Product category: Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Renesas Technology Europe
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 19 September 2003

Alliance aims for handset multimedia

Renesas Technology and Nazomi Communications are collaborating to further enhance mobile cellphone performance

Through a crosslicensing agreement, the companies will access each other's leading-edge technologies to deliver high-performance multimedia processors for advanced mobile phones. Under the terms of the agreement, Nazomi will license its patented acceleration technology for the Java Platform to Renesas and Renesas will license intellectual property from the market leading SH-Mobile family of application processors to Nazomi.

As a result, the arrangement will bring cost-effective, camera-ready phones that provide greater performance for Java applications, 2D/3D graphics, video, audio and other multimedia applications.

"As today's mobile handsets become more sophisticated, they require optimised architectures for increasing performance while maintaining battery life.

This is especially true for phone designs that must seamlessly execute complex multimedia programs such as capturing digital images while also enabling Java applications", said Ikuya Kawasaki, Department Manager, SoC Design Department 6 at Renesas Technology Corp.

"A SH-Mobile application platform that incorporates Nazomi's Java technology is a truly integrated, highly effective turnkey solution that gives customers a head start in marketing leading-edge mobile products".

"Hardware acceleration is the superior design approach for delivering the performance that advanced features require.

Alternative Java implementations for wireless devices used a software approach, exhibiting poor performance and limiting the complexity of applications", said Jay Kamdar, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Nazomi Communications.

"By aligning with Renesas, we can leverage each other's technology strengths and in turn accelerate the deployment of application processor products to meet the rapidly growing demands of the mobile phone market".

The agreement between Renesas and Nazomi has three main goals: to address the growing demand for high performance Java technology in mobile applications, to enable best-in-class application processors, combining the best of both companies and - especially - to make it easier for mobile handset designers to create new mobile products that are highly desirable to end users.

The agreement underscores the common belief of both companies that the convergence of voice, video and data in the mobile wireless industry presents a huge market opportunity for unique Java capable multimedia application processors.

In fact, application processors are becoming one of the most critical components in mobile wireless applications, as they help achieve excellent performance while addressing critical system needs for longer battery life, smaller phone sizes, lower cost, and shorter design cycles in competitive global markets.

According to a recent report by Seamus McAteer of the Zelos Group: "By 2007, over 450 million phones, or 74% of phones shipped worldwide, will be Java rich multimedia phones".

"Java technology is enabling a whole class of features and services in mobile phones, including gaming and other downloadable applications that drive carrier revenue", said Allen Leibovitch, Manager of wireless semiconductor research at IDC.

"The majority of data-enabled phones have already standardised on Java, and hardware acceleration is a key component of an advanced applications processor".

• Renesas Technology Europe: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page

Search the Pro-Talk network of sites

Put your news on Electronicstalk  |   Advertise  |   Get the free Electronicstalk newsletter
Electronicstalk Home  |   About Electronicstalk  |   Copyright © 2000-2007 Pro-Talk Ltd, UK