Alexander Wolfe, editor of EE Times, reports . . .

“Secretive Transmeta Corp. took the wraps off its long-anticipated Crusoe microprocessor on Wednesday (Jan. 19), describing two CPUs with clock speeds ranging between 333 MHz and 700 MHz. The new chips, the TM5400 and the TM3120, translate Intel Corp.'s X86 instructions into native code for improved performance, and they dynamically adjust their… clocks to fit the application.”

“The TM3120 is targeted at the cost-sensitive Internet appliance market and will run between 333 and 400 MHz. The TM5400 targets mobile computers and will run between 500 and 700 MHz, Transmeta officials said. The TM3120 is now in production at an IBM Corp. fabrication facility, and the TM5400 is expected to ramp in the middle of the year, Transmeta officials said.”

* Read full EE Times Story *

Mark Hachman, in Electronic Buyers' News, adds . . .

“. . . As expected, the chips will be used for a new class of Internet access terminals and mobile PCs. Both of Transmeta's chips, the TM5400 and TM3120, dynamically adjust clock speed and power levels to match their application. The 700-MHz TM5400 will be the fastest mobile processor available, the company said.”

“Leveraging the input of Linus Torvalds — the creator of the Linux operating system and a Transmeta employee — the company will also develop a small code-size version of Linux, called mobile Linux, that will be made available to OEMs and the open source community.”

At a press conference in Saratoga, Calif., on Wednesday, Transmeta said battery life will be the main focus of its chips. The TM5400 is optimized for mobile PCs, and will ship at 500-MHz and 700-MHz clock speeds. The TM3120 is designed for low-cost Internet access terminals, and will be available at clock speeds of 333 and 400 MHz. The TM5400, to be fabricated in a 0.18-micron process, contains a 125-Kbyte Level 1 cache and 256 Kbytes of Level 2 cache. The TM3120, designed in a 0.25-micron process, contains 96 Kbytes of Level 1 cache and no Level 2 cache.”

“Running a basic e-mail application, the chips can consume as little as 10 to 20 milliwatts, or 1 to 3 watts when running a DVD application, Transmeta said. Using a 32 watt per hour battery, and running an application that consumes 4 watts of power, the estimated battery life of a system will be eight hours, according to the company. Each of the chips contain an on-chip SDRAM memory controller and PCI interface. In addition, the TM5400 contains an interface to double data rate SDRAM.

* Read full Electronic Buyers' News story *

 
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