Gaming Graphics Get More Flashy

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Avo Kanadjian

About 5 months ago, a very interesting point-and-click adventure game called Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP was released for the Apple iPad. Was it because it has outstanding, immersive gameplay? No, it was released with incredible 8-bit visuals, challenging puzzles and an awesome soundtrack. Indeed, it was quite different than the predominate trend in gaming: more realistic and more immersive interactive graphics.

From Casual Handheld to Professional Simulations

The push for more action and realism is driving higher requirements for performance and capacity in NOR memory within embedded devices from simple handheld gaming devices to high-end professional games and simulations. One can say that “the flashiness of the game is driving the flashiness in the system” – all pun intended!

Three key memory characteristics are critical to graphics processing in these systems: data throughput, initial response times and total storage capacity. Unfortunately, balancing these tradeoffs against one another is a tricky proposition. Without superior data throughput, the gaming experience would be lost as jittery graphics would destroy the illusion; yet, fast initial response times are needed to handle fast random reads due to the interactivity of the gameplay. Traditionally, NOR Flash has handled these requirements quite well. High performance is enabled through burst mode and simultaneous read/write operations for fast boot and quick application loading.

The drive for greater, more comprehensive realism has also increased capacity requirements. When one thinks of higher capacity requirements and flash memory, one immediately thinks of solid-state disks (SSDs). Undoubtedly, SSDs are driving the limit for higher capacity with NAND flash devices and will continue for the foreseeable future. NAND Flash (64Gbit) clearly can scale to larger densities than NOR flash (now 4Gbit), but with the cost of a significant impact on initial access times due to NAND’s parallel configuration of multiplexed address and data buses. However, the push for higher capacity combined with superior performance is creating demand for another growth segment in the market, high-density NOR.

Spansion recently introduced the industry’s first 4Gb NOR Flash at 65nm. Built for speed, the chip has fast random read for interactive operation, fast programming for time efficient software development, and very high reliability for long-term operation. With these types of advancements, dual requirements of performance and capacity are best delivered by high-density NOR; particularly for 2D and 3D graphics, animation and video used in games, learning devices and automotive infotainment and instrumentation clusters.

Our panel discussion on “Instant-on Experience in Electronics” at the Flash Memory Summit

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Mark Franken

Now… as consumers, we want it now. Instant gratification has become the rule as opposed to the exception. Consequently, an “instant-on experience” has become critical for the practical use, and eventual customer satisfaction, of electronics.

Join us in session 108 – NOR Flash Memory: Instant-on Experience in Electronics on Tuesday August 9^th from 3:30-4:45PM at the Flash Memory Summit at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Chaired by Stephan Rosner – Spansion, the program will include a presentation by Cliff Zitlaw – Spansion on the Future of NOR Flash Memory as well as what promises to be an exciting and informative panel discussion with Avo Kanadjian – Spansion, Jameel Hussein – Xilinx, and Rob Cosaro – NXP Semiconductors.

The session is an open to all conference attendees. See you there!

Driving Connected TV Adoption through Sophisticated Simplicity

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Susie Gao

Panasonic, Samsung, Google, Apple and Microsoft. All are big names in the technology industry and all are betting on Connected TV to provide a big, future revenue stream through over-the-top (OTT) video. So what is OTT? It is simply the consumption of video resources over the Internet to TVs and other devices as opposed to traditional over-the-air, satellite and cable sources. Recently, Google announced that they were working on revamping their YouTube site by adding a set of “channels” around specific topics like sports. Also, they are planning to spend almost $100 million to fund content development designed exclusively for Internet delivery.

What about Features, Functions & Benefits?

At NAB 2011 in Las Vegas last week, there was a lot of discussion about various technologies and architectures. Do I have the “Connected” in the TV from the likes of Panasonic, LG and Samsung? Or do I have the “Connected” in a separate device from the likes of Apple, Google, Boxee and TiVo? Or do I have the “Connected” in a gaming system like Wii or XBOX 360? Or maybe it is a new “Connected” set-top box from a cable or satellite TV provider such as Comcast, DirecTV and others? Other discussions revolve around where does the content reside…locally or in the cloud? Do I control the ecosystem like Apple or do I have a more open system that plays well with Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Of course, the correct answer is all of the above since there will be consumers that will want to buy in various ways. The real question is how do you accelerate the current slow adoption of “Connected TV”? From a recent WSJ article, according to Nielsen Media and comScore, in February 2011, Netflix had only 24 million unique visitors spending a little over 9 hours viewing content. That is just a small part of a potential huge TV viewing public.

Unfortunately, there are challenges to making widespread adoption a reality and it comes down to Features, Functions & Benefits…in short, the delivery of advanced features with simple function for a compelling benefit. And, by the way, everyone in the ecosystem needs to make a fair living at it.

Unlike the transition from standard definition to high-definition TVs – where you literally could see what you were going to get, the value of Connected TV is harder to “see” for the consumers. Simply recreating the web-surfing experience on a TV is asking the consumer to change their passive viewing behaviors for limited return. Connected TV needs to provide more advanced interactivity features and applications that can exceed the current TV viewing and web experiences. Moreover, consumers want more premium content to view in a timelier manner. Finally, none of this matters if the user interface is clunky and confusing.

Simplicity Requires Sophistication

When you are competing against the simplicity of the power and channel buttons of the almighty remote, simplicity rules. To make an electronic programming guide that can offer superior interactivity, internet-based applications and easy access to protected content, simplicity requires sophistication. By removing the complexity from the viewer, you place it into the device requiring a higher level of software sophistication.

From an embedded systems perspective, it means faster, bigger and more secure storage in the devices. Speed and size is imperative to maintaining the user experience and security is important to prevent unauthorized access to content. Spansion is committed to providing current and future solutions to meet these needs. For example, our Spansion GL-S NOR Flash memory family has a large 1024Kb secure silicon sector to allow device manufacturers to have a protected, unhackable area for their IP and rights management access codes. And, Spansion’s MirrorBit® charge trapping process technology enables new milestones in cost-effective, high capacity and superior performing flash memory.

In the end, what these new “Connected Devices” will look like remains to be seen. Today, the cable and satellite operators provide the access to premium content and are innovating in their own way to ensure people connect with it. From allowing you to start a program in one room and pause and finish in another, to viewing On Demand titles from a mobile device, the accessibility of content will only increase. As the “Connected Devices” become more sophisticated and provide a compelling benefit to the consumers while creating a valid business model to the content providers, widespread adoption will only increase.

Instant-on Printers: Keeping Up with the Pace of Life

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Robert Fan

We’ve all been there. It is going to be one of those big days at work and you are hurrying to get to the next meeting. As you are about to leave your office you click the button to print your presentation. You rush to the nearby printer only to find it still waking up from sleep and then the panic sets in. Truly not the best way to be mentally prepared for your upcoming meeting.

Multi-Function Means Greater Requirements

While putting printers to sleep is a great way to save energy, consumers today want instant-on capabilities to avoid this exact situation. Innovations in the fuser modules have reduced the wait time to the first printed page to a matter of seconds. Also, these multi-function printers (MFP) are expanding their utilities to include color management, copying, scanning, faxing, advanced networking and internet access.

Truly, today’s MFPs are much more sophisticated than the initial days of dot-matrix personal printers. This intelligence puts demands on the electronics inside the printer to do more, including high speed printing, faster boot times, more sophisticated software and therefore higher density non-volatile memory (NVM). In order to balance the competing requirements, design engineers depend on high performance NOR flash memory to provide storage for the advanced software.

Meeting the Challenge

For example, our Spansion^® GL-S Flash memory family was designed specifically for fast data access, interactivity and boot performance. It includes multiple storage densities of 128-Mbit, 256-Mbit, 512-Mbit and 1-Gbit to support a wide platform of electronic designs. The family’s page read performance is 45% faster versus other competitive products. The read performance not only enables a fast boot experience but it also can save overall system power as it reduces the time for information transfer out of the chip.

In what ways can you leverage this idea for success with your next design?

Consumers Thirst for Instant-On Experience

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Avo Kanadjian

With Apple’s recent launch of the iPad 2 there’s lots of discussion in the blogosphere and editorials across the web on the “post-PC” era and the improved instant-on user experience that comes with it. There’s debate whether tablets are signaling a new era beyond the traditional PC or if it is just an evolution of the PC. Stephen Skankland at CNET wrote in an interesting column recently that he thinks it’s the latter, an evolution.

I think today’s tablets highlight a trend that has been taking place for many years – the need for instant-on performance. Consumers have always had an expectation for fast boot-up and performance in their applications – on their personal computers, phones, TVs and cars. For example, once the ignition is turned on, drivers expect immediate access to all features and functions of the car from the next generation digital instrument clusters to infotainment and navigation systems. It is a key part of a safe and pleasing driving experience consumers have come to expect.

NOR Flash memory is playing an important role in enabling the fastest instant-on experience. With NOR’s fast read speed, devices are booting faster than ever and coming out of deep sleep modes ready to respond to consumer’s needs.

NOR Flash is also the premier choice for providing reliable storage for operating systems and applications that electronic devices require in order to function. In fact, a new generation of NOR Flash memory from Spansion is bringing a whole new level of performance to consumer electronics and a host of other devices including automotive, networking and telecommunications.

It’s an exciting time in electronics. What change will Flash memory usher in next?

Hurry Up and Get Idle

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Avo Kanadjian

I was talking this week with Jim Handy, a widely recognized semiconductor analyst with Objective Analysis. We were discussing how common wisdom suggests that performance often comes with the added cost of increased power and inefficiency. A fast car is going to burn more gas. The quickest processor is going to consumer more watts of energy. It is often true.

I mentioned to Jim that our assumption was that Energy Star appliances and equipment, which many of our customers produce, would require low power memory devices. But a customer informed me that, on the contrary, they want us to provide them with the highest performance memory solutions. High performance lets them provide their customers with an “instant on” user experience when they initiate a task on equipment that is in a “deep sleep” mode.

This is counterintuitive, but the fact is, that low power consumption is achieved by putting equipment into deep sleep mode and our high performance NOR Flash memory is critical in enabling that “instant on” experience for users.

Jim reminded me of an Intel axiom called “HUGI”. It stands for Hurry Up and Get Idle. Sometimes it is actually more efficient to perform a task as quickly as possible so you can return to a state of no or low power consumption. The extra power you use during that short spike can result in an overall power savings because you were able get idle again more quickly.

Conventional wisdom doesn’t always prove to be right. You really need to understand your environment to know what’s most important to your customer and how you can differentiate from your competition by giving customers the ability to build a better end product.