Processors are the driving force of handsets and one such tool was recently rolled out by ARM. Entitled ARM Cortex-A5 MP Core, it is said to be the smallest and lowest power ARM multicore processor.
It is capable of providing Internet to a wide range of devices including ultra-low cost handsets, feature phones and smart mobile devices. The device integrates performance, functionality and efficiency that is offered as an extremely area and power efficient uniprocessor or up to a 4x multicore processor.
“The Cortex-A5 processor signals a significant acceleration in the future of internet connectivity. Internet accessibility has long been a critical social opportunity and with the launch of the Cortex-A5 processor we are providing the pervasive internet with unprecedented power-efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The Cortex-A5 processor scales from ultra low cost handsets and lifestyle internet devices all the way to consumer, embedded, and industrial devices – anything that can be connected to the internet. We are truly delivering the internet everywhere,” stated Eric Schorn, vice president of marketing, Processor Division, ARM.
The Cortex-A5 uniprocessor presents a high-value migration path for several ARM926EJ-S and ARM1176JZ-S processor licensees. It offers nearly twice the power-efficiency compared to its predecessors. Thus, the processor increases the quality of the user experience while reducing costs and end-user device size.
“Samsung has enjoyed a strong partnership with ARM and has achieved considerable success utilizing ARM CPU cores in many of our industry leading System-On-Chip (SOC) products. This new Cortex-A5 processor from ARM will allow us to further broaden the range of SOC products we can offer to our customers to address the needs of the expanding mobile device market space,” remarked Yiwan Wong, Vice president, Strategic Marketing Team, System LSI Division, Samsung Electronics.
ARM MPCore processors have been licensed by more than 15 leading semiconductor companies including Broadcom Corporation, NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, Nvidia, Renesas Technology America, Inc., Toshiba America Electronic Components and Sarnoff Corporation. The A5 processor incorporates TrustZone security technology along with a NEON multimedia processing engine.
The Cortex-A5 processor is fully application compatible with Cortex-A8 and Cortex-A9 processors, offering immediate access to Android, Adobe Flash, Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE), JavaFX, Linux, Microsoft Windows Embedded, Symbian and Ubuntu, along with over 600 ARM Connected Community members.
The Cortex-A5 processor is now available for general licensing, and will be made available in the fourth quarter of 2009.