RF&WirelessBlog

Silicon Valley start-up uses ultrasonic for device-to-device communication

Naratte [rhymes with karate], a Silicon Valley start-up, has announced that it can provide the benefits of near-field communication (NFC) with ultrasonic technology by using the speaker and microphone already found on mobile devices. This new technology, which it’s calling ‘Zoosh’, is software suitable for inclusion in mobile apps, that communicates via ultrasound. The company says it has overcome difficult engineering hurdles in order to deliver a secure and reliable data transaction using existing audio subsystems.

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)

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.

Mobile World Congress: wireless PA chips evolving – single-chip phone getting closer?

The RF power amplifier (PA) has always been the key component in a mobile handset design in terms of defining the power efficiency of the whole phone, and finding ways to optimise its power consumption has been an ongoing quest for semiconductor vendors. And for many years the industry has speculated on the feasibility of the single-chip phone, but the main stumbling block has always been the inability to integrate the PA – which has traditionally been a GaAs chip − with the silicon parts of the circuit because of the different semiconductor technologies.

Some announcements at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week may well have shifted expectations on both of these issues. Firstly RF Micro Devices (RFMD), which leads the GaAs handset PA market, has introduced what it claims is a new category of device based around the PA – the 'power platform'.

But GaAs now has real competition from silicon in its traditional PA stronghold.

Wireless moves into a new decade

The first week of a new year may seem a rather unsociable time to hold a major trade show, but the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has become established as a showcase for the new product developments that will shape the immediate future of the consumer electronics market. In recent years wireless technology, and wireless-enabled IT products, have increased to become a dominant part of this market. The first days of a new year are also the traditional time for looking forward to what the future will bring, so the conjunction is timely.

So what will the new decade bring for the wireless and RF industry?

ST-Ericsson and Ericsson achieve first handover between LTE and HSPA

Working in Stockholm – where TeliaSonera launched its first LTE network this week –  ST-Ericsson and Ericsson have reported the first successful data call handover between LTE and HSPA networks, using a multimode LTE/HSPA device powered by ST-Ericsson's M710 multimode platform. The companies describe this demonstration of a mobile broadband data call in an LTE network, and its successful handover to an HSPA network, as a further step towards the widespread deployment of LTE.