NeoMagic Develops Processing Technology For PDAs, Cellphones
By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 11/11/2002
SANTA CLARA, CALIF.— NeoMagic unveiled a new processing technology for handhelds, such as PDAs and cellphones, which is able to support multimedia applications even at low processor speeds, said the company.
According to NeoMagic, its future MiMagic processors have an architecture called APA (Associative Processor Array), which handles high-speed video without placing any computational burden on the main processor. This allows for longer battery life, said NeoMagic corporate marketing executive VP Mark Singer.
He noted that the new APA based processor can support MPEG 4 motion video at 24 frames per second on a screen the size of a cellphone at 15MHz. It can also support full duplex teleconferencing at 15 frames per second at 35MHz. He added, "I would challenge anyone to do that on a RISC processor at 300MHz."
The new MiMagic processors with APA are expected to be available in the first half of next year. They combine an ARM processor with APA technology. NeoMagic said it expects APA to be used in 3D graphics engines for gaming as well for continuous speaker-independent speech applications.
