As time passes, ST-Ericsson doesn’t stay in the same place. Founded in 2009, it is operating in the wireless semiconductors industry. Nowadays, this company proudly calls itself a top producer of processors and modems.
The NovaThor chipset is considered as one of a few chips on the market comparable to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon. Many modern smartphones, including new Sony models — Xperia U and Xperia P — use this chip.
Evolution of ST-Ericsson Processors
ST-Ericsson developed several types of processors — A9600, A9540, A9500, M7400, and N7300 are the most popular ones. Let’s take a look at each of them.
New Nova A9600 Application Processor
Released by ST-Ericsson in 2013, New Nova A9600 offers a list of advantages over U8500:
- Low-power version of dual ARM® Cortex-A15 MPCore™;
- Cores operate at 2.5GHz each;
- Power-saving techniques;
- Over 20-fold graphic performance improvements;
- Full HD (120 frames/sec);
- Professional 3D recording in camcorder-quality;
- High-quality telepresence and videoconferencing.
The release of A9600 was a reaction to an increased usage of smartphones and tablets. They required more effective and less power-consuming core elements. Thus, the company combined integrated LTE modems with Cortex-A15 processors.
Another innovation New Nova A9600 brought was the incorporation of the next gen graphic processors — “Imagination Technologies.” Created under the codename “Rogue,” they raised the bar for GPUs for the mobile industry.
New Nova A9540, A9500 Application Processors
In a year’s difference, ST-Ericsson released two New Nova series application processors: A9540 and A9500. Let’s take a look at their differences.
| New Nova A9540 | New Nova A9500 | |
| Release year | 2012 | 2011 |
| Central Processing Unit | ARM Cortex- A9, 1.8 GHz (2 cores) | ARM Cortex- A9, 1.2 GHz (2 cores) |
| Graphics Processing Unit | PowerVR SGX 544 | ARM Mali 400 MP |
| Semiconductor technology | 32 nm | 45 nm |
| Memory | Dual-channel LP-DDR 2 | LP-DDR 2 |
| Main features | Four times improved graphics | State-of-art graphic capabilities for mobile devices |
As for the further usage of these processors, A9500 proved to be more effective. It became a part of many Lenovo, HTC, and Snowball smartphone models.
Thor M7400 and M7300 Next Generation Modems
These modems were released with A9540 and A9500 as combined NovaThor solutions. Created in 2011, M7400 and M7300 support HSPA+ and LTE, ensuring 2G/3G networks compatibility in highly-integrated and small radio solutions. This means that they support over five frequency bars.
Later, ST-Ericsson launched NovaThor platforms — T5008 and U4500. They combine modem and application processors to provide smartphones with the following benefits: power, size, and bill-of-material.
Thor M7400 can connect to 2G, HSPA, HSPA+, 3G, LTE, TD-SCDMA, and FDD/TDD networks. This lets this modem to peak high download speeds in LTE networks (up to 100 Mbps). It also supports voice calls in two ways: via fallback and via VoLTE.
ST Ericsson Brings New Quad-Core Processor
In September 2021, ST-Ericsson brought out its new 4-core processor — NovaThor L8580. It features four cores, operates at 2.5 GHz, and will be used for mid-range smartphones. It supports cameras up to 20 MP, full HD, LTE, and 3D display.
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