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Philips Unveils Power Management Unit Aimed at Multimedia Device Market

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG) (AEX:PHI) today announced the launch of its latest Power Management Unit (PMU), the PCF50626. The PCF50626 PMU is designed to meet the relatively high power requirements of multimedia applications for mobile devices. The PCF50626 has been designed to support and add functionality to Intel Corporation's newest processor family (codenamed Monahans) based on third generation Intel XScale(R) and is the second PMU that Philips brings to market that supports the Intel XScale family of mobile application processors.

The new single-chip power-management unit, the PCF50626 developed by Philips, has a real-time software controlled mechanism that can reduce power consumption by up to 70% in feature-rich handsets, VoIP phones, mobile gaming and music devices and wireless PDAs, but also Philips' Nexperia cellular system solution 7210 for 3G. This mechanism allows the PCF50626 to continuously adjust voltages throughout a handheld device, minimizing power consumption and extending battery life.

"The new Philips PCF50626 power management unit provides optimized performance and flexibility for handset and mobile device designers and we are excited it is a part of the ecosystem around the Monahans platform family," said Barry Evans, general manager of Intel's Application Processor Business Unit.

The PCF50626 includes a fully integrated high current charger and a multitude of power supplies. To enable a rich display experience, ambient light circuitry and a touch screen interface are also integrated. It is also fully software-controllable through its integrated digital interface. The high level of integration means that the chip uses 25% less space and saves about $2 on total BOM comparing to equivalent semiconductors, needing more external discrete components.

"The power budget is critical in today's handsets. Power is needed for LCDs cameras and more processing capability," said Alan Brown, Research Director, Gartner. "Reducing power consumption is a major challenge for ASIC and ASSP designers as more and more functions are crammed into mobile devices."

"The PCF50626 is also part of the leading technology that enables the Philips Nexperia cellular system solution 7210 to support advanced functionality while maintaining industry-leading standby and talk time," said GertJan Kaat, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile & Personal Business Unit, Philips Semiconductors. "It further demonstrates Philips leadership in power management ICs and was designed from the ground up by Philips, with close consultation from Intel, with the customer's needs in mind."

Availability

The PCF50626 samples are already available and this PMU will be in mass production in Q3 2006. The PCF50626 PMU is part of the Philips' Nexperia cellular system solution 7210 for 3G.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE:PHG) (AEX:PHI) is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 30.4 billion in 2005. With activities in the three interlocking domains of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 159,200 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

Nexperia is a trademark of Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.

Source: Business Wire

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