BCM21551, Giant Step for Broadcom
Broadcom announced a new single-chip HSPA (high-speed packet access) processor that integrates all of the key 3G cellular and mobile technologies on an low power, single 65 nanometer CMOS die.
Broadcom's BCM21551 3G "Phone on a Chip" combines a high-speed HSUPA 3G baseband, a multi-band radio frequency (RF) transceiver, Bluetooth 2.1 with enhanced data rate (EDR) technology, an FM radio receiver and an FM radio transmitter (for car stereo music playback). The device also features advanced multimedia processing, up to five Megapixel camera support, and 30 frame per second video with "TV Out," as well as support for the HSUPA, HSDPA, WCDMA and EDGE cellular protocols. It can even be paired with other Broadcom devices, such as Wi-Fi and GPS, PMU, or the new VideoCore III mobile multimedia processor. Using phones enabled by the new Broadcom HSUPA processor, consumers will be able to download content at up to 7.2 Megabits per second (Mbps), and upload content at up to 5.8Mbps, all directly from their phone.
"With what we believe is more than a full year's lead over similar competing products, this new 3G solution should place Broadcom squarely at the head of the hyper-competitive 3G chip race," said Yossi Cohen, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Mobile Platforms Group. "We built upon the success of our single-chip EDGE solution and merely eight months later our engineers not only built a single chip HSUPA solution, but also integrated Bluetooth, FM radio, and the next level of multimedia. This is truly amazing engineering execution, a hallmark of Broadcom. Our investments in multi-modal CMOS RF and high definition multimedia technologies will further widen our mobile technology leadership in the coming years."
Designed and manufactured on a single 65 nanometer silicon die, the BCM21551 is a HSPA system-on-a-chip (SoC) that integrates dual ARM11 processors to provide open OS support, and features full stereo music capabilities for both headset and stereo speakers as well as an integrated 5-band graphic equalizer and digital mixing capabilities. It also integrates advanced MIPI serial interfaces for the LCD and image sensor (which facilitates a low power interface for the BCM21551 and the LCD in the phone) and the analog physical layer required for the 480Mbps high speed USB2.0 applications that enable the rapid transfer of multimedia files to and from the handset.
The BCM21551 also incorporates Broadcom's M-Stream and single antenna interference cancellation (SAIC) signal processing technologies designed to improve cellular handset reception and voice quality, ultimately resulting in fewer dropped calls.
The BCM21551 3G baseband processor is available now to early access customers and is priced at $23.00 in large quantities.
