Contributors: Bob Wheeler, Jag Bolaria, Joseph Byrne In This Issue
Bluetooth SIG Selects WiMedia UWB Technology This week, the Bluetooth SIG announced the selection of the WiMedia Alliance's MB-OFDM ultrawideband standard for the next generation of Bluetooth technology. This announcement delivers on the vision of WiMedia as a common radio platform for multiple higher-layer protocols including Wireless USB (WUSB) and now Bluetooth. Unlike WUSB, however, Bluetooth has an installed base, which creates backward compatibility requirements. Because Bluetooth 2.0 and WiMedia radios use different frequencies and modulation techniques, next-generation Bluetooth solutions will require two independent radio designs for backward compatibility. By leveraging a proven UWB radio platform, however, next-generation Bluetooth specifications should gel quickly. Another twist separates Bluetooth-over-WiMedia designs from first-generation WUSB designs: the Bluetooth/WiMedia agreement specifies operation at 6GHz and above, while current WUSB/WiMedia chip sets operate in the 3-5GHz region. This concession may simply foreshadow WUSB's ultimate move to 6GHz due to international regulatory concerns. The shift to higher frequencies could be a boon for chip vendors that used SiGe radio designs rather than jumping to single-chip CMOS RF/baseband designs. In either case, however, a radio redesign will be required and could delay availability of Bluetooth-over-WiMedia products. With WUSB and Bluetooth on board, WiMedia technology is being applied to two huge markets centered around PCs and cell phones, respectively. Only one large networking-chip vendor, Realtek, has demonstrated a WiMedia product. The leading WiMedia startups—Alereon, Staccato, Wisair, and WiQuest—could quickly become attractive acquisition targets for other large vendors. —Bob Complete coverage of UWB and Wireless USB appears in our report A Guide to Next-Generation Wireless.
Texas Instruments announced its latest product for voice-enabled CPE gateways, the TNETV1061. The chip combines TI's Telogy voice software with a highly integrated processor that includes a TI C55x DSP operating at 150MHz and a MIPS CPU operating at 213MHz. A variety of interfaces provide connectivity to memories such as DDR SDRAM, NAND Flash, or NOR Flash; SLICs from Legerity and Silicon Labs; and TI's WLAN chip sets. Supporting four or fewer voice lines, the 1061 is geared for residential applications. With its CPU, the 1061 is mostly likely to be used in wired or wireless routers. The accompanying software further underscores the 1061's likely role. In addition to voice codecs and signaling, the software suite also includes access point, router, and QoS functions. While a voice-enabled broadband gateway could use the 1061, broadband gateway SoCs already integrate a host processor. A more economical mate in this application would be a DSP chip without the MIPS CPU. Voice gateways for small or medium businesses are more likely to use a chip set supporting more voice lines. TI suggests that the 1061 could also be used in analog telephone adapters (ATAs) and cordless phones, but the chip's capabilities are overkill for these applications. As broadband modems absorb functions, such as wireless routing, previously provided by standalone routers, we expect standalone routers to integrate new functions such as voice capability. Voice will ultimately be integrated into the modem as well, though, as service providers require such integration to support their packet voice offerings. With consumer interest in packet voice rising and independent VoIP providers springing up like April flowers, products such as the 1061 are key enablers of the VoIP revolution. Additional coverage of processors for SOHO gateways appears in our report A Guide to Communications Processors.
The rush to add features to cell phones—without adding cost—is leading chip vendors to look for new ways to combine functions in a single chip. Three companies have recently begun to sample chips that combine Bluetooth with FM radio, reducing board area and cost for this combination. Although Bluetooth appeared in only 16% of all handsets in 2005, it is quickly becoming a required element in feature phones. Less than 10% of handsets offer FM radio, but this feature is also becoming more popular, particularly in Europe, and it appears in many of the same phones that Bluetooth does. Broadcom and CSR, the two leaders in Bluetooth shipments, were naturally the first two vendors to sample a Bluetooth+FM chip, offering the BCM2048 and BlueCore5-FM, respectively. Close on their heels is Texas Instruments with its new BlueLink 6.0 chip. All support Bluetooth 2.0 EDR (enhanced data rate) and an FM receiver with RDS capability. TI hopes to leverage its lead in handset processors to gain ground in Bluetooth. This new level of integration makes it easy and inexpensive to add FM capability to a handset design that already includes Bluetooth. Combining these functions makes more sense than adding one or the other to the handset processor, because it minimizes the amount of analog and RF circuitry on the processor. It also avoids adding cost to the processor when it is used in lower-end handsets that do not need Bluetooth or FM. We expect this new integration trend to increase the percentage of handsets with FM radio included. —Linley Complete coverage of handset processors appears in our new report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors. This week, UWB-startup WiQuest announced an $18 million second round of funding. Led by new investor Sequoia Capital, the new round brings the company's total funding to $33 million. With initial customer products due to reach the market in 2H06, WiQuest will use the new funding to support its production ramp. Sampled in December 2005, the company's WQST101/110 chip set supports Wireless USB host and device applications. —Bob Complete coverage of UWB and Wireless USB appears in our report A Guide to Next-Generation Wireless. This new report delivers the first comprehensive look at the processors behind the boom in the wireless handset market. Even as volumes continue to grow, designing these handsets is becoming more complex. These phones require sophisticated processors with multiple CPUs and many integrated peripherals. Some of these processors are also used in PDAs and portable media players. Highlights from the report include:
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