Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), one of the leading manufacturers of processors and graphics technology, has recently announced that it will be developing and licensing graphics core technology to semiconductor manufacturers in the handheld industry.
This decision is a major move in advancing the company's plans toward its goal of developing "the ultimate visual experience". AMD has been providing its technology to PCs and gaming consoles for years now, so it has a solid background in the field.
STMicroelectronics has already licensed AMD graphics technology. Included in the deal are the 2D and 3D vector graphics engine and software which are compliant with OpenGL ES 2.0 and OpenVG 1.0. OpenGL ES is used for creating user-interfaces while OpenVG is used for rendering graphics, both of which are geared toward mobile handheld devices and cellular phones. STMicroelectronics has decided to integrate AMD’s handheld unified shader architecture graphics technology with its Nomadik platform.
AMD has been working with different fields involved with developing handheld platforms such as semiconductor suppliers, OEM, and application developers. They are hoping to push for improved graphics on handhelds through the use of their technology in conjunction with the latest APIs.
