Xamarin: C# developers of native “business” and “mobile workforce” applications now can easily work cross-platform, for Android and iOS clients as well
… while other cross-platform applications, i.e. “applications for consumers only” are prohibited for C# developers by the still high price of Xamarin, which essentially applies to indie and start-up developers only
The mobile application development technology behind this, from the cloud to the clients, was extensively covered in Windows Phone 8: getting much closer to a unified development platform with Windows 8 [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Nov 8, 2012] post of mine (including the cross-platform possibilities with Xamarin already), and then continued in Windows Azure becoming an unbeatable offering on the cloud computing market [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, June 28, 2013] and Microsoft partners empowered with ‘cloud first’, high-value and next-gen experiences for big data, enterprise social, and mobility on wide variety of Windows devices and Windows Server + Windows Azure + Visual Studio as the platform [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, July 10, 2013] posts for the cloud part.
Note: Decide for yourself how that “consumers only applications by indie and start-up developers” type of exclusion will effect the cross platform development needs, after you take a look at the current state of the evolution of smartphone and tablet markets:
Details
For one of the problems solved now by Microsoft see my Obstacles for .NET on other platforms [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Oct 15, 2013] post.
To understand what is the situation now I will start with:
- Phil Haack working at GitHub “doing crazy”:
In: Cross Platform .NET Just A Lot Got Better [Haacked blog, Nov 13, 2013]
Not long ago I wrote a blog post about how platform restrictions harm .NET. This led to a lot of discussion online and on Twitter. At some point David Kean suggested a more productive approach would be to create a UserVoice issue. So I did and it quickly gathered a lot of votes.
…
Phil Haack – Customer Feedback for Microsoft http://visualstudio.uservoice.com/users/40986152-phil-haack:
Remove the platform restriction on Microsoft NuGet packages 4,929 votes
Phil Haack shared this idea and gave it 3 votes · Sep 26, 2013
COMPLETED · Visual Studio team (Product Team, Microsoft) responded
Thanks a lot for this suggestion and all the votes.We’re happy to announce that we’ve removed the Windows-only restriction from our license. We’ve applied this new license to most of our packages and will continue to use this license moving forward.
Here is our announcement:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dotnet/archive/2013/11/13/pcl-and-net-nuget-libraries-are-now-enabled-for-xamarin.aspxFor reference, the license for stable packages can be found here:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=329770Thanks,
Immo Landwerth
Program Manager, .NET Framework TeamPhil Haack commented · Nov 13, 2013
Amazing! Thanks! This is great!
Bravo!
Serious Kudos to the .NET team for this. It looks like most of the interesting PCL packages are now licensed without platform restrictions. As an example of how this small change sends out ripples of goodness, we can now make Octokit.net depend on portable HttpClient and make Octokit.net itself more cross platform and portable without a huge amount of work.
I’m also excited about the partnership between Microsoft and Xamarin this represents. I do believe C# is a great language for cross-platform development and it’s good to see Microsoft jumping back on board with this. This is a marked change from the situation I wrote about in 2012.
- then will go to S. Somasegar, Corporate Vice President of the Developer Division at Microsoft:
In: Visual Studio 2013 Launch: Announcing Visual Studio Online [Somasegar’s blog, Nov 13, 2013]
… Microsoft and Xamarin are collaborating to help .NET developers broaden the reach of their applications to additional devices, including iOS and Android …
…
Partner News
With today’s launch of Visual Studio 2013, we have 123 products from 74 partners available already as Visual Studio 2013 extensions. As part of an ecosystem of developer tools experiences, Visual Studio continues to be a platform for delivering a great breadth of developer experiences.
Xamarin
The devices and services transformation is driving developers to think about how they will build applications that reach the greatest breadth of devices and end-user experiences. We’ve offered great HTML-based cross platform development experiences in Visual Studio with ASP.NET and JavaScript. But our .NET developers have also asked us how they can broaden the reach of their applications and skills.
Today, I am excited to announce a broad collaboration between Microsoft and Xamarin. Xamarin’s solution enables developers to leverage Visual Studio, Windows Azure and .NET to further extend the reach of their business applications across multiple devices, including iOS and Android.
The collaboration between Xamarin and Microsoft brings several benefits for developers today. First, as an initial step in a technical partnership, Xamarin’s next release that is being announced today will support Portable Class Libraries, enabling developers to share libraries and components across a breadth of Microsoft and non-Microsoft platforms. Second, Professional, Premium and Ultimate MSDN subscribers will have access to exclusive benefits for getting started with Xamarin, including new training resources, extended evaluation access to Xamarin’s Visual Studio integration and special pricing on Xamarin products.
…
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followed by the Microsoft and Xamarin Partner Globally to Enable Microsoft Developers to Develop Native iOS and Android Apps With C# and Visual Studio [Xamarin press release, Nov 13, 2013]
Xamarin, the company that empowers developers to build fully native apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac from a single shared code base, today announced a global collaboration with Microsoft that makes it easy for mobile developers to build native mobile apps for all major platforms in Visual Studio. Xamarin is the only solution that unifies native iOS, Android and Windows app development in Visual Studio—bridging one of the largest developer bases in the world to the most successful mobile device platforms.
A highly competitive app marketplace and the consumerization of IT have put tremendous pressure on developers to deliver high quality mobile user experiences for both consumers and employees. A small bug or crash can lead to permanent app abandonment or poor reviews. Device fragmentation, with hundreds of devices on the market for iOS and Android alone, multiplies testing efforts resulting in a time-consuming and costly development process. This is further complicated by faster release cycles for mobile, necessitating more stringent and efficient regression testing.
The collaboration spans three areas:
- A technical collaboration to better integrate Xamarin technology with Microsoft developer tools and services.
Aligned with this goal, Xamarin is a SimShip partner for Visual Studio 2013, releasing same-day support for Microsoft’s latest Visual Studio release that launched today. In addition, Xamarin has released today full integration for Microsoft’s Portable Library projects in iOS and Android apps, making it easier than ever for developers to share code across devices.- Xamarin’s recently launched Xamarin University is now free to MSDN subscribers. The training course helps developers become successful with native iOS and Android development over the course of 30 days. Classes for the $1,995 program kick off in January 2014, with a limited number of seats available at no cost for MSDN subscribers.
- MSDN subscribers have exclusive trial and pricing options to Xamarin subscriptions for individuals and teams.
Get a 90-day trial to Xamarin, sign up for Xamarin University for free (normally $1,995), and save 30-50% on Xamarin with special MSDN pricing.
All the productivity you love in Visual Studio and C#,
on iOS and Android.
The broad collaboration between Microsoft and Xamarin which we announced today is targeted at supporting developers interested in extending their applications across multiple devices,said S. Somasegar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Corporation.With Xamarin, developers combine all of the productivity benefits of C#, Visual Studio 2013 and Windows Azure with the flexibility to quickly build for multiple device targets.According to Gartner, by 2016, 70 percent of the mobile workforce will have a smartphone, half of which will be purchased by the employee, and 90 percent of enterprises will have two or more platforms to support. Faced with high expectations for mobile user experiences and the pressures of BYOD, companies and developers alike are looking for scalable ways to migrate business practices and customer interactions to high-performance, native apps on multiple platforms.
To meet this need to support heterogeneous mobile environments, Microsoft and Xamarin are making it easy for developers to mobilize their existing skills and code. By standardizing mobile app development with Xamarin and C#, developers are able to share on average 75 percent of their source code across device platforms, while still delivering fully native apps. Xamarin supports 100 percent of both iOS and Android APIs—anything that can be done in Objective-C or Java can be done in C# with Xamarin.
In just two years, Xamarin has amassed a community of over 440,000 developers in 70 countries, more than 20,000 paying accounts and a network of over 120 consulting partners globally.
We live in a multi-platform world, and by embracing Xamarin, Microsoft is enabling its developer community to thrive as mobile developers,said Nat Friedman, CEO and cofounder, Xamarin.Our collaboration with Microsoft will accelerate enterprise mobility for millions of developers.The groundbreaking partnership was announced as part of the Visual Studio Live 2013 launch event in New York City. In addition, Xamarin and Microsoft have teamed up with the popular podcast, .NET Rocks!, for a 20-city nationwide road show featuring live demos on how to use Visual Studio 2013, Xamarin and Windows Azure to build and scale mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows. For a full list of cities and to sign up for an event, please visit: xamarin.com/modern-apps-roadshow
About Xamarin
Xamarin is the new standard for enterprise mobile development. No other platform enables businesses to reach all major devices—iOS, Android, Mac and Windows—with 100 percent fully native apps from a single code base. With Xamarin, businesses standardize mobile app development in C#, share on average 75 percent source code across platforms, and leverage their existing skills, teams, tools and code to rapidly deliver great apps with broad reach. Xamarin is used by over 430,000 developers from more than 100 Fortune 500 companies and over 20,000 paying customers including Clear Channel, Bosch, McKesson, Halliburton, Cognizant, GitHub, Rdio and WebMD, to accelerate the creation of mission-critical consumer and enterprise apps. For more information, please visit: xamarin.com, read our blog, and follow us on Twitter @xamarinhq.
- as well as the PCL and .NET NuGet Libraries are now enabled for Xamarin [.NET Framework Blog, Nov 13, 2013] post
Earlier today, Soma announced a collaboration between Microsoft and Xamarin. As you probably know, Xamarin’s Visual Studio extension enables developers to use VS and .NET to extend the reach of their apps across multiple devices, including iOS and Android. As part of that collaboration, today, we are announcing two releases around the .NET portable class libraries (PCLs) that support this collaboration:
- We are making portable Microsoft .NET NuGet libraries available under a new license that enables use on all platforms. This includes HttpClient, Immutable Collections, SignalR, ODataLib and several others. Beyond that, we intend to use this license going forward.
- We are also making the RTM version of the portable reference assemblies available for use on all platforms. This announcement builds on the announcement we made a month ago around the RC release of these reference assemblies.
Microsoft .NET NuGet Libraries Released
Today we released the following portable libraries with our new license, on NuGet.org:
- Async for .NET Framework 4, Silverlight 4 and 5, and Windows Phone 7.5 and 8
- Microsoft ASP.NET SignalR .NET Client
- Microsoft BCL Build Components
- Microsoft BCL Portability Pack
- Microsoft Composition
- Microsoft Compression
- Microsoft HTTP Client Libraries
- Microsoft Immutable Collections
- ODataLib
You can now start using these libraries with Xamarin tools, either directly or as the dependencies of portable libraries that you reference.
We also took the opportunity to apply the same license to Microsoft .NET NuGet libraries, which aren’t fully portable today, like Entity Framework and all of the Microsoft AspNet packages. These libraries target the full .NET Framework, so they’re not intended to be used with Xamarin’s iOS and Android tools (just like they don’t target Windows Phone or Windows Store).
These releases will enable significantly more use of these common libraries across Windows and non-Windows platforms, including in open source projects.
Cross-platform app developers can now use PCL
Portable class libraries are a great option for app developers building for Microsoft platforms in Visual Studio, to share key business functionality across Microsoft platforms. Many developers use the PCL technology today, for example, to share app logic across Windows Store and Windows Phone. Today’s announcement enables developers using Xamarin’s tools to share these libraries as well.
In Visual Studio, you’ll continue to use Portable Class Library projects but will be able to reference them from within Xamarin’s tools for VS. That means that you can write rich cross-platform libraries and take advantage of them from all of your .NET apps.
The following image demonstrates an example set of .NET NuGet library references that you can use within one of your portable libraries. The .NET NuGet libraries will enable new scenarios and great new libraries built on top of them.
You can build cross-platform libraries with .NET
This announcement also benefits .NET developers writing reusable and open source libraries. You’ve probably used some of these libraries, for example Json.NET. These developers have been very vocal about wanting this change. This announcement greatly benefits those library developers, enabling them to leverage our portable libraries in their libraries.
Getting started with portable libraries and Xamarin
You can start by building portable libraries in Visual Studio, as you can see in the screenshot above. You can take advantage of the portable libraries that we released today. Write code!
You’ll need an updated NuGet client, to take advantage of this new scenario. Make sure that you are using NuGet 2.7.2 or higher, or just download the latest NuGet for your VS version from the Installing NuGet page.
We are working closely with Xamarin to ensure that our NuGet libraries work well with Xamarin tools, as well as PCL generally. Please tell us if you find any issues. We’ll get them resolved and post them to our known issues page.
Thank You
Thank you for the feedback on UserVoice. With today’s announcement, we can mark the request to Remove the platform restriction on Microsoft NuGet packages as complete. Thanks to Phil Haack for filing the issue. Coupled with our collaboration with Xamarin, .NET developers have some compelling tools, especially for targeting mobile devices.
Both Microsoft and Xamarin want to see this scenario succeed. We’d love your feedback. Please tell us how the new features are working for you.
This post was written by Rich Lander, a Program Manager on the .NET Team.
[Some] Comments
Immo Landwerth [MSFT] 13 Nov 2013 1:24 PM
Thanks a lot for the kind words!
@Curt: We absolutely understand that PCL support in Visual Studio express editions is super important to many of our developers. That’s why it’s on our list. However, I can’t promise that we actually end up delivering it in the VS 2013 time frame. As you’ve seen today, there is a lot of great stuff going on and resources are always more scarce than one would hope.
Gz 14 Nov 2013 4:19 AM
Xamarin is great but their pricing is insane! even with the MSDN discount. We’re a tiny start-up development house that has benefited from the MS BizSpark programme and we simply cannot stretch to paying out a thousand bucks per platform, per year, per developer – mobile isn’t even a revenue generator for us – it would merely be extending some functionality from our main apps to mobile and we’d give it to customers for free. I know they have a free & an indie edition blah blah blah but we wanna work in VS. The good news is that Xamarin will soon have a competitor in this space that could potentially blow them out of the water with full VS support and direct access to native APIs on each platform (iOS, Android & Mac) and their pricing will be less than 1/3rd of Xamarin’s. I’ve been sworn to secrecy about it but expect to have a cost-effective Xamarin alternative before the end of the year. (No I don’t work for the company, just got some info about it recently).
Stilgar 14 Nov 2013 8:30 AM
I second the need for PCLs in Express editions. Otherwise your company’s constant claims that the tooling for Windows 8 and Windows Phone development is free is pure hypocrisy.
- and end finally with New and improved EULA! [WCF Data Services Blog, Nov 13, 2013] post:
TL;DR: You can now (legally) use our .NET OData client and ODataLib on Android and iOS.
Backstory
For a while now we have been working with our legal team to improve the terms you agree to when you use one of our libraries (WCF Data Services, our OData client, or ODataLib). A year and a half ago, we announced that our EULA would include a redistribution clause. With the release of WCF Data Services 5.6.0, we introduced portable libraries for two primary reasons:
Portable libraries reduce the amount of duplicate code and #ifdefs in our code base.
Portable libraries increase our reach through third-party tooling like Xamarin (more on that later).
It took some work to get there, and we had to make some sacrifices along the way, but we are now focused exclusively on portable libraries for client-side code. Unfortunately, our EULA still contained a clause that prevented the redistributable code from being legally used on a platform other than Windows.
OData and Xamarin: Extending developer reach to many platforms
We are really excited about Microsoft’s new collaboration with Xamarin. As Soma says, this collaboration will allow .NET developers to broaden the reach of their applications and skills. This has long been the mantra of OData – a standardized ecosystem of services and consumers that enables consumers on any platform to easily consume services developed on any platform. This collaboration will make it much easier to write a shared code base that allows consumption of OData on Windows, Android or iOS.
EULA change
To fully enable this scenario, we needed to update our EULA. We, along with several other teams at Microsoft, are rolling out a new EULA today that has relaxed the distribution requirements. Most importantly, we removed the clause that prevented redistributable code from being used on Android and iOS.
The new EULA is effective immediately for all of our NuGet packages. This means that (even though we already released 5.6.0) you can create a Xamarin project today, take a new dependency on our OData client, and legally run that application on any platform you wish.
Thanks
As always, we really appreciate your feedback. It frequently takes us some time to react, but the credit for this change is due entirely to customer feedback. We hear you. Keep it coming.
Thanks,
The OData Team
Q3’13 smartphone and overall mobile phone markets: Android smartphones surpassed 80% of the market, with Samsung increasing its share to 32.1% against Apple’s 12.1% only; while Nokia achieved a strong niche market position both in “proper” (Lumia) and “de facto” (Asha Touch) smartphones
Details about Samsung’s strengths you can find inside the Samsung has unbeatable supply chain management, it is incredibly good in everything which is consumer hardware, but vulnerability remains in software and M&A [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Nov 11, 2013] post of mine.
My findings supporting the above title:
- 205 million Android smartphones were delivered in Q3’13, representing 15.2% growth sequentially (Q/Q) and 67.3% growth relative to the same period of last year (Y/Y)
- Meanwhile the number of Apple iPhones shipped increased only to 33.8 million, growing by 8.3% sequentially (Q/Q), but still representing a 25.65% growth relative to the same period of last year (Y/Y)
- The shipment of “proper” smartphones from Nokia (S60/Symbian and Lumia/Windows Phone) increased to 8.8 million units, representing 18.9% growth sequentially (Q/Q) and 39.7% growth relative to the same period of last year (Y/Y)
- Meanwhile the shipment of “de facto” smartphones from Nokia (S60/Symbian, Lumia/Windows Phone and Asha Full Touch in S40 Series) increased to 14.7 million units, representing 25.6% growth sequentially (Q/Q) and 14.8% growth relative to the same period of last year (Y/Y). It is also important that the decline of Asha Full Touch after its peak of 9.3 million units sold in Q4’12 has been reversed with 5.9 million units shipped, representing a sizable 37.2% growth sequentially (Q/Q).
- The new (in Q3’13) Asha 501 became the most popular smartphone on the Indian market in the $60-80 price range (as per Flipkart, see above), successfully beating off the best competitive offerings from Samsung and the two leading local brands, Micromax and Karbonn. This is another positive sign of successfull revival of the Asha Touch platform started with Asha 501 (via the Asha Software Platform 1.0) as described in the New Nokia Asha platform for developers [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, May 9, 2013] and New Asha platform and ecosystem to deliver a breakthrough category of affordable smartphone from Nokia [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, May 9 – July 5, 2013] posts of mine. Everything is well represented by comparing the “micro reports” included into the bottom left corner of the overall chart a quarter ago and now:
- As one currently could see this Nokia (the devices part of it soon becoming the part of Microsoft*) could realise its goal of selling “100 million of the new generation Asha smartphones over the coming years, beginning with the Nokia Asha 501”. The Asha 500, Asha 502 and Asha 503 introduced in October 22 could already deliver a huge jump in shipments of “de facto smartphones” under Asha brand, helping to defend further and even improve Nokia’s market position against the sub $100 Android smartphones in Q4’13. Note also that Asha 500 was announced for $69 list price (before taxes or subsidies) which means that—depending on “race to the bottom” competition—could easily mean a street price of $60+ on the Indian market.
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* See also the previous posts of mine:
– Unique Nokia assets (from factories to global device distribution & sales, and the Asha sub $100 smartphone platform etc.) will now empower the One Microsoft devices and services strategy [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Sept 3 – Oct 23, 2013]
– Microsoft answers to the questions about Nokia devices and services acquisition: tablets, Windows downscaling, reorg effects, Windows Phone OEMs, cost rationalization, ‘One Microsoft’ empowerment, and supporting developers for an aggressive growth in market share [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Sept 3 – Oct 23, 2013]
– Microsoft Nokia Transaction Conference Call with slides from Microsoft Strategic Rationale inserted-ebook – 3-Sept-2013 edited by Sándor Nacsa from those two sources into an ebook format PDF
– Leading edge Nokia phablets for both entertainment and productivity: Lumia 1320 targeting the masses at $339, and Lumia 1520 the imaging conscious business users and individuals at $749 [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Oct 26, 2013] - The Asha Touch revival was also able to stop the decline of the overall Nokia “mobile phones” category (Nokia S30, S40, Asha and Asha Full Touch phones) exactly at 55.8 million units, the same number as for the Q1’13.
- In addition there are now the Leading edge Nokia phablets for both entertainment and productivity: Lumia 1320 targeting the masses at $339, and Lumia 1520 the imaging conscious business users and individuals at $749 [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Oct 26, 2016].
- With that Nokia established a strong niche market position on both the $130+ market (starting with Lumia 520 sold at that price in India, also the most popular one on Flipkart for the the $80-160 price range of devices) and the sub $80 market against the onslaught of Android devices. The rest will depend now only on Microsoft.
Than for the lead smartphone market, i.e. Mainland China I will include here:
- China market: Smartphone sales top 93 million units in 3Q13, says Analysys [Digitimes, Nov 12, 2013]
There were 102.66 million handsets sold in the China market during the third quarter of 2013, growing 13.6% on quarter and 54.5% on year, of which 93.08 million units were smartphones, increasing 20.7% on quarter and 89.3% on year, according to China-based consulting company Analysys International.
While for the worldwide market:
- China-based smartphone vendors set to rise in 2013 rankings, says IC Insights [Digitimes, Nov 13, 2013]
Lenovo, ZTE, Huawei and Yulong/Coolpad have taken advantage of the surging low-end smartphone market. According to IC Insights, the four major China-based handset companies are forecast to ship 168 million smartphones in 2013 and together hold a 17% share of the worldwide smartphone market.
Lenovo, ZTE, Huawei and Yulong/Coolpad shipped a combined 98 million smartphones in 2012, a more than 300% surge from the 29 million units shipped in 2011, IC Insights disclosed. It should be noted that the China-based suppliers of smartphones are primarily serving the China and Asia-Pacific marketplace, and offer low-end models that typically sell for less than US$200.
Low-end smartphones are expected to represent just under one-third (310 million) of the total 975 million smartphones shipped in 2013. IC Insights forecast that by 2017, low-end smartphone shipments will represent 46% of the total smartphone market with China and the Asia-Pacific region to remain the primary markets for these low-end models.
Samsung Electronics and Apple are set to continue dominating the total smartphone market in 2013. The two vendors are forecast to ship 457 million units and together hold a 47% share of the total smartphone market in 2013, IC Insights said. In 2012, Samsung and Apple shipped 354 million smartphones and took a combined 50% share of the total smartphone market.
Nokia was third-largest supplier of smartphones behind Samsung and Apple in 2011, but has seen its share of the smartphone market fall. Nokia’s smartphone shipments are forecast to decline by another 4% and grab an only 3% share of the total smartphone market in 2013, IC Insights indicated.
Other smartphone producers that have fallen on hard times include RIM and HTC. While each of these companies had about a 10% share of the smartphone market in 2011, IC Insights estimated they will have only about 2% shares of the 2013 smartphone market.
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Gartner Says Smartphone Sales Accounted for 55 Percent of Overall Mobile Phone Sales in Third Quarter of 2013 [press release, Nov 14, 2013]
– Western Europe Grew for the First Time this Year
– Lenovo Became the No. 3 Worldwide Smartphone Vendor for the First Time
Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totaled 455.6 million units in the third quarter of 2013, an increase of 5.7 percent from the same period last year, according to Gartner, Inc. Sales of smartphones accounted for 55 percent of overall mobile phone sales in the third quarter of 2013, and reached their highest share to date.
Worldwide smartphone sales to end users reached 250.2 million units, up 45.8 percent from the third quarter of 2012. Asia/Pacific led the growth in both markets – the smartphone segment with 77.3 percent increase and the mobile phone segment with 11.9 percent growth. The other regions to show an increase in the overall mobile phone market were Western Europe, which returned to growth for the first time this year, and the Americas.
“Sales of feature phones continued to decline and the decrease was more pronounced in markets where the average selling price (ASP) for feature phones was much closer to the ASP affordable smartphones,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. “In markets such as China and Latin America, demand for feature phones fell significantly as users rushed to replace their old models with smartphones.”
Gartner analysts said global mobile phone sales are on pace to reach 1.81 billion units in 2013, a 3.4 percent increase from 2012. “We will see several new tablets enter the market for the holiday season, and we expect consumers in mature markets will favor the purchase of smaller-sized tablets over the replacement of their older smartphones” said Mr. Gupta.
While Samsung’s share was flat in the third quarter of 2013, Samsung increased its lead over Apple in the global smartphone market (see Table 1). The launch of the Samsung Note 3 helped reaffirm Samsung as the clear leader in the large display smartphone market, which it pioneered.
Lenovo’s sales of smartphones grew to 12.9 million units, up 84.5 percent year-on-year. It constantly raised share in the Chinese smartphone market.
Apple’s smartphone sales reached 30.3 million units in the third quarter of 2013, up 23.2 percent from a year ago. “While the arrival of the new iPhones 5s and 5c had a positive impact on overall sales, such impact could have been greater had they not started shipping late in the quarter. While we saw some inventory built up for the iPhone 5c, there was good demand for iPhone 5s with stock out in many markets,” said Mr. Gupta.
In the smartphone operating system (OS) market (see Table 2), Android surpassed 80 percent market share in the third quarter of 2013, which helped extend its leading position. “However, the winner of this quarter is Microsoft which grew 123 percent. Microsoft announced the intent to acquire Nokia’s devices and services business, which we believe will unify effort and help drive appeal of Windows ecosystem,” said Mr. Gupta. Forty-one per cent of all Android sales were in mainland China, compared to 34 percent a year ago. Samsung is the only non-Chinese vendor in the top 10 Android players ranking in China. Whitebox Yulong [Coolpad] is the third largest Android vendor in China with a 9.7 percent market share in the third quarter of 2013. Xiaomi represented 4.3 percent of Android sales in the third quarter of 2013, up from 1.4 percent a year ago.
Mobile Phone Vendor Perspective
Samsung: Samsung extended its lead in the overall mobile phone market, as its market share totaled 25.7 percent in the third quarter of 2013 (see Table 3). “While Samsung has started to address its user experience, better design is another area where Samsung needs to focus,” said Mr. Gupta. “Samsung’s recent joint venture with carbon fiber company SGL Group could bring improvements in this area in future products.”
Nokia: Nokia did better than anticipated in the third quarter of 2013, reaching 63 million mobile phones, thanks to sales of both Lumia and Asha series devices. Increased smartphone sales supported by an expanded Lumia portfolio, helped Nokia move up to the No. 8 spot in the global smartphone market. But regional and Chinese Android device manufacturers continued to beat market demand, taking larger share and creating a tough competitive environment for Lumia devices.
Apple: Gartner believes the price difference between the iPhone 5c and 5s is not enough in mature markets, where prices are skewed by operator subsidies, to drive users away from the top of the line model. In emerging markets, the iPhone 4S will continue to be the volume driver at the low end as the lack of subsidy in most markets leaves the iPhone 5c too highly priced to help drive further penetration.
Lenovo: Lenovo moved to the No. 7 spot in the global mobile phone market, with sales reaching approximately 13 million units in the third quarter of 2013. “Lenovo continues to rely heavily on its home market, which represents more than 95 per cent of its overall mobile phone sales. This could limit its growth after 2014, when the Chinese market is expected to decelerate,” said Mr. Gupta.
The tablet market in Q1-Q3’13: It was mainly shaped by white-box vendors while Samsung was quite successfully attacking both Apple and the white-box vendors with triple digit growth both worldwide and in Mainland China
Details about Samsung’s strengths you can find inside the Samsung has unbeatable supply chain management, it is incredibly good in everything which is consumer hardware, but vulnerability remains in software and M&A [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Nov 11, 2013] post of mine.
Note what was communicated in the 2013 global tablet forecast [Dec 11, 2012]:
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My findings behind the title statement:
- White-box vendors from Mainland China delivered 62.6 million tablets in Q1-Q3’13 vs. 35.4 million a year ago (76.8% growth) per DIGITIMES Research
(the two latest sources used for that are included in the end) - Apple delivered 48.2 million tablets in Q1-Q3’13 vs. 42.8 million a year ago (12.6% growth) per IDC
(the IDC sources used are the corresponding quarterly press releases) - Samsung delivered 27.3 million tablets in Q1-Q3’13 vs. 8.7 million a year ago (214% growth) per IDC (with a H1’13 correction from Samsung itself)
- IDC’s latest forecast couldn’t take properly into the account the group of white-box vendors (44.6 million in “Others” category vs. 62.6 million), even more than a year ago (25.8 million in “Others” category vs. 35.4 million)
- With such error for Q1-Q3’13 there was a 142.6 million strong worldwide market by IDC vs. 76.4 million a year ago (86.7% growth)
- Together the white-box vendors, Apple and Samsung, as the market changing vendors/vendor group delivered 132.7 million tablets in Q1-Q3’13 vs. 86.9 million a year ago (52.7% growth)
- Meanwhile the “Others” group (with improper inclusion of white-box vendors) by IDC delivered 49.8 million tablets in Q1-Q3’13 vs. 25.8 million a year ago (93% growth)
- Mainland China had a 4.4 million strong tablet market in Q3’13 vs. the 44.6 million worldwide market as per IDC. Since white-box vendors sold 25 million tablets worldwide (according to DIGITIMES Reasearch) in Q3’13 vs. only 16.8 million sales in the ‘Others’ category by IDC we can safely raise the 49.8 million number by upto 10 million to upto 60 million. This means that in the current quarter Mainland China constituted at least 8.8% of the worldwide tablet market.
- The sequential (Q/Q) growth rate on the Mainland China market per Analysis Int. is:
- Meanwhile the sequential (Q/Q) growth rate on the worldwide market per IDC is:
- This means that Mainland China has much less seasonality than the worldwide market, which is a sign of greater untapped tablet demand than in other markets of the world. Considering the fact that an unusually large group of local tablet vendors are playing the local brand game in China, while the white-box vendor game outside, any global brand tablet vendor should already participate in the Mainland China market in order to succeed worldwide. Lenovo, Samsung and Microsoft have clearly recognised this:
(the two latest Analysis International sources used for that are indicated later)
- Samsung has dramatically increased its market penetration efforts in Q3’13 and succeeded quite well. In fact it was able to push back somewhat the growth rate of the group of local brand vendors (from 170% Q/Q growth rate in Q2’13 to 150% in Q3’13) while significantly increased its own growth rate (from 170% to a whopping 220%).
- Therefore, if things stay as it is (see the above chart) Samsung will outgrow local brand vendors on the Mainland China market within a year.
- Otherwise, if the group of local brand vendors will be able to withstand Samsung’s local efforts and significantly improve the value of their own brands, then the outlook may return to a view which could have been forecasted after Q2’13 (see the below chart):
- Meanwhile two local brands, Teclast (台电) and Onda (昂达) each were able to beat two other global brands, Asus and Acer, on the Mainland China market in the last two quarters.
- The group of ‘Others’, i.e. other local brands taken together were able to grow by similar rate in the last two quarters which shows that with an ongoing consolidation of the local brands (details ommitted here) a few local brands may join Teclast and Onda as the strongest local vendors which will have an opportunity to change their white-box vendor status abroad (and grow globally under their own brand as well).
The Q3’13 and Q2’13 Analysys International sources:
– Nov 8, 2013: http://www.enfodesk.com/SMinisite/maininfo/articledetail-id-389539.html
– Aug 28, 2013: http://www.enfodesk.com/SMinisite/maininfo/articledetail-id-376953.html
The Q3’13 and Q2’13 DIGITIMES Research sources:
- Digitimes Research: White-box tablet shipments to reach 25 million in 3Q13 [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 11, 2013]
China white-box tablet shipments reached about 25 million units in the third quarter of 2013, up 56.3% sequentially and 40.4% on year thanks to strong overseas shipments, which accounted for 80% of the total volume. Among white-box tablet shipments, 7-inch models accounted for the largest share, while 8-inch models, which were originally expected to become new star products, were unable to do so because of high costs from the bezel design and limited supply of 8-inch panels.
Although white-box tablets are expected to see extraordinary growth in 2013, they are also expected to face more obstacles and challenges in the future. First, they will see strong price competition from large brand vendors, which will offer Android-based products at price levels similar to those of white-box models. Second, the tablet market will gradually reach saturation and should no longer see demand as strong as before.
Third, white-box tablet costs have already hit the bottom margin, causing related assembly service providers and component suppliers to see limited profits. Several unhealthy players were already been eliminated from the market at the end of the second quarter, while the remaining players will need to rely on pumping up their shipments to support their profitability. However, such a strategy is unlikely to sustain for long, Digitimes Research noted.
Digitimes Research also found that white-box tablets in Europe or North America are mostly used as gifts in product promotions or bundling deals and therefore specifications are not as high as those of regular tablets. As for emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America, most consumers are buying white-box tablets with a single-core processor, because of limited purchasing power.
As for application processors (APs), 70% of white-box tablets with phone functions adopted solutions from MediaTek in the third quarter, replacing the solutions from China-based Allwinner, the original favorite. Digitimes Research estimates that the proportion of white-box Wi-Fi-only tablets using MediaTek’s solution will also increase dramatically starting the fourth quarter, further impacting China-based Allwinner and Rockchip’s AP shipments. In addition to low prices, China-based AP suppliers will also need to consider how to create additional value for their APs to survive the competition.
- Digitimes Research: White-box tablet shipments suffer over 25% drop in 2Q13 [DIGITIMES Research, Sept 2, 2013]
White-box tablet shipments reached only 15.9 million units in the second quarter of 2013, down 26.3% sequentially due to weakening tablet demand in May and June. Many smaller white-box players were also forced to quit the market, according to Digitimes Research’s latest figures.
Although white-box tablet shipments peaked in April 2013, increasing component costs and the fact that consumers are becoming more sensitive over tablet pricing, are impacting white-box players’ profitability.
For component supply, China-based chipmakers’ competition is gradually becoming fierce for both single-core and dual-core processors. In August 2013, some single-core processor prices were as low as US$5. By the end of 2013, dual-core processor will become the basic specification for entry-level white-box tablets, while mid-range models will turn to quad-core processor completely, Digitimes Research noted.
DRAM and NAND Flash remained at high price points in the second quarter of 2013, but as related players are increasing their supplies in the third quarter, prices are dropping.
As for panels, an entry-level 7-inch TN panel was priced at about US$10-11 at the beginning of the third quarter, and the price has been rising. Although the industry is seeing tight panel supply, the issue is expected to be eased as more panel players will open up new production lines to manufacture small-to-medium size panels in the first half of 2014.
White-box vendors’ over-optimism about demand in the first half created high tablet inventories for the vendors. Weak demand in Europe and North America has affected sales of both first-tier brand vendors and white-box players.
As for China, local first-tier brand vendors’ increasing sales have impacted white-box models’ demand in the country. Emerging markets such as India, Russia, countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia, are only providing limited contributions to white-box tablet players because shipments to these countries have just recently started.
Currently, strengthening their inventory management and expanding into overseas emerging markets will be important tasks for white-box tablet players to survive in the tablet market.
The first multimode Android tablets and laptops from Lenovo
After Lenovo defies PC slump with 35% profit jump [Reuters TV YouTube channel, Nov 7, 2013]
the company launched its highly anticipated, multi-mode Yoga Tablet, with up to 18 hours of battery life, as well as its new dual-mode consumer laptop, IdeaPad A10 with the ability to flip the screen 300 degrees into a stand mode for a more natural, comfortable touch experience. These innovative offerings for the Android market are the latest steps in Lenovo’s ongoing consumer brand building effort. For the Yoga Tablet Lenovo is even partnering with Ashton Kutcher – the well known actor and technology investor with 15 million Twitter followers – to showcase this cutting edge technology and innovation.
Consolidated sales of Lenovo’s Mobile Internet Digital Home (MIDH) consumer products, including smartphones and tablets already increased 106 percent year-over-year during the second fiscal quarter to US$1.5 billion, representing 15 percent of the Company’s total revenue during the quarter. In China, Lenovo’s smartphone shipments increased by 64 percent year-over-year, helping the company maintain its strong position as the second largest smartphone supplier in that market. With the latest Android based offerings Lenovo could further its consumer market position in a differentiated way both in China and worldwide.
LENOVO® YOGA TABLET
The Yoga Tablet’s innovation lies in the unique handle design of its cylindrical battery, enabling three different usage modes – hold, stand and tilt, each offering a unique and beneficial way for users to interact with their tablet. The battery lasts up to an incredible 18 hours, taking the tablet experience to the next level. The Lenovo Yoga Tablet is available with both 8- and 10-inch screen sizes along with built-in multimedia features for entertainment on the go.
Innovative Multimode Design.
Yoga Tablet’s pioneering design incorporates a battery cylinder and kickstand on the side of the device, shifting the center of gravity and opening up multiple usage modes: Hold, Tilt, and Stand. In hold mode, the weight of the device falls into your palm rather than your fingers, making it more comfortable for reading and browsing. Lay it down for Tilt mode and you have a perfect viewing angle for typing or gaming. Flick the kickstand and rest it upright in Stand mode to comfortably watch videos, listen to music, or video-chat.
Optional Wireless Keyboard
Turn your Yoga Tablet 10 into a productivity machine with the optional Accutype keyboard, a stylish Bluetooth accessory that also serves as a cover for your device.
Detailed Specification
Processor |
Yoga Tablet 8: MT8125 (WiFi)/8389 (3G in select countries, not US) Quad Core 1.2GHzYoga Tablet 10: MT8125(WiFi)/8389 (3G in select countries, not US) Quad Core 1.2GHz |
Operating System |
AndroidTM 4. 2 Jelly Bean |
Display/
|
8-inch or 10-inch HD display (1280×800) with multitouch & 178o wide viewing angle |
Memory |
RAM: 1GB LP-DDR2 memory |
Storage |
Internal Storage: 16GB/32GB eMMCExternal storage: 64 GB micro-SD card storage support |
Sound |
Dual front-facing speakers with Dolby® Digital Plus DS1Microphone with noise reduction |
Integrated Comms |
Micro USB, up to 32G micro SD card, 3.5 millimeter audio jack, micro SIM (3G in select countries, not US) |
Wireless |
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi , 3G (in select countries, not US): WCDMA (900/2100 MHz)*, GSM/EDGE (900/1800/1900 MHz)*, integrated Bluetooth® 4.0** |
Camera |
5MP rear camera, 1.6M HD front camera |
Battery*** |
Extended battery life with up to 18 hours on a single charge |
Weight**** |
Yoga Tablet 8: .88-.89 pounds (401-404 grams)Yoga Tablet 10: 1.33-1.34 pounds (605-610 grams) |
Dimensions |
Yoga Tablet 8: 8.39 x 5.67 x (.12 – .29) inches (213 x 144 x (3.0-7.3) millimeters)Yoga Tablet 10: 10.28 x 7.09 x (.12 – .32) inches (261 x 180 x (3.0-8.1) millimeters) |
* Phone call functionality only available in select countries: India, China, ASEAN Indonesia, Thailand
** Android 4.2 OS supports the PXP profile of Bluetooth 4.0
*** Actual battery life may vary based on many factors including screen brightness, active applications, features, power management settings, battery age and conditioning, and other customer preferences. Testing consisted of full battery discharge while performing each of the following tasks: two hours of video playback plus two hours of MP3 audio playback in Stand-by Mode plus two hours of Internet browsing using WiFi in Tilt Mode plus twelve hours of reading in Hold Mode.
**** Wi-Fi/3G weight allowance: ± 2g
Lenovo Unveils Its First Multimode Yoga Tablet [press release, Oct 29, 2013]
Multimode computing leader Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today debuted its first multimode Yoga Tablet at a livestream launch event with Ashton Kutcher, the company’s newest product engineer. Known for pioneering innovative multimode devices like the Yoga convertible laptop, Lenovo now brings people a new way to get the most out of their tablet experience.
The game-changing Yoga Tablet features three unique modes, giving consumers a better way to use a tablet. Withhold, tilt and stand modes, the tablet adapts to the way people use it instead of forcing people to adapt to the technology. Additionally the Yoga Tablet has an amazing up to 18 hours of battery life1 to truly fit users’ ultra mobile lifestyles.
Lenovo Yoga Tablet Product Tour [Lenovo YouTube channel, Oct 29, 2013]
Meet the Yoga Tablet, Lenovo’s multimode tablet. Enjoy a better tablet experience with three awesome modes: hold, stand and tilt modes and get an amazing up to 18 hours of battery life. Featured song is “Keep Together” by Hunter Hunted. Learn More:http://lnv.gy/yogatablet“Watching and discovering that people frequently use tablets in three main ways allowed us to break the mold on the current ‘sea of sameness’ designs, giving them a better way to read, browse, watch and interact with content,” said Liu Jun, senior vice president and president, Lenovo Business Group, Lenovo. “As consumers’ continue to demand innovative multimode designs we’re thrilled to have Ashton Kutcher on board with us to help further develop the immersive and complementary hardware and rich content experience.”
Yoga Tablet: Three Modes And Longer Battery Life Give Tablets A Better Way
One size does not fit all, especially when it comes to tablets. Lenovo designers and engineers identified three challenges tablet users face: fatigue when holding and using the tablet; no self-supporting mechanism when laid on a flat surface; and an inadequate viewing angle when set on a table. These scenarios inspired Lenovo to break the mold on the “sea of sameness” design and to create Yoga Tablet’s unique modes.
Lenovo Yoga Tablet: Better by Design [Lenovo YouTube channel, Oct 29, 2013]
Why did Lenovo design the Yoga Tablet with three modes, a unique hinge, and 18-hour battery life? Lenovo product managers, designers and engineers discuss the user research they conducted that directly contributed to the design of this innovative multimode tablet. Learn More: http://lnv.gy/yogatablet
With its exclusive cylindrical handle, hold mode is designed to fit an individual’s hand, so the Yoga Tablet is easier to hold and offers more control over the device whereas other tablets require two hands. Hold mode makes reading, checking social media and browsing the web easy and parallels how people hold magazines when reading.
To convert the Yoga Tablet into stand mode, simply rotate the side cylinder 90° so that the tablet stand deploys, allowing the tablet to stand by itself on a desk or table. Users can change the viewing angle to fit what’s comfortable for them from 110° to 135°. Stand mode makes it easy for users to comfortably watch movies, place video calls and interact with the ten-finger touchscreen without having to rely on add-on accessories.
Users can lay the Yoga Tablet down in tilt mode to type directly on the tablet, play games and just surf the Internet with a better viewing angle. To further enhance the rich content and multimode tablet experience, users can enable the tablet’s auto-detection software that automatically brings up frequently used apps in hold and stand modes.
The Yoga Tablet’s multimode design not only provides a better usability experience, it offers dramatically longer battery life of up to 18 hours1, which is significantly more than the amount of typical tablets. Its cylindrical handle packs in powerful, dual batteries and unlike most tablets, it uses batteries typically found in laptops. The Yoga Tablet can even charge other devices such as smartphones via its USB on-the-go2. The 10 inch and 8 inch models run on MT8125 for WiFi models and MT8389 Quad Core processors for 3G models with 16 or 32 GB capacity and feature Android 4.2. Also equipped with Dolby® audio, Yoga Tablet’s front-facing speakers create a powerful surround sound experience through the device speakers and with headphones.
Extremely mobile, both models are featherweights weighing in at 1.35 lbs for the 10-in model and 0.88 lbs for the 8-in model. They feature high definition 1280 x 800 displays, a 5 MP auto focus rear camera plus an additional front camera, a micro SD expansion slot, allowing up to 64 GB of total storage, WiFi and optional 3G in select countries and a micro USB connection and Dolby DS1 for rich audio. Lenovo offers an optional Bluetooth keyboard for the 10-in model that functions as a cover and even wakes up the tablet when it’s removed and puts the tablet to sleep when it’s attached. Users can also opt for a WD100 dongle in select countries to stream video content from the tablet wirelessly to a TV. Lenovo also offers a portfolio of services solutions for the Yoga Tablet including warranty extensions, upgrades and premium technical support.
Pricing and Availability3
MSRP is $249 and $299, for the 8-in and 10-in, respectively. Starting on Oct. 30, the 8-in model will be available exclusively at Best Buy stores and www.lenovo.com while the 10-in model will be available via major retailers including Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Fry’s, Newegg.com andwww.lenovo.com. The Lenovo Yoga 10 Bluetooth Keyboard Cover is $69 and will be available beginning Oct. 30 via major retailers and www.lenovo.com.
For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook. Also follow news about the Yoga Tablet at #betterway. The press kit is available at: http://news.lenovo.com/betterway.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$34 billion personal technology company – the largest PC maker worldwide and an emerging PC Plus leader – serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo, a global Fortune 500 company, has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
1Actual battery life may vary based on many factors including screen brightness, active applications, features, power management settings, battery age and conditioning, and other customer preferences. Testing consisted of full battery discharge while performing each of the following tasks: two hours of video playback plus two hours of MP3 audio playback in Stand-by Mode plus two hours of Internet browsing using WiFi in Tilt Mode plus twelve hours of reading in Hold Mode.
2Additional cable required to use this feature.
3Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.
LENOVO® IDEAPAD A10 LAPTOP
Want to enjoy apps on the go on an ultraportable Android notebook without busting your budget? The Lenovo A10 is an innovative, thin and light, dual-mode laptop that flips 300 degrees from laptop to stand mode, a perfect way to enjoy movies on the go or make the most of touchscreen applications.
Note: Pricing and availability information will come later. According to a Chinese source the starting price of IdeaPad A10 will be around 1,500 RMB, i.e. US$ 246. The official price of the 10-inch Yoga Tablet in China is 2,299 RMB, i.e. US$ 377. Considering that the price of the Yoga Tablet in U.S. is $299 this could mean an IdeaPad A10 starting price for the external markets as low as $199. In Germany the laptop is priced at €249, corresponding to which $249 is the more likely price.
Multimode Notebook — Switch Between Laptop and Stand Modes
When you’re relying heavily on the keyboard — writing emails or blogging, for example — keep your A10 in the classic laptop mode for maximum productivity. But when you’re focusing on touch applications, web chatting, or enjoying a film or video, flip the screen 300 degrees to enter stand mode. The A10’s unique design means it adapts to whatever you choose to Do.
Detailed Specification
Processor |
Rockchip RK3188 Cortex-A9 Quad Core 1.6GHz |
Operating system |
Android |
Bus architecture |
1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC2-8500) |
Graphic Chipset |
Integrated Graphics, ARM Mali-400 MP4 533 MHz |
Display/Resolution |
10.1″ HD (1366 x 768) with multitouch |
Standard memory |
DDR3L (Max Memory 1GB or 2GB) |
SSD |
eMMC 16GB, 32GB |
I/O ports |
Combo headphone jack, Combo build in Microphone jack, USB 2.0 × 2, Micro USB × 1, TF card (Micro-SD) |
Audio |
Combo audio jack × 1, Speaker × 2, Built-in microphone |
Video |
HDMI port × 1 |
Bluetooth |
only support BT&WIFI combo module |
Keyboard |
New Key Board |
Touch pad |
One piece touchpad |
Integrated camera |
0.3 mega pixels |
Battery |
2 cells/22.6Wh Polymer, supports up to nine hours of continuous video playback |
AC adapter |
5V Universal AC Adapter, 100-240V/50-60Hz, 10W with 5V DC output |
Weight |
less than 1kg |
Dimensions |
just 17.3mm at its thickest point |
Lenovo A10 Debuts as First Lenovo Laptop Powered by Android [press release, Oct 18, 2013]
Multimode computing leader Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced the Lenovo A10, an affordable, ultra-portable, dual-mode laptop and the company’s first to run on Android 4.2 OS. Weighing less than 1kg and measuring just 17.3mm at its thickest point, the Lenovo A10 is an ideal companion for users on the go, providing easy access to a wide range of apps on a unique, dual-mode platform, which enhances the user experience for entertainment and Web browsing as well as productivity.
Lenovo IdeaPad A10 – ARM TechCon ’13 [ARMflix YouTube channel, Oct 29, 2013]
Andy Frame, Senior Marketing Manager, Processor Division of ARM showcases the Lenovo IdeaPad A10, a dual mode Android notebook. It is based on quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 & quad-core Mali-400 GPUs.
“In laptop mode,” users can take advantage of the A10’s unique, Lenovo-customized user interface, which provides an app launcher, task bar and status bar for quick, intuitive access to the app library and desktop, as well as convenient multitasking and app switching. File manager software, also included with the Lenovo customized OS, makes it easy to locate and manage a library of documents, videos and music. In laptop mode, the device offers a full-size ergonomic, AccuType keyboard for safe, comfortable use.
With the A10’s 10.1-inch HD (1366 x 768) resolution screen flipped around 300 degrees in “stand mode,” the Lenovo A10 shines as a device optimized for touch-enabled apps and entertainment. The stable hinge and “fold-back” design keeps the device steady and prevents shaking and bouncing while using the 10-point multi-touch screen. Stereo speakers and an integrated 0.3M webcam help users stay connected with family and friends while enjoying an immersive “sight and sound” experience with multimedia apps, games and video.
The Lenovo A10 is powered by an [Rockchip] RK3188, quad-core Cortex-A9 processor, running at a maximum frequency of 1.6GHz, the highest frequency for all quad-core ARM-based CPUs currently available. The Cortex-A9 processor delivers solid performance for gaming and entertainment purposes, as well as enhances users’ ability to multitask and be productive. In addition, the A10’s battery supports up to nine hours of continuous video playback, ensuring that it is ready to perform, both on the road and at the desk.
“With the recent explosive growth in Android-based, smart connected devices, customers are relying more on Android apps for both work and play. Why should they be required to switch and duplicate to use their laptop? Lenovo’s A10 brings ultra-portability and dual-mode benefits to Android users at a reasonable price,” said Bai Peng, vice president and general manager, notebook business unit, Lenovo Business Group. “Thin and light, with multiple modes and user-inspired innovations for an outstanding user experience … the A10 is uniquely Lenovo.”
Pricing and availability varies per region. The A10 will not be available in North America. Please contact your local PR representative for details.
For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$34 billion personal technology company – the largest PC maker in the world and an emerging PC Plus leader – serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo, a global Fortune 500 company, has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
*Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.
Intel is ready to push big in smartphones next year with its winning multimode voice and data, multiband LTE modem technology capable of global LTE roaming via a single SKU
To play it safe the chip is still produced by TSMC (as with Infineon bought in 2011 by Intel) and could continue so in the foreseeable future.
- Intel® XMM™ 7160 LTE modem is now shipping in the 4G version of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 (10.1) – available in Asia and Europe.
- Intel® XMM™ 7160 provides multimode (2G/3G/4G LTE) voice and data with simultaneous support for 15 LTE bands for global LTE roaming.
- Intel announces PCIe M.2 LTE wireless data modules expected to ship in 2014 tablet and Ultrabook™ designs from leading manufacturers.
Intel Announces First Commercial Availability of 4G LTE Modem; Introduces Module for 4G Connected Tablets and Ultrabooks™ [press release, Oct 30, 2013]
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
IDF 2013: Intel CEO shows 22 nanometer-based, LTE smartphone [ITworld YouTube channel, Sept 11, 2013]
From: Intel’s CEO Discusses Q3 2013 Results – Earnings Call Transcript [Seeking Alpha, Oct 15, 2013]
In the Wireless business, I was pleased with our progress on LTE. Our multimode data modem is now available in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3. By the end of the year, we expect to have voice-over-LTE versions available for customers and our second generation of voice-over-LTE product with carrier aggregation will be available in the first half of next year.
Intel Webcast – Accelerating Wireless [intelmarkus YouTube channel, Oct 30, 2013]
See also: Intel® XMM™ 7160 Slim Modem [ARK | Your Source for Intel® Product Information, June 23, 2012]
Interview AnandTech with Aicha Evans — Scale & Integration- Addressing the Global Market for LTE [channelintel YouTube channel, Aug 14, 2013]
Interview AnandTech with Aicha Evans — Intel’s Approach to Wireless Innovation [channelintel YouTube channel, Aug 14, 2013]
Background information: Ask the Experts: Intel’s Aicha Evans Talks Wireless and Answers Your Questions [AnandTech, Aug 15, 2013]
Intel proves that it has what it takes when it comes to LTE [By Michael Thelander on Spirent blogs, March 19, 2013]
Signals Research Group (SRG) recently completed its eighth collaborative effort with Spirent Communications and its sixteenth “Chips and Salsa” report on cellular chipsets. In the most recent collaboration, we brought together LTE baseband chipsets from eight different suppliers (Altair Semiconductor, GCT, Intel, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Renesas Mobile, Samsung, and Sequans) to determine who has the best performing chipset, based on a series of 32 test scenarios that we derived from industry accepted 3GPP test specifications. SRG facilitated the benchmark study and was responsible for reviewing and analyzing the results. Spirent provided engineering support, and most importantly, the use of its 8100 test system to conduct the automated and highly repeatable tests on each chipset.
The most recent study marked our second benchmark study of LTE chipsets. Previous studies with Spirent have included HSPA+, HSDPA, UMTS call reliability and A-GNSS. To date, we are still recognized as the only independent provider of baseband chipset performance benchmark studies in the industry. And as a testament to our long-standing relationship, the companies that participated in the most recent round are already clamoring for the next round to take place. The companies that came out on top want to prove that they are not a one trick pony and the companies that came out toward the bottom want redemption. The few companies that were not ready to participate in the last study are also ready to enter the competition. There was a reason that we titled the report, “Sweet 16 and never been benchmarked” since some of these companies have been noticeably absent from prior studies due to the uncertain viability of their chipsets.
The results from the most recent round are interesting, to say the least. First, Spirent and SRG were able to bring together numerous pre-commercial and commercial chipsets. I imagine that most people were surprised that Intel actually had a working LTE chipset, let alone find out that it was the best performing chipset (more on this facet in a bit). Additionally, the list included pre-commercial solutions from Sequans, Renesas Mobile and NVIDIA. It would be virtually impossible for any organization to assemble such a line-up!
As I hinted in the title, Intel came out on top – beating the likes of perennial favorite and San Diego native, Qualcomm. To be fair, the results were incredibly close with only a few percentage points separating the two companies, but Intel’s results were better and close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. We could add another activity to the list, but this blog is intended to be family friendly. And if you are assuming that Qualcomm came in second place then you might want to rethink your assumption – nothing we wrote in this blog suggests that they did.
In hindsight, Intel’s results should not be all that surprising since it highly leverages the Infineon 3G platform and stellar RF performance that has since evolved to support LTE under the Intel moniker. Infineon, I note, was always a strong performer in our HSPA+/HSDPA chipset studies and it was in the original 3G iPhone until Qualcomm won the slot, in part due to its ability to support the requirements of a certain North American operator whose name rhymes with Horizon Direless. Intel may have lost the ARM war, but you can’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Separate from the overall results, I once again saw some pretty big performance differences among all of the chipsets, in particular for the more challenging fading scenarios. As a side note, in addition to the more basic static channel conditions, our 32 test scenarios included various simulated fading channels (EVA5, EPA5, ETU70, and ETU300), SNR values, and MIMO correlation factors to create a range of challenging, albeit realistic, scenarios. In many cases the variance between the top-performing and bottom-performing LTE baseband chipset exceeded twenty percentage points. Even for the top-performing LTE baseband chipsets, it was clearly evident in the results that some chipsets did better in some scenarios than in other scenarios.
Now that we’ve set the bar for how chipsets should perform, I expect to witness material improvements in our next round, which we have planned for later this year. Just to keep everyone honest, I plan to change the test scenarios for the next round. In the interim, Spirent and SRG are investigating some additional benchmark studies that we can do together. These studies could include the industry’s first independent over-the-air (OTA) testing of leading platforms in commercial devices (imagine Samsung S III versus Apple iPhone 5) as well as our second round of A-GNSS testing.
If you are interested in the published report, please feel free to visit our website at www.signalsresearch.com where you can download a report preview.
Click here for more information on testing LTE chipset and mobile device performance.
From Intel® Mobile Phone System Platform Products and Features
Intel® XMM™ 7160 platform
Multimode LTE & DC-HSPA
Based on Intel® X-GOLD™ 716 digital and analog baseband with integrated Power Management Unit and Intel® SMARTi™ transceiver for 2G, 3G, 4G, and LTE, the Intel® XMM™ 7160 platform is the most compact solution for LTE and DC-HSPA smartphones for worldwide deployment.
View the Intel® XMM™ 7160 platform brief > [June 23, 2012]
- LTE capabilities of 150Mbps and 50Mbps (Cat 4)
- HSDPA and HSUPA capabilities of 42Mbps and 11.5Mbps with EDGE multislot class 33
- Multi-band LTE, penta-band 3G, quad-band EDGE for worldwide connectivity
- Excellent power consumption and extremely small PCB footprint
- Hardware and software interfaces to applications processors or to a PC as a wireless modem
From the announcement in February 2012 via product launch in Q1’13 to first commercial delivery in October 2013:
From: Intel Expands Smartphone Portfolio: New Customers, Products, Software and Services [press release, Feb 27, 2012]
Addressing the growing handset opportunity in emerging markets where consumers look for more value at lower prices, Intel disclosed plans for the Intel® Atom™ processor Z2000.
The Z2000 is aimed squarely at the value smartphone market segment, which industry sources predict could reach up to 500 million units by 20151.The platform includes a 1.0 GHz Atom CPU offering great graphics and video performance, and the ability to access the Web and play Google Android* games. It also supports the Intel® XMM 6265 3G HSPA+ modem with Dual-SIM 2G/3G, offering flexibility on data/voice calling plans to save on costs. Intel will sample the Z2000 in mid-2012 with customer products scheduled by early 2013.
Building on these 32nm announcements, Otellini discussed how the Atom™ processor will outpace Moore’s Law and announced that Intel will ship 22nm SoCs for carrier certification next year, and is already in development on 14nm SoC technology.
In 2011, Intel shipped in more than 400 million cellular platforms. Building on this market segment position, Intel announced the XMM 7160, an advanced multimode LTE/3G/2G platform with support for 100Mbps downlink and 50Mbps uplink, and support for HSPA+ 42Mbps. Intel will sample the product in the second quarter with customer designs scheduled to launch by the end of 2012.
Intel also announced that it is sampling the XMM 6360 platform, a new slim modem 3G HSPA+ solution supporting 42Mbps downlink and 11.5Mbps uplink for small form factors.
From: Intel Accelerates Mobile Computing Push [press release, Feb 24, 2013]
Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE)
Intel’s strategy is to deliver a leading low-power, global modem solution that works across multiple bands, modes, regions and devices.
The Intel® XMM™ 7160 is one of the world’s smallest2 and lowest-power multimode-multiband LTE solutions (LTE / DC-HSPA+ / EDGE), supporting multiple devices including smartphones, tablets and Ultrabook™ systems. The 7160 global modem supports 15 LTE bands simultaneously, more than any other in-market solution. It also includes a highly configurable RF architecture running real time algorithms for envelope tracking and antenna tuning that enables cost-efficient multiband configurations, extended battery life, and global roaming in a single SKU.
“The 7160 is a well-timed and highly competitive 4G LTE solution that we expect will meet the growing needs of the emerging global 4G market,” [Hermann] Eul[, Intel vice president and co-general manager of the Mobile and Communications Group] said. “Independent analysts have shown our solution to be world class and I’m confident that our offerings will lead Intel into new multi-comm solutions. With LTE connections projected to double over the next 12 months to more than 120 million connections, we believe our solution will give developers and service providers a single competitive offering while delivering to consumers the best global 4G experience. Building on this, Intel will also accelerate the delivery of new advanced features to be timed with future advanced 4G network deployments.”
Intel is currently shipping its single mode 4G LTE data solution and will begin multimode shipments later in the first half of this year. The company is also optimizing its LTE solutions concurrently with its SoC roadmap to ensure the delivery of leading-edge low-power combined solutions to the marketplace.
From: Signals Ahead: Chips And Salsa XVI – Sweet 16 And Never Been Benchmarked [Feb 25, 2013]
Executive Summary
In December 2011 we published the industry’s first performance benchmark study of LTE baseband modem chipsets. In that study we tested five commercially-procured chipsets from four chipset suppliers. We tested two different Qualcomm chipsets. Fast forward fourteen months and we are finally out with the results from our most recent study in which three companies vie for top honors. Intel’s pre-commercial solution was the top-performing solution that we tested.
This report is our sixteenth Chips and Salsa report since 2004, with the overwhelming majority of these reports focused specifically on performance benchmarking. Over the years, we’ve benchmarked UMTS (call reliability) HSDPA, HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, A-GNSS and LTE chipsets, with the results always providing the industry with a fully independent and objective assessment of how the chipsets compare with each other for the given set of evaluation criteria. For the eighth time, we have collaborated with Spirent Communications to get access to their 8100 test system and engineering support in order to obtain highly objective results.
The significant advantage of conducting lab-based tests is that we can easily replicate and repeat each test scenario in an automated fashion, thus ensuring a common and consistent set of test scenarios for each device/chipset that we tested. And with the Spirent 8100 test system that we used for the tests, we know that we went with a test platform that is widely recognized and being used in several early LTE deployments. SRG takes full responsibility for the analysis and conclusions associated with this benchmarking exercise.
In the most recent round of chipset testing, we tested a seemingly staggering number of solutions – we tested solutions from eight different chipset suppliers (reference Table 1). We attempted to test a solution from HiSilicon, but through no fault of their own we ran into some difficulties and faced time constraints with MWC just around the corner. We reserve the right to publish their results in the near future and provide updated rankings. Many of these solutions were pre-commercial chipsets and/or the chipsets that came directly from the chipset suppliers. This approach ensured that the results that we are providing in this report are very forward looking and highly differentiated. It would be virtually impossible for any single organization to get access to all of these chipsets and replicate this study.
Worth noting, we personally invited all companies with LTE chipset aspirations to participate in this study, and given our history in doing these tests, companies recognize the importance of supporting our efforts. Needless to say, if we didn’t include a company’s LTE chipset in this study then they probably don’t have a solution that is ready to be benchmarked against their peers. It is one thing to issue a press release, demonstrate a working PHY Layer without any upper protocol layers, or show a chipset operating under ideal conditions. It is another situation all together to put your proverbial money where your mouth is and allow a third party to benchmark your solution and publish the results for all to read. Sweet 16 and never been benchmarked!
As previously alluded to in this report, we used throughput as the primary criteria for evaluating the chipsets. We recognize that device manufacturers and operators use other objective and subjective criteria to select their chipset partners. The criteria includes support for multiple RF bands and legacy technologies, power consumption, time to market, price, engineering support, and the inclusion of peripherals (e.g., application processor, connectivity solutions, etc.). However, no one can dispute the importance of throughput and the ability of the chipset to make the most efficient use of available network resources.
We subjected the chipsets to 32 different test scenarios that combined a mix of fading profiles (Static Channel, EPA5, EVA5, ETU70 and ETU300) and transmission modes (Transmit Diversity, Open Loop MIMO and Closed Loop MIMO). All of the chipsets that we tested performed quite well with the less challenging test scenarios but we observed a fairly large separation of results with the more challenging test scenarios. In many cases the performance difference was in excess of 20% between the top- and bottom-performing solutions.
Based on our highly objective evaluation criteria, Intel had the top-performing solution by a very slight margin. This result may surprise some readers, but we point out that the Infineon 3G solution was always a strong contender in our previous benchmark studies. That scenario is in stark contrast to its application processor which has continuously struggled to be competitive and to attract market share. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. All this and more in this issue of Signals Ahead.
From: Innovation, Reinvention on Intel® Architecture Fuel Wave of 2-in-1 Devices, New Mobile Computing Experiences [press release, Jun 3, 2013]
Accelerating Fast: Tablets, Smartphones and LTE
Intel’s 22nm low-power, high-performance Silvermont microarchitecture is enabling the company to accelerate and significantly enhance its tablet and smartphone offerings.
For tablets on shelves for holiday 2013, Intel’s next-generation, 22nm quad-core Atom SoC (“Bay Trail-T”) will deliver superior graphics and more than two times the CPU performance of the current generation. It will also enable sleek designs with 8 or more hours3 of battery life and weeks of standby, as well as support Android* and Windows 8.1*.
For the first time, [Executive Vice President Tom] Kilroy demonstrated Intel’s 4G LTE multimode solution in conjunction with the next-generation 22nm quad-core Atom SoC for tablets. The Intel® XMM 7160 is one of the world’s smallest4and lowest-power multimode-multiband LTE solutions and will support global LTE roaming in a single SKU.
With a number of phones with Intel silicon inside having shipped across more than 30 countries, Kilroy previewed what’s coming. He showed for the first time a smartphone reference design platform based on “Merrifield,” Intel’s next-generation 22nm Intel Atom SoC for smartphones that will deliver increased performance and battery life. The platform includes an integrated sensor hub for personalized services, as well as capabilities for data, device and privacy protection.
From: Intel Readies ‘Bay Trail’ for Holiday 2013 Tablets and 2-in-1 Devices [press release, Jun 4, 2013]
At an industry event in Taipei today, Hermann Eul, general manager of Intel’s Mobile and Communications Group, unveiled new details about the company’s forthcoming Intel® Atom™ processor-based SoC for tablets (“Bay Trail-T”) due in market for holiday this year.
Eul also spoke to recent momentum and announcements around the smartphone business and demonstrated the Intel® XMM 7160 multimode 4G LTE solution, now in final interoperability testing (IOT) with Tier 1 service providers across North America, Europe and Asia.
…
Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE)
Intel’s strategy is to deliver leading low-power, global modem solutions that work across multiple bands, regions and devices.Intel’s XMM 7160 is one of the world’s smallest and lowest-power multimode-multiband LTE solutions. The modem supports 15 LTE bands simultaneously, and also includes a highly configurable RF architecture running real-time algorithms for envelope tracking and antenna tuning that enables cost-efficient multiband configurations, extended battery life and global LTE roaming in a single SKU.
Eul demonstrated the solution by showcasing a Bay Trail-based tablet over an LTE network connection, and said that Intel will begin shipments of multimode data 4G LTE in the coming weeks following final IOT with Tier 1 service providers in North America, Europe and Asia.
…
Intel announced that the new Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 10.1-inch is powered by the Intel® Atom™ processor Z2560 (“Clover Trail+”). Additionally, the new Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 10.1-inch tablet will come equipped with Intel’s XMM 6262 3G modem solution or Intel’s XMM 7160 4G LTE solution.
From: New Intel CEO, President Outline Product Plans, Future of Computing Vision to ‘Mobilize’ Intel and Developers [press release, Sept 10, 2013]
In high-speed 4G wireless data communications, [Intel CEO Brian] Krzanich said Intel’s new LTE solution provides a compelling alternative for multimode, multiband 4G connectivity, removing a critical barrier to Intel’s progress in the smartphone market segment. Intel is now shipping a multimode chip, the Intel® XMM™ 7160 modem, which is one of the world’s smallest and lowest-power multimode-multiband solutions for global LTE roaming.
As an example of the accelerating development pace under Intel’s new management team, Krzanich said that the company’s next-generation LTE product, the Intel® XMM™ 7260 modem, is now under development. Expected to ship in 2014, the Intel XMM 7260 modem will deliver LTE-Advanced features, such as carrier aggregation, timed with future advanced 4G network deployments. Krzanich showed the carrier aggregation feature of the Intel XMM 7260 modem successfully doubling throughput speeds during his keynote presentation.
He also demonstrated a smartphone platform featuring both the Intel XMM 7160 LTE solution and Intel’s next-generation Intel® Atom™ SoC for 2014 smartphones and tablets codenamed “Merrifield.” Based on the Silvermont microarchitecture, “Merrifield” will deliver increased performance, power-efficiency and battery life over Intel’s current-generation offering.
Intel Announces First Commercial Availability of 4G LTE Modem; Introduces Module for 4G Connected Tablets and Ultrabooks™ [press release, Oct 30, 2013]
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- Intel® XMM™ 7160 LTE modem is now shipping in the 4G version of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 (10.1) – available in Asia and Europe.
- Intel® XMM™ 7160 provides multimode (2G/3G/4G LTE) voice and data with simultaneous support for 15 LTE bands for global LTE roaming.
- Intel announces PCIe M.2 LTE wireless data modules expected to ship in 2014 tablet and Ultrabook™ designs from leading manufacturers.
Intel Corporation today announced the commercial availability of its multimode, multiband 4G LTE solution. The Intel® XMM™ 7160 platform is featured in the LTE version of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 (10.1)*, now available in Asia and Europe.
Intel has also expanded its portfolio of 4G LTE connectivity solutions, introducing PCIe (PCI Express) M.2 modules for 4G connected tablets, Ultrabooks™ and 2 in 1 devices as well as an integrated radio frequency (RF) transceiver module, the Intel® SMARTi™ m4G. These new products make it simple, efficient and cost effective for device manufacturers to add high performance wireless connectivity to their product designs.
“As LTE networks expand at a rapid pace, 4G connectivity will be an expected ingredient in devices from phones to tablets as well as laptops,” said Hermann Eul, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Mobile and Communications Group. “Intel is providing customers an array of options for fast, reliable LTE connectivity while delivering a competitive choice and design flexibility for the mobile ecosystem.”
The commercial availability of the Intel XMM 7160 solution follows successful interoperability testing with major infrastructure vendors and tier-one operators across Asia, Europe and North America. The Intel XMM 7160 is one of the world’s smallest and lowest-power multimode, multiband LTE solutions for phones and tablets. The solution provides seamless connectivity across 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks,supports 15 LTE bands simultaneously and is voice-over LTE (VoLTE) capable. It features a highly configurable RF architecture, running real-time algorithms for envelope tracking and antenna tuning that enables cost-efficient multiband configurations, extended battery life and global LTE roaming in a single SKU.
Intel offers a broad portfolio of mobile platform solutions including SoCs, cost-optimized integrated circuits, reference designs and feature-rich software stacks supporting 2G, 3G and 4G LTE. Building on the Intel XMM 7160 platform, Intel today announced two multimode LTE solutions that pave the way for 4G connected devices in a variety of form factors.
New Intel PCIe M.2 LTE Modules and Intel SMARTi m4G Solution
Intel introduced Intel PCIe M.2 LTE modules, which are small, cost-effective, embedded modules in a standardized form factor for adding multimode (2G/3G/4G LTE) data connectivity across a variety of device types. The Intel M.2 module supports peak downlink speeds of 100Mbps over LTE. The modules support up to 15 LTE frequency bands for global roaming. In addition, those modules also feature support for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) based on the Intel CG1960 GNSS solution.
For manufacturers, the M.2 module makes it simple to add 4G connectivity to their designs while reducing integration and certification expenses, and improving time-to-market. The M.2 module is currently undergoing interoperability testing with tier-one global service providers. Intel M.2-based modules will soon be available from Huawei*, Sierra Wireless* and Telit*. These modules are expected to ship globally in 2014 tablet and Ultrabook designs from leading manufacturers.
In addition to the new M.2 LTE module, Intel also offers the new Intel SMARTi m4G – a highly integrated radio transceiver module. The Intel SMARTi m4G was developed in cooperation with Murata* and integrates the Intel SMARTi 4G transceiver with most front-end components in one LTCC (low temperature co-fired ceramic) package. When paired with the Intel® X-GOLD™ 716 baseband, manufacturers can meet the certification requirements of service providers with minimal design cycles in an easy-to-place, low-profile solution. With the Intel SMARTi m4G, the overall component count can be reduced by more than 40 components and the required PCB area is reduced up to 20 percent.
Intel plans to deliver next-generation LTE solutions, including the Intel® XMM™ 7260 in 2014. The Intel XMM 7260 adds LTE Advanced features, such as carrier aggregation, faster speeds and support for both TD-LTE and TD-SCDMA. More information about Intel’s mobile communications solutions is available at http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/wireless-products/mobile-communications.html.
See also: Intel Talks about Multimode LTE Modems – XMM7160 and Beyond [AnandTech, Aug 20, 2013] from which I will include here:
XMM7160 is still built on TSMC’s 40nm CMOS process, and its SMARTi 4G transceiver is built on 65nm at TSMC, but Intel still claims it has a 20–30% power advantage for modem and RF compared to a competitor smartphone platform, though it wouldn’t say which. … The transition of modem to Intel Architecture (away from two different DSP architectures) also remains to be seen, and I’m told it will be two to three years before Intel’s modems are ready to intercept the Intel fabrication roadmap and get built on Intel silicon instead of at TSMC. …
From: Mobile Wireless M2M Value Proposition Product Portfolio and Roadmap for M2M 2G-4G [Intel presentation, Nov 26, 2012]
Altera will use Intel Custom Foundry’s 14 nm Tri-Gate (FinFET) process services to produce its new high-end SoC FPGA with 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 IP
With Stratix® 10 high-end and Arria® 10 mid-range FPGA and SoC FPGA products Altera wants to surge ahead of Xilinx in critical infrastructure—such as wireless remote radio units (RRUs), 100G/400G wireline channel (line) cards and data centers—as well as military, medical and broadcast scenarios by relying on ARM Cortex-A53 IP (Intellectual Property) and Intel Custom Foundry’s 14 nm Tri-Gate (FinFET) process services for Stratix 10, and ARM Cortex-A9 IP and TSMC 20 nm 20SoC process for Arria 10 with OpenCL for FPGAs capability for both. It will also be possible to begin designs with the Arria 10 portfolio of 20 nm FPGA devices, and then take advantage of pin-for-pin design migration pathways from Arria 10 FPGA and SoC products to Stratix 10 FPGA and SoC products as they become available.
This was my conclusion when the news came out that Altera Announces Quad-Core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 for Stratix 10 SoCs [press release, Oct 29, 2013] and then I answered three questions for myself, followed by understanding a little bit more deeply two other issues as well:
- Why FPGAs? Why more FPGAs?
- Why SoC FPGAs?
- Why ARM with FPGA on the Intel Tri-Gate (FinFET) process, and why now?
- OpenCL for FPGAs
- Altera SoC FPGAs
For introduction here is Altera Stratix 10 SoC & ARM perspective – ARM TechCon ’13 [ARMflix YouTube channel, Oct 31, 2013]
To shed more light on the direction of breakthrough by Altera, here is additional introductory information from: Arria 10 Device Overview* [Altera, Sept 4, 2013]
*As there is no similar document yet for Stratix 10
Altera’s Arria® FPGAs and SoCs deliver optimal performance and power efficiency in the midrange. By using TSMC’s 20-nm process technology on a high-performance architecture, Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs deliver higher performance than previous-generation high-end FPGAs while simultaneously reducing power by offering a comprehensive set of power-saving technologies. Altera’s Arria 10 family is reinventing the midrange.
Altera’s Arria 10 SoCs offer a second generation SoC product that both demonstrates a long-term commitment to the SoC product line and extends Altera’s leadership in programmable devices that feature the ARM-based hard processor system (HPS).
Important innovations in Arria 10 devices include:
– Enhanced core architecture delivering 60% higher performance than the previous generation midrange (15% higher performance than previous fastest high-end FPGAs)
– Integrated transceivers with short reach rates up to 28.05 Gbps and backplane capability up to 17.4 Gbps
– Hard PCI Express Gen3 intellectual property (IP) blocks
– Hard memory controllers and PHY up to 2666 Mbps
– Variable precision digital signal processing (DSP) blocks
– Fractional synthesis PLLs
– Up to 40% lower power compared to prior midrange FPGAs and up to 60% lower power compared to prior generation high-end FPGAs due to a comprehensive set of advanced power-saving features
– 2nd generation ARM® Cortex™-A9 hard processor system (HPS) for SoC variants
– Integrated 10GBASE-KR/40GBASE-KR4 Forward Error Correction (FEC)Arria 10 devices are ideally suited for high performance, power-sensitive, midrange applications in such diverse markets as:
– Wireless—for channel and switch cards in remote radio heads and mobile backhaul
– Broadcast—for studio switches, servers and transport, videoconferencing, and pro audio/video
– Wireline—for 40G/100G muxponders and transponders, 100G line cards, bridging, and aggregation
– Compute and Storage—for flash cache, cloud computing servers, and server acceleration
– Medical—for diagnostic scanners and diagnostic imaging
– Military—for missile guidance and control, radar, electronic warfare, and secure communications…
Target Markets for Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs
Arria 10 devices meet the performance, power, and bandwidth requirements of next generation wireless infrastructure, broadcast, compute and storage, networking, and medical and military equipment.
By providing such a highly integrated device, Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs significantly reduce BOM cost, form factor, and power consumption. Arria 10 devices allow you to differentiate your product through customization by implementing your intellectual property in both hardware and software.
For these applications, Arria 10 devices integrate both logic functions and processor functions in a highly integrated single device. The integrated ARM-based SoCs provide all the functionality of traditional FPGAs, eliminate the need for a local processor, and increase system performance by taking advantage of the tightly coupled high bandwidth interface between the core fabric and the hard processor system.
For Wireless infrastructure particularly remote radio unit, the industry has standardized onARM-based ASSPs and SoCs for several generations. ARM is widely recognized as the industry leader in low power solutions. At 20 nm, the Dual ARM Cortex MPCore provides the best power efficiency of any GHz class of process. When combined with Altera’s industry leading programmable technology, this provides an ideal platform to address the performance, power, and form factor requirements of wireless remote radio unit and small cell base stations.
For Wireline communication equipment such as access, metro, core,and transmission equipment where the FPGA performs critical functions such as protocol bridging, packet framing, aggregation, and I/O expansion, SoCs now offer all this as well as integrated intelligent controland link management, sometimes referred to as Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM). OAM typically is software that executes when a link is established or fails during operation. The integrated ARM processor can also be used for statistics and error monitoring and minimize system downtime when a link is compromised or oversubscribed. Tight coupling of the processor and the data path (implemented in the core logic) saves time and results in significant savings in terms of operating expenses associated with system downtime and loss of quality of service.
For Compute and storage equipment, flash cache storage, the integrated ARM processor can be used to manage Flash sectors and improve overall life and reliability as well as offload the host processor and provide control for search and hardware acceleration functions for cloud storage equipment. The integrated ARM based HPS can configure the hard PCIe interfaces in PCIe root port configuration and also run link layers for SAS and SATA interfaces.
For Next generation Broadcast equipment, where “4K readiness” is the key technology driver, the integrated ARM processor subsystem eliminates the need for a local GHz class processor, which is commonly used for functions such as audio processing, video compression, video link management, and PCIe root port.
For Military applications, new security features such as Secure Boot, Encryption, and Authentication have been introduced for secure wireless and wireline communications, military radar, military intelligence equipment.
For Test and Medical applications, combining ARM HPS with support for high speed memory devices such as DDR4, and Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) as well as high speed transceivers and embedded controllers such as PCIe Gen3, Arria 10 SoCs are ideal for next generation test and medical equipment.
Then you can also read The Next-Node Battle Begins – Altera Announces “Generation 10” [EE Journal, June 11, 2013] from I will quote here the following:
For the past three nodes or so, we’ve seen a back-and-forth battle between Altera and Xilinx. Most people think that Altera got the upper hand in 40/45nm products with their Stratix IV family. Two years later, Xilinx struck back hard at 28nm with Virtex-7. Now, it’s time for the “next” generation, and Altera is apparently ready to get the party started. The company has just announced their upcoming “Generation 10” FPGA families – and it looks like this node is gonna be a doozy!
as well as the ARMing a New Generation – Altera Announces Processor Architecture for Gen X [EE Journal, Oct 29, 2013] from which it is wort to quote the following:
Altera is currently in a race with archrival Xilinx, whose first FinFET FPGAs will be riding in on TSMC’s 16nm FinFET process. Which horse is faster? Intel is widely believed to have superior process technology and has already been shipping 22nm FinFET-based devices. Those points go to Intel. TSMC, on the other hand, has vastly more experience as a merchant fab and has announced that they are working closely with Xilinx to accelerate their FinFET program, in a blitz whose marketing name is “FinFAST.”
At this point, therefore, it is unclear who will be shipping first, (and, except for bragging rights between the two companies, probably few people care.) It is likely that we will not see production devices from either company before 2015, so we are definitely in “future” mode here. It is also unclear how the performance attributes of the two companies’ offerings will stack up. Altera has shown more of their hand thus far, and their predictions are impressive – up to four million LUT-4 equivalent 1GHz programmable fabric, 56Gbps SerDes, better power efficiency, tons-o-RAM – and a high-powered processing subsystem in the SoC version. What’s the processing subsystem look like? That’s why we are gathered here today.
There was speculation that the architecture might be other-than-ARM since the manufacturer is none-other-than-Intel. As far as we know, Intel hasn’t historically been too keen on manufacturing competing processor architectures. However, two other, more important market forces are at work in this situation. First, Altera has made a huge commitment to the ARM architecture with their current-generation SoC FPGAs. Getting their customers committed to the ARM/FPGA architecture and then jumping ship and forcing them to migrate after only one generation would be a major inconvenience, and it would be a big black eye for Altera. It would have been very unlikely that Altera would have inked the Intel deal knowing that they couldn’t continue their ARM commitment.
Second, Intel is obviously trying to make a go at it in the merchant fab business. If the company had a hard-and-fast policy of never manufacturing a chip with an ARM architecture on board, they’d be severely limiting their market. While Intel has already been building FPGAs for both Tabula and Achronix, getting Altera in their stable is a whole ‘nuther deal. Putting aside petty concerns about processor architecture is a small price to pay for better street cred in the merchant fab business.
1. Why FPGAs? Why more FPGAs?
As one of the greatest strengths of the FPGA is its ability to perform highly pipelined and complex algorithmic computations on the data brought onchip Altera says that we can do better with explicit parallelism on FPGAs than on GPUs:
The spectrum of software-programmable devices is now evolving significantly. The emphasis is shifting from automatically extracting instruction-level parallelism at run time to explicitly identifying thread-level parallelism at coding time. Highly parallel multicore devices are beginning to emerge with a general trend of containing multiple simpler processors where more of the transistors are dedicated to computation rather than caching and extraction of parallelism. These devices range from multicore CPUs, which commonly have 2, 4, or 8 cores, to GPUs consisting of hundreds of simple cores optimized for data-parallel computation. To achieve high performance on these multicore devices, the programmer must explicitly code their applications in a parallel fashion. Each core must be assigned work in such a way that all cores can cooperate to execute a particular computation. This is also exactly what FPGA designers do to create their high-level system architectures.
(Source: Implementing FPGA Design with the OpenCL Standard
(v. 2.0 Altera whitepaper, November 2012])Field Programmable Gate Arrays
FPGAs are integrated circuits that can be configured repeatedly to perform an infinite number of functions. Low level operations such as bit masking, shifting, and addition are all configurable and can be assembled in any order. FPGAs achieve a high level of programmability by integrating combinations of lookup tables (LUTs), registers, on-chip memories, and arithmetic hardware (for example, digital signal processor (DSP) blocks) through a network of reconfigurable connections to implement computation pipelines. LUTs are responsible for implementing various logic functions. For example, reprogramming a LUT can change an operation from a bitwise AND logic function to a bit-wise XOR logic function.
The key benefit in using FPGAs for algorithm acceleration is that they support wide and heterogeneous pipelines. Each pipeline implemented in the FPGA fabric can be wide and unique. This characteristic is in contrast to many different types of processing units such as symmetric multiprocessors (SMPs), DSPs, and graphics processing units (GPUs). In these types of devices, parallelism is achieved by replicating the same generic computation hardware multiple times. In FPGAs, however, parallelism can be achieved by duplicating only the logic that will be exercised by your algorithm.
A processor implements an instruction set that limits the amount of work that can be performed each clock cycle. For example, most processors do not have a dedicated instruction that can execute the following C code:
E = ((((A + B) ^ C) & D) >> 2;
Without a dedicated instruction for this C code example, a CPU, DSP, or GPU must execute multiple instructions to perform the operation. You can configure an FPGA to perform a sequence of operations that implements the code above in a single clock cycle. An FPGA implementation connects specialized addition hardware with a LUT that performs the bit-wise XOR and AND operations. The device then leverages its programmable connections to perform a right shift by two bits without consuming any hardware resources. The result of this operation can be connected to subsequent operations to form complex pipelines. You may think of an FPGA as a hardware platform that can implement any instruction set that your software algorithm requires.
…
Altera SDK for OpenCL Pipeline Approach
The key difference between the pipeline generated by the Altera Offline Compiler (AOC) and a typical processor pipeline is that the FPGA pipeline is not limited to a statically defined set of pipeline stages or instruction set.
…
The custom pipeline structure provided by the AOC speeds up computation by allowing operations within a large number of threads to occur concurrently.
(Source: Altera SDK for OpenCL Optimization Guide
[for v. 13.0 SP1.0 by Altera, June 2013])
GPU and FPGA Design Methodology
GPUs are programmed using either Nvidia’s proprietary CUDA language, or an open standard OpenCL language. These languages are very similar in capability, with the biggest difference being that CUDA can only be used on Nvidia GPUs.
FPGAs are typically programmed using HDL languages Verilog or VHDL. Neither of these languages is well suited to supporting floating-point designs, although the latest versions do incorporate definition, though not necessarily synthesis, of floating-point numbers. For example, in System Verilog, a short real variable is analogue to an IEEE single (float), and real to an IEEE double.
OpenCL for FPGAs
OpenCL is familiar to GPU programmers. An OpenCL Compiler for FPGAs means that OpenCL code written for AMD or Nvidia GPUs can be compiled onto an FPGA. In addition, an OpenCL Compiler from Altera enables GPU programs to use FPGAs, without the necessity of developing the typical FPGA design skill set.
Using OpenCL with FPGAs offers several key advantages over GPUs. First, GPUs tend to be I/O limited. All input and output data must be passed by the host CPU through the PCI Express® (PCIe®) interface. The resulting delays can stall the GPU processing engines, resulting in lower performance
OpenCL Extensions for FPGAs
FPGAs are well known for their wide variety of high-bandwidth I/O capabilities. These capabilities allow data to stream in and out of the FPGA over Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), Serial RapidIO® (SRIO), or directly from analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs). Altera has defined a vendor-specific extension of the OpenCL standard to support streaming operations. …
FPGAs can also offer a much lower processing latency than a GPU, even independent of I/O bottlenecks. It is well known that GPUs must operate on many thousands of threads to perform efficiently, due to the extremely long latencies to and from memory and even between the many processing cores of the GPU. In effect, the GPU must operate many, many tasks to keep the processing cores from stalling as they await data, which results in very long latency for any given task.
The FPGA uses a “coarse-grained parallelism” architecture instead. It creates multiple optimized and parallel datapaths, each of which outputs one result per clock cycle. The number of instances of the datapath depends upon the FPGA resources, but is typically much less than the number of GPU cores. However, each datapath instance has a much higher throughput than a GPU core. The primary benefit of this approach is low latency, a critical performance advantage in many applications.
Another advantage of FPGAs is their much lower power consumption, resulting in dramatically lower GFLOPs/W. FPGA power measurements using development boards show 5-6 GFLOPs/W for algorithms such as Cholesky and QRD, and about 10 GFLOPs/W for simpler algorithms such as FFTs. GPU energy efficiency measurements are much hard to find, but using the GPU performance of 50 GFLOPs for Cholesky and a typical power consumption of 200 W, results in 0.25 GFLOPs/W, which is twenty times more power consumed per useful FLOPs.
(Source: Radar Processing: FPGAs or GPUs? (v. 2.0 Altera whitepaper, May 2013])
Altera also says that the need for ever-increasing bandwidth and flexibility drives the need for a breakthrough in capability:
The increased capabilities in smartphones and other portable devices are the reason for the dramatic leap in system performance that we will see in next-generation FPGAs. The explosion of mobility bandwidth requirements are putting a huge demand on the wireless, wired, and data center infrastructure capabilities. While the number of smartphones is growing at single digit percentage rates, the customers of these devices continue to drive more bandwidth with the ever-increasing smartphone capability. Much of this is due to the increased video content. In 2012, average smartphone data usage grew by 81 percent. Cisco expects mobile traffic to increase 66 percent per year through 2017 and two-thirds of all mobile traffic will be video content. At this time, mobile network speed is expected to increase by seven times and 4G networks to comprise 45 percent of all traffic (1) (see Figure 1).
A brief overview of three infrastructure applications below are examples of why hardware and software developers are looking to FPGAs to address their next-generation products bandwidth, performance, power, and cost goals.
■ Wireless remote radio units
■ 400G wireline channel cards
■ Data centersWireless Remote Radio Units
In the capital-intensive wireless infrastructure market, telecommunications operators desire to provide more bandwidth faster and cheaper. The faster these operators can do cost reductions, the more deployments they can do, the more area they can cover, and the faster they can serve customers—a huge advantage. The product strategy of these companies is to keep the datapath width the same and increase the clock frequency for as many generations as they can. Upcoming remote radio units will look for FPGAs to push close to 500 MHz of core performance for complex functions, such as implementing digital pre-distortion algorithms. This will preserve their investment in their radio architecture and allow them to cover a broader spectrum of radio frequency (RF) bandwidth. In doing so they look to have a better return on investment because less work needs to be done re-architecting a solution. Furthermore, their time-to-market advantage improves by getting these new products out faster. They must also lower their operating costs to drive cost per bit down because revenues per mobile subscriber grow at a far less rate than the data traffic per subscriber. Thus by not widening their datapath, and creating power efficient designs on smaller more power-efficient FPGAs, allows them to achieve this goal.
400G Channel Cards
Another driving force in improving FPGA performance is the need to upgrade the network communications infrastructure. Next-generation 400G versus existing 100G channel cards will dramatically push system capabilities. The bandwidth jump of four times in the next-generation systems is much greater than in previous iterations. Because the market for this is still new, companies cannot risk building ASICs or ASSPs to achieve this goal. Integration of multiple 56 gigabits per second (Gbps) and 28 Gbps transceiver solutions to accommodate this level of bandwidth is needed, but only a part of the solution. More and faster logic to accommodate this higher bandwidth is also required. However since the dimensions of the chassis do not change, the power envelope is limited. The network infrastructure cannot tolerate solutions where power increases at a linear rate with bandwidth capability. For packet processing and traffic management applications at 400G bandwidth at 600 million packets per second, scaling the data path width and frequency can relieve the data path processing function but cannot scale for control path processing such as scheduling. Therefore high performance in all aspects of device capability is required: processing, memory interfacing, IO interfaces, and others. FPGAs remain the most attractive solution, but companies will need investments in higher performance per watt architectures, transceivers, and process technology to address this large leap in capabilities and challenges.
Data Centers
All the data and video that are being pushed and downloaded from these new wireless deployments and transported through the new 400G packet processing infrastructure also needs to be stored and processed. Computations per watt and computations per dollar is a key metric in data centers. FPGA’s are increasingly used in the data center for data access, algorithm, and networking acceleration. Data center servers are bottlenecked getting access to data. The latest processors have more and more cores, but the bandwidth to external memory and data is not keeping pace with the increase in computing power. Many of these servers are running at average utilization rates and are well under peak processing power. These servers are good candidates for FPGA acceleration. Hardware acceleration through FPGAs becomes an attractive alternative to replacing these processors by focusing on the performance bottlenecks that software on processors cannot overcome.
Other applications are also looking to FPGAs to support their increased bandwidth requirements, such as video content providers moving to 4K video, cloud computing, and intelligence applications in defense. These applications face similar issues. (Source: Expect a Breakthrough Advantage in Next-Generation FPGAs (v. 1.0 Altera whitepaper, June 2013])
2. Why SoC FPGAs?
Altera’s Vision of Silicon Convergence: system solutions by merging coarse and fine grained programmable hardware [IEEE Computer Society Santa Clara Valley YouTube channel, recorded on Sept 10, 2012, published on June 10, 2013]
What Is a PLD?
- A programmable logic device (PLD) is a type of semiconductor
- Most semiconductors can be programmed only once to perform a specific function
- PLDs are reprogrammable—functions can be changed or enhanced during development or after manufacturing
Flexibility Makes PLDs Lower Risk and Faster to
Design Than Other Types of Semiconductors
3. Why ARM with FPGA on the Intel Tri-Gate (FinFET) process, and why now?
Altera Announces Quad-Core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 for Stratix 10 SoCs [press release, Oct 29, 2013]
Manufactured on Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate Process, Altera Stratix® 10 SoCs Will Deliver Industry’s Most Versatile Heterogeneous Computing Platform
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced that its Stratix 10 SoC devices, manufactured on Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate process, will incorporate a high-performance, quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex™-A53 processor system, complementing the device’s floating-point digital signal processing (DSP) blocks and high-performance FPGA fabric. Coupled with Altera’s advanced system-level design tools, including OpenCL, this versatile heterogeneous computing platform will offer exceptional adaptability, performance, power efficiency and design productivity for a broad range of applications, including data center computing acceleration, radar systems and communications infrastructure.
The ARM Cortex-A53 processor, the first 64-bit processor used on a SoC FPGA, is an ideal fit for use in Stratix 10 SoCs due to its performance, power efficiency, data throughput and advanced features. The Cortex-A53 is among the most power efficient of ARM’s application-class processors, and when delivered on the 14 nm Tri-Gate process will achieve more than six times more data throughput compared to today’s highest performing SoC FPGAs. The Cortex-A53 also delivers important features, such as virtualization support, 256TB memory reach and error correction code (ECC) on L1 and L2 caches. Furthermore, the Cortex-A53 core can run in 32-bit mode, which will run Cortex-A9 operating systems and code unmodified, allowing a smooth upgrade path from Altera’s 28 nm and 20 nm SoC FPGAs.
“ARM is pleased to see Altera adopting the lowest power 64-bit architecture as an ideal complement to DSP and FPGA processing elements to create a cutting-edge heterogeneous computing platform,” said Tom Cronk, executive vice president and general manager, Processor Division, ARM. “The Cortex-A53 processor delivers industry-leading power efficiency and outstanding performance levels, and it is supported by the ARM ecosystem and its innovative software community.”
Leveraging Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate process and an enhanced high-performance architecture, Altera Stratix 10 SoCs will have a programmable-logic performance level of more than 1GHz; two times the core performance of current high-end 28 nm FPGAs.
“High-end networking and communications infrastructure are rapidly migrating toward heterogeneous computing architectures to achieve maximum system performance and power efficiency,” said Linley Gwennap, principal analyst at The Linley Group, a leading embedded research firm. “What Altera is doing with its Stratix 10 SoC, both in terms of silicon convergence and high-level design tool support, puts the company at the forefront of delivering heterogeneous computing platforms and positions them well to capitalize on myriad opportunities.”
By standardizing on ARM processors across its three-generation SoC portfolio, Altera will offer software compatibility and a common ARM ecosystem of tools and operating system support. Embedded developers will be able to accelerate debug cycles with Altera’s SoC Embedded Design Suite (EDS) featuring the ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5™) Altera® Edition toolkit, the industry’s only FPGA-adaptive debug tool, as well as use Altera’s software development kit (SDK) for OpenCL to create heterogeneous implementations using the OpenCL high-level design language.
“With Stratix 10 SoCs, designers will have a versatile and powerful heterogeneous compute platform enabling them to innovate and get to market faster,” said Danny Biran, senior vice president, corporate strategy and marketing at Altera. “This will be very exciting for customers as converged silicon continues to be the best solution for complex, high-performance applications.”
About Altera
Altera® programmable solutions enable designers of electronic systems to rapidly and cost effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Altera offers FPGAs, SoCs, CPLDs, ASICs and complementary technologies, such as power management, to provide high-value solutions to customers worldwide. Follow Altera viaFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and RSS, andsubscribe to product update emails and newsletters. altera.com
Altera to Build Next-Generation, High-Performance FPGAs on Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate Technology [alteracorp YouTube channel, March 11, 2013]
From: Intel takes big step in chip foundry business [Reuters, Feb 25, 2013]
Altera Chief Executive John Daane told Reuters in a phone interview that Altera, which depends on communications infrastructure for about half of its business, is the only major programmable chipmaker that will have access to Intel’s plants.
“We are essentially getting access like an extra division of Intel. As soon as they’re making the technology available to their various groups to do design work, we’re getting the same,” he said.
Daane said Intel’s manufacturing technology will give Altera’s chips a several-year advantage against Xilinx, its main competitor in programmable chips. He said Altera would continue to make other chips with TSMC, its long-time foundry.
Altera to Build Next-Generation, High-Performance FPGAs on Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate Technology [press release, Feb 25, 2013]
Altera Corporation and Intel Corporation today announced that the companies have entered into an agreement for the future manufacture of Altera FPGAs on Intel’s 14 nm tri-gate transistor technology. These next-generation products, which target ultra high-performance systems for military, wireline communications, cloud networking, and compute and storage applications, will enable breakthrough levels of performance and power efficiencies not otherwise possible.
“Altera’s FPGAs using Intel 14 nm technology will enable customers to design with the most advanced, highest-performing FPGAs in the industry,” said John Daane, president, CEO and chairman of Altera. “In addition, Altera gains a tremendous competitive advantage at the high end in that we are the only major FPGA company with access to this technology.”
Altera’s next-generation products will now include 14 nm, in addition to previously announced 20 nm technologies, extending the company’s tailored product portfolio that meets myriad customer needs for performance, bandwidth and power efficiency across diverse end applications.
“We look forward to collaborating with Altera on manufacturing leading-edge FPGAs, leveraging Intel’s leadership in process technology,” said Brian Krzanich, chief operating officer, Intel. “Next-generation products from Altera require the highest performance and most power-efficient technology available, and Intel is well positioned to provide the most advanced offerings.”
Adding this world-class manufacturer to Altera’s strong foundation of leading-edge suppliers and partners furthers the company’s ability to deliver on the promise of silicon convergence; to integrate hardware and software programmability, microprocessors, digital signal processing, and ASIC capability into a single device; and deliver a more flexible and economical alternative to traditional ASICs and ASSPs.
Altera claims that only Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate Process offers a second generation of proven production technology:
Transistor Design Background
In 1947 the first transistor, a germanium ‘point-contact’ structure, was demonstrated at Bell Laboratories. Silicon was first used to produce bipolar transistors in 1954, but it was not until 1960 that the first silicon metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) was built. The earliest MOSFETs were 2D planar devices with current flowing along the surface of the silicon under the gate. The basic structure of MOSFET devices has remained substantially unchanged for over 50 years.
Since the prediction or proclamation of Moore’s Law in 1965, many additional enhancements and improvements have been made to the manufacture and optimization of MOSFET technology in order to enshrine Moore’s Law in the vocabulary and product planning cycles of the semiconductor industry. In the last 10 years, the continued improvement in MOSFET performance and power has been achieved by breakthroughs in strained silicon, and High-K metal gate technology.
It was not until the publication of a paper by Digh Hisamoto and a team of other researchers at Hitachi Central Research Laboratory in 1991 that the potential for 3-D, or ‘wraparound’ gate transistor technology, to enhance MOSFET performance and eliminate short channel effects, was recognized. This paper called the proposed 3-D structure ‘depleted lean-channel transistor’, or DELTA(1). In 1997 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded a contract to a research group at the University of California, Berkeley, to develop a deep sub-micron transistor based on the DELTA concept. One of the earliest publications resulting from this research in 1999 dubbed the device a ‘FinFET’ for the fin-like structure at the center of the transistor geometry(2).
Important Turning Point in Transistor Technology
Continued optimization and manufacturability studies on 3-D transistor structures continued at research and development organizations in leading semiconductor companies. Some of the process and patent development has been published and publicly shared, and some development remained in corporate labs.
The research investment interests of the semiconductor industry are driven by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), which is coordinated and published by a consortium of manufacturers, suppliers, and research institutes. The ITRS defines transistor technology requirements to achieve continued improvement in performance, power, and density along with options which should be explored to achieve the goals. The ITRS and its public documentation captures conclusions and recommendations regarding manufacturing capabilities like strained silicon and High-K metal gate, and now the use of 3-D transistor technologies to maintain the benefits of Moore’s law. Based on documents produced by the ITRS and an examination of academic papers and patent filings, research into 3-D transistor technologies has grown dramatically in the last decade.
Adoption and Research
Two important pronouncements occurred in the last two years that have propelled the 3-D transistor structure into the industry spotlight, and into a permanent place in the technology story of MOSFET transistors.
The first announcement was by Intel Corporation on 4th of May, 2011, about their Tri-Gate transistor design that had been selected for the design and manufacture of their 22 nm semiconductor products. This was preceded by a decade of research and development taking advantage of the work of Hisamoto and others in FinFET development and optimization. It represented both a solid acknowledgment of the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of the the Tri-Gate transistor structure in semiconductor production, as well as a continued declaration of leadership by Intel in semiconductor technology.
The second announcement was the publication of ITRS technology roadmaps, with contributions from many other semiconductor manufacturing companies that identified 3-D transistor technology as the primary enabler of all incremental semiconductor improvement beyond the 20 nm or 22 nm design node.
…
Intel’s Leadership in Transistor Technologies
In several public forums, including the Intel Developer’s Forums and investor’s conferences, Intel identifies where they have demonstrated technology leadership in a variety of advances that have sustained the pace of Moore’s Law. As shown in Figure 3, Intel has identified the number of years of production leadership they have achieved in bringing strained silicon and High-K metal gate technology to full production. In the case of 3-D Tri-Gate transistor technology, Intel estimates a lead of up to four years based on their production rollout of Tri-Gate technology at 22 nm in 2011.
According to former Intel CEO, Paul Otellini in their 16 April 2013 Earnings Call(8):
“In the first quarter [of 2013], we shipped our 100 millionth 22 nanometer [Tri-Gate] processor, using our revolutionary 3-D transistor technology, while the rest of the industry works to ship its first unit.”
Another leadership advantage that will be held by Intel in their rollout of 14 nm technology can be traced to their very public ‘Tick-Tock’ strategy in process and microarchitecture introduction. A ‘tick’ cycle of product introduction relies on the implementation of microarchitecture changes in their CPU products, followed by a ‘tock’ cycle of semiconductor process manufacturing geometry shrink. Intel is firmly committed to a full process shrink in their move from 22 nm to 14 nm; comparable semiconductor technology processes in development at other manufacturers have been less clear whether their process roadmaps include the benefits of a process shrink.
(Source: The Breakthrough Advantage for FPGAs with Tri-Gate Technology (v. 1.0 Altera whitepaper, June 2013])
Altera says beginning with 14 nm Tri-Gate technology, the highest performance FPGAs will simply be the ones built on demonstrably superior transistor technology:
Accessing the Benefits of Tri-Gate Technology Through Altera FPGAs
Taking advantage of the significant benefits of Intel’s Tri-Gate technology is only possible for users of Altera® high-density and high-performance FPGAs on the 14 nm technology process. This is the result of an exclusive manufacturing partnership between the two companies referenced in the introduction to this paper.
The substantial advantages of Tri-Gate silicon technologies will allow Altera to deliver previously unimaginable performance in FPGA and SoC products. This will include a historic doubling of core performance as compared to other high-end FPGAs, bringing FPGAs to the Gigahertz performance level. Overall active and static power numbers will reduce by 70 percent through a combination of process, architecture, and software advances.
Although the details and schedules of the 14 nm manufacturing process are not yet publicly available from Intel Corporation, Altera users can begin designs today that take advantage of the significant performance and power efficiency benefits of Tri-Gate technology in FPGAs. This is possible by beginning designs with the Arria® 10 portfolio of 20 nm FPGA devices. Users can then take advantage of pin-for-pin design migration pathways from Arria 10 FPGA and SoC products to Stratix® 10 FPGA and SoC products as they become available.
This allows you, as an FPGA user and system architect, to begin designing products that can accommodate both the Arria 10 and Stratix 10 product families with minimal changes, modifications, and reengineering. This will allow you to get products to market with the highest performance and lowest power FPGAs that leverage 20 nm process technology and power reduction techniques, then advance these same products to the previously unimaginable performance and power efficiency of Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate manufacturing process.
(Source: The Breakthrough Advantage for FPGAs with Tri-Gate Technology (v. 1.0 Altera whitepaper, June 2013])
Altera Announces Breakthrough Advantages with Generation 10 [press release, June 10, 2013]
- Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs leverage Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate process and an enhanced architecture to deliver core performance two times higher than current high-end FPGAs, while enabling up to 70 percent power savings.
- Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs reinvent the midrange by simultaneously surpassing high-end FPGAs in performance while delivering 40 percent lower power than today’s midrange devices.
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today introduced its Generation 10 FPGAs and SoCs, offering system developers breakthrough levels of performance and power efficiencies. Generation 10 devices are optimized based on process technology and architecture to deliver the industry’s highest performance and highest levels of system integration at the lowest power. Initial Generation 10 families include Arria® 10 and Stratix® 10 FPGAs and SoCs with embedded processors. Generation 10 devices leverage the most advanced process technologies in the industry, including Intel’s 14-nm Tri-Gate process and TSMC’s 20 nm process. Early access customers are currently using the Quartus® II software for Generation 10 product development.
“Our Generation 10 products will strengthen the penetration of programmable logic into new markets and applications and further accelerate the implementation of FPGAs into systems traditionally served by ASSPs and ASICs,” said Patrick Dorsey, senior director of product marketing at Altera. “The optimizations we made in our Generation 10 devices allow customers to develop highly customized solutions that dramatically increase system performance and system integration while lowering operating expenses.”
Delivering the Unimaginable with Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs
Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs are designed to enable the most advanced, highest performance applications in the communications, military, broadcast and compute and storage markets, while slashing system power. Leveraging Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate process and an enhanced high-performance architecture, Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs have an operating frequency over one gigahertz, 2X the core performance of current high-end 28 nm FPGAs. For high-performance systems that have the most strict power budgets, Stratix 10 devices allow customers to achieve up to a 70 percent reduction in power consumption at performance levels equivalent to the previous generation.
Altera is announcing the technology details of Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs today as part of the Generation 10 portfolio introduction, and will disclose more details on the product at a later date. Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs provide the industry’s highest performance and highest levels of system integration, including:
- More than four million logic elements (LEs) on a single die
- 56-Gbps transceivers
- More than 10-TeraFLOPs single-precision digital signal processing
- A third-generation ultra-high-performance processor system
- Multi-die 3D solutions capable of integrating SRAM, DRAM and ASICs
Reinventing the Midrange with Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs
Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs are the first device families to roll out as part of the Generation 10 portfolio. The device family sets a new bar for midrange programmable devices, delivering both the performance and capabilities of current high-end FPGAs at the lowest midrange power. Leveraging an enhanced architecture that is optimized for TSMC’s 20 nm process, Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs deliver higher performance at up to 40 percent lower power compared to the previous device family.
Arria 10 devices offer more features and capabilities than today’s current high-end FPGAs, at 15 percent higher performance. Reflecting the trend toward silicon convergence, Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs offer the highest degree of system integration available in midrange devices, including 1.15 million LEs, integrated hard intellectual property and a second-generation processor system that features a 1.5 GHz dual-core ARM® Cortex™-A9 processor. Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs also provide 4X greater bandwidth compared to the current generation, including 28-Gbps transceivers, and 3X higher system performance, including 2666 Mbps DDR4 support and up to 15-Gbps Hybrid Memory Cube support.
Development Suite Delivers Breakthrough Productivity to Generation 10
Generation 10 devices are supported by Altera’s Quartus II development software and tools for higher level design flows that include a software development kit for OpenCL™, a SoC Embedded Design Suite and DSP Builder tool. This leading-edge development tool suite enables design teams to maximize productivity while making it easier for new design teams to adopt Generation 10 FPGAs and SoCs in their next-generation systems. The Quartus II software will continue to deliver the industry’s fastest compile times by providing Generation 10 FPGAs and SoCs an 8X improvement in compile times versus the previous generation. The substantial reduction in compile times is the result of leading-edge software algorithms that take advantage of modern multi-core computing technologies.
Availability
Early access customers are currently using the Quartus II software for development of Arria 10 FPGA and SoCs. Initial samples of Arria 10 devices will be available in early 2014. Altera will have 14 nm Stratix 10 FPGA test chips in 2013 and Quartus II software support for Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs in 2014. For more information, visit www.altera.com/gen10, or contact your local Altera sales representative.
Altera and TSMC Continue Long-Term Partnership [press release, Feb 25, 2013]
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) and TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today reaffirmed their commitment to a long-term partnership to set new milestones in FPGA innovation. TSMC is Altera’s primary foundry, supplying a wide array of processes to fulfill Altera’s product portfolio, including soon-to-be released 20 nm products, existing mainstream products, and long-lived legacy components.
Altera is fully engaged with TSMC on developing products based on next-generation process technologies. Altera’s next major product family leverages TSMC’s cost-effective 20SoC process for optimal power and performance and will include several significant product and technology innovations for both companies. Altera will continue to leverage future TSMC process technologies in its tailored product portfolio for performance, bandwidth, and power efficiency needs across diverse end applications.
“Over the course of our 20-year collaboration, Altera and TSMC have achieved many industry milestones that have greatly benefitted both companies,” said John Daane, president, CEO and chairman of Altera. “TSMC remains an important part of our future product development. We look forward to continuing our close partnership to jointly develop technologies for next-generation products.”
Morris Chang, TSMC’s chairman and CEO added,”The history of collaboration between Altera and TSMC has exemplified the way fabless and foundry have nurtured each other to become a powerful force in the semiconductor industry. TSMC would not be where it is today without customers like Altera, and I firmly believe this partnership will continue to flourish.”
Altera Demonstrates Industry’s First 32-Gbps Transceiver with Leading-Edge 20 nm Device [press release, April 8, 2013]
Demonstration Highlights Latest Success in Altera’s 20 nm FPGA Early Access Program
San Jose, Calif., April 8, 2013– Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced the company achieved another significant milestone in transceiver technology by demonstrating the industry’s first programmable device with 32-Gbps transceiver capabilities. The demonstration uses a 20 nm device based on TSMC’s 20SoC process technology. This achievement validates the performance capabilities of 20 nm silicon and is a positive indicator to the more than 500 customers in Altera’s early access program who are looking to use next-generation Altera devices in the development of performance demanding, bandwidth-centric applications. A demonstration video showing the industry’s first operational 20 nm transceiver technology operating at 32 Gbps is available for viewing on Altera’s website at www.altera.com/32gbps-20nm.
Demonstrating 32-Gbps transceiver data rates provides Altera insight into how high-performance transceiver designs behave on TSMC’s 20SoC process. The transceiver technology Altera is demonstrating today will be integrated into its 20 nm FPGA products, fabricated on TSMC’s 20SoC process. These devices enable customers to design next-generation serial links with the lowest power consumption, fastest timing closure and the highest quality signal integrity. Altera has a proven track record in integrating leading-edge transceiver technology into its devices. Altera is the only company today shipping production 28 nm FPGAs with monolithically integrated low-power transceivers operating at 28 Gbps. Being the first FPGA vendor to reach the 32-Gbps milestone in 20 nm silicon further extends Altera’s leadership in transceiver technology.
The demonstration video on Altera’s web site shows 20 nm transceivers operating at 32 Gbps with just over nine picoseconds of total jitter and extremely low random jitter of 240 femtoseconds. The results show good margin to key industry specifications requited for next-generation 100G systems.
“Today’s news represents a significant milestone for the industry and for the transceiver development team at Altera,” said Vince Hu, vice president of product and corporate marketing at Altera. “These 20 nm devices contain the key IP components that will be included in our next-generation FPGAs and validating them now provides us confidence we will deliver to the market 20 nm FPGAs on schedule.”
Altera’s next-generation transceiver innovations enable system developers to support the rapidly increasing amount of data that is being transmitted through the world’s networks. The transceivers in Altera’s next-generation devices will drive more bandwidth with lower power per channel versus the previous nodes and will support increasing port density by interfacing directly to 100G CPF2 optical modules.
Altera and Micron Lead Industry with FPGA and Hybrid Memory Cube Interoperability [joint press release, Sept 4, 2013]
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) and Micron Technology, Inc.(NASDAQ: MU) (“Micron”) today announced they have jointly demonstrated successful interoperability between Altera Stratix® V FPGAs and Micron’s Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC). This technology achievement enables system designers to evaluate today the benefits of HMC with FPGAs and SoCs for next-generation communications and high-performance computing designs. The demonstration provides an early proof point that production support of HMC will be delivered with Altera’s Generation 10 portfolio, in alignment with market timing, and includes both Stratix 10 and Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs.
HMC has been recognized by industry leaders and influencers as the long-awaited answer to address the limitations imposed by conventional memory technology, and provides ultra-high system performance with significantly lower power-per-bit. HMC delivers up to 15 times the bandwidth of a DDR3 module and uses 70 percent less energy and 90 percent less space than existing technologies. HMC’s abstracted memory allows designers to devote more time leveraging HMC’s revolutionary features and performance and less time navigating the multitude of memory parameters required to implement basic functions. It also manages error correction, resiliency, refresh, and other parameters exacerbated by memory process variation. Micron expects to begin sampling HMC later this year with volume production ramping in 2014.
“As one of the founding developers of the HMC Consortium, Altera’s support for and involvement with HMC has been invaluable,” said Brian Shirley, vice president of DRAM solutions for Micron Technology. “The combination of Altera FPGAs with Micron’s HMC solution will help customers leverage the technology’s performance and efficiency in a wide range of next generation networking and computing applications.”
Altera’s 28 nm Stratix V FPGAs are an ideal demonstration of HMC technology since they are the highest performance FPGAs in the industry with a two speed-grade advantage over the nearest competitor. This performance enables the FPGA to leverage the full bandwidth, efficiency and power benefits of HMC by using a full 16 transceiver HMC link.
“By demonstrating Stratix V and HMC working together now, we are enabling our customers to leverage their current development with Stratix V FPGAs and prepare for production deployment in Altera’s Generation 10 devices, knowing they will have proven HMC support,” said Danny Biran, senior vice president of marketing and corporate strategy at Altera. “The partnership between Altera and Micron to deliver this capability puts our customers at the forefront of innovation.”
Altera’s Generation 10 Devices Deliver Performance
Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs are the first device families in the Generation 10 portfolio and will be the first devices to support HMC technology in volume production. Leveraging an enhanced architecture optimized for TSMC’s 20 nm process, Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs will use HMC to extend the benefits by providing both 15 percent higher core performance than today’s highest performance Stratix V FPGAs and up to 40 percent lower power compared to the lowest power Arria V midrange FPGAs. Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs will offer up to 96 transceiver channels, enabling customers to take full advantage of the bandwidth that HMC has to offer.
Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs will enable the most advanced, highest performance applications across communications, military, broadcast and compute and storage markets. These high-performance applications often require the highest memory bandwidth, which drives the need for an HMC-ready architecture. Leveraging Intel’s 14 nm Tri-Gate process and an enhanced high-performance architecture that integrates with HMC technology, Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs will enable system solutions with an operating frequency over one gigahertz, and two times the core performance of current high-end 28 nm FPGAs. Stratix 10 devices will also allow customers to achieve up to a 70 percent reduction in power consumption at performance levels equivalent to the previous generation.
4. OpenCL for FPGAs
Altera SDK for OpenCL is First in Industry to Achieve Khronos Conformance for FPGAs [press release, Oct 16, 2013]
Altera Passes OpenCL Conformance with High-Performance Stratix V FPGA and Demonstrates SDK for OpenCL on ARM-based Cyclone V SoCs
San Jose, Calif., October 16, 2013—Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced its SDK for OpenCL is conformant to the OpenCL 1.0 standard and is now included on the Khronos Group list of OpenCL conformant products. Altera is the only company to offer an FPGA-optimized OpenCL solution, allowing software developers to harness the massively parallel architecture of an FPGA for system acceleration. Altera will demonstrate its OpenCL solutions at the 2013 Linley Processor Conference, being held October 16-17 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Achieving conformance allows Altera to provide a validated cross-platform programming environment that can be used to dramatically accelerate algorithms at significantly lower power versus alternative computer hardware architectures. To become conformant, Altera successfully completed more than 8500 conformance tests using its SDK for OpenCL, targeting a high-performance Stratix® V FPGA. The tests involved continuously running a Stratix V FPGA accelerator card in a server farm resulting in zero errors.
“Our continued investment in OpenCL is enabling Altera to drive the industry toward using FPGAs for acceleration of computationally-intensive applications,” said Alex Grbic, director of software, IP and DSP marketing at Altera. “Our SDK for OpenCL is used by some of the world’s leading developers of high-performance computing systems. These developers require Khronos group OpenCL conformance and Altera is the only FPGA vendor to achieve it, proving the readiness of our solution.”
Software developers can easily take advantage of the high-performance, low-power that FPGAs offer. Altera’s SDK for OpenCL provides an industry-standard open source programming interface and Altera’s Preferred Board Partner Program for OpenCL provides off-the-shelf FPGA boards that are optimized for Altera devices. A list of preferred board partners, as well as a variety of design examples that demonstrate the advantages of using FPGAs in high-performance systems, can be found at www.altera.com/opencl.
OpenCL Ray Tracer Demonstration Targeting Single-chip SoCs
In addition to support for its high-performance Stratix V FPGAs, Altera developed its SDK for OpenCL to support its low-power, low-cost Cyclone® V SoCs, which integrates an ARM® Cortex®-A9 processor into a 28 nm FPGA. Altera recently used its SDK for OpenCL to develop and demonstrate a complete heterogeneous system using a Cyclone V SoC. The demonstration shows how a ray tracing algorithm used to render 3D graphics can be accelerated using the Altera SDK for OpenCL and a Cyclone V SoC – achieving a speed up of 40X in comparison to running the same algorithm purely on a discrete ARM processor system. For software developers unfamiliar with hardware design languages, no hardware expertise is required to implement the OpenCL kernels.
Altera SDK for OpenCL at Linley Processor Conference
Altera will demonstrate its OpenCL solutions at the 2013 Linley Tech Processor Conference, being held October 16-17 in Santa Clara, Calif. Altera’s participation includes a presentation titled “Implementing Deep Packet Inspection Using OpenCL Channels” that will show how to express a DPI application using OpenCL with Altera FPGAs. Altera will also demonstrate its SDK for OpenCL solutions to attendees.
Pricing and Availability
The Altera SDK for OpenCL is currently available for download on Altera’s website or through the purchase of an Altera Preferred Partner OpenCL board. The annual software subscription for the SDK for OpenCL is $995. For additional information please visit the OpenCL section on Altera’s website.
LEAP 2013 : Developing High-Performance Low-Power Solutions using FPGAs and OpenCL by Craig Davis — Altera Corporation [LEAPconf YouTube channel, recorded on May 21, 2013, published on Sept 12, 2013]
From presentation slides (PDF) I will copy here the following ones:
Programming Models
FPGA programming model: RTL
Involves state machines, datapaths, arbitration, buffering, and others
Processor programming model: C/C++
Typically sequential, involves subroutines and functions
Need a programming model that represents a heterogeneous system (CPU + FPGA)
A processor with hardware accelerators
A configurable multicore device
The goal
An ideal single hardware and software design environment
More information: Implementing FPGA Design with the OpenCL Standard (v. 2.0 Altera whitepaper, November 2012]
Unified Heterogeneous Programmability of OpenCL [alteracorp YouTube channel, Nov 5, 2012]
Altera Opens the World of FPGAs to Software Programmers with Broad Availability of SDK and Off-the-Shelf Boards for OpenCL [press release, May 6, 2013]
Altera SDK for OpenCL Combined with an Ecosystem of Development Boards Delivers Power-efficient, High-performance Solution for Heterogeneous Computing
Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced the broad availability of its SDK for OpenCL™ and supported third-party production boards. Availability of the SDK for OpenCL enables software programmers to access the high-performance capabilities of programmable logic devices. Also part of today’s news, Altera announced a Preferred Board Partner Program, allowing third-party board vendors to work closely with Altera to design optimized production boards based on Altera’s programmable devices. The availability of supported third-party boards through the Preferred Board Partner Program and an SDK for OpenCL enables software programmers to easily target high-performance FPGAs using a high-level language.
Altera’s SDK for OpenCL allows software programmers to take their OpenCL code and easily exploit the massively parallel architecture of an FPGA. Software programmers targeting FPGAs achieve higher performance at significantly lower power compared to alternative hardware architectures.
“Because FPGAs enable parallel processing, they are critical for specialized server workloads that demand real-time performance. We are pleased that our clients are now able to take full advantage of this technology on Power Systems using Altera’s SDK for OpenCL,” said Robert L. Swann, vice president, IBM Power Systems. “With this standards-based approach, our clients can leverage a vibrant ecosystem of commercial and research contributions to accelerate emerging compute intensive workloads.”
The SDK for OpenCL is designed to increase system performance in highly data-parallel computing applications featured in financial, military, broadcast, medical and a variety of other markets. Altera’s OpenCL solutions are supported by a robust ecosystem consisting of board partners, design partners, software tools and university collaboration. Altera and its partners provide the tools, hardware, libraries, reference designs and design resources necessary for developers to implement their OpenCL designs into FPGAs and reduce time-to-market.
The Altera Preferred Board Partner Program for OpenCL ensures third-party production boards are optimized for current Altera device architectures. Initial preferred board partners included in the program are BittWare, Nallatech and PLDA, with additional board partners to be added in the future.
“For years, Altera and BittWare have partnered to deliver timely high-end signal processing board-level solutions that significantly reduce technology risk for our mutual customers,” said Darren Taylor, senior vice president of sales and marketing at BittWare. “Leveraging the latest hardware technology from Altera, which now includes an SDK for OpenCL, we are able to dramatically reduce the complexity for applications in the computing, financial and military markets.”
“An OpenCL implementation provides an ideal fit for Nallatech’s hardware-accelerated computing solutions,” said Allan Cantle, president and founder of Nallatech. “We simplify the deployment of FPGAs in heterogeneous platforms via direct purchase of our cards or pre-integrated in leading vendors’ high density servers and blades. Customers developing high-performance computing applications using Altera’s SDK for OpenCL will benefit from a dramatic increase in performance per watt, per dollar over traditional computing architectures.”
“PLDA has a successful track record of supporting Altera’s customers with their high-performance applications,” said Stephane Hauradou, vice president and CTO of PLDA. “The SDK for OpenCL will open up a significantly broader group of software developers who can now fully leverage Altera’s leading-edge solutions.”
Pricing and Availability
The Altera SDK for OpenCL is currently available for download on Altera’s website. The annual software subscription for the SDK for OpenCL is $995 for a node-locked PC license. For additional information about the Altera Preferred Board Partner Program for OpenCL and its partner members, or to see a list of all supported boards and links to purchase, visit the OpenCL section on Altera’s website.
Altera Announces Industry’s First FPGA Support for OpenCL – Eases the Adoption of FPGAs for Accelerating Heterogeneous Systems [press release, Nov 5, 2012]
Software Development Kit for OpenCL Enables Developers to Take Advantage of the Performance and Power-efficiencies of FPGAs
Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR) today announced the FPGA industry’s first Software Development Kit (SDK) for OpenCL™ (Open Computing Language) which combines the massively parallel architecture of an FPGA with the OpenCL parallel programming model. The SDK allows system developers and programmers familiar with C to quickly and easily develop high-performance, power-efficient FPGA-based applications in a high-level language. The Altera SDK for OpenCL enables FPGAs to work in concert with the host processor to accelerate parallel computation, at a fraction of the power compared to hardware alternatives. Altera will demonstrate the performance and productivity benefits of OpenCL for FPGAs at SuperComputing 2012 in booth #430.
“The industry’s approach for boosting system performance has evolved over time from increasing frequency in single-core CPUs, to using multi-core CPUs, to using parallel processor arrays,” said Vince Hu, vice president of product and corporate marketing at Altera. “This evolution leads us to today’s modern FPGAs, which are fine-grained, massively parallel digital logic arrays architected to execute computations in parallel. Our SDK for OpenCL enables customers to easily adopt FPGAs and leverage the performance and power benefits the devices provide.”
Altera SDK for OpenCL Design Flow
OpenCL is an open, royalty-free standard for cross-platform, parallel programming of hardware accelerators, including CPUs, GPGPUs and FPGAs. The Altera SDK for OpenCL offers a unified, high-level design flow for hardware and software development that automates the time-consuming tasks required in typical hardware-design language (HDL) flows. The OpenCL tool flow automatically converts OpenCL kernel functions into custom FPGA hardware accelerators, adds interface IPs, builds interconnect logic and generates the FPGA programming file. The SDK includes libraries that link to OpenCL API calls within a host program running on the CPU. By automatically handling these steps, designers are able to focus their development efforts on defining and iterating their algorithms rather than designing hardware.
The portability of the OpenCL code enables users to migrate their designs to different FPGAs or SoC FPGAs as their application requirements evolve. With SoC FPGAs, the CPU host is embedded into the FPGA, providing a single-chip solution that delivers significantly higher bandwidth and lower latency between the CPU host and the FPGA compared to using two discrete devices.
Using FPGAs to Extract Maximum Parallelism in Heterogeneous Platforms
The Altera SDK for OpenCL enables programmers to leverage the massively parallel, fine-grained architectures featured in FPGAs to accelerate parallel computation. Unlike CPUs and GPGPUs, where parallel threads are executed across an array of cores, FPGAs allow kernel functions to be transformed into dedicated, deeply pipelined hardware circuits that are multithreaded using the concept of pipeline parallelism. Each of these pipelines can be replicated many times to provide even more parallelism by allowing multiple threads to execute in parallel. The result is an FPGA-based solution that can deliver >5X performance/Watt compared to alternative hardware implementations.
Altera is working with several board partners to deliver COTS board solutions to customers. Currently, boards from BittWare and Nallatech are designed to support Altera OpenCL. Additional third-party boards will be supported with future releases of the SDK.
Altera has performed a variety of benchmarks that show the productivity savings and the performance and power efficiency gained by using an OpenCL framework for FPGA development. Based on early benchmarks and working with customers in a variety of markets, the SDK shaved months off one customer’s development time for their video processing application and boosted performance by 9X versus a CPU in another customer’s financial application.
Availability
The Altera SDK for OpenCL is production ready and is available to customers through an early access program. To discover the high performance, power-efficient acceleration that OpenCL provides with FPGAs, contact a local Altera sales representative. For additional information regarding OpenCL and the benefits of targeting FPGA through an OpenCL implementation, visithttp://www.altera.com/products/software/opencl/opencl-index.html.
OpenCL for Altera FPGAs: Accelerating Performance and Design Productivity [Altera, Nov 5, 2012]
Combining the Open Computing Language (OpenCL™) programming model with Altera’s massively parallel FPGA architecture provides a powerful solution for system acceleration. The Altera® SDK for OpenCL* provides a design environment for you to easily implement OpenCL applications on FPGAs.
Benefits of OpenCL on FPGAs
Software Developer
As a software developer, how can you benefit from OpenCL on FPGAs?
As the “power wall” continues to prevent higher frequencies to be achieved in processors, multi-core processors have become the norm. This has opened the door for parallel processing techniques and thus FPGAs, which are inherently parallel, to start playing a bigger role in the embedded systems world.
The approaches to finding parallelism can be a different way of thinking for some software programmers, where FPGA designers tend to naturally think this way. You can take the scatter-gather approach for data parallelism, sending input data to the appropriate parallel resources and combining the results later, or the divide and conquer method for task parallelism, where you decompose the problem into sub problems and run them on the appropriate resources.
Using OpenCL, you continue to develop your code in the familiar C programming language but target certain functions as OpenCL kernels using the additional OpenCL constructs. Then these kernels can be sent to the available system resources, such as an FPGA, without having to learn the low level Hardware Description Language (HDL) coding practices of FPGA designers.
- HDL coding is the equivalent to coding in assembly to software developers. OpenCL keeps you in a higher level coding language that you are already familiar with, C, with some new OpenCL construct.
- Profile your code and determine the performance intensive inner loop functions that make sense to hardware accelerate as kernels in an FPGA.
- It’s about performance per watt. You’re balancing high performance with a power-efficient solution in an FPGA.
- With the FPGAs fine-grain parallelism architecture, the Altera SDK for OpenCL generates only the logic you need to deliver with as low as 1/5 of the power of other hardware alternatives.
- Kernels can target FPGAs, CPUs, GPUs, and DSPs seamlessly to produce a truly heterogamous system.
FPGA Developer
As an Embedded or DSP Designer, how can you benefit from OpenCL on FPGAs?
- Achieve significantly faster time to market compared to the traditional FPGA design flow.
- Describe your algorithms using the OpenCL C (based on ANSI C) parallel programming language instead of the traditional low-level HDL.
- Perform design exploration quickly by staying at a higher level of design abstraction.
- Obsolescence-proof your designs as you can retarget your OpenCL C code to current and future FPGAs.
- Obsolescence-proof your designs as you can retarget your OpenCL C code to current and future FPGAs.
- Generate an FPGA implementation of your OpenCL C code in a single step, bypassing the manual timing closure efforts and implementation of communication interfaces between the FPGA, host, and external memories.
The growing need for higher performance and faster time to market through parallel programming in software is seen in many markets, including the Computer & Storage, Military, Medical, and Broadcast markets.
Next Steps
- Buy a board from one of our preferred partners
- Download the Altera SDK for OpenCL
- Take an OpenCL training course
- Register for updates on Altera’s OpenCL solution for FPGAs
White Papers
- Implementing FPGA Design with the OpenCL Standard (PDF)
- Fractal Video Compression in OpenCL: An Evaluation of CPUs, GPUs, and FPGAs as Acceleration Platforms (PDF)
- Using OpenCL to Evaluate the Efficiency of CPUs, GPUs, and FPGAs for Information Filtering (PDF)
- 40Gbit AES Encryption Using OpenCL and FPGAs (PDF)
Computer and Storage [Altera, Nov 5, 2012]
Computer and storage technology is evolving rapidly. Today, cloud computing is enabling the consolidation of traditional IT functions with entirely new capabilities. For example, many large-scale data centers are now providing traditional IT services along with new data analytics services.
Hence, these large-scale data centers require highly efficient server and storage systems. Traditional CPU technology limits performance, as the use of frequency scaling as a way to increase performance has ended. The end of frequency scaling has caused a shift to multicore processing. However, multicore processing has diminishing returns in terms of increasing true application performance due to limits in I/O and memory bandwidth.
Altera® FPGAs can be used to accelerate the performance of large-scale data systems. Altera FPGAs enable higher speed data processing by providing customized high-bandwidth, low-latency connections to network and storage systems. In addition, Altera FPGAs provide compression, data filtering, and algorithmic acceleration.
With the Altera SDK for OpenCLTM, you can now rapidly develop acceleration solutions for computer and storage systems. The Altera SDK for OpenCL enables even software developers to easily design with FPGAs by allowing them to utilize a high-level programming language for developing acceleration functions.
OpenCL and the OpenCL logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. used by permission by Khronos.
OpenCL for Military [Altera, Oct 10, 2013]
Radar backend processing is a compute-intensive operation using various algorithms such as a FIR filter, which utilize custom pipeline parallelism. Increased performance is achieved by off loading from the host processor onto an FPGA.
Custom processors can be created using the OpenCL™ toolflow that are more efficient than multicore CPUs or GPUs both in computational capability and power requirements.
Figure 1: Radar Back-End Processing Alternatives Using OpenCL
For more information regarding Altera’s OpenCL for Military, please contact us at mil@altera.com.
Medical: Hardware Acceleration with OpenCL [Altera, Feb 16, 2013]
Ultrasound, X-ray, CT, and PET applications all require intensive back-end compute operations for algorithms such as fast Fourier transform (FFT) using custom pipeline parallelism. Increased algorithm performance is achieved by off loading from the host processor onto an FPGA.
Custom processors created using the OpenCL™ toolflow are more efficient than multicore CPUs or GPUs, both in computational capability and power requirements.
Related Links
OpenCL for Altera FPGAs web page
Broadcast: Advanced Systems Development Kit [Altera, Oct 25, 2012]
The Advanced Systems Development Kit is a platform that can pack multi-channel 4K video ingest, processing, and streaming into a server-ready board. It features industry-leading PCIe gen3x16 interface, plus over 1 million FPGA Logic Elements to handle the toughest video processing algorithms, matched by over 1500Gbps of external memory bandwidth – enough to tackle 4 channels of 4K UHDTV video streams. This platform provides an order of magnitude improvement in existing development kit hardware capabilities; in addition to innovations in the soft content and business model that come together to significantly accelerate end-product deployment.
Figure 1: Altera’s Advanced Systems Development Kit
Typical development kits are intended for lab-use only, because they lack the on-board resources to develop the entire end product. It is common for engineers to design their own board and software from scratch – until now. The Advanced Systems Development Kit breaks through all those barriers and significantly shortens your design cycle in many ways, including:
- A complete OmniTek BSP (board support package) for video applications, with firmware, and Windows and Linux drivers
- An evaluation design featuring OmniTek’s PCI Express DMA engine that efficiently streams multiple channels of videos between I/O and host memory
- A flexible front-panel FMC I/O expansion connector, allowing for connectivity to popular standards such as SFP+, fiber, QSFP, gigabit Ethernet, etc.
- Dual Stratix V FPGAs to integrate functions such as multi-channel format conversions, video codecs, ingest/playout connectivity, etc.
- Over 1500Gbps of external memory bandwidth – enough to handle multiple 4k channels
- PCIe gen3x16 to handle even the most demanding video streaming and acceleration
- PCIe form-factor compliant for use in both custom-built chassis and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers
- Licensable full manufacturing rights to the board design, which enables you to easily make cost-optimizations and derivatives for rapid deployment of your products.
The Advanced Systems Development Kit resolves common broadcast challenges related to:
- Increased channel density
- 4K and beyond-HD resolutions
- High frame rate applications
- The fine balance between future-proofing and cost-efficiency
A rich partner ecosystem significantly accelerates and simplifies system-level advanced development. For example, Embrionix’s emSFP modules convert SDI to a number of physical layer standards, allowing you to rapidly release products and still future-proof the hardware with a simple upgrade of the emSFP. This provides a new level of flexibility for manufacturers. The combination of capabilities and physical design positions this platform perfectly for the convergence of broadcast and IT technologies.
Figure 2: Embrionix’s embedded SFP modules for high-density video connectivity
Altera’s OpenCL Toolflow
In addition to accelerating hardware designs, the Advanced Systems Development Kit will also support Altera’s unique OpenCL™ toolflow to elevate software productivity. OpenCL enables viable software implementations of complex video algorithms, and dramatically lowers the cost of the end product. Examples of broadcast applications include:
- Acquisition: Real-time debayering of raw camera data, scaling for multiviewers, etc.
- Post-production: Color grading, motion estimation, special effects rendering, etc.
- Distribution: 3D/temporal noise reduction, H.264 compression, etc.
- Consumption: JPEG2000 decoding for 4K digital cinema playout, block artifact reduction filters, etc.
The OpenCL toolflow leverages parallel processing on the underlying hardware, and achieves an order of magnitude performance improvement compared to sequential CPU processing. Furthermore, running OpenCL on the Advanced Systems Development Kit gives you several unique advantages including:
- The best performance per watt consumed, so you enjoy OpenCL’s benefits without power and heat issues from GPUs
- The ability to assimilate, manipulate, and transport multichannel video on a single board
- The highest level of integration to achieve maximum channel density for your end product
OpenCL and the OpenCL logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. used by permission by Khronos.
Related Links
EEVblog #496 – What Is An FPGA? [EEVblog YouTube channel, July 19, 2013]
5. Altera SoC FPGAs
It goes back to Altera SoC FPGAs – ARM TechCon 2011 [ARMflix YouTube channel, Oct 25, 2011]
with current state as Altera showcases Soc devices at Embedded world [embeddednewstv YouTube channel, Oct 21, 2013]
Generation 10 FPGAs and SoCs [Altera, May 16, 2013]
Altera’s Generation 10 FPGAs and SoCs optimize process technology and architecture to deliver the industry’s highest performance and highest levels of system integration at the lowest power. Initial Generation 10 families include Stratix® 10 and Arria® 10 FPGAs and SoCs with embedded processors.
Read the White paper: Expect a Breakthrough Advantage in Next-Generation FPGAs (PDF) [June 2013]
Read the White paper: Meeting the Performance and Power Imperative of the Zettabyte Era with Generation 10 (PDF) [June 2013]
Watch the video: Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs — Reinventing the Midrange [June 2013]
Read the White paper: The Breakthrough Advantage for FPGAs with Tri-Gate Technology (PDF) [June 2013]
Generation 10 FPGAs and SoCs are supported by a leading-edge suite of development tools delivering:
- 8x improvements in compile times
- Higher level design flows that support hardware and software designers
Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs [Altera, June 10, 2013]
Stratix® 10 FPGAs and SoCs offer breakthrough advantages in bandwidth and system integration, including the next-generation hard processor system (HPS), to deliver the industry’s highest performance and most power- efficient FPGAs and SoCs. Stratix 10 devices are manufactured on the revolutionary Intel 14 nm 3D Tri-Gate transistor technology, which delivers breakthrough levels of performance and power efficiencies that were previously unimaginable. When coupled with 64 bit quad-core ARM® CortexTM-A53 processors and advanced heterogeneous development and debug tools such as the Altera® SDK for OpenCLTM and SoC Embedded Design Suite (EDS), Stratix 10 devices offer the industry’s most versatile heterogeneous computing platform.
White paper: The Breakthrough Advantage for FPGAs with Tri-Gate Technology [June 2013]
Industry’s First Gigahertz FPGAs and SoCs
- New ultra-high performance FPGA architecture
- 2x the core performance of prior generation high-end FPGAs
- >10 TFLOPs of single-precision floating-point DSP performance
- >4x processor data throughput of prior-generation SoCs
Break the Bandwidth Barrier with Unimaginable High-Speed Interface Rates
- 4x serial transceiver bandwidth from previous generation FPGAs for high port count designs
- 28 Gbps backplane capability for versatile data switching applications
- 56 Gbps chip-to-chip/module capability for leading edge interface standards
- Over 2.5 Tbps bandwidth for serial memory with support for Hybrid Memory Cube
- Over 1.3 Tbps bandwidth for parallel memory interfaces with support for DDR4 at 3200 Mbps
Lower Capital Expenditures (CapEx)
- Largest monolithic FPGA device with >4M logic elements offer an unprecedented level of integration capability
- Heterogeneous multi-die 3D solutions including SRAM, DRAM, and ASICs
- Next-generation HPS
Lower Operating Expenses (OpEX)
- Leveraging Intel’s leadership in process technology, Stratix 10 FPGAs offer the most power-efficient technologies
- 70% lower power than prior generation high-end FPGAs and SoCs
- 100 GFlops/Watt of single-pecision floating point efficiency
- Integrated host processor for operation, administration, and maintenance minimizes system down time
Versatile Heterogeneous Computing for Performance and Power-Efficient SoC Design
- 64 bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor optimized for ultra-high performance per watt
- Heterogeneous C-based modeling and hardware design with Altera SDK for OpenCL
- Heterogeneous debug, profiling, and whole chip visualization with Altera SoC EDS featuring ARM Development Suite™ (DS-5™) Altera Edition Toolkit
Reduce Time-to-Market
- Fastest compile times in the industry
- C-based design entry using the Altera SDK for OpenCL, offering a design environment that is easy to implement on FPGAs
- Start developing with Arria 10 devices and then migrate to footprint-compatible Stratix 10 devices
- Complementary Enpirion PowerSoCs will offer customers higher performance, lower system power, higher reliability, smaller footprint, and faster time-to-market to power Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs
Altera to Build Next-Generation, High-Performance FPGAs on Intel’s 14nm Tri-Gate Technology
Table 1. Stratix 10 Family Variants
Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoC family is ideal to meet your high-performance, high-bandwidth, and low power requirements in the communication infrastructure, cloud computing and data centers, high-performance computing, military, broadcast, test and measurement, and other applications.
Related Links
- White paper: The Breakthrough Advantage for FPGAs with Tri-Gate Technology (PDF) [June 2013]
- White paper: Expect a Breakthrough Advantage in Next Generation FPGAs (PDF) [June 2013]
- White paper: Meeting the Power and Performance Imperative of the Zettabyte Era with Generation 10 (PDF) [June 2013]
- Press Release: Altera Announces Breakthrough Advantage with Generation 10 FPGAs and SoCs [June 2013]
- Generation 10 Portfolio
Arria 10 SoC [Altera, June 10, 2013]
Arria 10 SoCs: Reinventing the Midrange
The 20 nm Arria® 10 ARM-based SoCs deliver optimal performance, power efficiency, small form factor, and low cost for midrange applications. Arria 10 SoCs, based on TSMC’s 20 nm process technology, combine a dual-core ARM® Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ hard processor system (HPS) with industry-leading programmable logic technology. Arria 10 SoCs offer a processor with a rich feature set of embedded peripherals, variable-precision digital signal processing (DSP) blocks, embedded high-speed transceivers, hard memory controllers, and protocol IP controllers – all in a single highly integrated package.
Arria 10 SoCs: Across-the Board Improvements
Arria 10 SoCs combine architectural innovations with TSMC’s 20 nm process technology to deliver improvements in performance and power reduction:
- 87% higher processor performance with up to 1.5 GHz CPU operation per core
- 60% higher performance versus the previous generation, over 500 MHz-capable core performance (15% higher performance than previous SoC)
- 4X more transceiver bandwidth versus the previous generation (2X more bandwidth versus previous high-end FPGAs)
- 4X higher system performance (2666 Mbps DDR4, Hybrid Memory Cube support)
- More than 3300 18×19 multipliers implemented on variable-precision DSP
- 40% lower power with process technology improvement and innovative techniques for power reduction
Table 1. Arria SoC Feature Comparison
Note: See full list of memory devices supported
Designed for Productivity
Design productivity is one of the driving philosophies of the Arria 10 SoC architecture. Arria 10 SoC offer full software compatibility with previous generation SoCs, a broad ecosystem of ARM software and tools, and the enhanced FPGA and DSP hardware design flow.
- Extensive ecosystem of ARM for software development
- Altera SoC Embedded Design Suite featuring the ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5™) Altera Edition Toolkit
- Board support packages for popular operating system including Linux, Wind River’s VxWorks, Micro-C OS II, and more
- Full software compatibility between 28 nm Cyclone V and Arria V SoCs and Arria 10 SoCs
- Quartus® II FPGA Design Suite featuring:
- High-level automated design flow with OpenCL™ compiler from Altera
- Model-based DSP hardware design with Altera DSP Builder
Target Markets
Arria 10 SoCs have been designed to meet the performance, power, and cost requirements for applications such as:
- Wireless infrastructure equipment including remote radio unit and mobile backhaul
- Compute and storage equipment including flash cache, cloud computing, and acceleration
- Broadcast studio and distribution equipment including professional A/V and video conferencing
- Military guidance, control and intelligence equipment
- Wireline 100G line cards, bridges and aggregation, 40G GPON
- Test and measurement equipment
- Diagnostic medical imaging equipment
Related Links
- Arria 10 Advance Information Brief (PDF)
- White paper: Meeting the Performance and Power Imperative of the Zettabyte Era with Generation 10 (PDF) [June 2013]
- White paper: Expect Breakthrough Capabilities in Next Generation FPGAs (PDF) [June 2013]
- Video: Arria 10 FPGAs and SoCs – Reinventing the Midrange [June 2013]
- SoC overview [June 2013]