14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like Google and Texas Instruments are close to start a fruitful collaboration to offer Android fanatics the next iteration of the operating system, “Ice Cream Sandwich.”
Although the partnership between the two companies have yet to be officially announced, it appears that a Texas Instruments PR representative let it slip via email that their platform has been chosen by Google for the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich.
To prove his statements, the aforementioned Texas Instruments (TI) official attached an interesting image that shows the Android mascot wearing a TI hat and going hand in hand with another mascot that looks like an ice cream sandwich.
The image speaks for itself and makes all previous rumors that pointed to a possible collaboration between NVIDIA and Google for the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich operating system worthless.
We already know that NVIDIA’s Kal-El has been pushed back to 2012, so the only viable solution for Google would be to choose another ARM chipset manufacturer, if they want to aim to a Q4 release of the Ice Cream Sandwich like they previously planned.
These said, it appears that the OMAP4 platform is the only decent option for Google, especially that the Texas Instruments is currently building some of the most powerful chipsets on the market.
As Andy Rubin likes to say, Google is interested only in what is the best on the market at any given moment, and right now Texas Instruments seems to be in a leading position:
“What we do is pick our partners, a semiconductor partner, an operator, and an OEM and then combine them all together. This is the device that engineers have on their desk when they come in the morning.”
Even though there are no mentions regarding which devices will use TI's chips, we know that the company's portfolio comprises two powerful dual-core processors, the 4460 and 4470.
The information comes in a rather awkward moment, as rumors about Texas Instruments' intentions of selling its OMAP division have started to emerge.
According to the latest hearsay, the company thinks that due to its position as key player on the mobile chipsets market this might be a very good time to sell.
Word on the street is that the companies interested in buying TI's OMAP division are Intel, AMD, ATIC, Nvidia, and a long list of other interested parties, but the only serious candidate seems to be AMD, which needs an ARM chip.