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MWC 2012: Cutting Edge Smartphones & Secure Payment Technology

Now that Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 has wound down, here are a few more videos and insights I captured from a few of the ARM Partners: Texas Instruments, ST-Ericsson, ZTE and last but not least Proxama.

Texas Instruments
At the Texas Instruments (TI) stand I got to demo the recently released ARM Cortex-A9 based Samsung Galaxy Beam smartphone which features the built in TI DLP Pico Projector technology. This gives you the ability to project the screen of your smartphone onto the wall which could come in handy for displaying slides in an impromptu meeting or a college student who wants to show off their ga...

ARM Mobile Showcase at MWC 2012: Multicore, Security & LTE

As Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 continues, there is no shortage of ARM technology on display by the ARM Connected Community, from quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 and Cortex-A15 based smartphones to revolutionary innovations in mobile payment technology. In this blog I’ll cover announcements from NVIDIA, Samsung LSI, Giesecke & Devrient, Huawei, Texas Instruments and HTC.

NVIDIA
Mike Rayfield, GM of the Mobile Business Unit at NVIDIA, gave me a tour of the NVIDIA stand where he showed me the latest Tegra 3 tablets and smartphones based on the quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 as well as some amazing mobile gaming demos.

...

MWC 2012: ARM & ARM Partner Innovation All Around

It’s looking like Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 will be a great week for ARM and the ARM Connected Community. I got a firsthand look at the new multicore LG devices, the latest in augmented reality, and remarkable demonstrations of ARM TrustZone technology. I then learned about Morpho’s collaboration with ARM Mali in GPU computing and discussed the latest Texas Instruments OMAP product offering.

LG Mobile Multicore Devices

I caught up Henry Nho from LG Mobile where he showed me the Optimus 3D MAX and the Optimus 4X HD, both based on the ...

Mobile World Congress 2012: ARM Enabling Great Smartphone Innovation

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The ARM mobile team has just finished our preparation for Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 and I thought I would share my very educated predictions on what you are going to see at MWC. So here it goes…

Continued Innovation
One of the great things about the ARM ecosystem is that because System-on-Chips (SoC) do not come from just one supplier, you see rapid innovation in the smartphone market. For example at MWC last year, dual-core smartphones had just started shipping, but by the end of 2011 they represented 25% of the smartphone market.

This rapid rate of innovation means that the leading edge demos that you see on our Partners booths this year, will be in your smartphone at MWC 2013.

Next Generation SoC...

CES: 4 Days of "What's Hot" in the World of ARM Based Technology

It’s been a whirlwind week at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES). Throughout the week I had the chance to test drive some of the latest and greatest ARM based technologies that are on their way to making techies across the world very happy! On Day 1, tablets, smartphones and the BiggiFi software platform caught my eye first. On Day 2, my adventures spanned from the coolest Tesla electric car media console to tablets bringing computing to those that normally do not have access to technology via OLPC. On Day 3, I was styling with Wimm Lab’s Wearable Platform and found ‘Tagg – the pet tracker,’ so when my pup runs off I will always know where to find him…maybe I should find out if it works on teenagers too! And now on Day 4, I bring you Nufront and the Droid Angel.

At the ...

Tomorrow is now Today! TI shows the demo of ARM Cortex-A15 at CES

It was a little over a year ago when we launched the ARM Cortex™-A15 and talked about what the Cortex-A15 could offer for mobile devices and our partner, Texas Instruments has now shown their vision of what they could do with the capabilities of this cutting edge processor. The Cortex-A15 product has been embraced by the market and ARM’s ecosystem continues to grow in the very innovative mobile space.

At ...

ARM Powered at CES from tablets, DTVs, automotive & even your pet!

The onslaught on my poor feet continues from day 1 and day 2 at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) this week– my feet felt tired before I even got into the elevator this morning but it was all worth it to spend a few more hours looking at the technology crème de la crème at the show.

One thing that really caught my attention this week is how ARM based products are becoming more and more available in almost all the products that we use on a daily basis. Now there is even one for your pet, and I don’t mean a cell phone for your dog that can let the dog woof at you to say he’ll be home late… it’s more of a cell phone like product that can tell you where he is when he’s lost. This cool product called Tagg – the pet tracker was awarded a Design and Engineering Showcase Award as part of Innovations 2012 at CES. We met with Christine Jorgensen who gave...

The technology-fest gets even more ARM Powered at CES

Another day at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) of trawling around the 1.7 million net square feet of space (equivalent to more than 35 football fields) where we managed to track down some more of ARM’s most prominent Partners who were demonstrating some of the coolest technology on the planet (hence not needing any fans to cool it down!). Not to mention the revolutionary mobile technology that aims to bring computing devices into the hands of those that do not normally have access to them.

My day started at the NVIDIA stand where I met with Mike Rayfield, General Manager Mobile Business Unit, who showed me some of the...

ARM Technology at its best at CES 2012

This is my first visit to the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas and it’s amazing to see just how big this show is. There’ve been lots of news releases coming out over the last few days and even during the show itself, with many introductions of new and sometimes updated products based on ARM technology and migrating to ARM technology. Stay tuned to ARM’s Smart Connected Devices blog and follow our ARMflix YouTube playlist to catch all of the hot gadgets and interviews at CES 2012.

My scoop today was getting my hands on two of the new products from Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the Galaxy Note. These new devices are really nice to get to grips with and show how technology is moving swiftly in the...

ARM in Servers: How Small Could This Be?

My focus for these blogs is the role ARM’s technology has in large, complex server systems found in today’s tier-1 data centers. As I have mentioned previously, we see the compute requirements of applications such as web hosting, memcached and Hadoop as being particularly well suited to the types of ARM Powered® platforms that are in development. A reader of my last blog entitled “Servers: How Big Could This Be,” challenged me look at the other end and provide a picture of what a really small ARM Powered® server could look like. So to start this blog, I thought I would share some words on the opportunity at that end of the spectrum.

Just under two years ago, Marvell launched an initiative called SheevaPlug. Plugging into a wall socket and providing Ethernet and USB connectivity (subsequent versions would add Wifi support), this was a $99 ...

基于ARM平板电脑方案继续领跑市场(一)

在即将过去的2011年里,平板电脑,智能手机,智能电视等大放异彩。从半导体产业来看,ARM®推出了ARMv8第八代架构,一系列全新的64位处理器,同时发布大小核(big.LITTLE)处理架构,业界对此充满期待。更为可喜的是多家ARM中国的合作伙伴推出的基于ARM CortexTM-A8Cortex-A9SoC产品, 在平板电脑和网络电视等领域都取得了骄人的业绩。其中90%以上平板电脑产品均采用基于ARM架构的内核,不论在市场规模,技术方案还是应用的丰富程度上,基于ARM的平板电脑方案继续领跑全球市场。

在移动互联网时代,人们的生活习惯和...

Importance of HW Virtualization in ARM Cortex-A7 & big.LITTLE Processing

At Red Bend Software, we believe ARM’s newest processor, the ARM Cortex-A7, and ARM’s new big.LITTLE processing technology solidify the future of virtualization in the next generation of smart devices.

ARM’s latest processor is significant because it’s the second ARM processor to support virtualization at the hardware level, showing ARM’s commitment to using virtualization technology in mobile devices. About this time last year, ARM launched the Cortex-A15, the first ARM processor with a virtualization extension in its architecture. Watch me explain more in this ...

Mobile benefits of ARM Cortex-A7

With the announcement of ARM Cortex-A7 processor and big.LITTLE processing the ARM partnership remain committed to innovative solutions that will continue the mobile evolution.

Have you observed that over the last few years people are spending less time talking on their phones, but are increasingly spending the majority of the time reading content or accessing media on their smartphones? Gone are the days when the only time the content you read on the phones was an incoming text messaging, now your typical smartphone is constantly fetching and caching all the digital content we live by from emails, facebook updates, news feeds, etc. The modern smartphone is taking us to a new form of computing, beyond personal computing into an intimate computing era where you access the right content at the right ti...

ARM SoC's Hodgepodge or Great Innovation & Diversity?

Last week it was reported that Linus Torvalds described the ARM SoC (System on Chip) ecosystem as a “Hodgepodge, ” with the article then going on to imply that the diversity and innovation in how an ARM SoC is implemented makes it very difficult to implement Linux on ARM. I have a slightly different take on it.

Proof is in Production
Quite simply Linux is a hit on ARM, there are almost 600,000 ARM powered Linux devices shipped every day in the form of Android tablets and phones using many different SoC’s from ARM’s Partners, and using different ARM cores from ARM7 to dual core ...

台北国际电脑展【第三天】微软发布Windows 8,德州仪器发布OMAP4470,TeamF1最新住宅网关软件解决方案

Microsoft发布Windows8为推动未来移动互联计算的发展又注入了一股强大力量:在昨日的Computex上,微软发布了可应用于ARM架构设备(例如应用基于ARM架构的高通,英伟达德州仪器等系统级芯片的设备)的Windows系统,并展示了这一系统在ARM架构的平板电脑,超薄笔记本等一系列移动终端上的应用。这一最新发布充分展示了微软将功能强大的Windows软件应用于任何形...

Computex Day 3 - Windows on ARM Demo, TI OMAP4470 and TeamF1

The future of always-on, always connected computing got a big boost today from Microsoft. Microsoft demonstrated Windows working across ARM based devices supported by SoCs from Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and Texas Instruments. Showing a range of products from tablets to an ultra-thin laptop, today's demonstration highlights the ability to bring Windows functionality to virtually any shape or size of device. Together with support from the ARM ecosystem, consumers will enjoy a new level of always connected computing. For more information on Microsoft’s Windows 8 preview event, see ...

Computex, Life in Ole Taipei and 3D Mobile

I think this is easily my 14-15th Computex and may even be more than that. I first came here in 1992 and started attending the show not long afterwards. But this year is sincerely the most exciting for me. This is because I am with a new company launching new tech for the first time in 12 years. To be doing that amongst old friends and partners gives this year a special feel.

On Tuesday I gave a speech at the Innovation forum entitled ‘How 3D Will Evolve’ and subtitled ‘and create additional revenues’. The success of ARM has led to the introduction of super powerful new smartphones and tablets able to render stereo 3D content. In fact, we’ve been working closely with ARM partners ...

台北电脑展【第二天】“ARM的成功要归功于ARM生态系统!”

在上一篇博客中,我们提及了许多今年Computex上展出的基于ARM的创新产品。而事实上,ARM的成功与发展并不仅仅归功于ARM公司自身,还要归功于另一重要因素,那就是我们一直致力于搭建的创新且不断壮大的ARM合作伙伴生态系统ARM与这一生态系统中的850多家合作伙伴公司都有紧密的合作,而更值得骄傲的是,这一生态系统也为我们的合作伙伴之间广泛的合作提供了良好的平台,使得我们的合作伙伴能够更好的联合起来为终端客户提供最新最好的解决方案。

来看看应用于未来的移动设备上的最新Netflix Security解决方案吧!德州仪器为我们展示了他们最新的M-Shield 安全系统demo,(该安全系统使用了微软...

Computex Day 2: It’s all about the ARM Ecosystem!

We talk a lot about innovation at ARM, but the truth is we can’t take all the credit. ARM sits at the center of a thriving, innovative ecosystem of partners. Of course ARM works closely with our partners, but what is really great to note is how broadly our partners are working with each other to drive innovation for next generation devices.

Are you ready for your Netflix content on your next mobile device? Texas Instruments shared with us a demo of their M-Shield security system using Microsoft PlayReady DRM enabled by ARM Partner Trusted Logic running on an ...

Computex Day 1: ARM Powered Products, Windows Embedded and Linaro Hardware

For the first time, ARM is honored to be invited to join the opening ceremony of COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2011 as the VIP guest. ARM’s president, Tudor Brown attended the opening ceremony in TWTC of Nangang and together with Taiwan’s President Dr. Ying-Jeou Ma, TAITRA’s Chairman Dr. Chih-Kang Wang, TCA’s Chairman Mr. J.T Wang, TCA’s Convener of the Board of Supervisors Mr. John Hsuan, government officials from Taipei City Hall and Ministry of Economic Affairs, and other IT companies’ representatives to slide the tablets and kick-off this year’s COMPUTEX Show.

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ARM Powered Products took center stage at this year’s Computex.
The changing face of computing was never so obvious than at this year’s Computex – no doubt that this is the 3rd era of computing. Our roving correspondent ...

Defining the 3rd Era of Computing: Smart Devices Defined by Smart Consumers

As I get ready for Computex next week, I am thinking about what I expect to see there. There are lots of opinions about what might come out or be shown, but what I really wonder is what will stand out about the show this year. Thinking how things have evolved over the last few years, I keep coming back to the 3rd era of computing. ARM, like many, have used this concept over the years. But what does it really mean to us as consumers. And what might I see at Computex this year to show how the 3rd Era will develop over the next 20 years?

Most would agree that we are now deep in the 3rd era of computing, but what does this really mean? Some look at the 1st era as being defined by the mainframes and minis of the 1950’s thru to the early 80’s, the 2nd era being defined by the desktop PC generation starting in the 1980’s, and now this 3rd era that is driven by the innovation in ...

Google IO 2011: The 20,000 ARM Core Give Away

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The Poor Android Only Got A Free T-Shirt

Last week I attended Google IO (or Android IO?) 2011, a great chance to update yourself on the latest trends in Android and how developers are taking advantage of Android’s latest features. One of the major benefits of attending Google IO are the great gifts that you receive, and this year was extremely good, with each attendee receiving a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet and a Verizon LTE WiFi router. I’m sure that, like myself, everyone who attended this event walked with a smile on their face. All in all over 20,000 ARM cores were given away at this event. If you want to find out more about the Galaxy Tab 10.1 there is an excellent review in Engadget.

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3rd User Interface Revolution: personal = innovation & !engineering

Ever since computers were developed we have been interacting through abstraction layers or User Interfaces (UI). The mainstream UIs have seen little change in the past 20-years, but recently a new UI revolution has occurred and it is what I call the Third User Interface Revolution. From an engineering perspective this revolution is fundamentally different since it revolves around hardware separation and not just software.

A Brief History of UIs
From my perspective there has been three big revolutions with-respect-to UIs. The first revolution was the command-line c:> (or other) where the UI really became interactive for both consumers and engineers sharing the same interface. The command-line era was an interesting one where consumers had to raise their basic understanding of devices by using esoteric command line runes. I had many a difficult session attempting to explain these runes to family and friends, verging on impossible for some. This UI exposed the engineering environment details to everyone. Even today most Operating Systems provide a command-line, if not an extremely hidden one.

The second User Interface revolution changed everything and is ubiquitous; it simplified the consumer experience making the computer accessible to the majority. This was the introduction of windowing systems (i.e. WIMP – Windows, Icon, Menu, and Pointing Device). It changed how we interact with computers ...

Oh No, Not Another ARM Powered LEGO Rubik's Cube Solver!

It's been a while since the video of my Android MultiCuber 777 cube solving robot was uploaded to ARM’s YouTube channel - ARMflix. Since then, I’ve also demonstrated the Android Speedcuber at a number of events including ARM TechCon 2010. However, I've finally found enough spare time to create a new robot. For those of you who've been following my blogs and have read this far hoping to hear about another LEGO Rubik's Cube puzzle solving robot, I'm sorry to disappoint you... my latest creation does not solve a Rubik's Cube puzzle. In fact, it doesn't even solve a cube-shaped puzzle at all! Take a look at t...

Strong User Authentication for Smart Mobile Devices

As our Smart Mobile Devices become the center of our personal life and our personal information, user authentication will become a key feature to securing our personal information and access to services.

Authentication is the method by which a user is identified by something he has (a token), something he is (a biometric) or something he knows (a PIN or password). A combination of two is called two-factor authentication and Chip&PIN is a well known example.

Username and Password is a single factor authentication method that has grown up with the internet and computing in general. I’d be reminded of it at least five times a day if I started my laptop from cold every morning instead of putting it on standby at night. 1 – Authenticate full hard disk encryption. 2 – Login to Windows. 3 – Login to Wi-Fi access service. 4 – Login to corporate VPN. 5 – Login to email. And that’s just to start a day’s work. If I want to login to my bank’s service I have to remember a different set of usernames and passwords that are different from th...

Remote Mobile Transactions with the Convenience and Security You Want

I dread internet shopping, but maybe that’s just a male adverse reaction to shopping in general. I know that as soon as I’ve eventually found what I want, filled the basket and get to the checkout it’s where I realize that I’ve left my wallet in another other room. Then I get asked to pick a username and password (this is crazy! I don’t plan to come back and buy a second shed any time soon!), so I enter the same username and password I use all over the internet because I can’t remember them all. Then delivery address, billing address, expiry date and those funny three numbers on the back or the front four if it’s Amex. And just when I think I’ve paid and I can think of how great my life will be with my new shed, my bank decides to inconvenience me with an extra security check. I’m whisked off to my bank’s website where I’m asked to enter a password. Eh? Is this a phishing attack? Oh forget, it I’ll buy my shed elsewhere, this is just too much hassle! The dream vanishes.

Things have got to get better than this. Good news is they can and strangely it could be thanks to contact-less payments with secure user interfaces (see previous blog). Imagine for a moment, an open OS ...

Online Banking and Mobile Banking

I must say my bank has treated me well. When I talked to colleague whose banks are more fastidious about security than mine, he was inconvenienced and frustrated with the service. What he’s been inconvenienced with is a small pocket calculator sized widget that he must plug his bank card into every time he wants to log-on to his service. The login web-page will issue a challenge that has to be entered into the widget and a one-time password will be generated that has to be entered back into the login web-page. All nice and secure, assuming you’ve got your widget with you. Now, where did my colleague leave it? Now he’s got a home banking service rather than an Internet banking service.

But wait! The answer lies in mobile banking, surely? Erm, no not quite yet. I tried mobile banking once. Once and once only. The setup process was excruciating to say the least, I needed to be sat at a PC to start with (ironic since if I’m signing up for mobile banking perhaps it’s because I don’t have a PC) after half an hour of receiving WAP-push messages downloading software and waiting a long time, (assuming the software was generating cryptography key pairs and such things), picking a six-digit PIN (argh! Another thing to remember!) I finally thought I was about to enjoy the enlightened experience of being able to bank anywhere when up popped the message saying, “your service will be activated within 24 hours after an account manager has reviewed you...

ARM at SXSW-Interactive 2011? Don’t miss our panel and party!

It may be shocking, but this is the first year that ARM will be at SXSW-Interactive (SXSWi) 2011 in Austin, Tx. ARM is bringing our unique position and view of the industry (over 800 ARM.Connected Community Partners collaborating and innovating with ARM) to two great events: a Core Conversation on Mobile Payments and a fun Party/Smart Mobile Device Showcase.

Mobile Payments: My Smartphone Just Bought My Beer!

ARM’s own Tom Lantzsch and Vickie Nauman from 7Digital are leading a discussion on mobile payments in one of the SXSWi Core Conversation.

Are you curious about where mobile payments might be moving to in the future and wh...

Contact-less payments and NFC

Since you’re reading this blog, it’s fairly likely you’re technically minded and would’ve heard of contact-less payment cards. These smart-chip enabled cards promise to speed checkout for low value purchases by allowing you to wave your card at a payment terminal and go, but what about high value transactions? Simple, go above the prescribed limit and then you’re asked to insert your card into the Chip&PIN terminal (payment terminal with keypad) and enter a PIN to show that you are still in possession of your card. Incidentally, the first time I used my contactless Barclaycard was in a Caffe Nero at London Heathrow airport. I was so amazed at the speed of payment I forgot to collect a receipt for expenses and forgot to get my loyalty card stamped to claim a free coffee.

So we can say contactless is useful for small purchases where it’s designed to replace cash, but this only works for a small market segment like quick service restaurants. What about the big multi-lane checkout supermarkets where shoppers fill trolleys with a weekly shop that goes way above th...

Would you rather lose your wallet or your phone?

I’ve just returned home from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where everything was going well until Wednesday evening after a dinner out with some of our ARM Ecosystem Partners. That’s when my pocket was picked on the Metro and I lost my wallet to a pair of local thieves. I quickly realized what had happened and phoned home to my wife who immediately called our card providers to alert them to the loss. Otherwise I was only missing a couple of loyalty cards, a college pass, some cash and the wallet itself, and fortunately I hadn’t been harmed in any other way.

The following morning I joined a long line of MWC attendees at the on-site police station to make an official report and realized how much worse it could have been. Aside from not being physically harmed, I hadn’t lost my phone which was what had happened to lots of other people. The inventory of stolen smartphones around the city was about as extensive and high-tech as you could get – Blackberries, iPhones, ...

MWC 2011 – this year “M” stands for Multicore

Multicore products are everywhere. Not only in tablets but also in smartphones and as we are still getting used to what they can do, the silicon guys are whetting our appetite for the next generation of multicore solutions. Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Texas Instruments & ST-Ericsson have all announced their next generation of apps processors - all using multi-core Cortex-A series processors. You can see my colleague Jeff’s view of this in yesterday’s blog...

Mobile Devices – Delivering Scalable Choices Starts with Silicon

Consumers love THEIR mobile devices. That is a fact. I highlight “THEIR” because today’s cell phones, and smartphones, and super phones and tablets really have become an extension of the individual consumer. There are so many choices in devices that the each consumer is able to find what suits his or her needs that best. Today you can choose between screen sizes, cost, platforms (operating systems + apps), form factors, and performance, not to forget things like battery life, color, and even operators. What ultimately makes all of this possible is an ecosystem that delivers scalable choice to the consumer and the ARM ecosystem is uniquely positioned to just that. If it wasn’t obvious, this fact has been made even clearer from CES th...

ARM Processors Power The Mobile Broadband Revolution

Here is my report from the first day of the Mobile World Congress held here in Barcelona where the global mobile industry is gathered for its biggest annual conference and trade show. On my first day, I took a look at the latest mobile technology and talked to a number of ARM Partners about their exciting new semiconductor products; and in particular, mobile baseband processors. Baseband processors are the chips that run the communications inside a mobile smartphone or tablet and right now we are seeing a new wave of capability introduced in them as ARM’s Partners begin to implement the new LTE, or Long Term Evolution, mobile standards. In fact ARM’s LTE announ...

Lost in Translation – not with LTE

As I said in my last blog I was interested in what new services were going to open up with LTE. Well I think I have found my own personal killer app. My poor grasp of Spanish has been very evident this week so translation is top of my mind just now.

On the NTT DoCoMo booth I spotted this future potential service for me that could be enabled by LTE. It is an automatic translator for your mobile. So as you speak your voice is automatically translated (so there is an opportunity for me to sound like Penelope Cruz!)and conveyed in the native language of the other party. Particularly useful if you are making dinner reservations, or calling for medical assistance when travelling. This example shows the level of innovation that can be opened up with greater network capacity and speed and builds on previous implementations that translated only text.

As expected LTE has been one of the key focuses of ...

Behind the Scenes in Mobile Chip Development

This week, I’ve had some time to reflect on what goes on behind the scenes in technology development for the mobile industry as I’ve been introducing two new processors to some of ARM’s leading silicon Partners. The two processors in question are the ARM Cortex-R5 and the ARM Cortex-R7. Both are high-performance real-time processors that will feature in the next generation of baseband processing chips for mobile handsets and tablets. These devices will be capable of running wireless communications using the industry’s new LTE standard and offering very fast data rates, high mobility and extremely responsive interactivity.

The semiconductor companies that develop and manufacture these chips are s...

New mobiles that turn into desktops and how virtualisation helps

It’s good to see new multi-persona, multi-OS smart mobile devices coming through now, and as we’ve been saying, virtualization in your SoC is what you need to make this happen efficiently.

A few weeks ago, Darron Antill of AppSense was saying that 2011 will be a huge year for smart-phones and tablets. I was also talking to one of ARM’s Senior Software Solutions Architects the other day around Mobile virtualization regarding a whitepaper ARM published recently. He‘s great for picking out news on technology advances through the...

Increasing your car’s IQ with smartphone processors

Below is an article I wrote that was recently published in ZDNet. In this article I discuss the trends and technology behind the “connected car,” including how mobile chips and low power MCUs are being utilized in automotive infotainment and other in-car functions. Take a read and let me know your thoughts!

In 2007, 160 million cars were on the road in China alone. That number will have grown to over two billion by 2014, according to predictions.

The huge growth in China may not be replicated as aggressively elsewhere across the world, but with growth in mind, many automotive manufacturers will be attempting to drive vehicle demand through the development of new applications for in-vehicle-infotainment (IVI).

These applications will run using semiconductors that are most commonly seen today powering connectivity and performance in ...

Smart Appliances - Low Power Connectivity Becomes a Competitive Advantage

At first glance I had to wonder why one of Bloomberg Businessweek’s mobile beat reporters, Olga Kharif, was writing an article on household appliances. But after reading the first sentence it all made sense. Kharif’s piece explores the new world of smart, connected appliances and how traditional manufacturers like Whirlpool will now have to slug it out with new entrants hailing from the mobile / telco world, like Samsung and LG.

These upstarts from the land of smartphones, apps and mobile web browsers bring a different take to the world of white goods – and the potential for profit is huge. According to Kharif’s article, the market for connected appliances may reach $6.2 billion by 2015 – that is a big pie. Ironically, the key to success in this market will be similar to what makes companies competitive in the cell phone and ...

ARM Cortex-R Processors - Feeding our Insatiable Demand for Content

It’s actually quite difficult to just categorise this blog entry under the Smart Mobile Devices name because I want to talk about the recently announced Cortex™-R5 and Cortex-R7 real time products, but these products are not limited to Smart Mobile Devices, and to be honest, over the next few years, these may well be everywhere, ‘under-the-hood’ of many things that you take for granted but probably didn’t even know were ARM Powered®.

Let me explain a little more - you probably don’t realise it but there is a good chance that you’ve already used ARM® Cortex-R technology hundreds of times today, from accessing the data on your hard drive, downloading emails on your smartphone right through to safely making your journey to work this morning. All of this is because ARM Cortex-R4 processors are shipping in volume in a broad range of market segments inc...

Can voice recognition truly change the way we interact with mobile devices?

We’ve been sold the concept of voice recognition for decades, so I’ve often dreamt of interacting with smart mobile devices beyond simple touch but with full voice control - let the device carry out the complicated and intelligent functions for me. Unfortunately the technology has always promised and rarely delivered. The failures have come from a variety of different areas, e.g. not being intuitive, lagging responsiveness, or not being seamlessly integrated (feeling more like an add-on or gimmick). The voice solutions found today are solutions where the problem space has been severely pruned but where a glimmer of a potential voice future is starting to appear.

Input Devices
Ever since I’ve been using mobile devices I’ve been frustrated by the inputting methods and backend intelligence. I’m sure this places me with the majority of users, i.e. endlessly repeating mundane activities with the same procedure, or more commonly known as “Where is my stuff?”. This problem is not just limited to mobile devices but extends to the desktop as well. As we start to pack more and more functionality into ever smaller devices, the importance of getting to a...

How will you use the performance of Verizon’s new 4G LTE Network?

I’ve lived a reasonably happy life with my 3G network and the support I have for the three Smart Mobile Devices that I carry with me pretty much at all times. Ok so buffering is a drag when I am streaming music or video, and yeah pulling in that large presentation that my colleague just sent can cause some interruptions but basically I felt functional. That was until I visited the Verizon booth at CES 2011 to get an inside view on their recently launched 4G LTE network. To say that I (and my devices) felt a tad out of date is an understatement.



So how fast is Verizon’s new 4G LTE network?
Verizon launched their new 4G LTE network in early December. If you are lucky enough to liv...

ARM-based dual-core chips make Smart Mobile Devices even smarter for 2011

It was easy to get caught up in the tablet buzz at CES this year. There were an unbelievable number of ARM Powered tablets on display to demonstrate that we are really at the beginning of the innovation cycle in this emerging market. If you missed CES this year, I was able to catch a few of these devices and the partners behind them in my Day 1 and Day 2 CES blogs and Charbax has some great videos hosted on his site. But while tablets generally captured the headlines at CES, I was more interested in the technology that was powering this new generation of devices.
...

CES 2011: How to Survive CES With Only Your ARM Powered Tablet & Smartphone

Those of you reading this blog who are in the technology industry maybe of one of the lucky (or unlucky as the case may be) many who can look forward to springing into action right at the start of the New Year by heading over to Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, or CES as it’s known. Equipped with only my smartphone and tablet, this year I plan to conquer the numerous meetings and maddeningly cramped schedule using only these two devices. However there are a few key tips I wanted to share on how to survive while improving your overall productivity and saving your back.

Email and presentations are the main applications I need
Fortunately for me and others who have also come to expect to always be able to be connected, many of the new mobile devices that are coming onto the market, and even some of which are already available like the Apple iPad 3G, Samsung Galaxy S, and Huawei Ideos S7 all come with 3G options for always-ready, always-on capability. I for one have now switched to using my tablet as my primary computing device. In addition to browsing the web and ...

Your 2010 Guide to a Gadget-filled, ARM Powered Holiday: Part 3

If you haven’t seen my last 2 blogs, check out Part 1 and Part 2. I’ve put together a holiday gift list of some of the coolest ARM Powered gadgets on the market right now. So this year, avoid having your not-so-fun gifts regifted and try some of these awesome ARM Powered products that your friends and family will love.

Part 3: Gifts for Friends, Family & Around the Home
Bosch Tassimo Hot Beverage System – This fully automatic, energy efficient Cortex-M3 powered coffee maker (on display at ARM Techcon) quickly brews coffee, espresso, tea and mor...

Why Maturity and Cost Make 180nm the ‘hot node’ again

Oscar Wilde in his 1889 essay ‘The Decay of Lying’ said that ‘Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life’. I do not know about art but from my perspective as a semiconductor industry professional I can say that a technology node does imitate life. Just as a person goes through various different roles in life through the ages, so does a process technology node. As exhibit A, I present the humble 180nm technology node, the work-horse of the semiconductor industry. Think it’s a ‘has been’ node? Think again: it’s powering key features in hot new smart mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets with more than the cutting-edge nodes.

180nm was the ‘hot node’ in 2004
When I first joined ARM as an engineer in 2004, the 180nm node was a pretty ‘ho...

Your 2010 Guide to a Gadget-filled, ARM Powered Holiday: Part 2

Whether for business or leisure, traveling has become a significant part of many of our lives. Do you remember the pre-smart mobile device days when the only thing you brought to travel with was… a book? If you know any frequent travelers, or are one yourself, here are my suggestions for 2010-ing your travel routine – it’s the second installment of my ultimate ARM Powered Gadget Guide! If you missed Part 1, you can find it here.

Great Gifts for Traveling
Barnes & Noble Nook Color – Although “people-watching” is arguably one of my favorite pastimes, the Nook is a much better way to kill time in the airport. The Nook is a fresh take on the eReader form factor with its 7-inch LCD color touchscreen and over 2 million book and magazine titles to choose from, built in WiFi, games and...

Your 2010 Guide to a Gadget-filled, ARM Powered Holiday: Part 1

Another holiday season is upon us. As I look back over the years, there are certain holiday gifts I’ve received that really stand out in my mind: my first CD player, cell phone, mp3 player, digital camera, laptop… Are you sensing a theme here? :) Gadgets make for fun, memorable gifts that everyone enjoys and most of the time make our lives easier.

I’ve put together a holiday gift list, divided into 3 categories, of some of my favorite ARM Powered Gadgets. Let’s kick it off with Part 1:

Fun Gifts for Kids, Teens & College Students
Air Hogs Hawk Eye – Keep your kids entertained for hours with this Cortex-A8-based remote controlled helicopter. It has a camera mounted on the front that allows in-flight video recordin...

How the US Embassy made me read a paper book!

It’s only when preparing for my US Visa interview that I realised how much technology I was using and abusing daily
With a look back on my experience, you might see that you too are nearly as much of a geek as I am Posted Image

First, I needed to submit my application online (DS-160) so I used the ARM Cortex-A8 based Toshiba AC-100Posted Image to fill-in the form (of course). The webcam came in handy to submit the picture and an ARM Powered® HP Photosmart C309n Posted Image gave me all printouts needed for the interview.
Having to go to London, I thought the train journey would be a great occasion to organise emails and catch up...

Think Globally, Act Locally: Why coherency matters to Smart Mobile Devices

What does this well known phrase have to do with chip design for Smart Mobile Devices? In the future, everything – let me explain. There was certainly a lot of press when we launched our Cortex-A15 processor and in my recent blog I highlighted what that device will mean for mobile devices of the future. But last week at ARM Technology Conference (ARM Techcon) we had another big technology announcement from our graphics processor family with the launch of the ARM...

Why Cortex-A15 makes for Smarter, Lightning-Quick Mobile Devices in the Future

It’s been an interesting few weeks since the launch of the Cortex-A15. But since I’m here at ARM Technology Conference (ARM Techcon) to share some additional technical insight on the Cortex-A15 with our Partners, I thought I would share a detail or two on what Cortex-A15 will offer mobile devices of the future.

Looking Back to the Future
First looking back, the Cortex-A15 launch event itself was eye-opening in terms of the level of interest in ARM’s low-power technology and the variety of discussions that have ensued on what’s possible with upcoming ARM Products. It more than validated the conclusion of my previous blog that the on...

What is a Chumby? High-tech Softball, Internet portal, Next car accessory?

All of the above! The Chumby is one of those devices that you probably think you don’t need – but when you’ve got one you can’t imagine living with out it!

Chumby is basically your window to the always on Internet world. Its designers took the humble electric alarm clock and gave it a high-tech twist. It is basically an embedded computer which provides internet access via Wi-Fi connection. Through this connection users can access the internet, stream news, photos and video and run various software widgets. Chumby hasn’t been created to replace any device you already have, it is totally up to you how you customize it to your lifestyle.

Go on: Hack the Chumby
Chumby is often referred to as open source, but it doesn’t fit into the established definition. Chumby actively encourage you to hack into the hardware, once you’ve agreed to a licensing agreement that lets you use the Chumby HDK to hack the device. For more ideas, see Eric Gregori of Freescale’s blog Can You Hack A Chumby? See the Chumby in action in the video below. (The video starts with sli...

Industry Luminaries Discuss Mobile Future and Cortex-A15

Want to know what the future of the mobile computing industry? Simple, get the senior execs from four of the world’s leading electronics companies in the same room at the same time. Perhaps not as easy as it sounds, but that’s exactly what happened at the recent launch of the ARM Cortex-A15 processor.

Leonard Tsai, VP Innovative Design Technology of Compal, Mitch Markow, Director of Strategic Processor Technology of Dell, Sharad Mehrotra, VP Office of Strategy and Technology of HP, and Eric Klein, VP of Technical Planning of Nokia, all took part in a panel discussion to examine the future of smart devices, tablets, Cloud Computing, power efficiency and a range of other topics.

Throughout the discussion the panelists were excited about the future of the industry and the role ARM has to play with statements such as:

"We’re very excited to see someone who understands Power come up the performance curve” – Mitch Markow, Dell"We’re very excited about this future and the huge role ARM has played in it...

ARM-Powered Corvette by QNX Redefines Connected Driving at Techcon

How will tomorrow’s cars change the driving experience? To find the answer, here’s what you need to do: First, book your trip to ARM Technology Conference 2010 (Techcon). When you arrive, go straight to the exhibit hall and look for a silver Chevrolet Corvette. Found it? Good. Slip into the driver’s seat, where you will immediately notice that this is no ordinary Corvette. Within seconds, you’ll experience two ARM Powered® systems that show how driving is about to become more informative, more convenient, and, above all, more connected.

Attached Image

The two demo systems, a digital instrument cluster and a multimedia head unit, are the creations of QNX Software Systems . Techcon is still weeks away, so let's take a quick virtual tour to see what these systems can do.

Simplify your driving with smart instrument cluster
QNX’s digital instrument cluster demonstrates how automakers can replace physical speedometers and gauges wit...

Innovative Processor Development Requires Working Outside of a Bubble

At the Cortex™-A15 launch event earlier this month I was asked a number of times why ARM was going public about technology that we don't expect to see in devices until sometime in 2012. I suppose this is an obvious question but it struck me as funny because after 10 years at ARM I can't imagine doing processors any other way and here is why.

Most industry insiders know that ARM develops processor and SoC technology that we license to semi-conductor partners who in turn create advanced SoCs for devices in every market from toys and appliances to TV's and tablets. But what even the insiders don't fully appreciate is how this style of engagement changes the design process.

In a vertically integrated processor company the process is straight forward: Capture requirements from your customers, add in some market research, tap your internal technology teams for technology selection and design drivers (manufacturing technology to pipeline architecture), engage the device and software ecosystem, develop the product and move to market....efficient yes, innovative...

The Smartphone of 2013 with Cortex™-A15

A few weeks ago I was on the way to the Airport and the limo driver was talking about his Smartphone and all the great things that he did with it day to day. He then mused about what a Smartphone will be capable off in 2-3 years time; even though I have spent hours talking on this topic, I could not respond at the time the, as the Cortex™-A15 was still under embargo . Now working on the principle of better late than never, I can now answer his question.

More Performance In Your Pocket

The Cortex-A15 is ARM’s next generation application processor core aimed at highend Smartphones (and many other devices) coming to the market in 2013. If you want more details on the Cortex-A15 please read Nandan Nayampally’s blog or look up Cortex-A15 specs at http://www.arm.com.

The Cortex-A15 will continue the trend of increasing performance in your Smartphone, driven by enhanced usag...

Watt’s the Limit for Smart Mobile Devices? Meet the Cortex™-A15

This year has been an exciting and transformative year in mobile. I can’t believe it was just a few years ago when we first introduced the Cortex-A8 and this year the Cortex-A8 has been featured from some of the most innovative smartphones, tablets, and connected DTVs. Software and hardware have come together to deliver a fully connected experience across multiple device platforms. The Cortex-A9 is already headed mainstream into mobile and smart connected devices, enabling multicore performance and flexibility. So here we are today celebrating the arrival of the Cortex-A15 MPcore processor. So ...

Product Scalability – Archos leverages the ARM ecosystem to enable choice

While the tech blogs over the last few months have been filled all sorts of tablet devices covering a range of sizes, capabilities, and price points from numerous manufacturers, Archos stands alone this week by launching 5, yes FIVE, different tablet devices, simultaneously, all centered around different levels of tablet experiences. All include great multimedia, connectivity, web browsing (including Flash 10), and touch interfaces each in their own form factor. Their tag line is “Entertainment your way” and they seem to be delivering on offering choice within their new product line. With 2.8” devices for less than $100 to 10” tablets starting at less than $300 and 3 models in between, Archos is asking “How do you Tablet”?

You can read their press release and check out their website to see the detailed features and specifica...

Is The Web Really Dead? Not Quite

There’s been a lot of discussion last week over the state of the Web lately – most of which was generated by WIRED Editor-in-Chief, Chris Anderson and his declaration that the “Web is Dead.” It’s hard to imagine how something that’s engrained in almost all aspects of society could even be on the decline. Nonetheless, it’s certainly a topic that’s been generating significant buzz among tech evangelists, bloggers and the folks here at ARM.

The basis for Chris’ argument isn’t so far-fetched. Chris points out that the app environment has changed the way we access content, and that users are less likely to log onto the Web through traditional means such as desktop browsers. While we at ARM agree that user preferences have changed, there are many observations that suggest that Web traffic is actually on the rise.

Studies have suggested that that apps and other smart mobile devices are helping to drive today’s increase in Web usage. According to Rob Beschizza of Boing Boing, the amount of Web usage that takes other platforms i...

China leads the mobile internet development

Nielsen has claimed that China has passed US on mobile internet usage, according to China Passes U.S. in Mobile Web by James Kendrick from jkOnThe Run. I really believe this is happening, just by seeing the market change in the past 5 years in China.

It is reported that the number of internet users in China is 420 million as of June 2010, of which 277 million are mobile internet users at the same time. 11.7% of the mobile internet users only use a mobile phone to access to the internet. (Source: China Internet Network Information Center) This number has grown very fast in the past 3 years, from 44 million in June 2007 to 277 million in 2010. Mobile phones and new kinds of smart mobile devices are becoming the primary intern...

China leads the mobile internet development

根据中国在移动 Web 领域已赶超美国(作者:James Kendrick;来源:jkOnThe Run)一文提供的信息,Nielsen 称,中国移动互联网使用已超过美国。仅仅从过去 5 年来中国发生的市场变化来看,我便对此深信不疑。

据报道,截至 2010 年 6 月,中国互联网用户已达 4.2 亿,其中 2.77 亿为移动互联网用户。11.7% 的移动互联网用户使用移动电话上网。(信息来源:中国互联网络信息中心)这一数字在过去三年内得到飞速增长,由 2007 年 6月的 4400 万增至 2010 年 的 2.77 亿。移动电话及新型智能移动设备逐渐成为中国网民的主要上网设备。以下图表显示了市场的快速...

TV At Your Fingertips: How to Never Miss an Episode of Glee Again

It’s no surprise that consumers have fallen in love with tablet computing. Thanks to devices like the iPad and upcoming Android tablets, users have come to learn that mobile computing is more than just looking up directions on GoogleMaps or finding the nearest lunch spot on Yelp. New mobile computing trends have created a shift in the way that we’re connecting and consuming information on a daily basis. One of the hottest trends we’re seeing more of these days has been the convergence of entertainment and computing, which will increasingly become more of a design focus for device makers in the near future. Last week, there was a lot of chatter surrounding a slew of TV tablets that will soon be hitting the market, including the rumored Motorola Verizon TV tablet . TV tablets coming soon, this is an exciting prospect.

While enjoying TV content on ...

The New Mobile Payment Battlefield: Carriers Vs. Card Companies?

We’ve been talking a lot at ARM about secure mobile banking. ARM’s TrustZone technology is already an integral part of the ARM Cortex™-A series processors which are currently being deployed in smartphones by many of the industry’s leading handset manufacturers, and earlier this year we announced a partnership with Giesecke & Devrient to take that one step further by integrating G&D’s Mobicore operating system.

So, while the technology to protect consumers’ mobile transactions has been moving along quite nicely at the chip level, there has also been a lot of activity at the point of transaction level. According to a piece in BloombergBusinessweek on August 2nd, it looks as if we are set to see an interesting tug-of-war between the carriers and the traditional card companies for who will ...

How I Created the ARM Powered Android LEGO 7x7x7 Cube Solving Robot



From 3x3x3 to 4x4x4 LEGO Rubik’s Cube Solver
About 18 months ago I was inspired to design and build my first LEGO robot (video) controlled by a Nokia N95 mobile phone that could solve a regular 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube. While demonstrating this robot to a few colleagues at ARM, I had some other puzzles lying on the desk including 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 Rubik's Cubes. A number of...

Shaping the Future of Consumer Devices through Collaboration with TSMC

It’s summertime and that means it’s getting hot outside. My roses are in full bloom and though they love the heat, I don’t much care for it. It’s the time of year I try to travel lighter than ever in an attempt to beat the heat. One of the ways I do that is by streamlining the number and size of mobile devices I carry around with me. The innovations provided by the semiconductor industry enable smart mobile devices that bring seemingly never ending increases in functionality while getting smaller at the same time.

The progress never ceases to amaze me! My latest smartphone is smaller than ever and yet boasts a high resolution still and video camera. Also, I’m shifting more and more of my work to an ultra-thin tablet that’s smaller and lighter than a full-size notebook (as my colleague Jeff Chu discusses in his blog, the tablets' user experience is right this time). But as everyone knows, it’s getting tougher and tougher to deliver that kind of innovation. That is exactly why today’s announcement between ARM and TSMC is so important to the future...

Teens’ Telling Trends for Smart Mobile Devices: Better UI, Longer Batteries

My favorite annual pavilion panel at DAC is High School Panel: You Don’t Know Jack where 4 teenagers (this year 3 students who had just graduated and 1 student entering her final year in high school) were asked about their technology preferences. While their answers themselves are interesting, comparing the answers over the last four years reveal changing trends for smart mobile devices. The teens want better user experience, more integrated software and longer battery life. However, their preferences in devices hold some surprises.

iPhone? Yes, but no video and voice needed
While no student has an iPhone, a change this year is that all wanted one this year. In previous years, the teens had disliked the iPhone because some of their friends had worn through the keypad too quickly from all their texting. It seems that this issue has been resolved with later models. While the rumored iPhone 4 was attractive because it was thinner with longer battery life, they say no need for video chat. As it is now, they hardly make phone calls. Ideally they want a device that connects th...

The Road from Smartphone to Meta-Self – a Phone That Truly Knows Me

I’ve always wanted a Smartphone that can be an abstraction of me. This is driven by my belief that there are people who like writing diaries and those who do not. I’ve been waiting for a device for the latter group, where new personal situations can be recorded and analyzed automatically. Mobile technology has been changing rapidly where operating systems are more sophisticated (i.e. Apple iPhone OS, Palm WebOS, and Google Android) and hardware more capable (i.e. Cortex-A9). These rapid advancements have created the possibility of a truly personal Smartphone or what I call a meta-self.

As an engineer I’ve worked and observed the mobile world for over 18 years. The first mobile product I worked on was called the AT&T EO 440 Personal Communicator. The EO 440 could be called the original Smartphone. It was based on a Hobbit processor from AT&T and it used a standard analog mobile phone to provide the wireless co...

Flash Player 10.1 Goes Mobile – Smart Connected Devices Just Got More Fun

Adobe announced today the availability of Flash Player 10.1 enabling the wealth of Flash based content across the web to come alive for a wide range of end products. Flash Player 10.1 is the first release to bring the full web experience seamlessly across both mobile & non-mobile devices. But what is really great about this announcement is that Adobe has also made Flash Player 10.1 “smartphone” smart and that will result in mobile devices that are simply more fun. The release has been made available to mobile device partners for products later this year and through the ...

Can 4G Networks Free Up the Connectivity Pipes for Smart Connected Devices?

I’ve drawn parallels in the past on this blog between the level of innovation and technology advancement that has been driven by a smarter, more connected human system (e.g. the social Web) and what can be possible if all technology (not just mobile technology) could enable the same level of connectivity, built-in feedback and intelligence.

There is a real opportunity for devices to become even smarter by working together by sharing information and operations. The hope is that this interconnectivity will lead to a network of smarter connected devices that is more comprehensive, adaptable and responsive – impacting everything from healthcare to the energy grid to safer automobiles. In the energy grid for example, devices can work within a system context rather than in isolation, adapting their workloads to the needs of those devices around them or detecting faults in the system of devices before a major problem arises.

But while innovation in hardware and application development is an exciting topic it is just one side of the equation, the other side of that equation is connectivity – the pipes connecting these devices.

That’s why I was excited to read a ...

Diversity & innovation bring Computex a long way in 15 years

I arrived in Taiwan late Sunday night for Computex 2010 after what is seemed like a weekend commute from Austin. I have been traveling to Taiwan for the last 18 years; not much has changed on the travel side, American still has the “Narita Express” from DFW, AA 60 over and AA 61 back from DFW … trying to figure out the trips, must be over a hundred. This trip is for the yearly migration of the computer world to Taiwan for the Computex tradeshow … should be named the geek express especially going through passport control at the Taipei airport.

Eighteen years ago I came here for the first time as part of a team focused on creating a new PC platform. I was part of the newly minted powerhouse of Motorola, Apple, and IBM that had a processor and the dream to offer choice in the computing marketplace. Consortiums were formed with the Taiwan government, we built a design center with IBM/Motorola, worked closely with the ODMs, we all worked very hard but at after a couple of years it didn’t happen after billions of dollars of investment. Looking back it wasn’t the technology that doomed it, it was the close relationship and interdependencies that Intel and Microsoft had … it was called “Wintel” for a reason. The short term c...

Making smartphones a mainstream reality

Smartphones continue to be one of the fastest growing and most attractive segments of the mobile device market. The desire for high performance handset giving access to an apparently infinite (estimation of 5 Billion apps in 2014) number of web services and applications drives the high end, while increasing demand from emerging markets for access to mobile internet at a lower price point expands the market in the high volume segments. For many people in the emerging countries, a smartphone will be the primary and only terminal to access the internet services.

Hardly a day goes by without some major announcement of a new innovation, product or service in this area. Smartphones seem set for a stellar ascension with analysts predicting an installed base of 1.7 billion devices in 2014 (Analysys Mason).

However, in order for these projections to be fulfilled a number of things need to happen. Two major trends, which may seem to contradict one another are driving in this directionThe growing expectations for an eve...

The re-invention of consumer electronics and “internet everywhere”

One of the very exciting elements of consumer electronics today is the rate of change and re-invention. ARM’s strategy is to be at the center of the continuum of internet enabled devices – from smartphones to tablets and netbooks, to DTV and STB’s. The form factors and the software and applications running on these devices will continue to shift with consumer preference and technology innovation, but ARM will be at the heart of these great devices (continuing my thoughts from my CES blog). Having seen for myself at the recent web 2.0 show products such Palm Pre, Motorola Droid, Nexus One and the Nvidia Tegra 2 Android tablet...

Tablets: Getting the User Experience Right This Time

Last fall, Glen Burchers of Freescale Semiconductor wrote “The Tablets are Coming, The Tablets are Coming” and Mike Rayfield of NVIDIA was saying that Tablet Computers are coming soon. At CES this year NVIDIA even declared a tablet revolution…

Since then, there has been a non-stop buzz about the numerous tablet devices that would hit the market. The launch of Apple’s iPad drove even more tablet announcements from top OEMs. Both Dell and HP have either shown or been reported to have multiple tablet form factors. And Archos recently discussed no less than 6 tablets by this summer. Clearly NVIDIA, Freescale, and numerous other visionaries see...

Travels of the ARM Powered Android LEGO Rubik’s Speedcuber: ESC SV 2010

As you may be aware, my ARM-Powered LEGO robotic Rubik’s Cube solver “Speedcuber” was demonstrated live at Mobile World Congress ’10 in Barcelona in February this year (actually it almost didn’t happen because the LEGO robot fell apart while in transit and as I didn’t attend, a few other ARM Engineers had to roll up their sleeves and work out how to piece it back together – thanks guys). I had anticipated that after the push to prepare the robot for the its first public outing, I could re-focus my energy on my regular day job and relax a bit more in my spare time... but things don’t often go as expected in my life!

Speedcuber was a very popular demonstration at MWC so it was natural to consider demonstrating it again. However, someone (I won’t name the “guilty party”) suggested that we should switch to more relevant, contemporary technology; after all, the Nokia N95 phone controlling the first robot was launched almost four years ago in 2006. It was proposed that we show the robot again in April at the Embedded Systems Conference in Silicon Valley (time to forget relaxing in my spare...

Will Tablets push Netbooks closer to the grave?

Following Intel’s latest profit report, Don Clark of the Wall Street Journal raised an interesting question on the viability of Netbooks in his blog.

I recently have been asking myself and our community a very similar question, that you can read more about in this post: Will Netbooks join UMPCs and MIDs in the technology graveyard?

Ironically when I viewed Don Clark’s blog, right next to the article was an advertisement that contained a picture of the iPad. The juxtaposition of the article headline raising questions about the future of Netbooks against the visual backdrop of a break-through tablet device struck me as funny.

Sure there is still some desire in the market for even lower cost basic netbook devices. By breaking a $200 barrier these new devices could reach emerging markets, support education initiatives and could really help to drive netbook volumes.

But as an avid consumer of technology, I generally hold the view that consumers want more than a cut-down PC. They need devices with better battery life and...

Will Netbooks join UMPCs and MIDs in the technology graveyard?

I have to admit that with the launch of the iPad tablet this month and the momentum we are seeing on tablet development in Taiwan, I am now wondering if Netbooks are destined to the archive of technology mishaps – just like the UMPCs and MIDs of the past? Fudzilla seems to be asking a similar question in their post here.

Let’s go back to 2007 when the industry was in just giving up on UMPCs moving onto MIDs. Behind this industry fever was a number of companies that were intent to bring PC technology down to a mobile device. At that same time of course the mobile industry was moving quickly to bring the internet and other PC like features to an increasing capable set of smartphones.

...

CTIA 2010: 1GHz ARM SmartPhones and Beyond Part 2

This is part 2 of my CTIA blog looking at the network challenges, and the unexpected gadgets of CTIA 2010. Part 1 covered the best Smartphones, Android from 2G to 4G, multimedia capabilities in phones and screen sizes.

It’s All About The Network
At CTIA there was a lot of talk of how the “data crunch” is going to be addressed over the coming years and how the rollout of Wimax and LTE will help address this issue. Technical note in defense of AT&T; their HSPA+ network will have the spectral efficiency almost equal to LTE. However before you think the data capacity challenge is solved, here are some interesting data points from the Femtocell forum:Increased spectrum will give a 2x increase in data capacityLTE/Wimax will give you 3-5x increase in data capacity.Combined these two improvements will give a 10x increase in data capacity over the next four years, which sounds rather go...

CTIA 2010: 1GHz ARM SmartPhones and Beyond


Smartphone that I Wanted to Take Home
Though there were some great devices at CTIA, but the one device that I wanted to slip into my pocket was the Samsung ...

Always Connected is defined at SXSW Interactive

In my role as Digital Media evangelist at ARM, I was fortunate enough to attend the five days of South By South West Interactive (SXSWi) last week here in Austin, Texas to expand my knowledge of the ever-evolving world of social media in which low power consumption, always connected, and mobile applications became the glue in my daily activities.. The days are filled with various panels and presentations all about anything and everything you could want to know about social media and technology. Followed by endless nights of networking and socializing with folks of varied backgrounds with at least the common interest of connecting and expanding the possibilities of technology. It’s not called “The geek week of SXSW” for nothing, but from my perspective the attendees are some of the coolest people I have ever met. With an iPhone in hand and various Twitter and location based apps downloaded…following and interacting with the crowd brought connectivity to a whole new level for me.

The largest trend I saw at SXSWi is that it was hard to find someone who didn’t own an iPhone or an equivalent version of a ...

This Just In: Americans Find New Ways to Watch TV – Guess what it’s Mobile

I’m not sure if you caught the news yesterday morning, but it seems that Nielsen is reporting that TV viewing is up again in the United States. The interesting thing about this news is that it’s not about watching TV on your TV – it’s about watching TV on your cellphone.

Of course I could happily comment on the improvement in processors and bandwidth that’s made mobile TV possible and even enjoyable, this time I’d rather offer a personal perspective. As a member of the 35-64 year old group and a mother of two not-yet driving teens, I am not at all surprised about our “demographic’s’” consumption of internet TV on smart mobile devices.

I found myself recently convincing a friend of mine (in the same demographic) to move to a new 3G enabled smartphone. My main argument was staying connected “in the gaps” those short bursts of time when you find yourself waiting. As a mother who drives around her teen girls, I can tell you there is a lot of time spent waiting and I have found my sanity in staying connected “in the gaps”.

...

Android, the next universal operating system?

Coming back from CES and MWC, I found that Android is not a handset OS any more; I have seen Android in so many different form factors: handset , eReader, tablet, smartbook , STB etc. Since Android is an open source platform, anyone can customize it based on their own needs. Some of our software partners are providing Android customization service to the device manufacturers.

ThunderSoft spoke with me at MWC about their work with an Android tablet:

...

Android, 下一个通用操作系统?

参加完 国际电子消费展 (CES)全球移动通信大会 (MWC) 之后,我发现 Android 已不再仅仅是一种手机操作系统;它可用于多种不同形式的设备:手机电子阅读器、平板电脑、智能本机顶盒 (STB) 等等。由于 Android 是开源平台,因此任何人均可根据自己的需要对其进行自定义。我们的某些软件合作伙伴正在向设备制造商提供 Android 自定义服务。

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MWC...A Glimpse into Smart Mobile Devices

Having just chalked up another MWC, I am left with a couple of overall impressions from the show. Firstly, there was definitely a buzz back in the event and despite the absence from the show floor of a couple handset vendors, the official number of attendees over the four days was 49,000. But in addition to the atmosphere, there were a couple of other overriding themes and technologies that were evident.

Trends in Smartphones

Firstly, the sheer volume of the high performance mobile platforms from many semiconductor vendors was impressive, so expect a noticeable step change progress in smartphones over the next one to two years. 1080p HD video & graphics along with multiprocessor cores at 1GHz and above for high end platforms were evident on many stands. These were consuming every possible bit of data which seemed to be causing headaches for many exhibitors reliant on outside communication or internet connectivity...so spare a thought for the network planners when these devices hit the market.

Growth of Application Delivery

The focus on application delivery was also evident, with the success in the new App Planet event with each of the top OEMs hosting a session...

Mobile World Congress – The computer show of the new decade?

In preparing for my very first MWC, I was thinking: is this just going to be a mini CES? I started by looking into the number of attendees and who the exhibitors are and saw that this is a much more targeted show focused on mobile phones. Then I really started to dig and realized I couldn’t have been more wrong, there is so much more to it than the term “mobile phones.” Looking at session topics and the news in the mobile space today, it became clear that maybe we should be thinking of MWC as the up and coming computer show of the new decade. Yesterday’s mobile phone ecosystem is tomorrow’s computer ecosystem.

Today, the fastest growing segment of the mobile phone market is the smartphone. What seems to be some of the most compelling features to consumers are the instant access to their email, the ability to get to the web wherever they are, and the huge availability of applications addressing specific individual needs. Aren’t these the things we used to do on our PCs? Essentially today’s smartphones are small computers in our pockets or purses. While they are not our historic PCs, these smart mobile devices do most of what we used to do on our PCs but they do it anywhere and anytime, they are always on and always connected, they have int...

CES …catalyst for well placed bets…ARM everywhere

CES has always been where future ideas are tested and the impact of well placed bets becoming a reality. At 2006, people starting talking about HDTVs connected to the internet, ARM realized that to become a leader in these devices we must support the internet. This kicked-off internal discussions that were initially focused on getting ARM into computing, but very quickly it boiled down to “it’s the internet stupid” and that the internet would be critical for ARM’s success in the future. This initiated engineering efforts by ARM and our Partners to make this a reality. Fast forward four years and I can say the bet paid off in spades and in ways, we did not imagine. Let me show you what impressed me …

eBooks/Readers explosion … this was the year of the eBook/eReader at CES, they were everywhere and a couple received best of show in their categories. The Barnes and Noble nook, Alex by Spring Design, and Entourage edge; all integrated a second screen and Google’s ...

2010 Mobile Predictions from Dual Core Cortex-A9 to Android…

This is a traditional time of year as I prepare for 2010 Mobile World Congress to think about what we are going to see in the mobile world in 2010, and start the office sweepstake on how many phones and laptops we will have stolen this year.

If you are reading this at the end of 2010 and totally impressed with my forecasting skills, well thank you, if you are bent double with laughter then this is proof on how dynamic the mobile market is.

So as I’m an old tech guy I will give you my 10 (octal) predictions for 2010, or should I say 3732?

Consumers Just Want to Do More with More ARM Processors

As Smartphones become an integral part of the consumer’s digital life they expect their Smartphone to handle that many tasks without having to wait. In response to this demand expect Smartphones to increase their multitasking capacity through software/UI enhancements, and through the hardware with the adopt...

First Axiom of Low Power Design – Think Size

As a student of physics, I have always been drawn to the fundamental truths. However, after a career of marketing it took a true scientist to remind me to go back to my roots and look for the simple truths that hide within complex problems.

It happened when I was giving a recent talk to a large group of ARM engineers and technical fellows at our internal global engineering conference. The subject of my talk was an inside look at the much talked about ARM vs X86 battle. I naturally highlighted many of the power differences between two very different approaches to processor design including the fact that the ARM architecture was designed from the start for mobile.

After my talk I was approached by one of the most famous (internal to ARM) original architects of the ARM instruction set. As a marketer at an engineering conference, it was an honor to finally meet him in person and I was surprised that he took the time to talk to me. He complimented me on my talk but then very gently pointed out that I had a bit of the ARM history wrong – ugh!

You see, the original ARM instruction set was designed f...

Lookout - Prepay smartphones for under £100 ($165)

I was looking for a Christmas present for my teenage daughter last week and was looking to buy her a low cost “Pay as you go” phone. Pre-pay feature phones usually cost less than £100 in the UK and offer a functional, if limited, user experience. Some of the more popular styles have been low cost touch screens that imitate the look of more expensive smartphones, but without the slick user experience (rich graphics, vast app stores, snappy response). So I found myself in Car Phone Warehouse looking at the phones from the big 6 OEMs (Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson) and was amazed to see that a £99 Nokia touch screen cell phone (Nokia 5530) was a S60 device – a full blown smartphone running on a fast ARM11. I checked the price on Amazon and in the USA it is available unlocked for $199. These are impressively low price points and make smartphones, without contract, available to a much wider audience. The smartphone market is expected to grow to beyond 500M pcs per annum by 2012 and a good percentage, maybe half, of th...

Chrome OS – Leveling the playing field



For ARM this is very exciting news, here is how we see the impact:

It levels the playing field. Fo...

Travels with Netbook

I was pretty impressed with Ubuntu remix on the Acer netbook that I’ve been playing with, but wondered if I could use a netbook as my day to day computing companion for a trip away. During these business trips, I use my laptop to give presentations, remain in touch with work (e-mail and office applications) and as entertainment.

I usually travel pretty light anyway (an under 6Kg Samsonite rucksack that has room for clothes and equipment). This lasts me up to a week. With the netbook, the bag was certainly lighter, my MacBook is pretty heavy.

Getting Ready

I like to listen to the BBC podcasts; I’m particularly addicted to “The Archers”. I spent time reformatting my iPod to Windows and downloaded the Banshee music player as that had good reviews. After a lot of messing about, I managed to get my music onto the iPod but I just could not get the podcasts to automatically load onto the ipod. I created a list and loaded the mp3’s separately.

I had previously made sure that e-mail (Evolution) worked and I noticed that you can select mail folders to be available off line. When you go back on line, they automaticall...

Acer Liquid: Big UI improvements in Android’s Donut

It has been exactly one year to the day since I held the first production-ready Android handset the HTC G1. Now one year of good fortune presented me with the chance to use the Acer Liquid (Qualcomm’s ARM-powered SnapDragon), well for a few days at least. Not having used an Android handset in the period in between I was very surprised to see how far the bar had been raised by the combination of the physical attributes, thousands of apps available for installation and the Donut release of Android.



The WVGA display was just stunning and is three times the resolution of the G1 and combined with scrolling wheels containing media content and bookmarked web pages attracted a lot of positive comments in the office. The whole ease of us...

Airplay SDK 4.0: Indies can afford to take apps cross-platform

Everyone loves the iPhone. Everyone loves the App Store. But why should Apple have all the fun? Or rather, why should they have all the apps, and all the app developers? What if there was a single SDK that allows you to write a rich mobile app in vanilla C++, compile it to native ARM CPU instructions, then click a single button to generate standard app installer packages for the iPhone, Android, ...

TechCon3: Advancing mobile computing & graphics interfaces

At ARM TechCon3 last week, we had a chance to catch up with Brian Carlson of TI and Bill Galione of ST-Ericsson.

Brian Carlson took us through some of the emerging ARM based mobile computing devices using TI’s OMAP 3 technology. The highly responsive Palm Pre which is powered by the ARM Cortex-A8 which supports multiple applications at a time. The Archos internet tablet is the first OMAP 3 Android product that runs at 800 MHz. This very fast device can open multiple windows at one time and has a handy touch magnifying tool for close up reading. Carlson says there is much to look forward to from the OMAP 4 and the ARM Cortex-...

Cortex-A5 in Mobile...This little core is going to be BIG

In the mind boggling large mobile market a lot of time is spent talking about the smartphones which represent less than 20% of the market today. It is a market which is in transition from ARM11 to Cortex-A8 processors and will move to dual core Cortex-A9 processors next year. These SoCs typically have a GPU such as a Mali400 for impressive user interfaces and accelerating Flash10.1 graphics and a video block for DVC functions that can push out to an HD display. There is a lot of software being optimised for these Cortex-A family cores (If you are a software engineer you will know this as our v7A architecture). Backwards compatibility comes as standard with these application processors, you can run code from an ARM7 or ...

One Size Does Not Fit All – How ARM Enables Phone Diversity

One question that is continually asked of me since I have been at ARM is if product X, operating system Y, or form factor Z is going to “win” the handset market. My response to this is always no, and then I provide the following explanation. The mobile phone market is around 1.3 billion units a year, and there are over 3 billion mobile individual subscribers. No one handset, form factor, or operating system can dominate a market that size. Also, the mobile phone is the most personal electronic device that allows people to reflect their individuality (or not).

What does this phone say about its owner?

Different Needs, Different Devices
Originally, when mobile phones were just phones the diversity in the form factor and capabilities were quite small. The big differentiators were color of the case, talk time and whether it was a flip or candy bar phone.

Did you want your phone in Candybar or Flip?

Today mobile phones have morphed into so many form factors and capabilities depending on the needs of the individual co...

Gray market, 1000 RMB mobile computing?

ARM processor-based mobile computing platforms have been drawing more eyes in China in the past several months. Many companies both in the handset industry and the PC industry are interested in this “new” market. Moreover, the chipset vendors have become key partners in this market because they have the chips and reference designs. High-performance ARM mobile computing platforms, such as Cortex-A8 based platforms, are more intricate than previous platforms. So direct support from the chipset vendors is very important to the ODM/OEMs so that they can finish their first design. I have had several calls each week from these companies asking for an update on this market, including any partners whom they can work with. Some of the calls are very interesting because they are from some companies which I never heard of in Shenzhen area where the most gray market players are located. Gray market refers to the small manufacturers in China spinning out devices with little to no branding or marketing. They say they want to do ARM based smart mobile devices....

China has a huge gray market now..hundreds of small and medium-sized companies who are struggling in this market. They are very flexible and want to do any device that...

灰色市场,千元移动计算?

过去几个月来,基于 ARM 处理器的移动计算平台在中国一直备受关注。手机行业和 PC 行业的众多企业均对此“新兴”市场兴趣满满。此外,芯片集供应商已成为该市场中的关键合作伙伴,因为他们拥有芯片和公板设计。高性能 ARM 移动计算平台(如基于 Cortex-A8 的平台)比以往的平台更加复杂。因此,来自芯片集供应商的直接支持对于 ODM/OEM 完成初步设计非常重要。每周我都会接到来自这些公司的几通电话,询问有关该市场的更新信息(包括他们可以并肩合作的任何合作伙伴的信息)。有些电话非常有趣,因为是从深圳地区(多数灰色市场厂商聚集的地方)我从未听说过的某些公司打来的。灰色市场是指制售品牌非常小甚至无品牌或营销活动的设备的中国小型制造商。他们说希望做基于 ARM 的智能移动设备....

中国现在拥有巨大的灰色市场..数百家中小型公司正在这个市场中拼搏挣扎。他们非常灵活变通,只要是可以赚钱的设备,他们都愿意做。他们...

Nokia N900 shows the power of ARM Cortex-A8

Having seen the ads on YouTube and read the PR I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a N900.


The jump to our latest Cortex-A8 processor in the form of TI’s OMAP3 chip means that users can enjoy greater responsiveness for widgets, browsing and everyday use. A second important feature of the N900 that you will see widely adopted over the next year or two is the take up of OpenGL ES 2.0and the accelerated graphics that lies beneath. This combination of Cortex-A8 or dual core Cortex-A9 together with capable GPU’s like our Mali400 will become the mainstream solution for handheld computing over the next couple of years. OEMs are demand...

The Challenges of Video on Smart Mobile Devices

There have been a number of items in the press over recent weeks about video technology and so I am going to explore why this is important for Smart Mobile Devices. One of the interesting news items was about the inclusion of standard video codecs in the HTML 5 specification. It seems that a lack of agreement between interested parties means that a standard is currently not possible. Another news item was the Google announcement of the acquisition of On2 Technologies - a company noted for providing the video compression technology used by the likes of Adobe Flash and Skype.

So why is the specification and control of video codecs so important?

Digital video signals from a video or TV camera have very high data rates in their raw format, but fortunately also contain large amounts of redundant information. Video codecs exploit this redundancy to compress the digital signal and reduce the amount of storage required to hold a particular video and hence reduce the amount of data required to transfer the video to an end user. When you want to view the video, the decoder uncompresses the data and regenerates the original video....

Understanding a new generation– web-based software and services

Working in a technology company, I like to think that I am up on the latest and greatest device and software trends. My mobile devices synchronize my world of calendars, email, contacts, and most web information seamlessly to my computers and with the rest of my families’ various devices. I rest each night with the security that my critical data (mostly media content) is safely backed-up in the cloud, and only sometimes worry about security. And in an attempt to stay current to the minute, I even joined the Twitter revolution.

My 14 year-old daughter teaches me what’s important…

I was feeling pretty good until last night when I came face to face with a real-life generation gap. You see I asked my fourteen year old daughter to take a new prototype ARM-based netbook for a spin and she unlocked for me a new understanding of a web without boundaries. She doesn’t marvel at the web and connectivity; she lives it and expects it. She lives in an online world. She keeps in touch with close friends in an joint online community they built to chat with each other on myfamily.com (I’ve promised ...

New Smartphone Applications on the Symbian Horizon?

3rd party applications offer the potential to add real consumer value to a mobile platform and as a result, many of the Operating System providers and OEMs now offer a mechanism for delivery of applications. The competition between platform vendors is intensifying and on the 16th of July, the Symbian Foundation launched its Symbian Horizon initiative. The intention is for Symbian Horizon to present an application-publishing platform supporting a single application across multiple OEM products. These applications can be delivered through multiple store fronts. Not all the application stores are known at present, but this initiative should appeal to the OEMs and the Network Operators who are actively involved in the running of the Symbian Foundation and manufacturing or distributing Symbian handsets.

Striking the correct balance between complete freedom for developers and confidence in the applications to perform correctly on a device will be key to attracting devel...

Windows Mobile 6.5…A new face for mobile devices

It has been a long time in arriving, but WM6.5 the latest release from the Windows Mobile team is here, or is it? Announced to the world during MWC in February, MW6.5 has undergone a branding change and rather than appearing as an operating system, we have a collection of devices under the brand of “Windows Phone”. With all the media and industry attention given over to open source mobile operating systems, it has been easy to overlook WM devices. However, the Windows Phone branding and features within WM6.5 is intended to make Microsoft powered phones more appealing to the consumer rather than corporate customer.

The appeal to the consumer market starts with the user interface, Microsoft has updated its software to sit more comfortably alongside competing platforms that have for some time boasted a richer user experience through touch screen interfaces. OEMs have the option of customization, but the standard Microsoft ho...

China, at the center of Mobile Computing evolution

China, one of the largest PC, mobile phone and consumer electronic markets in the world, is at the center where all companies in the industry are competing with each other. And now, it’s one of the critical markets for ARM based mobile computing devices. We are working with our partners including Silicon vendors, OS vendors, software service companies as well as OEM/ODMs to enable the market in China.

Convergence is happening everywhere in the industry: fixed line and wireless; embedded and PC, especially mobile and internet. Everyone is talking about mobile internet in China such as the operators, internet companies, wireless service providers etc. There were 298 million internet users in China by the end of 2008, among which 117.6 million users also accessed internet through mobile phone; growth of 133% more than 2007, according to CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center). I am expecting the next 100 million internet users in China will access the internet through mobile devices rather than PCs.

Chinese people are one of the craziest and most endurable users I have ever seen. Many young generation people will spend 2-3 months’ salary just for a latest “cool” Nokia phone, and then change to another one in half-year time. They like to try new devices and services, and they ar...

中国,在移动计算进化的中心

中国是全球最大的 PC、移动电话和消费性电子产品市场之一,同时也是业界所有公司展开竞争的战场前沿。目前,这里也是基于 ARM 的移动计算设备的重要市场之一。我们正与合作伙伴(包括芯片供应商、操作系统供应商、软件服务公司以及 OEM/ODM)携手,共同推动在华市场发展。

业界的融合现象随处可见:固定线路与无线、嵌入式与 PC,特别是移动与互联网。在中国,人人都在谈论移动互联网(如运营商、互联网公司、无线服务提供商等)。截止到 2008 年底,中国互联网用户已达 2.98 亿,其中 1.176 亿用户同时还通过移动电话上网;与 2007 年相比,增加了 133%(信息来源:中国互联网络信息中心 (CNNIC))。我预测,中国接下来的 1 亿互联网用户将通过移动设备而不是 PC 访问互联网。

中国人是我见过的最狂热、最能忍耐的用户群之一。很多年轻人会花费 2 到 3 个月的薪水,只是为了购买一款最新的“酷炫”Nokia 手机,而后会在半年的时间内再更换为另一款。他们喜欢尝试新的设备和服务,同时也是互联网用户...

Android Shipping on ARM Smart Mobile Devices Now

Android is an excellent example of the great OpenSource initiatives that are happening around the ARM architecture. Android and the Symbian Foundation are unique in the OpenSource community in that they are both complete mobile phone stacks, which allow OEMs and Silicon Partners (SiPs) to develop their own handsets. Allowing them to focus on differentiation, rather than the rewriting yet another SMS client. However it is critical that anyone who is takes advantage of the Android codebase does it in such a way that they can take full advantage of future versions, optimizations and bug fixes.


It is easy to build a toy Android on another architecture, but can you make it production worthy?

With OpenSource Freedom Comes Responsibility

The Android codebase is 2+GByte of source code, and the many man years of effort t...

The ARM Cortex-A8 Allows You to Multitask on the Palm Pre

Why do you need the performance of the Cortex-A8 in a smartphone, what is the “killer application”? I always responded to this question by explaining that there was no one killer application, but rather consumers need to do many things well. The Palm Pre is an excellent demonstration of the multitasking smart mobile device.

A Multitasking Phone for Multitasking Consumers

Traditionally phones have really had a “singletasking” UI, in that you would have just one application displayed on the screen, such as an email application. To change from one application to another you would go back to a display that allows you select the next application and the Palm Pre has this traditional view.


However the Palm Pre has broken this paradigm by offering a UI that is more OSX / Windows 7 rather than Windows 3.1.

The Palm Pre achieves this “multitasking” UI in a number ways. The first being that an application can just shrink to allow relevant information to be displayed, for example email, voicemail, or the media player controller application screen prese...

ARM talks smartphones, netbooks and smartbooks with TelecomTV

A couple of weeks ago I was [video] interviewed by Ian Scales from TelecomTV. Ian asked me a wide range of questions, but focussed on ARM’s role in the mobile industry and how we are enabling the latest range of smartphones and smartbooks* with a new level of performance and multimedia features. It was done just before the Google ChromeOS announcement.

My colleague James Bruce has commented on the Google Chrome announcement in his blog: Google Chrome OS on ARM Powered Netbooks, What Does It Mean?

Rob Coombs, Director of Mobile Marketing, ARM, focuses on mobile gadgets that can fit in your pocket and is excited about the next wave of Smartphones that promise to be smarter and wow us with stunning graphics. This new class of Smartphone, which will focus on personal Internet and user experience, will change the industry and delight users. The ARM mobile marketing team are at the centre of the mobile industry and this provides a great place for Rob to look at the trends, a...

Google Chrome OS on ARM Powered Netbooks, What Does It Mean?

Today Google announced that they will be releasing a Google Chrome OS for Netbooks & Smartbooks* supporting both the ARM architecture and the x86 architecture. Of course this has generated a lot of press and commentary such as "Clash of the Titans" in the Economist, with a strong focus on the rivalry between Google and Microsoft, but what does it mean to the consumer?

What Computing Power Do You Need?

Traditionally computing has followed Moore’s law in that consumers have followed the increase in computing power. Today this has resulted in incredibly powerful desktops that consume 600+ Watt, but what does the consumer do with that? The simple answer is that for typical use cases consumers do not need this level of performance, unless you ar...

Reflections on Computex

As I look back on this year’s Computex show, two things stand out to me: One is the lack of spark that has traditionally existed between Intel and AMD in the PC battleground and two is the incredible interest in ARM Powered devices from smartphones to netbooks and smartbooks*. Seems like both of these smart mobile devices could be a sign of the times that PCs are just not that exciting anymore and true innovation will drive the market to new heights.

So what was “better” that showed up at Computex 2009?

A number of different netbooks showed up based on Freescale’s iMX515. These were extremely thin with HD video playing. It was great to see OS choices including Ubuntu, Xandros, ...

Playing with the Cortex-A8 based Palm Pre

Today I received a Palm Pre to evaluate as one of the first phones to employ the ARM Cortex-A8 processor core (Breakdown showing the Cortex-A8 based TI OMAP3430 in the Palm Pre). The Pre is a very exciting device for a number of reasons, including its WebOS and also because it is Cortex-A8 based.

ARM Cortex-A8 delivering performance never seen in your hand before.

So why is the Cortex-A8 such a leap forward for the mobile handset? If you want full details, you can refer to in-depth technical manuals for the Cortex-A8 and the TI OMAP3430. But in one simple sentence the Cortex-A8 delivers over 2x the performance that you have seen in a cell phone before, while not sacrificing battery life. When designing the Cortex-A8 we had to adhere to the Golden design rule of not exceeding 300mW, almost 10x lower than what you see from other mainstream processor architectures t...

Are we going to use GPUs for saving the world instead? – Part 3

Following my last two blogs on the history of GPUs and the consequences of OpenGL ESv2.0, I’d like to continue the discussion of OpenGL ESv2.0 and the evolution of Smart Mobile Devices. And at last, to my favorite topic, gaming. For the last ten years I have been touting that mobile gaming will take off next year. Although we have seen in all fairness a tremendous growth in this area, it was never the killer application that shaped the Smartphone space. Now this is about to change with the web based application stores for mobile. The interest in good quality, good looking games is sky rocketing judging from the reported downloads from Apple´s App store and one can easily imagine that the interest will continue to increase with games utilizing programmable shaders going by the references we have from the game console and PC space. The very good news for all us gaming junkies is that we are already seeing Mali-200 technology-based designs being targeted at the mid-range mobile phone level. Even if we are only talk...

Are we going to use GPUs for saving the world instead?– Part II

Following my first blog on the history of GPUs, I’d like to continue the discussion of OpenGL ESv2.0 and the evolution of Smart Mobile Devices. GPUs have gone from traditionally being games accelerators to becoming an essential part of game platforms (i.e. we are not talking about GPUs accelerating games anymore, they are an absolute necessity to even play a modern day game). In ARM we experience that the same thing is happening in the mobile platform but for a much wider range of applications, and of these, the biggest one of all is the User Interface (UI). Devices today are increasingly differentiated on the crispness of the UI (I will leave any discussion about actual usability out of this post; I am still an avid shell user even sitting on a Mac) and device manufacturers are seeking to insert as much “soul” as possible into the UI in attempts to gain more market share. Although it is 2-3x more expensive in terms of silicon cost to add a GPU that can support OpenGL ESv2.0 compared to a fixed function GPU supporting OpenGL ESv1.1 or OpenVGv1.1, it is becoming an absolute necessity in order to support the high-quality graphics effects i...

Are we going to use GPUs for saving the world instead? – Part I

Let me start with a short history of GPUs. When work started to design the ARM®Mali™ graphics architecture in 1998, the market for Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) was still in its infancy in the PC space. The existing architectures were designed to implement the beloved mathematical formulas we, in the graphics industry, sometimes read up on in the Foley, et.al. The main purpose of putting a GPU in your system back then (yes, you could decide for yourself whether you wanted graphics acceleration or not) was basically to get Quake to run faster and for the visuals to look better. Bringing the same improvements to mobile phones and enhancing the user experience was not considered and the Smartphone, much less the Smartbook*, was not even thought of.

Back then I remember Jørn Nystad, the chief architect of the Mali architecture, saying; “Why should we limit programmers to a fixed set of functions they can accelerate?”

What he was referring to was obviously the fact that with all GPUs implementing the same “mathematical” functions, everything would look similar. Even two very different game titles had a very similar look and feel. Our software team back then, still riding high on the Amiga wave in which some are still active sceners , claimed that although GPUs made triangles and pixels move much faster, graphics produced by these static machines did not have “so...

Market for MIDs or Smart Mobile Devices?

I have been asking myself lately if there is a market requirement for the Mobile Internet Devices as defined by Intel, but I can find no compelling reason for such a device. The device category is manufactured and does not fit the consumer market with its relatively large form factor and high power consumption being offset by nothing more than the promise of a desktop internet experience. My pockets and hands are not getting any larger to make carrying such a device a realistic prospect. However, true smart mobile devices that access the internet offer a compelling experience for which the consumer will pay.

Forcing the creation of a new category of devices will not work. The way forward is to enhance the consumer experience of existing devices that already provide significant value through a clear primary purpose. Mobile phones are the most obvious category of consumer devices where we are seeing this innovation, with increasingly higher speed modems in new devices offering higher throughput than the broadband connection to my house. Coupled with a trend to larger display sizes and the innovative use of widgets and services this category of devices, which have the primary purpose of making calls, fit in my pocket and have a suitable power profile to last for days and are truly mobile personal devices. The incredible capabilities and diversity of “smartphones” will on their own constrain the development of any MID market.

Yet, the consumer electr...

ARM Community at Computex: Wrap-up

ARM Community at Computex

Don’t Supersize My Processor….Consider ARM Smart Mobile Devices
Kerry McGuire reflects on the excitement around Computex 2009. She describes her ideal smart mobile device and the technology needed for it.

ARM in the News

Pegatron Netbook: Freescale CPU, 8hr battery, super-slim & 3G [Video]
By Chris Davies, Slashgear.com, June 4, 2009

Wistron N900z Smartbook*: sub-$200 ARM netbook [Video]
By Chris Davies, Slash Gear, June 3, 2009

ARM's East Interview on Semiconductor Industry [Video]
Bloomberg TV, June 2, 2009

COMPUTEX 2009: the year of the low power chip
by Scott Bicheno, Hexus.channel, June 3, 2009

...

ARM Community @ Computex: W East, Nvidia, Samsung, Fujitsu, Opera

What’s happening with the ARM Community at Computex?

Energy Efficient Design Emerges as Key Computex Trend
Power-management and power-efficient technologies are becoming an industry requirement. The ARM low-power processors, ARM CortexTM-A8, and ARM CortexTM-M0, are geared towards power efficient solutions.

ARM at Computex: nVidia, WiMax, Fujitsu, Samsung & Opera
Rob Coombs’ Day 3 account of his travels at Computex covers video interviews with nVidia, Fujitsu and Opera and a review of activities at the WiMax area and meeting with Samsung to discuss their new S5PC100 chip that is running Android and ThinkFree.

Warren East, ARM CEO, on HEXUS TV
“What's the next big thing in tech? Well, perhaps its ARM... very small, very powerful and already in loads of stuff... but there's plenty more to come!”

New Videos on the ...

Why the Internet Experience will be better on your Smartphone

Cut the Wire, Rise from Your Desk & Make the Internet Personal

The Smartphone Redefined Email
Would the Blackberry have been successful if it had taken the laptop email experience and just made it smaller? No, RIM took advantage of the always on, connected experience of your Smartphone and redefined the email experience to make it a compelling (perhaps too compelling) experience. The same is happening with the Internet; Smart Mobile Devices are going to redefine how the Internet is used.

Making the Internet Personal

Smartphones redefine the Internet experience because as well as offering a full browsing experience they offer unique features that a laptop cannot offer:
• Always with you
• Always on
• Always connected
• “Swiss Army Knife of features” including still camera, video camera, GPS, 3D compass, 3D accelerometers

This unique combination of features will allow a wide range of Internet services that will be accessed from the Smartphone in your pocket, making the Internet truly personal and not deskbound.

Smartphones Today – Redefining Shopping Around You

So how has the Smartphone enhanced an Internet service? Let’s just take a simple example of online price comparis...

Computex: ARM Partners Have Delivered Mobile Computing

I was last at Computex a couple of years ago. From a semiconductor perspective it then seemed to be all about Intel and AMD, but it has been very different this time. There are a host of ARM semiconductor partners showing off their highly integrated ARM based System on Chip (SOC) devices. Now, some of our marketing folks will tell you I'm a hard person to please. Sorry chaps, I do confess I have been a bit negative over the last 6 months - perhaps focusing more on what the ARM computing products don't do, rather than what they can do. Well, I've spent a couple of days in Taiwan and I'm impressed. The ARM Partners who have targeted this new space are delivering.

There has been a lot of ODM activity too. The efforts of the ODMs, in combination with the ARM software and silicon Partners, have created a great collection of real products. These products look good, feel good and... they actually work, connecting me to the ARM website faster over 3G in Taiwan than I can often get over Ethernet on my PC in the ARM Cambridge office.

So well done, and thank you to those ARM partners, ODMs and their software partners who have collectively made this happen.

My speech on Monday was about the mobile Internet becoming a reality to the extent that it becomes so much a part of our everyday lives that we can stop talking about it. We do have a way to go before my "favourite gadget" fountain pen doubles up as a voice-activated connec...

ARM Business Model Applied to Computing

With the Silicon Handcuffs Off, Taiwan Will Lead A New Era of Choice in Computing

With ARM and its expansive Partner ecosystem providing compelling platforms for the (mobile) computing market, Taiwan’s ODMs and OEMs, for the first time, will have the freedom to innovate and differentiate through a new class of Smart Mobile Device that they provide.

I’ve spent many a year in the traditional PC industry, but now I’m seeing signs of a major transformation happening at the ODMs. For the first time, they feel the freedom to move from implementing a defined specification/device to making new devices that leverage the base technology. This freedom allows them to choose the best ARM Partner for the class of device that they are designing.

Computex 2009

Having finished a week tour in Taiwan meeting with ODMs, I was amazed at the focus and excitement surrounding this year’s Computex. As usual, the ODMs are striving to beat out their competition by showcasing their products to existing and prospective OEMs. However what makes this year unique is the opportunity that they see in the diverging PC market and the potential to change what has been the legacy for the last 20+ years.

Taiwan has built its business model of suppliers to a common platform driven primarily by one silicon company. The model runs on razor thin margins with little room for differentiation. Notebook X must have these features; netbook Y must...

Mobile Computing with a Bang - My son at ARM

Some of you know I like to use my kids as science experiments, well for two weeks my son (age 15) is doing his work experience here at ARM.

So, what has he learnt in the first week?

I’d like to think he has joined the dots and has figured out that if he applies himself, and gets good grades, then work can be fun. Alternatively he might have concluded that he can roll into work whenever he likes, eat almost continuously in the cafeteria (this is important to him at the moment) and no one gives him a hard time.

What have we had him doing?

We’ve got an online programming tools and microcontroller prototyping project bubbling along in the labs. As we’re always looking for more example projects, we thought we could build on his last project which involved launching a rocket with an accelerometer data logger as the payload. Since offline apps are so last year, we reasoned that the Web 2.0 Mobile Computing Edition had to do the data logging (with an upgrade to include a gyro) in real time with a GPRS phone module connection to a web site. All the extra payload called for a bigger rocket which made everyone smile.

He has learnt that super glue is very sticky, tissues are not a good substitute for fir...

Smart Mobile Devices - what to expect from your next Smartphone

The immediate future of mobile devices is visible at industry shows like CES, MWC and CTIA. I want to share my pick of the smart mobile device technology that is going to revolutionise the user experience of Smartphones over the next year. As it happens, on the last day of Mobile World Congress my mobile phone disappeared which means I’m back using my battered and bruised old cell phone for a while and on the lookout for something new and shiny.

If you looked carefully at some of the devices on show at CES in Las Vegas and MWC in Barcelona you would have witnessed the start of what will turn out to be a profound change for the mobile industry. In the thousands of devices on show there were a handful that represented the next generation, with high-performance processors, high-definition video capability and stunning screens. They were generally slim, cool, high-performance, web-centric mobile devices powered by the ARM Cortex-A8 processor or Qualcomm Snapdragon (both ARM v7 architecture). The applications processor represents the brains of the Smartphone, MID or netbook and having a Cortex-A8 typically provides a 3- to 5x jump...

All-day computing is coming to netbooks. A real back-saver

Netbooks with ARM technology will start shipping in the next couple of months, ushering in a new level of usability for the consumer – the best in Mobile Computing. Like your Smartphones, these Smart Mobile Devices will be thin and light, have great internet and multimedia experience, and will set the bar for battery life – delivering a full-day experience. Saving you from making that painful choice between your work and your back.


Trials of a Road Warrior with limited battery life

Having your battery go flat with no place to charge can mess up your day. I have been lucky with most of my portable devices because they get me through the day before I have to seek out a wall plug or USB port for charging. But for some, or should I say one in particular, it is challenging to keep going for more than a couple hours. Yep, my trusty notebook. With notebooks you have a choice of light and limited work, or heavy and a back problem. I choose the heavy, back-breaking option because as a road warrior I can’t afford to lose hours in my day due to a lack of battery power.

I travel frequently and in good or bad times my company has us fly in coach. When I board I always hope that I am lucky enough to get the seat with power and hope it works, but most of the time the closest power is the socket in the airplane’s bathroom. (I’ve...
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All company and product names appearing in the ARM Blogs are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ARM Limited per ARM’s official trademark list. All other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
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