Texas Instruments has announced its first chip set for Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution, or EDGE, networks, a stepping stone on the road to third-generation wireless networks.
TI's TCS3500 chip set is intended to enable cell-phone designers to build smart phones and personal digital assistants that run on EDGE networks. These networks offer faster data rates than current Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service networks, but fall short of the data rates promised by the oft-delayed 3G networks.
EDGE networks are seen by GSM carriers in the United States as a competitive response to the rollout of new, faster Code Division Multiple Access networks by carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint, says Tom Pollard, worldwide marketing director for TI's wireless chip-set business unit. European carriers are also rolling out EDGE networks in order to improve bandwidth while waiting for the market to develop for 3G networks, he notes.
The first EDGE networks are starting to appear in the United States, but the business won't really emerge until 2005, Pollard says. The TCS3500 chip set will be available to manufacturers in sample volumes in the first quarter, with full production volumes available in the fourth quarter, he says.
Pollard calls the OMAP850 applications processor the backbone of the chip set. That chip also incorporates a quad-band EDGE modem and upgraded imaging capabilities that allow the chip to power up to 2-megapixel digital cameras, he says. A power-management chip as well as a Bluetooth chip complete the chip set.
Intel's Entry
Intel released an EDGE chip last year, hoping to break into the market for cell-phone chips that is currently led by TI. Intel's PXA800EF chip comes with the applications processor, the digital signal processor, and flash memory integrated onto a single chip, unlike TI's chip-set approach.
The integrated approach can boost performance, but TI opted to let customers choose the amount of flash memory they require for their cell phones, Pollard says. Intel's customers can add flash memory to their phones, but some customers might not need as much flash memory as found in the PXA800EF, he says.
Each approach has tradeoffs, says Mike Feibus, principal analyst with TechKnowledge Strategies. The chip-set approach offers customers more flexibility and lower manufacturing costs, but cell-phone developers worried about the size of the chip set can build smaller phones with Intel's chip, he says.
The TCS3500 was released as a reference design that can help cell phone builders quickly develop a product, Pollard says. The reference design includes software tools and guidelines for motherboard design.
The reference design also supports a wider variety of operating systems than Intel's chip, Pollard says. Cell-phone developers using the TI design can run Microsoft Windows Mobile, the Symbian OS, Linux, or PalmSource's Palm OS. Intel's PXA800EF customers can only run real-time operating systems that support Java on that chip, an Intel spokesman says.
Nokia has unveiled several tri-band cell phones that run on EDGE networks and use the Symbian OS.
By themselves, Intel's XScale application processors support the wider range of operating systems, the spokesman says.
TI declines to release pricing for the TCS3500. Pricing varies greatly depending on the number of chip sets purchased, Pollard says.
Chip-Maker Standoff
Intel and TI are shaping up as the two strongest competitors in the cell-phone market over the long term, Feibus says. Intel's vast resources will help it compete with TI's historical strength in this market, but Intel must eventually develop communications silicon in-house to really compete with TI, he says.
"It's about providing a one-stop shop, so when there is something that goes wrong, you know who to talk to," Feibus says. Intel currently licenses its communications silicon from Analog Devices and TTP Communications, he says.
Motorola's semiconductor division also has a chance to compete in this market once its spinoff from Motorola is complete, but the division has been quiet while that process moves forward, Feibus says.
This week, TI also announced it is shipping samples of its first 90-nanometer chip, a 1-GHz digital signal processor for products that require more bandwidth than cell-phone DSPs can provide. This clock speed is an industry first, according to the company, and will allow the chip to be used in applications from smart antennas to wireless-networking devices, according to TI representatives.
TI's 90-nanometer process technology allows it to build smaller chips with increased performance, the company says. The semiconductor industry will jump from the current 0.13-micron standard for chip feature sizes to the 90-nanometer threshold this year, which will increase chip performance but raise concerns about increased power leakage. The six new 90-nanometer DSPs will be available in the fourth quarter, TI says.
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