AMD licenses 3D tech for handhelds

AMD IS LICENSING some of its ATI-acquired graphics technology for handhelds to third parties.

One of the first to sign on the dotted line was STMicroelectronics, which said it had licensed 2D, 3D and vector graphics core engines, as well as related software compliant with OpenGL ES 2.0 and OpenVG 1.0 standards. The firm said it would combine AMD's handheld unified shader architecture graphics technology with its Nomadik platform.

A spokesAMD reckoned his firm was "uniquely" qualified AMD to work with OEMs to market handheld devices as it, "has been developing graphics technology for PCs and video game consoles for more than 20 years."

The firm yesterday launched other chippery aimed at handheld devices in the form of its Imageon 2298, 2294 and 2192 chips. These are built for video and sound rather than 3D rendering. The firm has chosen mainly to license tech for 3D rendering, rather than get its hands too mucky.

The chip maker also unveiled a new Geode LX900@1.5W processor at the Embedded World Exhibition and Conference in Germany, where it has been showing off its embedded kit.

Amongst the fluff in this collection is a Single Board Computer (SBC) embedded design from WIN Enterprises. The design features a "Second-Generation" Opteron with DDR2 memory.

AMD says the AMD Geode LX900 is designed to enable long battery life and small form-factor designs common to thin clients, SBCs, and ultra mobile applications. The firm is hawking bunch of Reference Design Kits at Embedded World, to show how best to use the Geode or adopteron the Opteron. µ