Atmel ARM9-based Products Support Android OS

Android is becoming an OS of choice with embedded developers not only in handsets and tablets but in a variety of applications in vertical markets, including household appliances, industrial equipment monitors and medical devices. It offers several benefits for embedded developers over traditional Linux® distributions, and is considered as an out-of-the-box Linux solution. It is a complete package built on top of the Linux kernel with libraries for audio and graphics, application framework, and browser and multimedia applications. With Atmel's new ready-to-use BSP for SAM9 devices, designers can now run Android on an Atmel ARM9 processor to save overall system costs and hours of coding time on the Android platform.

Atmel is collaborating closely with companies such as Mentor Graphics® (NASDAQ: MENT) to provide designers with the option to use a ready-to-use UI GUI (user interface graphical user interface) for their embedded applications in vertical markets. Phil Burr, director of UI product marketing, Mentor Graphics Embedded Software Division said, We are excited that the Atmel SAM9 class of devices will fully support the Android OS for consumer and industrial applications. We are working closely with Atmel to ensure embedded developers can quickly pull up our Inflexion UI tool to create rich UIs and get the most out of their hardware design using the easy-to-use, drag-and-drop Inflexion UI tool. Customers can also get additional support and customization services from third parties and the Android community.

The Atmel Android port is based on version 2.1 and supports a camera interface, hardware video decoding (for the SAM9M10 only), software decoding, Web browsing via an Ethernet cable or a WiFi SDIO dongle from Atmel partner H&D Wireless.

Atmel is committed to bringing easy-to-use solutions for its ARM-based embedded developers to design applications in consumer and vertical markets, said Jacko Wilbrink, product marketing director, Atmel Corporation. The support of Android OS on Atmel's ARM9-based products is proof of our commitment to listen to our customers and address their requirements. We will continue to provide our customers with tools and support that can help them save overall system costs and bring their products faster to market.