Zoom K56 memory....
Scrapps wonders "what Zoom is doing is adding memory to the modem, not using a ROK chipset with increased memory...AND this isn't just something in the code...Right?"
Probably it's the same chipset, or a close variation on it. Even though Rockwell's V.90 announcement seemed to be announcing a chipset, I think that what was really being announced was firmware. I'll chase a little, and see if I can found out more.
"It was posted on the Zoom thread that the additional cost for the new ROK chips were around $27 per modem. Has Zoom found a way to achieve the desired results at less cost?"
I saw that cost analysis in the ZOOM thread (#reply-3548133, #reply-3551546), and while didn't agree that the difference could be so large, I stayed out of the discussion because I really don't have any facts. But I can't believe that there is a $27 difference between a K56 chipset (which can be downloaded to support V.90) and a V.90 chipset. I think they're essentially the same part... at about the same price, which was $42 if I remember the Rockwell release correctly. They still have to include both the control processor and datapump, plus memory for program storage for both of these. If there is on-chip memory in the "two-chip" design, that is probably just replacing external (non-Rockwell) memory that was still part of the overall cost in the previous design.
Here's a PC World article: pcworld.com
... A Rockwell representative confirmed on Tuesday that current Rockwell-based client-side modems don't have enough flash memory to store V.90 and K56flex firmware at the same time--what modem vendors call "dual mode." If you upgrade to V.90 before your ISP does, you could find yourself back in the world of V.34, connecting at 28.8 or 33.6 kbps.
... Hayes today announced that next month it will begin shipping new 56-kbps modems based on Rockwell's new two-chip design. Kennedy [of Hayes] says that configuration will have room for both V.90 and K56flex firmware: "When the user dials out, the modem will probe the server and identify whether it's a V.90 or K56flex server, and connect appropriately."
I presume that Zoom is doing the same thing that Hayes is doing.... shipping newer modems with Rockwell's latest. I don't know if Zoom's early product had more memory than the early product that Hayes shipped. It doesn't seem likely... you would expect them to build pretty closely to the reference design.
We know (or rather, we've heard reports) that some very early Hayes modems got out the door with non-flashable K56 implementations. If Hayes is good to its users, they'll be doing a swap program, like USR is doing with those few early non-flash Sportster users. Haven't see mention of this, yet... and there weren't many of those units, so we may not hear anything.
Dick |
