What Makes Our Smartphones Tick

[Kris Kumar]

Ever wonder about those days when your computer had a 2MHz processor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Micro#Specifications) and 32KB memory? The popular removable storage was the 5.25" floppy disk. The display used to be a monochrome monitor, 80 characters by 25 lines. Moore's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law) has delivered more than what we could have ever imagined, into the palms of our hands. We now carry in our pockets, computers that have 200MHz processors and 32MB RAM. Removable media that is so small that you have to be really alert when you take it out. :-) And 65,000 color display.

Let's take a look at the awesome processors that power our Smartphones. <!>

TI OMAP 710 132MHz - SPV Tanager (http://focus.ti.com/general/docs/wtbu/wtbuproductcontent.tsp?templateId=6123&amp;navigationId=12315&amp;path=templatedata/cm/product/data/omap_710): "The OMAP710 combines a dedicated TI-enhanced ARM925 application processor and a TI DSP-based GSM/GPRS baseband, making it ideal for smartphone or PDA products."

Intel PXA250 200MHz - Samsung i600 (http://www.intel.com/design/pca/prodbref/298620.htm): "Based on the Intel XScale® technology, the Intel PXA250 cost-effectively boosts processing speed and power management for one of the industry's best MIPS/mW ratio. Larger memory caches and gated clocks ensure faster functions with lower power dissipation. And the processing capabilities of the Intel PXA250 enable portable devices to respond faster to optimized operating systems and performance intensive applications like MP3 audio decode, MPEG4 video decode, speech and handwriting recognition, and Java interpretation."

Intel PXA255 200MHz - Mitac Mio 8390 (http://www.intel.com/design/pca/prodbref/252780.htm): "Based on the Intel XScale® technology with a new, fast 200Mhz internal system bus, the Intel PXA255 processor cost-effectively boosts processing speed and power management over the Intel PXA250 processor. Power management features enable lower power dissipation; up to 60 percent less than previous Intel XScale® technology based products. And the processing capabilities of the Intel PXA255 processor enable portable devices to respond fast to optimized operating systems and performance intensive applications like MPEG4 video decode speech and handwriting recognition, and Java interpretation."

TI OMAP 730 200MHz - HTC Typhoon [C500, SMT5600, SP3i] (http://focus.ti.com/general/docs/wtbu/wtbuproductcontent.tsp?templateId=6123&amp;navigationId=12003&amp;path=templatedata/cm/product/data/omap_730): "The OMAP730 is a single chip that integrates a ARM926EJ-S™ core for application processing and TI’s GSM/GPRS digital baseband modem. The OMAP730 offers twice the application performance over the previous generation while doubling the standby time for handsets, smartphones and PDAs."

TI OMAP 1611 200MHz - Motorola MPx220 (http://focus.ti.com/general/docs/wtbu/wtbuproductcontent.tsp?templateId=6123&amp;navigationId=11993&amp;path=templatedata/cm/product/data/omap_1611): "The OMAP161x devices offer application performance 1.5x greater than the previous generation. The ARM and DSP cores have multiple hardware-based application accelerators, including a dedicated on-chip 2D graphics acceleration engine, eliminating the need for discrete graphics chips. Multimedia acceleration also provides a 70 percent performance increase for audio applications, while Java™ acceleration provides an 8x performance improvement."

Isn't it amazing? The amount of power and functionality that is crammed into a small package. :D

[Jason Dunn]

Cool post Kris! :D

[conflagrare4]

Nice start to a talk on the chip, but copying and pasting the general description doesn't do justice to what the chips are capable of...

I've gone through the detailed descriptions these are some of the features the Texas Instrument (TI) chips have (TI OMAP 730):

Camera controller (camera processor built into chip)
USB controller (USB built into chip)
keypad controller (manges keypad)
uses 0.000015W power when processor is doing nothing ("sleeping")
Phone system (handles all GSM and GPRS stuff)
SIM interface (talks to SIM card directly)
Graphics engine (does graphics)
Supports most portable OS (Linux, all windows, palmOS, etc.)
802.11G wireless interface (connects to "wireless card")
Audio controller (does sound)
SDIO/SD/MMC interface (talks directly to SDIO cards i.e. handles all data conversions internally needed to talk to it)
LCD controller (handles LCD)
bluetooth interface(talks to bluetooth chips)
USB On-The-Go (new USB standard after the 2.0. Allows handheld devices to act as "host". Simply put, lets you connects mouses, keyboards, and harddrives, etc. to the phone)
IrDA (infrared controller built in)
camera port
smartcard (talks directly to smartcard... remember those things?)

Most importantly... It does ALL this in 1.2cmx1.2cm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jason Dunn]

That's an impressive list - too bad no implementation of the chip supports all those things... ;-)

[Kris Kumar]

Most importantly... It does ALL this in 1.2cmx1.2cm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is a really good way of emphasizing the power of these chips. :-)

[Kris Kumar]

That's an impressive list - too bad no implementation of the chip supports all those things... ;-)

Isn't that sad; the first time I saw the list and saw the interface for 802.11g, my eyes lit up. Someday....

[Mike Temporale]

Things have come a long way in the last 20 years, but it's only the start.

Just like Kris mentioned; my first computer cost me $2000. It was a 286 with 20 meg hard disk, and 640kb RAM, monochrome monitor, and a 5.25 floppy. These specs are less than my phone, which is a 1/4 of the price.

Another indication of how things have changed. When I take a picture, my daughter always says "Can I see?". ?!?! This was never an option growing up. You never got to see the picture right after it was taken. Now, not only can I take digital pictures and see the result instantly, I can do it on my phone!

8)