In what industry experts see as a counterpunch to WinTel, a Microsoft-Intel partnership, some major industry players have a formed a new alliance that focuses on peripherals, microprocessors and software interfaces for mobile devices.
Nokia Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., STMicroelectronics and ARM said they have come together to form the Mobile Industry Processor Interfaces Alliance to define an open standard for mobile processor interfaces.
“The MIPI Alliance goals will enable the faster adoption of smart phones, reducing the barriers that exist today through simplifying the supply chain for mobile terminals,” said Mike Inglis, executive vice president of marketing at ARM.
The alliance highlights industry trends toward open standards, with the irony of creating tension among major players.
“There is more tension but there is also more convergence,” said Ed Matluck, chief executive officer at FastTrack Wireless.
He said because handsets are becoming like personal computers, most industry players will want specific configurations that interface with most services and applications. This means the chasm between MIPI and WinTel may not last forever.
“Technologically, there is no way to stop that,” said Matluck, especially with operators driving convergence and prices coming down.
MIPI said the alliance expects both Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. to join, explaining that the group is not restricted to the four founders.
“We’re in discussion with dozens of companies, including Intel,” said Tom Vial, manager of strategic alliance, wireless business unit at TI.
Mary Minow, spokesperson for Intel, agreed. She confirmed that Intel was invited to MIPI, but it is exploring the impact of MIPI on the wireless industry and “what our contribution will be to this alliance.”
MIPI said the alliance evolved from the OMAPI standards and will complement the Third Generation Partnership Project.
“By establishing consistency in application processor interfaces, the alliance expects to ease implementation and design of hardware and software, promoting reuse and compatibility in mobile devices to accelerate time to market,” said the alliance.
Matluck said two standards may exist for a while, and there is a chance one may dominate the United States and the other Europe, although the momentum for convergence is almost inevitable.
ARM said it will upgrade its PrimeXsys platform to allow semiconductor partners to develop MIPI-compliant application processors. Nokia, which leads the world in mobile-phone sales, also brings its clout to the alliance. “This means that Nokia and other hardware manufacturers can deploy interoperable building blocks faster and at a lower cost,” said Jari Pasanen, vice president, Nokia Mobile Phones.
TI will bring its OMAP application processors to the alliance, while STMicroelectronics will offer its Nomadik line of application processors.
