Seven mobile device interface specs from MIPI Alliance

PISCATAWAY, USA: The Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance, the industry initiative established five years ago to define and promote open standards for hardware and software interfaces in mobile terminals, has introduced seven key standards throughout 2008.

Collectively these new specifications will help the industry to provide optimized and efficient mobile terminals.

As these standards are implemented in mobile device technology the industry will see benefits such as better interconnection among devices and components such as cellular telephones, handheld computers, digital cameras, and multimedia devices; higher data exchange rates among devices; prioritization of traffic; better adaptation and interoperability of devices from different vendors; and more cost and power efficient mobile terminals, among others.

The new MIPI Alliance Specifications introduced in 2008 include:

• Unified Protocol (UniProSM) v1.00.00

• Display Serial Interface (DSI) v1.01.00

• Processor Interface Emulation (PIE) v0.90.00

• Dual Mode 2.5G/3G Baseband/RFIC Interface v3.09.04 (DigRFSM)

• Device Descriptor Block (DDB) v0.82.01

• Serial Low-power Inter-chip Media Bus (SLIMbusSM) v1.01.00

• System Power Management Interface (SPMI) v1.00.00

Motivated by the fragmentation brought by incompatible proprietary interfaces and redundant, outdated standards, the MIPI Alliance brings together 165 leading companies from around the world in pursuit of open standards to converge interfaces inside mobile terminals.

MIPI standards drive consistency in interfaces, promoting reuse and compatibility in mobile terminals while accelerating the delivery of these devices to users. These new specifications are designed to help achieve these goals.

"With the growing trend to advanced LTE technology and increased integration of new applications into mobile devices, MIPI's importance in the wireless world is becoming obvious," said Will Strauss, President and Principal Analyst of Forward Concepts. "The need for interoperability among several vendors is highlighted as wireless operators continue to seek the best available products at competitive prices. MIPI Alliance specifications provide certainty in interfacing between vendors."

“The specifications introduced by the MIPI Alliance are developed through the tremendous contributions of our member companies. Hundreds of engineers representing a large majority of the mobile industry worked tirelessly to support and make possible these standards,” said Joel Huloux, Chairman of the Board, MIPI Alliance, Inc. “Our member companies, leaders in the mobile industry, are successfully implementing these specifications, and helping to drive broad industry adoption which is our goal.”