Freescale reference design for $200 Smartbooks - ahead of Netbooks

We have almost forgotten what Netbooks are all about. They were supposed to be $200, low power, long battery life, tiny computers which could get you on the internet for large periods of time, potentially including over wireless broadband. The idea being that less processing would be done on a PC and more on the internet, making connectivity the major issue, and computing power not the issue. This is a significant paradigm shift and it will not happen overnight.

But anyway, somehow that definition hasn’t stood the test of time, because none of the Atom based devices from Intel have more than a few hours of battery, do very little of the work that a notebook can do and they rarely come with wireless broadband, and anyway, only Google is pushing apps that work on the cloud and Chrome (the operating system, not the browser) is not yet with us.

What has happened to the industry is that the idea which started Netbooks has been trashed by Microsoft insisting that only a certain amount of memory is allowed on a Netbook, and by Intel insisting that its Atom was the only chip that can deliver on a miniaturised version of Windows. They seem to be saying, no you can’t do that yet, so do this completely different thing instead.

But this week at CES we are starting to see the beginning of a revolution that will come to fruition by next Christmas.

In an argument with my son over Christmas, who is doing a PhD in advanced theoretical computer science, he made the point that because 20 years of PC software was available, these devices had to run Windows, so Microsoft had to call the shots so they could not be based on Linux or on the Arm chipset.

But while most handsets, and therefore ARM implementations, only have operator and handset vendor written applications on them, which do the most basic things, at least 100,000 Apple App Store programs are processed on an iPhone, based on an ARM core and a non-Windows OS. When all the basic functions of camera, media player, notepad and spreadsheet applications are added to this more frivolous type of phone application, suddenly an entire software eco-system, devoid of the intricacies of Windows and its security weaknesses, is born.

What was really interesting was the way my Son backed up his argument by looking up power requirements for chips, such as the Atom, refuting the power advantage that ARM has over Intel, and pointing out that any techniques for achieving a watt per MIPS advantage, were in the public domain and Intel would soon have them. At least three things spoilt his argument. He used a Linux notebook and Sony PSP, and a browser to look up his arguments – no Windows in sight; he found himself recommending the Freescale architecture, which is of course based on ARM, and he forgot that it is Windows itself that takes up all of the power, not the hardware.

The fact that the entire PC industry in 2009 was hijacked by this fear of Intel based application power, and ended up offering identical Netbooks, which were too expensive and which under perform and link to the internet only through Wi-Fi, is testament to how successfully Intel and Microsoft has been in waylaying the Netbook. This is why the birth of the Smartbook is so important, and that will happen during 2010.

Already at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Freescale has announced a new reference platform for the emerging smartbook segment. Interestingly, other devices, such as ebook readers, also share a similar paradigm to the Smartbook – low power, cellular connectivity, always on, long battery lives, offering internet connectivity, so expect reference platforms to not only take in the Smartbook, but also other related device types.

The Freescale effort was its second generation reference design for smartbooks, and it targets sub-$200 devices, which immediately puts clear water between its platform and the long rumoured Apple tablet.

Freescale uses its i.MX515 processor, which runs on the ARM Cortex A8, and can run Linux operating systems including Android and probably Chrome when it comes out.

Freescale calls its platform Sabre (Smart Application Blueprint for Rapid Engineering) and has partnered with Inventec Appliance for design and manufacturing services. The design will be ready for evaluation next month. One of the key strategies for Freescale going forwards is to target both ereaders and smartbooks.

So far, it is cooperating with Qualcomm, which makes more cellular chips than any other company in the world, more than competing with it. Both of them see the Smartbook as the true Netbook, and devices will hit the shelves at some time during 2010, certainly they will have to make a dent in Netbook sales by the end of 2010, although they have no chance of overtaking them.

But once these gadgets go mainstream, from late 2010 onwards Freescale and Qualcomm will go to battle in earnest and on past recent records, Qualcomm will eventually win out with its Snapdragon processor, similar in nature to the Freescale devices which the reference plan relies on, launched this week.

Which is perhaps why Freescale is aiming its first reference design at the low cost market, where Qualcomm is less keen to play. Qualcomm designs are different only in one key respect, they integrate the processor on the same chip that handles the cellular connection, what is called a baseband chip. Freescale, in a manner similar to Intel’s Atom, offers its chip separately, but says even so it can cut the electronics cost of making a device by $30 under the Intel Atom, even the new, low footprint Pine Trail NM450 chip, which has stimulated at least a dozen Netbook launches at CES this week.

Also by moving to ARM, the operating system and the software can be open source, and far cheaper, and no-one is dictating things like how much memory you are allowed to use in the design, to artificially slow things down.

Freescale says it remains two years ahead of Intel in watts per MIPS (how much electrical power is used to generate computer instructions or millions of instructions per second), and Qualcomm a year ago said it had an 18 month lead over Intel. Intel of course for the most part must design chips with an existing instruction set, optimized for Windows, even when it offers Linux.

The Freescale Sabre design will facilitate instant power-up, always-on connectivity via 3G and/or Wi-Fi, and all-day battery life. A device using the Freescale design would typically have a 7-inch touchscreen with 1024 x 600 resolution, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, optional 3G modem and 512Mb of memory with 4Gb to 64Gb of internal storage. There would also be a 3-megapixel camera, 3-axis accelerometer, ambient light sensor and Adobe Flash Player support. One design variant also sports a keyboard dock.