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motti2
PixelQi has the advantage of reflective ( non-backlit lowest power ) and ...
motti2
Mirasol is an improvement over backlit LCD operation. It is not power ...
Qualcomm cautiously upbeat on Win 8 plans
Rick Merritt
6/1/2011 9:19 PM EDT
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Qualcomm's chief executive was high on enthusiasm but low on details about getting a port of the next version of Microsoft Windows for his Snapdragon processor. Separately, engineers have first silicon of Krait, the next-generation of Snapdragon, and expect to sample chips later this month.
In addition, Qualcomm revealed a decision to cancel an e-reader product using its Mirasol display technology. It has decided to wait to field a product next year when it can support volume production of a next-generation display.
Microsoft said in January it would make versions of Windows 8 available for ARM mobile SoCs. The same day, Nvidia announced it was working on Project Denver, a full line of ARM-based processors spanning notebooks to supercomputers.
By contrast, chief executive Paul Jacobs hardly referred to Win 8 in a 70-minute keynote at the company's annual Uplinq developer conference here. However, he was upbeat on the software when asked about it in a press conference later in the day.
"I'm really excited about it because I think consumers will see very, very aggressive [experiments in system] form factors," said Jacobs, suggesting the early work will focus on mobile systems.
"Once it gets started, the sky's the limit," he added, noting other companies are pursuing ARM-based servers, an area Qualcomm has not discussed to date.
Jacobs told EE Times that Qualcomm is "developing versions of Snapdragon for larger screens and more memory." But he declined to comment on a report quoting a Qualcomm exec at Computex in Taipei saying the company was specifically targeting laptops, the domain of one of its much larger rivals, Intel Corp.
Following Jacobs' lead, Raj Talluri, vice president of product management for Qualcomm's chip set division, showed enthusiasm about Win 8 for Snapdragon, but declined to use the word notebook.
"We don't try to distinguish what kind of products our customers will build—whether it’s a tablet, smartbook or notebook—but [Windows 8 marks] a sizeable growth opportunity," said Talluri in an interview with EE Times. "In a few years I am not sure what those products will look like because there's a blurring of the lines," he said, noting even Intel is talking about a new notebook concept, the ultrabook.
Talluri said the custom design of its Krait cores allow them to run at data rates up to 2.5 GHz. "I have not seen an ARM A9 beyond 1.2 GHz," he said referring to the cores in Nvidia's ARM chips.
Engineers are bringing up software on Krait chips now. Systems using the chips are expected to ship in the first half of 2012, he added.
In a press release issued late Wednesday (June 1), Qualcomm officially confirmed it will run a port of the next version of Windows on its Krait processors, beginning with the Snapdragon MSM8960, sampling in June. Qualcomm claims the chip is the first dual-core ARM SoC with an integrated multi-mode 3G/LTE modem and is designed to meet the multi-tasking requirements of the next version of Windows.
As announced earlier, Qualcomm will follow up the dual core part with the quad-core Snapdragon APQ8064 which will sample in early 2012.
"We collaborate with Qualcomm because Snapdragon-powered devices will help Windows 8 consumers experience more out of their Windows device and enable hardware manufacturers to try exciting new PC designs," said Mike Angiulo, corporate vice president of Windows planning, hardware and PC ecosystem, speaking in the Qualcomm release.
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eewiz
6/2/2011 12:29 AM EDT
"I didn't like the full system, so we decided to not launch that one and launch the next version of it,"
IMO better not to launch the next version also. Very very thin margins on the reader itself. Kindle/Nook sells for like ~100$ these days. QCOM should simply sell the display itself to phone/tablet/ereader manufacturers.
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yalanand
6/2/2011 1:10 PM EDT
The displays for the e-reader were being built in a small fab that "couldn't ramp volume anyway.
Why didn't qualcomm build bigger fab in the beginning itself ? Did it underestimate the e-reader demand ?
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rick.merritt
6/2/2011 9:47 PM EDT
What impact do you think Win 8 on ARM will have?
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chanj
6/2/2011 10:13 PM EDT
ARM based mobile platform - tablet or notebook - seemingly draws a lot of focus. I am happy to see the market grows in different direction and potentially breaks the dominant position of Intel in PC market. Energy efficiency is the biggest selling point of ARM. I am surprised that Qualcomm will postpone the launching of the Mirasol based eBook. A color version eInk which supports motion video is one of the biggest missing piece of eReader that supports both books and magazine. I can see Mirasol can apply to next generation tablet and notebook given the energy efficiency.
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przem
6/3/2011 8:29 AM EDT
It'd be interesting to see whether Microsoft is flexible and inventive enough to adapt Windows to the new form factors. Last several Windows versions were just 'more of the same', with practically no new HMI ideas, whereas Droid and Apple platforms delivered startingly new designs that changed the way we interact with computers.
It seems to me that Windows is where Novell used to be 20 years ago: solid performing workhorse that can't get itself to change and adapt to the new hardware and customer expectations. Then again, Microsoft is more adaptive and might still avoid disaster like they did repeatedly in the past---e.g. belatedly embracing Internet or recovering from the ME and Vista fiascoes.
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selinz
6/3/2011 1:18 PM EDT
Hopefully they can come through with the Mirsol technology, as it offers real hope in dramatic battery savings on portable devices.
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motti2
6/3/2011 3:11 PM EDT
Mirasol is an improvement over backlit LCD operation. It is not power competitive for low power full color when compared with Liquivista ( Philips spinoff bought by Samsung a few months ago ).
Analog color & intensity modulation in Mirasol comes from a PWM modulation of the mems to interpret intermediate colors even if static display ( sad for power savings ). It is not emissive / true backlit, capable, it requires side / toplighting in low light conditions to see the reflective display.
From very recent patent filings Mirasol might be trying to integrate photovoltaic elements in the mems display to compensate for the less competitive native power dissipation, in part due to the need to flap the mems to interpolate color even in static (non motion) full color operation.
Liquavista has native zero static power, and video rate. True static analog color interpolation - ie zero power is dissipated at intermediate settings of the Liquavista light valves, where Mirasol / Iridigm is fundamentally bistable, and hence analog intensity is "emulated" by flapping the mems optical element. In addition to Liquavista, there is at least one other early stage electrowetting display startup, with similar properties to the Liquavista technology.
cont’d
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motti2
6/3/2011 3:11 PM EDT
PixelQi has the advantage of reflective ( non-backlit lowest power ) and backside emissive modes ( conventional LCD nearly - but with huge wide aperture ). It also is a simple derivation of processes used to make conventional LCD color displays and trivially capable of Video rate.
Mirasol / Iridigm has been a long time coming, and given the dominance of iPad and small sales volumes of competing tablet devices to date, the market dynamics might indicate that gaining traction / volume sales for Mirasol is modestly risky if technical alternatives exist. In time Android tablets will gain some market traction, but for now iPad is the dominant product in the tablet market segment, and lcearly most profitable, a huge credit to Apple and Steve Jobs and his superb team.
A case can be made that Samsung might be the largest/ larger mobile / tablet manufacturer outside of Apple, and clearly that account is not likely to be able to be closed by Qualcomm, with Samsung's recent Liquavista buyout and Samsung’s superb OLED emissive displays.
Apple is unlikely to want a sole source from an unproven manufacturing line.
Can Motorola be convinced?
My take is had Iridigm / Mirasol committed investment and buildout to a captive volume manufacturing plant far earlier, several years ago, they might have been ready for the iPad (when it happened) / tablet market. but now delay after delay, makes this less and less a profitable opportunity for Mirasol so it seems, especially when the economy is limping along
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