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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: slacker711 who wrote (44491)	2/7/2005 8:44:29 AM
From: slacker711	Respond to of 196535

Single-chip cell phone ICs seen as a niche market commsdesign.com By Mark LaPedus Silicon Strategies Feb 06, 2005 SAN JOSE, Calif. — Single-chip cellular phone devices are not expected to dominate the handset world anytime soon, as future mobile products will still require discrete parts, according to an executive from Qualcomm Inc. In fact, the first single-chip cellular phone devices from vendors are being targeted for niche and entry-level handsets in emerging markets. "Clearly, single-chip products are a trend," said Herbert Vanhove, vice president of product management at Qualcomm (San Diego). "But I don't want you to think that single-chip products will take over our entire roadmap." Qualcomm itself is moving down two design paths. The company continues to develop separate baseband and radio-frequency (RF) discrete devices, which themselves are becoming more integrated with new functions for handsets. And last November, it also released details of its initial single-chip device for building cdma2000 1X-based handsets. The cdma2000 1X device integrates a baseband modem, radio transceiver, power management and multimedia engines into a single chip. At the time, Qualcomm said the single-chip 1X part is expected to start sampling in the fist quarter of 2006 (see Nov. 15, 2004 story). In comparison, Texas Instruments Inc. last month claimed to have fulfilled a promise made in 2002 to produce a single-chip mobile phone. The company announced that Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia would incorporate a single-chip solution based on TI's Digital RF Processor (DRP) technology in future mobile phones (see Jan. 24 story). "Single-chip" appears to be the buzzword in cell-phone design. But future cellular phones are expected to use both discrete and single-chip parts, depending on market needs, Vanhove said. On the single-chip front, Qualcomm's integrated device is still on track for sampling in early 2006. The product will be the first in a family of single-chip solutions, which will be tailored for specific markets, he said. "It's a family of chips," he said. "(The devices) will have different functions and features." The initial single-chip solution from Qualcomm is an entry-level device with basic functions for emerging markets. Follow-on products will have other functions "tailored for specific tiers," he said. Single-chip solutions are not expected to take over the world -- at least for now. Indeed, there are several challenges in developing these parts. Packaging and integrating multiple frequency bands on a single chip are among the roadblocks for designers. While Qualcomm plans to take a "step-by-step" approach in developing its single-chip products, the company will continue to advance its discrete baseband, RF and related solutions for mobile phones. Discrete solutions still give OEMs more flexibility, enabling them to mix-and-match devices for a certain markets, according to the Qualcomm executive. But even for discrete parts, "there is a strong trend towards integration," he said. For example, Qualcomm's cell-phone chip sets integrate several functions on the same device. Last week, Qualcomm announced what it claims are the first handsets enabled by RF CMOS-based chip sets for so-called "value platforms." Hisense, LG, and Samsung are among handset manufacturers who have introduced wireless devices based on Qualcomm's mobile station modem (MSM) MSM6000 and MSM6025 chip set solutions. The first commercial devices based on RF CMOS technology will initially target leading emerging markets for CDMA2000 1X, including India, China and Latin America, followed by additional markets in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.