ARM Cortex-A8 Processor Provides Industry Leading Performance in TI OMAP3430

Texas Instruments OMAP3430 Processor Demonstrates Low-Power High-Performance Multimedia, Web-Browsing and Gaming Capabilities at 3GSM World Congress

CAMBRIDGE, UK -  Feb.13, 2007 – ARM [(LSE:ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY)]  today welcomed the outstanding capabilities of Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI’s) OMAP™3430 processor, integrating the ARM® Cortex™-A8 processor. A rich browser experience, High-Definition (HD) video, advanced Java™ multimedia, and 3D games, take center stage in the OMAP3430 platform, realizing the full potential of power-efficient and high-performance mobile devices.  The OMAP3430 processor’s capabilities are being publicly demonstrated at 3GSM World Congress, February 12-15 in Barcelona, in the TI booth #8A84.

“Our collaboration with ARM during the development of the Cortex-A8 processor was important to the advancement of the OMAP 3 platform,” said Alain Mutricy, vice president and general manager, Texas Instruments Wireless Terminals Business Unit.   “Proving the extensibility of the OMAP 3 architecture, we are demonstrating the ARM Cortex-A8 processor running at speeds up to 1GHz on TI’s low-power 65-nanometer (nm) technology.  Reaching this milestone provides a glimpse of what will be possible with future wireless technologies.”

The Cortex-A8 processor is the first applications processor based on the next-generation ARMv7 architecture, which features support for TrustZone® technology, Thumb®-2 instructions, Jazelle®-RCT technology and ARM’s powerful NEON™ signal processing extensions targeted for next generation enriched multimedia and gaming mobile platforms.

The exceptional speed and power efficiency of the Cortex-A8 processor brings desktop levels of performance to low-cost, high-volume products for the first time. As part of the OMAP3430 applications processor, the combination of the Cortex-A8 processor’s clock frequency, performance efficiency and support for ARMv7 with NEON technology delivers up to three times the performance of today’s highest performance handsets. With this, TI is able to demonstrate clock speeds of up to 1GHz on low-power 65-nanometer (nm) technology. This performance level supports a new class of consumer products and connected devices.

“With the rapid convergence of digital entertainment and mobile communications technology, the high performance and low power combination of the ARM Cortex-A8 processor and TI's OMAP 3 platform extends what is possible in this highly connected world,” said Mike Inglis, EVP sales and marketing, ARM. “We are very pleased with the demonstrable capabilities of the Cortex-A8 processor and the success of our partnership with Texas Instruments.”  

The Cortex-A8 processor utilizes a superscalar pipeline with advanced branch prediction to deliver more than 2000 DMIPS when clocked at 1GHz.  The processor features ARM NEON 64/128bit SIMD multimedia technology together with a performance optimized level 1 cache and tightly coupled size-configurable level 2 cache to deliver high-throughput advanced media and gaming processing for next generation devices.

“The ARM Cortex-A8 processor enables a major increase in performance that visibly enhances the user experience,” said Richard Kerslake, world wide general manager, 3G and OMAP business, Texas Instruments. “In addition to reaching new performance levels, the OMAP3430 platform is reducing application launch time, increasing touch screen responsiveness and supporting enhanced gaming and web browsing capabilities.”

The Cortex-A8 processor was publicly launched at the end of 2005, TI introduced the OMAP 3 platform and OMAP3430 processor at 3GSM in 2006 and is sampling today.   Today’s announcement marks the first public demonstration of the Cortex-A8 processor’s performance and the capabilities of Texas Instrument’s OMAP 3 architecture-based silicon.

ARM has secured eight licensees for the Cortex-A8 processor and future support from major EDA and Operating System vendors.

About ARM

ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from mobile, home and enterprise solutions to embedded and emerging applications. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes 16/32-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, 3D processors, digital libraries, embedded memories, peripherals, software and development tools, as well as analog functions and high-speed connectivity products. Combined with the company’s broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at www.arm.com.