TI picks up first license for ARM's Eagle CPU core, mass market devices still a couple of years off
By Vlad Savov 
posted August 10th 2010 2:54AM
posted August 10th 2010 2:54AM
TI announced as the first licensee of the next generation ARM Cortex™-A series processor core
Integral involvement in core definition lays groundwork for breakthrough OMAP™ processor solutions on the horizon
DALLAS, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on its rich heritage of collaboration with ARM, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) today confirmed that it was the first company to partner with ARM in the conception and definition of the next generation ARM® Cortex™-A series processor core (also known as "Eagle") to be announced later this year. TI intends to use the new processor to further strengthen and extend its future OMAP™ platform offerings. For more information on TI's OMAP family, please visit: www.ti.com/omapwireless.
TI formally engaged with ARM on this project in June 2009, establishing an advanced lead partnership. During this time, TI leveraged its low power, system-on-chip (SoC) platform expertise with ARM to advance the processor core's definition. This engagement accelerates TI's ability to get to market early with high-performance OMAP products based on the new ARM processor core, following up on its popular OMAP 4 platform that uses the powerful Cortex-A9 processor core. The partnership's efforts also reiterate TI's commitment to spearheading high-performance, low-power mobile advances.
TI aims to raise the bar in high-performance, power-efficient computing with upcoming OMAP platform solutions intended to radically transform devices while enriching the mobile lifestyle. Using its unique SmartReflex™ power and performance management technology, TI believes it can deliver SoCs with industry-leading low power consumption. As a result, TI OMAP platform solutions based on the new ARM processor core and SmartReflex will meet the mobile market's demand for intense performance capabilities and low power consumption. TI also believes that the new ARM processor core has the potential for broader market application across TI's product portfolio.
"Our position as ARM's advanced lead partner for its next-generation Cortex-A series processor core underscores TI's unwavering commitment to helping customers achieve success in the competitive mobile world," said Remi El-Ouazzane, vice president, OMAP platform business unit TI. "We are thrilled to know that our customers will be the first to leverage the new ARM processor core's far-reaching innovations via our industry-leading OMAP products. Successful mobile industry achievements revolve around the 'high-performance, low-power' mantra, and we believe the results of our collaborative effort echo the importance of this must-have balance."
"TI and ARM have a long history of collaboration and exchanging technical ideas to develop and define innovative technologies," said Mike Inglis, EVP and GM, ARM. "Together, we're finding new ways to bridge the gap between performance and power requirements, as is evident with our joint work on the next-generation Cortex-A series processor core's definition. We look forward to seeing TI come to market with game-changing solutions that place ARM's new processor core at the heart of tomorrow's consumer-focused smart mobile products."
TI's legacy with ARM began more than 15 years ago when, in 1993, TI and ARM embarked on their industry-changing partnership. TI has since shipped around 250 million OMAP processors, which contain ARM core processors. TI continues to leverage early engagement with ARM's technology development to quickly deliver advanced solutions in markets ranging from automotive to mobile. For more information about TI and ARM's successful innovation history, please visit this corresponding MobileMomentum blog post: www.ti.com/mobilemomentum.
I want my dual core calculator xD
@AlienSix
Har. What is it with calculator tech? It seems to have hit a ceiling circa 1995.
@Earthsiege
I know, smartphone calculators are more snazzy than TI's
Clever, Engadget. Very clever ;-)
@AlienSix 3D dual core graphing calculator.
@walbuyarget
In color please, oh and with SUPER AMOLED tech
@AlienSix
Hah! TI, updating their calculators?
http://xkcd.com/768/
I do wonder what this new core is capable of, and if it's even a direct upgrade from the current A8's, A9's and Scorpions, or simply something more power efficient.
@AlienSix
While I don't particularly care for smartphone like performance, as I don't want to charge my calculator every night, but I would think they could make them thinner with all the advances in semiconductor tech.
@TT The A9's are supposed to be a 25% increase (theoretically) in IPC (instructions per clock) over the A8's. Currently, in an LP process, it's said to go up to 1 GHz. The G process versions are said to go to 2 GHz. That coupled with MP capability means it's quite a powerful CPU. At 1 GHz, it should be on par with Scorpion at 1.2 GHz.
@AlienSix ok everyone who is commenting about calculators is starting to scare me, you guys do realize that TI is one of the worlds largest chip manufacturers in the world, not just the guys that make the coolest calculators from my childhood...
@AlienSix 3D calculator...hurm...lots of potential...
Hurry up TI :D
Go Birds!
@Rudolphe22
I wish my chips had angry looking eagles on them
@Rudolphe22
Fly, Ea-gles fly,
On the road to vic-to-ry,
Fight, Ea-gles fight,
Score a touch-down 1-2-3.
Hit 'em low. Hit 'em high,
...and watch our Eagles fly -
Fly, Ea-gles, fly,
Score a touch-down 1-2-3!
E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!
@kstagg about time we changed that song man... too tired of watching all longest seasons without the final nirvana.
@Rudolphe22
I wonder where Engadget found that eagle image -- it's the EXACT same logo my high school used.
I've always liked TI's chips. I hope they update their BeagleBoard with some of these new processors soon.
@Xcelerate
That's the Philadelphia Eagles logo. Have been using it since 1996.
Go Birds!!
@Rudolphe22 got some iggle fans over 'er at the engadget?
Dual-core Snapdragons? I'd rather have the dual-core OMAP4's first.
By the time this is out china would be producing 64 core longson MIPS cpu's. And perhaps for the first time ever we'll have kirfs that outperform their kirfees.
@Pyronick For real. Snapdragons ain't got nothing on the OMAP 4440. Dual core, 1.5GHz, 45nm/insane battery life, 1080p video? Please put it in a phone now. HP, you listening?
Please make my Ti-83 calculate in 3D.
@Jason B
I can see it now... quite literally. It would look just like Hugh Jackman's hacking display in Swordfish which my roommate is watching.
@Jason B
http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/255/25521.html
Like this? ;)
If the mayan calendar is correct, we will not be able to enjoy this new core.
@InTheRye
At least with their Y2K bug (.0.12) the calendar didn't hit overflow until over 1000 years after their civilization disappeared, ours hit overflow in 20-30 years. I think theirs will impact us even less than our Y2k hype.
What's this about (Qualcomm's) Snapdragon? TI's OMAP4 is a dual-core, 1+Ghz Cortex-A9 design, and will be out in the next 6 months
@looselycoupled: OMAP4 is more interesting than Snapdragon as it's has the full Cortex A9 instruction set. Snapdragon is Scorpion (based off ARMv7), which is a limited Cortex A8 instruction set.
Also, the Snapdragon has the AMD Z430 (the next iteration will have the Z460, which is 4 times as fast) and while it used to be very spectacular, it now is badly outdated.
Compare that to the SGX540, which should be almost as powerful as the Graphics Synthesizer used in the Playstation 2.
And that's not important because the SGX also has unified shaders and modern features the Graphics Synthesizer didn't have.
@Pyronick Both the A9 and the A8 use the ARMv7 instruction set. Eagle as well. The instructions haven't changed (much). The performance has.
The eagle has landed.
A lot of good things are coming to our mobiles. Lte is around the corner and plenty of hardware advances
would be neat if TI creates an 8bit or 24 bit colored android version of their calculator complete with traditional TI 80 series keys...
armdevices.net talks about quadcores with 3ghz, lower powerconsumption and lower price.
sounds goog to me ;)
Please, enough with the "waxing."
What is a rapper supposed to do with this??
I'm starting to get quite intrigued about the 64-bit strategy ARM might be planning, maybe with this core. If it really becomes mainstream at 2012, amount of supplied memory starts to approach the limits of 32-bit address space comfortability even on mobile devices. I think there haven't been any announcements of 64-bit solutions for ARM ISA, or am I mistaken?
Still, for the most users this is probably following: more cores/threads, more instruction-level parallelism, more versatile compiler-exploitable vectorization, higher per-instruction energy efficiency, higher clock rates at lower power thanks to smaller line width, better power saving modes.
Do you have written consent from the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles to use that logo? :D
So will this be in the new model of the TI/99?
@HKCally Parsec II is going to be AWESOME
@HKCally
Damn! I just bought a Ti-89 -- I should have waited for the upgrade.
I tore apart my Ti-99/4A when I got a Commodore 64 and never put it back together. Wonder what happened to that. I don't remember tossing it ever in a move but it's gone. Still have the Radio Shack Homeminder boxed up in the original packaging which is basically a reskinned Ti99/4A.
@Xerberos
most TI 80 series use Z80 processor with speeds of 2mhz to 15mhz with the exception of TI-Nspire. TI-N uses an ARM processor that run.
TI could use e-ink screens in their calcs with a bit more resolution.
You guys just committed the Cardinal sin by putting anything TEXAS-branded next to an Eagles emblem! Come on Engadget, you guys keep putting us nerds 20 years back man... Lmfao.
E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!
THIS IS GOING TO MAKE REALLY COOL CALCULATORS
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
@Cokemanpac
E-A-G-L-E-S REDSKINS
The chips will appear in Motorola's Droid line eventually. The definitely have a thing for OMAP CPUs.
Isn't Texas Instruments part of the Symbian Foundation?
Droid Pro anyone?
IN KOLB WE TRUST!
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!