Apple drops PortalPlayer from future iPod plans?

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
PortalPlayer, which designs chips and software for several of Apple's digital music players, informed investors this week that it had not been selected for use by Apple Computer in its forthcoming flash-based iPod music players.



PortalPlayer said in a statement that the follow-on to its PP5021 System-on-Chip product, expected to be available in the second half of this year, had not been selected by Apple.



Apple's flash-memory-based iPods include the nano and shuffle.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Who picked up the deal then?



    I doubt it was apple themselves.
  • Reply 2 of 26
    ghstmarsghstmars Posts: 140member
    Intel!!
  • Reply 3 of 26
    Do they have any similar offerings?
  • Reply 4 of 26
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Probably SigmaTel. That is who does the shuffle anyway.
  • Reply 5 of 26
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Telomar

    Probably SigmaTel. That is who does the shuffle anyway.



    SigmaTel does the wheel. I don't remember them doing the chipset.



    The market doesn't seem to believe that Apple won't select them. Portal's stock has gone up.
  • Reply 6 of 26
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    I think intel is next.
  • Reply 7 of 26
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    SigmaTel does the wheel.



    No, that's Synaptics. (And even that isn't necessarily true any more; Synaptics is contracted to do some of the wheels for high demand, but most of them are done by Apple now.)



    Quote:

    I don't remember them doing the chipset.



    The shuffle's chipset is from SigmaTel. More info.
  • Reply 8 of 26
    ghstmarsghstmars Posts: 140member
    intel has the XScale pxa27x and pxa255 that can be used. Remeber Intel saying that they were excited about current and future products.
  • Reply 9 of 26
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Intel XScale aren't SoaCs and as such can't be used, barring extreme changes to the iPod's architecture (and, as such, many more separate chips).
  • Reply 10 of 26
    ghstmarsghstmars Posts: 140member
    but isnt the Zen using a PXA255 running at 400mhz. how much different technically are the ipod and the zen?
  • Reply 11 of 26
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    AFAIK PortalPlayer isn´t used in anything but the iPod video player. So it might mean nothing else than they didn´t expand into other iPod players...
  • Reply 12 of 26
    ghstmarsghstmars Posts: 140member
    I believe that apple is going to use Xscale chips on something. iphone, next gen ipod, something just chk out the list of all portable devices that have similar functions as the ipod.

    http://www.intel.com/design/pca/hof/index.htm
  • Reply 13 of 26
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ghstmars

    but isnt the Zen using a PXA255 running at 400mhz. how much different technically are the ipod and the zen?



    The Zen is also significantly thicker and thus can afford to have separate dedicated chips. iPods can't.



    Quote:

    Originally posted by Anders

    AFAIK PortalPlayer isn´t used in anything but the iPod video player. So it might mean nothing else than they didn´t expand into other iPod players...



    The iPod nano and the iPod 5G use the same PortalPlayer chip.
  • Reply 14 of 26
    ghstmarsghstmars Posts: 140member
    guess you are right in terms of thickness. no intel then chucker?
  • Reply 15 of 26
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    I don't think Intel is very interested in SoaCs. PortalPlayer, SigmaTel and maybe others like STMicroelectronics.
  • Reply 16 of 26
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chucker

    The iPod nano and the iPod 5G use the same PortalPlayer chip.



    PortalPlayer's statement was just the flash players wouldn't adopt their new chip. Not sure that's entirely surprising initially given support for wireless and such.



    Otherwise maybe somebody else won it or maybe it is just a case of Apple has decided to start designing their own ARM chips for it.
  • Reply 17 of 26
    ghstmarsghstmars Posts: 140member
    Didn't Broadcom been rumored to be working with apple on some SoC chips?

    I think it was last yr when the ipod video came out.Chucker what you think about that?
  • Reply 18 of 26
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chucker

    No, that's Synaptics. (And even that isn't necessarily true any more; Synaptics is contracted to do some of the wheels for high demand, but most of them are done by Apple now.)







    The shuffle's chipset is from SigmaTel. More info.




    Yeah, you're right. I always get those two confused.
  • Reply 19 of 26
    mark2005mark2005 Posts: 1,158member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ghstmars

    Didn't Broadcom been rumored to be working with apple on some SoC chips?

    I think it was last yr when the ipod video came out.Chucker what you think about that?




    There were rumors of Broadcom. If these pan out, then wifi is coming soon.
  • Reply 20 of 26
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    Perhaps the wait for a Video AirPort relates to WiFi iPod?



    I don't know about you, but it would be cool to use the iPod as the remote to navigate, select, and scrub through content while it is played back on my stereo/TV wireless. Problem is security and network latency, anyone who uses AirTunes knows what I'm talking about.



    Anyhow, I'm excited to see what direction the iPod takes next. I hope the next killer feature seriously makes me want to upgrade! I'll be sad because I won't want to spend more money on a new iPod, but it can't hurt iPod sales!
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