RF&WirelessBlog

Iridium’s new offerings extend satellite communications applications

Satellite communications company Iridium has announced various new products and services, including Iridium Extreme, which it says is the most advanced, rugged satellite handset on the market. Iridium Extreme is the smallest and lightest handset model in its range, with the ability to precisely locate users anywhere on the surface of the planet.  It meets U.S. Military Standard 810F for durability and features the first dedicated, two-way emergency SOS button on a satellite phone. The company’s Iridium Core 9523 voice and data module powers the Iridium Extreme satellite phone and it is available for licensing.

DSP Group chipset powers Deutsche Telekom WiFi/DECT cordless handset

DSP Group’s XpandR multimedia chipset solution is powering a newly released multimedia cordless handset offered by Deutsche Telekom. The Speedphone 700 is a fixed-line hybrid smartphone supporting voice via DECT/CAT-iq and data applications via Wi-Fi. Running the Android operating system, the feature-rich Speedphone 700 significantly improves the user experience at home by enabling multimedia applications, and delivering high-definition voice.

u-blox GPS chip selected for Samsung 3D navigator family

u-blox’ latest-generation GPS chip UBX-G6010-ST has been chosen for Samsung’s entire line of SEN car navigation devices, inlcuding the SEN-410, Samsung’s most sophisticated multimedia navigator with 3D display and high-definition 7-inch touchscreen.

Anritsu Signalling Tester evaluates multimode LTE smartphones

Anritsu’s new MD8475A Signalling Tester is aimed at multimode smartphone and mobile terminals which support high-speed LTE communications system as well as being suitable for chipset and mobile telecom operator acceptance testing. The MD8475A also operates as a base station simulator supporting both 2G and 3G GSM/GPRS/EGPRS, W-CDMA/HSPA and CDMA2000 1x/1x EVDO technologies.

Pulse’s smart antenna concept eliminates the ‘hand effect’

Pulse Electronics has introduced its smart antenna concept, based on a dynamic antenna matching (DAM) circuit, which eliminates the finger/hand effect in LTE MIMO antenna solutions. The company says that phone performance and function will not be affected if the smart antenna is covered by the user's hand. Switchable antenna design enables it to change resonant frequency and input impedance to compensate effectively for the finger/hand effect, offering flexibility in positioning for the designer of the device.

mimoOn increases market share in LTE PHY software

mimoOn, the Duisburg, Germany, based supplier of LTE software for Software Defined Radio (SDR), has notched up a new licensing deal with a leading chip vendor for its mi!MobilePHY Physical Layer (PHY)

Clear Mobitel announces UK LTE trial in 800MHz ‘Digital Dividend’ spectrum in Cornwall

Clear Mobitel, whose headquarters are in the UK, has announced this week that it will carry out the UK's first live LTE trial in Cornwall, UK, using the 800MHz 'Digital Dividend' spectrum. The 800MHz RF band was previously occupied by analogue TV transmissions until the completion of the digital switchover in the South West in April 2009. Meanwhile in a separate announcement Strategy Analytics has released figures indicating that more than 40% of LTE devices will operate in the lower frequency bands of 700 – 850MHz up to 2014.

Skyworks PA powers Samsung’s first commercial LTE modem

Skyworks Solutions announced yesterday that Samsung Electronics is using one of its power amplifier (PA) modules in the Samsung GT-B3710 - a USB modem that it says is the world's first commercial LTE device. The compact and efficient SKY77706 LTE PA module is designed for multiple handset and data card applications, and will allow consumers to enjoy the benefits of high-speed data services such as advanced Web TV broadcasting, online gaming and Web conferencing.

ST-Ericsson and Sagem Wireless collaborate on multimode LTE/HSPA+ platform

It has been announced that Sagem Wireless and ST-Ericsson are to partner on the development of multimode LTE/HSPA+ reference designs, devices and modules. The two companies are collaborating on a multimode platform that can connect to LTE, HSPA+, 3G and GSM networks, with the aim of launching a mobile broadband modem before the end of 2010. This builds on an announcement in March of this year of a strategic partnership to co-operate on the development of a wide range of wireless products.

Cognovo LTE software modem reduces handset baseband size

Cognovo has announced its Software Defined Modem (SDM) platform which the Cambridge, UK, based company says is designed to reduce the cost, size and design complexity of LTE handsets and other wireless enabled consumer electronic products. The SDM platform, using technology originating from research carried out at ARM, is already under evaluation at leading handset OEMs and is expected to appear in handsets during 2012.