Freescale has been attending various technology conferences over the course of the last two months showing off their new i.MX 6 series of processors. The i.MX 6SoloLite is especially interesting because it was specifically designed for the next generation of e-readers.
The new i.MX 6SoloLite is an expansion on their seminal i.MX508 chip-set that powered millions of e-readers! Everything from the Kindle to the Nook are using these processors and Freescale is betting on delivering an even faster response time. This means faster page turns, higher resolution and increased performance.
The single-core i.MX 6SoloLite by Freescale integrates an ARM Cortex-A9 core running up to 1GHz with a 2D graphics processor, 256KB of L2 cache and 32-bit DDR3/LPDDR2 support. It will also feature display controllers for EPD and LCD-based panels.The i.MX 6SoloLite also introduces a new, simplified power management structure to be integrated across the i.MX 6 series for the reduction of design time and optimization of power efficiency, ultimately helping further extend eReader battery life.
One of the benefits of this new architecture is that it supports a myriad of operating systems. Many e-readers such as the Nook and Sony are using Android, while others use heavily customized versions of Linux. The new processor supports Android Version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), Linux, QNX, Ubuntu and Windows Compact 7.
So when can you expect to see new e-readers come out using the new i.MX 6SoloLite chip-set? Freescale told us an exclusive interview that mainstream adoption by high profile companies in April or May.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
