reception.

(Click here for a larger view of Cowon's L3)

Cowon's L3 (Click image for further information)

The new FineDrive iQ500 is essentially similar to a bevy of other devices that will likely never be seen outside Korea, including the Cowon L3 (right) released just last week. It's worthy of note, nonetheless, because it's the first device we've seen using the SiRFprima SoC (system-on-chip). The SiRFprima, announced just over a year ago, combines an ARM11 applications processor core with a "location engine" that tracks both GPS and Galileo satellites. For more details on the SoC, see later in this story.

While SiRF itself doesn't specify the SiRFprima's clock speed, FineDrive says the CPU is clocked at 900MHz, making this device potentially the fastest PND we've seen. The iQ500 runs Windows CE 6.0, with a custom user interface apparently devised by FineDrive. It includes 128MB of RAM and 128MB of flash storage. The device also has an SD slot, and is bundled with a buyer's choice of 4GB or 8GB SD cards, the company says.

Like the Cowon L3 mentioned above, the iQ500 offers 2D and 3D navigation around South Korea via bundled Atlan Wiz maps (right). In this case, the PMP is also said to receive updates on current traffic conditions using its DMB TV receiver. Pictured at right, the traffic data is sent using the TPEG (Transport Protocol Experts Group) format, says FineDrive.

FineDrive's iQ500 comes with a seven-inch touchscreen display, offering 800 x 480 resolution. Connections include an SD expansion slot, a USB port, headphone jack, an input that apparently accepts both audio and video, and a power jack for DC ranging from 12V to 24V, the company says.

Features and specifications listed by FineDrive for the iQ500 include:

• Processor -- 900MHz SiRF prima, clocked at 900MHz, with ARM11 applications processor and GPS receiver
  
• Memory -- 128MB of SDRAM, and 128MB of flash storage
  
• Storage -- SD expansion slot, accepting bundled 4GB or 8GB cards
  
• Display -- 7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) touchscreen display
  
• Audio codecs include MPEG 1/2/2.5 Layer 3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, Wave, FLAC, APE, MusePack
  
• Video codecs include DivX, XviD, MPEG4, WMV7/8/9
  
• Wireless interfaces:
  • GPS
    
  • DMB television receiver
• Other I/O:
  • USB 2.0 device port
    
  • Headphone jack
    
  • "A/V in"
    
  • DC input
• Expansion -- SD slot
  
• Dimensions -- 7.32 x 4.72 x .94 inches (186 x 120 x 24mm)
  
• Weight -- 13.5 ounces (370g)

The SiRFprima

SiRF's SiRFprima uses an ARM1136JF-S applications processor to run either Windows CE or Linux, adding a digital signal processor (DSP) and satellite tracking circuitry. The SoC's "hardware scalable location engine" features 64 channels with -161 dBm sensitivity, and more than 1,000,000 correlators, according to SiRF.


SiRF's SiRFPrima SoC
(Click to enlarge)
When it was announced in February 2009, the SiRFprima was claimed to be one of the first products that is capable of working with both American GPS and European Galileo satellite networks. The SoC also dedicates some of its hardware to accelerating SiRF's InstantFixII technology, which has been touted as decreasing GPS startup times by modeling satellite behavior, then predicting their positions in the sky for up to three days in the future.

The SoC's hardware-accelerated graphics are based on Imagination Technologies' PowerVR MBX core, which supports Direct3D on Windows Mobile and OpenGL ES on Linux. The PowerVR MBX supports key 3D features, and has a Vertex Geometry Processor that offloads complex 3D transformation and lighting (T&L) tasks. It provides fill rates in excess of 300 million pixels/sec., according to Imagination Technologies.

The SiRFprima additionally offers video and multimedia acceleration via PowerVR's MVED1, claimed by its vendor to accelerate the decoding or encoding of H.264, MPEG-4, H.263, MPEG-2 and VC-1 (WMV9) video streams, with over a 90 percent reduction in CPU load. Finally, says SiRF, the SiRF Prima has a "full complement" of peripheral and external interfaces for connecting to touch screens, mass storage devices, video cameras, and other equipment.

Availability

While the FineDrive iQ500 appears to be available now, the company did not release pricing or availability information. More information may be found on the company's website, here.

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