Transceiver cuts the cost of budget handsets

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Oct 19, 2005

The Si4209 is heralded as the industry's smallest, most integrated, easiest-to-use transceiver with the lowest bill-of-materials for the GSM/GPRS ultra-low-cost handset market.

Silicon Laboratories has expanded its market-leading Aero GSM/GPRS transceiver family to include the Si4209, the industry's smallest, most integrated, easiest-to-use transceiver with the lowest bill-of-materials (BOM) for the GSM/GPRS ultra-low-cost handset (ULCH) market.

The Si4209 transceiver requires the lowest external component count and smallest board space while setting the performance standard for emerging market handsets.

The Si4209 is optimised for emerging markets where handset affordability drives incremental growth, a minimal handset feature set is required, performance is important and quality and handset yield are critical.

The Si4209 leads the ULCH industry with its low noise figure (NF), which enables handset sensitivities that improve call quality and network efficiency.

Leveraging the RF core and industry-leading performance of the Aero II transceiver, the Si4209 provides dual-band emerging markets with best-in-class receiver performance and the cleanest transmit output spectrum.

"With limited infrastructure and network support, service providers addressing the ULCH market are demanding handsets that offer the best combination of affordability, high performance and reliability", said Dan Rabinovitsj, Vice President of Silicon Laboratories.

"Silicon Laboratories' proven RF technology offers an optimised solution that is easy to design with, highly manufacturable and does not compromise performance".

The Si4209 transceiver offers dual-band GSM/GPRS operation with complete quad-band support.

The solution requires only 10 external components and reduces the handset bill-of-materials (BOM) by enabling system cost reductions at the receiver front-end and reference oscillator interface.

When coupled with an antenna switch and Silicon Laboratories' Si4300 power amplifier, the Si4209 transceiver creates a complete radio solution in only 2.3cm2 with the lowest BOM and component count in the industry.

The Si4209 transceiver is available in a compact 5 x 5mm 25-pin quad flat no-lead (QFN), lead-free, RoHS-compliant package.

Pricing begins at $2.99 in quantities of 10,000.

The Si4209 transceiver is sampling now, and an evaluation board is available for $250.