Contributors: Bob Wheeler, Jag Bolaria, Joseph Byrne In This Issue
Our new report A Guide to Mobile TV Chips is now available. Learn about the myriad of technologies and products available for this rapidly growing market. Order your copy today! The industry's first single-chip 3G baseband chip, Broadcom's new BCM21551 supports UMTS, HSDPA, and even HSUPA. The extremely integrated device combines an upgraded version of the BCM2153 baseband processor with an RF transceiver that supports nine WCDMA bands and four GSM bands. The transceiver requires no external filters, saving cost and board area. An integrated FM transceiver enables playback of MP3 files and other audio content on nearby radios. The chip also integrates a complete Bluetooth 2.1 subsystem (the equivalent of the BCM2048 Bluetooth+FM chip). Multimedia functions include a video engine capable of 30fps H.264 encoding and decoding at VGA resolution, support for 5 megapixel cameras, analog-TV output, stereo microphone support, and stereo amplifiers for speakers and headsets. A TeakLite III DSP from Ceva handles voice coding and 2G baseband PHY functions. A hard-wired engine handles 3G PHY functions. An ARM11 CPU handles baseband protocol processing, while a second ARM11 operating at up to 530MHz supports application processing. Broadcom has demonstrated the BCM21551 for customers and expects to formally sample it in December. The first handsets incorporating the chip could be available in 1H09. The list price for the chip is $23. The BCM21551 is a tour de force that instantly establishes Broadcom as a technology leader in 3G cellular. Although other vendors (including Broadcom) offer 2G processors with integrated transceivers, both the baseband and the transceiver are far more complex in a 3G design. The integrated FM and Bluetooth functions are icing on the cake. Qualcomm is sampling " single-chip" 3G processors, but they combine two die in a single package, adding cost. Furthermore, they do not support HSUPA, Bluetooth, FM, or a separate application CPU. Qualcomm, however, has the advantages of a proven 3G solution and an established customer base. Broadcom continues to gain ground in Samsung's 3G portfolio, but even the BCM21551 was apparently not enough to win Nokia's 3G business, which instead went to ST. Still, Broadcom's new chip should gain strong consideration for any new 3G handset, and it raises the bar for 3G wannabes such as Freescale, Infineon, and NXP, possibly higher than those companies can reach. —Joe Complete coverage of Qualcomm's 3G processors appears in our report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors.
Renesas rolled out two new members of its SH-Mobile line of application processors: the SH-Mobile L3V2 and the SH-Mobile UL. Compared to previous SH-Mobile devices, the L3V2 adds new image-processing features, whereas the UL focuses on cost reduction. Both chips offer excellent video performance, using a hardware decoder to achieve 30fps at full VGA resolution. This decoder keeps the 266MHz SH-4 CPU free for application processing. The L3V2 implements gamma correction and edge enhancement in hardware. These features improve image quality for both photos and video; edge enhancement is particularly useful when upscaling a video to VGA or beyond for display on an external TV or monitor. The UL does not implement these features; it also lacks camera support and TV output. These and other minor changes enable the UL to fit into a smaller package measuring 8mm square. All SH-Mobile processors come stacked with Renesas DRAM. The L3V2, with 32MB of DRAM, carries a $24 list price, while the UL is priced at $13 with 16MB of DRAM. Both chips should be popular in Japanese FOMA phones and video players, but their lack of ARM compatibility restricts them in the mainstream handset market. —Linley Additional coverage of the SH-Mobile processors appears in our report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors. Infineon announced that it is developing a new 3G RF transceiver for Motorola but did not say why. Motorola buys most of its RF transceivers from Freescale, in combination with that vendor's baseband processors. However, Motorola plans to use a custom ASIC developed by Texas Instruments in future 3G handsets. Because TI does not supply 3G RF chips, we believe Motorola recruited Infineon to develop a custom transceiver to complement the TI ASIC. We expect the new TI/Infineon 3G platform to begin volume shipments in early 2009. —Linley
Ubicom CTO David Fotland will present at this month's Linley Tech seminar on Processors for Networking and Communications. The event will be held on November 14 at the DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose. Admission is free to qualified OEMs or $495 to nonqualified attendees. Fotland will describe how Ubicom's unique processor architecture addresses the increasing demands of the connected digital home. Don't miss this chance to meet the experts and hear about the newest processor technology. For more details and a complete program, visit our web site. To receive Linley on CE via e-mail, you must register on our web site
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