Nvidia and Marvell will provide SoC modules for Project Ara

by Tarinder Sandhu on 22 December 2014, 10:05

Tags: Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), PC

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Google ATAP, the development team behind the modular Project Ara smartphone, has revealed that Nvidia and Marvell will be among the processor module suppliers for its highly anticipated device. As you will probably already be aware, Project Ara is a modular smartphone concept which aims to allow owners to swap out components, such as processors, cameras, screens, batteries and so on, to tailor the device to their own needs and desires.

In the last official update concerning Project Ara before 2015 Google ATAP said that it had just received new demo units from Taiwan's Quanta. These are referred to as the Spiral 2 form factor prototypes. The last time we covered Project Ara news was because of a partnership with Rockchip, which signed up to make a new SoC module for the modular smartphone. Rockchip's custom SoC is expected to arrive with Spiral 3 early next year.

So, with the latest news, it certainly looks like Ara will be made available with a good choice of processors from the outset. Rockchip will have a processor module, and now we know Nvidia and Marvell will also have processor modules for the device.

Nvidia Tegra K1 and Marvell PXA1928 processor modules

Both Nvidia and Marvell are officially confirmed suppliers of SoC modules for Ara. The Google ATAP team says that these chips will use a "Toshiba UniPro bridge ASIC to connect to the on-device network". The Nvidia Tegra K1 has had quite a bit of coverage here on HEXUS. As a reminder it is a 192-core graphics "super chip" said to be able to provide the power of a "console in the palm of your hand". Also the Tegra K1 has a 4-Plus-1 Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU running at up to 2.3GHz. It can be paired with up to 8GB of RAM and output to resolutions as high as 3840x2160.

The Marvell PXA1928 is a SoC powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex A53, has a "high performance internal memory architecture" and supports "all global broadband standards".

Google's ATAP team teased that the Spiral 2 modular design looks beautiful and said we will be able to see it at the Developers Conference in January. Here we are also hoping to hear of a wider range of interesting and innovative modules for the smartphone.

HEXUS Forums :: 18 Comments

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Posted by sykobee - Mon 22 Dec 2014 10:59
I still don't get the overall point of this project.

It's very clever, and the high-speed “unipro-m” bus for connecting things together will surely get more widespread adoption now it's being used by something, but otherwise, why?

Well, being able to slot in a replacement screen if it breaks would be handy. And a hot-swappable battery module is useful. And cannibalising components might be fun/useful once you've got a few older modules in the drawer…
Posted by Dooms - Mon 22 Dec 2014 11:10
sykobee
Well, being able to slot in a replacement screen if it breaks would be handy. And a hot-swappable battery module is useful. And cannibalising components might be fun/useful once you've got a few older modules in the drawer…

And thats prob what I'm looking forward to, I love tinkering with my phones etc (been running custom roms on my Android devices since the original HTC Magic) so this is just taking it to the next step. I never have the latest and greatest phone out there, I have the one that suits my wants/needs and this phone will hopefully allow me to create my perfect phone (and change it on a whim) :D
Posted by Tabbykatze - Mon 22 Dec 2014 14:57
The reason this project has come about is the throwaway nature of current technology that when you buy a new device, you throw away the old one (not always, I resell mine or recycle). The big thing for the project is not just modularity but say you've been using your current configuration for say 12 months which is the average lifetime of current generation handsets and it's getting a little slow with current day applications and load, instead of buying a whole new handset, you just pop the SOC out and the new version in at a much lower price. I'd rather spend ~£100 on a new SOC to give my phone a speed boost than ~£300-500 for the new handset with better speeds.

That's where Project Ara is heading. It will take a long time to adopt and it seems to be going well as more and more companies are starting to turn their heads towards this design. It's much easier to sell components at <£100 a pop than a whole new handset at >£300.

This will however potentially break down the phone + contract system.
Posted by tumbledragon - Mon 22 Dec 2014 16:45
Tabbykatze
This will however potentially break down the phone + contract system.

You say that like it's a bad thing
Posted by semo - Mon 22 Dec 2014 17:00
This may be the only guaranteed way to get a phone with the a few see removable battery for in the future. Not long ago we took this feature for granted and then the Google Nexus movement happened.

I jus hope they don't actually seal some type of master battery in the that can die and kill the rest of the mobo with it. Also I hope they allow for SD card modules (not micro)

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