New multi-core OMAP™ 4 applications platform from Texas Instruments

Future-proof, high-performance, low-power platform makes the vision of the mobile tomorrow a reality

BARCELONA, Spain — Helping Smartphone and Mobile Internet Device (MID) manufacturers shape the future of the mobile market with innovative devices, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today announced the new OMAP™ 4 mobile applications platform. The OMAP 4 platform delivers new, stunning, multimedia-rich user experiences such as 1080p video record and playback, 20 megapixel (MP) imaging and approximately a week of audio play time. The new platform provides significant improvements in performance and play time compared to today’s most popular Smartphones, with 10x faster Web page loading times, more than 7x higher computing performance, 6x higher video resolution, 10x better graphics performance and 6x longer audio play time.

At the heart of the OMAP 4 platform is a powerful system-on-chip that includes the perfect balance of power efficiency and high performance. The OMAP 4 processor balances processing across four main engines: a programmable multimedia engine based on TI’s C64x DSP and power-efficient, multi-format hardware accelerators; general-purpose processing based on the dual-core ARM® Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ supporting symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and capable of speeds of more than 1GHz per core; a high-performance programmable graphics engine; and an Image Signal Processor (ISP) for unparalleled video and imaging performance. The OMAP 4 platform also includes a comprehensive software suite, power management technology and other supporting components, providing the foundation necessary to create devices with mobile computing performance at low power.

“For the past decade, TI has focused on providing an optimal balance of high performance and low power consumption in our OMAP product line to address our customers’ needs to quickly and easily address new market trends,” said Greg Delagi, senior vice president and head of TI’s Wireless Business Unit. “The OMAP 4 platform will enable a new class of mobile devices that will redefine the boundaries of Smartphones and MIDs.”

The OMAP 4 platform, built in 45-nanometer (nm) process technology, enables mobile device manufacturers to address the expected applications of tomorrow’s handsets, while also providing headroom and programmability to support applications that have yet to be imagined. The new platform will support popular leading mobile operating systems and is validated for real-world use cases, taking into account the many elements of the mobile consumer’s experience to simplify application creation and help handset manufacturers get to market quickly.

OMAP 4 platform highlights:

• Mobile computing performance and advanced multimedia, with extra headroom and flexibility needed to address next-generation applications. The powerful combination of programmability and multi-core performance provides flexibility to support new and emerging applications and standards. The first members of the family are the OMAP4430 and OMAP4440, with features including:
  • Four powerful, high-performance processing engines:
    • General-purpose processing leveraging the dual-core Cortex-A9 MPCore, supporting SMP
    • Programmable multimedia engine based on TI’s C64x DSP and power-efficient, multi-format hardware accelerators
    • POWERVR™ SGX540 graphics engine
    • Dedicated ISP
  • Full 1080p multi-standard HD record and playback
  • Digital SLR-like performance with 20 MP imaging
  • 3D user interfaces supporting life-like graphics, intuitive touch screens, large local displays beyond WSXGA and HDMI compatible external displays
  • Industry-leading power management technology, delivering great multimedia performance while maximizing battery life:
    • 10+ hours of 1080p HD video playback, 4+ hours of 1080p HD record
    • 140+ hours of CD quality audio playback
       
• Broadest support for leading mobile operating systems, and a comprehensive software suite that is tested for real world-uses cases, accelerating time to market. The OMAP 4 platform will support Linux variants such as the Android Mobile Platform and LiMo, as well as Symbian OS™ and Microsoft® Windows® Mobile. Additionally, software for the OMAP 4 platform is tested and validated up to the application level, dramatically reducing development time. Further easing the design process, the OMAP 4 platform includes:
  • Pre-integrated support for mobile connectivity, including TI’s current and future combo WiLink™ Wi-Fi solutions, NaviLink™ GPS solutions, and BlueLink™ Bluetooth® solutions;
  • Pre-validated modem interface software to easily connect the OMAP 4 platform to any external modem;
  • New companion power and audio management solutions (TWL6030 and TWL6040) specifically designed to address the performance needs of the OMAP 4 platform; and
  • Broad portfolio of other hardware solutions optimized for the OMAP 4 platform, including: DLP® Pico projection technology, analog components and other complementary technologies.
     
• Flexible, open platform for innovation, delivering stunning user experiences and breakthrough mobile computing performance. TI’s commitment to open source software, development tools and a vast third party network has helped build a large worldwide community of OMAP mobile application developers. As a result of this commitment and robust development tools like the Zoom OMAP Mobile Development Platform, developers will be able to create exciting new user experiences that have yet to be imagined.

Availability

TI’s OMAP 4 platform and development tools are expected to sample in the second half of 2009, with production expected by the second half of 2010. These products are intended for high-volume wireless OEMs and ODMs and are not available through distributors.