| Silicon vendors jump on Windows Mobile 6 bandwagon |
Feb. 14, 2007
In conjunction with the release of Windows Mobile 6, Freescale and Marvell both announced BSPs (board support packages) for the new platform on their respective application processors, the Marvell PXA3xx series and the Freescale i.MX31. Both vendors say their goal is to ease the migration path to the new release.
Freescale i.MX31 BSP
Freescale says its Windows Mobile 6 BSP for its i.MX31 application processor and associated ADS (application development system) board comes with the "requisite components," including the OS kernel, OS graphical user interface and middleware, i.MX31 processor-specific device drivers, ADS-specific drivers, other OS-specific software, and OS test suites. The BSP contents include a boot loader, OEM adaptation layer (OAL), device drivers for peripherals on the i.MX31 ADS board, configuration files and build scripts, BSP documentation, release notes, a user manual, and sample images.
 i.MX31 Application Development System processor board "OEMs and design firms seeking to take advantage of the advanced features in Windows Mobile 6 in their next mobile device can download our i.MX31 board support package today," said Brad Hale, product manager for Freescale's multimedia applications division. "Freescale works very closely with Microsoft on their Windows Mobile operating systems releases to ensure availability of our BSPs as close to Microsoft's release date as possible. It is a customer and market imperative."
Marvell PXA3xx BSP
Marvell, meanwhile, says its "platform enabling program" provides a wide range of tools to independent software vendors supporting its PXA3xx series processors. These include development boards, BSPs, compilers, debuggers, software optimization kits and multimedia and graphics libraries. Additionally, the company provides "feature-rich" mobile handset concept platforms based on the PXA3xx that offer developers the opportunity to pick and customize features to meet customer and operator demands.
"Marvell's PXA processors, supporting Windows Mobile operating systems, have been a critical ingredient driving the evolution of handheld devices," said Sam Arditi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Marvell's Cellular and Handheld Business Group. "Windows Mobile 6 and our new PXA3xx applications processor family will provide optimal performance, power savings, and an outstanding multimedia experience."
Availability
Freescale's Windows Mobile 6 BSP is immediately available, according to the company. Marvell did not provide an availability date. Neither company indicated how their BSPs would be priced, although it is not uncommon for OS BSPs to be bundled with purchased development platforms.
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