Freescale Announces Application Processors to Lower the Cost of eReaders

By Rajani Baburajan

TMCnet Contributor

 

Freescale Semiconductor (News - Alert) announced its i.MX508 applications processor for eReaders integrating advanced ARM (News - Alert) Cortex-A8 technology together with the newest hardware-based display controller from E Ink.

In March first week, TMCnet had reported about the new e-Reader processors from Freescale.

This highly integrated processor is designed to deliver the performance, energy efficiency and system cost savings necessary to help OEMs evolve and grow the dynamic eReader product category, according to company officials.


“Freescale ended 2009 with a strong market share lead in applications processors for eReaders, and now we are cementing our leadership in the eReader space with the introduction of the i.MX508 device,” Bernd Lienhard, vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Multimedia Applications Division, said in a statement. 

Built on an ARM core running at 800 MHz, the i.MX508 provides twice the rendering performance of Freescale’s previous eReader processors, according to the company. As a result, they yield faster page turns and snappy responsiveness for consumers. 

With their increased processing capability, the solution also enables manufacturers to add features like advanced touch solutions and the ability to run other value-added applications.

Another important feature of the i.MX508 is its support of next-generation eReader panels, which are expected to feature larger dimensions, faster page turns and significantly better resolution. The processor supports panel resolutions up to 2048 x1536 pixels at 106 hertz.

With the support from ARM Cortex-A8 engine, the i.MX508 processor has the potential performance to quickly handle complex image manipulations and color processing.

Freescale has integrated E Ink’s ePaper display controller into the i.MX508 to reduce part counts and lowers costs associated with electronic paper display control functionality by as much as 50 percent compared to systems without an integrated controller.

Sriram Peruvemba, vice president of marketing for E Ink, says the integration of the ePaper display controller into the newest i.MX processor will help lower costs while enabling the next generation of E Ink display-based eReaders.

Freescale has been offering semiconductor solutions to the fast-growing smart mobile devices category. The market is driven by the customer demand for low-cost, small-form-factor, long-battery-life products, according to Freescale. The category includes smartbooks, eReaders, smartphones and other mobile consumer products.

Freescale plans to begin providing samples of i.MX508 to select customers early in the third quarter of 2010. The i.MX508 applications processor is expected to be priced at less than $10 in quantities greater than 250K units, according to company sources.