MIPS gains further traction in mobile baseband designs

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA, SPAIN: MIPS Technologies Inc., a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer, home networking, wireless, communications and business applications, announced that Mobile Devices Inc., a Taiwan-based fabless designer of baseband systems-on-chips (SoCs), has licensed the MIPS32 M14Kc core for development of SoCs targeting wireless and mobile applications.

The award-winning M14Kc core leverages advanced code compression technology to deliver high performance of 1.5 DMIPS/MHz while reducing code size by up to 35 percent, translating to significant silicon cost savings.

“As an emerging player in GSM baseband solutions for wireless and mobile applications, Mobile Devices is pleased to work closely with MIPS Technologies to deliver differentiated platforms and total solutions for these markets,” said SC Liu, president, Mobile Devices. “The industry-standard M14Kc core offers high performance and low power consumption with groundbreaking code compression technology. With MIPS, we are helping our customers bring robust solutions to market quickly at the lowest possible cost.”

“MIPS Technologies has a growing footprint in the mobile arena, as an increasing number of companies recognize the benefits of the MIPS architecture for mobile applications processing, baseband processing, wireless and related technologies,” said Art Swift, vice president of marketing and business development, MIPS Technologies. “The high performance, power efficiency and scalability of the MIPS architecture make it ideal for applications ranging from mobile handsets to mobile infrastructure. We are pleased that Mobile Devices has selected MIPS for its next generation of baseband solutions.”

MIPS32 M14K core family with microMIPS
The M14K core family is the first to incorporate the microMIPS code compression Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). microMIPS offers uncompromised 32-bit performance with exceptional code density by using an optimal combination of 16- and 32-bit instructions.

Executing the microMIPS ISA achieves 98 percent of the performance with a 35 percent reduction in code size relative to MIPS32-only mode. The M14Kc processor core is a high-performance, compact, low-power design that delivers a superior solution for cost-sensitive embedded applications such as home entertainment, personal entertainment and home networking.