Google Android Gets A Boost Beyond Cell PhonesGoogle Android Gets A Boost Beyond Cell Phones

In a move aimed at accelerating the use of the Android platform beyond mobile phones, MIPS Technologies said it's making the Android platform available on its MIPS architecture.

Announced Monday, MIPS said it will make its source code publically available within 60 days for the new applications. MIPS, which provides processor architectures and cores for home entertainment communications, networking, and portable multimedia markets, envisions its software being used for DTVs, set-top boxes, digital picture frames, and mobile Internet devices.

In a related action, MIPS said it has joined the Open Embedded Software Foundation (OESF), which seeks to standardize and promote the development of Android platforms for embedded devices.

"By releasing Android to open source, Google created the opportunity for widespread proliferation of the Android platform, and now the work the OESF is doing will help drive the platform in new directions," Art Swift, MIPS's VP of marketing, said in a statement. "We look forward to playing a key role in proliferating Android into digital consumer devices."

Founded in 1984 as a provider of RISC processors, MIPS Technologies has had a long and sometimes tortured history, going public, then being acquired by SGI, and later being spun out only to go public again in 1998. In recent years it has acquired components companies, and last month it sold off its Chipidea unit to Synopsys as it constantly seeks to reinvent itself.

In its Monday announcement, MIPS pointed out that its software stack delivers a device-agnostic application development platform.

"With the MIPS ecosystem around Android," the MIPS announcement stated, "OEMs will be able to quickly optimize Android for their specific platforms."

MIPS said it has forged partnerships with Embedded Alley and Viosoft to help with porting, integration, and testing in the Android effort. Both partner companies are providers of Linux software solutions.

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