Texas Instruments New OMAP3 Architecture Will Spark Development of a New Class of Mobile Phones

Industry's Highest-performing Application Processor Boosts Entertainment and Productivity Features

BARCELONA, Spain (Feb. 14, 2006) - Offering a breakthrough in how a mobile phone can work for you, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) today announced its new OMAP^TM 3 architecture for mobile phones at a press conference at 3GSM World Congress. The OMAP 3 platform will transform the mobile phone into a personal and professional tool that allows consumers to integrate work and entertainment into one device. OMAP 3 application processors will power a new class of mobile phones that will improve entertainment and productivity features and integrate capabilities of cameras, gaming devices, portable video and music players, laptops and PDAs. TI's first OMAP 3-based device, the OMAP3430 processor, will be the industry's highest-performing application processor and is believed to be the first wireless processor to use 65-nanometer (nm) process technology. The OMAP3430 processor will sample this year (visit www.ti.com/omap3 for more information). 

"Cool consumer electronics products are migrating to the cellular platform, enabling consumers and business travelers to experience mobile entertainment and workplace productivity on the road," said Gilles Delfassy, senior vice president of TI's Wireless Terminals Business Unit. "New OMAP 3 processors will enable a radical change in how the mobile phone will be used, making it an indispensable work/life tool."

The new OMAP 3 architecture will empower consumers with faster accessibility to databases, spreadsheets, presentations, e-mail, audio and video attachments, web browsing, and videoconferencing. OMAP 3 is the industry's first application processor platform to be based on the new ARM® Cortex^TM-A8 superscalar microprocessor core, which delivers 3X more performance than the ARM11 core used in OMAP 2 processors. Combined with TI's DSP technology, the increased ARM performance boosts productivity and entertainment applications on the mobile phone, while maintaining power efficiencies expected in a handset. 

"TI's OMAP 2 platform took multimedia performance on mobile devices to a new level. The OMAP 3 platform is yet another major breakthrough in performance with the new ARM Cortex-A8 core," said Petri Haavisto, Vice President, Symbian Product Platforms, Nokia. "These new OMAP processors will enable the design of a new breed of mobile multimedia devices, combining state-of-the-art entertainment capabilities and laptop-like experience in a low-power handset class of products."

OMAP3430 Processor Improves Imaging, Video and Graphics

This new OMAP 3 processor will offer the first high-definition (HD)-quality player in a mobile phone processor, allowing users to download movies onto their phone and watch them on an HD monitor. The OMAP3430 processor also offers the first DVD-quality camcorder capability in a phone - a 4X improvement from the OMAP2430 processor - enabled by IVA^TM 2+, a second-generation, power-optimized version of TI's imaging, video and audio accelerator used in TI's DaVinci^TM technology. Leveraging the increased capabilities of the IVA 2+ accelerator, the chip will enable mobile phones to record and play movies at DVD quality for all popular standards, such as MPEG4, Windows Media Video 9 (VC-1), H.264 and RealVideo® 10, in addition to videoconferencing.

The OMAP3430 processor will support all known mobile DTV decode standards worldwide, making it a perfect companion for TI's Hollywood^TM mobile DTV chip. The OMAP3430 processor will also include S-video output support for higher quality video display on an external TV monitor or projector, enabling easy sharing of multimedia presentations. By leveraging the combination of ARM performance and 2D/3D graphics core, the OMAP3430 processor will further accelerate the rapid momentum of gaming applications in mobile phones. 

Capturing images at 12 megapixels with less than one second shot-to-shot delay, the OMAP3430 processor enables capabilities of today's highest performance point-and-shoot digital still cameras, a 2X improvement over the OMAP2430 processor. This is accomplished through the integration of a camera Image Signal Processor (ISP) to lower system cost and offer handset manufacturers differentiation in image quality. The OMAP3430 processor ISP is based on proven, high-quality TI digital still camera technology shipping in volume today and is optimized to address mobile imaging requirements. With the increased popularity of using mass storage devices for saving digital media, the OMAP3430 processor boasts fully compliant interfaces for seamless connectivity to even the largest hard-disk drive (HDD) devices. This enables the storage of 100s of hours of video, 1000s of hours of music and 1000s of photographs, transforming the handset into a digital library.

OMAP3430 Processor Offers a Breakthrough in Power Management, Security

The OMAP3430 processor is believed to be the industry's first application processor manufactured in 65-nm process technology. TI's leading-edge, low-power 65-nm process, in volume production today, delivers more processing performance for advanced applications without increasing power consumption.

The OMAP3430 processor leverages TI's SmartReflex^TM technologies to dynamically control voltage, frequency and power based on device activity, modes of operation, process technology and temperature variation, saving power. The OMAP3430 processor will also include TI's M-Shield^TM advanced hardware and software security framework, which enables robust protection of high-premium copyrighted digital media content, secure protocol applications and e-commerce applications like ticketing, banking, brokering and shopping. M-Shield technology enables new value-added services and increased terminal security, allowing operators, content providers and manufacturers to secure sensitive assets and usage rights, protecting against revenue loss. 

TI's OMAP Ecosystem - Software, Applications and Support

The OMAP3430 processor has been designed to support all major high-level operating systems (HLOS), including Linux®, Symbian OS^TM, and Windows® Mobile. Like all of TI's OMAP processors, the OMAP3430 processor will be supported by the OMAP Ecosystem, which is comprised of the OMAP Developer Network and OMAP Technology Centers, a worldwide network of third-party software and hardware developers, as well as systems integrators, development tool providers and leading content providers.

Availability

TI's OMAP3430 multimedia processor is expected to sample in mid-2006, with volume production scheduled for 2007. For additional information regarding the OMAP3430 processor, please visit www.ti.com/omap3.