It's like a Mini-ITX board on a single chip

... well not quite, but close to it! Right now at the Embedded World Exhibition, VIA is showing off the 

VIA COMe-8X90 module. At 95 x 125mm it's impressive to realise that it sports a 1.2GHz VIA Nano X2 E-Series dual core processor and a VIA VX900H media system processor (MSP).

"COM Express modules integrate core CPU, chipset and memory on the module, providing support for extensive connectivity options, including USB, audio, video, and Ethernet, through board-to-board connectors to an I/O carrier board. The modular approach allows for short time-to market, application-specific customization, simplified development, high stability and long life cycles."

VIA's COMe-8X90 comes with a SDK kit, BSPs, reference design ... all the kit that an OEM would need. Find out more in the Press Release.

WonderMedia chip gets WiDi thumbs up

The Intel WiDi technology allows PCs and laptops to connect wirelessly to large TV screens, potentially allowing for video files to be streamed to the lounge room. The WonderMedia PRIZM WM8720 SoC Platform has been certified for WiDi now.

"Intel WiDi allows people to wirelessly enjoy their laptop or desktop PC content on the biggest screen in their home through either an external wireless adapter or an embedded solution that is integrated into a TV or monitor, and a simple Intel based WiFi connection from their computer. Setup is a snap and Intel WiDi Widget allows people to share their screen with the simple push of a button." - Full PR.

Sneak preview of new VIA USB cable tech

TweakTown visited the VIA labs offices in Taipei and got a sneak peak at a new cable technology that VIA have been working on that gets rid of the security issues with long USB 3.0 cables. The new design uses fibre optic and can't be hacked into. Due to the cost of the technology, VIA is only targeting government and big business with the new cable at the moment.

"Besides the benefits of the added length and better security since fiber optic cabling does not omit EMI, USB 3.0 cable with fiber optics is far less lighter than copper based cabling and it is also much thinner, possibly allowing it to get into really tight areas where traditional and thicker USB 3.0 cable may not fit."

VIA Making a SoC with SSD Support

VIA will be making a System on Chip (SoC) that includes supports for Solid State Drives (SSDs). The news come as Tensilica announces VIA's choice to use their DPU for the task.



"Tensilica's DPUs allow designers to customize the IP core, mix both control and signal processing, and add high-bandwidth connectivity to increase performance without increasing the clock speed. For example, designers can use single-cycle bit field manipulation and arithmetic instructions along with multiple simultaneous single-cycle table lookups to achieve over 10 times the efficiency of other processors. This not only increases IOPS, but also significantly reduces the energy consumed and the complexity of the SOC design itself." [Source]

Although not much else about this development has been announced, I wonder whether it's VIA who will be producing this SoC or VIA Wondermedia, a favorite SoC solution of many tablets found in South East Asia.

VIA Telecom chip gives Samsung more power and less cost

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus will soon run on a Via Telecom CDMA/EV-DO Rev chip combined with a Samsung LTE chip, which together cost less than half of the $23 that the previous LTE chip Samsung used used to cost. Technology is getting faster and more advanced but also cheaper.

"Emerging markets and the spread of LTE technology have also contributed to the growth of the smartphone market, which is expected to grow by more than 30 percent. The telecommunication system business will further solidify its leadership in the wireless network market with the expansion of the LTE service in Korea and North America." Source: Telecomlead.com

Mini-ITX in print ... well digital print

"VIA Technologies developed the Mini-ITX format 10 years ago and it quickly became the preferred platform for modders the world over. In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the launch of the platform, VIA has self-published an e-book titled ”Small is Beautiful: 10 Years of Mini-ITX” detailing the development of the platform and highlighting some of the best Mini-ITX mods of the last 10 years. Flipping through the virtual pages was a trip down memory lane."

It bet it was! This is the intro to a write up in UK HTPC about VIA's recent eBook. Any blogger who has followed HTPC developments over the last ten years would be very familiar with the Mini-ITX.

Anyone can get a free copy of the eBook here.

Some VIA Labs News I missed From CES

On show at CES last month was a device that I missed hearing about. "Collaboratively created with FOCI, PCL, OpTarget and UMEC, the VIA Labs V0510 visual transceiver extends the attain of USB 3.0 to over 100 meters."

The reason why this probably escaped my attention is because its application is actually fairly obscure:

“The UMEC Thumb ONE USB 3.0 AOC can expand gigabit-speed USB 3.0 transmission stretch up to 100m (330ft) with visual fibers. Since visual fibers bring light instead of electric impulses, they are rarely resistant to electromagnetic interference and they do not illuminate any of their own, creation the USB 3.0 AOC an glorious answer for applications in Medical Imaging Equipment, Broadcast TV, and others where high-tolerance to interference is desirable” mentioned K.T. Chao, Vice President of UMEC."

Source: Audiovideoton.com

VIA Telecom: The Quiet Achiever

VIA Telecom had a good year in 2011, with profits up 60% and sales of 10 million entry level CDMA chips and another 8 million for other better known manufacturers. Having also sold LTE chips to Samsung and Motorolla, Digitimes notes that "VIA Telecom aims to land comparable solution orders from affiliate company HTC in 2012".