N900 CPU

Not all features of the microprocessor are exploited in the N900.

Some of the missing features may be possible to exploit with additional software, and some are not implemented in external hardware, or are nonfunctional due to hardware bugs.

Contents

[edit] Summary

The OMAP3430 contains a ARM® Cortex™-A8 superscalar microprocessor core.

It is produced by Texas Instruments - See their site for more information

A comprehensive 3454 page datasheet is available.

[edit] Features

  • IVA2+ accellerator can encode/decode (MPEG4, H264, Windows Media Video, RealVideo etc.) at DVD resolutions.
  • vector floating-point acceleration,
  • dedicated 2D/3D graphics hardware accelerator
  • Integrated POWERVR SGX™ graphics core with OpenGL ES® 2.0 and OpenVG™, support.
  • Composite and S-video TV output
  • XGA (1024x768 pixels), 16M-color (24-bit definition) display support
  • Flatlink™ 3G-compliant serial display and parallel display support
  • High Speed USB2.0 On-The-Go support

[edit] Imaging

There is a hardware On-the-fly JPEG compression unit, which can cope with up to 12MP cameras.

[edit] Security

The built-in M-Shield™ security technology enables operators to add value-added services for content protection, transaction security and secure network access, plus terminal security functions such as secure flashing and booting, terminal identity protection and network lock protection. Enhanced with ARM TrustZone™ support, OMAP3430 security is based on open APIs and provides an environment for secure applications that deliver robust performance and interoperability.

[edit] Power management

The OMAP3430 boast the most advanced and effective power management techniques in the market. The chip makes exhaustive use of TI's SmartReflex technologies which include a broad range of intelligent and adaptive hardware and software techniques that dynamically control voltage, frequency and power based on device activity, modes of operation and temperature. Additionally the OMAP3430 is supported by the TWL4030 power management/audio codec companion device which is designed specifically to maximize battery life and boost system performance in mobile phones that leverage the OMAP3430 applications processor. The highly integrated TWL4030 combines SmartReflex-compliant voltage regulators and converters, a high-fidelity audio/voice codec, class-AB/D audio amplifiers, high-speed USB 2.0 OTG transceiver, battery charger circuitry and much more into a single chip, significantly reducing board space and system cost while managing power consumption efficiently.

Key Features:

  • Flexible system support
  • Seamless connectivity to Hard Disk Drive (HDD) devices for mass storage
  • Leverages SmartReflex™ technologies for advanced power reduction
  • M-shield™ mobile security enhanced with ARM TrustZone™ support
  • Software-compatible with OMAP™ 2 processors
  • HLOS support for customizable interface
  • Support for OpenGL ES 1.1

[edit] In Progress Development

There are a number of projects to improve support for some of the processor features.

These vary from N900 Hardware USB Host to enabling the onboard sha-1 and MD5 hashing engine.

Retrieved from "http://bugs.maemo.org/N900_CPU"