1996-09-16 , S/IC-161/650

Combination of New MIPS-Based Chipset, Philips Software Tools and Windows CE Provides Handheld PC Manufacturers With a Powerful, Comprehensive Reference Architecture

Eindhoven - Sept. 16, 1996 - Philips Semiconductors today announced that its TwoChipHCG*, PR31500 and UCB1100 chipset and software fax/modem for handheld PCs (HPCs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal intelligent communicators, and other smart communication products will support the new Microsoft Windows CE operating system.

Complementing today's announcement by Microsoft for its new Windows CE platform, formerly known by its Pegasus code-name, Philips detailed its relationship with the world's leading operating system software developer.

Cees Jan Koomen, Vice President and General Manager of the Communications and Multimedia Business Group of Philips Semiconductors said, "We're excited to be able to finally reveal that the TwoChipHCG* will support Windows CE. The combination of our systems-on-a-chip expertise and Microsoft's new handheld device operating system provides systems designers with a powerful new combination of hardware and software that will power the next generation of handheld computing and communication devices."

Craig Mundie, Senior Vice President of the Consumer Platforms Division at Microsoft said, "Philips' leadership position in designing world-class silicon and value-added software means that designers can take our new handheld operating system and team it with one of the best hardware architectures on the market today. From a time-to-market perspective, this combination is an exciting proposition."

The Philips chipset, announced in April, and based on a MIPS R3000 core, incorporates virtually all the functionality needed for a handheld device in just two ICs.

The PR31500 and UCB1100 with built-in communication offers a complete integrated solution for handheld PCs. The two ICs break size, cost, and power consumption barriers that have kept products such as PDAs from becoming successful in the marketplace. For example, the software fax/data modem executes on the PR31500's MIPS R3000 core and single-cycle hardware multiply/accumulate unit, eliminating the need for a modem chipset.

Philips Semiconductors supplies the hardware abstraction layer, device drivers and a complete reference design for the Windows CE implementation on the TwoChipHCG*. This allows designers to focus on high-level issues such as product size, shape, features, and application software. By taking advantage of the chipset functions available with the TwoChipHCG*, designers can create various types of wired or wireless HPCs, PDAs, or vertical-market handheld devices that will be supported by Microsoft's new Windows CE operating system.

The TwoChipHCG* is supported within Microsoft's visual C++ toolchain allowing ISVs and IHVs to independently develop applications for OEM devices.

Philips Semiconductors licensing of Microsoft's Windows CE gives it access to the necessary source code in order to adapt and customize it for customer devices.

The TwoChipHCG* provides the complete feature set for OEM devices saving handheld PC designers a great deal of time, effort and expense. The chipset's complete video controller supports both colour and monochrome LCDs and the touchscreen module provides an efficient method for navigating through Windows CE and user applications.

The chip's telecommunications circuitry connects to a phone line for simple implementation of a wired HPC, PDA. For wireless designs, the PR31500 works with available radio and cellular phone modules to take advantage of the latest wireless messaging, networking, and voice commu- nications capabilities. Additional communication features include both IrDA and consumer Infrared connection to PC serial ports, and a high-speed serial port to support ISDN connections. Two PC card slots are also supported.

Audio circuitry in the UCB1100 connects to a microphone and speakers without the need for external audio amplifiers or other components. The UCB1100's digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters provide high-quality voice/sound reproduction and sampling.

Two inexpensive, off-the-shelf external crystals are used to generate the real-time clock and drive an on-chip PLL which generates the 40-MHz clock for the MIPS core. Both ICs utilize a single 3.3-V supply voltage and incorporate extensive power management functions including doze and sleep modes.

Samples and production quantities of the TwoChipHCG* are now available. Cost for the chipset and the software fax/modem license is US $39 in 100,000-unit quantities. For pricing and availability outside the United States, contact your local Philips Semiconductors Sales Office or Authorized Philips Distributor. Product availability and specifications may vary by region. Other operating systems, real-time kernels and compilers are also available.