Imagination Technologies

The company was founded in 1985 under the name VideoLogic . Initially she dealt with graphics, sound processing, home audio systems, video capture solutions and video conferencing. ^[2]

In 2012, she acquired MIPS Technologies for $ 60 million. ^{[3] [4]}

Imagination Technologies is a representative of fabless developers of integrated circuits. That is, the company does not have its own production facilities. The uniqueness of doing business lies in the fact that the company in most cases does not participate in the production, promotion and sale of final products on the market and is limited to the sale of licenses and architectural solutions, as well as product support at the program level ( driver release).

The most famous companies brought the product line PowerVR . At various times, this series of video chips has been successfully competing in the market of video solutions with other major players since the mid-1990s. Currently, due to the expansion of the video chip market from the personal computer solutions sector to the home, portable, mobile, automotive and other types of electronics, the PowerVR series has become dominant in the market. In fact, major GPU manufacturers such as NVidia and AMD have remained in the sector of solutions for desktops, laptops, workstations and game consoles and their influence on other areas of the market is very limited. While the size of the modern GPU market is several times larger than the size of the computer GPU market, the presence of NVidia and AMD even in the mobile phone, smart phone and tablet computers sector is still extremely small, not to mention more specific market sectors.

At different stages of development, Imagination Technologies was involved in cooperation with contract chip manufacturers, such as NEC and STMicroelectronics . However, such cooperation schemes differed significantly from other large market participants' business schemes, such as NVidia and ATI , and were limited mainly to production relationships. Sales of manufactured chips remained mostly behind the manufacturer. In the past, the company attempted to enter the market for finished products - VideoLogic Apocalypse 3D ^[5] , VideoLogic Apocalypse 3Dx ^[6] and VideoLogic NEON 250 ^{[7] were released} (since the company never had its own production facilities, production was arranged at the contract manufacturer ). Recently, Imagination Technologies is no longer involved in the creation of final products, but is only engaged in the production of intangible assets - licenses, architectural solutions, drivers. Nevertheless, at the end of 2012, Imagination Technologies remains the largest producer of licensed GPUs in the world (controls 46.5% of the market) ^[8] . Most modern portable high-performance devices contain video cores developed by Imagination Technologies. The company's licensees are Apple , Samsung , Intel , Freescale , Marvell , Renesas , Texas Instruments , NEC , Sigma Designs , Trident Microsystems , MediaTek , Sony and many others. Imagination Technologies developments can be found in desktops , laptops , arcade gaming machines , cell phones , smartphones , tablet computers , televisions , portable multimedia players . The famous Apple iPhone , Apple iPad , Apple TV , all kinds of Samsung Galaxy , Sony PlayStation Vita , some Intel processors contain the Imagination Technologies graphics core.

PowerVR chipsets were released in 8 series:

• Series 1
• Series 2
• Series 3
• Series 4
• Series 5 (SGX)
• Series 5XT (SGXMP)
• Series 6 (Rogue)
• Series 7 (XE, XT)
• Series 8 (XE, XT)

Tablet computers and PDAs

Taking into account the dominant position in the licensed GPU market in the world of Imagination Technologies development, different series are found in a large number of tablet computers and pocket personal computers . Below are the most popular tablet computers and PDAs that use the PowerVR video core.

• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR VXD: Apple iPad ; Samsung Galaxy Tab ; HP iPaq 11x / 21x

• PowerVR Series5 / PowerVR SGX: Apple iPad ; Samsung Galaxy Tab ; Barnes & Noble Nook Color / Nook Tablet ; Amazon Kindle Fire (all versions)

• PowerVR Series 5XT / PowerVR SGXMP: Apple iPad 2 ; Apple iPad mini ; Apple iPad 3 ; Apple iPad 4

Smartphones and cell phones

Similarly, the development of Imagination Technologies of different series is often found in smartphones and cell phones . Below are the most popular models.

• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR MBX: Apple iPhone , iPhone 3G ; Sony Ericsson SO70xi / SO90xi, P200 / G700 / G900, M600 / M608c / P1i / P1c / P990 (c) / W950i (c) / W960i (c); Samsung MEIZU M9 / SGH-G810 / SGH-i550 / SGH-i560 / innov8 / GT-i7110; Motorola MOTO Q / MOTORIZR Z8 / MOTORIZR Z10; NEC N902i; Nokia E90 / N82 / N93 / N95 / N800 / N810 ; Panasonic P702i / P902i / P903i; Sharp SH702i / SH902i
• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR VXD: Apple iPhone 3GS ; iPhone 4 ; Blackberry Bold 9700; Samsung Galaxy S , Nexus S , Droid Charge ; Motorola FR68 / FR6000
• PowerVR Series5 / PowerVR SGX: Apple iPhone 4 , iPhone 5 ; Samsung Galaxy S (L), Nexus S , GT-I9105 ; Motorola Droid 2 / Droid X ; Nokia N9 ; LG Optimus Black
• PowerVR Series 5XT / PowerVR SGXMP: Apple iPhone 4S
• PowerVR Series 6: Apple iPhone 5s

Portable multimedia players

Below is a list of the most popular models on the market. It is worth noting that this is not the most comprehensive list of player models with the PowerVR video core.

• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR MBX: Apple iPod touch (first and second generation), iPod Nano (fourth and fifth generation)
• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR VXD: Apple iPod touch (third and fourth generation)
• PowerVR Series 5 / PowerVR SGX: Apple iPod touch (fourth generation)
• PowerVR Series 5XT / PowerVR SGXMP: Apple iPod touch (fifth generation)

Televisions, set-top boxes, and stationary multimedia players

Similarly, a list of the most popular models on the market.

• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR MBX: Mitsubishi HDD Navi H9000, Pioneer Carrozzeria HDD CyberNavi AVIC
• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR VXD: Apple TV (second generation)
• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR PDP: Sony Bravia TV
• PowerVR Series 5 / PowerVR SGX: Apple TV (2010), Toshiba Network Player, Sony Bravia Internet TV
• PowerVR Series 5XT / PowerVR SGXMP: Apple TV (third generation)

Game consoles, consoles and arcade machines

• PowerVR Series 2 / NEC PowerVR CLX2: Sega Dreamcast , NAOMI / NAOMI 2 (arcade game machines); Sammy Atomiswave (arcade game machines)
• PowerVR Series 4 / PowerVR MBX: Sega Aurora (highly integrated gaming platform)
• PowerVR Series 5XT / PowerVR SGXMP: Sony PlayStation Vita

After the acquisition of MIPS Technologies in 2012, Imagination Technologies continues to develop MIPS processors as licensed cores. The company's offers are divided into several families and classes: ^[9]

• MIPS CPU Families (Aptiv):
  • proAptiv P-class (P5600 (32bit), P6600 (64bit))
  • interAptiv I-class (I6400 ^[10] )
  • microAptiv M-class (M51xx, M62xx)

• www.imgtec.com (English)

• Imagination Technologies is trying to create a third mass mobile platform / THG.ru, August 15, 2014
• Imagination Technologies recorded a record loss / ixbt.com, July 6, 2016