List of current and expected LTE chipsets
Tim Cook, Apple's Acting Chief Executive, has stated that "early generation LTE chips would require too many compromises in design," and that has been interpreted as indicating that a 4G-enabled Verizon iPhone won’t be with us anytime soon, says CEO Will Strauss. But, considering that LTE baseband chips suitable for a top Smartphone or 4G tablet forany vendor are limited, Cook's remarks are understandable. Here is Strauss' current list of LTE baseband chips and their likely availability:
- Altair: FourGee-3100 undergoing field trials.
- Broadcom (via Beceem acquisition): Announced, likely sampling Q1/2012
- Cavium Networks (via WaveSat acquisition): Odyssey Single-mode LTE chip is sampling.
- Intel/Infineon (via Blue Wonder acquisition): Expect to sample LTE in Q3/2011
- MediaTek (LTE licensed from DoCoMo): Product sampling likely Q1/2012 for TD-LTE, Also licensed Coresonic's LTE baseband IP.
- NTT DoCoMo LTE Licensees: Fujitsu, Panasonic & Renesas (based on Tensilica DSP cores); Now in Japan field trials.
- Qualcomm: MDM9600 shipping in HTC Thunderbolt (see below), but MDM9625 and MDM9225 Sampling Q4/2011
- Renesas Mobile Corp.: The (SP2531) is based on a Nokia-originated (non-TI DSP) design. It supports TD-LTE and FDD-LTE cat 3 with HSPA+ and now sampling.
- Samsung Semiconductor: Shipping in both dongles (TeliaSonera in Sweden) and handsets (See below)
- Sequans: WiMAX chip house, working with Alcatel-Lucent. TD-LTE dongle modems (SQN3000 series) shipped in small quantities in May 2010.
- ST-Ericsson: Thor M7400 LTE/HSPA+ modem will be sampling in Q2/2011.
Since Qualcomm is currently shipping an LTE baseband (the MDM9600, which also handles dual-carrier HSPA+) in the HTC Thunderbolt, one might assume that would be a logical choice for Apple, says Strauss. The Thunderbolt also sports the Snapdragon MSM8655, which is a combo application processor and CDMA-1xEV-DO modem. Consequently, like the Samsung Craft there are two separate basebands in the handset. The HSPA+ capability also in the MDM9600 appears to be extraneous in a Verizon (CDMA) phone. This may be a clue to the very short battery life of the Thunderbolt that isa major complaint by users. Since the MDM9600 is Gobi-enabled, he wonders if that chip was designed initially for tablets or laptops where power consumption is less of a concern with their bigger batteries. Since Apple will undoubtedly use its A5 application processor in their upcoming LTE iPhone, they have no interest in employing Snapdragon, so they must wait for a more attractive LTE/3G/2G baseband solution.
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