Irvine, California-based Broadcom said it would enable handset makers to build next-generation 3G HSUPA phones with very long battery life and smaller form factors, at a fraction of what it costs today. It will also enable new phone features, according to the company. Users will be able to download content at up to 7.2 Megabits per second and upload content such as video at up to 5.8Mbps, Broadcom said.
The company expects it would be used in mass-market high-volume 3G feature phones, as well as smartphones running Symbian, Windows Mobile or Linux.
The general manager of Broadcom’s mobile platform group Yossi Cohen said the chip puts the company more than a full year’s lead over competing rivals. We built upon the success of our single-chip EDGE solution and merely eight months later our engineers not only built a single chip HSUPA solution, but also integrated Bluetooth, FM radio, and the next level of multimedia, Cohen said.
The BCM21551 chip, which will be built on the 65-nanometer manufacturing node, supports HSUPA, HSDPA, WCDMA and EDGE cellular protocols. Additionally, it boasts a multi-band radio frequency transceiver, Bluetooth 2.1 with enhanced data rate technology, and FM radio receiver and a transmitter, for car stereo music playback. It can also be used with WiWi, GPS or PMU processors, Broadcom said. And it supports a camera up to five megapixels and 30-frame per second video with TV out functionality.
The company is currently sampling the chip, which costs $23 in volume orders.
