Another mobile media player reference design that lacks Linux

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Aug. 17, 2004

Sharp has announced two hardware/software reference design kits for portable multimedia devices such as handheld video players, digital photo albums, audio jukeboxes, and multimedia toys. However, the kits are not yet available with embedded Linux software.

(Click here for larger image)

Freescale (formerly Motorola) Semiconductor last month launched a very similar reference design kit -- also without support for embedded Linux.

Both of Sharp's reference designs include a development board, bill of materials, schematics, operating system software, video and audio codecs, board support package (BSP), and technical support. The designs are:

The QVGA reference design utilizes a unique 3.6-inch "native landscape" Amorphous Silicon (A-Si) TFT-LCD specifically developed for portable media applications.
The QCIF+ reference design uses a 2.2-inch A-Si TFT-LCD, also developed for mobile applications. Both LCD panels are said to provide excellent color saturation and low power consumption with LED backlighting.

Media Player Reference Design Specifications

Item	QCIF+ Design	QVGA Design
Processor	Sharp LH7A404 ARM9 SoC
Video Formats	WMV, MPEG4
Audio Formats	WMA, AAC, MP3
Picture Formats	JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF
Hard Drive Technologies	1.0-in. CompactFlash Microdrive	1.8-in. IDE ATA support
Removable Media	MultiMediaCard and Secure Digital
Data Interface	USB 2.0 Full Speed	USB 2.0 High Speed
Audio Interface	Stereo headphone jack
LCD TFT Display	2.2-in A-Si transflective, 176 x 220 QCIF+ resolution	3.6-in. A-Si transmissive, 320 x 240 landscape mode
Battery	Li-Ion battery charge circuit
Power	5V DC input, battery or USB
Operating Systems	Windows CE .NET, μC/OS, ThreadX, VxWorks

About the LHA7A404 SoC

The Sharp LH7A404 ARM9 system-on-chip (SoC) processor is a key component in both reference designs. According to Sharp, the LH7A404 provides all the major interfaces needed for hand-held portable media players in a single package including an interface to Sharp's latest generation LCD panels, AC97 audio, CompactFlash, MMC/SD, USB, NAND Flash, SDRAM support, and sufficient performance to decode compressed video and audio.

Detailed information on the LH7A404 is available here

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