EE Times - Transmeta aims X86 processor at embedded... -
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Published on: 1/6/2003
Last Visited: 1/7/2003
He had more of an embedded systems background," said Tom Lee, director for embedded business development at Transmeta (Santa Clara, Calif.).
The SE chips are sampling now at speed grades of 667 MHz, 800 MHz and 933 MHz, with prices starting at $50 each in 1,000s.The 667-MHz Crusoe SE is essentially the current 5500 processor, and the 800-MHz and 933-MHz SEs are the 5800 parts.The chips come in standard and low-power versions.The standard 667-MHz CPU consumes 6.1 watts, while the low-power version consumes 5.1 W.
The company is currently developing a version of the Crusoe's internal software to boost real-time performance; those parts will ship later this year.Transmeta would not reveal target latency figures for those processors, but Lee said he does not expect they will meet so-called hard real-time requirements that demand latency as low as 20 milliseconds.Transmeta is also exploring future versions of the SE that will be rated for temperatures below the 0°C levels possible with current versions.
Operating systems and BIOS support is currently available from a host of companies, including Microsoft, LynuxWorks, MontaVista Software, QNX Software and Phoenix Technologies."The nice thing about being X86 compatible is that most of this stuff just works as it is out of the box today," said Lee.
Transmeta's Web site lists some 15 design wins for existing Crusoe processors in embedded boards and systems.Lee declined to provide sales expectations for SE, though a Transmeta press release said Gespac SA (Geneva), Tri-M Systems and Engineering Inc. (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) and TransLink USA (Plano, Texas) are among the companies that plan to ship new designs with the SE parts in 2003.
"The PC/104 board small form factor represents a major market for us.Today those boards are using 200-MHz Pentium II processors, but the SE allows them to boost performance without requiring more board space or a CPU fan," said Lee.
In recent statements, Transmeta has promised to reach profitability by the end of 2003.However, the company has been hemorrhaging cash to date.
Once Silicon Valley's hottest and most secretive startup, Transmeta has struggled for survival during the industry downturn.It posted a loss of about $171 million on sales of about $35 million in fiscal 2001, up from revenues of $16 million and losses of $97 million in 2000.