Cirrus Logic Inc has announced availability of samples of a 3.3V single-chip LCD VGA controller: the CL-GD6411 device is being supplied to customers that will initially use it as a prototyping and system development vehicle for 3.3V notebook computers; the CL-GD6411 provides 64 shades of grey on a monochrome liquid crystal display; it is capable of directly driving a 512-colour active-matrix display and expanding the colour selection of the panel to 27,000 colours from 512, and 256 of those can be displayed simultaneously; also, the CL-GD6411 has a SimulScan feature that enables it to drive an LCD panel and an analogue CRT monitor; the new controller is packaged in a 160-pin quad flat pack and the chip is $65 in quantities of 100 and up.
