Marvell 1GHz ARMADA 618 mobile chipset & $99 Pantheon smartphone platform outed
Marvell have announced their latest strategy to corner both the high and the low end of the smartphone market. Up at the flagship end comes the Marvell ARMADA 618 [PDF link], a 1GHz ARM v7 Sheeva chipset with support for 1080p HD decode/encode together with 16-megapixel image processing and four simultaneous displays, while at the entry-level point is the Marvell Pantheon platform, a $99 smartphone design suitable for Android, Windows Mobile and other OS'.
ARMADA 618 packages together support for Android, Windows Mobile and Linux, meanwhile, and throws in DirectX, Open GL ES 2.0, and Open VG 1.1 functionality and the ability to render up to 45 million triangles per second. Each of the four displays can be driven at up to 2k x 2k resolution, and there's support for USB 2.0 (both OTG and Host), various types of connectivity (including WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0 and FM), and of course 3G.
As for the Pantheon platform, that's obviously a little less potent but is still, Marvell reckon, capable of Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/FM connectivity, live HD quality video and high performance 3D mobile gaming, with long battery life to boot. The company will be demonstrating it – and ARMADA 618 – at Mobile World Congress next week.
Press Release:
Marvell Drives $99 Smartphones to Market with New Pantheon PlatformPantheon-Powered Smartphones Support Android, Windows Mobile, and
Other Leading Operating Systems
Santa Clara, California (February 12, 2010) — Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL), a worldwide leader in integrated silicon solutions, today reinforced its leadership position in processing, analog, communications, and multimedia technology by announcing a new platform for smartphone manufacturers: the Pantheon™ platforms. The new platforms are designed to provide breakthrough levels of integration that inherently lower the bill of materials for mobile devices while offering consumers excellent performance, connectivity, and compelling user experience.
"Marvell is delivering the platform for a $99 smartphone that provides instant access, live content, high performance 3D mobile gaming, rich HD media and a wealth of applications. That is what today's 'always-on consumers' want," said Ms. Weili Dai, Marvell's Co-founder and Vice President and General Manager of Marvell Semiconductor's Consumer and Computing Business Unit. "Marvell's versatile platform solutions have been making high-volume smartphones more powerful, functional and affordable for more than a decade. The new generation of platforms we are shipping today offer higher performance and greater integration of onboard functionality—which lowers the manufacturing costs and makes the mass market $99 smartphone very real."
The Pantheon platform incorporates Marvell's advanced modem technology, seamless wireless connectivity, and superior multimedia processing to enable superior mobile Internet experiences. Pantheon-powered smartphones deliver high-quality consumer experiences that are designed to include rich user interfaces; instant live HD quality video; high performance 3D mobile gaming; extended music playback; other popular handset applications; and long battery life.
Pantheon solutions include powerful application processors, field-hardened cellular modems, radio frequency devices, intelligent power management, power-efficient Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/FM connectivity and the software and system expertise needed to bring new features to market more quickly. The Marvell Pantheon platforms are currently sampling to top tier customers. Pricing is available upon request.
Marvell at MWC
Marvell's latest technologies will be showcased at MWC in Barcelona. Customers and press can come by the Marvell booth for demonstrations at the Courtyard 18 location.
About Pantheon Platforms
The Pantheon platforms reflect an architectural evolution of Marvell's field-proven tri-core architecture solution. Built from the ground-up to deliver extremely cost effective, high performance highly integrated systems, the Pantheon platforms have over 800Mhz dedicated ARM compliant application processors, dual ARM and DSP processors for modem functionality, 720p video, over 20 million triangles, DirectX, Open GL ES 2.0 compliant 3D graphics, MIPI compliant camera, RF interfaces, and support for Android™, Windows Mobile™ and other leading operating systems (OS).
About Marvell
Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a world leader in the development of storage, communications, and consumer silicon solutions. The company's diverse product portfolio includes switching, transceiver, communications controller, wireless, and storage solutions that power the entire communications infrastructure including enterprise, metro, home, and storage networking. As used in this release, the terms "company" and "Marvell" refer to Marvell Technology Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries. For more information, visit http://www.marvell.com?c=1.
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Marvell Drives Live Content, Multimedia, and High-end Mobile Gaming for Smartphones
New ARMADA 618 Application Processor Powers Next-Generation Smartphones with Gigahertz-Class CPU, Integrated 1080p Full-HD, and Exceptional 3D capabilities
Santa Clara, California (February 11, 2010) — Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL), a worldwide leader in integrated silicon solutions, today announced the newest addition to the ARMADA™ family of application processors – the Marvell® ARMADA 618 for next generation HD-capable smartphones. Characteristic of the ARMADA family of application processors, the ARMADA 618 offers a CPU core with PC-class performance, integrated 1080p full-HD encode and decode, and exceptional 3D graphics – delivering a highly scalable and power optimized platform that is designed to fuel high-end applications, rich multimedia and gaming experience in a lightweight form factor with very low power requirements.
"Featuring a gigahertz CPU, 1080p full-HD video, 3D graphics, the industry's fastest LP-DDR, and optimized power for longer battery life, Marvell's ARMADA 618 application processor represents a dramatic leap forward in high end, multimedia smartphones," said Ms. Weili Dai, Marvell's Co-founder and Vice President and General Manager of Marvell Semiconductor's Consumer and Computing Business Unit. "Importantly, the ARMADA 600 series of application processors gives our customers a common platform solution to build multiple products and formats for the always-on consumer–scaling from smartphones to eReaders to tablets without compromising either the multimedia performance or the battery life"
About ARMADA 618
The ARMADA 618 is based on a Marvell-designed ARM v7 compatible CPU offering gigahertz-class performance in a 12mm x 12mm package. It offers the flexibility to use LP-DDR1 or LP-DDR2 memory up to 533 MHz, a highly flexible display controller capable of four simultaneous displays at up to 2K x 2K resolution, and a highly robust security subsystem that includes a secure execution processor. In addition, it features a powerful 3D graphics engine that supports DirectX, Open GL ES 2.0, and Open VG 1.1, rendering up to 45 million triangles per second with a complete floating point pipeline and unified vertex and fragment/pixel shading, generating contrast-rich scenes with high-definition resolution and color. ARMADA 618 supports Linux, Android™, Windows Mobile, and full Adobe Flash.
Availability
The ARMADA 618 will be demonstrated at the Marvell Booth (Courtyard 18) at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain next week. The ARMADA 618 is currently sampling to early customers. For more information please contact a sales representative or visit www.marvell.com.
About Marvell
Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a world leader in the development of storage, communications, and consumer silicon solutions. The company's diverse product portfolio includes switching, transceiver, communications controller, wireless, and storage solutions that power the entire communications infrastructure including enterprise, metro, home, and storage networking. As used in this release, the terms "company" and "Marvell" refer to Marvell Technology Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries. For more information, visit http://www.marvell.com?c=1.