UX processor

[BT2]

Beware the processor for UX should be Sony made ARM926 based processor instead of the claimed CXD2230GA, which is the graphics accelerator chip.

The processor frequency varies between 8 MHz and 123 MHz, depending on the demand being used.


Here is a more technical description:
http://www.brighthand.com/article/Sony_Announcing_Wireless_Handheld_on_Friday

I am still waiting for a T|C kind of memory and processing power device.

enjoy readings..

[cbulock]

The CPU is in fact called CXD2230GA. It is a system-on-a-chip with the ARM926 as the main processing core and a DSP along with a number of other functions.

[n2ifp]

What does it all mean? We know that Apple and Amd use processors that run circles around Intel's high speed chips. So it remains to be seen how it performs. It looks like it was made for more serious work and those who want keyboard input in a small package.

[dannyboy]

Higher speeds also come at a premium - battery life suffers.

[UZI4U182]

Good job, Sony! You've made another pair of winners! NOT!

I can't get over Sony's blindness.

[JackAxe]

I'm glad to see the X(SLUG)SCALE gone. The first generation from INTEL (PXA250) was an underachiever. Plus it lacked a DSP chip so multimedia like music playback required CPU time.

I think this new CPU will be a good upgrade.

<]=)

[archangel]

This should be a better setup than the intel processors. Separate DSP and Graphics chip should make it more powerful. They way its designed should make it more battery efficient when using a simple app that only needs 8 mhz to run.

Seems like a winner to me.

[UZI4U182]

You have a point, archangel, but just think of how much more powerful Sony could have made it. They could have made it more powerful than the Tungsten C.

Come on, Sony, what's the matter? Are you afraid of 400MHz?

[n2ifp]

You have to remember that Sony wants total control of everything!

[BT2]

UX is really interesting while WiFi hotspots is getting common globally.

I should clarify that the UX processor is actually the intergrated board include ARM926 + DSP + Graphics + DRAM MEMORY and they called it the HandHeld Engine (the CELL), which is the same architecture of the coming PlayStation 3.

The special is the DSP integration, which speeds up the multimedia applications, as well as the 128-bit memory bandwidth, which double the Intel current XScale platform, provides up to 64G/s data transfer rate.

This have a significiant impact on speed even though it runs at 123MHz. And this architecture is really a breakthrough in PDA platform.

My experience of Pocket PC2003 is sluggish on a 400MHz CPU 64MB. I really wait for the feedback on how good is the performance and battery consumption when the UX is ready.

If Sony can do it better than others, why not.

http://www.zdnet.co.jp/news/0307/18/nj00_hdeg.html is a very interesting article and

If you can't read Japanese, you can translate it using http://www.worldlingo.com/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

[ksjenkins]

Faster MHz doesn't necessarily mean a more powerful Palm!

I was digging around the net for info on the ARM926 and found this article:

http://www.chipcenter.com/wireless/products_200-299/pr230a.html

Quote:

Improved performance is not about just cranking up the clock and getting more megahertz through the CPU, it's about using the megahertz you have to get more work from the entire system without wasting any time or energy in the process. This will become more critical as we move from GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) to far more sophisticated and feature-rich technologies such as General Packet Radio System (GPRS), Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE), and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS). Smartphones and PDAs are expected to employ combinations of services that are also expected to include Bluetooth and 802.11 WLAN capabilities, and all these are expected to require increasingly more powerful and efficient processors. For smartphones, low power consumption is as important a design consideration in mobile communications devices as speed and features. Design engineers know that real-world performance is not accurately measured by clock frequency. Overclocking the processor does nothing to mitigate a slow memory system. The i.MX family is engineered to do the same work quickly at low clock speeds, and low clock speeds translate into critical power savings. This winning combination is the model for i.MX, now and in the future. In a recent benchmarking study, i.MXL was shown to outperform the Intel Xscale technology, the PXA250 processor, and TI's OMAP™ 1510 processor with:


<B>Performance improvement</B>—up to 70% faster than XScale technology on CPU benchmarks and 28% faster on Speedy 2.3 benchmarks based on the PalmOS 5.0 operating system.
<B>Power-consumption improvement</B>—23% power saving in run mode and 60 percent in standby mode against an XScale-technology-based handheld PDA.


It's more about a balanced approach than crank up the MHz and sacrifice the battery! I think time will tell on the UX's performance &amp; battery life. Good application performance and Great battery life is a winning combination.

&nbsp;

[NJL!2016]

what the hell is DSP?

[ksjenkins]

DSP is Digital Signal Processor. Usually a co-processor to handle Audio / Video functions, to offload the main CPU. When you have a DSP co-processor you can use applications and play mp3's at the same time.

[UZI4U182]

Faster MHz doesn't necessarily mean a more powerful Palm!


I understand this well. And I'm still arguing about the clock speed of the CPU. Let me give you an example.

Suppose a newbie to PDAs walks into Circuit City and looks at the pda section. They look at a UX50, look at the processor speed, then they see the Tungsten C. They see that the TC has a faster clock speed, which is good to them, and they'd rather get the TC because it is cheaper than the UX50 and is "faster".

You all might be right about it being faster than the T|C. It certainly sounds a lot better, I like the idea of each category having it's own processing system.

[greg elmassian]

123 Mhz turned 70% faster is 123 + .7*123 = 123 + 86 = 209 ...
so if REALLY true it could be as fast... but I'll bet $100 that a typical palm app will run slower on the UX as compared to a NZ..

We'll see...

by the way, doesn't the NZ have a dsp for the MP3 player, and a separate graphics chip also?

Greg

[BT2]

Just came across the site as well:

Digital camera "DSC-FX77" of Bluetooth correspondence remote control on CLIE UX

http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/parts/image_for_link/50506-14886-7-1.html

It is so amazing like the TG with the Sony DCR-TRV80 CAM... Remote Cam

http://sonyelectronics.sonystyle.com/micros/clie/tg50features/camremote.html

Sony target it as a Gameboy device with OpenGL support..
http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/parts/image_for_link/50487-14886-9-1.html

I believe next series of UX should be even more powerful.. let's see after a year from now.

Voice over IP will be hot on these devices through WiFi then.. Any current Palm software have this function?

[cbulock]

Originally posted by BT2
Voice over IP will be hot on these devices through WiFi then.. Any current Palm software have this function?

I know Palm has plans for VoIP software for the Tunsten C.

[cykalan]

Originally posted by UZI4U182


Suppose a newbie to PDAs walks into Circuit City and looks at the pda section. They look at a UX50, look at the processor speed, then they see the Tungsten C. They see that the TC has a faster clock speed, which is good to them, and they'd rather get the TC because it is cheaper than the UX50 and is "faster".


why will you care about what that dumb axx thinks...! :confused:

the most important thing is that we all know Mhz=/= Speed...! :)

[JackAxe]

Originally posted by greg elmassian
by the way, doesn't the NZ have a dsp for the MP3 player, and a separate graphics chip also?

Greg

Nope on the DSP. :) This is an issue with it's current CPU since the PXA250 lacks the overall power to play music in the background while running a more CPU intensive app. The PXA255 on the other hand would do pretty well.

Without the DSP chip, the NR and other Dragonball based Clie's could not play MP3s.

All the Clie's new and old ship with a graphic chip. OpenGL support is what stands out for the UX.

<]=)

[JackAxe]

Originally posted by UZI4U182
Suppose a newbie to PDAs walks into Circuit City and looks at the pda section. They look at a UX50, look at the processor speed, then they see the Tungsten C. They see that the TC has a faster clock speed, which is good to them, and they'd rather get the TC because it is cheaper than the UX50 and is "faster".

You all might be right about it being faster than the T|C. It certainly sounds a lot better, I like the idea of each category having it's own processing system.

Then that person would probably wonder the same thing about Intel's Centrino processor. :)

Dam PALM for not providing a strereo headphone jack with it's T|C.:rolleyes:

One thing that I know and I'm overly redundant about, is that the PXA250 IS SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!! It's probably the slowest ARM CPU in existence. :D

<]=)