Engineering:NovaThor

From HandWiki
The Snowball is a single-board computer in the Nano-ITX form factor using the A9500 version of the NovaThor SoC.

NovaThor was a platform consisting of integrated System on Chips (SoC) and modems for smartphones and tablets developed by ST-Ericsson, a 50/50 joint venture of Ericsson and STMicroelectronics established on February 3, 2009. ST-Ericsson also sold the SoCs (Nova) and the modems (Thor) separately.[1][2] The application processor portion of the system was the successor of the previous Nomadik line from STMicroelectronics.

History

In early 2009, when development had already begun on a Nomadik SoC called STn8500, it was superseded by the NovaThor family from ST-Ericsson and renamed U8500 as the ST-NXP Wireless division was merged into the ST-Ericsson joint venture.[3]

On November 2, 2011, Nokia announced that NovaThor SoCs will power Nokia's future Windows Phone based smartphones, making a deviation from the standard use of Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs in Windows Phones.[4]

On February 28, 2012, ST-Ericsson announced that they would switch to fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) transistors for upcoming products to reduce power consumption. As an example they stated that the L8540 SoC with FD-SOI transistors would consume 35% less power.[5]

On April 23, 2012, the company announced that development of application processors (such as NovaThor) was to be moved back into STMicroelectronics.[6]

On November 21, 2012, it was announced that ST-Ericsson had joined the Sailfish Alliance hence NovaThor ModAp platform would support Jolla's smartphones and Sailfish OS.[7]

On December 10, 2012, ST-Ericsson announced that STMicroelectronics will leave the joint venture after a transition period making Ericsson the full owner of the company.[8]

On December 20, 2012, Ericsson announced that they will not buy the remaining 50% stake that STMicroelectronics held. The future for the company therefore remained uncertain.[9]

On January 30, 2013, ST-Ericsson announced as part of its quarterly result that they had shipped 10.7 million U8500 NovaThor units in the fourth quarter of 2012.[10]

On May 28, 2013, ST-Ericsson announced that they would sell the assets and intellectual property rights for its mobile connectivity Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to Intel for $90 million.[11]

On August 5, 2013, Ericsson and STMicroelectronics completed the split up of ST-Ericsson and NovaThor is since a STMicroelectronics product.[12]

List of Nova and NovaThor SoCs

Model Number Semiconductor technology CPU Instruction Set CPU GPU Memory Technology Wireless Radio Technologies Availability Utilizing Devices
NovaThor U8500[13] 40 nm[14] ARMv7 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 ARM Mali 400 MP (single core) LP-DDR2 HSPA 2011 Motorola XT760, HTC Desire 400 dual sim[5] Ontim WP8500,[15] Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, Samsung Galaxy Beam, Samsung Galaxy S Advance,[16] Samsung Galaxy S III Mini,[17] Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2, Shanda Bambook,[18] Sony Xperia go, Sony Xperia P,[19] Sony Xperia Sola, Sony Xperia U, Yulong Coolpad CP7728[20]
NovaThor U9500[21] 45 nm ARMv7 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 ARM Mali 400 MP LP-DDR2 GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA+ (HSDPA 21 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s) 2011
Nova A9500[22] 45 nm ARMv7 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 ARM Mali 400 MP LP-DDR2 None 2011 HTC Sensation Z710T (China),[23] Lenovo LePhone S899t,[24] Snowball[25]
Nova A9540[26] 32 nm[27] ARMv7 1.85 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 PowerVR SGX 544 Dual-channel LP-DDR2 None Cancelled
NovaThor L9540[28] 32 nm ARMv7 1.85 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 PowerVR SGX 544 Dual-channel LP-DDR2 LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, EDGE (external Thor M7400 modem) Cancelled
NovaThor L8540[29] 28 nm ARMv7 1.85 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 PowerVR SGX 544 @ 500 MHz[30] Dual-channel LP-DDR2 LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, EDGE (integrated modem) Cancelled
NovaThor L8580 (eQuad

[lower-alpha 1])[31]

28 nm FD-SOI ARMv7 2.5-3.0 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 PowerVR SGX 544 @600 MHz Dual-channel LP-DDR2 LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, EDGE (integrated modem) Cancelled

Similar platforms

Notes

  1. ↑ With eQuad, the dual-core chip act as two performance cores or, at 0.6 V, two power-saving cores. "e" for electrical.

References

  1. ↑ NOVA TM - Highest performance application processors
  2. ↑ Clarke, Peter (2011-02-16). "ST-Ericsson sets out 'NovaThor' roadmap". https://www.eetimes.com/st-ericsson-sets-out-novathor-roadmap/. 
  3. ↑ "Source tree for STn8500". http://code.google.com/p/ast-linux-patches/source/browse/arch/arm/mach-stn8500/?r=adfc0405d47aae920a027d01a9b9e83975bf57a2. 
  4. ↑ Toor, Amar (2011-11-02). "ST-Ericsson's NovaThor to power Nokia's Windows Phone devices, loosens Qualcomm's grip". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2011/11/02/st-ericssons-novathor-to-power-nokias-windows-phone-devices-l/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Archived copy". http://www.stericsson.com/investors/ST%20Investor%20Day%20-%20ST-Ericsson%20plenary%20session%20presentation.pdf. 
  6. ↑ "ST-Ericsson announces new strategic direction and partnership". 2012-04-23. http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/Strategy_update.jsp. 
  7. ↑ "ST-Ericsson is ready to support Jolla's Sailfish OS | mobile technology, mobile architecture | ST-Ericsson Technology Blog". Blog.stericsson.com. 2012-11-21. http://blog.stericsson.com/blog/2012/11/st-ericsson-general/st-ericsson-is-ready-to-support-jolla%E2%80%99s-sailfish-os/. 
  8. ↑ "Ericsson - A world of communication". June 2020. http://stericsson.com/press_releases/confirms_strategic_direction.jsp. 
  9. ↑ "Ericsson köper inte resten av ST-Ericsson". http://www.nyteknik.se/nyheter/it_telekom/mobiltele/article3608010.ece. 
  10. ↑ ST-Ericsson reports fourth quarter 2012 financial results
  11. ↑ "ST-Ericsson announces sale of its Connectivity (GNSS) business". http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/ST-Ericsson_selling_connectivity.jsp. 
  12. ↑ "Ericsson and STMicroelectronics complete transaction to split up ST-Ericsson". 2013-08-05. http://www.ericsson.com/news/1721084. 
  13. ↑ NovaThor U8500 Product Webpage; ST Ericsson.
  14. ↑ http://ftp.dei.uc.pt/pub/linux/kernel/people/linusw/st-ericsson/next-20100812/0027-ARM-ux500-cpu-SoC-version-macros.patch [bare URL plain text file]
  15. ↑ ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 powers new tablet from Ontim
  16. ↑ ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 powers new Samsung GALAXY S Advance
  17. ↑ ST-ERICSSON NOVATHOR MODAP POWERS NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY S III MINI
  18. ↑ "ST-Ericsson Continues to Expand Presence in China by Powering First Smartphone from Shanda". Stericsson.com. 2012-06-06. http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/PR_Shanda_U8500.jsp. 
  19. ↑ "Specifications - Sony Smartphones (Global UK English)". Sonymobile.com. 1970-01-01. http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-p/specifications/. 
  20. ↑ "ST-Ericsson Adds China Unicom and Yulong as NovaThor Customer". Stericsson.com. 2012-05-28. http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/PR_Yulong_U8500.jsp. ,
  21. ↑ NovaThor U9500 Product Webpage; ST Ericsson.
  22. ↑ Changing the game: ST-Ericsson Unveils NovaThor™ Family of Smartphone Platforms Combining its Most Advanced Application Processors with the Latest Generation of Modems
  23. ↑ Powerful New ST-Ericsson Platform makes Debut in HTC Sensation
  24. ↑ "Latest smartphone from Lenovo and China Mobile powered by ST-Ericsson". Stericsson.com. 2012-07-10. http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/ST-Ericsson_Lenevo_A9500.jsp. 
  25. ↑ Snowball is a low power, low cost Single Board Computer based on the ST-Ericsson Nova A9500 processor (Dual Cortex A9 + Mali 400 GPU)
  26. ↑ Nova™ A9540
  27. ↑ "Changing the game: ST-Ericsson Unveils NovaThor™ Family of Smartphone Platforms Combining its Most Advanced Application Processors with the Latest Generation of Modems". Stericsson.com. 2011-02-15. http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/NovaThor.jsp. 
  28. ↑ NOVATHOR™ L9540
  29. ↑ NOVATHOR™ L8540
  30. ↑ ST-Ericsson announces new highly integrated LTE NovaThor platform
  31. ↑ "NOVATHOR™ L8580". Stericsson.com. http://www.stericsson.com/products/L8580.jsp. 

External links




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