Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the i.MX37 multimedia applications processor - a new device for portable media player (PMP), mobile Internet and portable GPS navigation (PND) markets. The device further extends Freescale's i.MX product family into price sensitive, high volume consumer markets. It also offers developers a suitable platform for quickly introducing products to market. The i.MX37 processor is designed to simultaneously meet the requirements of equipment manufacturers as well as end users.
Freescale's offering based on the ARM1176JZF-S core, the i.MX37 device delivers 532 MHz at 1.0V to efficiently drive demanding applications in top-of-the-line portable devices. In lower performance applications such as audio and video playback where power consumption is a primary concern, the i.MX37 processor can run at voltages under 1.0V to help achieve the long battery life.
The i.MX37 multimedia applications processor is architected with Freescale's Smart Speed technology, an integrative approach that uses hardware accelerators to offload the CPU and a crossbar switch to bring parallelism to the system. The new processor performs with high clock speed, while conserving power for extended battery life. The i.MX37 solution integrates Freescale's new image processing unit (IPU). Freescale's IPU v3D technology supports up to 24-bit colour depth at XGA resolution, enabling large display support for multimedia players and mobile internet devices. When used in conjunction with the image processing unit, the processor's multimedia hardware acceleration delivers the rich playback experiences required on next-generation multimedia devices.
The device's multimedia hardware contains logic that decodes video formats such as MPEG4, H.264, WMV/VC-1, MPEG2 and H.263 up to 576x720 (D1) resolution, which offloads the ARM CPU. This allows the processor to deliver rich user interfaces blended with video playback for good user experience. The i.MX37 processor also includes an integrated PAL/NTSC encoder with triple video DACs to deliver a good picture on larger displays or televisions over component, composite or S-video interfaces. The i.MX37 multimedia applications processor is offered in a compact 10x10 MAPBGA package at 0.5mm pitch. Initial sampling to selected customers is underway now in both Linux and WinCE board support packages.
