Embedded Processor Watch

Editor: Jim Turley

In This Issue:

• Motorola DragonBall EZ Adds More Scales
• Tundra Building PCI Chip for MPC8260
• Industry Resources: Emphasis on Integration at Forum
• Industry Resources: SPEC Turns Its Gaze Toward Java
• Embedded IC Announcements

Motorola DragonBall EZ Adds More Scales

Motorola has upgraded its modest but very popular 68328 integrated microprocessor--usually known as DragonBall--by releasing the 68EZ328. The DragonBall EZ, as the company calls it, has the same performance as the old DragonBall but adds a DRAM controller and upgrades the built-in LCD controller from 4 to 16 gray scales. The only sacrifice is the original chip's PCMCIA interface. The new chip comes in a physically smaller package than the old one, although the EZ actually has more pins than its predecessor.

Although the 'EZ328 uses the same 68EC000 processor core as the '328, a shift to a more modern 0.35-micron process and some circuit tweaks make the chip fully static and more power-efficient. Users can now ramp the processor's clock rate, from DC to just over 16 MHz. In 10,000-piece quantities, the 'EZ328 is priced at $8.95, less than its predecessor.

The DragonBall has been a sleeper hit among processors for battery- powered, handheld devices. The chip is far slower than the MIPS and SuperH processors prevalent in Windows CE devices, yet users generally prefer the Pilot to its competitors. Motorola brags that it has sold over 3 million 68328 processors, about two-thirds of which have gone into 3Com's Palm Pilot. DragonBall's integration, small size, and modest cost have won out over the added performance--and complexity--of more "advanced" devices in this segment.

Tundra Building PCI Chip for MPC8260

Hot on the heels of Motorola's Voyager announcement (Embedded Processor Watch #13 FLASH), Tundra Semiconductor (http://www.tundra.com) is producing a companion chip that adds a PCI interface to the PowerPC communications controller. Tundra's PowerSpan chip will connect the MPC8260's processor bus to a 33-MHz, 32-bit PCI bus, enabling easier expansion to commonly available peripheral chips. Pricing and availability for the new chip were not announced.

The new PowerSpan is likely to be a short-lived part; Motorola plans to upgrade the MPC8260 shortly to give the chip its own PCI interface. Indeed, Voyager was originally intended to have a PCI interface all along, but schedule commitments forced Motorola to release the part before the PCI portion was ready. The PCI-enabled chip may simply replace the current MPC8260 in Motorola's product line, or it may be offered as a slightly higher-cost alternative.

Industry Resources: Emphasis on Integration at Forum

Among the 10 new microprocessors to make their debut at the Embedded Processor Forum will be four new highly integrated chips for specific embedded applications. Motorola, QED, and newcomer Triscend will all reveal technical details of their new processors.

Engineering managers at each firm will discuss how and why these chips were designed, and what makes them interesting for embedded systems. The four presenters will also participate in an unrehearsed panel discussion with Forum moderator Jim Turley. Forum attendees are invited to quiz the panelists as well.

Motorola will present a new ColdFire chip and one new MCore processor. QED will disclose the first details of its new 64-bit MIPS design for high-end embedded systems, and Triscend will reveal its mysterious "configurable processor" for the first time. The Forum takes place October 15 & 16 in San Jose (Calif.). For more information, call 800.527.0288 or visit http://www.MDRonline.com/forum.

Industry Resources: SPEC Turns Its Gaze Toward Java

The Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) benchmark group has developed SPECjvm98, its first benchmark suite for measuring the performance of Java virtual machine (JVM) implementations. The benchmark is, by its nature, platform- and OS-independent, so the same benchmark will (or should) run on any JVM. The suite consists of eight "real" Java applications, in byte-code form. A Java client and 32M of memory are the minimum requirements.

Copies of the SPECjvm98 benchmark suite sell for $100; a demo version and sample results are available at the SPEC Web site, at http://www.spec.org/osg/jvm98. For more information, contact SPEC (Manassas, Virginia) at 703.331.0180 or write to info@spec.org.

Embedded IC Announcements

THS3001 (TI) Current-feedback 30-V amplifier for communications and video applications, with 6,500 V/microsecond slew rate, 420-MHz bandwidth. Price: $3.37/1,000; Production: Now; Call TI at 800.477.8924.

TPA005D02 (TI) Class-D audio power amplifier for portable, battery- powered devices drives 2 W continuously, with 5-W peaks; with 0.5% THD. Price: $3.48/1,000; Production: Now; Call TI at 800.477.8924.

HL1328DJS (Hitachi) Laser diode comes in DIP package, with output power of 0.4 mW and frequency of 1,310 nm for communications applications. Price: $60/10,000; Samples: Now; Production: 1Q99; Call Hitachi at 800.285.1601.

IMP70x (IMP) Microprocessor supervisors are compatible with Maxim devices, integrating watchdog, active-high or -low resets circuits. Price: $0.72/1,000; Production: Now; Call IMP at 408.432.9100.

PSD8xxF2 (WSI) Microcontroller support chip has flash memory, programmable logic, 2K scratchpad RAM, serial ISP programming; JTAG interface. Price: $6.76/25,000; Production: Now; Call WSI at 510.656.5400.