Nvidia takes mobile to the next dimension

Graphics processor firm Nvidia lifted the curtain on the prototype implementation of the Khronos OpenKODE 1.0 specification, which it will use to drive 3D interface design on the mobile.

The demo specification showcases multi-tasking in a multi-windowed environment, translucent window compositing and a 3D user interface with transition effects.

OpenKODE is a royalty-free, cross-platform standard from the Khronos Group, that combines a set of native APIs into a media stack specification for rich media and graphics applications.

In order to meet the growing multimedia demands of mobile phone users, Nvidia, will also be targeting the rapidly growing applications processor market.

The GoForce 6100, the company’s first in a family of applications processors, claims to consume less than half the power of any applications processor available on the market today and supports computationally intensive multimedia codecs as well as an audio subsystem, integrated wifi and USB 2.0.

Industry analyst IDC predicts that the market for applications processors is set to more than double in terms of revenue in the next 4 years, increasing to $3.3bn in 2010 from $1.5bn in 2006.

“Semiconductors that enable connectivity and multimedia features in handsets are expected to show the greatest growth over the next several years. Namely, radios and transceivers that enable connectivity and applications processors and media coprocessors that process multimedia content will show the greatest revenue gains,” said Mario Morales, program vice president of semiconductors at IDC.