Google打算加強(qiáng)其Android平臺對MIPS處理器核心的支持，讓后者能在這波智能手機(jī)與平板裝置熱潮中火力全開。預(yù)計在幾個星期之內(nèi)，Android原生開發(fā)工具就會內(nèi)建支持 MIPS核心的 GNU 編譯器；Google幾個月之后將發(fā)布的Android新版本，則預(yù)期將針對MIPS應(yīng)用程序二進(jìn)制接口(ABI)提供所有程序代碼與數(shù)據(jù)庫的完整支持。
“Google 已經(jīng)開始注意MIPS核心Android平板裝置的出貨量；”MIPS行動架構(gòu)首席工程師Amit Rohatgi于美國舉行的Linley Tech行動技術(shù)研討會(Linley Tech Mobile Conference)上表示，到目前為止，采用MIPS核心處理器的Android平板裝置出貨量累計達(dá)180萬臺，主要是中國廠商采用MIPS授權(quán)客戶──北京君正集成電路(Ingenic Semiconductor)之
SoC方案所推出的低價產(chǎn)品。飛利浦(Philips)最近則成為首家采用君正處理器推出Android平板裝置的國際品牌廠；其產(chǎn)品跟大多數(shù)中國廠商產(chǎn)品一樣，配備7寸屏幕。
Philips在中國市場推出的7寸Android平板裝置I02esmc
最近有業(yè)界傳言指出，MIPS因為業(yè)績表現(xiàn)不佳，有可能將公司出售；
MIPS處理器架構(gòu)在網(wǎng)絡(luò)設(shè)備、機(jī)頂盒等應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域地位穩(wěn)固，但卻一直無法在目前由ARM把持的行動裝置應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域擴(kuò)展版圖。
在軟件支持方面，有85%的Android應(yīng)用程序，是執(zhí)行在該操作系統(tǒng)的Dalvik虛擬機(jī)直譯器上(virtual machine interpreter)；但在Android線上商店的5億個應(yīng)用程序中，至少有8萬個是鎖定ARM處理器架構(gòu)應(yīng)用?？芍С諥ndroid應(yīng)用程序在MIPS架構(gòu)處理器上執(zhí)行的程序代碼已經(jīng)存在，一旦Google將這些程序代碼固定納入Android標(biāo)準(zhǔn)版本中，可望簡化支持MIPS架構(gòu)所需的所有軟件相 關(guān)工作。
“我最頭痛的工作就是確保所有支持Android平臺在MIPS處理器上執(zhí)行的工具鏈(tool chains)是完整的?！盧ohatgi補(bǔ)充指出：“我們絕對需要Android對MIPS ABI的官方支持，而且它即將來臨?！贝送猓琑ohatgi也與應(yīng)用程序領(lǐng)導(dǎo)開發(fā)商合作，讓這些業(yè)者在他們的程序代碼中支持MIPS架構(gòu)。
據(jù)了解，與ARM Cortex A9核心500萬美元的授權(quán)費用相較，MIPS核心的授權(quán)費用僅是“一小部分”；這對中國手機(jī)芯片設(shè)計業(yè)者來說應(yīng)該是好消息。
君正集成電路的1.2GHz MIPS核心處理器是與ARM Cortex A8組件直接競爭的產(chǎn)品，該公司新一代以Cortex A9為競爭目標(biāo)的MIPS核心處理器將于今年稍晚開始提供樣品，不過其耗電量可能會比ARM核心芯片稍高一些。至于挑戰(zhàn)ARM A15的64位君正處理器則仍在早期開發(fā)階段，據(jù)Rohatgi透露，采用該芯片的產(chǎn)品預(yù)計2013年底上市。
英特爾(Intel)也積極拉攏與Google之間的關(guān)系，好讓其x86處理器在Android平臺取得像ARM那么多的支持。在Google負(fù)責(zé)Android平臺的Andy Rubin于去年秋天現(xiàn)身英特爾開發(fā)者大會(IDF)，宣布兩家公司的緊密合作。
編譯：Judith Cheng
本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載
參考英文原文：Google to bundle MIPS support with Android，by Rick Merritt
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Google to bundle MIPS support with Android
Rick Merritt
SAN JOSE – Google is expected to boost its support in Android for cores from MIPS Technologies, giving the company a badly needed boost in the hot smartphone and tablet sector.
The Android native developers’ kit is expected to start bundling a GNU compiler for MIPS within weeks. Google is expected to bundle full support for the MIPS application binary interface in all Android code and libraries, starting with a future Android release in the next several months.
“Google has started to take notice of the volume shipments of MIPS-based Android tablets,” said Amit Rohatgi, principal mobile architect at MIPS, speaking at the Linley Tech Mobile Conference here.
About 1.8 million MIPS-based Android tablets have shipped to date, Rohatgi said. They are mainly low cost systems from China OEMs powered by SoCs from MIPS licensees such as Ingenic Semiconductor.
Philips recently became the first global brand company to ship an Android tablet using the Ingenic SoC. Like many of the China branded systems, it sports a seven-inch screen.
The news comes as reports say MIPS may be preparing for a sale due to declining financial results. The architecture has a solid base in networking and set-top boxes, but has yet to gain a broad foothold in mobile where ARM holds sway.
In terms of software support, as much as 85 percent of Android apps run on the OS’s Dalvik virtual machine interpreter. But as many as 80,000 of the half a billion apps in the Android online store run natively, targeting the ARM architecture.
Code for running Android apps on MIPS already exists. Getting Google to bundle it all as part its standard releases is expected to ease the sometimes tedious job of integrating all the software needed to support the architecture.
“My number one headache and job is to make sure all the tool chains are complete for Android on MIPs,” said Rohatgi. “We absolutely must get official support for the MIPS ABI in Android, and that’s coming,” he added.
Separately, Rohatgi works with leading apps developers to get them to support MIPS in their code. A MIPS emulator called MagiCode is already available as a download so users can run ARM-based Android apps on a MIPS system.
The good news for China mobile chip designers is licenses for the MIPS cores cost “a fraction” of the reported $5 million it costs to license an ARM Cortex A9.
The Ingenic SoC is a 1.2 GHz device that competes favorably with the Cortex A8. A version with two MIPS CPU cores will sample later this year, targeting the A9, but consuming slightly more power than the ARM chip.
A 64-bit Ingenic chip aimed at the A15 is in an early design phase, targeting use in late 2013 products, Rohatgi said.
For its part, Intel has also forged closer links with Google so its x86 also will get as much support under Android as ARM. Andy Rubin, who heads Android work at Google, appeared at the Intel Developer Conference last fall as part of an announcement of closer collaboration between the two companies.
