Android原生支援：这样的MIPS君心动了么？

Google打算加强其Android平台对MIPS处理器核心的支持，让后者能在这波智能手机与平板装置热潮中火力全开。预计在几个星期之内，Android原生开发工具就会内建支持 MIPS核心的 GNU 编译器；Google几个月之后将发布的Android新版本，则预期将针对MIPS应用程序二进制接口(ABI)提供所有程序代码与数据库的完整支持。 “Google 已经开始注意MIPS核心Android平板装置的出货量；”MIPS行动架构首席工程师Amit Rohatgi于美国举行的Linley Tech行动技术研讨会(Linley Tech Mobile Conference)上表示，到目前为止，采用MIPS核心处理器的Android平板装置出货量累计达180万台，主要是中国厂商采用MIPS授权客户──北京君正集成电路(Ingenic Semiconductor)之SoC方案所推出的低价产品。飞利浦(Philips)最近则成为首家采用君正处理器推出Android平板装置的国际品牌厂；其产品跟大多数中国厂商产品一样，配备7寸屏幕。

Philips在中国市场推出的7寸Android平板装置ol5esmc

最近有业界传言指出，MIPS因为业绩表现不佳，有可能将公司出售；MIPS处理器架构在网络设备、机顶盒等应用领域地位稳固，但却一直无法在目前由ARM把持的行动装置应用领域扩展版图。 在软件支持方面，有85%的Android应用程序，是执行在该操作系统的Dalvik虚拟机直译器上(virtual machine interpreter)；但在Android线上商店的5亿个应用程序中，至少有8万个是锁定ARM处理器架构应用。可支持Android应用程序在MIPS架构处理器上执行的程序代码已经存在，一旦Google将这些程序代码固定纳入Android标准版本中，可望简化支持MIPS架构所需的所有软件相 关工作。 “我最头痛的工作就是确保所有支持Android平台在MIPS处理器上执行的工具链(tool chains)是完整的。”Rohatgi补充指出：“我们绝对需要Android对MIPS ABI的官方支持，而且它即将来临。”此外，Rohatgi也与应用程序领导开发商合作，让这些业者在他们的程序代码中支持MIPS架构。 据了解，与ARM Cortex A9核心500万美元的授权费用相较，MIPS核心的授权费用仅是“一小部分”；这对中国手机芯片设计业者来说应该是好消息。 君正集成电路的1.2GHz MIPS核心处理器是与ARM Cortex A8组件直接竞争的产品，该公司新一代以Cortex A9为竞争目标的MIPS核心处理器将于今年稍晚开始提供样品，不过其耗电量可能会比ARM核心芯片稍高一些。至于挑战ARM A15的64位君正处理器则仍在早期开发阶段，据Rohatgi透露，采用该芯片的产品预计2013年底上市。 英特尔(Intel)也积极拉拢与Google之间的关系，好让其x86处理器在Android平台取得像ARM那么多的支持。在Google负责Android平台的Andy Rubin于去年秋天现身英特尔开发者大会(IDF)，宣布两家公司的紧密合作。 编译：Judith Cheng 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 参考英文原文：Google to bundle MIPS support with Android，by Rick Merritt

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{pagination} 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.