14 DAY TRIAL // Marvell has introduced a new generation of application processors designed for handsets, GPS navigation systems and other consumer electronic devices. The Marvell PXA3xx family of application processors (internally named Monahans) is based on the third generation of Intel XScale technology.
The first processor in the family to ship in volume is the Marvell PXA320 (Monahans P). Demonstrated earlier this year as running at 1.2GHz, the Marvell PXA320 is currently shipping in high volume at low-power and is scalable to 806MHz. Customers will be introducing devices based on the Marvell PXA320 in the first quarter of 2007.
Other processors from the Marvell PXA3xx product family are the Marvell PXA300 (Monahans-L), that offer performance and cost optimization for high volume handheld devices; and the Marvell PXA310 (Monahan-LV), that provides high-resolution VGA multimedia performance with extended battery life for demanding 3G video and audio use.
The PXA3xx family of processors delivers improved performance and extended battery life, enabling advanced video and audio capabilities. Wireless Intel SpeedStep with MusicMax technology provides intelligent power management, enabling varying power states so users can listen up to 30 hours of MP3s on their handsets. Intel VideoMax technology supports high-performance video capabilities, and will continue to deliver improved resolution with future versions of the PXA3xx family of processors.
Power efficient video playback and capture enables high resolution content and supports advanced codecs such as H.264 for rich video quality, up to D1 resolution at 30fps. The PXA3xx family also supports digital cameras, and advanced camera effects such as image stabilization and up to 5 Megapixel camera sensors.
As has come to be expected from Intel XScale processor technology, the Marvell PXA3xx processor family continues to offer frequency scaling capabilities. Marvell's architectural enhancements allow operating environments and general purpose applications to process tasks quickly at high frequency and efficiently scale back to a low-power state to conserve battery power.
With platform enabling solutions available for Microsoft, Linux, Palm, and a spectrum of real time operating systems offerings, device developers can choose the applications and services that meet consumers' needs. Development of multiple operating environments conserves development work and accelerates time to market. Compliance with the ARM architecture allows existing ARM-based applications to be ported quickly to the PXA3xx family.