Taking square aim at upping the ante in the handset and smartphone markets, MediaQ has now launched a new graphics chip dubbed the MQ2100 Multimedia Platform Controller.
Having announced its new MQ2100 Multimedia Platform Controller, MediaQ is now further upping the ante in the battle for better graphics on handsets. Saying its new chip lets manufacturers more rapidly integrate embedded cameras and color graphics into existing and new product designs, MediaQ aims to contribute to shortening the design process of OEMs. If the company delivers on its promises, this could benefit customers in terms of reduced costs as well as improved graphics.
The MQ2100 will offer OEMs a new hardware acceleration engine for 2D graphics, increasing LCD screen resolution up to 320 x 240 pixels. The 64-bit graphics engine features double buffering for 176 x 220-resolution, a clear indicator that MediaQ is targeting the smartphone market. In addition, the amount of embedded memory has been increased in order to achieve higher screen resolutions and improved JPEG compression, resulting in what according to MediaQ is "unrivaled" graphics performance.
Specifically designed to meet the requirements of handsets, MediaQ said it selected hardware-based acceleration features for the new chip that aim to speed the responsiveness of multimedia-intensive applications and provide the greater image clarity and color depth needed to clearly view digital pictures, games, and video clips.
In addition to the steps taken to ease the implementation of embedded cameras, the MQ2100's new hardware JPEG encoder also allows users to capture and compress images and then store or send them using picture messaging services. The controller's video processing engine is coupled with a JPEG encoder capable of encoding still images with resolutions up to VGA, implementing computationally intensive tasks such as DCT encoding, RLE, and Huffman encoding in hardware.
Fabricated using low-leakage process technology, the MQ2100 will use MediaQ's DynamicQ Power Management technology to ensure low power consumption. According to the manufacturer, this has resulted in the MQ2100 consuming less than 5mW during normal operation. Samples of the MQ2100 are available to OEMs today, with general production scheduled for March 2003.
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