MediaTek launches platform for low-end Android phones

Peter Clarke, EE Times -- EDN, February 14, 2012

LONDON -- Fabless chip company MediaTek Inc (Hsinchu, Taiwan) has announced the availability of a hardware and software platform for the creation of mid- and entry-level Android smartphones.

The MT6575 includes a Cortex-A9 processor licensed from ARM Holdings plc capable of running at 1-GHz clock frequency, a 3G/HSPA modem and runs the Ice-Cream Sandwich Android v4.0 release. MediaTek did not reveal the origins of the 3G/HSPA modem but said it has been qualified at major 3G operators worldwide.

For mid-range smartphones, the MT6575 platform supports 720p high-definition video playback and recording with an 8-megapixel camera and qHD (960 by 540) high-resolution displays via a PowerVR SGX Series5 graphics processing unit from Imagination Technologies Group plc.

The MT6575 platform also supports entry-level smartphones with smaller display sizes, lower resolution, less memory, and reduced multimedia requirements.

The MT6575, delivered in 40-nm CMOS technology, builds on the company's second generation MT6573 platform.

MediaTek is already supplying customers with chips and the first smartphone models based on the platform are expected to become available in 1Q12.

This story was originally posted by EE Times.