The former ATI Technologies, which now forms such divisions of AMD as graphics product group and consumer electronics group, announced on Wednesday intention to help game developers to utilize the company’s next-generation graphics processors for handheld devices which feature the so-called unified shader architecture.

AMD is introducing a suite of tools to help content creators jumpstart the development of applications for handheld devices based on OpenVG 1.0 and OpenGL ES 2.0 industry standards and ATI’s unified shader architecture. The set of tools includes RenderMonkey 1.7, a shader development tool to help developers create visually compelling characters and environments, that adds support for mobile content development including full OpenGL ES 2.0 shader support.

In addition to offering new tools, AMD will make available emulation environments and development kits to help developers create, test and tune their applications before next-generation handheld devices become available.

By offering a common toolset and common graphics architectures, AMD enables game developers to easily create content for PCs, video game consoles and handheld devices within their existing production pipeline.

AMD said that next-generation Imageon mobile graphics architecture will feature native hardware acceleration for rendering vector graphics and flash-like applications. This architectural design delivers high-quality graphics, while consuming less power than either software rendering or rendering using a traditional 3D graphics core.

“AMD is working closely with OEMs and semiconductor suppliers to bring to market an incredibly powerful handheld gaming platform equipped with AMD’s innovative, open-standard technology,” said Paul Dal Santo, vice president and general manager of AMD’s Handheld Division. “At the same time, we are driving the creation of truly compelling content for the next-generation mobile gaming devices that consumers demand. This industry-wide effort will help ensure a robust handheld gaming ecosystem.”