Introduction ? ? The ARM Cortex -A8 microprocessor is the first applications microprocessor in A

Introduction ? ? The ARM Cortex -A8 microprocessor is the first applications microprocessor in ARM!ˉs new Cortex family. With high performance and power efficiency, it targets a wide variety of mobile and consumer applications including mobile phones, set-top boxes, gaming consoles and automotive navigation/entertainment systems. The Cortex-A8 processor spans a range of performance points depending on the implementation, delivering over to 2000 Dhrystone MIPS (DMIPS) of performance for demanding consumer applications and consuming less than 300mW for low-power mobile devices. This translates into a large increase in processing capability while staying with the power levels of previous generations of mobile devices. Consumer applications will benefit from the reduced heat dissipation and resulting lower packaging and integration costs.