Electronics and appliances manufacturer Hisense this week announced two new products. The main offering is the H6 smart TV, which relies on a Marvell HD media processor and Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). The Pulse PRO, which also runs Android 4.2.2, brings the Hisense smart TV suite of software and services to any HD TV. Pricing […]
Ever since Google TV made the move from Intel to ARM processors, Marvell has been there with its Armada 1500 CPU, providing decoding, power management and wireless support. As recent FCC documents showed, that arrangement hasn’t changed, and Marvell has just formally introduced its Armada 1500-mini processor at the heart of Chromecast. The scaled-down chip provides it (and other USB-powered devices) with 1080p decoding along with features like DRM support and access to TV-centric applications like YouTube and Netflix. Marvell also filled us in on what kind of video decoding the hardware is capable of: it supports most H.264 profiles, MPEG2/4, WMV9, VP6/8, DivX-HD and most digital audio formats (see the PR for a complete list). The high-profile Google connection aside, Marvell also said the chip will work great for other laptop, smartphone and Smart TV streaming applications. On top of that, Mountain View wants to get Chromecast tech natively into Smart TVs and other devices through its Google Cast SDK — no doubt putting Marvell on the ground floor.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet
Supplies of Google’s Chromecast dongle may be scarce, but that could all change as third-party streaming stick manufacturers wade into the Chromecast space. Chip manufacturer Marvell, which provides the SoC powering Google’s adapter has revealed the ARMADA 1500-mini for Chromecast, a cheap chipset for hooking up HDMI displays to a Chromecast-powered entertainment system.
Demand for the Chromecast stick apparently caught Google by surprise, with the $35 adapter selling out shortly after it was announced. New online orders through Google’s own Play store are warned not to expect their new toy for another 3-4 weeks, in fact.
It’s unclear whether an ARMADA 1500-mini powered alternative will arrive within that period, but the market looks set to be flooded with Chromecast-compatible hardware. Supporting 1080p HD, just like the official Chromecast dongle, the Marvell SoC is intended not only for dongle-type form factors as Google went for, but could also be integrated into a smart TV, a set-top box, or something else.
The official Google Chromecast adapter – which we reviewed yesterday – has a relatively small portfolio of abilities out of the box, but the combination of easy browser tab sharing and its low cost have helped offset any functionality shortcomings. Effectively plug-and-play once slotted into a free HDMI port, hooked up to a USB power supply, and connected to a WiFi network, the dongle can currently stream Netflix, YouTube, and Google Play content and be controlled by iOS and Android devices.
However, a “beta” plugin for Chrome on Windows, Mac, and Chromebook allows the content of a tab to be mirrored on the TV, through the Chromecast stick. That effectively works around the limited number of apps with current support for the Chromecast service.
Marvell hasn’t said exactly how much it will be charging OEMs for the ARMADA 1500-mini, nor confirmed that the SoC is the same as what’s inside Google’s Chromecast, though it seems more than likely. There’s more on Chromecast in our SlashGear 101 on the streaming system.
Chromecast dongle flood likely as Marvell outs streaming chip is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Marvell made waves last year with its 802.11ac wireless chips, but the company’s looking to make a splash in 2013 with a new quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 SoC. Called the PXA1088, the new silicon’s calling card — other than those four CPU cores — is its ability to beam 3G data to mobile devices anywhere in the world thanks to auto-roaming and compatibility with 21Mbps HSPA+, TD-HSPA+, EDGE, and WCDMA networks. In addition to those cellular radios, it also has an Avastar 88W8777 chip that brings WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and FM radio, plus it has a GPS and GLONASS location processor on board.
Worldwide connectivity isn’t the PXA1088’s only trick, either. It’s got some serious video chops thanks to a hardware 1080p encoder and decoder, and a GPU from Vivante compliant with OpenGL ES 2.0 and 1.1 as well as OpenVG 1.1. Can’t wait to get your grubby mitts on a phone packing Marvell’s latest? The company tells us that several well-known OEMs will be rolling out devices with the PXA1088 in the first half of the year. Of course, we’re hoping to see a few of them ourselves next week at Mobile World Congress, so stay tuned.
Marvell Announces Industry’s Most Advanced Single-chip Quad-core World Phone Processor to Power High-performance, Smartphones and Tablets with Worldwide Automatic Roaming on 3G Networks
Expecting commercial device production in 2013
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2013) – Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL) today announced the Marvell(R) PXA1088, a highly integrated quad-core application and communications mobile System-on-Chip (SoC) that provides high performance, low-power mobile computing; support for all global broadband standards, enabling seamless global roaming; and the latest wireless connectivity technology. Marvell’s PXA1088 is the industry’s most advanced single-chip solution to feature a quad-core processor with support for 3G field-proven cellular modems including High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+), Time division High Speed Packet Access Plus (TD-HSPA+) and Enhanced Data for GSM Environment (EDGE).
“Marvell is proud to deliver our single-chip quad-core world-mode mobile platform. This is a testament of our great technology innovation capabilities and engineering prowess to bring our unified platform from dual-core to quad-core to the smart device marketplace with multi-mode capabilities and automatic roaming on 3G networks around the world. We’re very excited that global OEM/ODM partners have embraced and committed to this platform,” said Weili Dai, Co-Founder of Marvell. “I believe our industry leading single-chip platform will drive mass market adoption of high-quality, high-performance, very affordable smartphone and tablet solutions worldwide to enrich people’s connected lifestyle.”
The Marvell PXA1088 solution incorporates the performance of a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 with Marvell’s mature and proven WCDMA and TD-SCDMA modem technology to provide a low-cost 3G platform for both smartphones and tablets. The advanced application processor technology of the PXA1088 enables a breakthrough end user experience for multimedia and gaming applications with universal connectivity. Marvell’s complete mobile platform solution includes the Avastar(R) 88W8777 WLAN + Bluetooth 4.0 + FM single-chip SoC and the L2000 GNSS Hybrid Location Processor, and an integrated power management and audio codec IC.
Marvell’s PXA1088 is backward pin-to-pin compatible with its dual-core single-chip Unified 3G Platform, the PXA988/PXA986, enabling device partners to upgrade their next-generation mobile devices to quad-core without additional design cost.
Marvell will showcase the PXA1088 alongside a range of mobile devices powering the Connected Lifestyle at booth 6C44 (in Hall 6) at Mobile World Congress, February 25-28, at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.
Additional PXA1088 Features:
o. Support for advanced WCDMA Release 7, TD-SCDMA HSPA+ Release 8, and class 12 EDGE
o. 3G protocol stack certified on all major carrier networks and validated via extensive IOT, GCF and field trail testing
o. Support for popular full-feature operating systems and industry-standard development tools
o. Multi-radio platform capabilities with WLAN/Bluetooth solutions
o. Integrated power management and audio Codec IC
o. High-performance graphics engine for OpenGL ES 2.0 and 1.1, as well as OpenVG 1.1
o. Hardware 1080p decoder and 1080p encoder
o. 12mm x 12mm JEDEC standard package-on-package stacked memory option or discrete package option
o. Supports the latest Android OS
Currently, the PXA1088 platform is sampling with leading global customers. Products based on this platform are expected to be commercially available in 2013.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
Marvell’s been all over the place this week, showing of some the best technology of 2013 it’ll be helping to power. We’ll be sitting down with the company’s vice president of the smart home, Winston Chen, to talk set top boxes.
Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here!
Continue reading Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Marvell’s Winston Chen
Filed under: Home Entertainment
It’s like a match made in heaven. Agawi and Marvell have partnered up to combine a cloud-based gaming platform with the equipment that powers many popular Google TV devices. Together, both companies will offer a white-label Android gaming solution to OEMs, internet and cable providers, game publishers and retailers. As a result, we may see a number of smart TV devices begin cropping up that support Agawi’s CloudPlay gaming service. Whether this solution poses a legitimate threat to the console business remains to be seen, but we’re going to scour the floor at CES to bring you a demo of the system in action. In the meantime, full PR follows the break.
Continue reading Agawi and Marvell team up to bring cloud-based gaming to Android set-top boxes
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
At CES 2013, Marvel is showing a number of new Google TV devices powered by its Marvell Armada 1500 Series which was introduced last year with Google TV 2.0. Among the notable new clients (called “design-wins” in industry lingo), we’ve spotted ASUS, Netgear, Hisense and TCL: they are not really small-time manufacturers, so we can expect Google TV to be promoted like it’s never been before.
We’ve covered the Neo TV Prime in another post, but in this particular line-up of Google TV boxes, we find the ASUS Qube design to be particularly interesting and would love to see it next to a TV. We’ve talked to Weili Dai, Co-Founder of Marvell, about CES 2013, and she told us that all the technology elements are now in place for Google TV (and smart screens in general) to take off, big time. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Radioline Goes to the Connected TVs with Mstar and to the Car with Parrot, Vizio 2013 Sound Bar,
A jury has found Marvell Semiconductor to have infringed on two of Carnegie Mellon University’s patents after a four week back-and-forth legal battle. The end result is $1,169,140,271 in damages that Marvell has been ordered to pay. If it sticks, this will prove to be the biggest patent-related verdict ever, a title currently held by Samsung, which was ordered to pay over a billion in damages earlier this year.
Marvell was ruled to have infringed on Patent No. 6,438,180 and Patent No. 6,201,839, both of which concern a method for reducing the sound produced by a hard drive when it is crunching away at data. Marvell stated during trial that Carnegie Mellon’s patents aren’t anything special, and that a patent pre-dating the two in question detailed the same information.
The jury wasn’t convinced, however, and Marvell is now officially in the group of companies that have lost in patent cases with universities. This is especially bad news for Marvell considering that it made a tad over $900 million last year. The company, which is said to have sold over 2 billion infringing chips since 2003, has appealed the ruling.
Carnegie Mellon University was represented by K&L Gate; the firm’s chairman Peter J. Kalis offered this statement. “We take special pride in this trial victory because of the decades-long relationship between our firm and Carnegie Mellon University and our deep appreciation for CMU‘s path-breaking and leadership role in the information age.” The university followed this up by stating, “We did not undertake this suit lightly and once we undertook it we did not pursue it lightly.”
[via ars technica]
Marvell Semiconductor slammed with $1.17 billion in damages for patent infringement is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Despite its crucial role in the Android ecosystem, ASUS hasn’t taken the plunge on Google TV so far. An FCC approval for a new adapter, the Qube, suggests that reticence is coming to a quick halt — and in an uncommon way. Rather than build a full media hub, ASUS appears to be crafting a possibly Roku-like dongle that would graft Google TV on to a host device through USB. The Qube’s components aren’t outlined in earnest, but it would pair up with an RF-based keyboard and touchpad for its main input.
Some details may have been given away through Google Play listings for O!Mobile Control Center and Remote apps linked to the Qube — they hint that ASUS could use the same Marvell Armada processors that power modern Google TV boxes, as well as extend smartphone control beyond what Google’s official remote app can offer (we tried it with an existing Google TV unit and it wouldn’t connect.) At this moment, we’re less curious about when and where the Qube releases than how it will sell; its dependence could see it destined for an equipment bundle instead of sitting on shelves by its lonesome. We’re asking around for possible details and will let you know if we hear more.
Continue reading ASUS Qube with Google TV pops up at the FCC
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, ASUS, Google
Source: FCC, Google Play (1), (2)
Last time we saw the SMILE Plug cloud computer, it was nothing more than a render — an alabaster box with dual external antennas and a glowing green (or red) visage to let you know when it’s functioning properly. We were told that it would be a dev kit that creates an ad-hoc network within a classroom that serves up to 60 devices at once using Arch Linux, and can run off a wall outlet or a battery pack. Well, that bit of vaporware has coalesced into what you see above, and it seems that Marvell has delivered everything it promised. The final SMILE Plug packs 512MB of RAM, a 2Ghz single-core Armada 370 SoC and an enterprise-class 802.11 a/b/g/n Avastar WiFi chip to ensure high connectivity and power efficiency at a low monetary cost. It also has two Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual USB 2.0 plugs and a microSD slot for folks needing more than the 512MB of onboard storage. As currently configured, the SMILE Plug will cost around $30, and it’ll start shipping to Stanford’s SMILE (Stanford Mobile Inquiry-based Learning Environment) pilot programs next month.
Marvell doesn’t plan to be the only one building these cloud computers, however, which is where the SMILE Consortium comes in. You see, the SMILE Plug is but a reference design, and Marvell and Stanford are trying to get OEMs building their own SMILE Plugs. The consortium is dedicated to “developing innovative education solutions on an open platform” and is seeking both hardware manufacturers and software developers to meet its goal of changing educational environments around the world. What kind of classroom do Stanford and Marvell envision, and how does the SMILE Plug fit into it? Join us after the break to find out.
Filed under: Wireless
Marvell and Stanford create SMILE Plug cloud computer, SMILE Consortium to get companies and devs to build a better education system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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