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发帖数: 4495 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 EE 讨论区 】
发信人: superdmv (你想咋的), 信区: EE
标 题: 这个MIPS有他CEO说的那么好吗？ (转载)
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Wed Sep 15 12:55:16 2010, 美东)
发信人: superdmv (你想咋的), 信区: SanFrancisco
标 题: 这个MIPS有他CEO说的那么好吗？
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Wed Sep 15 12:53:50 2010, 美东)
MIPS vs ARM
1. 32/64 bit vs 32 bit
2. m-thread vs 1-thread;
3. more energy efficiency?
http://seekingalpha.com/article/225279- ... n-monopoly
MIPS Technology Challenges ARM's Cell Phone Chip Design Monopoly
MIPS Technologies' (MIPS) stock has skyrocketed recently as it lays the
groundwork to challenge ARM (ARMH), the dominant player in cell phone chip
design. Savvy investors see the small Silicon Valley company as an emerging
threat to ARM, the Cambridge, England firm that licenses the processor
designs used in nearly all the leading mobile phones.
MIPS is the top maker of semiconductor designs that are used in routers and
home entertainment electronics such as televisions, Blu-Ray players, set-top
boxes and DVRs. Cisco (CSCO) routers, Sony (SNE) TVs and Motorola (MOT) set
-top boxes all use MIPS processors. Broadcom (BRCM) is MIPS largest customer
. NetLogic Microsystems (NETL) and Cavium Networks (CAVM), the leading
makers of fast growing multicore networking chips, are also key customers.
But MIPS has its eyes on a much bigger prize. The first smart phones with
MIPS processors are scheduled to hit the market in early 2011. The
popularity of Google's Android mobile phone operating system made it
possible for MIPS to enter the cell phone market.
"Android represents an opportunity that comes around once in a generation,"
says CEO Sandeep Vij. "We're going to take advantage of it." Vij points out
that "with Android, we can bring all of MIPS' architectural advantages to
handsets. There was previously a barrier to entry for MIPS in mobile
handsets because the operating system was tied to the processor. With
Android, that barrier has been removed because applications can run on an
Android system regardless of the processor architecture." Vij also notes
that Nokia's popular Symbian cell phone operating system never ported to
MIPS.
Another major reason why the timing is right for MIPS, says Vij, is the "
growth of 4G (fourth generation) cell phones. The 4G processors have more Wi
-Fi wireless than 3G processors. MIPS is the number one provider of wireless
chip designs for Wi-Fi routers and other devices.
"By using a MIPS processor, we enable cell phone makers to have more
processing power in the cell phone chips," says Vij. "MIPS has 32-bit and 64
-bit processors. ARM does not have 64-bit. MIPS has single and multithreaded
designs. ARM does not have multithreaded," he points out.
A research team at the University of California, San Diego is developing a
cell phone chip that dramatically improves power conservation. The prototype
chip is called GreenDroid and uses a MIPS processor and the Android
operating system.
Vij, 44, recently took over the helm at MIPS. Before taking over at MIPS,
Vij was an executive at Cavium.
Vij studied as a graduate student at Stanford University under John Hennessy
. Hennessy, who is now the president of Standord, co-founded MIPS Computer
Systems, which later became MIPS Technologies.
Android机顶盒会像A手机一样流行吗？
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4fbe74850100le7o.html
(2010-09-14 17:05:54)
当Android手机红遍大江南北时，机顶盒厂商和芯片商们早就蠢蠢欲动了，然而，相比
手机厂商对于Android手机前景的绝对信心，他们对于 Android机顶盒的信心则显得不
是那么十足，甚至还有些犹豫与怀疑。在去年底我与Ali的高层、前不久与Mstar和杭州
国芯的高层聊天时，他们都有 谈及Android机顶盒，但是仍不敢将重心投入此领域。“
用户有什么理由要选择Android机顶盒？目前的Android2.1或者 Android2.2是否适合于
大屏幕的数字电视？”这可能是他们拿不定主意的最重要原因。
然而，上周在深圳IIC的活动上我采访MIPS CEO Sandeep Vij时，他却表示了对基于
Android机顶盒的绝对信心。“2011年，Android的机顶盒将开始上市，而2012年
Android机顶盒和电视 机将会非常流行。”他说，MIPS目前已和Sigma design、TDDI公
司一起在日本推出Android机顶盒，“后面还有非常多的客户正在设计基于Android的机
顶盒。我们也在和大陆、台湾的 IC公司合作，很快大家就会看到相关的产品上市。”
他补充，
“用户为什么要选择Android机顶盒，当他们要下载各种应用时，他们完全可以在家里
的电脑上下载，而不必要在电视上下载。这与手机不同，手机是供移动使用的，所以
Android会受到手机用户青睐。”我反问道。
Sandeep Vij笑着解释，“电视机正在快速的演变，传统的孤立的电视机正在变成联网
电视机，将来更进一步就是发展到基于Android这种开放操作系统平台的、智 能的互联
网电视机，成为家庭娱乐与控制中心。”他称，“比如人们现在观看视频的习惯已完全
改变，从互联网看各种视频已成为很多人的习惯，而PC只能让一个 人体验快乐，如果
大屏幕TV支持Android等系统，则可以让家庭的多个成员共同体验互联网上最新最酷视
频带来的乐趣。”我点头，表示部分认可他的观 点。
当然，我明白他必须这样说，因为Android机顶盒将是MIPS千载难逢的反击机遇。虽然
多年来一直掌控着机顶盒市场，但是其竞争对手ARM的手已伸到 它的领地，并且有攻城
略地之趋势。而Android机顶盒的应用，将对MIPS有利。Sandeep Vij解释：“与传统的
TV不同，Android互联网电视需要处理多线程、多任务，所以MIPS的CPU内核能非常好地
满足这种新的需求。我们可以在一 个芯片中实现三个多线程的处理，在同样大小的Die
尺寸上，我们比对手的性能提升80%。”他称，“除了TV和机顶盒市场外，MIPS CPU也
很适合于Android的智能手机平台，因为它也需要多线程处理能力。”他还透露，基于
MIPS CPU的Android智能手机已在设计中，不久大家就会看到这款与ARM不同架构的，差
异化的Android智能手机。当然，还有基于MIPS的 Android平板电脑。
不过，随着IPTV在中国的十多个城市试点，IPTV机顶盒将为Android机顶盒辅路，IPTV
Android不失为一个较好的买点，也可让IPTV与目前的有线机顶盒形成差异化，在高端
市场抢得先机。 |
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