Nokia WP8 Lumias with Qualcomm Enabled Bluetooth 3.1 and 4.0 including BLE (fka Nokia's WiBree)
The Bluetooth hardware in the Lumia 820 and 920 is part of the SoC (system-on-a-chip) provided by Qualcomm. The specific version of the Snapdragon S4 used in the Lumia devices is the MSM8960 (dual core version), clocked at 1.5GHz. Specific Bluetooth support is provided by the WCN3660 "Combo Chip", which also provides WiFi and FM radio functionality, and is a piece of companion silicon to the main central processing unit. Both Bluetooth 3.1 and Bluetooth 4.0 are supported by the WCN3660.
>> Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 certified for Bluetooth 4.0
Ewan Spence
All About Windows Phone
September 20th 2012
allaboutwindowsphone.com
Qualified design listings for the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 have been posted to the website of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. The listings show that Nokia's two Windows Phone 8 products have support for Bluetooth 4.0, including the ability to act as a Low Energy Controller. In this feature we explain the implications and offer some additional detail on the new Lumia's Bluetooth hardware.
When Nokia announced the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 at the beginning of the month, the specifications listed the Bluetooth version as 3.1 (and continue to do so on Nokia's website). However, the listing on the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, the industry trade body that oversees the development of Bluetooth standards and ensures interoperability through a qualification process (effectively a certification program), list the Lumia devices as supporting Bluetooth 4.0. It's reasonable to assume that the devices will launch with Bluetooth 3.1, but may be upgraded to Bluetooth 4.0 at a later date.
The Lumia devices are listed as having Low Energy Controller capabilities. This means they can act as a host to, and retrieve information from, Bluetooth low energy devices, and would be branded as "Bluetooth Smart Ready" devices.
allaboutwindowsphone.com
Bluetooth 4.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth 4.0 includes a number of improvements (e.g. support for faster speeds), but the most significant is support for Bluetooth low energy (BLE) devices. BLE allows for devices that use a much smaller amount of energy than traditional Bluetooth devices and thus are expanded to broaden the range of available Bluetooth devices. For example, it should be possible to run a BLE accessory for up to a year on a standard watch battery. This would allow for remote sensors (e.g. thermometers), smart energy meters, home automation devices, security appliances and many other device categories.
However, the biggest initial growth area is likely to be in the personal fitness and health markets, where Bluetooth low energy could be used to connect to watches, heart rate monitors, pedometers, and other wearable computing products. It could significantly simplify the user experience of existing products like the Nike FuelBand or Fitbit Ultra.
Bluetooth low energy originated as a project in the Nokia Research Center, and was released to the public in October 2006 with the brand name WiBree, but in June 2007 an agreement was reached to incorporate it into the Bluetooth specification, and in 2009 it became the lead feature in Bluetooth 4.0, which was formally released in 2010.
Bluetooth hardware in the Lumia 920 and 820
The Bluetooth hardware in the Lumia 820 and 920 is part of the SoC (system-on-a-chip) provided by Qualcomm. The specific version of the Snapdragon S4 used in the Lumia devices is the MSM8960 (dual core version), clocked at 1.5GHz. Specific Bluetooth support is provided by the WCN3660 "Combo Chip", which also provides WiFi and FM radio functionality, and is a piece of companion silicon to the main central processing unit. Both Bluetooth 3.1 and Bluetooth 4.0 are supported by the WCN3660.
As an aside, thanks to the WCN3660 chipset, the WiFi functionality in Nokia's Lumia 820 and 920 devices is improved (compared to first generation Lumia devices), with support for WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n (previously only b/g/n), WiFi Channel bonding and WiFi Direct. WiFi Direct provides a way for two devices to connect with each other without the need for a router, thus allowing direct data transfer with greatly reduced setup. WiFi Direct holds some intriguing possibilities for accessories (e.g. printers, media servers etc.), but at least initially is likely to be used for device to device transfer, with the set up facilitated by an NFC tap.
Incidentally the WCN3660 chipset also provides support for both FM transceiver (FM transmitter) and WiFi Display (streaming video) functionality, but Nokia is not, currently, using this in its Lumia devices. That seems a shame, especially in the case of FM transmitter, as it is a much loved feature on some on Nokia's Symbian devices and might help Nokia convert its existing customer to its new smartphone line up. ###
Nokia Lumia 920 & 820 Bluetooth Sig certification pages
• Nokia Lumia 920 (RM-821) bluetooth.org
• Nokia Lumia 820 (RM-825) bluetooth.org
>> Qualcomm Atheros Announces Highly Integrated Connectivity Solution for Superior Performance in Smartphones and Tablets
WCN3660 Combo Chip Brings Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and FM Radio Connectivity to Qualcomm’s 28nm Snapdragon Family of Mobile Processors
Qualcomm Atheros inc. Press Release
Taipei, Taiwan And San Jose, Calif.
May 31, 2011
tinyurl.com
Qualcomm Atheros Inc., the networking and connectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), today announced it has begun sampling its new WCN3660 combo chip, which is designed to bring expanded connectivity options to the Qualcomm Snapdragon™ family of mobile processors. Optimized for use in smartphone and tablet devices, the WCN3660 supports an extensive suite of advanced Wi-Fi connectivity options with multiple Wi-Fi standards. The WCN3660 chip also supports Bluetooth 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.0 and the worldwide FM radio frequency band. Designed to interface with Qualcomm’s 28nm Snapdragon mobile processors, the new WCN3660 is a highly integrated solution, enabling customers to provide enhanced connectivity in mobile devices, while reducing the board area required for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth® and FM radio support by up to 50 percent over existing solutions.
“With the launch of the WCN3660, Qualcomm Atheros is demonstrating its commitment to provide an extensive connectivity portfolio of discrete, combo and integrated platform solutions to our smartphone and tablet customers,” said Amir Faintuch, senior vice president and general manager, consumer business unit, Qualcomm Atheros. “Qualcomm Atheros is pleased to help enable a new generation of mobile devices that connect users to the growing array of must-have social, media and cloud applications.”
The WCN3660 chip features single-stream, 802.11n with dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) operation to enhance mobile wireless multimedia applications. The chip also supports mobile hotspot functionality for up to 14 clients with industry standards-based Wi-Fi Direct™ for peer-to-peer wireless connections without an access point present. The WCN3660 also will support the emerging Wi-Fi Display™ standard for streaming video directly from a smartphone or tablet to a Wi-Fi-enabled display or television.
The WCN3660 chip has an integrated dual-band power amplifier, transmit antenna switch and on-chip matching circuit, which allows the chip to meet the most stringent carrier requirements while minimizing solution size and power consumption. Bluetooth standards supported by the WCN3660 chip include high-speed Bluetooth 3.0 for audio streaming and device connectivity, and low-power Bluetooth 4.0, which is designed to work with low-power sensors, health monitoring devices and other low data-rate applications. The FM radio capabilities of the WCN3660 include support for both FM receiver and transceiver functionality; worldwide FM band support (76 to 108 MHz); RDS support for Europe and RBDS support for the U.S.; autonomous search, seek and manual tuning; and active noise cancellation.
The WCN3660 chip is compatible and directly interfaces with Snapdragon devices manufactured in the 28nm process, including the MSM8960™, MSM8270™, MSM8x30™ and APQ8064™. It uses a fully calibrated, wafer-level package smaller than 15mm-squared for direct mounting to a PCB for ease of design and implementation. The WCN3660’s small size and low power consumption in both active and standby modes help provide excellent battery life in mobile devices. To minimize interference and provide high LTE data throughput and optimal audio quality, the WCN3660 interfaces directly with the centralized coexistence manager in the Snapdragon device to provide real-time, intelligent packet arbitration and scheduling, providing an LTE/ISM coexistence solution that is optimized beyond the capabilities of standard filtering approaches.
“Qualcomm Atheros is utilizing its systems expertise to deliver a highly innovative and integrated architecture for connectivity solutions in smartphones and tablets,” said David Favreau, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Atheros. “The new WCN3660 combo chip with the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processors provides a powerful solution for always-connected mobile devices that support WAN, WLAN and WPAN connections.”
The WCN3660 is optimized to work with a broad range of mobile operating systems including Android, next-generation Windows and Windows Phone, Palm® WebOS™ and QNX®. Samples of the WCN3660 chip are available now, with a commercial release scheduled for late 2011. ... <snip> ...
About Qualcomm Atheros: Qualcomm Atheros Inc., the networking and connectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, is a leading provider of wireless and wired technologies for the mobile, networking, computing and consumer electronics markets. The organization is focused on inventing technologies that connect and empower people in ways that are elegant and accessible to all. With its broad connectivity portfolio, Qualcomm Atheros provides its global customer base with high-performance, end-to-end solutions, featuring Wi-Fi®, GPS, Bluetooth®, Ethernet, HomePlug® powerline and PON technologies. Qualcomm Atheros leverages its substantial expertise in RF, signal processing, software and networking to deliver highly integrated, low-power, system-level solutions that enable customers to create high-performance, differentiated products. For more information, go to qca.qualcomm.com ###
- Eric - |
