ARM ha annunciato una nuova piattaforma dedicata all'equipaggiamento dei sistemi mobile, ed in particolare degli smartphone e dei tablet, e degli Smart TV collocati, dal punto di vista commerciale, nella fascia mid-range del mercato consumer.

La nuova proposta di ARM ruota intorno al processore Cortex-A17 e alla gpu Mali-T720. Il processore Cortex-A17 è basato sull'architettura ARMv7-A e promette prestazioni superiori di circa il 60% rispetto a quelle delle CPU appartenenti alla famiglia Cortex-A9, a fronte di un ridimensionamento del consumo di potenza.

La cpu Cortex-A17 può essere inoltre impiegata per la realizzazione di SoC che implementino la tecnologia proprietaria big.LITTLE, che prevede l'utilizzo di due differenti tipologie di CPU core nell'ambito dello stesso SoC. I core aderenti allo schema big.LITTLE sono accomunati dalla medesima architettura (ARMv7-A in questo caso) ma caratterizzati da specifiche differenti in termini di prestazioni ed efficienza energetica.

La gpu Mali-T720 supporta le più recenti tecnologie grafiche, tra cui OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenCL e RenderScript.

In accordo ad ARM, i primi sistemi dotati della nuova tecnologia saranno prodotti a partire dal 2015.

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ARM today announced an enhanced suite of higher performance and more energy-efficient products specifically designed for the rapidly growing mid-range mobile and consumer electronics markets. The suite, comprised of processor, graphics processor and physical IP, is an update to ARM's mid-range IP offering targeting devices for production in 2015 and beyond. The combination of the ARM Cortex-A17 processor and the ARM Mali-T720 GPU gives an enriched offering for mid-range mobile and other consumer applications such as smart TVs and Over-the-Top media devices.

"We expect to see a rich set of innovation in the mid-range mobile phone segment which is forecast to become a half a billion unit market annually from 2015 and the Cortex-A17 processor will be a key component in that growth," said Ian Ferguson, vice president of segment marketing, ARM. "To date, the ARM Partnership has shipped more than 50 billion ARM-based chips and the continued broadening of our processor family will enable our partners to further optimize their offerings in existing and new product categories."

More Performance, Greater Efficiency
The Cortex-A17 processor offers a 60 percent performance improvement over Cortex-A9 processors, enabling better power and area efficiency while supporting full-system coherency for ARM big.LITTLE processing using the CoreLink CCI-400 Cache Coherent Interconnect. Additional information on the Cortex-A17 processor can be found here.

The Mali-T720 GPU is a cost-optimized graphics solution targeted at entry-level Android devices developed to reduce an OEM's manufacturing complexities and time-to-market. It supports the latest graphics and GPU computing APIs, including Open GL ES 3.0, OpenCL and RenderScript, extending the rich visual experience previously found only on today's high-end smartphones and tablets. More detail on the Mali-T720 GPU can be found here. Additionally, the mid-range IP suite includes the Mali-V500 video solution, a very efficient and compact video processor delivering up to 4K resolutions and when combined with the new Mali-DP500 display controller, enables security from content to the glass.

Faster Time-To-Market Support
To enable SoC designers to combine their own IP in the most efficient and effective manner, ARM provides ARM POP IP implementation solutions on 28nm process technology. POP IP for the Cortex-A17 processor includes core-hardening acceleration technology and delivers 2.0+ GHz implementations. POP IP for the Mali-T720 GPU enables best-in-class area efficiency (fps/mm2) and market-leading power efficiency (fps/mW). It includes a proven RTL-GDS flow to easily reproduce complex implementations for a faster time to market. More information on POP IP featuring ARM Artisan Physical IP can be found here.

Partner Quotes
"MediaTek is committed to providing the world's most compelling SoC solutions, and ARM technology builds the ideal foundation for fully integrated platforms with rich feature sets. The new ARM Cortex-A17 processor combines high performance with cost and efficiency, delivering an excellent user experience and a premium feature set, making it the best processing option available to continue our success in the mobile market," said Johan Lodenius, chief marketing officer, MediaTek.

"As a leader in multimedia SoC solutions, Realtek sees the Cortex-A17 processor as continuing the ARM track record of delivering the right balance of performance and power to address the demand for new products," said Jessy Chen, Executive Vice President of Realtek.

"Our rich experience and expertise in ARM SoC architectures, including Cortex-A9 and Cortex-A12, combined with our core strengths in advanced wireless telecommunications technologies makes VIA well-positioned to leverage the mid-range mobile devices opportunity with the ARM Cortex-A17 processor," said Ker Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of VIA Telecom.

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