Imagination Technologies says POWERVR SGX driving migration towards shader-based graphics in mobile

Enabling over 25 handsets and over 75 netbook and mobile Internet device products, Imagination’s POWERVR SGX is the driving force behind the delivery of OpenGL ES 2.0 into the hands of consumers.

Says Tony King-Smith, VP Marketing, Imagination: “Semiconductor manufacturers and OEMs have embraced shader-based graphics for mobile more rapidly than we expected. The majority of mobile applications processors in design today from key manufacturers are using OpenGL ES 2.0 capable graphics from Imagination, including Texas Instruments, Intel, NEC, Samsung, Renesas and others. And the headline products in the mobile segment today are already those with shader capabilities, such as the Sony Ericsson Satio.”

Imagination’s POWERVR SGX graphics IP cores now range from SGX520, the world’s smallest OpenGL™ ES 2.0 mobile core, to SGX543MP16 for high-performance console and computing devices. All members of the SGX family also fully support the popular OpenGL ES 1.1 and OpenVG 1.1 standards, with a growing number of cores also providing full support for DirectX 9 and DirectX 10. Imagination provides mature and comprehensive reference drivers for all major operating systems including Linux, Symbian, Windows Vista/XP, Windows Mobile and Android.

Albin Olofsson, Tools Product Manager, Developer World, Sony Ericsson says: With OpenGL ES 2.0 shader-based graphics enabled by POWERVR SGX, the Sony Ericsson Satio smartphone will set a new benchmark for mobile phone graphics and create an exciting opportunity for applications developers to move to the next level of graphical sophistication. We are delighted to be working closely with Imagination to deliver their advanced SDKs and support capabilities to our thriving developer ecosystem.