TI picks up first license for ARM's Eagle CPU core, mass market devices still a couple of years off
The mythical next generation of ARM's Cortex-A series, the Eagle, has made a reappearance in the news this week, but much of the mystery remains. Texas Instruments has now revealed itself as the first licensee of the new core, while also waxing poetic about its deep involvement and collaboration with ARM on its design and particular specifications. No, nobody was kind enough to let us in on what those specs might yet be, but since -- technically speaking -- the Eagle CPU hasn't even been announced yet, that's probably fair enough. For its part, TI expects to be first to market with its OMAP systems-on-chip integrating the latest Cortex core, but that won't be happening for a good while yet, as most projections peg the Eagle's landing to be no sooner than 2012. Guess we'll just have to make do with some dual-core Snapdragons until then.
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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.
