Last October, I reported to you from Barnes & Noble’s launch of the popular NOOK Color™, the world’s first reading-centric product to marry TI’s OMAP hardware and the ever-popular Android software architecture. Today, I am thrilled to update you on yet another success story resulting from our valued partnership with Barnes & Noble: the introduction of NOOK Tablet™ (see below picture of me with Ravi Gopalakrishnan- the VP of software development at the NOOK Tablet launch event today in Barnes & Noble in NYC).
This 7-inch beauty promises one of the best portable reading and entertainment experiences that consumers could wish for. It continues to build on Barnes & Noble’s solid products already on the market, including the OMAP3621 processor-based NOOK Color, but ushers in a whole new chapter of experiences with our next-generation, dual-core 1GHz OMAP4430 processor inside. This step up in processing capabilities opens a new world of tablet capabilities for NOOK Tablet users, including the ability to stream high-definition (HD) 1080p content. This feature mandates rigid security, and our OMAP processor – enabled with hardware-based M-Shield™ technology – is the most secure solution for this task. In fact, the OMAP4430 was the very first processor to achieve this highest level of Netflix certification that makes this HD streaming possible on Android devices.
TI worked side-by-side with Barnes & Noble and Adobe® to optimize the Adobe Flash® and AIR® implementations for the OMAP4430 processor to enable rich, immersive Web experiences on the NOOK Tablet, and support for 720p30fps Flash video. The CPU is freed in the process, reducing power consumption and easing multi-threading. Connecting all of these features together (quite literally), the tablet integrates our proven WiLink™ 6.0 WLAN connectivity solution, which drives robust links to the outside world and enables seamless and speedy data transfers.
The OMAP4430 processor’s smart multicore architecture (as my colleague Brian recently alluded to in a blog post, it all comes down to having the “best core for the chore”) is intelligently designed to delegate and run NOOK Tablet’s simultaneous tasks in an extremely power efficient manner to ensure the user enjoys a highly interactive experience whether reading your favorite book, watching a thrilling HD movie, e-mailing your friends, playing an exciting game or simply browsing the web.
Our TI team looks forward to seeing NOOK Tablet hit store shelves in the coming weeks, and sends our sincere congratulations to Barnes & Noble on the launch of this exciting product. Whether you’re a reading or entertainment lover, we think this Tablet is a “must-have” device to add to your Holiday wish list!
