(Click for larger view of Triton-270)Intel
announced the PXA270 processor in April, and
began shipping the chip in June. According to Strategic Test, the PXA270 is the first in Intel's ARM-based XScale line to include:
- Intel Wireless MMX technology, said to enable high-performance multimedia acceleration based on the Pentium instruction set
- Quick Capture, said to offer a flexible and powerful camera interface for capturing digital images and video
The PXA270 also includes Wireless Intel SpeedStep Technology, which is claimed to deliver exceptionally low-power operation. Strategic Test says it has augmented the PXA270's power saving features with an on-board Programmable Core Voltage Generator that allows the user to vary the PXA270's supply voltage from 1.1 to 1.3V.
The Triton-270 measures 2.6 x 1.2 x 0.16 inches, and will come standard with a 512MHz PXA270 processor, 64MB of low-power mobile SDRAM (1.8V), and 16MB of wireless Flash memory (1.8V). There will be options for 312MHz and 416MHz CPUs, 32MB SDRAM, and 8MB Flash.
The Triton-270 uses a 200-pin DIMM connector to bring out all of the PXA270's internal signals, according to Strategic Test. These include:
- Integrated LCD controller for direct connection to displays
- PCMCIA interface
- Bluetooth UART
- Baseband/Multimedia interface
- USB 2.0 "On the Go" interface
- Memory Stick controller
- MMC/SD/SDIC interface
- I2S and AC'97 interfaces
- Three SSP and three Asynch serial interfaces
- Keypad interface
- GPIO and four PWN interfaces
Additionally, the board offers two 100-pin surface-mounted connectors that "for the first time allow the full 32-bit memory address range to be accessed," Strategic Test says.
Strategic Test also offers a number of DIMM-shaped SBCs, including the
Triton-Eco, that are based on the Intel PXA255. The company says that the new PXA270 offers additional features over its PXA255-based boards, including:
- 256KB internal SRAM
- USB 1.1 host controller
- Baseband/Multimedia Interface
- Memory Stick host controller
- Keypad interface
- Universal SIM interface
The new PXA270 also improves upon various features in the earlier PXA255, according to Strategic Test, including:
- Power management (Wireless SpeedStep)
- Wireless MMX
- More advanced LCD controller
- 3 instead of 1 SSP
- USB 2.0 device controller instead of USB 1.1
- RTC now can be used with a backup battery
- 4 instead of 2 PWM outputs
Strategic Test expects to ship the new Triton-270 in mid-September, priced at $299 in quantities of 1,000. The minimum order for versions with slower processors, less memory, or extended temperature ranges is 100 units.
Related Stories:
