QuickLogic expands into mobile accessory market with SDIO client system block

As consumers demand higher levels of integration, more functions are being added into devices such as smartphones, personal media players and personal navigation devices. The same trend is also seen in the accessory market. Expansion cards and thumb drives are integrating multiple radios for Wi-Fi, mobile TV and other wireless technologies, along with flash memory storage for data and multimedia content. The most commonly used interfaces in mobile devices are high speed SD/SDIO and USB. This proven SDIO client function allows QuickLogic to expand the applications potential of its programmable solutions from the host side, to the accessory market on the client side.

The SDIO client system block opens a whole new range of applications for QuickLogic's CSSP platforms, says Howard Li, QuickLogic's senior platform marketing manager. There are fixed-function SDIO client ASSPs that are available on the market, but with limited functionality and zero flexibility. This new SDIO client block can be integrated into a variety of QuickLogic's CSSP platforms and can be tailored to meet customer specific requirements. Mobile market architects and designers now can easily attach Wi-Fi, mobile TV, Bluetooth and NAND flash storage to a standard SDIO interface in a single device.

The SDIO client block has been added to QuickLogic's proven system block library for its CSSP solutions platforms. QuickLogic's CSSP approach blends fixed logic blocks with an array of low-power customisable building blocks (CBBs) for implementing additional standards-based or custom functions. This approach offers development teams a customisable platform that addresses the need to meet cost, battery life and PCB-space requirements, while also maintaining the flexibility to evolve designs as market demands change in the future. QuickLogic's CSSP platforms include the PolarPro and ArcticLink platform families, offering a range of options in size and capacity.