Royal Philips Electronics has launched its latest Power Management Unit (PMU), the PCF50626. The PCF50626 PMU is designed to meet the relatively high power requirements of multimedia applications for mobile devices. The PCF50626 has been designed to support and add functionality to Intel Corp.'s newest processor family (codenamed Monahans) based on third generation Intel XScale® and is the second PMU that Philips brings to market that supports the Intel XScale family of mobile application processors.
The PCF50626 has a real-time software controlled mechanism that can reduce power consumption by up to 70% in feature-rich handsets, VoIP phones, mobile gaming and music devices and wireless PDAs, but also Philips' Nexperia cellular system solution 7210 for 3G. This mechanism allows the PCF50626 to continuously adjust voltages throughout a handheld device, minimizing power consumption and extending battery life.
"The new Philips PCF50626 power management unit provides optimized performance and flexibility for handset and mobile device designers and we are excited it is a part of the ecosystem around the Monahans platform family," said Barry Evans, general manager of Intel's Application Processor Business Unit.
The PCF50626 includes a fully integrated high current charger and a multitude of power supplies. To enable a rich display experience, ambient light circuitry and a touch screen interface are also integrated. It is also fully software-controllable through its integrated digital interface.
"The power budget is critical in today's handsets. Power is needed for LCDs cameras and more processing capability," said Alan Brown, Research Director, Gartner. "Reducing power consumption is a major challenge for ASIC and ASSP designers as more and more functions are crammed into mobile devices."
"The PCF50626 is also part of the leading technology that enables the Philips Nexperia cellular system solution 7210 to support advanced functionality while maintaining industry-leading standby and talk time," said GertJan Kaat, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile & Personal Business Unit, Philips Semiconductors. "It further demonstrates Philips leadership in power management ICs and was designed from the ground up by Philips, with close consultation from Intel, with the customer's needs in mind."
The PCF50626 samples are already available and this PMU will be in mass production in Q3 2006.
