Broadcom, NXP And Qualcomm at WMC 2012
Broadcom introduced new platforms optimized for the Android OS, NXP showcased its new family of NFC radio controller solutions and Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon S4 Pro processor at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona.
Broadcom announced three smartphone platforms optimized to provide support for the Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" operating system (OS).
Broadcom says that its new family of 3G platforms will enable handset OEMs to deliver a premium Android 4.0 user experience across multiple smartphone product tiers. The Broadcom BCM21654G features a 1 GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor, an integrated 7.2/5.8 Mbps HSPA modem and low-power VGA video support. The BCM28145 and BCM28155 include dual ARM Cortex A9 cores up to 1.3 GHz, 21/5.8 Mbps HSPA+ modems and HD 720p and 1080p, video respectively. All three chips were developed in a 40 nanometer process technology and are complemented by radio frequency (RF), power management unit (PMU) and an advanced connectivity suite for a complete system solution.
In terms of performance, a built-in GPU core technology of its own VideoCore, can be output / screen at 1080p movie shooting in the 28155. Also, 3D, Tegra 3 machine is equipped with at 34.2fps, the demo can be as high as 55.4fps in OpenGL performance benchmark.
Broadcom's VideoCore technology offers a 'third processing core' to offload the application processor, enabling lowe power HD playback and camcorder capabilities up to 1080p.
BCM28145 and BCM28155 options:
- Dual ARM Cortex A9 cores at up to 1.3 GHz frequencies with VideoCore offload engine that promises to provide twice the performance at half the power of comparable solutions.
- An integrated HSPA+ release-8, category-14 modem supports 21 Megabits per second (Mbps) of downstream connectivity, 5.8 Mbps upstream, and Class 33 EDGE support for flexibility and worldwide roaming.
BCM21654G:
- ARM Cortex A9 processing at 1GHz.
- An integrated 3G HSPA modem that supports 7.2 Megabits per second (Mbps) of downstream connectivity, 5.8 Mbps upstream, and Class 33 EDGE.
Broadcom claims that its new SoCs change smartphone economics. For example, popular smartphones such as the Samsung GALAXY S II, the HTC EVO 3D or the Motorola ATRIX 2 currently have a BOM of $183. By integrating the Broadcom BCM28145 and BCM28155 chips, the BOM of these smartphones could be as low as $90-125, Broadcom claims.
All three platforms are sampling to Broadcom's customers and expected to be in production in the second half of 2012.
At the same show NXP Semiconductors N.V. and FeliCa Networks announced that their collaboration will ensure interoperability between NXP?s family of NFC radio controller solutions and the Japan infrastructure compliant to FeliCa (NFC-F). Based on a single NFC radio controller from NXP, equipment manufacturers will be able to design handsets delivering interoperability with the global infrastructure.
NXP and FeliCa Networks plan to collaborate in expanding the functionality of NXP?s global NFC radio controller with the integration of FeliCa Networks? technology, which will enable interoperability with the FeliCa (NFC-F) compliant reader infrastructure and with Osaifu-Keitai?phones in Japan. This NXP solution can support application services around the world; the first NFC radio controller will be available in 2013.
NFC is a market proven, standardized technology co-invented by NXP and Sony in 2002.
Qualcomm offered a Pro version of the Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor to enable even more capable mobile computing devices.
The S4 Pro processor features the Adreno 320 GPU, support for higher resolution displays, as well as hardware and software compatibility with the S4 class. The Adreno 320 is a high performance programmable GPU - with up to a four times performance improvement. The Adreno 320 also infuses the S4 Pro version with new multimedia capabilities, including computational camera?the ability to tap directly into the computational capability of the Adreno 320 GPU through new APIs like OpenCL, to enable next-generation use cases such as light-field cameras for mobile devices. In support of next-generation 3D graphics APIs, Adreno 320 will enable more realistic 3D graphic effects through hardware acceleration of advanced rendering features like instancing, occlusion queries and multiple render targets. Adreno 320 also includes dedicated hardware to accelerate Windows and fully supports the top game engines in the industry from Unity, Epic and others.
The S4 Pro version of MSM8960 is optimized for the most operating systems, including the Windows 8 system.
The S4 Pro processors are expected to come to market in the second half of 2012.
Broadcom says that its new family of 3G platforms will enable handset OEMs to deliver a premium Android 4.0 user experience across multiple smartphone product tiers. The Broadcom BCM21654G features a 1 GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor, an integrated 7.2/5.8 Mbps HSPA modem and low-power VGA video support. The BCM28145 and BCM28155 include dual ARM Cortex A9 cores up to 1.3 GHz, 21/5.8 Mbps HSPA+ modems and HD 720p and 1080p, video respectively. All three chips were developed in a 40 nanometer process technology and are complemented by radio frequency (RF), power management unit (PMU) and an advanced connectivity suite for a complete system solution.
In terms of performance, a built-in GPU core technology of its own VideoCore, can be output / screen at 1080p movie shooting in the 28155. Also, 3D, Tegra 3 machine is equipped with at 34.2fps, the demo can be as high as 55.4fps in OpenGL performance benchmark.
Broadcom's VideoCore technology offers a 'third processing core' to offload the application processor, enabling lowe power HD playback and camcorder capabilities up to 1080p.
BCM28145 and BCM28155 options:
- Dual ARM Cortex A9 cores at up to 1.3 GHz frequencies with VideoCore offload engine that promises to provide twice the performance at half the power of comparable solutions.
- An integrated HSPA+ release-8, category-14 modem supports 21 Megabits per second (Mbps) of downstream connectivity, 5.8 Mbps upstream, and Class 33 EDGE support for flexibility and worldwide roaming.
BCM21654G:
- ARM Cortex A9 processing at 1GHz.
- An integrated 3G HSPA modem that supports 7.2 Megabits per second (Mbps) of downstream connectivity, 5.8 Mbps upstream, and Class 33 EDGE.
Broadcom claims that its new SoCs change smartphone economics. For example, popular smartphones such as the Samsung GALAXY S II, the HTC EVO 3D or the Motorola ATRIX 2 currently have a BOM of $183. By integrating the Broadcom BCM28145 and BCM28155 chips, the BOM of these smartphones could be as low as $90-125, Broadcom claims.
All three platforms are sampling to Broadcom's customers and expected to be in production in the second half of 2012.
At the same show NXP Semiconductors N.V. and FeliCa Networks announced that their collaboration will ensure interoperability between NXP?s family of NFC radio controller solutions and the Japan infrastructure compliant to FeliCa (NFC-F). Based on a single NFC radio controller from NXP, equipment manufacturers will be able to design handsets delivering interoperability with the global infrastructure.
NXP and FeliCa Networks plan to collaborate in expanding the functionality of NXP?s global NFC radio controller with the integration of FeliCa Networks? technology, which will enable interoperability with the FeliCa (NFC-F) compliant reader infrastructure and with Osaifu-Keitai?phones in Japan. This NXP solution can support application services around the world; the first NFC radio controller will be available in 2013.
NFC is a market proven, standardized technology co-invented by NXP and Sony in 2002.
Qualcomm offered a Pro version of the Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor to enable even more capable mobile computing devices.
The S4 Pro processor features the Adreno 320 GPU, support for higher resolution displays, as well as hardware and software compatibility with the S4 class. The Adreno 320 is a high performance programmable GPU - with up to a four times performance improvement. The Adreno 320 also infuses the S4 Pro version with new multimedia capabilities, including computational camera?the ability to tap directly into the computational capability of the Adreno 320 GPU through new APIs like OpenCL, to enable next-generation use cases such as light-field cameras for mobile devices. In support of next-generation 3D graphics APIs, Adreno 320 will enable more realistic 3D graphic effects through hardware acceleration of advanced rendering features like instancing, occlusion queries and multiple render targets. Adreno 320 also includes dedicated hardware to accelerate Windows and fully supports the top game engines in the industry from Unity, Epic and others.
The S4 Pro version of MSM8960 is optimized for the most operating systems, including the Windows 8 system.
The S4 Pro processors are expected to come to market in the second half of 2012.
