Nazomi Communications Inc., the inventor of universal and scalable Java solutions for boosting the performance of software running on the Java Platform, today unveiled its first silicon IC product, the JA108. The new Java accelerator chip targets mobile wireless applications, such as 2G/2.5G/3G phones, and it improves Java software execution while extending battery life. The JA108 is the first in a series of product offerings under Nazomi's new KChip product line. "At Nazomi, we continue to develop innovative and transparent approaches for increasing the performance of Java applications," said Mukesh Patel, president and CEO of Nazomi. "With our newest product offering, the JA108, all designers have to do is insert our IC into their existing designs to achieve significant improvements in their Java performance without compromising any other aspects of their system's design."
"For targeted applications, such as cell phones, product evolutions occur every six to 12 months," continued Patel. "Our ability to provide application developers Java acceleration in the form of silicon ICs allows them to readily incorporate our technology into their platforms and hit their market windows while adding a significant product feature: accelerated Java performance."
The JA108 is built on patented Java hardware acceleration technology. Nazomi was granted patent #6,332,215 for this technology by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month (see Nazomi's January 16th patent announcement).
The JA108 offloads the microprocessor by taking over the task of executing Java bytecode instructions quickly and power-efficiently and thus speeds up Java software execution by 15x to 60x, depending on the application. It accomplishes this without increasing system clock frequencies, requiring additional memory, new tools or causing any new porting efforts. The chip, which interfaces like a standard SRAM device, is a stand-alone Java Accelerator that can be easily integrated into new and existing designs on existing memory buses. The chip is available either in a 10x10 mm 128 ball ?BGA .8 mil pitch, or a 7x7 mm 128 ball ?BGA .5 mil pitch configuration.
The JA108 works with any baseband processor, chipset, system on chip (SoC), or microprocessor and is transparent to existing designs and legacy operating systems. It also gives designers the freedom to choose any Java Virtual Machine (JVM) or real-time operating system (RTOS). The JA108 is designed to offer the highest Java performance while balancing space, power, cost and time to market.
Jay Kamdar, vice president of marketing at Nazomi commented, "With the deployment of 2.5G and 3G networks, wireless carriers are increasingly looking at offering Java-based-interactive applications, such as multimedia messaging, financial services and gaming, to increase the average revenue per unit (ARPU) and customer loyalty. Nazomi's Java acceleration solutions will improve the usability and the overall user experience of these services. With JA108 enhanced devices, handset manufacturers can readily answer the carriers' demand for Java enabled phones that deliver enhanced performance in the most economical and practical way."
Pricing and Availability
The JA108 is being sampled now and slated for volume production in Q1 2002 at a U.S. list price $5.59 per device, in quantities of 10,000 or more.