. UFS is planned to provide consumers in the future with the convenience of a unified removable memory card that can be shared among various mobile, portable and other CE devices without the need for any adaptors.

The UFS standard is expected to be finalized in 2009.

Source: Nokia press release

Ericsson and Texas Instruments to Co-develop Innovative 3G Solutions for Handset Manufacturers

Ericsson and Texas Instruments Incorporated announced today that the companies will form a strategic technology engagement to develop custom solutions for new Open OS enabled 3G devices. 

Solutions from the technology created by the two companies will combine small and power efficient 3G modems from Ericsson Mobile Platforms with high-performance OMAP applications processors from TI. Solutions from the joint engagement will include OMAP, custom basebands and connectivity technologies and will be capable of supporting the major Open OS, which offer easy access to a rich array of applications and services. The result of this joint effort will enable all device manufacturers to offer advanced Open OS handsets for both the high-end and the rapidly growing mid-range market. 

The collaboration between Ericsson and TI will enable handset manufacturers to deliver the exciting mobile entertainment and multimedia experiences that consumers around the world are increasingly demanding. Ericsson’s access technology leadership, current HSPA-enabled platforms, and future HSPA evolution and LTE technologies, combined with the cutting-edge multimedia performance enabled by TI’s OMAP 2, OMAP 3 and future generations of OMAP processors, will continue to push the performance boundaries of mobile devices and mobile entertainment features.

Handsets based on these solutions are expected to be available on the market in the second half of 2008.

Source:Ericsson and Texas Instruments press release