“We will be working with ARM to develop the security architecture for the next generation of mobile phones. This will enable people to access highly valuable services with convenience and security,” explains Dr. Kai Grassie, head of the New Business division at G&D.

Acceptance of mobile applications such as banking, ticketing and payment solutions rests on the security of device and background systems involved. For this reason, both companies have been working on innovative security concepts.

The interplay of TrustZone and Mobicore ensures that if online services require security-sensitive functions such as entry of user name and password or data output on a display, these functions are transferred to the Mobicore high-security operating system running in the TrustZone protected area of an ARM application processor. As the security-sensitive functions are executed, Mobicore maintains control of the secure area of a system-on-chip. Users can therefore be certain that the data they have entered, such as their username and password, cannot be manipulated by malware on the phone during a payment transaction.

ARM and G&D will present their joint concepts at the Mobile World Congress from February 15 to 18, 2010, in Barcelona.

The Cortex-A5 processor is fully application compatible with the Cortex-A8 and Cortex-A9 processors. This enables immediate access to an established developer and software ecosystem including Android, Adobe Flash, Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE), JavaFX, Linux, Microsoft Windows Embedded, Symbian and Ubuntu, along with more than 600 ARM Connected Community members.

The Cortex-A5 processor includes TrustZone security technology along with a NEON multimedia processing engine first introduced with the Cortex-A8 processor. NEON technology is a 128-bit SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) architecture extension for the Cortex-A series processors, providing flexible and compelling acceleration for intensive multimedia applications.

The Cortex-A5 processor has multiple lead licensees developing leadership mass-market silicon today, is now available for general licensing, and will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The joint technology optimization is targeted for the ARMv6 and ARMv7 architectures used in the ARM11 family and the Cortex-A series of processors and is expected to be available in the second half of 2009. The partnership stems from the Open Screen Project, a broad Adobe sponsored initiative of industry leaders – including ARM – to deliver a consistent runtime environment across multiple devices by taking advantage of Adobe Flash Player and, in the future, Adobe AIR. The initiative is set to address the challenges of Web browsing on a broad range of screens, and remove the barriers to publish content and applications seamlessly across screens. For more information, visit www.openscreenproject.org.

“Mobile users deserve a richer, faster Web experience with extended battery life. ARM technology, together with Broadcom’s low power VideoCore multimedia processor will turbocharge Adobe Flash Player 10 and Adobe AIR performance using OpenGL ES 2.0 and other open standards,” said Mark Casey, vice president and general manager of Broadcom’s mobile multimedia business unit. “The Adobe ARM initiative is an exciting opportunity for Broadcom to enhance the consumer experience on mobile and consumer devices.”

Adobe Flash Player 10 for ARMv6 and ARMv7 architecture-based hardware is expected to be available royalty-free to Partners in the Open Screen Project. Flash Player 10 for ARM processor-based devices will be made available to OEMs by Adobe.