Fixed Mobile Convergence

Cypress Semiconductor Corp announced that Fujitsu Limited has selected its TrueTouch solution, in order to realize touch-screen capability on new NTT Docomo Prime Series F-01A mobile phone from Fujitsu (News - Alert).

Fujitsu said that the TrueTouch solution provided both performance and programmability for the company to quickly and cost-effectively implement the desired touch-screen features for the new phone.

Built on PSoC (programmable system-on-chip) architecture, Cypress's TrueTouch touchscreen solution is based on projected capacitive touchscreen technology. The solution features single-touch, multi-touch gesture, and multi-touch all-point solutions (the ability to track up to 10 simultaneous touches).

Cypress says that the PSoC-based TrueTouch architecture is flexible as well as programmable. These features enable designers to choose to work with a wide variety of touchscreen vendors and/or LCD module vendors - to create their own designs. Currently, other touchscreen solutions are not programmable and require designers to implement a fixed solution with limited materials choices.

However, the TrueTouch solution facilitates designers to integrate additional functions such as driving LEDs, backlight control and I/O expansion. In addition, flexible communication options such as I2C and SPI are also provided. All these features together facilitate for unparalleled system integration - for touchscreen systems, said the company.

The NTT Docomo F-01A mobile phone from Fujitsu is already launched in Japan. First of its kind in the market, F-01A is a fingerprint-enabled waterproof cell phone. These two features address rear issues such as cell phone data theft and water resistive ness.

Built on the Symbian (News - Alert) operating system, the F-01A features a 3.5-inch widescreen VGA display; 5.2 megapixel camera with auto focus, face detection and 30 frames-per-second video; built-in GPS using mobile Google (News - Alert) maps with street view; e-Wallet mobile payment capability; and a 1Seg mobile TV tuner. The fingerprint scanner is based on AuthenTec’s TouchStone technology. The phone also meets the IPX7 specification – means it can remain underwater at a depth of one meter for 30 minutes.

“We are pleased to see handheld leaders such as Fujitsu implementing touchscreens with the TrueTouch solution,” said Norm Taffe, executive vice president of Cypress’s consumer and computation division, in a release. “The TrueTouch solution is winning customers across all geographies and markets with its combination of flexibility and performance.”

Cypress offers mixed-signal, programmable solutions that include the PSoC programmable system-on-chip, USB controllers, general-purpose programmable clocks and memories. It also provides wired and wireless connectivity technologies ranging from its CyFi low-power RF solution, to West Bridge and EZ-USB FX2LP controllers that are used in multimedia handsets.

NTT DOCOMO is a Japan-based mobile communications operator that offers mobile voice, data and multimedia services.