Contributors: Bob Wheeler, Jag Bolaria, Joseph Byrne In This Issue
On March 26, Linley Gwennap, principal analyst with The Linley Group, will moderate a panel on Handset ICs at the Emerging Technology Forum, a new track at the CTIA Wireless event in Orlando. His panel will cover silicon trends and requirements for future wireless media-driven handsets, processors, flash and DRAM, as well as silicon integration roadmaps. For more information, visit the CTIA Wireless website. Broadcom Targets HEDGE, EDGE Phones At 3GSM, Broadcom announced two new handset processors for its CellAirity lineup. The BCM21331 is a single-chip EDGE processor with integrated RF and multimedia functions, reducing the cost of 2.75G feature phones. The new chip, which is currently in early sampling, integrates Broadcom's new all-CMOS radio technology, which is also available in the standalone BCM2085. The CPU is an unimpressive 208MHz ARM9, but using a new hardware video accelerator, the chip is rated at 30fps QVGA for H.264, suitable for midrange phones in 2008. The device is built in 65nm CMOS to reduce cost and power. The new BCM2153 improves on the BCM2152, announced last year. Like its predecessor, the 2153 is a 3G device that supports UMTS and HSPDA at speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. EDGE support is also provided for compatibility with 2G networks. The integrated ARM11 application processor supports various smartphone operating systems and delivers QVGA video resolution for H.263, H.264, and MPEG4 as well as for mobile TV. The chip requires an external radio subsystem. The 65nm device is in early sampling. Broadcom continues to invest heavily in the handset market, and its R&D engine is hitting on all cylinders. The 21331 follows the company's typical strategy of developing all key technologies in CMOS and then combining them into highly integrated devices. The 21331 can connect to Broadcom's new Bluetooth+WiFi+FM device for greater integration and functionality. The 2153 is a higher-cost, higher-performance device, but it will follow the same integration path over the next few years. With a strong new product portfolio, Broadcom is gaining share by out-executing its competitors. —Linley Additional coverage of Broadcom's CellAirity products appears in our report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors.
Also at 3GSM, Qualcomm announced a new processor, the MSM7225, that reduces the cost of its high-end MSM7000 family, designed for smartphones. The 7225, which is due to sample in 3Q07, is a cost-reduced version of the MSM7200/7200A. Like its predecessors, the 7225 supports a full range of 3G protocols including UMTS, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, and 5.76Mbps HSUPA. Like the 7200, the new chip includes an ARM11 application processor that can run Windows Mobile or Linux as well as Qualcomm's own Brew software. The main difference is that the multimedia capabilities of the 7225 are trimmed back to support wide QVGA video instead of full VGA video. This change allows the company to position the 7225 for smartphones that sell for less than $200. Qualcomm remains the only vendor offering a standard HSUPA baseband chip. Although the 7225 won't be available for another couple of quarters, the feature set is impressive. The processor is well suited to a smartphone that requires high-speed connectivity, but other vendors supply less-expensive solutions for basic EDGE and UMTS smartphones. —Linley Additional coverage of Qualcomm's MSM products appears in our report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors. Also at 3GSM, Texas Instruments provided more details on its Cortex-based OMAP3 family, rolling out two lower-cost variants of the OMAP 3430 that was announced last year. The OMAP3 products announced to date are all standalone application processors that do not integrate a baseband processor. These chips are the industry's first to include ARM's newest high-end CPU, known as Cortex-A8. All are scheduled to reach production by mid-2008. The 3430 runs the CPU at 550MHz, providing plenty of application power. The programmable IVA2+ unit can deliver XGA (1024x768) video using a variety of codecs. An integrated image processor supports image sensors of up to 12Mpixels. The chip also embeds a PowerVR SGX graphics accelerator. The 3430 provides S-Video and composite video outputs as well as parallel and serial display connections. The 65nm device is currently sampling. The 3420 is identical to the 3430 except that it is restricted to VGA video instead of XGA video. The 3410 is further restricted to CIF video. The 3410 also lacks the image processor as well as S-Video support. The 3420 is scheduled to sample in 3Q07, with the 3410 following one quarter later. TI did not announce pricing, but the new chips are intended to move the OMAP3 architecture into lower price points, replacing the current OMAP2 products. Leveraging its close ties with ARM, TI has developed a range of application processors based on the Cortex-A8. These products should deliver better CPU performance than competing ARM11 products. By combining the Cortex CPU with a set of acceleration units, the OMAP3 products provide impressive multimedia performance with reasonable power dissipation. TI's initial experience with the OMAP3 platform has given it enough confidence to cancel its OMAP2 follow-ons in favor of a broad family of OMAP3 products. This change simplifies future product development for TI as well as its many customers. —Linley Additional coverage of TI's OMAP products appears in our report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors. AT&T's announced support of Qualcomm's MediaFlo gives a big boost to that mobile TV standard. Once seen as a weak competitor to DVB-H and ISDB-T, MediaFlo is gaining ground after endorsements from AT&T and Verizon. Qualcomm has spent an estimated $800 million building a MediaFlo network that covers the United States and is due to begin operating in 2H07. The company hopes that MediaFlo will dominate the U.S. mobile-TV market, giving the standard a leg up in Europe and Asia. —Linley
Joseph Byrne, senior analyst
at The Linley Group,
will speak at
the upcoming
Multicore
Expo on
March 28 in
Santa Clara
on the topic
of "Multicore Processors for Security and Control-Plane Applications." For
more information about this event, access
the Multicore
Expo web site. To receive Linley on CE via e-mail, you must register on our web site
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