Nvidia Intros Applications Processor
Techtree News Staff, Feb 13, 2008 1319 hrs IST
Nvidia has announced APX 2500, an applications processor for handhelds, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Feb 12.
It was with the acquisition of mobile applications processor designer PortalPlayer -- in November 2006 -- that Nvidia really got into the mobile business, though the company had started off earlier, with mobile graphics cores.
And now we have this, the APX 2500, an applications processor for handhelds, which Nvidia has introduced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 12th February. APX 2500 is essentially a chipset; the key things here are the ability to decode as well as capture HD (720p), power savings, HDMI video output support, and a (very) capable architecture that has the ability to handle 12MP images, with image stabilization built in.
As an example of the ultra-low power consumption of the APX 2500, Nvidia has stressed that the nPower technology aboard the chip enables over 10 hours of HD video playback and up to 100 hours of audio; the latter, the company points out, is more than four times the corresponding figure for "the latest touch-screen phones".
Nvidia has partnered with Microsoft on the development of the APX 2500, so the chip will -- at least initially -- be used with Windows Mobile devices that deploy Direct3D. Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of Nvidia, said, "The APX 2500 combined with Microsoft Windows Mobile will make the next generation of smart phones our most personal computer".
However, one needs to note that the GeForce core -- whose desktop counterpart would be the GeForce 6 -- is fully OpenGL ES 2.0 and Microsoft Direct3D Mobile compliant. It can drive other operating systems as well.
Along with APX 2500, Nvidia is supplying a basic framework for user interface software. This, as you might expect, will exploit the graphics power within -- so it boasts of features such as overlays, transparency, and even anti-aliasing.
Mike Rayfield, general manager (Mobile Group) of Nvidia, said they would be pursuing the application processor business with an aggressive roadmap. While the industry rolls-out new application processor families every two or two and a half years, they plan to have new families every year with variants in between.
This announcement indicates the state of the art in terms of the desktop having come to the mobile. Think about it -- you already have, in one device, the power to handle 12 mega pixels images, capture HD video, play endless hours of audio or quite a few hours of HD video, display intuitive 3D interfaces with overlays and all... But moving forward, the pace of development is only going to accelerate, and we have to only wait for those phones that will exploit all this power.
Meanwhile, mass production of APX 2500 is likely to begin around June. Nvidia has developed a prototype (below), and some companies --that the company hasn't named -- are already receiving samples of the chipset.
For detailed information and specifications, take a look at Nvidia's page for the APX 2500.
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