The new chip announced today by Broadcom could mark a
beginning of a new era for the mobile phones.
Called “3G Phone on a Chip” or BCM21551, the new single-chip
HSPA (high-speed packet access) processor integrates all of the key 3G cellular
and mobile technologies on a low power, single 65 nanometer CMOS die.
But what does it mean for the end user? Thanks to Broadcom’s
“3G Phone On A Chip” the mobile phones makers will be able to develop new
models, with advanced features, better speed, sleek form and, maybe the most
important, a very long battery life.
Broadcom claims that the customers who will use the mobile
phones powered by its “3G Phone on a Chip” solution will be able to download
content at up to 7.2 Megabits per second (Mbps), and upload content such as
pictures and videos at up to 5.8Mbps, all directly from their phone.
The chip combines a high-speed HSUPA 3G baseband, a
multi-band radio frequency (RF) transceiver, Bluetooth 2.1 with enhanced data
rate (EDR) technology, an FM radio receiver and an FM radio transmitter (for
car stereo music playback).
Those who love to use the multimedia capabilities of their
mobile phones will surely become the early adopters of the devices based on
Broadcom’s chip. 3G Phone on A Chip features advanced multimedia processing, up
to five Megapixel camera support, and 30 frame per second video with "TV
Out," as well as support for the HSUPA, HSDPA, WCDMA and EDGE cellular
protocols.
The chip can be used to build "mass market" high
volume 3G "feature phones" as well as smartphones running an open OS
such as Symbian, Windows Mobile, or Linux. The BCM21551 3G baseband processor
is available now to early access customers and is priced at $23.00 in large
quantities.
Broadcom’a announcement could men great news for Apple,
which will finally have a solution to build its long-awaited 3G iPhone.
Last month, speaking about the 3G iPhone, Steve Jobs explained
that the 3G technology is not yet good enough for the iPhone's batteries.
According to Apple, iPhone offers up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of
Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback. The
standby estimated by Apple is 250 hours - more than 10 days. "You make a
big tradeoff to go to 3G and that is bad battery life", explained Jobs.
But Steve Jobs said that a 3G iPhone could be unveiled as
early as next year, together with a better battery.
“Our phone has eight hours of talk time life. That's really
important when you start to use the internet and want to use the phone to
listen to music. We've got to see the battery lives for 3G get back up into the
five-plus hour range. Hopefully we'll see that late next year", Jobs said.
