Psion licenses Halla processor to Motorola

Psion licenses Halla processor to Motorola
By Peter Clarke, EE Times
March 3, 2000 (5:24 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20000303S0043

LONDON ( ChipWire) -- Psion plc, a developer of handheld computers, will license triband GSM cellular communications technology from Motorola Inc. and in turn will license Motorola a low-power processor called Halla.

The two companies said they will use the cross-licensed technologies to develop wireless products under a joint development agreement announced in January, and perhaps in a wider range ofwireless products developed separately outside the agreement.

Psion's move into microprocessor licensing marks a new direction for the company. The name of the new processor, Halla, is notable for the being the same as that of Brian Halla, chief executive officer of National Semiconductor Corp. Psion said the device is optimized for products based on Symbian Ltd.'s Epoc operating system and can operate at speeds up to 200 MHz. Psion is the parent of Symbian.

According to reports, the Halla is b ased on an ARM9 CPU core to which Psion has added peripherals. The ARM core belongs to ARM Ltd. of Cambridge, England.

In return, Psion is gaining access to a radio transceiver that provides triple-band GSM capability, at 900, 1,800 and 1,900 MHz, that enables mobile cellular communications in 142 countries worldwide, including much of the United States.

"The agreement gives both companies best-in-class technology, which will provide a vital competitive edge in emerging mobile Internet markets," said David Levin, chief executive officer of Psion.