Freescale Semiconductor and Linux development partner MontaVista have announced dates and locations for five Freescale Technology Forum (FTF) events in 2008. The series begins with a June event in Orlando, where technical sessions are scheduled for three as-yet unannounced embedded chips: the i.MX35, i.MX37, and the MPC8536.

The technical listings revealed no details about the first two chips, except that the i.MX35 is listed under the automotive track whereas the i.MX37 is listed under consumer electronics. Both appear to be upgrades of Freescale's popular ARM11-based i.MX31 mobile device system-on-chip (SoC). AgfaPhoto's AF5080W digital photoframe (pictured at right) is one of many embedded Linux devices based on the i.MX31.

The third new processor, the MPC8536, is listed under networking and is called a “highly integrated PowerQUICC III with advanced power management.” Freescale sells a number of MPC853x and MPC854x PowerQUICC III SoCs aimed at networking, communications, and industrial control applications.

MontaVista sponsors global forums

Linux tools and operating system firm Montavista, which has been an FTF sponsor since the program's inception, has signed on as the first global platinum sponsor for the event, it said. Last fall, the two companies partnered on a multi-country road show, in which they demonstrated their combined products.

The five FTF events are as follows:

• FTF Americas — June 16-19 in Orlando
• FTF Japan — Sept. 10 in Tokyo
• FTF EMEA — Oct. 7-8 in Paris
• FTF China — Nov. 5-6 in Beijing
• FTF India — Nov. 13-14 in Bangalore

The program will kick off in Orlando, Florida, at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Conference Centers on June 16th. Technical sessions are organized into automotive, consumer, enabling technologies, industrial, mobile communications, and networking tracks. The following lists a sample each of the dozens of sessions covered under each category:

• Automotive — Introducing the i.MX35 multimedia applications processor
• Consumer — Introduction to the i.MX37 multimedia applications processor
• Enabling Technologies — 8578, the new dimension in multicore debugging
• Industrial — Freescale's new digital signal controllers and microcontrollers for motor control
• Mobile Communications — MXC300-30 3G mobile platform overview
• Networking — Introduction to the new MPC8536, highly integrated PowerQUICC III with advanced power management

Freescale's FTF program has drawn nearly 20,000 attendees worldwide since its inception in 2005, says the Austin, Texas-based company.

Stated Larry Macfarlane, VP of marketing and CMO of MontaVista, “The Freescale Technology Forum gives MontaVista multiple opportunities to show embedded developers how to get the most out of open source when using Freescale solutions.”

Availability

Registration, which begins March 17th for Orlando, as well as more information, is available here.

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.