2bn Mobile Devices with Integrated Baseband Modems by 2014

In-Stat says transition to 4G and LTE has already begun

The road to advance 4G wireless technologies is challenged by a multiple of wireless standards, limited availability of spectrum, constricting business models, as well as a host of other market and industry issues.  In-Stat (www.in-stat.com) reports that the new generation of data-centric mobile devices, such as smartphones, netbooks, and tablets, are already straining existing 3G networks, and despite these market and technical hurdles baseband modem integration into mobile devices will reach 2 billion by 2014.  In-Stat also projects the following:

• The transition to 4G communication standards has begun, albeit slowly, with 3.6% of mobile devices with baseband connectivity expected to be using 4G standards in 2014.  
• Despite the early lead of WiMAX, LTE is expected to account for over 60% of 4G-enabled mobile devices in 2014.
• E-Reader
• Integration of baseband solutions is expected to increase, resulting in an 11.0% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of broadband-enabled mobile devices.
• Smartphones and computing devices are the only devices expected to transition to 4G technologies over the next five years.  Handsets and mobile CE devices will remain on 2G/3G networks because of lower performance, cost, and power requirements.
  

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Arasan bundles key bus interface IP for netbooks

MIPI, SDIO, SuperSpeed USB3.0, SD 3.0 and eMMC

 

Arasan Chip Systems is bundling together its IP portfolio as a complete set of solutions for the growing Netbook market. According to leading industry analysts, sales of Netbooks accelerated to 33 million units in 2009 and are anticipating a healthy growth in 2010, thus ensuring that OEMS cannot afford to ignore this segment.

IDC reported that while worldwide PC shipments increased by 15.2% in 2009, the US alone experienced a whopping 24% rise. This rise was 35% higher than earlier projections and IDC's research showed that it was fueled by consumer demand for Netbooks which increased their share to 20% of all consumer laptop shipments in the second half of 2009. The appeal of a Netbook lies in its compact yet feature-filled form-factor which implies a number of Bus interfaces. Efficient, low-pin count and low power interconnect is a vital part of the chipset infrastructure enabling Netbooks. IP solution providers such as Arasan Chip Systems thus become a valuable resource in enabling the integration of leading edge IP solutions to meet Time to Market goals for OEMs.

Arasan provides a complete solution for the major Bus Interfaces being used in Netbooks today such as MIPI, SDIO, SuperSpeed USB and memory, storage solutions based on SD 3.0 and eMMC. Arasan's domain expertise through early engagement with standard's bodies and leading edge customers, results in the high quality interface IP.

"Arasan has long invested in developing extensive protocol expertise which it leverages in the development and validation of its Bus IP portfolio," said Prakash Kamath, Vice-President of Engineering at Arasan. "Leading Netbook chip vendors rely on our expertise in optimizing their solutions to differentiate their offering. Arasan's engineering teams go beyond delivering and supporting IP - to a more consultative engagement with customers, enabling the technological adoption of leading interconnect standards. Our expanding portfolio now includes PHYs which are the crucial building block for implementing efficient interconnects."

 "The growing speed and complexity of Application Processors and importance of low-pin count and inter-operable interfaces compounds the difficulty faced by Netbook chip design teams," said Ram Gopalan, Senior Director of Marketing at Arasan. "Arasan is the only leading IP provider to deliver a complete solution, working with the customer to ease SoC integration and mitigate Time to Market considerations with its Total Solutions offering."

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Lenovo backs ARM for Skylight netbook

Lenovo is the first major PC maker to us an ARM processor for a commercial netbook with the Lenovo Skylight, the first ARM-based processor smartbook device based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset platform launched at CES.

“The web has become the window to the world for more and more people, helping them connect with friends and family across town or thousands of miles away,” said Peter Gaucher, executive director, Mobile Internet Product Management, Lenovo. “Skylight combines the long battery life and connectivity of a smartphone with the full web browsing and multimedia experience of a netbook to create one of the first devices in this developing smartbook category. Consumers want choices. They can now choose from a full portfolio of Lenovo mobile consumer devices including netbooks, smartbooks and laptops.”

Features;

Clamshell 10in screen

Full sized keyboard

10 hrs battery life 

1Kg weight

WiFi & 3G (wih AT&T in the US)

 

“Snapdragon-based devices like the Lenovo Skylight will change the way we connect to the world and how we enjoy the web and media while on the go,” said Luis Pineda, senior vice president, Marketing and Product Management, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “Lenovo is leading the way for innovation in this space by utilizing the groundbreaking capabilities of our Snapdragon platform. We are excited for consumers to enjoy the new mobile experiences that the Skylight will deliver, such as extended battery life and increased connectivity.”

The Lenovo Skylight smartbook will be available starting in April in the U.S.It will be available in China and in Europe later this year. In the U.S., it will be sold through www.lenovo.com, www.att.com and AT&T retail stores. Pricing will start at $499 at full retail price. AT&T offers two-year AT&T DataConnect service plans, as well as Data Connect Pass – a pay-as-you-need it data service available by the day, by the week or by the month.

See the Skylight video

http://lenovo.tekgroupweb.com/video_display.cfm?video_id=5188

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mSATA flash drive moves to 32nm

Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has moved to 32nm NAND flash technology for a series of solid state drive (SSD) modules, increasing the capacity and lowering the cost for portable devices. The SG2 modules come in two types, one based on the new low-profile mini-SATA (mSATA) interface standard and the other a Half-Slim type, which uses a SATA connector. The drives are available in 30GB and 62GB modules. Volume production will start in October.
The two types of modules, each smaller than a business card, provide greater design flexibility and save space and cost compared to SSDs with hard disk drive form factors and cases. The 62GB module is only one seventh the volume and one eighth the weight of a 2.5-inch form factor SSD, and consumes half the power. With interface speeds up to 3Gbit/s, a maximum sequential read speed of 180MByte/s and a maximum sequential write speed of 70MByte/s,the modules will help bring the performance advantages of SSDs to notebooks, portable electronics and embedded systems. An advanced controller features a translation mode, which enables any drive configuration, and the drive supports 28-bit LBA (Logical Block Address) mode commands and 48-bit LBA mode commands. Multi-word DMA, Ultra-DMA modes and Advanced PIO commands are supported. The drives have an optional capability for secure Full Disk Encryption (FDE) backup that prevents unauthorized data access.
Industry analyst IDC expects mini-notebook shipments to grow at an annual average of around 15% from 2009 to 2013, and, PC manufacturers are looking for SSDs that combine small size with higher storage capacities and advanced performance.

The mSATA modules use the popular SATA interface in a small form factor module measuring 1.18 in. x 0.19 in. x 2 in. (30mm x 4.75mm x 50.95mm) that connects to the system board using the low profile SATA connector. Adaptive Power Mode and SATA Device Initiated Power Management typically reduce power consumption to less than half of the Read power level when the device is in idle, standby or sleep mode.
The Half-Slim SATA II modules feature a SATA connector, measure 1.18 in. x 0.19 in. x 2 in. (54mm x 4 mm x 39mm). The Half-Slim SATA II modules have the same SATA connector used on 2.5-inch HDD and SDD form factors. Thus, this smaller form factor can easily be used in applications designed to use 2.5-inch storage form factors. The Half Slim is also compliant to JEDEC SFF 8156.

64Gbyte high speed memory cards ship in November

Toshiba is planning to ship a new generation of high speed 64Gbyte memory cards aimed at portable multimedia applications to OEMs in November. The new cards uses the SDXC specification with write times of 35Mbytes/s, allowing 2.4GB of video data to download in only 70 seconds and opening up a viable low power system memory.
The new SDXC and new 32Gbyte and 16Gbyte SDHC Memory Cards are the world’s first memory cards compliant with the SD Memory Card Standard Ver. 3.00, UHS104, which brings a new level of high speed read and write speeds to NAND flash based memory cards: a maximum write speed of 35MByte per second, and a read speed of 60MByte per second.
SDXC Memory Card is the next-generation SD Memory Card standard defined by the SD Association in April 2009, in order to meet the ever-growing demand for high-capacity memory media, offering higher transfer rates for content rich storage applications. The new SDXC Memory Card Standard applies to cards with capacities over 32GB and up to 2Terabytes compared to the SDHC standard, which applies to cards with capacities from 4GB to 32GB. Like the move from SD to SDHC, the new cards are only compatible with SDXC readers, not existing SDHC systems.
UHS 104 is the new ultra high speed interface that delivers data at a rate of 104MB/ sec. It is the highest standard in the new SD Memory Card Standard Ver. 3.00.
For a picture see the embedded blog.

Key Intel deal with Nokia for mobile chips

Coming soon after Intel's acquisition of Wind River, the tie up of Intel and Nokia to develop new mobile chips is a telling move. Intel needs to migrate into the smartphone business before its laptop starts declining - the move to a 'pocketable' format is the key here.
Intel sees this step as further uniting the Internet with mobile phones and computers in a long-term relationship to develop a new class of Intel Architecture-based mobile computing device and chipset architectures which will combine the performance of powerful computers with high-bandwidth mobile broadband communications and ubiquitous Internet connectivity.
Both companies are expanding their longstanding relationship to define a new mobile platform beyond today's smartphones, notebooks and netbooks, enabling the development of a variety of innovative hardware, software and mobile Internet services.
Taking advantage of each company's expertise as leaders in their respective fields, these future standards-based devices will marry the best features and capabilities of the computing and communications worlds and will transform the user experience, bringing incredible mobile applications and always on, always connected wireless Internet access in a user-friendly pocketable form factor.
The Intel and Nokia effort includes collaboration in several open source mobile Linux software projects. Intel will also acquire a Nokia HSPA/3G modem IP license for use in future products.
"This Intel and Nokia collaboration unites and focuses many of the brightest computing and communications minds in the world, and will ultimately deliver open and standards-based technologies, which history shows drive rapid innovation, adoption and consumer choice," said Anand Chandrasekher, Intel Corporation senior vice president and general manager, Ultra Mobility Group. "With the convergence of the Internet and mobility as the team's only barrier, I can only imagine the innovation that will come out of our unique relationship with Nokia. The possibilities are endless."
The effort also includes technology development and cooperation in several open source software initiatives in order to develop common technologies for use in the Moblin and Maemo platform projects, which will deliver Linux-based operating systems for these future mobile computing devices.
The companies are coordinating their Open Source technology selection and development investments, including alignment on a range of key Open Source technologies for Mobile Computing such as: oFono*, ConnMan*, Mozilla*, X.Org*, BlueZ*, D-BUS*, Tracker*, GStreamer*, PulseAudio*. Collectively, these technologies will provide an open source standards-based means to deliver a wealth of mobile Internet and communication experiences, with rich graphics and multimedia capabilities.
Hosted by the Linux Foundation, Moblin is an optimized open source Linux operating system project for Atom-based MIDs, netbooks, nettops, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), and embedded systems.
Maemo is a Linux operating system, mostly based on open source code and powers mobile computers such as the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet. The Maemo platform has been developed by Nokia in collaboration with many open source projects. For more information see www.maemo.org.

HSPA modem license

Building on today's announcement, Intel and Nokia have signed an agreement that will enable Intel to license Nokia's HSPA/3G modem technologies with the aim of developing advanced mobile computing solutions that deliver a powerful and flexible computing experience, combining 3GPP modem technology with the high performance and low power consumption of future Intel Architecture-based platforms.
The Nokia modem license complements Intel's broadband wireless technologies and will enable the company to extend chipset solutions incorporating Nokia's modem technologies across its mobility offerings in the future.

Netbooks - the next generation

Netbooks could have a very different look as new mobile multimedia technologies change the opportunities for design.
Freescale Semiconductor has been working with a prestigious industrial design program to demonstrate next-generation form factors powered by processors based on ARM technology, such as Freescale’s i.MX515 device.
Freescale worked with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) for a program to explore requirements related to ergonomic issues, user interfaces, alternative form factors and even accessories for next-generation smartbook devices.

“As the smartbook market emerges, new form factors and product categories will evolve to support and better align with user needs, and our engagement with SCAD demonstrates Freescale’s intention to lead this evolution,” said Glen Burchers, Consumer Segment marketing director for Freescale. “This initiative has given Freescale valuable insight into how end-users prefer to interact with smartbooks, and this knowledge will be fed back into our chip design processes, ultimately resulting in future i.MX processors that enable compelling consumer experiences and entirely new classes of consumer devices.”

The best of the designs are being presented at the Computex trade show in Taipei tomorrow.
Last year, SCAD’s industrial design program was ranked among the most prestigious in the nation by the Almanac of Architecture and Design. Industrial design students work with the form and function of everyday products – designing them to suit user needs while also considering the demands and limitations of production. Coursework is combined with professional practice involving actual clients on projects for industries including consumer electronics, communications, entertainment, housewares, interaction, marine, toys, lawn and garden, consumer products and transportation.