Marvell(那斯達克交易代號：MRVL)今天公佈兩款最新的4G LTE系統單晶片(SoC)，並鎖定平價智慧型手機市場。

Marvell PXA1908和PXA1936是品牌專門針對全球LTE市場部署推出的最新款SoC。PXA1908和PXA1936都是Marvell為了打進平價智慧型手機的SoC市場所自行生產的64位元新品，並且在4核與8核心設定中運用ARM自家的A53 CPU，以使用低功耗提供合理的效能。

PXA1936是Marvell較高階的64位元產品，結合8核心ARM Cortex-A53處理架構和顯示效果達1080P的Vivante GPU，可播放視訊，並支援高達1600萬像素的相機。PXA1908則相反，雖然也配備64位元SoC，但只有4個ARM A53 CPU核心和1個顯示效果僅有720P的Vivante GPU，並搭配提供800萬像素相機使用的影像訊號處理器。

此外，Marvell的PXA1936更納入某些先進的安全功能，以啟用信任運算、DRM和行動付款。這表示原廠設備製造商(OEM)能利用SoC達成幾乎任何目的，且無需擔心遺漏功能。說到功能方面，PXA1936也整合位置和感測器中樞，進而提升效率並降低消耗功率。

這兩款SoC的數據機皆由Marvell自行生產，支援LTE TDD、FDD和Cat4級別的最高速度，這對日本及韓國以外的多數營運商提供的服務來說，目前已屬足夠，但依然遠遠落後例如採用Cat6 LTE的業界領袖Qualcomm。即便如此，並沒有任何公司為平價智慧型手機提供Cat6 LTE，因此Cat4 LTE對這個市場區段來說已是綽綽有餘。

Marvell具備多模LTE的SoC早已獲得驗證，可用於Verizon和中國移動(China Mobile)，和AT&T數據機已在進行驗證流程，也正於日本及歐洲進行測試。這些SoC已處在出貨給客戶的階段，Marvell預期客戶的新裝置會在2015年上市，這代表我們將會看到功率頗為穩健、價格低於$100美元，並且搭載Marvell晶片的智慧型手機和平板電腦問世了。

The post MARVELL推出兩款平價且全球通用的LTE SOC appeared first on VR World.

Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) has announced today two of its newest 4G LTE-capable SoCs aimed at the low-cost smartphone market.

The Marvell PXA1908 and PXA1936 are Marvell’s latest SoCs that are aimed squarely at a global market for global LTE deployments. Both the PXA1908 and the PXA1936 are Marvell’s own 64-bit entrants into the SoC market for low-cost smartphones, utilizing ARM’s own A53 CPUs in 4 and 8 core configurations in order to deliver reasonable performance at low power.

The PXA1936 is Marvell’s higher-end 64-bit offering with a combination of the 8 ARM Cortex-A53 with a Vivante GPU capable of 1080P display and video playback as well as support for a camera of up to 16 megapixels. This is in contrast with the PXA1908, which is also a 64-bit based SoC, but with only four ARM A53 CPU cores and a Vivante GPU capable of only 720P and an image signal processor for 8 megapixel cameras.

Also, Marvell has included some advanced security features into the PXA1936 in order to enable trusted computing, DRM and mobile payments. This means that OEMs can utilize this SoC for virtually any purpose and not worry about missing features. Speaking of features, it also has an integrated location and sensor hub for added efficiency and power reduction.

The modem on both of these SoC’s is Marvell’s own and is capable of LTE TDD and FDD and maximum speeds of Cat4, which is currently enough for what most operators are delivering outside of Japan and Korea, but still far behind industry leaders like Qualcomm with Cat6 LTE. Even so, nobody is shipping Cat6 LTE for low-cost smartphones, so Cat4 LTE is more than good enough for this market segment.

Marvell’s SoCs with multi-mode LTE are already certified for use on Verizon and China mobile and are already in the AT&T modem certification process and are testing in Japan and Europe as well. These SoCs are already in the process of shipping to customers and Marvell expects that customers will have devices on the market in 2015, which means we could see some fairly decently powered sub-$100 smartphones and tablets with Marvell’s chips inside of them.

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As Computex is getting ready to open its doors in and around Taipei, the capital of Taiwan – more products are leaking to the surface. Thanks to a Spanish e-tailer PCComponentes, we learned of one such product coming to the market comes from the States, in the form of Crucial’s Solid State Drive (SSD).

Crucial’s Retail box for the MX100 SSD

MX100 line of SSDs will mark the beginning of the end for memory chips produced using the 20nm process. While the 128GB drive will carry the 20nm MLC NAND memory chips, 256GB and 512GB models will feature brand new 16nm NAND flash from Micron. According to Micron,

“Our 16nm NAND technology is not only the leading Flash process, but it is also the most advanced processing node for any sampling semiconductor device. It improves on our award-winning planar cell design to create a highly compact storage solution.

Our advanced 16nm technology is also enabling a new 128Gb MLC device for applications that demand high-capacity storage in small form factors— including consumer SSDs, removable storage (USB drives and Flash cards), tablets, ultrathin devices, mobile handsets, and data center cloud storage.”

Micron’s 16nm MLC NAND Flash memory chip

Translated into regular English, a single 16nm chip features no less than 16GB of storage space. Should you wish to integrate this into an ultrabook of the latest type, you’ll be pleased to know that the drive in fact is a 7mm thick 2.5″ drive, featuring an 9mm adapter as well (if you buy a retail packaged unit).

The company stayed clear of LSI / Avago / Seagate / SandForce one more time, and utilizes Marvell’s 88SS9189 controller. This means the drive will connect using a convetional SATA-III (6Gbps), meaning the drive cannot achieve higher transfer speed than 600MB/s up and down. Naturally, the real stated numbers are far lower than that.

All three drives are capable of sequential reading of 550MB/s. Write speeds vary by drive (given the amount of memory chips used for the drive). 128GB SSD comes with the smallest number of NAND flash chips and it achieves barely 150MB/s write, while 256GB drive tops at 330MB/s. The big hitter is the 512GB model, with 500MB/s write speed.

These drives won’t be fastest in the class, but the 16nm process might help 256 and 512GB drives to achieve longer life span.

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