Contributors: Bob Wheeler, Jag Bolaria, Joseph Byrne, Michael Stanford In This Issue
CSR Announces First GPS Combo Chip Last month, CSR announced its seventh-generation Bluetooth device. It is notable as the industry's first chip to combine three popular cell-phone features: Bluetooth, FM radio, and GPS. As we expect from CSR, the Bluetooth is state of the art: Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR with +10dBm output and -93dBm sensitivity. It includes CSR's proprietary wideband audio codec, Auristream, and Bluetooth Low Energy, the technology formerly known as Wibree. The power management also looks impressive, with a standby power of 40 microwatts. The FM radio transmits as well as receives, and it supports RDS in both directions. The GPS is a 'software implementation' based on technologies CSR picked up last year when it acquired NordNav Technologies AB and Cambridge Positioning Systems. CSR claims that a typical GPS push-to-fix will be available in less than 4 seconds, accurate to within 10 meters, and require the equivalent power of less than 1 second of handset talk time. The GPS function reuses the Bluetooth RF receive blocks and performs much of the processing on the handset's host CPU. As a result, GPS adds almost nothing to the die area of the chip. OEMs have the option to add GPS to their devices simply by paying a software royalty. The combination of technologies in Bluecore7 is unique, but other vendors are likely to follow suit soon. Each of the connectivity technologies (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM, GPS, UWB and NFC) is being adopted in handsets at different rates, and it is now clear to the chip vendors that the market will need two main types of combo connectivity chip, one with and one without Wi-Fi. —Michael Additional coverage of CSR appears in our report A Guide to Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Connectivity Chips.
The introduction of the Apple's 3G iPhone provides teardown specialists to strut their stuff. The first photos of the phone's innards came courtesy of ifixit.com shortly after the device went on sale in New Zealand. The photo of the handset's mainboard shows a 10mm x 13mm package, which matches the dimensions of Infineon's X-Gold 608. It is unusual for a digital-logic chip to be housed in a rectangular package. EETimes reports that the package actually contains two chips: an Infineon X-Gold 208 (PMB8877) and a PMB8802. Although it is unclear that this two-chip package is indeed an X-Gold 608, we believe that it is. The XG608 provides the same features as the XG208 but adds HSDPA (high-speed 3G download) capability. Using a multi-chip module reduces time to market and design risk. Infineon has collaborated with InterDigital on chip and software design, and this two-chip partitioning could be a byproduct of how the two companies work together. The XG208, formerly called S-Gold 3, is the successor to the S-Gold 2 (PMB8876) used in the original iPhone, simplifying the process for Apple to update its software. It has been in production since the end of 2006. Production of the XG608, formerly called the S-Gold 3H, began this year. Infineon's first 3G chip, it is also being used by Samsung. The Korean OEM selected it because of its cost advantage over 3G parts from Qualcomm, Samsung's main supplier of UMTS chips and the leading supplier of 3G standard products. Further challenges to Qualcomm's hegemony are arising as other new 3G chips come to market from vendors such as ST-NXP, Marvell, and Freescale. —Joe Complete coverage of Infineon's baseband processors appears in our new report A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors.
Handset screens are growing larger, but even half-VGA (480 x 320 pixels) resolution remains rare, found only on smartphones such as the BlackBerry Bold or iPhone. Video content for mobiles typically targets quarter-VGA (QVGA) resolution. Thus, it seems incongruous to design an HDMI transceiver for handsets. Earlier this week, though, Silicon Image announced its Sil9206 HDMI transceiver for handsets. Due to sample in 4Q08, the 4mm chip dissipates less than 30mW when transmitting 1080p HDTV video at 30fps. The chip also supports Silicon Image's MHL, a five-pin interface for HD content. Don't expect an HD resolution screen on your mobile any time soon. The demand for this product comes from the desire to drive video content to an external TV or monitor. Several handset processors already provide TV output. Analog output has been preferred because of the ubiquity of analog inputs on TVs and limited requirements for resolution above standard definition (SDTV). Resolutions are climbing, however. A key multimedia feature of many handsets is the camera. While 1,920 x 1,080 pixels is a lot for video, it is the equivalent of a 2Mpixel camera. Many feature-phones support this resolution. The Sony Ericsson C905 has an 8Mpixel camera. Users seeking to view photos from such cameras will find the output looks better if it is not down-converted to analog SDTV. Mobile devices--or at least vendors of chips for such devices—are adding support for HDTV video capture. Broadcom's VideoCore III mobile processor, for example, supports 720p video capture. At the same time, HDTV displays are increasingly popular, particularly among users of high-end mobile devices. Silicon Image's MHL competes with DSI from the MIPI Alliance, a trade group led by major handset OEMs and semiconductor suppliers. Although DSI supports only XGA-resolution screens in its current incarnation, it can drive multiple panels—a key requirement for handsets. Moreover, coming from inside the industry, it is better positioned for acceptance than a technology from an outside IP vendor known for its cupidity. —Joe
Handset processors continue to evolve rapidly as processor vendors race to update product lines and deliver the right combination of integration, multimedia features, and air interfaces for various price points in the market. A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors focuses on baseband processors—the heart of a wireless handset—and the vendors that provide them. Many of these processors integrate additional functions such as multimedia acceleration, cellular RF transceivers, power management, and connectivity functions such as Bluetooth, FM radio, and GPS. Get up to date on the latest market changes. The report provides in-depth coverage of Texas Instrument's LoCosto and eCosto families; Qualcomm's UMTS processors in the MSM family plus its new integrated QSC products; NXP's Nexperia devices, including the single-chip PNX490x GSM chips, PNX6715 EDGE baseband and PNX6712 3G baseband; MediaTek's line of low-cost, multimedia-capable chips; Marvell's "Hermon" and "Tavor" baseband processors; Infineon's X-Gold product line (eGOLDvoice); Freescale's 2.75G and 3G processors; and Broadcom's updated Cellairity platform, including its new "Zeus" single-chip 3G processor. We also cover 3G baseband products from important suppliers such as EMP and Renesas, as well as modem-only designs, such as those from Icera and InterDigital, which are ideal for data cards. The report examines the impact of recent mergers and acquisitions, including ST-NXP, MediaTek-ADI, and Infineon-Agere. This report does not cover application processors which will appear in our forthcoming report, A Guide to Mobile Processors. For each vendor, we examine their market position, market strategy, and roadmap before diving into the key features, performance, and design details of each product. We also look at software development before making recommendations regarding the best products for each type of application. If you're a handset designer looking for your next platform, you'll appreciate our in-depth technology analysis and comparisons that enable you to quickly zero in on the platforms that meet your requirements. Whether you are looking for an innovative solution for your design, a vendor to partner with, or a rising company to invest in, this report will cut your research time and save you money. Get the inside information on this major market. Order A Guide to Wireless Handset Processors today. Order by August 15 to receive it at the introductory price. For further details, visit our web site. To receive Linley on CE via e-mail, you must register on our web site
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