Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Agere Systems | Subject: Vision X115 chipset
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 18 October 2005
Baseband chipset masters handset
processing
Agere Systems is delivering its new Vision X115 chipset solution supporting cinema-quality video and CD-quality audio capabilities for mainstream Edge feature phones and smartphones.
Agere Systems is delivering its new Vision X115 chipset solution supporting cinema-quality video and CD-quality audio capabilities for mainstream Edge feature phones and smartphones The X115 is the first solution based on Agere's Vision mobile handset architecture and its OptiVerse software framework, both of which enable critical improvements for smaller and more affordable, feature-rich phones
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 11 Oct 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Agere's X115 leverages the company's expertise in developing flexible and scalable solutions as network technology continuously evolves from 2.5G to 3G onto HSDPA and future technologies.
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Within this multiprocessor design, the X115 provides exceptional levels of features including CD-quality sound, cinema-quality video and support for a 2Mpixel camera without requiring costly applications processors or multimedia companion chips.
In fact, Agere's solution can reduce a handset's overall component count by more than 100.
Ultimately, it is capable of shrinking integrated circuit bill of material (BOM) costs and footprint by up to 20%.
"The X115 is the first of what we plan as a long line of solutions bringing features to the mass consumer market previously available only in higher-end phones", said Phil Carrier, Marketing Vice President for Agere's Mobility Division.
"As many of our competitors still struggle with implementing multiprocessor offerings, we are demonstrating that Agere is in this market to win with solutions available today".
"Our solutions deliver rich audio and video requirements at the price points that phone makers, operators and consumers are demanding".
To further meet market demand, the X115 is designed to support a variety of popular high-level operating systems, including Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, SymbianOS and Linux.
This enables smartphones to be offered to a broader segment of the consumer market.
Such phones are multifunctional devices relied on for uses previously limited to higher-tier phones including contact management, Internet access, navigation and scheduling.
Using the X115, handset makers are able to offer a broad range of video functionality including support for H.263, MPEG-4 and H.264 standards.
The X115 offers video playback in both QVGA and QCIF screen resolutions in excess of the 24 frames per second rate that films are played in movie theatres.
The combination of the X115's AAC stereo audio and video playback enables the solution to deliver a theatre-quality experience on a wireless handset.
This is vastly different from the majority of solutions available today requiring a separate multimedia companion device to deliver audio beyond monotone sounds.
In addition, users of X115-based phones will be able to enjoy their favourite music selections with the sound clarity available from CDs, as the X115 is capable of playing audio in the MP3, AAC, aacPlus and Enhanced aacPlus formats.
To meet consumer demand for personalised musical ring tones, the X115 has WAV, SMAF and MIDI ring tone synthesisers and provides 64 polyphonic voices.
The X115 achieved a score exceeding 380 in initial chipset solution testing for JBenchmark 2.0.
This test measures the graphical performance of second-generation, Java-enabled mobile devices that support the MIDP (Mobile Information Device Profile) 2.0 standard for high-performance gaming.
Based on this achievement, end products incorporating Agere's solution are capable of top 10% performance in line with high-end smartphones and PDAs listed in the JBenchmark 2.0 results database.
Uniquely separated communications and applications processing and software The X115 is a two-chip, GPRS/Edge solution consisting of an analogue baseband and a digital baseband.
The X115's analogue baseband includes a complete power management solution that also handles the analogue baseband processing, audio mixing and conversion.
The digital baseband features three processor cores - an ARM7TDMI-S for communications, an ARM926EJ-S for applications and Agere's DSP16000 core for physical layer and audio signal processing.
By separating the communications and applications processing domains within the digital baseband, the Vision architecture allows each of the X115's processors to be fully dedicated to its particular function.
Within the digital baseband, the communications processor serves as the master controller of the system.
This ensures that no matter which applications are running, the communications link is maintained.
The benefits of Agere's technological approach are smaller phones, faster time to operator approval and rapid integration of new applications, without compromising a mobile phone's performance.
Agere completes its X115 solution by combining it with a range of OptiVerse software frameworks, which are critical in easing development and enabling significant time-to-market benefits.
OptiVerse is built on Agere's proven and tested protocol stack which has been deployed in more than 100 handset models over 70 operator networks.
OptiVerse software includes reusable and standardised application programming interfaces (API) to provide easy access to underlying communication and application functions within the solution.
These interfaces simplify development of customised multimedia applications such as audio and video.
Similar to the hardware partitioning, the OptiVerse software separates its communications and applications functions using a well-defined interface, allowing handset makers to concentrate on developing applications with confidence that the communications software will not be disrupted.
Agere expects to be in mass production with the X115 in the fourth quarter of 2005.
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