Today is a great day for our collaboration with Google, which started two years ago with the launch of Android 2.0 (Eclair). The long-awaited Android 4.0 release (aka “Ice Cream Sandwich”) is finally being revealed with the OMAP4460 processor powering the absolutely gorgeous Samsung Galaxy Nexus device.

I am so excited about this launch.

What I may be the most excited by is not only the ability to converge one Android release for both smartphones and tablets, but to be able to pack that level of performance across graphics or video on an HD screen and within the power envelope of a smartphone device.

So much energy and many efforts went into optimizing each use case to deliver the best possible user experience to the end user, always with low power in mind. This is where our OMAP smart multicore architecture makes a huge difference. At the end of the day, brute force (number of cores as instance) does not rival sophistication.

 Today’s milestone is an exceptional demonstration of what only OMAP can do.

ICS runs better on OMAP

You now know the Android 4.0 experience hinges on some radical features like Face Unlock, video streaming, and a variety of innovative video, imaging and graphics effects. These types of advanced applications that push the boundaries of what mobile devices can do really get their hooks into the best of the OMAP platform.

Hardware-integrated security: Streaming premium HD content and movies mandates rigid security. TI’s own hardware-based M-Shield™ technology, coupled with integrated DRM and Trusted Logic SMC software are all integrated with the Android 4.0 framework, complete with secure boot and storage capability.

Enhanced memory: OMAP’s unique memory manager helps devices work hard and play hard. Specifically for Android 4.0, we enabled a new memory allocator interface that significantly minimizes static memory size compared to competitive solutions. We also reduced the memory bandwidth needed for user interface and video features.

Advanced imaging: Imaging isn’t just about stellar picture-taking anymore. It’s about accurate face metering and continuous auto-focus. It’s about unlocking your phone with hardware-based face detection. All of these are made possible by OMAP’s integrated, dedicated image signal processor (ISP) and the faster, higher-quality image and video capture features it brings.

Powerful video effects: The OMAP video engine (the IVA HD multimedia accelerator) is programmable—something unique to the OMAP platform. This flexibility coupled with advanced graphics drives the engaging video experience offered by Android 4.0; ranging from immersive, exciting viewing experiences to adding special effects on the fly to recorded content. The OMAP processor’s powerful multimedia heritage supports these features and more.

The above is only the tip of the iceberg. 

OMAP4460 helps bring truly unique experiences to our customers that help them reinvent “mobile” on tablets, smartphones, e-readers and ultrathin laptops, which keeps our industries exciting.

Thank you, Andy and team, for making us part of this journey. Let’s continue to build on this momentum.

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