News & Analysis
Playbook teardown calls TI a winner
Rick Merritt
4/19/2011 4:32 PM EDT
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Texas Instruments was one of the big winners in the Research in Motion Playbook, according to a teardown conducted by UBM TechInsights. TI won sockets for its Omap 4430 processor, a four-in-one combo connectivity chip and power management and converter chips in the new mobile system.
The Playbook is the first system torn down by UBM TechInsights to use the new TI connectivity chip. Choosing the new device for the handset maker's first tablet was "a daring decision," said one analyst.
In addition, RIM appears to have stayed close to the TI Omap 4430 platform with its selection of the TI TWL6040 power management IC and the TI PS63020 high efficiency single inductor buck-boost converter, said Allan Yogasingam, a technical marketing manager with UBM TechInsights, a division of United Business media, the publisher of EE Times.
In a full teardown of the Playbook online, the group compares the new tablet to the iPad 2, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Motorola Xoom.
It remains to be seen how significant the Playbook design wins are. Early reviews panned the RIM tablet for its lack of the native email client that made the Blackberry wildly successful. The device also doesn't have access to the full suite of Android applications.
RIM said it will remedy the software shortcomings in a future software release. Reviewers said the omissions suggested the Playbook was rushed to market.
Below is an initial listing of components UBM TechInsights found in the Playbook:
- SanDisk-Toshiba SDIN5C2-16G: 16 Gbytes MLC NAND flash memory
- Elpida B8064B2BPB: One GByte LPDDR2 DRAM system memory located on the Omap 4430
- Texas Instruments Omap 4430: Apps processor located in package-on-package
- Texas Instruments TWL6040: Power management IC
- Intersil i951 9HRTZ F032RG
- Wolfson Micro WM8994E: Audio codec
- ST Microelectronics XTV0987: 5 MPixel image processor, also found in the Blackberry Torch
- Texas Instruments WL1283C: WiLink 7.0, a Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 and FM combo
- Texas Instruments PS63020: High efficiency single inductor buck-boost converter with 4-A switches
- Invensense MPU-3050: Triple-axis MEMS Gyroscope
- Cypress CY8CTMA3: Touch screen controller
- Bosch BMA150: Digital accelerometer
- Texas Instruments LMV339: General-purpose low-voltage comparator
- Intersil ISL9519: Narrow VDC regulator/charger with SMBus interface
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hm
4/19/2011 10:59 PM EDT
Who is supplier for LCD and any idea how much is BOM cost? Is this with QNX RTOS? RIM should incorporate all BBM and other email functionality.
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hm
4/19/2011 11:19 PM EDT
TI is major vendor. They should pursue no 1, Apple for thier products. This may not be considered significant win as RIM Playbook is in distant place as compare to other tablets.
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eewiz
4/20/2011 1:57 AM EDT
Wow! 4 sockets for TI! RIM must have got a lot of bundle discount IMO. BTW if we had to call TI a winner, then Playbook itself should be winner. Right? I am pretty skeptical about this.
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dbsingh1880
4/20/2011 3:50 AM EDT
Its a masterstroke from RIM to support Android Apps on QNX. This give them complete control of innovation of the QNX i.e. not dependent on Google's mood swings on OS release (honeycomb)and have access to very popular and growing Android Market.
I am sure this will win market for RIM..
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GREAT-Terry
4/20/2011 11:25 AM EDT
I think it is not strange to see TI has so many sockets associate with its OMAP CPU. It just means RIM is not doing much change on the reference design from TI. This may also has two implication. One, the TI reference design is so powerful and optimal that people can stick to it and forget about optimization on particular hardware performance. The other possible is that RIM is running out of time to have a very detail design so they just stick to the reference design and cross the fingers to hope everything runs right at the first round in order to shorten the time to market.
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P_brane
4/20/2011 7:08 PM EDT
My experience with the TI reference designs I have started with is that they are very good. A lot of vendor references don't even come close to being electrically stable (once you get 'em going) let alone run software. I think TI is and should be a natural choice for more product, and no I'm not part of TI marketing but I recognise good products when I use them.The OMAP family is first class, but it should be, these people know how to do this well.
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elctrnx_lyf
4/24/2011 3:26 PM EDT
It is really a great benefit for the playbook to actually directly support the Android applications directly on to the QNX platform. I wonder how is this possible.
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