OMAP2 Vs OMAP3 and its impact on Maemo5?
 

Hi All,

I have been wanting to ask this question on OMAP3 since some time but now here I go.

What are the noteworthy differences between an OMAP2 and an OMAP3? What does opening up OMAP3 means? What would it mean to the developers for Maemo5? And finally, as an end user, how different (pleasant?) will be the experience using a future NIT (N900) with an OMAP3?

Anyone, care to explain?

Thanks in advance,

Re: OMAP2 Vs OMAP3 and its impact on Maemo5?
 

These questions have largely been answered elsewhere, so some searching around will turn up information.

OMAP2420 vs OMAP3430

A 600MHz Cortex A8 is about equivalent to a >1GHz ARM11. So, clock for clock, Cortex A8 is about 2-3x faster than ARM11.

Re: OMAP2 Vs OMAP3 and its impact on Maemo5?
 

Ryan, thanks for your response.

So, are you saying that Nokia's next tablet will be using the OMAP3430 and not the newer 3530 instead?

I think both the Pandora and Beagle uses the 3530.

Re: OMAP2 Vs OMAP3 and its impact on Maemo5?
 

The OMAP3530 isn't "newer", it's just an OMAP3430 a few proprietary components removed (mostly interfaces for cellular modems), a larger ball-pitch and a different marketing target. Otherwise, they're the exact same CPU.

Right, because the OMAP35x is targeted at the smaller-scale embedded Linux market, while the OMAP34x is targeted at the large scale cellular market. As far as end users are concerned, though, they're no different.

Re: OMAP2 Vs OMAP3 and its impact on Maemo5?
 

Well, I just read this http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php...c=40795&st=135

As you had mentioned in your post, the above link too talks about the larger ball-pitch in the 35xx series at 0.65mm. But then, why not 3440? 3440 has the same 0.4mm ball-pitch as like the 3430. And added to that, it has HD Video (720p) support. Won't this be a good chipset for the next NIT?

Re: OMAP2 Vs OMAP3 and its impact on Maemo5?
 

Any OMAP3 at that speed should have pretty much no problem decoding 720P video on the CPU alone, without bringing the DSP into play. I assume Nokia will be trying to balance performance with battery life, and that their choices will reflect that.

-John

Re: OMAP2 Vs OMAP3 and its impact on Maemo5?
 

The OMAP3440 is a UMPC chip (800MHz versus the OMAP3430's 600MHz), it's not intended for the power profile of the tablets, as getting to 800MHz requires a rather significant voltage bump (which means a rather significant drop in battery life).

The Cortex A8 has some fantastic SIMD (NEON) that allows 720p decoding without issue.