| Bsquare, Sharp release free CE .NET 4.2 BSP for BlueStreak SoC |
Oct. 15, 2003
Bsquare Corp. and Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas today announced a Microsoft Windows CE 4.2 board support package (BSP) for Sharp's BlueStreak LH7A400 system-on-chip (SoC) evaluation kit, the KEV7A400. The BSP is meant to help Sharp customers quickly evaluate, prototype, and test the LH7A400 SoC using the latest version of Windows CE .NET, to support a multitude of applications including Internet and multimedia-centric devices. Source code for the Windows CE .NET 4.2-based BSP is available for free download from BSQUARE's website.
(Click here for larger photo of the KEV7A400)
Key features of the BSP include Bootloader (CF-ATA, Ethernet, PCMCIA-ATA, and serial support), OAL Components (kernel startup, debug, interrupt, and IOCTL support), and documentation for all custom APIs. Additionally, driver support is included for the following devices: LCD display (TFT, Advanced-TFT color LCD controller); Ethernet (1-port, on-board); matrix keyboard; serial port/IrDA v1.0; on-board synchronous serial touch-screen controller; PCMCIA Type II; USB v1.1 device interface; 16-bit IDE interface via CompactFlash; and AC97 audio playback.
With full access to BSP source code, OEMs can reduce hardware evaluation and development time by modifying an already-working BSP. Bsquare also offers an optional $8,500 service package that includes a five-day Windows CE training course, the development tool Microsoft Platform Builder, 4 hours of solution architect consulting, and 10 one-hour technical support incidents. Developers can ask questions about using or modifying the BSP code, and get answers from the same company that originally wrote the code.
Sharp's LH7A400 SoC, powered by a 32-bit ARM922T core, is aimed at emerging portable- and multimedia-centric device applications. In addition to the ARM922T core, the SoC integrates a 16KB Cache, Memory Management Unit, color LCD controller, and 80KB of local SRAM. Processor performance is on the order of 220 MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second), with power consumptions of just 1.33 mW/MIPS. The LH7A400 is currently in production. Further details on the LH7A400 SoC and KEV7A400 Evaluation Board Kits is available here.
"This BSP announcement from Sharp and Bsquare strengthens the Windows Embedded ecosystem by making Windows CE .NET 4.2 more accessible and easier to use for device developers," commented Scott Horn, Director of Embedded Devices Group, Microsoft Corp. "By offering source code for the board support package, Bsquare allows developers to exercise enormous flexibility in implementing features and functionality, which can help shorten their eventual time-to-revenue."
(Click here for further information)
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