Architecture of a Smartphone and SOC(system on chip)

 Architecture of a Smartphone

No standard exists to define what makes a phone a smartphone.

GSM/CDMA mobile phones.

Run a high-level operating system.

Features:

Ø  WiFi

Ø  Bluetooth

Ø  internet access

Ø  custom application software o cameras

Histry:

1997 - Term smartphone is coined

1999 - RIM begins making BlackBerries

2007 - iPhone 1 released

2008 - Android v1.0 released

Now - iPhone 5 and Android v4.2

Hardware Architecture of Smartphone:

   GPS    Display/TS  KBD  Camera  µphone  Speaker

A system-on-chip architecture with three primary components

§  An application processor executing the end-user’s application software with assistance from the middleware and operating system (OS)

§  A modem or baseband processor with its own operating system components responding to the baseband radio activities (transmission and reception of audio, video, and other data contents)

§  A number of peripheral devices for interacting with the end-user

The subscriber identification module (SIM) plays an important role in reception and transmission

User Applications:

                                  Application processor executes the user applications and the related OS services Applications include audio/video codec and players, games, image processing, speech processing, internet browsing, text editing, etc. Application processor takes help from graphics accelerators as and when needed Most handheld applications are graphics-intensive Handhelds come with reasonably large amount of storage in the form of volatile SDRAM (1-2 GB) as well as non-volatile compact storage (10+ GB) .The OS is mostly a traditional one, stripped down and optimized to cater to smartphone applications.

Peripheral devices:

Typical peripheral devices LCD and touchscreen

§  Keyboard

§  Camera

§  GPS

§  Speaker and audio output for headset/earphone

§  Microphone

§  Bluetooth and Wifi

§  HDTV

Architecture

ARM processor

Snapdragon

Comparison to PCs

Architecture- ARM

ARM is the world’s leading provider of physical semiconductor intellectual property (IP) for the design of complex System on Chip (SoC) integrated circuits. ARM is at the heart of the Smartphone in your pocket today with over three ARM powered chips in a typical device. Arm’s applications processors and Physical IP platforms, Which consist of logic IP, Embedded Memory IP and interface IP that are optimized for a specific foundry process, combine to deliver the performance you need for the internet with great battery life that enables multi-day use.

§  RISC Based Processor conceived in the 80s

§  Android first utilized ARM in 2008

§  Since 2008, 190 million Android devices shipped with ARM

§  Great performance with low power costs

§  NVIDIA Tegra 3 - 4 ARM Cortex A9 cores at 1.5 GHz on

§  HTC One X Device

Architecture –Snapdragon

Ø  Similar to ARM processors, ARM Cortex A15

Ø  Developed by Qualcomm

Ø  Built with 28 nm process

Ø  Uses ARMv7 ISA

Ø  Up to 1.7 GHz quad core with 2MB L2

Architecture –PC’s

Ø  Smartphones constrained by power demands - battery vs. wall power

Ø  Smartphones constrained by size

Ø  PCs losing popularity due to increased portability

Ø  Replace PCs in the future

               System on Chip

System on Chip:

                                        A head unit over a processor or maybe method upon processor (SOC) can be a built-in signal (IC) which combines almost all different parts of your working computer or maybe other electronic method right solitary processor.

It may contain

§  Digital camera,

§  Analog & mixed-signal,

§  Radio-frequency functions

All are embedded on a single chip substrate. SoCs have become typical inside the cell phone electronic devices marketplace for their reduced energy use. A standard application is usually in the region regarding inlayed methods.

System on Chip Model:

Features of System on Chip(SOC):

Processor:

           It contain multiple, simple heterogeneous processors.

Cache:

           It contains one level and small cache.

Functionality:

           It is special purpose processor.

Interconnect:

           It has wide and high bandwidth.

Power and cost:

            Both are very low.