Product category:
Communications ICs (Wireless)
News Release from: Agere Systems | Subject: Sceptre HPE
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 13 November 2003
Compact chipset gives handsets the Edge
A new Class 10 Edge wireless chipset is 20% smaller than competing offerings, delivering the industry's smallest and fastest Edge silicon solution for high-speed mobile phone designs.
A new Class 10 Edge wireless chipset is 20% smaller than competing offerings, delivering the industry's smallest and fastest Edge silicon solution for high-speed mobile phone designs Agere's Edge chipset and software, which enable phone manufacturers to develop compact handsets capable of download speeds four times faster than most home PC dial-up connections, allow mobile users to maximise the performance of their phone's multimedia applications
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 7 Dec 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Edge represents a major improvement in GSM wireless data technology, leveraging today's widespread GPRS network deployment to provide higher-speed data services.
For network operators, Edge infrastructure can be easily installed over existing GSM/GPRS network footprints, offering a simple upgrade path that ensures global coverage at incremental cost, while opening up GSM network capacity to handle more mobile data and voice customers.
Edge also allows operators to generate additional revenue streams through such high-speed wireless data applications as real-time audio and video streaming, digital photo imaging, MP3 music capabilities, MPEG4 video playback and interactive games.
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Industry analyst firm Strategy Analytics estimates that Edge-enabled phones will account for 20% of GSM handset shipments worldwide by the end of 2005.
"For mobile phone manufacturers looking to expand beyond the GPRS market, Agere's Edge solution is the logical choice, delivering a proven set of silicon and software that enables a strong baseline Edge capability built on Agere's globally deployed GPRS solutions", said Luc Seraphin, Vice President and General Manager of Agere's Mobile Terminals Division.
"Agere's Edge products will help mobile terminal customers maximise the performance and cost benefits of these enhanced phone designs through field-tested Class 10 support and low-power consumption".
Agere's Sceptre HPE chipset and software solution is a high-performance platform for Class 10 Edge-enhanced feature phones and smartphones.
The solution is designed and capable of supporting Class 12 Edge operation whenever an appropriate network is deployed.
Class 10 Edge technology enables download speeds of more than 200Kbit/s and upload speeds exceeding 100Kbit/s, roughly three times the datarate of real-world GPRS mobile service.
With an overall footprint of only 164mm2, Sceptre HPE provides all required Edge baseband processing and advanced connectivity options to give mobile phone manufacturers a low-risk, high-confidence path to deliver wireless handsets for any GSM-based market.
Agere's expertise in developing GPRS chipsets and software serves as the foundation for this new Edge design.
Sceptre HPE is a two-chip solution - integrating digital baseband, power management and mixed signal functions - coupled with an ARM946E-S embedded core, flexible cached memory system and DSP instruction set extensions running at over 100MHz.
In addition, Sceptre HPE is pin- and footprint-compatible with Agere's previously announced Sceptre HP GPRS solution, allowing Agere's customers to easily adapt current designs to incorporate Edge services.
This Edge solution will be fully tested for Class 10 support, which increases a phone's data connectivity speed through the use of up to four downlink and two uplink network timeslots.
Ensuring a mobile phone is operational in real-world networks is imperative for the rapid rollout of mobile phones to the global market.
Agere's core GSM/GPRS system has undergone extensive performance testing as well as interoperability certification with virtually all major network equipment vendors, allowing phone makers to save valuable months of operator approvals and product development.
The Sceptre HPE solution offers very low power consumption, allowing for 180min of talk time and more than 600h of standby time with a standard 600mAh battery.
This power savings is achieved by closely coupling all necessary elements including power management, baseband processing, software and protocol stack, as opposed to competing single-chip designs that do not integrate power management.
The ARM946E-S core includes a 16Kbyte internal cache, allowing the core to access instructions and data faster than using external memory, with lower power consumption as well.
Agere's chipset and software also offer advanced connectivity options for new mobile phone designs, including an on-chip USB controller, infra-red (IrDA) capability, removable Secure Digital (SD) and multimedia memory cards (MMC) and Bluetooth support.
This flexibility allows users to easily exchange digital pictures, audio and other files between a mobile phone and such devices as PCs and PDAs.
Sceptre HPE supports quad band operation (850/900/1800/1900MHz) and quad codec support (HR/FR/EFR/AMR), enabling phones that can be used across all existing GSM networks in Europe, Asia and America, which accounts for more than 70% of the world's cellphones.
Agere's software has been developed to the GSM Release 99 specification and qualified to the most current industry standards, including the GCF 3.11.1 and NAPRD 2.10.0 test specifications.
Engineering samples of Agere's Sceptre HPE chipset and software are available this month, with production quantities expected in early 2004.
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