Contributors: Bob Wheeler, Jag Bolaria, Joseph Byrne In This Issue
Broadcom Expands Cell-Phone Chip Set Earlier this month, Broadcom announced the BCM2820, its first application processor for cell phones and other mobile devices. The device, which is currently sampling, is a relatively simple step for Broadcom, as it consists mainly of adding a 300MHz ARM11 CPU to the company's existing BCM2702 media processor, which is used in the video iPod. But the new product allows Broadcom to compete head-to-head with Marvell XScale and TI OMAP in cell phones and with Nvidia/PortalPlayer in handheld video players. The BCM2820 is based on Broadcom's VideoCore architecture, a programmable multimedia engine that can perform video encoding or decoding in several formats at very low power, much lower than its key competitors. Although optimized for video, the engine also has respectable 3D performance (500,000 triangles per second). The ARM11 provides plenty of CPU performance for most mobile applications, and the BCM2820 includes the usual interfaces for memory and peripherals, adding a TV output for NTSC or PAL. The new application processor connects directly to Broadcom's CellAirity 2.75G or 3G baseband processors, allowing them to be used in smartphones and high-end feature phones. The company also announced its first power-management chip this month, and it is developing an all-CMOS radio as well. Despite achieving only 1% market share so far, Broadcom has significantly increased its investment in the cell-phone market and has successfully developed a complete chip set. Although the company's goal of 10% market share in 2009 seems optimistic, these new products significantly improve its competitive position. —Linley Complete coverage of the BCM2702 and CellAirity processors appears in our report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors.
Freescale is sampling its new MPC8313E processor for SOHO and residential applications. Integrating two Gigabit Ethernet MACs and a complete high-speed (480Mbps) USB 2.0 host/device interface, the 8313 provides important feature upgrades to the MPC8323E released earlier this year. Unlike the 8323, the 8313 does not include a Quicc Engine, Freescale's packet engine and flexible interface controller. Without Quicc Engine, it does not offer Utopia or TDM interfaces. The 8313 is, therefore, best suited to handling Ethernet-only (wired or WiFi) networking. The Utopia interface will not be missed. Its main application in a consumer system is to connect to an ADSL chip set, but most ADSL systems instead use processors that integrate a CPU and a DSL interface. A TDM interface would be more useful, enabling the processor to serve as a VoIP gateway. The omission of voice interfaces or video processing hardware undermines Freescale's attempts to promote the 8313 as ideal for multimedia applications. The 8313 competes against Broadcom's BCM4705 and Atheros's AR7100P. Although the Freescale chip is similar to these devices, its competitors can offer complete solutions that include wireless LAN, Ethernet switches, and other chips, providing a better solution for ODMs. Furthermore, Freescale's PowerPC CPU is not compatible with the MIPS software used in most consumer applications today. By omitting its Quicc Engine, Freescale missed an opportunity to pull well away from the pack in packet-processing performance. While the 8313 has some attractive features, Freescale is still several pieces short of becoming a major force in consumer networking. —Joe Additional coverage of Freescale's gateway products appears in our report A Guide to SOHO Gateway Processors. Also in November, Broadcom announced its BCM5354, an upgrade to its BCM5352 802.11g router-on-a-chip. The new chip, which is already in full production, adds a direct-conversion radio to its predecessor. The resulting product combines a MIPS CPU, a five-port Fast Ethernet switch, and all 802.11g functions except for the relatively low-cost RF front end. This new level of integration reduces cost for manufacturers and, ultimately, for consumers. Lowering the cost of 802.11g products provides room for 802.11n products to come down in price while still maintaining their premium status. With the 5354, Broadcom pulls ahead of key competitor Atheros in the race to integrate 802.11g router functions. Lacking Broadcom's Ethernet switching technology, Atheros has emphasized RF integration, pulling even the RF front end into its wireless router chip, the AR2317. The 5354 eliminates the need for an external radio chip, boiling the router down to a single major chip plus memories. Looking forward, we expect fierce competition between these two competitors. Atheros has recently acquired Attansic, a Taiwanese supplier of Ethernet and other ICs, strengthening Atheros's ability to integrate Ethernet functions. Competition for 802.11n designs is hotter, with Marvell—another company with strengths in Ethernet and functional integration—joining the fray. Suppliers trailing these companies at the high end, though, will find no shelter at the low end as products such as the 5354 keep reducing the cost of 802.11g routers. —Joe Additional coverage of Broadcom and Atheros 802.11 processors
appears in our report A
Guide to SOHO Gateway Processors. On November 6, Nvidia announced that it would acquire PortalPlayer, known for supplying the processor in many Apple iPods. Nvidia, best known for its PC graphics accelerators, also supplies graphics chips for cell phones and other mobile devices. Together, the two companies are better positioned to develop mobile media processors. As competitors integrated more functions, the smaller PortalPlayer was falling behind. By combining their technologies, the companies can develop more competitive solutions. Another competitor entering this market is workstation-graphics vendor 3DLabs, which earlier this week announced its first mobile media processor, the DMS-02. Unique among such products, the DMS-02 supports 720p H.264 video playback. We expect little mobile video content to be offered in this HDTV format, but the capability highlights the horsepower of chip's flexible architecture, which is based on 24 floating-point engines and two ARM9 CPUs. This horsepower can be redirected to other tasks, such as 3D graphics. With handset vendors focusing more on battery life than horsepower, however, 3DLabs will find tough going in this market. To receive Linley on CE via e-mail, you must register on our web site
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