MWC: New TI processor bridging smartphone, computing

Just as Texas Instruments’ (NYSE:TXN) current generation of mobile applications processors has started shipping, the chipmaker has begun paving the way for the next generation of mobile silicon.

TI today unveiled its OMAP 5 processor, which seeks to improve on OMAP 4 in both speed and memory and video and image processing capabilities. But most significantly, according to TI, OMAP5 is its first mobile processing platform to fully bridge the divide between the smartphone and the computer.

The OMAP 5 is built on a pair of Cortex-A15 processors, each supporting up to 2 GHz of clock speeds. The A-15 is generational leap from the A-9, which forms the core of OMAP 4, which is just starting to appear in the next generation of super-smartphones and tablets, like the BlackBerry Playbook.The current generation of A-8 processors powered TI’s OMAP 3 smartphones, which powered some of the key devices in the last round of smartphone launches, such as the Motorola Droids.

But TI has designed a lot more into the 28 nanometer chip than just processing speed. The OMAP 5 has dedicated 2D and 3D graphics processors, boosting 3D performance five times over OMAP 4 levels. OMAP 5 also uses TI’s Smart Reflex 3 power management system, which toggles the different processors into high-and low-power modes, conserving phone battery life. Its 8 GB of memory and virtualization support allow it to support full-fledged PC operating systems, moving the chip beyond the smartphone category.
The OMAP 4 already supported 1080p video, but the OMAP5 one-ups its predecessor with stereoscopic high-definition video, enabling it to both render and capture 3D video. Beyond entertainment, that stereoscopic capability adds a whole new realm of user interface functionality to a device.

tereoscopic cameras can sense movements in depth as well across the plane of a camera, allowing for gesture-based user interfaces as well as the ability to interact with projected images from the device. TI scientists said the OMAP 5 will essentially permit a phone to be turned into any number of consumer or enterprise devices using this capabilities. A PC-sized screen could be projected in 3D with cursor movements controlled by gesture, for instance, or the phone could be used to host a 3D video conferencing session. The chip could also function as a hub for other connected devices, acting as the DVR for an HD TV or the CPU for a tablet monitor—a similar use case to Motorola’s (NYSE:MMI) new Atrix architecture.

The timing of the OMAP 5 launch is a bit puzzling since the OMAP 4 hasn’t yet gained its full stride. The only announced device embedded with generation 4 of the processor is Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry Playbook. Announced just ahead of Mobile World Congress, RIM surely plans to showcase the new platform in Barcelona next week. But at last year’s MWC, the OMAP 4 received similar treatment, embedded in test boards rather than actual commercial devices to showcase that platform’s video and gaming capabilities. Meanwhile, TI plans to start sampling the OMAP 5 in the second half of the 2011 and expects the first devices embedded with the chip to roll off assembly lines in the second half of 2012. That leaves only 12 to 18 months between the commercial debut of the two generations.

TI typically announces new silicon technology well in advance of its commercial availability to give device makers and software developers plenty of lead time, and when a new generation of silicon emerges the previous generation doesn’t stop shipping. TI is still racking up wins for its OMAP3 product line—the latest being the Barnes & Noble Nook e-book reader—even though the OMAP 4 has been available since last year. But TI may also be pushing ahead with the OMAP 5 with an eye to its competitors’ recent successes.

TI is facing intense pressure in the smartphone market from Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), whose Snapdragon processor line has landed many key smartphone and tablet wins, as well as new entrants to the market like graphics processor maker Nvidia. From the other end of the mobile computing spectrum, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) continues to scale down its Atom processors for use in smaller more powerful devices, though it has seen virtually no success in the smartphone market as of yet.