NEW YORK-Randy Ostler, mobile computing marketing manager for Texas Instruments Inc., Dallas, called his company’s new collaboration with Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash., a “declaration of independence for software developers.”
The agreement will open TI’s digital signal processors to the legions of software developers writing applications for Microsoft CE-enabled devices.
This will mark a departure from traditional methods in which manufacturers install specific and finite kinds of software into their handsets, Ostler said. Instead, the goal of the team effort is to allow smart phones and other wireless devices to behave more like personal computers by giving end-users the ability to download new applications or carrier-provided services from the Internet.
As a result of the new team effort, Windows CE software developers will be able to target TI’s Open Multimedia Application Platform to design programs for advanced wireless Internet access. These include digital audio, electronic commerce and real-time video streaming on wireless handsets.
OMAP is enabled by TI’s new DSP, the TMS320C55x, which couples a high level of system performance with low power consumption.
“As new Internet appliances and embedded solutions require new levels of performance, low power and real-time connectivity, systems and applications designers need to utilize advanced digital signal processing engines,” said Bill Veghte, vice president of embedded development at Microsoft.
