Trumpion and Micronas have released a reference design for device vendors wishing to upgrade USB 1.1-attached flash disks with MP3 functions. The reference design supports Linux.

The eUstickMP3 reference design is based on Trumpion's t3552 USB-to-SmartMedia/MemoryStick controller and Micronas' MAS 3507D audio decoder. The design supports all NAND-type flash memories from 16MB to 256MB. Power comes from a single AAA battery.

The Micronas MAS 3507D is a single-chip MPEG-1/2 layer 2/3 audio decoder with a high-performance RISC DSP with a memory word length of 20 bits. The instruction set of the DSP is optimised for audio data compression and decompression.

The eUstickMP3 reference design includes demo boards, software, drivers, manufacturing tools, reference schematics, PCB layout files, specifications, and other documentation. Software is included in the reference spec for disk formatting, password functions, PC lock, write protect, multiple language support for dialog menus and short-cut functions.

The eUstickMP3 supports the basic functions of an MP3 player through a keypad interface. Functions include power on/off, play, pause, next/previous song, volume and repeat.

The eUstickMP3 design supports the same software interface as Trumpion's eUstick. It supports Mac and Linux, along with the Windows 98/98SE removable disk driver. It works in driver-less mode with Win2K, ME and XP.

“This collaboration is a result of our ongoing commitment to the converging MP3 market,” commented Shawn Richards, Micronas' director marketing multimedia.

Jensen Cheng of Trumpion added, “In the future we expect additional USB product launches incorporating Trumpion and Micronas products combining our relevant expertise storage access with multimedia applications.”

 
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