Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Hitachi Europe | Subject: SH-Mobile series
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 17 April 2002
Processors add multimedia to mobile
applications
Hitachi has developed the SH-Mobile series of application processors for high-speed processing of multimedia applications in next-generation mobile phone systems.
Hitachi has developed the SH-Mobile series of application processors for high-speed processing of multimedia applications in next-generation mobile phone systems With a processing performance of 173MIPS, SH-Mobile can be used alongside any baseband chip to execute the processing demands of applications such as complex imaging as well as offering easy system development
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 16 Feb 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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SH-Mobile is Hitachi's first application processor, a new architecture developed to relieve the strain on the baseband processor in mobile phones by handling the new processor-intensive applications demanded of next-generation handsets.
In addition, having a dedicated processor simplifies the software development process, reducing manufacturers' testing costs and time to market.
Development is further simplified as the baseband processor recognises the SH-Mobile as SRAM memory rather than a processor, simplifying control from the baseband.
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With volume production starting in May 2002, Hitachi expects to ship over 10 million devices in 2003.
"The SH-Mobile is already successful in the Japanese market for application processors", said Chris Litchfield, Communications Business Group Manager, Hitachi Europe.
"As operators in Europe increase datarates and facilitate multimedia messaging services (MMS), we are expecting the SH-Mobile to play a big part in bringing exciting applications to consumers and further stimulating growth in the mobile market".
The first application processor in the new series is the SH7290 which offers a large memory capacity capable of enabling the high-speed execution of applications such as Java, microbrowser, JPEG, MPEG-4 and MP3, on Windows CE, Linux and microITRON operating systems, without placing processing load on the baseband chip.
The SH7290 operates at a frequency of 133MHz and is based on a SH3-DSP CPU core, which makes it suitable for multimedia portable devices such as digital still cameras.
It boasts 128Kbyte RAM, which can be accessed in a single cycle, and 32Kbyte CPU cache memory.
A standby mode function on the processor allows the power to each separate circuit to be shut off when inactive.
This enables a low standby current of typically 5uA to be achieved and ensures that the application processor does not increase mobile phone system power consumption.
The SH7290 includes a number of pre-installed modules and interfaces which are required to communicate with next-generation mobile phones.
These include a baseband processor interface, a video interface to the camera module and an interface with AND type and NAND type Flash memory.
A development platform for the SH-Mobile with keyboard, LCD and camera, and a wide range of software from partner vendors are available to enable the rapid development of sophisticated multimedia applications on the application processor.
Handset manufacturers can take advantage of this to rapidly and easily develop next-generation mobile phone systems incorporating wide-ranging multimedia applications.
The SH7290 is suitable for communication systems including GSM, PDC (Personal Digital Cellular) and next-generation systems such as CDMA2000 1x or W-CDMA.
It is available in a 0.65mm pin pitch CSP-240 package and a 0.5mm pin pitch CSP-256 package.
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