(1) U–BLOX AG Dual GPS/Galileo chips to exhibit sub–second acquisition times eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver technology company u–blox AG is readying a u–blox 5 family of GPS and Galileo–ready single chips and chipsets. These devices, when they roll off the fab lines early next year, will exhibit acquisition performance of under one second. The company claims this speed will be the fastest on the market.”
Readers say:
» “Just unbelievable technology! Bravo! ;).”
» “Temp range is limiting to consumer apps.”
» “This product will certainly help in assuring longer battery life and smaller portable devices.”
» “Innovative jamming suppression.”
» “This is a cool step forward.”
» “Wow. These devices should revolutionize the NAV market..”
» “How much does it cost? When is it available?.”
» “This is significant, and will increase performance of many navigation systems.”
» “If it actually achieves stated performance and includes the stated features, this is pretty impressive.”
» “The datasheet specifies 32 channels of acquisition, is there a misprint or multiple offerings?”
» “Definite a hot hit, with its quick acquisition time and support for L1 Galileo signals.”
» “It will create giant steps in the industry. The low power consumption and use in hand held devices will be wide spread.”
» “Fast acquisition is what we were yearning for, in a device to take one datapoint per minute, for long battery life (a data logger).”
» “Hit’s design sweet spot. Plenty of ROM, USB interface, ARM7 based, and external FLASH interface. Very Nice.”
» “Remarkable product if it actually works as advertised. Being able to receive and decode a -160 dBm signal would be incredible.”
» “Fast GPS solutions would be great in mobile handsets.”
» “Very interested to see if the 1 second acquisition claim is met.”
» “I’ve used their products in the past and have been pleased with them..”
» “I particularly like the jamming suppression mechanism which is a real improvement..”
» “I would definitely get a phone or PDA device that had a GPS built into it.”
» “I have a few applications for GPS chipsets where I would like to try this chip.
» “It would be interesting to see how this is intended to be integrated with current cell phone technology.”
» “Very impressive. Good GPS performance all in one package. It would be good to see measured performance data.”
» “Impressive sensitivity level, and low power consumption.”
» “I like the low power requirements and small footprint. Easy to integrate into a system – even if its an afterthought.”
» “If it can make mil–spec environmental, it will have applications in surveillance. Also would fit in the consumer world as a portable in/out of car device.”
» “We MUST have SAASM (selective availability) capability.”
» “Product appears good; however, the anti jamming may be overstated because the processing limit from the description is near the 12 to 20 dB–Hz level. If the jamming is from a source with poor noise the correlation may not be capable of nulling the noise level since it can deliberately be uncorrelated within the averaging time (processing interval of the FFT).”
» “Have been looking for a compact, ready to use GPS solution.”
» “If this gets put into cell phones it may push the location based services that currently are sparse.”
» “Can I miniaturize into cell phone?”
» “I am prototyping a new application for a GPS Chip will get more info to see if it fits my design.”
» “Highly integrated, low power, and small size combined with fast acquisition all make this device very attractive.”
» “u–blox 5 family is going to be the next generation chipset for GPS.”
USABILITY RANK: 1
(2) QUALCOMM Single–chip cell phone device promises doubled talk–time eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “Wireless component vendor Qualcomm Inc. is pre–announcing its QSC1100 single–chip cell phone handset device. When it debuts next year, the QSC1100 will likely let CDMA2000 handset makers benefit from price barriers that had heretofore precluded some emerging markets worldwide.
In addition to supporting features such as downloadable polyphonic ring tones, a speakerphone, and color displays, the QSC1100 promises to double talk–time compared to currently available CDMA2000 handsets.”
Readers say:
» “U.S. only technology still––GSM is a major counterweight. The better power consumption IS a compelling feature though.”
» “Impressive.”
» “If it lives up to the claims of network capacity improvements it will be well worth paying CDMA royalties!”
» “Its good to see QCT moving to the next level of integration.”
» “Must be SOI process for such low leakage currents, low losses.”
» “Good stuff.”
» “Lower power is key.”
» “Very useful in cell world.”
USABILITY RANK: 3
(3) STMICROELECTRONICS AM/FM car radio chipset includes data decoder, DSP, embedded ARM7 core eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “Geneva, Switzerland––car radios are changing with the times, and IC maker STMicroelectronics (STM) is in step with the worldwide movement. STM is sampling a digital AM/FM radio receiver chipset for automotive applications that’s really quite versatile, and ready for a variety of modulation types.
The system is the first member of a digital tuner family that can cover mid–end to high–end car IF–sampling radio designs. What’s more, DSP (digital signal processing) is implemented in the chipset to enhance reception quality. DSP can be used to reduce interference and multi–path from mountains and buildings.”
Readers say:
» “Where can I get samples? :-)”
» “Wow!”
» “It’s about time this technology made it to consumer products.”
» “Could be useful.”
» “Many applications.”
» “Will be great improvement for AM/Fm radio production.”
» “Good HD radio chip front end, and processor. I like the DSP and A/D, D/A combo. Maybe I’ll sample it.”
» “This is an excellent product.”
» “Looks very capable and flexible. Cost vs. value?”
USABILITY RANK: 5
(4) APPLIED WAVE RESEARCH Planning tool to aid initial RF design eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “EDA (electronics design automation) vendor Applied Wave Research, Inc. (AWR) announces its RF Architect system–level simulation tool. AWR’s RFA tool provides an RF budget analysis, as well as so–called frequency heritage inspection capabilities.
For next–generation communication design, this entry–level product is also the latest addition to the company’s existing VSS (Visual System Simulator) design suite.”
Readers say:
» “Interesting software, looks good for people not trained in RF technology. Personally I dislike modeling as the reference formulas are unknown to user. I wonder if the developer can offer a corroboration of particular models with particular real designs.”
» “Performs key simulations that normally take multiple tools.”
» “Some what expensive.”
» “It is cheaper than the Agilent version of analysis tools but does not give any incentive to use if you already have ADS/Genesis.”
» “This is a pure RF tool, which is not as important in broadband applications.”
» “Currently evaluating this class of tool.”
» “Good system level simulation must include realistic model of all RF block.”
» “Looks like a useful design.”
» “Excellent tool to speed up initial RF design.”
» “It’s very useful for next generation communication systems.”
» “The big question is how does it relate to tools like Agient’s ADS?”
» “Depends on how much of the total job it can do.”
USABILITY RANK: 2
(5) SIGE SEMICONDUCTOR Galileo–ready receiver IC to enhance consumer gear navigation eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “RFIC maker SiGe Semiconductor, Inc. announces what it says is the world’s first Galileo–ready receiver chip for mass–market consumer electronics. It’s a power–managed IC using a software–based architecture. In its Standby mode all circuits are off and the IC draws only leakage current.”
Readers say:
» “Packs support.”
» “Counterpoint to the U.S. military GPS system makes for redundancy.”
» “Excellent price point.”
» “Price and performance seem impressive.”
» “Nice building block.”
» “Very nice. I like the price.”
» “Not sure the extra accuracy would be worth the cost.”
» “Integration with current/next gen cell phone technology?”
» “Very competitive GPS RF FE!”
» “Chip architecture is well thought out in terms of component reduction and cost effectiveness. Low noise front end may be vulnerable to local interference because it did not address the environment and the possibility of capturing the amplifier from an out of band signal close to the 1575 MHz. There are low noise devices which support the NF indicated and gain but may have compression levels higher than the device indicated.”
» “Size is impressive. The software upgrade part scares me. Price is right.”
USABILITY RANK: 6
(6) CIRRONET Modules implement extended range IEEE–802.15.4 links eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “ZigBee subsystem supplier Cirronet’s wireless OEM product line now includes two low–cost OEM modules based on the IEEE–802.15.4 standard. Cirronet’s $22 LPR2400 (running 1–mW of RF power), and its $36 LPR2400ER (an extended range module running with 65–mW) operate in the 2.4–GHz band.
Slated for wireless communications in industrial and factory applications, both modules include Cirronet Networking Layer to ease integration and add support for networks through a simple–to–use command language.”
Readers say:
» “This could potentially find its way into one of our in–house products.”
» “Too expensive.”
» “Is ZigBee still alive?”
» “It would be nice to know what the range has been extended *to*. ZigBee may be applicable to new products in the near term. Good to have developer’s kits available.”
» “Many capabilities listed for networking conditions but is the command language as simple as implied? More description of this capability would help.”
» “May need more power in order to combat other wireless architecture. Zigbee will die out in few years.”
» “Need to wait–N–see how ZigBee survives next 10 years.”
» “Love these products; Speeds up development greatly.”
» “2.4–GHz band is getting full. Watch out for interference.”
» “Good product.”
USABILITY RANK: 4
(7) LITEPOINT Verification software to cut WiFi MIMO characterization time eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “Communications test equipment vendor LitePoint Corp., announces DVT (Design Verification Test) functions for its existing IQfact Test Program family. The company’s Design Verification Test ensures quality and reliability at all stages of the supply chain. It can be used by wireless chip makers, device designers, and OEMs.”
Readers say:
» “Excellent job.”
» “It’s Customizable.”
» “Very Interesting.”
» “For something as wide open as the ‘Pre–N’ standard, it’s nice to at least try and standardize the testing and characterization even if the functionality might not be.”
» “Does it really work?”
» “This is an excellent input for the soc design/verification.”
» “Looks quite useful – might find it’s way into our V&V.”
USABILITY RANK: 7
(8) MIMIX BROADBAND GaAs MMIC PA, driver produce 2–W at 46–GHz eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “Developing 26–dB of gain and delivering 2–W of saturated output power, Mimix Broadband, Inc.’s latest GaAs (gallium arsenide) MMICs (monolithic microwave ICs) include a three–stage balanced PA (power amplifier) and a complementary three–stage driver amplifier.”
Readers say:
» “A Good Match.”
» “Really neat.”
» “This driver could find its way into some of our in–house equipment.”
» “So far we have used similar devices as linear amplifiers up to ~47 GHz, only the P-1dB was <20 dBm. The new chip design allows a significant power rise.”
» “Great to see this level of power at this frequency in MMIC form.”
» “Not currently working in that frequency range, but I like the gold traces... looks nice. High compression point!”
» “Addresses a narrow market niche.”
USABILITY RANK: 9
(9) PENTEK Plug–in comprises wideband multi–channel software radio deck eeProductCenter’s Alex Mendelsohn says: “Board and RF sub–system supplier Pentek, Inc., releases its latest software radio transceiver module. The $13,500 Model 7142 PMC (PCI mezzanine card) module provides software radio transceiver functions suitable for IF (intermediate frequency) or RF communication systems.
The Model 7142 includes dual Xilinx Virtex–4 FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), four A/D (analog–to–digital) converters, and 50% more memory than predecessors.”
Readers say:
» “Cool.”
» “Not cheap.”
» “Does it come with a kitchen sink too? That’s some serious DSP power, and 500 MHz-16 bit DAC!”
» “Looks like an interesting development platform, but surely too pricey to be used in production quantities.”
» “Pentek provides very first hand SDR solution, but will not pick up until it is migrated into mobile devices.”
» “Look like a good product.”
» “Good architecture.”
