MCUs Claim 16-Bit µC Simplicity With 32-Bit RISC Performance

Acceptance in a broad range of consumer, computer peripheral, communication, industrial, and automotive electronic products is predicted for a new family of 32-bit MCUs that is said to combine the simplicity of system design associated with 16-bit microcontrollers with the high performance of 32-bit RISC processors. The FR Series of MCUs boast of: advanced processing capabilities (e.g., the CPU has a high processing capacity of 1.25 commands/clock); the addition of commands necessary for embedded applications; high object efficiency (it's similar to a 16-bit microcomputer's); and an abundance of peripheral functions.
The dedicated embedded controllers operate at 3.3V, with 5V devices also available, and come in 100-pin QFPs or LQFPs costing from $5 to $10 each/100,000.