The first generation Wi-Fi launched 15 years ago brought forth wireless LAN (WLAN) applications, and the newer Wi-Fi standards that ensued have been providing faster transmission to notebooks, smartphones, and tablets. Over the past few years, Wi-Fi has even become available to consumer electronics and peripherals.In terms of the emerging home applications, however, Wi-Fi 802.11g and 802.11n in the existing 2.4GHz band can no longer meet the requirement for HD streaming video transmission. As a result, 5G Wi-Fi - faster than 1 Gbps - is forthcoming.Wireless video transmission expedited by 5G Wi-FiThe trademark of 5G Wi-Fi can be noticed at the exhibition halls of Computex 2012 and on the shuttle buses for the event. This is what Michael Hurlston said at his key note speech for "Computex Taipei Digitimes Tech Forum 2012 - Mobile Technology." Hurlston is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Wireless Combo Connectivity Line of Business, Broadcom. He also noted 5G Wi-Fi-related products exhibited by some companies at Computex.Why is there the 5G Wi-Fi standard? What are the benefits of the standard? According to Hurlston, Wi-Fi dominates all the applications of digital home devices and every consumer needs Wi-Fi. According to a Broadcom survey of about 1,000 people in America, 60% of the respondents said that they cannot do without Wi-Fi on any single day; 39% said that they are willing to give up drinking coffee for one month in exchange for Wi-Fi; and 50% are willing to give up Facebook for one month in exchange for Wi-Fi.Videos amounted to 29.5% of the global network traffic in 2009, and the percentage increased to 42.7% and 53.6% respectively in 2010 and 2011, but the explosive growth of videos is just beginning. According to VNI's statistics and forecast in June 2011, more than 50% of the global network packet traffic comes from video transmission and network streaming traffic alone exceeds 1 ExaBytes. By 2015, the percentage of online video traffic is expected to exceed 91% and 7 ExaBytes, four times of the traffic in 2012.Prevalent Wi-Fi for PC, mobile devices, and consumer electronicsAccording to Hurlston, as online video traffic is on the rise globally, the types of devices for online video viewing have started to change. According to a Sandvine Broadband Report in October 2011, 90% of online video viewing used to rely on desktops and 10% used to rely on game consoles, smart TV, set-top boxes (STBs), tablet devices, and smartphones, but now only 45% rely on desktops while 55% rely on game consoles, smart TV, set-top boxes, tablet devices, smartphones, and other mobile devices.He noted the ongoing increase of Wi-Fi applications and types of Wi-Fi devices. In 2008, Wi-Fi was built in on smartphones, notebooks and game consoles, but since then built-in Wi-Fi has been expanding to smart TV, set-top boxes, vehicle electronics and entertainment systems. The number of Wi-Fi built-in devices around the world is expected to exceed 3.2 billions in 2012, and then smart meters, e-healthcare devices, remote control helicopters, and even refrigerators as well as laundry machines will have Wi-Fi built in. The number of Wi-Fi built-in devices around the world is expected to exceed five billions by 2014.When Wi-Fi 801.11n - the mainstream standard at present - was introduced in 2007, continuous transmission of massive streaming videos of high definition as required by today's mobile devices and consumer electronics had not been expected. As a result, 5G Wi-Fi is the only solution now.Wi-Fi evolution and technology advancementAccording to Hurlston, from 1997 to 1998, speed of the 1st-generation Wi-Fi 802.11 was only 2Mbps. From 1999 to 2001, the 2nd-generation Wi-Fi 802.11b accelerated wireless transmission to 11Mbps. From 2002 to 2006, the 3rd-generation Wi-Fi 802.11g/a increased it to 54Mbps. From 2007 to 2011, the 4th-generation Wi-Fi 802.11n raised the limit to 600Mbps (4 channels). The current limit is 450Mbps (3 channels).The 5G Wi-Fi 802.11ac launched in 2012 enables single-channel transmission at 450Mbps, three times of 150Mbps of 802.11n. At present, 802.11ac supports four MIMO channels (1.8Gbps) and will support up to eight MIMO channels. Therefore, the mainstream design of three transreceiver antennas for MIMO may reach 1.35Gbps. 5G Wi-Fi 802.11ac is also compatible with 802.11n (2.4GHz/5Ghz).Hurlston pointed out the features of 5G Wi-Fi as the following:(1) Highest speed of streaming video transmission.(2) Higher capacity for networking of more devices.(3) Wider network coverage that is three to four times of the existing 802.11n to reduce dead spots.(4) A longer battery life resulting from faster transmission that shortens the time required for high power consumption. At present, 5G Wi-Fi is able to concurrent transmit three HD 1080p streaming videos.HD streaming video playing evidenced by 5G Wi-Fi device demoHurlston also invited a Broadcom colleague for a 5G Wi-Fi device demonstration. The colleague unveiled three large-size LCD TVs on the stage. The three TVs played Iron Man, Lorax, and John Carter respectively, using Broadcom's 5G Wi-Fi chip-based wireless multimedia gateway to concurrently play three full HD 1080p videos by wireless transmission without any delay. Concurrent output of four full HD videos is also doable.In terms of file transmission, 5G Wi-Fi enables less packet synchronizations than Wi-Fi 802.11n. It was clocked onsite that transmission of a video of more than 900MB by a 5G Wi-Fi device took only 33-40% of time required for transmission by a 802.11n device. 5G Wi-Fi - because of its speediness and power efficiency - is very suitable for mobile device video transmission.Available products and applicationsAccording to Hurlston, Broadcom debuted its 5G Wi-Fi chipset at CES 2012. The dual-band chipset, which supports 2.4G/5GHz and meets the 802.11ac standard, has won support from wireless network equipment suppliers. Netgear has been the first company supporting 802.11n/802.11ac by launching its A6200 USB adapter as well as R6200 and R6300 wireless routers. Other wireless router and multimedia bridge products launched later to support 5G Wi-Fi include Buffalo AC1300, Air Station WZR-D1800H, and WLI-H4-D300H. Broadcom has become the first ever 5G Wi-Fi equipment supplier in the physical market.The China-based Datang Telecom Technology has announced its 5G Wi-Fi access device adoption. Asustek Computer has announced its RT-AC66U router across 2.4G/5G with the 2.4G band (802.11n) supporting transmission at 400Mbps and the 5G band (802.11ac) supporting transmission at 1,350Mbps. A total bandwidth of 1,750Mbps is available for transmission. Hurlston also mentioned the availability of upcoming wireless routers such as D-Link DIR-865L, Belkin AC1000 and AC1200, Tenda W1800R, and EDIMAX BR-6673AC.Hurlston noted that a complete 5G Wi-Fi ecosystem is being established, for example, ASUS G75VW shown at Computex is the world's first ever gaming notebook with 5G Wi-Fi built in and ASUS P8Z77V motherboard also has 5G Wi-Fi built in.According to Hurlston, the core products with 5G Wi-Fi built in for the first half of 2012 are wireless routers and notebooks, and there will be backbone devices of wireless routers each equipped with two or three antennas in the second half of this year. In the first half of 2013, 5G Wi-Fi will become available to desktops, laptops, smart TV, and set-top boxes. In the second half of the year, it will become available to every type of mobile devices including smart phones, tablets, game consoles, and digital cameras.It is Hurlston's expectation that there will be more choices of 5G Wi-Fi applications and devices to provide better experiences. The latest 5G Wi-Fi guidelines and industry news are available at: http://www.5gwifi.org/Michael Hurlston, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Combo Connectivity Line of Business, Broadcom

The IT industry is becoming more mobile as cloud services and mobile computing are increasingly prevalent, while there is a demand for mobile device projection on screens of different sizes anytime and anywhere to enable presentations and video playing. This will be a requirement for any new mobile device.In order to help developers of mobile applications and manufacturers of mobile devices to grasp the essence of mobile solutions and technologies, Digitimes hosted the "Computex Taipei Digitimes Tech Forum 2012 - Mobile Technology" on June 6 at Taipei International Convention Center, inviting Broadcom, Nvidia, MIPS, SanDisk, Silicon Image, IFA in Berlin, JDC, IPMS, as well as academic and industry representatives to share the latest trends of multi-core processors, wireless networking, storage, video transmission, and touch control.Prevalence of mobile videos and solutions to faster wireline and wireless transmission solutions driven by HD external outputAccording to Michael Hurlston from Broadcom, videos amount to 53.6% of the global network traffic, and the devices for viewing online videos are becoming increasingly diverse. Now 2.4GHz Wi-Fi no longer suffices and in 2012, 5G Wi-Fi (802.11ac) operating on the 5GHz band increases the speed of single-channel transmission by three times for an ordinary gateway with three trans-receiver antennas to concurrently transmit three streaming videos of 1080p at 1.35 Gbps; 5G Wi-Fi (802.11ac) is also compatible with the existing Wi-Fi.According to David Kuo from Silicon Image, micro-HDMI (Type D) is suitable for smartphones and the new MHL interface is capable of 1080p output, while HDTV and cell phones can be simultaneously controlled by HDTV remote control or touch control and there is also a rechargeable power supply design for cell phones. Moreover, 60GHz wireless HD transmission features a proprietary unilateral bandwidth of 4Gbps to allow transmission of uncompressed HD videos of 1920 x1080p60 almost without any delay perceived. This is particularly suitable for interactive HD videos and game applications. The existing 2.4GHz band will not be able to continuously transmit video packets.Multi-core, diverse, and flexible architectures for either Windows RT or AndroidAccording to Rene Hass from Nvidia, ongoing enhancement of mobility for devices is critical to sustaining growth of the IT industry. It is Hass' forecast that a new model that integrates tablet, notebook, and cell phone appearances into one will appear and become a trendsetter. The best solution to PC mobility is the tablets with ARM architecture Tegra 3 in conjunction with Windows RT (RunTime) that supports touch control. Such new generation tablets operate as smoothly as x86 architecture mobile devices when running packaged software, browsing the web, streaming videos, or playing 3D games, but they have a longer battery life than x86 architecture mobile devices and are quiet enough because they do not require fan ventilation.According to Amit Rohatgi from MIPS, MIPS is the first company in the world that launched the tablet CPU for Android 4.0 ICS, a leader of digital home applications, and enjoys a gradually increasing share in the market of mobile devices. MIPS now provides entry-level microAptive, medium-level interAptive, and high-end ProAptive CPUs for mobile device development based on individual manufacturers' market positioning, pricing, and product functions. Consumers, OEM companies, SoC suppliers, and telecom carriers now have even more choices because of MIPS in addition to Intel and ARM architectures.Consumer-driven innovations from upstream to downstream of cloudAccording to Dan Inbar from SanDisk, signal delay has happened to online video playing, and the issue can be resolved by adding Flash I/O to upstream servers to balance CPU and disk I/O resources; implementing bandwidth allocation transfer as well as smart cache download and smart transfer to Wi-Fi on access networks; and implementing nCache in mobile devices to speed up their operation. Flash memory companies need to simultaneously master controllers, firmware algorithm, and flash memory access to achieve system integration and make good use of the capacity strengths of wafer foundries. By doing so, they will be able to focus on the increasingly higher requirements for the capacity and speed of storage device and have a head start in developing relevant solutions.According to IFA Director Jens Heithecker, Apple's global leadership is all associated with the company's innovation that grasps consumer needs and wants. IFA, which takes place at the end of every August or the beginning of every September at Messe Berlin, is a major exhibition and gathering for manufacturers and trade companies of consumer electronics from around the world. Heithecker admitted that Europe has to face up to the debt crises in Greek, Ireland, and Spain but such crises do not amount to an economic crisis in the whole Europe. According to Heithecker, Europe is the world's largest market of consumer electronics while IFA is the world's most important place where orders for consumer electronics are placed. The orders placed at IFA 2011 total US$4.8 billion. He invited the Taiwan media and companies to take part in IFA in order to grasp consumer needs and wants.Demand for HMD and micro protectors brought in by LCoS and OLEDoSAccording to Darwin Hu from Jasper Display, by 2015 consumers would become picky about the quality of full HD and start to pursue a better experience such as QHDTV and even UHDTV. Moreover, they would look for HD viewing anytime and anywhere. On-Silicon Microdisplays are applicable to desktops, digital cameras/video cameras and recorders, wavelength selective switches, head-mounted displays (HMD), heads-up display glasses, hologram projectors, pocket projectors, micro projectors for cell phones, projector modules of laptops, office projectors, and home theater projectors.According to Uwe Vogel from the Fraunhofer IPMS, existing silicon display technologies are for the design of micro displays smaller than 1.3 inch and mobile projection displays, while the Fraunhofer IPMS is studying Hypoled that combines micro display and mobile projection display technologies in one. Therefore, Hypoled means "see-through micro display" and "bi-directional micro display" with camera and recorder functions.According to Darwin Hu, an LCoS projector is easily capable of 1080p output in a viewing distance of 50-75 cm. Vogel mentioned an iSTAR project at the IPMS. iSTAR is a near-to-eye display device like sun glasses; its bi-direction silicon micro-display chip lens will be applicable to smartphone-based HMD, electronic view finders, head-mounted microscopes for engineering control and medical purposes, and military spec HMD helmets.Participants are attentive to the trends introduced at "Computex Taipei Digitimes Tech Forum 2012 - Mobile Technology."A total of 869 people signed up for the forum and 486 of them showed up.

Tegra 3 - developed together by Nvidia and ARM - is a brand new multi-core mobile processor with powerful 3D graphic functions for smartphones and tablet devices. Tegra 3 in conjunction with Microsoft's new Windows RT, which supports touch control, generates great synergy to make web browsing, video streaming, and game playing extremely easy. It also offers longer battery life. Tegra 3 is redefining mobile PC architecture, offering an alternative to x86.Ongoing enhancement of device mobility to sustain IT industry growthAccording to Rene Hass, Vice President and General Manager, Notebook Business Unit, Nvidia, ongoing enhancement of mobility for devices is critical to sustaining growth of the IT industry. According to a market survey conducted by Nvidia, the 2008 global shipment of 300 million notebooks exceeded the shipment of 200 million desktops for the first time ever; in 2009 smartphone shipments exceeded notebook shipments; the iPad launch in the second half of 2010 created a new tablet PC market and in 2011, tablet sales exceeded the netbook sales.For desktops, shipments from 2007 to 2014 are expected to remain unchanged at about 200 million per year. Hass forecast that a new model that integrates tablet, notebook, and cell phone appearances into one will appear and become a trendsetter as the shipment of the new model would exceed the shipment of tablets. Haas also noted ARM processors have a 65% share of the overall market and their share in the tablet and smartphone markets is as high as 90%. Supported by Windows RT, ARM is expected to win 50% of the mobile PC market by 2015, when ARM would become as strong as the Android platform.Haas pointed out several important numbers:(1) 2.5 billion, which is the sum of populations in India and China. The sum is about 36% of the global population of seven billion, and China and India now have the strongest economic growth.(2) 10%, which is the Internet penetration rate in India, where there is considerable room for growth.(3) 6%, which refers to the fact that only 6% of the people in China subscribe to 3G mobile communications.(4) 29%, which refers to the present combined market share of e-book readers and tablets, up from merely 2% three years ago.(5) 3X, which means the number of cell phone users is three times that of fixed-line phone users now.(6) 25 billion, which is the number of times that apps on Apple App Store have been downloaded over the past 15 quarters.(7) 1.25 billion, which is number of PCs around the world running Windows.Another explosive growth of tablets driven by Windows RTWhat devices - be they smartphones or tablets - are suitable to replace PCs in the post-PC era? Should such devices run iOS or Android OS? The best solution, according to Haas, would be the tablets with the ARM architecture in conjunction with Windows RT (RunTime) supporting touch control.According to Haas, Windows RT-based tablets have a beautiful design, a modern and clean interface, and are more intuitive. They would also enhance peak execution efficiency with an even faster, smoother streaming OS in order to stay connected anytime for real-time updates of apps from an unprecedented app ecosystem. Moreover, there would be a built-in independent software vendor (ISV) community that has developed for decades in order to provide the greatest opportunity of development from a single platform, while more than 100,000 apps would be announced and available for download.Windows RT-based tablets equipped with the Tegra 3 multi-core processor also make web browsing, video streaming, and gaming playing extremely easy.Tegra 3: the world's only four-plus-one architecture, quad-core mobile processorHaas next introduced Tegra 3, the third-generation mobile processor announced by Nvidia. The max frequency of Quad-Core Tegra 3 is 1.4GHz, with 32KB L1 I-Cache, 32KB L1 D-Cache, 1MB L2 Cache, ARM Cortex A9 Core, and the 5th 1.5GHz battery-saver core forming the Super 4-PLUS-1 Quad Core manufactured by TSMC 40nm process. This Variable SMP architecture enables four performance cores to be used for max burst, when needed, with each core independently and automatically enabled and disabled based on workload. The single battery-saver core (or companion core) handles low-power tasks like active standby, music, and video, and is transparent to the OS and applications.Tegra 3 has 12 texture pipelines built in as well as ULP GeForce GPU to enable simultaneous dual screen output; HDMI 1.4a output; high definition up to 2048 x 1536 for liquid crystal screens and 1920 x1200 for CRT screens; 1920x1080 full HD; video decoding and playing of H.264 (HP @ 40Mbps), VC-1 AP, MPEG2, MPEG-4, DivX 4/5, XviD HT, H.263, Theora, VP8, WMV, Sorenson Spark, Real Video, and VP6; video encoding of H.264, MPEG4, H.263, and VP8 for video teleconferences; audio decoding of AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, MP3 VBR, WAV/PCM, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, BSAC, MPEG-2 Audio, Vorbis, WMA 9, WMA Lossless, WMA Pro, G.729a, G.711, QCELP, EVRC, etc.Manufactured by TSMC 40nm process, Tegra 3 runs at 1.4GHz and conforms to 3D standards such as OpenES 2.0, Open VG 1.1, and EGL 1.4. Moreover, Tegra 3 has a built-in primary camera/GPU of 32 megapixels as well as a secondary camera/GPU of five megapixels, capable of auto exposure, auto focus, auto white balance, lens shading 9th order, de-mosaic, sharpening, and programmable de-noise to meet the videophone requirements associated with 3.5G/4G smart phones or mobile tablets.Tegra 3 has a DirectTouch architecture built in for the processor to share some touch control processing tasks in order to make touch control more responsive and decrease power consumption. Tegra 3 offers 3D Stereo Gaming, a function for real-time conversion of OpenGL applications and games into Stereo 3D. Nvidia PRISM (Pixel Rendering Intensity and Saturation Management) Display Technology reduces a mobile device's backlight power while simultaneously enhancing the pixel color to deliver the same visual quality with substantially extended battery life.According to Hass, Tegra 3 helps super phones, low-price tablets, smartphones, and Windows RT-based tablets achieve the greatest multitask streaming performance, while running packaged software, web browsing, streaming video, and 3D game playing are as enjoyable as the experience provided by the existing x86 architecture for mobile PCs.Redefinition of mobile PC architectureHass lastly pointed out that mobile PC architecture is being redefined, which is a positive change because the four-plus-one core Tegra 3 can replace x86 processors for mobile PCs. Mobile PC communications used to rely on Wi-Fi, but now cellular mobile communications systems (3G/3.5GWCDMA/4G LTE) are available in addition to Wi-Fi. Touch control input is also available in addition to keyboard and mouse input.The power supply of an x86 architecture mobile PC can only last up to seven hours, but with Tegra 3 the power supply of tablets and super phones can easily last for more than 10 hours. An x86 architecture mobile PC requires fan ventilation, which is noisy and power consuming, while Tegra 3 completely does without fan ventilation. The x86 architecture used to be perceived as indispensable to mobile PC design, but now the ARM-based Tegra 3 SoC in conjunction with Windows RT is probably an alternative and smart solution for mobile PCs.Rene Hass, Vice President and General Manager, Notebook Business Unit, Nvidia

Android is the mainstream platform in the non-Apple camp but various versions of Android limit the possibilities of developers' transplantation of Android apps. Microprocessor heavyweight MIPS is committed to cooperation with Google and OEM companies to help develop a fee calculation mechanism for Google Play, more secure protection of digital copyrights, more open and diverse architecture options, and once-for-all code writing that results in convenience of cross-platform execution. MIPS is also committed to the high performance and low cost provided by the ecosystem of Android devices.Platform transplantation as new thinking for ISVsAccording to Amit Rohatgi, VP of Mobile Solutions, MIPS, Android is now able to support MIPS, Intel, and ARM processor architectures, and near 100% of the codes of apps can probably be transplanted. Dalvik Virtual Machine, which uses Android Core Library, has about 80-85% of Java transplantable and another 15-20% of Java need to be recompiled by Android Native Development Kit (NDK). Even Renderscript functions used by 0.1% of Java are also transplantable (but this is not the subject matter today). Based on functional needs, some contents can be executed on the Java Virtual Machine, while some are executed as native codes. Transplantation is the thinking for Java code development at present, and each procedure has its independent, exclusive virtual machine. Java codes converted into Dalvik Byte Code (dex) are free from hardware dependence and can be transplanted to MIPS, Intel, and ARM architectures completely.Now MIPS, Intel, and ARM all use the standard gcc and bionic libc in the NDK for code compilation. C/C ++ Library can be used and acceleration is enabled by the Java Native Interface (JNI) or direct native execution. Google Play has established an automatic mechanism for architecture screening, so that smartphones and tablets of different architectures are able to have exactly correspondent apps downloaded.Moreover, through the JNI, Android Java classes can use System.loadLibrary to call native classes for execution, while checkJNI provides debugging support. The strength of the JNI lies in its repeatable use of codes to enhance efficacy under certain circumstances, but complication of code writing is an issue and codes may have hardware dependence on specific architectures.Another way to enhance efficacy is to have developers informed by NativeActivity in the Android framework, so that developers are able to know the execution cycle of return from last call. Developers can also perform the return from last call function when there are onCreate(), onStart(), etc. Services and contents other than radio still need to use JNI/native code.Challenges facing Android platform developmentAndy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile, Google, hopes to establish a unified app ecosystem on the Android platform, but the challenges facing Android platform development are various versions of Android, i.e., 2.3, 3.0, and 4.0 and API unification is required; how fees should be calculated; and how SoC suppliers and OEM companies choose a specific version or choose between various versions while factoring copyright protection and an understanding of GPU. As newer Android APIs are increasingly mature for smartphone and tablet applications and have become transplantable, Google has noticed the issue of various versions of Android and started to work towards unification. Many workshops and training programs have been arranged for developers and OEM companies for them to achieve the greatest transplantability. The unification principle for Android enables developers' once-for-all code writing.According to Rohatgi, Amazon App Store's revenue is 89% of that of iTunes App Store, while Google Play only makes 23% of iTunes App Store's revenue. Google Play has recently made some improvements such as blocking malware, providing apps to 130 countries, and announcing expansion of in-app purchasing. Developers can automatically update subscription and pay in lump sum. Last year there were only two direct carriers responsible for billing but there are 15 now.Moreover, apps, books, music, and videos have been vertically integrated into Google Play, whose log-in page has been changed, too. On the other hand, cooperation between MIPS and an OEM partner has launched affordable but high quality Android devices. A MIPS architecture 7-inch tablet is priced at US$79 only. Rohatgi has bought this model for his two children.More options provided by MIPS to SoC suppliers and OEM companiesSupport from different MIPS, Intel, and ARM architectures enriches the choices for SoC suppliers, OEM companies, telecom carriers and consumers. The Android platform allows OEM companies to pursue differentiation such as UI customization; multi-touch panels with different definition options; and multiple CPU, GPU, and GPS cores. There is also a Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) to ensure a consistent user experience across a variety of Android devices. Each app has its exclusive UID to ensure independent maintenance authorization for each app and avoid affecting other apps. For data sharing, users must be clearly informed during app installation. Widevine's Digital Right Management (DRM) provides a unified solution to key content protection. Android provides a graphic acceleration API to developers to enrich user experience, as the software executed by CPU must be optimized in order to smoothly work with GPU.According to an IDC survey of what would make Android tablets successful in July 2011, 62% of the respondents noted the user experience; 46% transplantability from smartphones to tablets; 45% unification of various Android versions; 39% pricing; 33% how many apps on Google Play; and 29% hardware specs. Android will continue its hardware architecture neutrality, API diversity, and a consistent user experience to help lower device costs and accelerate time-to-marketRohatgi concluded that, after tablets and smartphones, Android is going to expand into the markets of set-top boxes (STBs) and smart TV. At present, the brand name companies embrace Android include Motorola, Samsung, LG, Acer, Asus, and Philips, while chipset suppliers are Nvidia, Qualcomm, TI, Ingenic and Rockchip. Many platform and OS versions as well as three CPU architectures (MIPS, Intel and ARM) also support Android. He encouraged developers to embrace differentiation and use Dalvik or NDK r8 for code transplantation.MIPS' contribution to Android platform industryMIPS' contribution to the Android platform industry, according to Rohatgi, is the availability of low-price Android devices with the best licensable microprocessors running Android OS to help everyone enjoy tablets and smartphones. The demand created by MIPS would be an incentive to developers to convert existing contents into new contents that can be widely accepted by the public. There are 1.8 million MIPS microprocessor-based tablets in the market and the number is rapidly increasing.The microprocessors MIPS launched for Android include:(1) The high-end ProAptiv, which is renamed from the firm's existing 1074K and 74K series. It is a fused triple-dispatch single-thread superscalar core and a core-speed floating point unit. With up to six cores can be used for multi-processing, ProAptiv achieves 4.4Coremark/Mhz 3.5DMIPS/MHz.(2) The medium-level interAptiv, which is renamed from the existing 1004K, 34K, and 24K cores with multi-threading, EVA, and one to four cores on a chip. Benchmarks are 3.2CoreMark/MHz and around 1.7Dmips/MHz.(3) The entry-level microAptiv, which is renamed from the M14K series with DSP and micro controller core design. It delivers 3.1Coremark/Mhz and1.57DMIPS/MHz.In May 2012, Google announced NDK Release 8 to start to support MIPS ABI. With the complete support from Android 4.0, MIPS codes are directly submitted to Google for review and approval and then placed on Google Play. A total of 85% of apps can be executed on MIPS architecture devices, and workshops such as Gameloft, Rovio, Halfbrick, Opera, Marmalade, Xamarin and Unity now help transplant Android apps.In 2009 MIPS first launched its quasi tablet running Android; in 2010 the company launched its set-top box also running Android.In the second half of 2010, Google licensed Honetcomb (Android v3.0) to MIPS, which launched the world's first ever Android 4.0 ICS-based, MIPS architecture tablets in cooperation with a Chinese company in December 2011. The tablet runs at 1GHz and its retail price is only US$99. In 2012, Philips announced its 100% CTS-certified, MIPS architecture tablets in China. At present MIPS is a leader of digital home applications, and the company's share in the mobile device market is gradually increasing.Amit Rohatgi, VP of Mobile Solutions, MIPS Technologies

As cloud computing is becoming more prevalent, anytime and anywhere Internet connectivity is becoming the standard for consumers, which has caused IT vendors to dedicate their research to making portable, mobile products. In recent years, Intel has been promoting the ultrabook which is less than 0.8 inches thick, costs less than US$1,000, and can be turned on and connected to the Internet at fast speeds, making it the next wave of ultra-mobile products in the market. The ultrabook along with smartphones that have large-sized screens and tablets are all following the ultra-mobile trend.As the ultra-mobile trend continues to flourish, existing components, chassis, mechanical parts, energy efficiency and industrial design have been constantly reexamined and restructured to satisfy product developers' demand for thinner and lighter devices. This is creating new technological barriers.Against this backdrop, Digitimes held the "DTF 2012 Ultra Mobile & Ecosystem Forum" in Taipei on April 25, inviting leading firms in the IT industry such as Intel, DTS, NXP, MPT, Kingston, Asus and AUO to talk about ultra-mobile trends in the industry ranging from platform planning, systems, multimedia, the Internet, power sources, mechanical parts, display panels as well as many other topics.There was also a stand put up at the forum to display some of the latest products and technologies, and it is hoped that through the forum it could help industries learn more as well as create ultra-mobile products.Rethinking brand meaning and value: Economies of scale, orders and the popularity of AppleColley Hwang, president at Digitimes, revealed that he asked Steve Ballmer what "MIT" meant to him about a year ago when the Microsoft chief executive officer was in Taiwan. Ballmer's answer was "Microsoft, Intel and Taiwan." However, despite Microsoft and Intel reporting record high revenues, Taiwan's electronics industry barely grew last year.IT players have previously relied on big orders and mass production of products to help with operations in the financial market. But this strategy has come under increasing since Apple's iPad whirlwind in 2010. In the past "PC" meant personal computer, but now it means "Price below Cost."In an era where pricing competition is fierce, Amazon is using a subsidized hardware sales model to promote its Kindle products. When world-class companies such as Microsoft, Qualcomm and Google leave Taiwan with a market with limited gross profits, we may ask these companies to lower their license fees, said Hwang. But then, we will still have to face the situation where we have no way of using products' added-value as a means to raise the price of a PC to US$1,200 when others can attach a US$1,000 retail price tag on their devices whose product cost is only US$600.The IT market has already seen big changes. For example, 40% of IT revenues used to come during the first half of a year followed by 60% in the second half. That has changed since 2008. Last year China surpassed the US to become the largest PC market. Although Korea has industry advantages, its foreign debts have increased more than US$80 billion since 2008. Its industry structure is not too healthy. By the end of 2011, the 800 companies that were listed in Taiwan reported a total of nearly US$446 billion in revenues, and 15 of them individually reported more than US$10 billion.Moreover, brand value has also been experiencing "qualitative change." Seven out of 10 major notebook brands in 2011 were Asia-based, but only Taiwan-based Asustek and China-based Lenovo earned profits. Acer is expected to turn losses into profits in the second quarter of 2012.Compared with Apple, which manages to have high profits and high market shares by maintaining only a simple product line, major PC makers try to appeal to consumers with multiple and complex product lines with different features for different market and price segments. But their profitability has been far from being ideal. The success of Apple's minimalistic product strategy indicates that there needs to be major changes in strategy within the PC industry.Striving for resources and the right to speak to enhance Taiwan's IT industryHwang said that industry competition has given much emphasis on patents and market share but for brand vendors, their products have not brought them much meaning and value. One example is with Samsung's consumer electronic products. Even though it has been one of the largest CE brands in the world, its profit margin isn't even 2%, which is inferior to Taiwan contract manufacturers.There are 800 listed companies in Taiwan, forming a big army for the IT supply chain. In terms of the ultrabook, Intel's technology is not the only thing that matters. Attention still needs to be drawn to the eco-system of the related supply chain. Of the US$345 billion China reported in exports during 2010, Taiwan-based entrepreneurs made up two thirds and created more than US$280 billion in production value last year in China as well. Looking at the monumental role Taiwan has been playing in the IT world, we absolutely have the right to require Intel and other world-class companies to give us more resources and assistance, added Hwang.Hwang concluded that in the development of the world's civilization, Europe, Asia and Africa have always had equal importance. Europe started to flourish after the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. In the future, populations will become an important strategic resource with the rise of cloud computing and Eastern civilization will again become a dominant force. Taiwan's companies and industries need to constantly enrich their knowledge in the face of future trends.The DTF 2012 Ultra Mobile & Ecosystem Forum attracts hundreds of participants.Digitimes president Colley Hwang delivers a talk on how the ultra mobile eco-system can recreate Taiwan's IT industries.

Within the field of optical sensors, vendors are dedicated to using CMOS process to develop all kinds of smart sensors for detecting ambient background lighting, LED colors, personnel distance and UV, which not only allows smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and displays to have more interactions with people, but also reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions.Speaking at the recent DTF 2012 Ultra Mobile & Ecosystem Forum, Campella Microsystems president and CEO, Dr. Cheng-chung Shih, first introduced the company stating that it was established in August 2002 and that it has focused mostly on ambient light sensors (ALSs), infrared data transmission, optical encoders, PDICs, proximity sensors, color sensors and UV sensors.At present, Campella's ambient light sensors and proximity sensors are used in communication products, mobile phones, smartphones, digital cameras, notebooks, desktop computers, LED backlight modules, automated office products, household appliances and automotive electronics. The company's products are mostly found in mid-range and high-end market segments and are being used by Dell, LG, Taiwan- and Korean-based smartphone vendors' supply chains and its lights sensors have also been certified for Windows 8.Campella was originally involved with optical fiber and optical communication sensor components. In its early stages it developed integrated photo diode and I/V amplifiers (PDICs) that used analog IC designs combined with CMOS process and optoelectronic system technology. It create high-speed, high-sensitivity and high-bandwidth PDICs such as CM1212P2SA, CM1277P2ZM and CM1286P2SA (PD+TIA) for use in CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMS, CD-RWs and combo drives and later in IrDA (Infrared Data Association) transmissions, plastic optical fibers and ambient light sensors.Optical encoders such as CM7020W1, 7150/7151/7152W1, CM7181/7182W1, CM7300AW1 and CW7300 276LPI can be used for motor speed detection and positioning control. IrDA components such as CM2811W1 have allowed PDAs, smartphones and notebooks to act as remote controls and low- to mid-speed data transmission applications, making it a popular and low-cost data transmission technology for early mobile devices.Smart color adjustment for TV and better UV protection Campella's color sensor chips such as the CM3320 are used in LCD TVs and monitors and the color sensor chips made using advanced CMOS process not only sense color temperature changes, but also automatically adjust to the best color temperatures available for a screen, allowing it to reach the most optimal white balance. This gives LCD TVs and monitors the best white balance and color performance no matter what the conditions may be. Take 22-68W as an example, the color sensors can help smart TVs save 67% on power consumption, which is why Campella's color sensor is used in Japan- and Korean-made LCD TVs.Campella has also developed the CM3512 UV sensor for cell phones. Very often the outdoor light does not seem very bright, but the UV level may be already very high. Ordinary light sensors may not be able to determine the accurate UV levels. Campella uses an CMOS process to provide high-quality and low-cost UV monitor solutions that are able to accurately measure UV levels in terms of the UV Index, which is good for reminding customers, especially female ones, to take appropriate UV protection. These solutions have been adopted by several major smartphone vendors.Ambient light sensor technology and smart adjustments for display panel backlighting Shih said ALSs form the biggest segment of the company's light sensor product portfolio. ALSs can automatically adjust a display panel's backlighting brightness in accordance with changes in an environment's lighting and can maintain the most optimal lighting levels along with lower power consumption for LCD displays. Campella's existing CM3202, 3204, 3206, 3212, 3213, 3217, 3218, 3220 and the latest CM3232 ALS chips all use Filtron patented technology that provides linear output and temperature compensation to avoid outside ambient light interference. Shih added that ALSs are slowly becoming components that all cell phone makers are using, and that proximity sensors are also being used in cell phones. When the user is talking on the cell phone, the proximity sensor will turn off the cell phone screen and its touch capabilities, which saves power and extends battery life, added Shih. Long distance proximity sensors (LDPSs) on the other hand are used in LCD TVs, monitors, all-in-one (AIO) PCs, and can even detect personnel attendance as well as hand and body movements. Without any connections or contact, the LDPSs can automatically turn on and off devices, have dynamic control of speaker volume and keyboard backlighting. If a person leaves a device, it will automatically turn off by itself and will turn back on once that person is back near it. The speaker volume can be adjusted through an earpiece sensor via this technology as well. Campella also provides software programming, which greatly reduces clients' time for product development.Smart optical sensors for tabletsMost tablet users, whether they are holding a tablet in a landscape or portrait position, will inevitably have their fingers touch the sides of the tablet or even cover the sensor. If the tablet's sensor is not advanced enough, it will assume that it is being covered with a case and will then turn off. Therefore, the smart Lid Cover Sensor (LCS) is the best solution.Campella's LCSs use the company's patented technology which can detect the difference between the thin lid of a table that completely blocks off light, and the finger that still allows a small amount of light to pass through. With Campella's smart LCS, a device, such as the iPad, can be switched off quickly when the lid is closed, and will not be switched off inadvertently when touched by a finger. The CM36262 combines the functions of the ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and smart optical lid sensor using Campella's patented Dual Filtron technology to directly transmit digital signals to the digital signal processor through embedded 8-bit or 16-built digital converters. There is also a built-in low-pass filter to avoid external interference from affecting product performance.It can read wavelengths of 450-650nm, simulate the light sensory levels in the human eye, and automatically adjust backlighting to make peoples' eyes feel comfortable as well as saving energy. The proximity sensor can accurately detect objects nearby, which are applied in cell phones for turning off the screen and touch functions during a phone call. In addition, smart LCSs used on tablets can differentiate finger touch and hand grips from the devices' lids, allowing smart automatic control of the power.Optical sensors for smart LED lighting Shih also noted that Campella has developed a DC/DC RGBA LED controller chip enabling direct lighting feedback in LED lighting fixtures and lighting equipment. It uses the highly-integrated, wafer-level Filtron technology. Through I2C smart control it is able to directly make adjustments and feedbacks directly based on the light source to create the best energy efficiency. Aside from possessing accurate color adjustment and lighting levels as well as having O-Trim for consistency, it is able to avoid overheating and aging.Shih concluded that with its most advanced CMOS process technology, Campella is able to provide superb color reactions, 2000-6500K color temperature compensation, excellent linear output signals, and avoids light flickering. It is the best CMOS process solution ready for volume production. Shih added that the next industrial revolution will create a new era where sensors are found in all smart connected devices. Campella is on the forefront of the sensor field, and it will go beyond optoelectronics to create all kinds of sensors.Campella Microsystems president and CEO, Dr. Cheng-chung Shih

In order to create light and ultra-thin ultra-mobile devices, panel makers are looking to thin down their LCD and touch displays to as small a mere 0.1mm, which is a major task. In addition, when ultra-thin, transparent and flexible OLED panel technology becomes more common, mobile device designers will be able to utilize the thin panels to look even more different.Speaking at the recent DTF 2012 Ultra Mobile & Ecosystem Forum, AU Optronics (AUO) vice president & mobile product career group general manager, Wu Dagang, first played a short film depicting the future of display technology applications. In the film, a group of students sitting at an outdoor and discussing academics. One of students takes out a display device that resembles a transparent plastic plate. Not only can the device display clear images and videos, it is also flexible and bendable. A burst of wind then blows the display device together with a pile of paper to the ground; however, because of its thin, flexible and tough material, the device doesn't break. Another student comes to the intersection on a bicycle where the device has flown to, picks it up, clicks on the panel GPS's navigation option and gets directions. This is the new generation of flexible displays that AUO would like to introduce.Returning back to his presentation, Wu talked about handsets and how they compare with present ones, saying that handsets were invented only 20 years ago and were as large as a kettle, whereas today, they can be held and controlled with one hand and can easily fit into a pocket. When a device's limitation has been changed, its technology creates many new demands, added Wu.Device requirements: From movable, to mobile to 'pocketable'Wu said when cloud computing and services become more widely accepted, all things can be shared, stored and accessed through a centralized server. More so, people will expect portable and mobile devices to be "pocketable." The most classic representation of this notion is the increase in mobility from personal desktop computers to notebook computers, and then from ordinary mobile phones to smartphones. But we still hope that devices can be even smaller, be pocketable, and able to access information anytime and anywhere.The benefits of having a slimmer display panel are that it can increase battery capacity and battery life. The progress of existing lithium battery technology is rather slow but indispensable and its power storage capacity and supply time is proportional to the battery size. If an LCD module thickness is reduced by 25%, the leftover space will allow lithium capacity to be increased by 10%. If a smartphone has a 1,200-mAH lithium polymer battery, an extra 120mAH is equivalent to adding power enough for two hours of video watching, added Wu.Another benefit is weight reduction. When a display panel's LCD module thickness is reduced by 10%, the weight of the whole device can be reduced by 15%, and will further push devices to become slimmer. Aside from Apple products having a simple-to-use interface, stylish designs are also selling points. A few years ago there was more emphasis on product features and specifications, but now that emphasis has gradually transformed into daily-life applications and even into stylish design products for women.Flexible and bendable disaplay panel designs According to statistics, 20% of mobile phones that are sent back for repair are due to screen rupture. To make display panels that are thin and not easy to break, in fact, is a challenge as the two features conflict with one another. AUO's Slim Solution targets four main areas: OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays, slim touch solutions, flexible and bendable solutions and slim modules. Making OLEDs is a very delicate process and the thin display technology is very forward-looking and revolutionary.Wu further elaborated that since LCD itself cannot emit light, it needs a filter glass coupled with a reflective sheet, which will increase thickness by at least 1.5mm. OLED on the other hand is a self-luminous device that can be reduced the 1.5mm. LCD modules also have the possibility of becoming thinner. Slim touch solutions allow touch panels to reduce the two-glass structure to a one-piece structure, and then become in-cell touch that further reduces the thickness by 0.4-0.5mm.Ultrabook further drives panel thinness Intel estimates that 40% of laptops will use the same standards as its ultrabook in the future, and that 10% of notebooks sold in 2012 will be ultrabooks.Generally a notebook's cover thickness is 19-30mm, whereas the ultrabook's has dropped to 18-19mm and has a total body thickness of 21mm for 14-inch and above models and 18mm for models below 14 inches. The display module has also been significantly reduced in thickness to 3mm and is expected to drop to 2.8mm by 2013.Taiwan-based companies have a positive attitude toward the ultrabook. Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, along with other vendors have ultrabook products, indicating that the ultra-thin notebook will be an important selling point in the second half of this year.The iPad is also becoming thinner. The first generation iPad had a thickness of 13.4mm, with a 3mm thick display panel; the second generation iPad2 saw the body thickness reduced to 8.8mm with a 2.5mm ultra-thin panel.Key components of ultra-thin display panelsA display panel is composed of ITO, CF and TFT array glass on the upper layer, and film, LED/LGP components on the lower layer. First, the glass thickness has gone from 1.1mm 25 years ago all the way to 0.5mm at present and is predicted to drop to 0.3mm for tablets and 0.2mm for mobile phones in the future. In addition, light guide plates (LGPs) used in notebooks will have a thickness of 0.6mm from the present 0.8mm, whereas LGPs used in tablets will drop to 0.4mm. Notebook LED backlights will drop from 0.8mm to 0.6mm as well while tablet-use LED backlights will have a thickness of 0.4mm, a drop from 0.6mm.AUO has key technology to solve the problem of luminosity when the current density is increased. AUO can reduce the thickness of LGP/LED components without increasing the current density.In terms of touch panels, older cell phones adopted the glass-film (G/F) structure and tablets adopted a glass/glass (G/G) one. What once was G/G later became the one-glass solution (OGS) and then in-cell touch, with the sensor layer located between the CF and TFT array.At present, AUO's thinner G/G structure has a cover glass of 0.7-0.55mm and sensor glass of 0.4mm, reducing the overall thickness by 1.2mm, and can be used in notebooks, all-in-one PCs and tablets. OGS can be reduced to a thickness of 0.4mm and can be used in tablets and 27-inch flat-panel displays. Wu estimates that 5 to 10% of ultrabook shipments this year will have built-in touch.Wu added that designs of flexible displays and touch screens, as well as notebooks and digital cameras that have no protective glass, must adopt in-cell touch. The technology is compatible with existing TFT panel processing and only a few more steps need to be added for producing the sensor layer. However, currently it will be more suitable for touch panels of six inches and smaller due to the noise issue of in-cell technology.AUO displays AMOLED panels, challenging Samsung's dominance of the technologyWu also mentioned that last year the Samsung Galaxy S2 used an 8.49mm AMOLED panel to make the world's thinnest cell phone; but this year at the CES 2012 exhibition, China-based Huawei and Japan-based Fujitsu exhibited their Ascend P1S and F-07D handsets that are 6.68mm and 6.7mm in thickness, respectively, due to AMOLED panels that were used in the designs. According to data from DisplaySearch and TSR, up to 127-201 million AMOLED panels will be shipped in 2012, and approximately 320-455 million panels by 2016.Last year at the FPD 2011, AUO exhibited its 4.3-inch qHD (540x960, 257ppi) high-resolution AMOLED panel, its 4-inch WVGA (800x400) AMOLED with on-cell touch, and its 6-inch transparent AMOLED panel. Technology for thinning AMOLED panels has gone from 1.2 mm in the form of encapsulation glass coupled with TFT OLED glass, to 0.6mm in the single-glass type that has an encapsulation film and TFT OLED glass, and further to only 0.3mm in a bendable, water-proof and anti-shock form adopting TFT OLED films. Moreover, at the FPD 2011 AUO displayed a plastic film-designed 4-inch VGA (640x480) high-resolution flexible AMOLED display that is 0.3mm thick.Wu concluded that AUO offers a full range of thin panels and modules, and provides a full range of 3-27 inch OGS touch panels. He also said flexible AMOLED is the future trend for smartphones, and that embedded touch technology will add to the flexibility of displays.Photo: AU Optronics (AUO) vice president & mobile product career group general manager, Wu Dagang

It was hard to imagine in the past of ultra-mobile devices. But as panels, storage devices, batteries, chassis, and cooling modules have become lighter and thinner along with their appearances and contour becoming more refined, we are looking forward to a future where various kinds of mobile devices can be presented to the market.From bulky computer to mobile cloud computingSpeaking at the recent DTF 2012 Ultra Mobile & Ecosystem Forum, Asustek deputy general manager, Shubin Hu, started his presentation by showing an oxcart pulling the first computer ever in Taiwan in 1957. The computer had a memory capacity of 2KB. Hu said any of the present smartphones or mobile devices is much superior to that in terms of efficiency or memory.In the 1980s, PCs worked independently, whether it was word processing or engineering computing, and file transferring had to be done through floppy disks, a modem, or a LAN that connected them. In the 90s, PCs were able to get on the Internet when Web 1.0 first came out, which set off an era of one-way information collecting.The Web 2.0 era came around 2004-2005. The appearance of YouTube and Facebook allowed people to share pictures, video and other information in multiple interactions with their peers on the Internet. After Web 3.0 came in 2006, there has been more of an emphasis on more diversified mobile devices with notebooks, tablets, smartphones, e-book readers and TVs able to connect to cloud computing servers.Thinner and lighter mobile devices are accelerating IT development cyclesAccording to Gartner statistics, desktop computers will increase to 156 million units by 2016 from 144 million in 2010 while notebooks will increase to 423 million units from 204 million during the same time, creating a 13% compound annual growth rate. Tablets meanwhile will increase to 369 million units by 2016 up from 17 million in 2010, for a compound annual growth rate of 66%.Overall desktop computer shipments have remained stable at yearly sales of around 150 million units, while notebook shipments began surpassing desktops in 2009, and tablet sales will surpass notebooks from 2013 onward, indicating a continued trend with mobile computing.Since mobile devices are becoming thinner and more diversified, IT products are being replaced faster and faster. It took 26 years from 1975 to 2000 to reach the 100 million shipment mark for desktop computers while it took 23 years from 1985-2007 for notebooks to do the same.More so, it took feature phones 15 years from 1983 to 1997 to reach the 100 million shipment mark and the same was for PDAs from 1993 to 2007. But it will only take three years from 2010 to 2013 for tablets to reach that mark.In the past PC meant "personal computer," but now it means "personalized computing" for each individual person. In today's SoLoMo (social/ location/ mobile) era, people use location signaling such as GPS, digital compasses and Google Maps along with social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google+ along with many others. Moreover, system platforms have gone from Wintel's PCs to using ARM and x86 SoC designed dual-core or quad-core smartphones and tablets.There is cloud computing everywhere in the world and people are accustomed now to being "always on and always connected." Ultrabooks/notebooks, Eee PCs/netbooks, tablets, smartphones and a variety of mobile devices are connected to cloud computing services via different transmission technologies, from the earliest Wi-Fi, to 3G and to LTE. Now there must be an even faster wireless network to accommodate the growingly diversified content.In an era where people are constantly mixing work and life and are even checking their email via a smartphone, tablet or notebook while on vacation, everyone needs an ultra-mobile device in order to keep up with their work and leisurely lives.Reacting to ultra-mobile trends: Asus' design and product solutionsAt last year's Computex, Asus and Intel released the Asus Zenbook, which had an 11.6-inch screen, was 7mm thick, weighed 1.1kg and had an Instant On time of two seconds. In December of 2011 the EeePad Transformer Prime tablet was released, which was 8.3mm thick and weighed 586g. Also, after adding a keyboard and battery it is able to become a notebook. At CES 2012, Asus also released a PadFone that combines cell phone, tablet and notebook functions all into one.PCB and IC packaging has gradually gotten smaller from DIP in 1985 to QPF in 1995 followed by BGA in 2000. It then went to CSP by 2005 and then to SIP in 2009. PCB has gone from the traditional 2- and 4-layer structure towards HDI as well. Asus's Transformer Prime and UX21 use SIP and HDI design, which is as small as the area of only two name cards. Improvements in computing performance have followed the development of semiconductor processes, which are increasing mobile devices cloud computing capabilities.The progression of key components and materials technology: Reshaping the new style of ultra-mobile devicesIn the past the development of systems went from CPU, Northbridge and Southbridge chips; then there was an additional GPU chip or graphics card, followed by Northridge chips, GPU and CPU chips bound together. At present a CPU's entire Northridge chip and GPU function only need two chips within its system. In the future when we enter the SoC era, the entire system will only need one chip. In addition, there have been chip packaging improvements with MCPs and POPs, LCD thickness has gone from 13mm in CCFL backlighting to 7mm in LEDs, and since 2011 when the Ultrabook used LED with open cell assembly the thickness has dropped to 5.5mm.Storage devices on the other hand have gone from 3.5-inch hard drives in 1983 to 2.5-inch (7mm) ones in 2009 and then to 3.8mm-thick SSDs in 2011. Batteries have also gone from traditional 18650 lithium batteries that are 18mm in diameter and 65mm long to lithium polymer ones. Chassis materials have also transformed from traditional plastic, to metal and CNC metal, as well as fiberglass. CPU cooling modules have gone from a thickness of 10mm to 5.5mm for use in the Ultrabook and the connectors have been changed into FPC to reduce thickness. Through changes in these modules and components, ultra-mobile devices are able to become even lighter and thinner while not sacrificing efficiency.Looking at the digital convergence trend and providing user-friendly products and serviceUsing the Eee Pad Transformer Prime as an example, it has a thickness of 8.3mm, weighs 586 grams, and has warm vocal and balance tone sound experience, providing 600nits of luminance and a wide viewing angle. It also has a built-in eight mega-pixel camera with a F.24 lens and LED flash, providing continuous AF shooting, full HD recording and nighttime recording mode. Stand-by time is 50 days.Semiconductor processes are evolving, display panels are becoming thinner and bendable with high resolution, batteries are getting denser along with the growing adoption of solar cells; and chassis are becoming slimmer and more robust. The evolution of these components will further change the size and look of digital devices.After desktops, notebooks, PDAs, smartphones, padphones, netbooks, tablets and the Ultrabook, the future will see "touch on clamshells." So what is the nest wave of mobile devices? Hu said within the current wave of digital convergence of PC/notebooks, tablets and smartphones, Asus will provide consumers with user-friendly products and services.Asustek Computer deputy general manager, Shubin Hu

In response to enthusiasm for lighter and thinner ultra-mobile devices (UMDs) like smartphones, tablet PCs and ultrabooks, memories inside these devices (DRAM, flash) have also evolved in terms of speed, interface standards and forms of packaging toward a future convergence of system software and data storage applications.Speaking at the recent DTF 2012 Ultra Mobile & Ecosystem Forum, Kingston's director of product marketing Allen Yu said UMDs, be it smartphone, tablet or ultrabook, feature slim exterior/light weight, the "always on, always connect" function, long-life batteries and multitasking. All of these characteristics require high-performance, low-power, multi chip package (MCP) and cost-efficient memories.Current trends in UMD memory marketYu pointed out that most smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks adopt eMMC, eMMC/SSD and SSD/HDD for data storage, while LPDDR, LPDDR/DRAM, DRAM are used for DRAM. For hardware and platforms, most smartphones adopt ARM plus Android or the upcoming Windows on ARM (WOA), and tablets can choose among ARM plus Android, Wintel and WOA.As for the development of memory/storage technology, the 200MB/s eMMC 4.5 will be upgraded to eMMC4.51 (still 200MB/s) with enhanced information security capability for future serialization of UFS 3Gbps (upgraded to 300MB/s). Mobile DRAM will move from 3.2 GS/s of LPDDR2 to 6.4 GS/s of LPDDR3 before ushering in 6.4GB/s from the Wide I/O interface. SSD will advance from existing SATA2 3Gbps and SATA3 6Gbps to multi lane PCIe interface design.In terms of UMDs' storage capacity, the average capacity of NAND flash in smartphones will increase all the way from 5.5GB, 7.6GB, 10.8GB, 14.9GB, 19.7GB to 25.1GB while the worldwide number of smartphones is expected to grow from 300 million to 1.2 billion from 2010-2015. The average capacity of NAND flash in tablets will rise gradually from 30.1GB, 37.6GB, 56.8GB, 76GB to 96.1GB as the worldwide shipments of tablets are seen rising from 20 million units in 2010 to 240 million in 2015. By 2012, 450 million UMDs (including smartphones and tablets) around the world will use eMMC.eMMC specs and technology evolutionYu started with an introduction to eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard), a low-cost set of data storage media specifications launched by JEDEC, which is also devoted to DRAM and NAND flash specs. By adopting multi chip FBGA package for NAND flash and MMC controller chips, eMMC can achieve the light and thin exterior required for UMDs. As its electric specs place greater emphasis on energy saving, information security and random access speed as compared to MMC/SD cards, eMMC is suitable for applications such as smartphones, tablets, digital still cameras, MP3 players, GPS, e-books, e-toys and game consoles.Yu pointed out that in addition to light weight and thinness, cost competitiveness is the biggest consideration for wide application of NAND flash in consumer electronics products. The evolution of semiconductor manufacturing processes reduces the unit cost year by year. A new process appears nearly every year: last year's mainstream 3xnm process for NAND flash is migrating to 2xnm and even 1xnm in an evolution even faster than Moore's law. Moreover, the introduction of multi-level cell (MLC) technology is leading the cost down further. 2-bit-per cell is the mainstream now, while the even cheaper 3-bit-per-cell is already used in some applications.Secondly, specs of each generation of NAND flash are constantly changing. The new generation of NAND flash has a higher bit error rate, larger page and block, different AC clock signals, and more new commands. Managing these new specs requires new CPUs, as conventional host CPUs cannot update each year f due to cost efficiency problems. Flash controllers are therefore used as a bridge between NAND flash and host CPUs. However, conventional host CPUs are still responsible for flash translation layer (FTL), drivers and ECC recovery despite already having flash controllers to communicate with NAND flash. By packaging MMC controllers and NAND flash into one single chip, eMMC can deal with FTL, driver and ECC by itself so that conventional host CPUs can process data directly through MMC bus and save much effort for CPUs.Yu also mentioned that there are two types of eMMC packages defined by JEDEC, 169 ball and 153ball FBGA, and the size comes in 11.5 x 13 x 1.3 (153ball), 12 x16 x 1.4 (169ball), 12 x 18 x 1.4 (169ball) and 14 x 18 x 1.4 (169ball), with all signal pins being compatible with each other. eMMC has been capable of boot operation since v4.4, saving SRAM and NOR flash components from smartphones.The sleep mode offers a switch between standby and sleep modes to save energy. With the reliable write feature, data can be secured even during power outage. Replay protection memory block (RPMB) offers code protection that requires passwords and keys for access. The multiple partitions function can help switch between different OS boots for different partitions and designate a specific partition for RPMB protection.Background operations and high priority interrupt (HPI), the eMMC features that started with v4.41, help eMMC execute commands with greatest priority in order to solve NAND flash's problems for simultaneous read/write. The feature is specifically designed for smartphones.eMMC v4.5 also feature new functions like HS200, discard, sanitize, packed commands, context IDs, power off notification, data tag and RTC. HS200 retains compatibility with eMMC's transmission speed of 26/52/104MB/s, with an additional 200MHz operating clock.As for other additional commands, discard can help the host define invalid blocks of memory; sanitize commands can completely erase the physical blocks where the data is stored in order to avoid information outflow even after deleting personal data; packed commands can categorize to-be-executed commands according to their operating characteristics, and put them into packets for efficient batch execution in a bid to enhance overall operating efficiency of the system; data tag can tag storage data according to access and hit frequency and enhance the system's process efficiency; with power off notification, the host controller will inform the eMMC controller chip when devices are about to suffer a power outage, so that the controller chip can respond in advance before the outage.UFS: A technology integrating eMMC and SSDYu pointed out that universal flash storage (UFS) has integrated eMMC's safe, low-power, and small-size packaging applications with SSD serialization high-speed interface, SCSI command format and high-performance applications. There will be UFS card products in UFS specs or eUFS memory chips that are suitable for embedded applications.In terms of UFS frameworks, the M-PHY physical layer of Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) followed by vendors ranging from cell phone makers to supply chain suppliers has achieve backward integration with UniPro interface (CSI-3, DSI-2, UFS) as well as support and processing capability for SCSI command set that is currently available for SATA SSD only. UFS integrates all benefits of SSD and eMMC, and its specs are especially developed for high-performance UMDs. Now UFS 1.1 specs can achieve 3Gbps transmission speed, and the upcoming UFS 2.0 will go further to reach 6Gbps.As UFS is totally different from and incompatible with existing eMMC interfaces, related supply chains are still incomplete despite UFS 1.0 was released way back in 2011. Yu forecast that eMMC will remain mainstream in the market by 2013, while UFS in engineering samples/prototypes is expected to appear by the end of 2013 before appearing in small amount in the market by 2014. As UFS is targeting the high-end market due to the cost factor, UFS and eMMC will co-exist in the market for a while.Concluding with Kingston's roadmap for UMD memories, Yu said his company is scheduled to launch a series of comprehensive memory solutions for smartphones and tablets in 2012. For high-end smartphones and tablets, eMMC v4.5 products will be released in 2012 in capacity ranging from 4GB to 64GB before upgrading to eMMC v4.51 with 4-128GB capacity in 2013. UFS 1.1 or 2.0 products will be officially launched in 2014 with capacity ranging from 64 GB to 256 GB.As for mid-end smartphones and tablets, since mid-end smartphones' CPUs are not suitable for package on package (PoP) and using independent eMMC chips and LPDDR chips will take up too much space, Kingston will use the MCP packaging method and provide in 2012 or 2013 chips (eMMC 4.5 + LPDDR2 MCP) where eMMC v4.5 and low-power DDR2 are packaged together. The product line, specifically designed for Android 4.0 mid-end smartphones, can simultaneously achieve cost efficiency and performance. In response to China's demand of nearly 120 million low-end, entry-level smartphones in 2012, Kingston is offering NAND+LP DDR MCP products that package NAND flash chips with low-energy DDR from 2012 to 2013. The products have been validated by major smartphone chip vendors and already start shipping in May.Kingston director of product marketing, Allen Yu Ph.D

Since 2011 Intel has been aggressively promoting ultrabooks with a new processor platform for rapid boot to log-on , in conjunction with smart connection, smart response, personal identity identification, and anti-theft technology. Ultrabook is also supported by a venture capital fund that invests in relevant component and part industries. The investment attempts to drive the whole laptop ecosystem and make devices even slimmer, lighter, and mobile.Ken Lau. managing director of advanced technical sales and service, Intel APAC, noted that there are more users, a wider variety of devices and network connections in today's cloud computing era to create higher data traffic as well as even more diverse online applications and experience options, during the recent DTF 2012 Ultra Mobile & Ecosystem Forum. For example, desktops, laptops, netbooks, personal devices, smart phones, smart TVs, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), and embedded devices are able to easily access cloud services via Wi-Fi, 3G, Ethernet, and so forth.New experiences created by more cloud-based devices and applicationsAs for the industry vision for cloud applications, by 2015 a client aware cloud will access private clouds and public clouds via open networks to securely access information in private clouds. The automation associated with cloud computing will reduce administration costs; as a result, IT departments of various organizations will be able to focus on developing new applications and service innovations.At present, data traffic resulting from cloud access is very high. Two billion Internet users around the world send an average of 247 billion emails daily; approx. two billion videos on YouTube are viewed daily; and 2.5 billion photos are uploaded to Facebook or updated there daily. This will drive new behavior and new expectations among end users, whose expectations for digital devices are changing, too. People are willing to pay for the user experience that they need and want.Creation of relevance of ultrabook by renovating existing product functions and user experienceAccordingly, Intel has adjusted its user experience-related product planning. In the past, bottom-up planning started from CPUs and hardware to aggressively promote higher processing speed and add more computing power in order to strengthen the performance of middle ware, i.e., the OS and Apps. Such efforts created the user experience in the past. However, when CPU power consumption became too strong while clock speed enhancement reached a limit, Intel adopted top-down planning to first identify and create the best user experience targeting the largest user group, based on which middleware would be developed and then only one CPU or hardware product or a few of them would be created.According to Lau, Intel conducted a user survey when evaluating whether touch control should be added to ultrabooks. Some respondents like touch-control notebooks because touch control is fun, modern, and immediately responsive. Some are already used to a track pad on conventional notebooks but think touch screens are good, too, because they enable rapid real-time interaction. Some note that touch control helps decrease carpal tunnel syndrome. Some love touch control but are used to keyboard input for typing.Analyzing the opinions provided by users, Intel has categorized the market of consumer notebooks into five: Gaming, content creation, entertainment, on the go, and basic. Ultrabook first targets the on the go and entertainment categories and will then expand into the content creation and gaming categories.At Computex in June 2011, Intel introduced the concept of the ultrabook. In August, Intel conducted an Ultrabook symposium on a non-disclosure agreement basis for relevant partners; 120 companies and 1,000 engineers were present. A US$300 million Ultrabook fund established by Intel Capital has been actively investing in various new, strengthened user experiences, even lighter and slimmer components and parts, and innovative platform technologies to help enable an Ultrabook industry ecosystem.Intel specs for the ultrabookIntel has started with the chassis, display panels, storage, optical drivers, and batteries, seeking highly sturdy chassis while reducing production costs, adopting NAND flash and thin display panels with incorporated touch control, limiting hard disc thickness to 5 mm, and promoting battery interface standardization while using lithium polymer batteries.A conventional notebook is 1.26-inches thick from cover to bottom, but Intel limits the total thickness of a 13.3-inch ultrabook to 17.8mm, while the total thickness of any ultrabook with a screen larger than 14-inches is limited to 21mm. To do this, the thickness of a display panel needs to be decreased from 5mm to 3mm while the battery diameter needs to be decreased from 18mm to 16mm or rectangular batteries of 80mm x 60mm shall be used. Moreover, socket connections are all canceled inside th ultrabook, where all IC chips are directly soldered on board using surface mount technology (SMT).According to Lau, the ultrabook has been Intel's biggest platform change since the company launched Centrino in 2003, as the CPU, chipset, chassis, display panel, and storage have all been changed. According to Intel's three-year plan, since the launch of Sandy Bridge (2nd generation Core) Ultrabook in June 2011, Ivy Bridge (3rd generation Core) Ultrabook will enter the mainstream market in 2012, and the CPU codenamed Haswell that is expected to be launched in 2013 would transform the existing notebook market completely.Citing a Digitimes from April 2012 and many others, Lau noted that increasing ultrabook shipments would help boost the gross margin at notebook OEMs. According to Lau, ZDNet considers 2012 the first year of the era of the ultrabook. Wired pointed out that 2012 would witness the fruition of the ultrabook while eWeek mentioned that ultrabook-based tablets would be shown at CES 2012 at the latest. At present, ultrabook models including the Acer Aspire S3, Asus ZenBook UX21/UX31, Dell XPS 13, Hewlitt Packard (HP) Folio 13 and Envy Spectre, Lenovo IdealPad U300S/U300e, LG Super Ultrabook Z330/Z430, Samsung Series 5 Ultra13 and 14, as well as Toshiba Portege Z830/Z835 and Satellite U840. In 2012, as many as 75 ultrabook models based on the Ivy Bridge (3rd generation Core) are being designed.Demo of ultrabook notebooks as well as applicationsUltrabook features Intel Rapid Start Technology, Intel Identity Protection Technology, and Intel Anti-Theft Technology. At the ultrabook notebook demo that ensued, an ultrabook that had been switched off took less than seven seconds to resume to log on mode, whereas the ultrabook models of other OEMs/ODMs are even faster.The next demo of Intel Identity Protection Technology (iPT) showed that iPT would activate a one-time password (OTP) on online transaction platforms such as PayPal in addition to the required account and password input. iPT randomly produces a six-digit password at an interval of 30 seconds as the secondary defense for online transactions, as inputting the newest OTP is required for transactions.In the US, a notebook is lost every one minute, and 20% of such incidents happen at airports, coffee shops, or on mass transport systems. During the Anti-Theft Technology demo that followed. Intel's Anti-Theft Service website was introduced. Registration with the website will lock lost or stolen laptops by using another computer or cell phone to access the website. Locked notebooks -- upon logging on -- will show a message of being locked as well as the contact information of their owners. Locked ultrabook laptops are completely inoperative except for displaying the message, and their hard discs cannot be duplicated even if they are removed. This safeguards ultrabook users' privacy.Lau concluded that the R&D at Intel now focuses on cloud-based user-end devices in order to provide unique user experiences as Intel is committed to ongoing support for an ultrabook and a successful ultrabook industry.Intel APAC, managing director of advanced technical sales and service, Ken Lau