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15 Dec 2006 18:18:12 Swift mobile Web browsing made easy The number of features in mobile phones is increasing everyday. New applications are being added to make them perform many more new functions. US-based Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. introduced a family of chips with the ability to make Web browsing rapid on mobile phones. The family comprises PXA300, PXA310 and PXA320 chips, code named 'Monahans', which, on one hand, combine sufficient power to manage multimedia and mobile Web browsing and on the other hand, remain efficient enough to prolong the battery life. This is the first product introduced by Marvell after acquiring the XScale processor from Intel. The company has been supplying chips to HP for PDAs and to Motorola, Nokia and Samsung for mobile phones. Handset designers have been adding new features while attempting to increase battery life in mobiles. Chip manufacturers have been coming up with matching products for such sophisticated models. With the new product, Marvell is expected to garner a sizeable chunk of the market for components in handsets, smartphones, GPS navigation units and such other consumer electronics. In spite of running at 806 MHz, the new PXA320 chip (Monahans-P) is power-efficient and is much faster than the previous model, the 624 MHz 'Bulverde' PXA270 family, used in smartphones such as Palm's Treo and Motorola's Q. The mechanism is that the chip would accomplish its tasks swiftly and immediately move into 'stand-by' mode and thus consume less power. So far, mobile phone designers have been content to swap longer battery life for relatively lower chip speeds. But, multimedia players and mobile Web browsers require more power. The design of the new chips provides for sufficient power for these applications. The Marvel PXA product family is software compatible and comes with two pin-compatible components customised for gadgets such as mobile phones, digital media players, GPS navigation services and embedded devices. The Marvell PXA300 (Monahans-L) is ideal for high volume handheld devices. The Marvell PXA310 (Monahans-LV) results in excellent VGA multimedia performance and extended battery life in 3G video and audio applications. Both Marvell PXA300 and Marvell PXA310 are software compatible with PXA320 processors. This ensures that development of single software helps scale up a broad range of products in different fields. The products are expected to be shipped during the first half of 2007. Content Team -- BSNL Portal -- Intelligroup Asia Pvt. Ltd. |
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