TMCnews Featured Article

IDT (Integrated Device Technology (News - Alert), Inc.) has introduced a synchronous Mobile Multimedia Interconnect (M2I), fully-optimized for multimedia applications in high-end mobile handsets and personal digital assistant devices.

The M2I performs up to six times faster with ninety percent less battery drain. High-end handset users can now playback multimedia of high quality with minimal impact to their “talk time” and battery life.

The sophisticated interface of the M2I enables the processor to support additional differentiating functionality such as Bluetooth, WiFi and global positioning systems. This provides a significant competitive advantage for mobile handset suppliers.

IDT’s Mobile Multimedia Interconnect can work with application processors and baseband processors that make use of an address-data mux (ADM) interface. The ADM interface boasts a lower input/output (I/O) count and higher bandwidth than other approaches.

Using fifty percent fewer processor I/O pins, the M2I frees the pins to support desired differentiating functionality. The M2I deploys eight dynamically programmable I/Os that the processor can use to control and/or monitor other devices. This capability enables the handset designer to add even more differentiating functionality.

“Traditional throughput bottlenecks between the baseband and application processors threaten to slow the widespread adoption of high quality, advanced mobile multimedia services,” said Richard Doherty, director of The Envisioneering Group, a technology assessment and market research corporation in a statement to the press.

He continued: “Think of the IDT M2I as a transmission using a synchronous gearbox with a 6x gear ratio which resolves that bottleneck problem -- and does it efficiently with 90% less battery drain.”

According to Thomas Brenner, vice president and general manager of the IDT Flow Control Management Division, the high-end handset consumer demands high-speed downloads, as well as top-quality playback. Brenner said that this speed and quality must be delivered without draining the battery.

“We identified the interface between the baseband and application processors as a major performance bottleneck and battery drain,” explained Brenner.

“It was clear that a new interconnect architecture was needed to solve this problem, so we designed the M2I in close co-operation with leading high-end handset manufacturers and with the pre-eminent processor component provider in this application space,” he concluded.

Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., IDT integrates its fundamental semiconductor heritage with essential innovation, developing and delivering mixed-signal solutions that solve customer problems.

---------

Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.