Feb. 21, 2002 – Geneva, Switzerland – STMicroelectronics and Imagination Technologies, a provider of human interface IP, have signed a letter of intent for the co-development of a mobile multimedia entertainment platform.

The ST Pocket Multimedia (PMM) platform targets handheld entertainment applications such as audio and video playback and 3D gaming with power consumption requirements. By using this platform, OEMs will be able to design devices based on a set of IP for battery-powered applications and to secure short time-to-volume production, ST said.

PMM is integrating a SuperH Inc. low-power RISC core with Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR MBX 3D/2D and video acceleration mobile graphics technology along with a set of IP from ST, such as connectivity, video and display, storage, and security and related software.

ST and Imagination Technologies share a vision of the digital convergence requirements for mobile systems and the need to offer competitive low-power solutions to concurrently perform audio, video and graphics features, the companies said.

The PowerVR MBX, implemented in 0.13-micron process, will feature high-performance 3D, 2D and video graphics processing (up to 4 million triangles/second at 120MHz) in a small area (around 6mm2 of silicon in an SoC solution), with low-power consumption (less than 60mW at a clock speed of 50MHz). It maintains all of PowerVR’s features and capabilities, which will allow content migration from PC and console platforms to mobile and handheld entertainment devices. Because PowerVR’s processing architecture minimizes external memory bandwidth requirements, it is ideal for use in SoC solutions integrated with a SuperH RISC core, the companies said.