MWC 2008: nVidia re-enters mobile phone space with new CPU

Graphics company nVidia is returning to the mobile phone space with a new processor that is the first to offer both encoding and decoding of 720p video for mobile handsets.

The APX 2500, announced at the Mobile World Congress (aka 3GSM) in Barcelona, will be able to smoothly encode and decode 720p video, bringing the prospect of both watching and recording 720p video on your phone. It will be able to handle 12-megapixel pictures with image stabilisation. The CPU integrates an Ultra Low Power GeForce GPU that supports both OpenGL ES 2.0 and Direct3D Mobile, to provide sophisticated 3D interfaces. The design, based on the ARM11 750MHz processor, will be built on a 65nm manufacturing process and sport 256Kb pf level 2 cache.

Its advanced features are being touted in conjunction with long battery life, with the CPU dissipating only 200milliW while decoding a 720p video stream. According to the company, the APX 2500 device can play 10 hours of video or 100 hours of audio from a single battery charge the same size as the iPhone's.

Andrew Humber, nVidia's Senior PR Manager for Mobile & GPU Computing Products told IT PRO that it saw the mobile phone space as an important growth area for the company. He says the Apple led industry move of focusing on the multimedia aspect of the phone has created a real opportunity for nVidia. "The industry is really moving to nVidia's core strengths - video and multimedia. We bring a skill set that this industry really needs."

He also touched on the pace of change that nVidia will bring to the market, carrying over the fast paced rhythm of design and execution from the desktop PC 3D graphics market. "We will really speed the process or delivering a new mobile CPU design every year, instead of every three years. It's about giving the carriers more choice, helping them bring phones to market quicker."

Perhaps controversially, the APX 2500 CPU will only support Windows Mobile. Humber confirmed that this was a marketing, rather than technical choice. "We feel that Windows Mobile is placed for real growth right now similar to what Windows 95 experienced on the PC." With Sony Ericsson's announcement at MWC of it embracing the platform, there is some substance to this belief.

Don't expect to the see the new CPU in a phone any time soon though. While production will begin in June, nVidia hopes the new CPU will find its way into navigation devices by the end of 2008 and to have mobile phone design wins in 2009.

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