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Nov-03-2009New Marvell e-book reader platform promises faster product, lower price tag(topic overview)
CONTENTS:
- Marvell, the supplier of communications, storage, and wireless chips, has teamed up with E Ink to notch up against competitors by introducing a "highly integrated" turnkey platform, to be powered by the ARMADA 166E processor, for the next-generation of e-readers. (More...)
- The fruit of a three-year collaboration, the Armada chip is reportedly smaller, thinner, andcruciallycheaper than the electronics built into previous generations of e-book devices. (More...)
- Some of the devices will have two displays, including a color screen that can be used to browse through electronic bookstores. (More...)
- "The ARMADA e-reader has the potential to deliver the first mass market product accessible and affordable to billions of consumers around the world." (More...)
- Marvell said it has also provided processing technology for the Alex Reader, the mysterious device unveiled about two weeks ago that looks very much like the Nook. (More...)
- Manghnani says more than 20 companies are designing e-book readers. (More...)
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Marvell, the supplier of communications, storage, and wireless chips, has teamed up with E Ink to notch up against competitors by introducing a "highly integrated" turnkey platform, to be powered by the ARMADA 166E processor, for the next-generation of e-readers. Both Marvell and E Ink have also collaborated with FirstPaper to amalgamate "unique" technology into the ARMADA platform which, having already been integrated into a few e- readers including the enTourage eDGe, and proReader from Plastic Logic, provides for the design of large screens that can effectively deliver graphic intensive content. Noting that the key features of the platform include the accelerated display of high-resolution PDF files and zero-power mode, Weili Dai - Marvell Vice President and general manager of the consumer and computing business division - said: "This is a total platform solution that includes Marvell key technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G modem, and power management." [1] Companies like Interead in England and Irex in the Netherlands also make e-book gadgets with E Ink displays, and thanks to a collaboration between E Ink and Santa Clara, CA-based Marvell Semiconductor, the hurdles for other companies experimenting with e-reader technology are about to get a lot lower. At least three new e-book devices containing a new chip jointly designed by E Ink and Marvell are expected to come to market this winter: the Que proReader from Mountain View, CA-based Plastic Logic, the enTourage Edge from McLean, VA-based enTourage Systems, and the Alex Reader from Fremont, CA-based Spring Design. Inside all three devices will be the Armada 166E, a so-called "system-on-a-chip" that combines a display controller designed by E Ink with other key components needed in any portable e-book reader today, such as a microprocessor, memory, wireless modems (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G) and power management devices.[2]
The first devices include the already announced enTourage Edge, a combination e-reader and netbook; the Alex reader from Spring Design, and an offering from Plastic Logic. Marvell's platform is based on its new Armada family of processors, announced last month. Marvell makes a wide array of chips -- including those used for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular connectivity -- that the company said allows it to offer the complete chip solution e-reader makers need.[3]
Marvell also claims that the new processor will allow for more flexible design, will reduce power demands so batteries last longer, and offers more efficient integration of critical functions like 3G and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity. Marvell cited a number of clients already using its technology, including Plastic Logic, a Barnes & Noble e-reading device partner that plans to use Marvell processors in its forthcoming e-reader, and enTourage Systems, which is releasing in February 2010 the enTourage eDGe, a unusual netbook-tablet with side by side 9.7" screens--a black & white e-ink screen for e-books and an LCD screen for normal computing and full-color Web browsing; the price will be about $490.[4]
Santa Clara, California''''' Marvell today announced its collaboration with E Ink on''a highly-integrated e-reader processor available in complete turnkey platforms expected to accelerate the rapid release of new forms of e-readers at a variety of price points. '''With this announcement, Marvell raises the technology bar and takes the lead in the e-reader market,''' said Ms. Weili Dai, Marvell's Co-founder and Vice President and General Manager of the Company's Consumer and Computing Business Unit at Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. '''Because this is a total platform solution ''' including Marvell key technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G modem, and power management ''' the ARMADA e-reader has the potential to deliver the first mass market product accessible and affordable to billions of consumers around the world.[5] The company is also partnering with FirstPaper, which is backed by media giant Hearst Corp, for content and graphics technology. Weili Dai, Marvell's co-founder and general manager of its consumer and computing business unit, estimated the entry level price point of a e-reader based on the Marvell platform at roughly $150 -- cheaper than devices currently on the market, which range upward from $199. "We always envisioned that the e-book was going to be a very big, important segment," she said, with applications in consumer, business, education and health customers. The company said its technology will also allow for faster page loads of less than one second. The e-reader market has exploded this year.[3]
The fruit of a three-year collaboration, the Armada chip is reportedly smaller, thinner, andcruciallycheaper than the electronics built into previous generations of e-book devices. A Marvell executive quoted by Dow Jones speculates that Asian manufacturers might eventually be able to use the Marvell chip to build readers for one-fourth the cost of the current generation of products (the Kindle and the Nook both retail for $259, and Sony sells its readers for $199 and $299). Such massive price reductions are probably needed before e-book reading devices can break past the early adopters willing to pay a premium for new technologies, and reach the general consumer market. These extreme price drops may still be a ways off: for now, putting the display controller on the same piece of silicon with a microprocessor, memory, and other components will probably yield an equipment cost savings of 15 to 20 percent overall, says Sriram Peruvemba, E Ink's vice president of marketing. The Armada chip is also built to rapidly render high-resolution documents such as PDF files, and to speed up operations such as turning a page in an e-book. [2] Amazon's original Kindle eBook reader, the most popular one on the market, costs $259. Jack Kang, director of technical marketing at Santa Clara, Calif. -based Marvell, said in an interview that the chip maker has integrated the E Ink electronic paper technology into a specific new member of its Armada microprocessor family.[6]
'''Our partnership with Marvell will deliver an integrated System-on-a-Chip (SoC) solution to the market,''' said Sriram Peruvemba, Vice President of Marketing at E Ink. '''This SoC solution is aimed at offering highly desired features at competitive price points.''' Central to this new e-reader platform is the world'''s first commercially available SoC which integrates a high performance processor and state of the art EPD controller on a single chip ''' the Marvell ARMADA 166E application processor.[5] On a newspaper page, changes in text position and point size subtly give signals about which stories are less or more important, while on an E Ink screen headlines are generally all given equal value. That's changing with the introduction of a new kind of e-reader processor. Chipmaker Marvell recently unveiled its Armada 166E processor, which integrates the e-paper display controller into the chip itself. It created the chip in partnership with E Ink, the company behind the display technology of pretty much every e-reader on the market.[7] Taken by itself, the Marvell Armada 166e chip seems very similar to the Freescale i.MX embedded processor, which will also integrate the display controller from E Ink, the display technology at the heart of many e-readers, including the Amazon Kindle.[8]
The two companies have partnered to produce the Armada series of integrated processor technology, combining Marvell's semiconductor expertise with E Ink's proprietary display technology to make processors they claim will provide faster screen refresh rates, better power management, and integration of services like wireless and 3G connectivity. According to a spokesperson for Marvell, the company is a pioneer in providing processors for digital readers; its processors were used in the original Kindle reader.[4]
Marvell has teamed up with E Ink to bring the first dualbook in the industry, where the device is known as the enTourage eDGe. It will merge the functions of an E-Ink reader with a netbook, notepad and audio/video player and recorder into a single device, and with the ARMADA 166E application processor within, it will offer the enTourage eDGe all the relevant power required in order to meet simultaneous digital needs without breaking the bank.[9] The first devices that will use the Armada are due in 2010, including Plastic Logic's notebook-paper-sized Que for business readers; the $490 enTourage eDGea dualbook that is supposed to combine E-ink reading with netbook, notepad, audio/video player and recorder; and dual-screen e-reader Alex from Spring Design, built on Google ( NSDQ: GOOG ) Android with E Ink and color LCD.[10] Marvell is partnering up with companies like E Ink, a supplier of electronic paper displays, FirstPaper, a display start-up, and Plastic Logic, an e-reader maker. Both E Ink and FirstPaper are backed by media company Hearst. It hopes to make e-readers a mass-market device priced at about £95.[11]
If you thought the e-reader market was already confusingwith Sony, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble all offering their own unique versions of e-book devices based on the same underlying electronic paper display technology from Cambridge, MA-based E Ink get ready for a new level of chaos.[2] All current e-book devices that use E Ink's electronic paper displays, Peruvemba explains, include E Ink's own controllers, branded Metronome and Apollo.[2]
The existence of the Armada chip was revealed today in a joint announcement from Marvell and E Ink. The companies said they have already begun shipping it to their customers, the e-book device makers.[2] Marvell Technology Group and E Ink are partnering on a "turnkey" tech solution based on one integrated chip called the Marvell Armada 166E, with the first devices due in 2010.[10]
"The goal is to get the technology into mass adoption," Kang said. These new eBooks will be available in the first quarter of 2010. They won't initially be priced at under $100, but they are expected to get there eventually. Marvell announced its Armada family of processors earlier this month. It worked on the processors, which are based on the Intel Xscale technology that it bought in 2006, for almost four years. This new eBook chip, the Armada 166E, runs at more than a gigahertz and is based on the Armada 100 series chip designs.[6]
The platform - which is powered by the ARMADA 166E processor - boasts a number of new features, including the accelerated display of high-resolution PDF files and zero power mode. "This is a total platform solution includes Marvell key technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G modem, and power management," explained Marvell VP Weili Dai.[12] Chipmaker Marvell announced a new processor today, the Armada 166e, that's designed to let designers of e-readers build better E-Ink-equipped devices. Marvell's system-on-a-chip builds an E-Ink graphics controller right into the processor, allowing for e-readers that cost less to make but yet which can refresh their E-Ink displays more quickly. (Earlier e-readers have used separate graphics controllers to drive their E-Ink screens.)[13] Conventional e-readers have two microprocessors, a Marvell spokesperson explained in a phone interview, including a main processor in addition to a separate processor that governs the device's e-ink screen. Marvell's new Armada series is said to integrate the two processors into one component, making the new integrated component "cheaper and increasing its performance."[4]
Marvell and E-Ink have joined forces to create a system-on-a-chip that's designed for use in E-Reader devices. It should mean that new devices are able to be rolled out increasingly quickly from any manufacturer that wants to hook it up to a screen, add a battery, design a nice casing and put their badge on it.[14]
I'm still looking forward to the first color-screen e-readerseven if they're called tablets rather than e-readers and have battery life that's a fraction of what E-Ink can deliver. It'll be interesting to see how rapidly E-Ink devices improveand judging from the technology demos Marvell showed me, its new chip will help.[13] The devices may also use Google's Android operating system. One of the customers for the new chip is Entourage, which will use the Marvell device in its upcoming Edge eBook reader. Another Marvell customer is Plastic Logic, which is launching its Que eBook reader in the first quarter.[6] One of the first e-readers to use the Marvell chip is the Entourage Edge, which is marketed as the first "dualbook" with an electronic paper display combined with an LCD offering netbook, notepad, and audio/video player functions.[11] "To enable great newspaper and magazine reading experiences, eReading devices need the right tools to make richer layouts and complex content come to life", said Gil Fuchsberg, FirstPaper's president. The first E-readers to feature this chipset will likely arrive sometime in 2010, and will include the enTourage eDGe, which combines an e-Ink reader with a netbook, notepad, and AV player/recorder.[14] '''The enTourage eDGe is the industry'''s first dualbook, combining an E-Ink reader with a netbook, notepad and audio/video player and recorder into one central device,''' said Asghar Mostafa, President and CEO of enTourage Systems.[5]
The next Kindle killer could pack all three in, and on the cheap too: Marvell says e-readers using it will have "competitive price points". The first e-reader fruit of the partnership is already on the way: called the enTourage eDGe, it's a twin screen e-reader running Android due next year.[15] One of the first e-readers with the Armada will be the Entourage Edge. What does this mean to you? Expect even more e-readers at cheaper prices and better technology in the coming year.[7]
'''The ARMADA 166E gives the enTourage eDGe the power it needs to meet people'''s multiple, yet simultaneous digital needs, at an attractive price point within reach of all consumers.'''[5]
The ARMADA 166E also brings to e-readers new features that save power and extend battery life, including a unique hibernation mode, or zero power mode.'' The two companies have also joined forces with FirstPaper, LLC, to integrate unique technology into the ARMDA166E. This joint innovation enables a range of display sizes and resolutions, including support for larger screens that will deliver layouts, graphics, and content choices that people normally associate with periodicals, larger-format books, and documents.[5] The two companies have also joined forces with FirstPaper to integrate "unique" technology into the ARMADA platform, which has enabled the design of large screens capable of rendering graphic intensive content.[12]
Device manufacturers will be able to take full advantage of FirstPaper's integrated content and commerce platform with the Armada 166E, Marvell said.[8]
The Armada 166e chip will also be included in the dual-screen Spring Design Alex e-reader. Plastic Logic will also debut a Marvell-powered device at the Consumer Electronics Show this January, Plastic Logic said.[8] '''The Company plans to unveil the category'''s first proReader on January 7 at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.''' '''During our development of the Alex Reader ''' a dual screen e-reader that incorporates both e-ink for high contrast e-reading, and color LCD screen for multimedia playback and enhanced Web browsing, Marvell was the clear choice,''' noted Albert Teng, Founder and CTO at Spring Design.[5] Apparently Spring Design, the manufacturer of the Alex Reader, also noted the resemblance--although Marvell devices like the Alex Reader offer full-color Web browsing on the LCD screen, which the Nook does not. Spring Design has filed a lawsuit against Barnes & Noble claiming that it showed its device to the company, and B&N infringed on its intellectual property and violated an nondisclosure agreement by appropriating Alex's dual-screen design.[4]
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Chipmaker Marvell Technology Group Ltd on Monday jumped into the fast-growing electronic reader market, unveiling a platform that the company says will allow for a new generation of zippier, lower-cost devices.[3]
Tired of the time it takes fort your e-reader to turn the digital page? Lag could soon be a thing of the past when it comes to virtual tomes with E Ink screens: Marvell has announced a new system on a chip it'll be shoving into a bunch of e-readers, speeding them up and shoving in all the connectivity you could ever need for downloading books. You might not have heard of Marvell, but it's one of the world's leading chip makers, piecing together the systems used in everything from phones to plug computers. It's just announced a partnership with E Ink, the company behind the easy on the eye screens in many e-readers, to start shoving new tech inside to make them faster and more powerful than ever before.[15] Marvell and E Ink have introduced a "highly integrated" turnkey platform for next-generation e-readers.[12] If you had any doubts whatsoever that the ereader battle was in full effect, let this introduction take all of that worry away. Marvell and E Ink have tag-teamed in order to announce a "highly integrated" ereader processor that'll be made available in "turnkey platforms" aimed at the booming ebook reader market.[16] Marvell said it has teamed up with E Ink, a developer of e-paper display technology, to create an integrated application processor.[3]
The Silicon Valley company, whose technology is found in many cellphones and other devices, is announcing that it is collaborating with E Ink Corp., supplier of so-called "e-paper" displays used in many digital-book readers.[17]
"Our partnership with Marvell will deliver an integrated System-on-a-Chip solution to the market," said Sriram Peruvemba, v-p of marketing at E Ink, "offering highly desired features at competitive price points."[4]
Marvell announced an integrated applications processor that will power several e-readers, through partnerships with E-Ink and startup FirstPaper.[8] Marvell processors running at 1GHz will be used in many of the initial e-readers, though Marvell has designs that scale up in performance to 2GHz, according to Dai. Last month Marvell launched its Armada family of processors with the Armada 166E system-on-a-chip which powers a number of upcoming e-readers.[11] As part of the new partnership, Marvell will start using its new Armada processor in e-readers, which promises fast page loading and PDF rendering, as well as extended battery life and best of all, support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.[15]
The chip offered includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G modem and power management, and should bring more choice to consumers dipping a toe into the fledgling, but fast-growing, E-reader market.[14] Marvell co-founder and general manager of the consumer and computing business unit, Weili Dai, said in an interview, "The timing is right for the e-reader market to take off in volume."[11] "Marvell's passion is to give consumers more choice, improved features, and greater access to more information with e-readers that are aimed at education, health, and business applications."[8]
The original Amazon Kindle uses a Marvell chip, but the newer Kindle uses a Freescale chip. Marvell said customers for its chip will announce their products at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.[6] Together, with Marvell's other components, the new chip can be used in more functional eBooks with six-inch screens that could eventually cost under $100.[6] Chip maker Marvell is announcing today that it has created a new ARM-based microprocessor tailored for the eBook market.[6]
The eBook readers from Amazon.com and Sony have been clunky. They turn pages slowly and don't have many bells and whistles beyond wireless communications and black-and-white displays. Over time, that's going to change as chip makers and others apply their talents to new electronic book gadgets.[6] The chip will also support eBook readers with screens larger than 9.7 inches.[6]
Some of the devices will have two displays, including a color screen that can be used to browse through electronic bookstores. They will also have the ability to download eBooks via wireless data connections such as Wi-Fi or 3G networks. [6] Prices for e-readers are already coming down as new competitors enter the market. Other devices include Interead's "Cool-er" and the Cybook OPUS from Bookeen, with new e-readers expected from iRex Technologies, a spin-off of Royal Philips Electronics, and Taiwan's Asustek.[3] The technology's monochrome-only, the displays are slow, and the cost has kept e-reader prices high enough that there are plenty of book lovers who haven't splurged on one yet.[13] The company says that Armada-powered e-readers will be zippy enough to do fancier, more faithful formatting of e-books, digital magazines, and other content. It also says that as the E-Ink technology gets better, its chips will really be able to show off their stuff.[13] Marvell Technology Group Ltd. wants its chips to play a big role in the e-book movement, and says it is already working with partners to do so.[17]
The chips will include wireless circuitry, along with power management chips and a controller chip for the e-paper display. Manghnani says Marvell is shipping to customers, but wouldn't yet name them.[16] Part of the Armada family, the Armada 16XE chip has an integrated EPD controller (the piece that converts memory buffer into E-ink display signals).[18]
According to Marvell, the new integrated processor reduces the screen refresh rate from three seconds to less than a second and will eliminate the "blackout" effect when an e-ink page turns.[4] While others rely upon core technology from ARM, Marvell designs the cores or processor brains that it uses itself.[6] The partnership with FirstPaper will also allow color graphics of different display sizes. Marvell announced design wins with EnTourage Systems for its EnTourage Edge e-reader/netbook, which will ship in early 2010.[8] Marvell has also cited a partnership with FirstPaper, a Hearst-backed startup that will deliver "larger screens that will deliver the layouts, graphics and content choices that people normally associate with periodicals, larger-format books and documents," according to Marvell.[8]
"The ARMADA e-reader has the potential to deliver the first mass market product accessible and affordable to billions of consumers around the world." [12] I've been writing about e-readers from the'' moment that Amazon released its first Kindle. When I do, I usually express my reservations about the E-Ink screens used by the Kindle and all of its direct competitors. They're glare-free and run for days on a charge.[13] Today's e-books typically hold a battery charge for two to four weeks, compared with just days for earlier versions. While Kindle and Sony dominate the market, they have competition. One pending e-reader generating a lot of buzz, in part because users can roll up its flexible screen, is from startup Plastic Logic.[16]
Performance-wise, I've seen a demo of the Armada 16XE: it is smarter and does not need a pixel reset before refreshing the screen (on the Kindle, the screen goes "all black" - that's the reset), so e-ink animations are possible with the Armada 16XE. We're talking about a cartoon-ish animation here, not a 1080p movie. That's a big step from "no animation".[18]
Marvell said it has also provided processing technology for the Alex Reader, the mysterious device unveiled about two weeks ago that looks very much like the Nook. [4] CHIP MAKER MARVELL is planning on cashing in on the expected popularity of e-readers with some new partners.[11]
Manghnani says more than 20 companies are designing e-book readers. At least half of them plan to launch between now and the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, he says. [16]
SOURCES
1. Marvell, E Ink team up for '''highly integrated''' turnkey platform for next-gen e-readers | TopNews United States
2. E Ink, Marvell Create a Chip for Cheaper E-Book Devices | Xconomy
3. Marvell unveils new e-reader platform | Technology | Reuters
4. Marvell, E Ink Team to Create Next Wave of E-reader Components - 11/3/2009 7:14:00 AM - Publishers Weekly
5. Marvell and E Ink Unveil Complete Turn-key E-Reader Platform
6. Marvell's new chips will bring cost of eBooks to under $100 | VentureBeat
7. New e-reader chip brings page layout to the (E Ink) screen | DVICE
8. Who's Powering the Dual-Screen eReaders? Marvell - Reviews by PC Magazine
9. enTourage eDGe - Marvell and E Ink to offer enTourage eDGe
10. Marvell Syncs With E Ink On New E-Reader Tech Aimed At Mass Market | paidContent
11. Marvell shows off e-reader partners - The Inquirer
12. Marvell powers next generation of e-readers with ARMADA SoC
13. E-Ink Gets More Appealing | Technologizer
14. Marvell and E-Ink offer e-reader chip
15. Marvell promises superfast e-readers | Electricpig
16. Marvell teams with E Ink for turnkey ereader processor
17. Marvell Technology Says Working With E Ink - WSJ.com
18. Armada 16XE - Marvell and E-ink join forces to create a better eReader platform
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