NovaThor
NovaThor is a platform consisting of integrated System on Chips (SoC) and modems for smartphones and tablets developed by ST-Ericsson, a 50/50 joint venture of Ericsson and STMicroelectronics established on February 3, 2009. ST-Ericsson also sells the SoCs (Nova) and the modems (Thor) separately.[1]
Until today, the only devices which are powered by NovaThor use Android.
On November 2, 2011, Nokia announced that NovaThor SoCs will power Nokia's future Windows Phone based smartphones, making a deviation from the standard use of Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs in Windows Phones.[2]
On February 28, 2012, ST-Ericsson announced that they will switch to fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) transistors for upcoming products to reduce power consumption. As an example they stated that the L8540 SoC with FD-SOI transistors would consume 35% less power.[3]
List of Nova and NovaThor SoCs
| Model Number | Semiconductor technology | CPU Instruction Set | CPU | GPU | Memory Technology | Wireless Radio Technologies | Availability | Utilizing Devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NovaThor U8500 [4] | 45 nm | ARMv7 | 1 GHz Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 | ARM Mali 400 (single-core) | LP-DDR2 | HSPA | 2011 | Sony Xperia P,[5] Sony Xperia U, Sony Xperia Sola, Sony Xperia go, Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, Samsung Galaxy Beam, Samsung Galaxy S Advance,[6] Ontim WP8500,[7] Yulong Coolpad CP7728[8],Motorola XT760 [9] Shanda Bambook[10] |
| NovaThor U9500 [11] | 45 nm | ARMv7 | 1 GHz Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 | ARM Mali 400 (single-core) | LP-DDR2 | GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA+ (HSDPA 21 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s) | 2011 | |
| Nova A9500[12] | 45 nm | ARMv7 | 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 | ARM Mali 400 (single-core) | LP-DDR2 | None | 2011 | HTC Sensation Z710T (China)[13], Lenovo LePhone S899t[14] |
| Nova A9540[15] | 32 nm[16] | ARMv7 | 1.85 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 | PowerVR SGX 544 | Dual-channel LP-DDR2 | None | 2012 | |
| NovaThor L9540[17] | 32 nm | ARMv7 | 1.85 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 | PowerVR SGX 544 | Dual-channel LP-DDR2 | LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, EDGE (external Thor M7400 modem) | 2013 | |
| NovaThor L8540[18] | 28 nm | ARMv7 | 1.85 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 | PowerVR SGX 544 @ 500 MHz[19] | Dual-channel LP-DDR2 | LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, EDGE (integrated modem) | 2013 | |
| Nova A9600[12] | 28 nm | ARMv7 | 2.5 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 | PowerVR Series6 (Rogue) | None | 2013 |
Similar platforms
- Snapdragon by Qualcomm
- OMAP by Texas Instruments
- Tegra by Nvidia
- Exynos by Samsung
- Ax by Apple
- Atom by Intel
References
- ^ NOVA TM - Highest performance application processors
- ^ ST-Ericsson's NovaThor to power Nokia's Windows Phone devices, loosens Qualcomm's grip - Engadget
- ^ http://www.stericsson.com/investors/ST%20Investor%20Day%20-%20ST-Ericsson%20plenary%20session%20presentation.pdf
- ^ NovaThor U8500 Product Webpage; ST Ericsson.
- ^ Specifications - Sony Smartphones (Global UK English)
- ^ ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 powers new Samsung GALAXY S Advance
- ^ ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 powers new tablet from Ontim
- ^ http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/PR_Yulong_U8500.jsp
- ^ http://www.stericsson.com/investors/ST%20Investor%20Day%20-%20ST-Ericsson%20plenary%20session%20presentation.pdf
- ^ http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/PR_Shanda_U8500.jsp
- ^ NovaThor U9500 Product Webpage; ST Ericsson.
- ^ a b Changing the game: ST-Ericsson Unveils NovaThor™ Family of Smartphone Platforms Combining its Most Advanced Application Processors with the Latest Generation of Modems
- ^ Powerful New ST-Ericsson Platform makes Debut in HTC Sensation
- ^ http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/ST-Ericsson_Lenevo_A9500.jsp
- ^ Nova™ A9540
- ^ http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/NovaThor.jsp
- ^ NOVATHOR™ L9540
- ^ NOVATHOR™ L8540
- ^ ST-Ericsson announces new highly integrated LTE NovaThor platform