Freescale Eyeing sub-$200 Netbooks
As
the global
semiconductor market is facing some tough times, Freescale
Semiconductor decides to woo buyers in emerging market segments. It’s
offering a solution based on ARM technology to produce netbooks that
feature 8.9 inch displays, deliver eight hours of battery life between
charges, and retail at sub-$200 price points.
Based
on the new i.MX515 processor featuring ARM Cortex-A8 technology,
Freescale’s solution includes software, components, and resources to
help OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) develop and deploy netbook
products.
Netbook
is Intel’s term for ultra low-cost mobile PCs. Recently, Taiwan’s notebook vendor Asus has unveiled a
new netbook Eee PC 1002HA.
It aims to attract design-conscious mobile buyers with the product’s
style and ease-of-use features. At 1.2kg, the netbook comes with a
redesigned chassis along with a brushed aluminum LCD cover and palm
rest.
Freescale informs that a netbook reference design based on the i.MX515
processor is available now. Created in concert with Pegatron, the
reference design features the i.MX515 processor, Canonical’s Ubuntu
operating system, a new power management IC from Freescale, the SGTL5000
ultra low-power audio codec and Adobe Flash Lite software, Adobe’s Flash
Player for mobile phones and devices.
“We see
a huge opportunity in the netbook market as consumers demand more
cost-effective and higher performing solutions,” said Lisa Su, senior
vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Networking and
Multimedia Group.
The
company quotes analyst firm ABI Research to reveal that consumers are
expected to purchase 140 million netbooks in 2013, compared with only 15
million sold in 2008. Often priced between $300 and $400, netbooks are
streamlined, embedded devices that provide sufficient performance for a
host of Internet-based activities such as social networking, surfing the
Web, using e-mail, and other common tasks.
Vendors
expect that the netbook prices will come down when volumes increase.
A key
component of Freescale’s netbook solution, according to the company, is
the new MC13982 power management IC. Integrating a variety of discrete
functions into a single device, the MC13982 contributes to reduced size
and weight of end products while extending their battery life through
power management and control features.
The
device incorporates a battery charging system, four adjustable buck
converters for powering the processor core and memory, two boost
converters for LCD backlighting, and RGB LED displays along with serial
backlighting drivers for display and keypad.
Volume
production for the i.MX515 device is planned for Q2 2009 to make
netbooks for the 2009 holiday shopping season.
Freescale Semiconductor is a global company in the business of design
and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer,
industrial, networking, and wireless markets.
