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The endgame for ST-Ericsson, other SoC vendors like Allwinner to benefit tremendously from Ericsson’s advanced thin modems
As ST-Ericsson: Fundamental repositioning for modem, APE and ModAps spaces [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Oct 8, 2012] was considered impossible after STMicroelectronics and Texas Intruments are exiting the mobile market as there is no chance to compete with aggressive SoC vendors from PRC and the market #2 MediaTek from Taiwan [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Dec 12, 2012] now we have the endgame of ST-Ericsson as decided by its parent companies.
Note that modemless SoC vendors like Allwinner, Rockchip etc. will tremedously benefit from this type of endgame, as Ericsson will become a modem-only SoC vendor with the so called thin modem business taken over. This part of ST-Ericsson is dealing with the highly strategic and competitive LTE multimode thin modems (including 2G, 3G and 4G multimode), i.e. the well proven in last year trials Thor M7400 SoC solution (to come in devices of H2 2013), and its enhanced (with Single RF Chip Carrier Aggregation and ability to achieve 150Mbps) mass market follow-up, the Thor M7450 SoC solution (designed in 28nm, now sampling and to come in devices of 2014) based on the revolutionary architecture introduced in Thor M7400 which enables market-leading power consumption. All the so called legacy modems (as well as the remaining parts of the ST-Ericsson business) will be taken over by STMicroelectronics, but no further development will be done for them (and only selective development for the remaining parts of the ST-Ericsson business).
Financial responsibility for the respective businesses was taken over by the two parent companies from March 1st, 2013. The break up will be completed in Q3 2013. While Ericsson and STMicroelectronics will take over around 1800 and 950 people (employees and contractors) respectively. Of the remaining workforce approx. 1600 will be be made redundant in the process. For the remaining 200 employees and contractors in the so called connectivity business the future will be decided by the outcome of selling that business.
Here are
- the details,
and then
- a collection of related press releases
Details
STMicroelectronics, Ericsson End Venture After Failed Sale [Bloomberg, March 18, 2013]
“In 2009 the situation was different, we started with a great base of European customers,” STMicroelectronics Chief Executive Officer Carlo Bozotti said on a conference call. “Unfortunately this customer base has changed.”
…
Potential buyers that were approached, including customer Samsung Electronics Co., declined to make an offer, people familiar with the matter said last week. Samsung is “a great customer for us and we continue to work for a lot of products with this company,” Bozotti said today, declining to comment on any talks for Samsung taking over the venture.
STMicro, Ericsson split mobile chip unit, 1,600 jobs go [Reuters, March 18, 2013]
“All possible scenarios were considered but the option announced today was always a real possibility,” STMicro chief executive Carlo Bozotti told a conference call on Monday.
ST takes on mobile chips…but not the market [EETimes, March 18, 2013]
In a conference call Monday morning (March 18) Carlo Bozotti, CEO of ST (Geneva, Switzerland) promised continued support for ST-Ericsson’s existing products and customers but also indicated that ST would not be trying to replicate ST-Ericsson’s platform-level engagement with the mobile devices market. This approach puts a question-mark over the future relevance of ST’s fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) manufacturing process, a proprietary technology that is out of the mainstream of global CMOS manufacturing, but which has reportedly shown technical advantages for mobile applications where power consumption and battery life are key parameters.
…
“ST will not continue the so-called ModAp – ModAp is the integration of the application processor and the modem in one chip – in terms of new development,” said Bozotti during the conference call. “Of course, we will go on as long as needed with the existing products to support our customers. So we have not called – and we will not call – for any end of life.”
Moving on to stand-alone application processors, Bozotti said: “Of course our focus area is the digital consumer, is automotive. In the case of portable equipment we will not offer a complete platform for the market. However, we may develop dedicated solutions using our FD-SOI technologies for high volume requirements in the area of portable equipment.”
…
With regard to the decision to exit the joint venture Bozotti said: “This is extremely intense R&D. The dynamic of the wireless market is with increasing polarization in terms of key customers in this market. And also we are seeing an increasing trend of vertical integration of their activities including the design and manufacture of semiconductor chips,” Bozotti said.
Ericsson’s Management Hosts Strategic Way Forward For ST-Ericsson Conference (Transcript) [Seeking Alpha, March 18, 2013]
In April of 2012, last year, ST-Ericsson announced its strategic plan. And in October of 2012, Ericsson and ST together announced that we are, as parents, conducting a strategic review of the business plan and the future ownership structure of the joint venture. In — on December 10 of the last year, 2012, ST then makes an announcement that they intend to exit as a shareholder in ST-Ericsson. And then following that announcement, Ericsson, on December 20, announces to all of you that we have taken a decision to not acquire the full majority of ST-Ericsson. Now during a few months here in the beginning of the year, we have been exploring various strategic options for the ST-Ericsson assets, and that’s obviously the context of today’s call.
Key Points
- Ericsson and STMicroelectronics have agreed on a separation of the
company into three parts – Ericsson takes on thin modem operations
The aim that we have with this takeover is obviously to maximize the value. And also, we believe that the modems here have a good fit into the strategies of our company. ST-Ericsson, then, unfortunately will have to carry out the restructuring activity in the remaining — remainder of the joint venture, we’ll come back to that.
- Agreement aims to maximize assets and the future plans for both
parent companies as it relates to their respective strategies- ST-Ericsson to restructure current operations prior to separation
- The closing of the transaction is expected during Q3, subject to
regulatory approvals- Costs for implementing this strategic plan, including Ericsson’s part of
ST-Ericsson’s restructuring, is provided for in the provisions of SEK
3.3 B. taken in 2012
So how will this work? So if we look at the split-up of the joint venture, and we again start with Ericsson on the right-hand side of this slide: We take on the design, the development and the sales of the LTE multimode thin modems, and that includes, then, 2G, 3G and 4G multimode. This will be approximately 1,800 employees and contractors. The main sites will be Sweden, Germany, India and China. And we will then be financially responsible for this part of the JV from March 1, 2013.
On the ST side, they will take over the existing products in the JV other than the LTE modems, then, and then also all other related business as well as certain assembly and test facilities. This will be approximately 950 employees and with the main sites being France and Italy. And they will also then be financially responsible for that from 1st of March this year.
In the JV, then, they will — it will be then restructuring activity that have commenced today. And the remainder of the joint venture will then be, over time here, reduced and run down. And then also, we will look at selling the connectivity business. All in all, this is approximately 1,600 employees and contractors, and you’ll have around 200 of those being employees and contractors in the connectivity business. So this is the split-up of the JV.
Modems of Strategic Value for Industry
Ericsson takes control of the thin modem business targeting smartphones and tablets
– Significant amounts invested to establish industry leading technology and IP
– Leverage our heritage and investment in leading research, global standardization and industry leading infrastructure solutions- Thin modem architecture covers
– Low power, highly integrated multi-mode multiband modems for GSM/GPRS/EDGE, TDSCDMA, HSPA+, LTE (TDD/FDD), LTEAdvanced
– Widest array of frequency bands and a feature set that includes Single RF Chip Carrier Aggregation, VoLTE and IMS
First of all, we’ve said in the past that we believe that the modem assets have a strategic value to the wireless industry, so this is consistent with what we’re trying to explain here. We are taking over the thin modem business, and the target market is the smartphones and the tablets. We’ve invested significant amounts of money to establish this position from a product perspective, from a testing perspective and where we are with the thin modems today within the joint venture. This also leverages our heritage and the investment in our R&D standardization and in, of course, our leading infrastructure solutions.
In terms of the thin modem architecture and what it covers, we believe we have advantages on low power. It’s highly integrated multimode, multi-baseband, with a variety of GSM, GPRS, EDGE, TD, HSPA, LTE TDD/FDD and then LTE Advanced. So it’s very comprehensive. And of course, some of the other features that will — sets this apart: It’s a Single RF Chip Carrier Aggregation. It includes VoLTE and IMS.
Total Addressable Market
+400 m thin modem units in 2013 for smartphones/tablets- Best estimate of the market for thin modems is an ASP of approximately USD 13-18 in 2013.
- Ericsson aims to be top 3 in that market
- Connected devices: M2M, Modules (via industrial partners), and other data centric devices
- License business model towards ModAp market: +400 m ModAp market
… in terms of the market itself that we’re targeting. Again, focus on the thin modems, and we see over 400 million units on the thin modems in 2013. That’s the green area, and that’s growing at 10%. We see the average sales price of approximately $13 to $18. And it’s — our aspiration is to be in the top 3 in this market.
In addition, there are other markets to connected devices: machine-to-machine, modules, data-centric devices. And then of course, there’s an opportunity to move toward a license business model with the ModAp in the ModAp market. But we’re very clear: the thin modem is a — going to be our focus, it’s going to be a focused organization. And again, it’s a 400 million unit in 2013, moving to greater than 600 million, from a market perspective, in 2017.
…
Next Steps and Ambitions
If we then look at the next steps. So we will now obviously finalize the formal break-up of the JV. ST-Ericsson will carry out the necessary restructuring of what this will remain — will — what will remain in the JV, and then we will move on with the necessary approvals. We think that the break-up will be completed by the third quarter 2013.
If we look at the product portfolio, then. The modem 7450 will have a volume ramp-up in the first half of 2014. And then it will be — the follow-up product will be the M7500. That work — will have a volume ramp-up in the first half of 2015. When we look at these — we are excited about the modem company, obviously, and the thin modem products. We will look at success in an 18- to 24-month time frame. Again, as Doug mentioned, the — our ambition is to be top 3 in the thin modem market and, of course, that this segment should add to Ericsson overall profitability.
Introducing ST-Ericsson latest advanced LTE modem (This is a slideshow without audio) [STEricssonVideos YouTube channel, Feb 24, 2013] i.e. the M7450
[the previous transcript continued]
Question-and-Answer Session
…
So what we’ve been trying to tell you is that we take over the thin modem products, which is, today, it’s 7400 which the mass-market product will be 7450. The legacy modem products will all be with ST, so this is the thin modem business. And all the assumptions around the ramp-up and so forth is in this slide: We have — the first half of 2014 will be the volume ramp-up of 7450, first half of 2015 will be the ramp-up of M7500. So that’s the business that Ericsson is taking over. And it’s correct to assume that, this year, in 2013, we don’t think there will be a lot of revenue on these modems.
…
Q: … I guess I would have thought that, if your position in thin modem multimode LTE was that exciting and an established semis company might have been better positioned to leverage that. …
… we … think that the modem, thin modem, business has a strategic value for the industry. We think it’s important, with more alternatives. That is — obviously goes hand-in-hand with our company overall mission around the network society, 50 billion connected devices, and so forth. So from that point of view, I think the strategic intent is quite clear. I also think that we have been reviewing a lot of different strategic options. This, what we present today, is the best solution out of all the different options that we have looked at. And we are here today to really welcome the modem company into Ericsson. And we are also convinced that we will be able to add value to the industry, which we have been stating for, for quite some time now.
… first and foremost, we have a product, okay? That product is in the market. It‘s been trialed, so the development effort has been worthwhile. We also have customers. I also think that, Ericsson working with the modem company and other partners in the industry, we have a very important role to play when it comes to connecting the access points with the networks. And I think we have — I think we have a very good role to play in this, and also very skilled engineers. That kind of work together end to end.
Q: … you’ve said your ambition is to be a top 3 player in this market. So would this mean that you may have to raise your investments in this business going forward? And secondly, you mentioned good customer traction with your existing thin modems, but I believe 7400 was being sampled, too, last year. But you are essentially indicating that there will be no revenue for — from 7400 this year. So I mean, how does this change with 7450? Are you already seeing some customers signing up on the product?
… We have — first and foremost, what we will take over once this — we have gotten all of the regulatory approvals is a thin modem operation with around 1,800 employees and contractors. We think that — given the portfolio ambition and the sales ambition we have, that the resources we have in that unit will be sufficient to deliver on the ambitions. So that’s what we have said and that’s what we will repeat again.
Showcasing Thor M7400 at CES [STEricssonVideos YouTube channel, Jan 15, 2013]
[the previous transcript continued]
Just to start with the — as you say, the 7400, that has been in customer testing. It’s been in field operator testing in the past, first global field operator testing. The 7450 has always been our expected mass product. 7450 has a smaller footprint, carrier aggregation and a variety of different other attributes, but it’s based on the 7400 software that has gone through this testing. So we’ve had very positive feedback and interest on the 7400, in terms of the architecture, and certainly on the 7450 and our current plans and timelines that we have with the 7450.
Q: So basically, if I look at the market, most of your competition is moving towards an integrated model where you have baseband and apps processor, but it seems that you are trying to focus more on the modem technology. And I’m just trying to understand what do you — why do you think this strategy is going to be more successful than what your competition is doing. And also, basically, your ambition is to be a top 3 player in this market long term. Once we get there, what do you think would be the long-term profitability in this business?
What we’re doing is we have been a very focused team, just as Jan said. As we’ve made this split, it’s going to be a very focused, competent team that’s just focused on the thin modems. As we presented earlier, we believe there’s a big-enough market in the thin modem area. And certainly, our expertise is more on the modem side than the application processor side, and that’s where we want to put our focus and our strength.
… then on the profitability, I think that what we will — the way we will measure success here in this business will be — will obviously be around achieving a top 3 position in the thin modem market. We have talked about the size of that market in terms of 400 million units, approximately, for 2013; also with the ASP there of between $13 and $18. We also will measure success in getting high volumes of the 7450 modem. And then we will also measure success when this LTE thin multimode modem business adds to the Ericsson group profitability. So those are the first, I would say, midterm objectives. And as we have said before, we will measure this in an 18- to 24-months perspective, so that’s kind of the time frame. We are — we also, then, have given you an indication on the resources in the unit that we take over, and we have also said that we think that this will be sufficient for the product portfolio ambition and so forth. So I think we have given you quite a lot for you to model a possible break-even point and so forth of this business.
Q: I would like to start quickly on the — well, what you’re planning to do actually with the ModAp business. So STMicro told us this morning that they are planning to discontinue basically working on that. And you are now clearly focusing on making your same — standalone modem. But do you have the ambition to eventually license your IP so that other companies that don’t have the existing modem capabilities are able to do ModAp processors?
Yes. So our primary focus is going to be the thin modem product itself. We certainly will look at machine-to-machine connected devices and potential for licensing the thin modem to customers that have the application processor. And that’s probably where we are right now in terms of our business plan and our revenue models.
Q: … as you fairly mentioned, there’s only one company shipping such products today, but there is also a lot of roadmaps that we’ve seen from some other of your — some of your other new competitors now are planning to release this kind of products as well at the end of this year and early next year. So how do you expect that to play over the long term? Do you think you have something that already gives you a head start of 6 month or 1 year on this front?
… we feel very committed to this thin modem because we have been monitoring the progress of not only ours but our competition in terms of the attributes and the characters of the unique selling points. We’ve invested a lot in this thin modem. We’ve seen the test results and where we see going forward with the 7450. So we’re confident, but we also know it’s going to be a tough market. But as we said in the past 6 months, we believe this is an asset that’s important to the industry.
Q: … will it be treated as licensing revenues?
No.
Demonstrating 150Mbps with Thor M7450 [STEricssonVideos YouTube channel, Feb 27, 2013]
THOR M7450 – LTE ADVANCED [ST-Ericsson product microsite, Feb 24, 2013]
Bringing Carrier Aggregation to the mainstream market
With the roll out of LTE and LTE Advanced technologies, device manufacturers face a number of new challenges. Operators require terminals that support an increased number of frequency bands and consumers expect increased data speed and improved battery lifetime. Device makers, however, cannot compromise device design and will need modem solutions that can do more within the same footprint.
Carrier Aggregation is one of the most important features in LTE Advanced that helps to address these challenges. It overcomes the fragmentation of the frequency spectrum by using multiple component carriers to increase the transmission bandwidth and data rate for an individual user.
The Thor M7450 is a multimode multiband platform supporting Carrier Aggregation with a single chip RF transceiver and support for over 17 bands. The complete modem is a highly integrated two chip solution with integrated memory. It delivers download speeds up to 150Mbps and is based on the revolutionary architecture introduced in Thor M7400 which enables market-leading power consumption.
Thor M7450 solves the design challenges and adds a number of new features in a solution footprint which makes it possible for phone manufacturers add LTE advanced without increasing size.
HIGHLIGHTS
For global devices
LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, GSM
Single radio transceiver with support for 17+ bands
A streamlined modem
Highly integrated two chip solution with integrated RAM and single chip RF Carrier Aggregation
Power efficient architecture
For all devices
Interfaces for data devices and smartphone application processors
Complete and pre-tested reference design
Thor M7450 Carrier Aggregation [STEricssonVideos YouTube channel, Feb 26, 2013]
THOR™ M7400 LTE AND HSPA+ [ST-Ericsson product microsite, Feb 15, 2011]
Paves the way for global LTE devices
The Thor™ M7400 is a new generation of multimode mobile broadband modem. It
supports the latest LTE and HSPA+ technologies. The small form factor and high power efficiency of the M7400 enable slim form factor smartphones, tablets and other mobile broadband enabled devices. The advanced multimode RF design offers new level of flexibility to support regional LTE FDD/TDD/HSPA bands in Asia, Europe and North America in combination with global HSPA/EDGE.
A breakthrough in modem architecture delivers an optimum combination of hardware acceleration, for lowest power consumption, and flexible execution in software allowing feature and performance enhancements in existing hardware.
Equipped with the latest communication interfaces it enables efficient integration between application processor and modem, including memory-less modem design when combining with an application processor.
HIGHLIGHTS
Truly global
LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, EDGE
Radio supporting up to 16 LTE/WCDMA/GSM bands
A streamlined modem
Smallest two-chip thin modem solution
Power efficient architecture
Highly integrated radio solution
For all devices
Interfaces for data devices and smartphone application processors
Memory-less modem design possible when combined with an application processor
Complete and pre-tested reference design
Making a CS fallback from LTE to 3G, and back again, while streaming video [STEricssonVideos YouTube channel, Feb 27, 2013]
CS-Fallback – An Introduction [WirelessMoves, Feb 19, 2012]
One approach to deploying LTE without packet switched voice call functionality at the beginning is to instruct mobile devices to use a 2G and 3G network when the user makes or receives a voice call and return to LTE afterwards. This solution is referred to as CS fallback and has been specified in 3GPP TS 23.272. As it’s likely that it will be deployed over time in quite a number of networks and used over many years, I thought I have once again a closer look at the specs and write a little primer about it. A little warning: This is somewhat of a propeller head post which requires some background knowledge on the circuit switched core network of GSM and UMTS and how LTE works.
…
International Roaming
As CS fallback is not a Voice over IP technology, it is likely that it will mostly be used in LTE networks before VOLTE becomes available. Furthermore, CS fallback can be used as a backup solution in roaming scenarios in which voice capable LTE devices are roaming in a foreign LTE network in which VOLTE is not available or in case no roaming agreement is in place for IMS voice services.
Pros and Cons of CS fallback
The main advantage of CS fallback is that it will enable network operators and device manufacturers to introduce LTE devices with a single cellular radio chip before VOLTE becomes available and network are deployed widely enough to prevent having to hand over the call to UMTS or GSM too often (how that is done is another story).
…
Summary
CS fallback sounds easy but from the description above I think it is quite clear that it is not quite that. A new interface to be implemented in the MSC software and the MME, the use of roaming retry functionality that is not used so far (please correct me if I’m wrong) and the new CS fallback flag in the location update message will keep network and device engineers busy for a while. A lot of effort for a “temporary” solution.
Making VoLTE [Voice over LTE] voice calls that last [STEricssonVideos YouTube channel, Feb 27, 2013]
What is VoLTE | Voice over LTE | Tutorial [Radio-Electronics.com, Feb 18, 2010]
The Voice over LTE, VoLTE scheme was devised as a result of operators seeking a standardised system for transferring voice traffic over LTE. Originally LTE was seen as a completely IP cellular system just for carrying data, and operators would be able to carry voice either by reverting to 2G / 3G systems or by using VoIP.
…
In many ways the implementation of VoLTE at a high level is straightforward. The handset or phone needs to have software loaded to provide the VoLTE functionality. This can be in the form of an App.
The network then requires to be IMS compatible.
While this may appear straightforward, there are many issues for this to be made operational, especially via the vagaries of the radio access network where time delays and propagation anomalies add considerably to the complexity.
See also: LTE / Voice calls and LTE / Enhanced voice quality [both in Wikipedia]
The world’s first dual mode high definition VoLTE [STEricssonVideos YouTube channel, Feb 26, 2013]
Company press releases
ST-ERICSSON UNVEILS ULTRAFAST THOR M7450 LTE ADVANCED MODEM WITH FIRST SINGLE RF CARRIER AGGREGATION SOLUTION [press release, Feb 24, 2013]
Thor M7450 Modem includes support for 150Mbps and an extensive number of frequency bands.
Barcelona, February 24, 2013 – Today at Mobile World Congress 2013, ST-Ericsson, a world leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, announced the Thor™ M7450 LTE Advanced modem which uses a single radio for Carrier Aggregation. The M7450 supports all relevant 3GPP specified frequency bands having 10 flexible RF ports enabling 17 frequency bands or more in the same device. With this modem, ST-Ericsson significantly increases the number of LTE bands compared to devices currently on the market allowing device manufacturers to address a global market with less number of device variants.
With the roll out of LTE and LTE Advanced technologies, device manufacturers face a number of new challenges. Operators require terminals that support an increased number of frequency bands and consumers expect increased data speed and improved battery lifetime. Phone makers, however, cannot compromise device design and will need modem solutions that can do more in the same footprint.
“There is an ever increasing demand for mobile broadband access no matter where you are in the world, making the ability to efficiently handle data traffic a top priority for our customers and operators,” says Staffan Iveberg, Senior Vice President of Thor Modem Solutions for ST-Ericsson. “Next-generation modems need to combine extensive frequency band support to offer flexibility for operators and markets – all without increasing the modem size. ST-Ericsson is leading the way with the Thor M7450 LTE Advanced modem.”
Today, many operators only have 5 or 10 MHz bandwidth allocations in each frequency band for LTE which is insufficient for LTE Category 3 or 4 with data rates up to 100 or 150 Mbps. Carrier Aggregation allows bandwidth from two different frequency bands to be combined enabling higher data rates.
“With the Thor M7450, we are continuing to innovate in modem technology to bring increased download speed without compromising on size or power consumption,” continued Iveberg. “No one else is delivering a complete LTE Advanced modem that is both fast and power efficient in this compact size.”
The Thor M7450 is a two chip solution with integrated RAM to enable a compact size. The M7450 is designed in 28nm CMOS technology and builds on the revolutionary architecture introduced in Thor M7400 which delivers market-leading power consumption. It supports 3GPP Release 10, LTE category 4, with downlink speeds up to 150Mbps and VoLTE. With LTE-FDD, LTE-TDD, HSPA+, GSM and TD-SCDMA integrated in the same chipset, the M7450 addresses the need for a simple and cost effective solution for widespread global adoption of LTE devices.
The Thor M7450 is being demonstrated by ST-Ericsson in Barcelona this week and is currently sampling with customers.
For additional information, a white paper is available here.
CHANGING THE GAME: ST-ERICSSON UNVEILS NOVATHOR™ FAMILY OF SMARTPHONE PLATFORMS COMBINING ITS MOST ADVANCED APPLICATION PROCESSORS WITH THE LATEST GENERATION OF MODEMS [press release, Feb 15, 2011]
ST-Ericsson today announced three new application processors, the Nova A9600, A9540, A9500 together with two next generation modems the Thor M7400 and M7300 as well as two additions to its complete highly integrated smartphone platforms the NovaThor T5008 and U4500.
…
ST-Ericsson’s new Thor modems, the Thor M7400 and the Thor M7300, support the latest LTE and HSPA+ dual carrier technologies, while preserving backward compatibility with existing 3G/2G networks, in a small and highly-integrated radio solution that supports up to eight LTE/WCDMA/GSM frequency bands. These modems enable the development of truly global smartphones, tablets and many other mobile broadband-enabled devices.
…
The Thor M7400 can connect to 2G, 3G, TD-SCDMA, HSPA, HSPA+ dual carrier and LTE FDD/TDD networks. It offers peak download speeds of up to 100Mbps in LTE networks. The Thor M7400 supports voice calls via fallback to circuit-switched networks and via the VoLTE (Voice over LTE) standard, it is sampling Q2 2011.
ST-ERICSSON’S HIGH-PERFORMANCE MODEMS PAVE THE WAY FOR GLOBAL LTE DEVICES [press release, Feb 15, 2011]
… The Thor M7400 is the industry’s smallest and first two-chip LTE/HSPA+ modem, which also continues the low power consumption track record from ST-Ericsson’s market-leading HSPA+ modems. …
… “In Thor, ST-Ericsson’s engineers have achieved the optimum combination of hardware acceleration, for low power consumption, and execution in software, enabled by our in-house vector processing technology, which offers the flexibility to continuously add features and performance enhancements to existing chipset hardware,” said Jörgen Lantto, executive vice president, chief technology and strategy officer of ST-Ericsson. “Our radio solution is unique in that it supports the regional LTE FDD/TDD bands in use in Asia, Europe and North America, as well as HSPA/EDGE networks worldwide, allowing device manufacturers to offer truly global devices.”
The ThorM7400 and ThorM7300 modems are based on a common architecture, enabling ST-Ericsson and its customers to benefit from shorter time-to-market by re-using of modem certification and application processor interfaces across platforms, reducing time-to-market. The new Thor modems are also pin-to-pin compatible which enables customers to completely reuse their design across the two platforms. …
Available for operator testing and integration into devices from Q2 2011, the Thor M7400 modem can connect to 2G, 3G, TD-SCDMA, HSPA, HSPA+ dual carrier and LTE FDD/TDD networks. It offers peak download speeds of up to 100Mbps in LTE networks. The ThorM7400 supports voice calls via fallback to circuit-switched networks and via the VoLTE (Voice over LTE) standard.
…
ST-Ericsson developed high-performance vector processing (EVP) to efficiently handle complex computational tasks for all access standards. It is currently used in ST-Ericsson TD-SCDMA platforms.
ST-ERICSSON THOR M7400 MODEM SELECTED AS CES 2012 INNOVATIONS HONOREE [press release, Nov 8, 2011]
… The ST-Ericsson Thor M7400 4G multimode modem delivers the high power efficiency and compact footprint needed to enable sleek and slim form factor smartphones, tablets and other connected devices. The Thor M7400 is a groundbreaking multimode solution, supporting the latest LTE, HSPA+ and TD-HSPA mobile broadband technologies, and enables efficient integration between application processor and modem.
“The Thor M7400 sets a new standard for 4G multimode modems delivering extremely high data performance, low power consumption and size advantage over alternative solutions,” said Jörgen Lantto, executive vice president and chief technology officer at ST-Ericsson. “To further optimize its footprint, the Thor M7400 includes memory-less technology to optimally integrate with application processors in 4G mobile broadband devices. As a result, the Thor M7400 makes ultra-fast web browsing and high speed data connectivity ubiquitous, easy and reliable. We are proud to have our innovative product recognized by the Consumer Electronics Association.”
STMicroelectronics Announces Resignation of Didier Lamouche [STMicroelectronics press release, March 11, 2013]
STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronic applications, announced today that Didier Lamouche, Chief Operating Officer, whose operational role was suspended when he took the assignment as President and Chief Executive Officer at ST-Ericsson in December 2011, has decided to resign from the company effective March 31, 2013 to pursue other opportunities.
“Over the past years Didier has brought his strong contribution to ST, initially as the Chief Operating Officer, and then taking the challenging task to lead ST-Ericsson” saidCarlo Bozotti, President and CEO of ST. “We thank him for his outstanding contribution and wish him all the best for his future”.
About STMicroelectronics
ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power and automotive products and embedded processing solutions. From energy management and savings to trust and data security, from healthcare and wellness to smart consumer devices, in the home, car and office, at work and at play, ST is found everywhere microelectronics make a positive and innovative contribution to people’s life. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.
In 2012, the Company’s net revenues were $8.49 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com
ST-ERICSSON ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT [ST-Ericsson press release, March 11, 2011]
Following the STMicroelectronics’ announcement issued earlier today, ST-Ericsson, a joint venture of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), announced today that Didier Lamouche, president and chief executive officer, has decided to resign from the Company to pursue other opportunities.
Hans Vestberg, Chairman of the ST-Ericsson’s board of directors, said: “Didier Lamouche came into ST-Ericsson when the company was in a very challenging situation and has been instrumental in bringing the company to the point where it is more focused on strategy execution, a much lower breakeven point and positive momentum where the new LTE modem-based products are ready for market introduction this year. On behalf of ST-Ericsson’s board, I thank Didier for his strong contribution to ST-Ericsson.”
Lamouche will remain in his current position until March 31, 2013.
ABOUT ST-ERICSSON
ST-Ericsson is a world leader in developing and delivering a complete portfolio of innovative mobile platforms and cutting-edge wireless semiconductor solutions across the broad spectrum of mobile technologies. ST-Ericsson was established as a 50/50 joint venture by STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) in February 2009, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
www.stericsson.com
www.twitter.com/STEricssonForum
ST-ERICSSON ANNOUNCES GLOBAL WORKFORCE REVIEW [ST-Ericsson press release, March 18, 2011]
ST-Ericsson, a joint venture (JV) of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), today announced a plan for a global workforce review, following the announcement made today by Ericsson and STMicroelectronics about the future of the joint venture.
The proposed key steps of agreement between the parent companies include each parent taking on parts of ST-Ericsson. It is proposed that Ericsson will assume approximately 1,800 employees and contractors, with the largest concentrations in Sweden, Germany, India and China. It is also proposed that ST will assume approximately 950 employees, primarily in France and in Italy, to support ongoing business and new products development within ST.
In addition, ST-Ericsson is pursuing external options for the future of the connectivity business, which employs around 200 employees worldwide.
In connection with the transfer of the majority of its workforce to the parent companies, ST-Ericsson will carry out restructuring of its current operations which could impact some 1,600 employees worldwide, out of which in a range of 500-700 are in Europe, including 400 to 600 positions in Sweden and 50 to 80 positions in Germany.
ST-Ericsson – with the support of both parent companies – will honor all obligations to employees, including those related to restructuring.
The proposed changes are subject to negotiations with work councils and employee representatives as required.
Ericsson and STMicroelectronics agree on strategic way forward for ST-Ericsson [STMicroelectronics press release, March 18, 2013]
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) today announced an agreement on the way forward for the joint venture (JV) ST-Ericsson. As communicated by the parent companies in December 2012, both have been working together toward a strategic solution for the JV. After months of intensive joint work, the parent companies have selected the strategic option which maximizes their respective future prospects and growth plans.
The main steps agreed upon to split up the JV are the following:
- Ericsson will take on the design, development and sales of the LTE multimode thin modem products, including 2G, 3G and 4G multimode
- ST will take on the existing ST-Ericsson products, other than LTE multimode thin modems, and related business as well as certain assembly and test facilities
- Starting the close down of the remaining parts of ST-Ericsson.
The formal transfer of the relevant parts of ST-Ericsson to the parent companies is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.
After the split up it is proposed that Ericsson will assume approximately 1,800 employees and contractors, with the largest concentrations in Sweden, Germany, India and China.
It is also proposed that ST will assume approximately 950 employees, primarily in France and in Italy, to support ongoing business and new products development within ST.
Today, it is also announced that Carlo Ferro is appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of ST-Ericsson, effective April 1, 2013. Ferro is currently Chief Operating Officer of ST-Ericsson and succeeds Didier Lamouche who, as previously announced, will pursue opportunities outside the company. Ferro will lead the work in securing both business continuity of ST-Ericsson and effective completion of the transition phase.
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson and Chairman of the Board of Directors, ST-Ericsson said: “I welcome Carlo Ferro as the new President and CEO of ST-Ericsson. Carlo has over twenty years of experience in the semiconductor industry and a strong track record in driving and managing complex transformation projects. He has been a contributor to the solid progress ST-Ericsson has made the past year in terms of strategy execution and significantly lowering the breakeven point.”
“In line with what we announced in December last year, we have now moved to the next step of our exit process and found a solution with Ericsson that fully aligns with our new strategy”, said Carlo Bozotti, President and CEO of ST. “The agreement made with Ericsson represents a major step forward in reaching our new financial model target and allows us to further strengthen the skillsets of our company, by welcoming in ST, at completion, additional strong competences to fuel growth in specific key product areas. Moreover, it protects and leverages the ongoing ST-Ericsson’s business, allowing us to reinforce our relationships with key customers, both of ST and of ST-Ericsson”.
With the proposed transfer of competencies from ST-Ericsson, ST will further strengthen its capabilities in the areas of application processors, RF, analog and power as well as software and complex system integration. In addition, ST-Ericsson’s portfolio includes devices that are complementary to ST’s focus on the fastest growing segments of the wireless semiconductor market, such as system-optimized analog mixed signal and power management devices, high-quality, low-power audio and video enhancements and innovative energy harvesting solutions.
The agreement is fully in line with ST’s financial model target of an operating margin of 10 percent or more and with plans to reduce quarterly net operating expenses to an average quarterly rate in the range of $600 million to $650 million by the beginning of 2014.
In addition, as a result of the agreement, ST expects to incur cash costs, including the covering of ST-Ericsson’s ongoing operations during the transition period and its restructuring costs, in the range of approximately $350 million to $450 million, narrower than the range provided at the end of January 2013.
New and successful “post feature phone” business of Nokia with a new set of risks and uncertainties
Nokia successfully got over the “post feature phone” situation described a year ago as:
… many mid-range to high-end feature phones increasingly offer access to the Internet and applications and provide more smartphone-like features and design, blurring the distinction between smartphones and feature phones. We are subject to intense competition over the entire spectrum we address through our Mobile Phones business unit. Recently, smartphones of other manufacturers, particularly Android-based smartphones, are reaching lower price points, which is increasingly reducing the addressable market and lowering the price points for feature phones. …
… For higher-end feature phones in particular, the platform is a differentiating element with the addition of new functionalities and possibilities for customization and an improved user experience. If we are unable to produce competitive low-end and high-end feature phones and preserve our market share and profitability of our feature phones business, our business, results of operation and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Now it has new types of affordable devices for which it needs only to add:
- Continuation with their affordability
- “… very rapid and low-cost production … increasingly at lower price points …”
- Ability “to produce competitive devices at various price points”
This significant achievement is well reflected in the changes of the title of the risk descriptions:
pp.18-19 of the Nokia SEC filing for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 (FY11)
pp. 15-17 of the Nokia SEC filing for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 (FY12)
We may not be able to produce attractive and competitive feature phones, including devices with more smartphone-like features, in a timely and cost efficient manner with differentiated hardware, software, localized services and applications.
We may not be able to produce attractive and competitive devices in our Mobile Phones business unit, including feature phones and devices with features such as full touch that can be categorized as smartphones, in a timely and cost efficient manner with differentiated hardware, software, localized services and applications.
Consequently there is a new set of risks and uncertainties associated with that new “post feature phone” space as follows (highlighted full text comparisons of FY11 vs. FY12 you can see in a PDF format downloadable from here):
The market we address with the more affordable devices from our Mobile Phones business unit may further reduce in size if the higher-end price points become dominated by more affordable smartphones, such as Android-based smartphones, and the higher-end devices from our Mobile Phones business unit are not sufficiently competitive compared to those.
The features of higher-end devices from our Mobile Phones business unit may not be sufficiently competitive compared to more affordable smartphones, such as Android-based smartphones.
Our estimates of the growth potential in the markets we address through our Mobile Phones business unit may not be accurate and as such result in misplaced investments of resources.
…
Speed of shifts in market development and demand, for example, related to 2G, 3G and 4G mobile communication technology transitions and requirements, may be faster than we have anticipated, making our Mobile Phones portfolio less competitive if we are unable to timely develop and produce devices addressing such shifts.
We are using our internally developed platforms for our devices from the Mobile Phones business unit, which may hinder our ability or increase our costs in integrating hardware and sourcing components and other parts due to limitations in the platform and vendors tooling their supply and configurations for devices that operate on other platforms.
If the platforms that we use for our devices from the Mobile Phones business unit are not sufficiently competitive or otherwise optimal for our devices, developing the platform or switching to another platform may be time-consuming and costly, and there are no guarantees that our competitive position would benefit from such actions or that the development costs would result in a positive return on our investments. If the attractiveness of the platforms we use in the Mobile Phones business unit deteriorates, corrective actions will consume time and resources from us and may not lead to desired results, and may expose our Mobile Phones business unit to a significant deterioration in competiveness.
[vs. just a too general statement for all that used a year ago:
We may need to make significant investments to further develop platforms for devices from our Mobile Phones business unit. There can be no assurances regarding consumer acceptance of such platform developments or that the development costs would result in a positive return on our investments.]
…
There are shifts in the desired features and products in the market that are appealing to customers and consumers and such shifts may not be in our favor from a net sales or profitability perspective; for instance, QWERTY devices have been a traditional strength for us, but the overall market demand for QWERTY devices has declined and is expected to continue to decline.
[vs. nothing said about that a year ago]
Nokia’s expanded, new risks and uncertainties for its Windows Phone strategy for 2013
According to the Nokia SEC filing for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 (FY12) vs. that of the Nokia SEC filing for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 (FY11):
As per the “Risks and Uncertainties” sections in both, there are the following expanded texts in the FY12 section vs. that of in the FY11 section (highlighted full text comparisons you can see in a PDF format downloadable from here):
[We may not be able to make Nokia products with Windows Phone a competitive choice for consumers unless the Windows Phone ecosystem becomes a competitive and profitable global ecosystem that achieves sufficient scale, value and attractiveness to relevant market participants.]
We believe that successful smartphone platforms require a successful ecosystem around them. … Today, industry participants are creating competing ecosystems of mutually beneficial partnerships to combine hardware, software, services and an application environment to create high-quality differentiated smartphones. Certain smartphone platforms and their related ecosystems have gained significant momentum and market share, specifically Google’s Android platform and Apple’s iOS platform, and are continuing apace, with Android-based smartphones continuing to gain significant market share during 2012 and also reaching lower price points.
… Although Microsoft will continue to license Windows Phone to other mobile manufacturers, we believe we can differentiate Nokia smartphones from those of our competitors that also use the Windows Phone platform as well as other platforms. The first Nokia smartphones powered by Windows Phone were launched in October 2011 under the Lumia name. We launched additional Windows Phone 7 devices and the first Windows Phone 8 Lumia devices during 2012. See Item 4B. “Business Overview—Devices & Services—Smart Devices” for a more information.
…
Microsoft has recently launched the Windows 8 operating system used to power personal computers and tablets, and the related Windows Phone 8 operating system is used in the latest Nokia smartphones. The success of Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 smartphones will be negatively affected if the Windows 8 platform does not achieve or retain broad or timely market acceptance or is not preferred by ecosystem participants, mobile operators and consumers.
…
Other competitive major smartphone ecosystems, primarily Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, have advantages that may be difficult for the Windows Phone ecosystem to overcome, such as first-mover advantage, momentum, a larger share of the smartphone market, engagement by developers, mobile operators and consumers and brand preference, and their advantages may become greater over time.
…
[acknowledging that] We may not be able to develop sufficient quantities of high-quality differentiated Nokia products with Windows Phone in order to achieve the scale needed for a competitive global ecosystem in a timely manner, or at all. [vs. just “execute with speed” a year ago]
…
Our competitors may use various technical and commercial means to make the Windows Phone ecosystem unattractive compared to other ecosystems, including for instance hindering application development, not providing tools to allow applications to be developed to industry standard or not allowing certain applications to work or work efficiently on the Windows Phone platform.
[vs. just “Other competitive major smartphone ecosystems have advantages that may be difficult for us to overcome, such as first-mover advantage, momentum, engagement by developers, mobile operators and consumers and brand preference, and their advantages may become even greater before we complete our transition to the Windows Phone platform.” a year ago]…
The Windows Phone ecosystem is relatively small, and thus it may not be compelling for hardware and software suppliers and developers, which may for instance lead to our reliance on a limited number of suppliers, later availability of the latest innovations and increased cost of components and software.
Mobile devices are increasingly used with other technical appliances, for instance speakers and car audio systems or have accessories and gadgets that can be used in conjunction with the mobile device. As the Windows Phone ecosystem is relatively small, it may not be compelling for third parties to design such technical appliances, accessories or gadgets to a similar extent as with other ecosystems.
[As the recognition of the already observable effect of the “Other competitive major smartphone ecosystems, primarily Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, have advantages that may be difficult for the Windows Phone ecosystem to overcome, such as …” vs. just a possible risk associated with “may not be able to attract developers and other participants to the Windows Phone ecosystem” a year ago]
…
The frequency of Windows Phone operating system updates may be too slow and the platform may be too closed to address changing market and customer requirements in a timely manner, which may erode customer support and consumer attractiveness of the platform.
Emergence of new alternative ecosystems and platforms could make the Windows Phone ecosystem less attractive to customers and consumers.
As well as per:
[Our success in the smartphone market depends on our ability to introduce and bring to market quantities of attractive, competitively priced Nokia products with Windows Phone that are positively differentiated from our competitors’ products, both outside and within the Windows Phone ecosystem, and receive broad market acceptance.]
[despite of all the risks and uncertainties already given there is no change in the sense that]
Our strategy is to compete in the smartphone market with Nokia products with Windows Phone.…
[but there are new warnings that]
The Microsoft Windows Phone platform … may limit our ability to … bring certain hardware capabilities at the higher price points.… we may not be able to introduce functionalities such as advanced imaging and sensor technology …
[as well as more intensive warnings by saying that there is]
… lack of proper training of sales personnel, insufficient marketing support and experience
[vs. using just the “inadequate” attribute a year ago]
… still relatively unfamiliar Windows Phone platform in an otherwise highly competitive market.
[vs. “new and” used a year ago]
[Regarding “Microsoft may not be able to provide the software innovations and features we rely on for the Windows Phone operating system in a timely manner, if at all” it is now added that]
Additionally, we are dependent on Microsoft for timely error corrections for customer and country variants as well as generic software releases.Other manufacturers also produce competing mobile products which are based on the Windows Phone operating system. We may face increased competition from other manufacturers, including Microsoft, who already produce or may produce competing Windows Phone based products. Increased competition within the Windows Phone ecosystem could result for instance in lower sales of our devices or lower potential for a profitable business model.
We are aiming to expand our Windows Phone-based products to lower price points. The availability of Windows Phone-based products that we or our competitors offer at lower price points may have a negative effect on the sales of our higher priced Windows Phone-based products.
With all that it is the case that
[Our partnership with Microsoft is subject to risks and uncertainties.]
In addition to the factors outlined above in connection with the Windows Phone ecosystem and sales of Nokia products with Windows Phone …
[i.e. as the result of the above added risks there is an enhanced warning that]
A further change in smartphone strategy either by Microsoft or Nokia could be costly and further adversely affect our market share, competitiveness and profitability.
[vs. without that “either by Microsoft or Nokia” stated a year ago, meaning that on either side there is an increased risk in that regard vs. that of a year ago]
[as well as adding now that]
Microsoft could provide better support to another device manufacturer which produces devices that run on the Windows Phone platform…
We license from Microsoft the Windows Phone operating system as our primary smartphone platform. Microsoft may act independently of us with respect to decisions and communications on that operating system which may have a negative effect on us. Moreover, if Microsoft reduces investment in that operating system or discontinues it, our smartphone strategy would be directly negatively affected by such acts.
Microsoft may make strategic decisions or changes that may be detrimental to us. For example, in addition to the Surface tablet, Microsoft may broaden its strategy to sell other mobile devices under its own brand, including smartphones. This could lead Microsoft to focus more on their own devices and less on mobile devices of other manufacturers that operate on the Windows Phone platform, including Nokia.
We may not be able to sufficiently influence Microsoft in bringing the features or functionalities for the Windows Phone platform that we deem most important, or Microsoft may otherwise focus on other areas of its business leading to reduced resources devoted to the Windows Phone platform or failures to implement features or functionalities. This may be heightened if our position in the partnership deteriorates, for instance through other companies using leverage to influence Microsoft, or if Microsoft chooses to develop its own mobile devices, including smartphones, or if Microsoft otherwise develops interests that are contrary to ours.
…
Simpler, more focused and human friendly social media–that’s the future?
It’s Official: Teens Are Bored With Facebook [Business Insider, March 3, 2013]
Teenagers are a good measure of what’s “cool.” Observing which apps they use and how they interact with technology can help the rest of us spot budding trends.
And lately it seems teens have grown tired of Facebook.
Adam Ludwin recently launched a social photo album app called Albumatic. Before its launch, he showed the app to a focus group of 20+ people under the age of 25. Most told Ludwin they didn’t like how reliant the app was on Facebook.
“They gave me the typical teenage response: ‘We’re bored with Facebook,'” Ludwin told Business Insider.
His test group doesn’t seem to be an outlier. Branch CEO Josh Miller recently asked his 15-year-old sister if she still used Facebook in a blog post titled “10th Grade Tech Trends.” According to his high school sibling, teens are obsessed with Instagram and Snapchat, but they’re less enthralled with Facebook.
“She mentioned that she tries to visit Facebook as infrequently as possible,” he wrote. She also told Miller she only visits Facebook after she’s thoroughly stalked people on Instagram.
Even Facebook Chat isn’t as appealing as it once was. “When you go on Facebook Chat the people you don’t want to talk to are always the ones who immediately chat with you,” his sister said.
Even Facebook has admitted it has a teen problem.
From its annual 10-K report:
We believe that some of our users, particularly our younger users, are aware of and actively engaging with other products and services similar to, or as a substitute for, Facebook. For example, we believe that some of our users have reduced their engagement with Facebook in favor of increased engagement with other products and services such as Instagram. In the event that our users increasingly engage with other products and services, we may experience a decline in user engagement and our business could be harmed.
Why isn’t Facebook “cool” anymore? The Verge’s Ellis Hamburger asked a few social media experts for their thoughts.
“I think it has less to do with kids consciously looking for ‘the next big thing’ than Facebook just no longer being a space that serves them,” one said. In other words, it used to be “cool” to brag about yourself and show pictures to friends on Facebook. Now people are looking for more intimate places to share items with a handful of people, like Snapchat. There’s a sense of privacy there, and it meets a need Facebook has grown too big to serve.
Of course, this doesn’t mean teens are deleting their Facebook profiles. They’re just looking to use the service less, and they’re open to communicating on other platforms.
Snapchat Application Is Latest Teenage Trend, But Do Photos Disappear? [ABCNews YouTube channel, Jan 3, 2013]
Snapchat and the Erasable Future of Social Media [Bloomberg Businessweek, Feb 7, 2013]
In the fall of 2012, Sally Ike, a senior at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., heard from a friend about a hilarious new app you could download on your smartphone. Snapchat was free, her friend explained, and allowed you to share photos. And like a lot of photo apps, it was simple: just shoot and send. The hook was that when your friend opened the message, the photo self-destructed within 10 seconds.
…
In the U.S., Snapchat was the second-most popular free photo and video app for the iPhone in early February, just behind YouTube and ahead of Instagram. It was the 19th-most popular free app overall, according to App Annie, an analytics company. Snapchat’s website claims that more than 50 million snaps are sent every day.
It’s made rivals anxious enough to build similar products. In December social networking giant Facebook (FB) unveiled a Snapchat-like app called Poke that allows users to send self-destructing media. Instead of burying Snapchat, however, the competition from Facebook appears to have made the upstart stronger. In January tech industry blog TechCrunch named Snapchat the “Fastest Rising Startup” of 2012.
…
Adults have long warned kids that if they weren’t careful, questionable behavior would end up on their permanent record. Over the decades, that record has become larger, more searchable, and more available to the public. With cloud computing, the digital space for it has expanded exponentially. Just one institution, the Library of Congress, is busy archiving more than 170 billion tweets.
The business model of today’s free social media networks and search engines, of course, is collecting and storing behavior and interests of every kind, and selling that information to marketers. And companies are getting better at organizing and finding out about every last bit of a user’s social life, whether it’s a party picture or a preference for a certain kind of shoe. Last month, Facebook began rolling out Graph Search, a tool to retrieve details from the pasts of its billion users.
In this environment, unease about one’s permanent social record is logical. Danah Boyd, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research (MSFT), says it’s not surprising that teenagers would be the first to appreciate the advantages of impermanent social media. “This cohort has grown up with the expectation of surveillance by people who hold direct power over them,” says Boyd. “It’s not about surveillance from companies or the state. It’s surveillance from their teachers, their college admissions officers, their parents.”
…
Pinterest Puts the ‘Sales’ in Social – Marketing Technology Minute [SyneCoreTech, Feb 21, 2013]
Facebook Backer Hansen Bets on Pinterest and NBA’s Kings [Bloomberg Businessweek, Feb 27, 2013]
California investor Chris Hansen, an early Facebook Inc. backer, is making high-stakes bets across the state, from investing in Pinterest Inc. to a bid to buy control of the capital’s marquee sports team and move it north.
Hansen’s hedge fund, Valiant Capital Management, led a $200 million financing round in Pinterest last week at a $2.5 billion valuation.
Hansen, 45, is also leading an investor group including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Steve Ballmer that last month agreed to buy a controlling stake in the Sacramento Kings — valuing the franchise at a National Basketball Association record of $525 million — and proposed a relocation to Seattle.
Both deals are high-profile and controversial. Hansen’s foray into sports has met vocal opposition in Sacramento, where the Kings have spent 28 years, including 19 sold-out seasons and 10 playoff runs.
Valiant’s funding of Pinterest ranks the online bulletin board among the most valuable closely held Web startups, even though it generates no revenue.
“Pinterest doesn’t have its business defined yet so you’re betting all on potential,” said Anand Sanwal, chief executive officer of CB Insights, a New York-based research firm that tracks venture capital and private equity. “You have to take it on a case-by-case basis, but we generally worry that there is bad money chasing these rock-star companies.”
…
Facebook Stake
Hansen left Blue Ridge to start Valiant in 2008, and now manages about $3 billion in assets. The firm invests in a variety of securities, including stocks, options, swaps, bonds and illiquid securities. Its private investments include technology, energy and health-care companies.
Pinterest is just the latest high-priced Internet bet for Valiant. The biggest was Facebook. Valiant, along with co- investors, started backing the social networking site in late 2010 at $12 a share, and bought stock totaling about $500 million, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the terms weren’t disclosed. At the time of the IPO, the Valiant Capital Opportunities Fund owned 36.3 million shares worth $1.38 billion.
In late 2011, Valiant participated in a $250 million investment in online file-sharing service Dropbox Inc. at a $4 billion valuation. In November, the firm contributed to an $85 million financing round in Evernote Corp., about six months after the Internet note-taking service was valued at about $1 billion.
Biggest Risk
Pinterest, where members share photos of clothing, food and art, may represent Valiant’s biggest risk in private technology investing, because the company hasn’t proven it can make money. And while user growth is up 300 percent from a year earlier, the disappointing public market performance of Facebook, Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) and Groupon Inc. (GRPN) shows how challenging it can be for Web companies to live up to their startup hype.
“It’s a strategy that works pretty well when things are going up, and it’s only matter of time before things go the other way,” said Eric Risley, a managing partner at investment advisory firm Architect Partners LLC in Palo Alto, California. “Then you’ve got a challenge on your hands.”
Still, the bet could pay off, Risley said. “Pinterest is a cool company that can do a lot of interesting things,” he said.
…
Why retailers are pinning hopes on Pinterest [Reuters, Feb 27, 2013]
After a tough day at work as a publicist in Minneapolis, Becca Bijoch would often indulge in a little retail therapy. She usually headed out to the stores as she did not care much for online shopping.
That changed last year when the 26-year-old joined Pinterest, a photo-sharing website that allows users to “pin” images to online bulletin boards based on their interests and to follow others. Bijoch says she has found all sorts of things that she bought after seeing them on Pinterest, from great kitchen tools on CrateandBarrel.com to clothes at Asos.com.
“I’m probably spending more now. I’m on the couch at night, after having two glasses of wine,” Bijoch says, but she has no regrets. “I tell everyone that Pinterest has changed my life.”
Pinterest, which was the fastest standalone website to hit 10 million unique visitors a month, now has 25 million members, of whom many – like Bijoch – are young, female, well-educated and have disposable income.
Retailers are hankering after these users, but it is sometimes difficult to nab them because Pinterest is an ad-free website and “pins” flourish virally. While many retailers have learned how to interact with consumers on Facebook and Twitter, they are still struggling to figure out Pinterest and the ways to make money out of reaching shoppers through it.
In that effort, many retailers have installed Pinterest buttons on their main websites, created their own Pinterest pages, and allocated marketing dollars to acquire followers. While Pinterest says it does not track metrics internally, many ancillary businesses have popped up to help companies harness the revenue-driving possibilities of the site.
“It’s a huge window-shopping platform,” says Kyla Brennan, chief executive of HelloInsights, a Santa Monica, California company that provides analyses of Pinterest use. “It helps people find what they really like. Does it encourage people to be a little impulsive? Of course.”
E-commerce experts say Pinterest generates more dollars per users than some other social media sites, even though Facebook, the world’s largest social network with more than a billion users, is a leading driver of shopping by volume.
Pinterest shoppers, on average, spend nearly $170 per session, according to a study by RichRelevance, an e-commerce consultant, which tracked 700 million shopping sessions. In comparison, Facebook shoppers spend $95 per session, while Twitter shoppers spend $70.
Major retail brands with a presence on Pinterest include L.L. Bean, with more than 5 million followers; Nordstrom Inc, with more than 4 million followers; and Lululemon Athletica Inc with close to 2 million. Other major players like Gap Inc and Urban Outfitters Inc have fewer followers on the site, but are growing.
The three-year-old Pinterest recently closed a $200 million round of financing, which raises its value to $2.5 billion.
PINNING COSTS
Most companies’ Pinterest activity is handled by their social media teams, but the efforts differ from promotions on Facebook and Twitter because Pinterest boards are interest-based and not timeline-based. Nordstrom’s Facebook page, for example, features a couple of products daily that are on sale or seasonally interesting, but its Pinterest page is an evergreen collage of fashion lifestyle images.
As there is no direct advertising and Pinterest is still growing, the marketing cost to businesses of acquiring new users is lower than other sites, says Daniel Maloney, CEO of PinLeague, a consultancy that tracks social media usage.
“The current cost of acquiring a Pinterest follower is a penny to 50 cents, depending on type of business. That compares to 50 cents to $2.50 on Facebook,” he said.
One of the top ways to reach followers seems to be to do anything but try to sell products. L.L. Bean’s most popular board, for instance, is devoted to pictures of woodland creatures – its most popular pin is a picture of a cat dressed up to look like a bat.
“While we do measure traffic coming to llbean.com and llbeansignature.com from Pinterest, we are not currently promoting the platform as a selling channel,” says Laurie Brooks, senior public relations representative for the company based in Freeport, Maine. Internal metrics show Pinterest users spend more than others, and that traffic is on the increase even if, overall, it is less than what comes from Facebook, she adds.
L.L. Bean, like many other retailers, has not offered discounts through Pinterest, but it has sponsored contests. So has Nordstrom, which did a bridal-focused sweepstakes in January.
“Our followers share and save compelling imagery and merchandise – period. Our boards aren’t focused on bargains or coupons,” says Bryan Galipeau, who is group manager of social media at Nordstrom’s Seattle headquarters. “We think it’s important to take a broader view of Pinterest because that’s also how our customers see it.”
Fashion retailer Gilt.com’s “Pin to Win” contest offered a $2,500 shopping spree to women who shared certain images from their wedding dress collection. Gilt also rewarded those who received 50 re-pins of a children’s dress the chance to buy the item for 77 percent off.
Similarly, fashion-seller Karmaloop.com offered a trip to Paris for the best outfit pinned to one of its boards.
Other goodies from retailers include AMC Theatres’ giveaway pinboard where users can win movies posters and other memorabilia. Wal-Mart Stores Inc ran a contest about inspiring people to be environmentally conscious.
Even if you could win something by shopping through Pinterest, consumers need to exert some impulse control.
Since most of what is “pinned” on the site is aspirational, people can end up spending way more than when they click through from other social media sites.
5G WiFi with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac Miracast™ from Broadcom for streaming content to UHD (4K) TVs as well
If one has $17K to spend on LG’s 84LM960V UHD (4K) TV already equipped with Broadcom’s BCM43526 chip for 5G WiFi/IEEE 802.11ac transceiver functions, as well as some more for a ’2013 vintage’, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast™ capable, Android 4.2 smartphone having, for example, Broadcom’s BCM4335 chip for 5G WiFi™ 802.11ac among others (like the new HTC One to be available in March, or LG’s own ‘next generation’ device), then one can already have LG Ultra HD Streaming [TheVerge YouTube channel, Feb 25, 2013]:
A general UHD (4K) capability will come with smartphones having the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, as an example, when you will be able to play UHD (4K) video content on the smartphone and watch it in UHD (4K) on the UHD TV.
[Recognition] Credible Praise for LG Ultra HD TV by the Experts [WHY LG TV BLOG, Feb 28, 2013]
…
Best of Innovations 2013 – Video Display Category at CES 2013
“The 84LM9600 is the world’s largest Ultra Definition (UD) 3D TV delivering immersive entertainment in stunning ultra-definition with a combination of CINEMA 3D technology and Smart TV features.”
8/10 Rating by Digital Trends
“Bottom line: Higher pixel density makes images on the screen look more like reality than TV. Scenes of the bright blue Mediterranean looked so convincing; it was hard not to want to jump right in. The stars in night skies looked much more like stars – tiny pinpoints of light – than a smattering of blurry white spots.”
A Stellar Review from HDTV Solutions
“The picture quality of the LG Ultra HD TV is definitely a major step up from the output of a high-end 1080p HDTV. The difference can be startling when playing 4K content. But even when comparing playback of Blu-rays, the LG’s upscaling to 4K is noticeably better.”
Rated Excellent by AVForums
“Once you throw in LG’s reference Smart TV platform, two remotes, Game Play, built-in WiFi, well designed menus and exceptional calibration controls, you start to see a TV that can almost justify its hefty price tag. The huge nature of the screen isn’t reflected in the other dimensions, with the surrounding bezel measuring 3cm at the top, 2.5cm at the sides and 4cm along the bottom. The entire chassis is only 4cm deep, which is remarkable when you consider the screen size and how much technology is crammed inside.”
…
LG 84LM960V Ultra HD TV [LGBlogUK YouTube channel, Jan 3, 2013]
LG TO DEMONSTRATE WORLD’S FIRST WIRELESS ULTRA HD TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY AT MWC 2013 [LG Electronics press release, Feb 25, 2013]
LG Electronics (LG) will showcase its industry-leading Wireless Ultra High Definition (Ultra HD) Transmission technology for the first time at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2013 in Barcelona. This exciting next generation mobile feature enables users to view games and other smartphone content on Ultra HD TVs in real time, via wireless data transfer.
“Thanks to our innovative Wireless Ultra HD Transmission technology, users can now enjoy their favorite mobile content on today’s most advanced Ultra HD TVs,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With the development of this cutting-edge technology, LG again confirms its industry leadership in the area of display and mobile convergence for a truly enjoyable viewing experience.”
Wireless Ultra HD Transmission technology makes the delivery of smartphone multimedia content to TVs faster and smoother than previous mobile video compression and transfer systems. With minimal lag and data loss, LG’s next generation mobile feature performs this feat using ubiquitous WiFi connections. During transmission, multimedia content is automatically adjusted to match the receiving TV’s screen resolution, resulting in flawless visuals.
What’s more, LG’s Wireless Ultra HD Transmission system consumes less than half the power of other similar transmission technologies. It achieves this by reducing the burden on the smartphone’s CPU and other hardware resources.
[CES 2013] LG Ultra HD TV [ElectoTube YouTube channel by LG, Jan 9, 2013]
Broadcom Powers First LG 5G WiFi Digital Televisions [Broadcom press release, Jan 7, 2013]
Heads to CES with Growing 5G WiFi Ecosystem; Enables LG Consumers to Stream HD Video Wirelessly from Mobile Devices to the TV
News Highlights:
-LG Electronics to offer the industry’s first digital televisions powered by Broadcom’s 5G WiFi
-New 5G WiFi digital televisions with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast™ enable consumers to escape the small screen and reliably stream HD-quality video onto larger displays
-5G WiFi delivers dramatic capacity, range and power benefits2013 CES International —Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced LG Electronics has chosen Broadcom’s 5G WiFi technology, based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard, for use in select 2013 LG digital TV models. By adopting Broadcom’s BCM43526, LG Electronics is the first to enable consumers to seamlessly stream and share high-resolution content between mobile devices and smart TVs. Learn how Broadcom® innovation is enabling the Connected Life at home, at work, and on-the-go at Broadcom@CES.
“LG is leading the market with next-generation digital TV innovations that dramatically enhance the consumer’s viewing experience,” said Sangyeob Lee, LG Electronics Senior Director, TV Product Planning. “By adding 5G WiFi to our flagship Smart TV platforms, our customers will experience the fastest, most reliable wireless connectivity yet. Partnering with Broadcom allows us to raise the bar and be the first company to introduce the next generation of WiFi in our Smart TV platforms.”
“Last year at CES 2012, Broadcom introduced the industry’s first 5G WiFi chips and committed to enabling the adoption of the technology across all wireless product segments,” said Dino Bekis, Broadcom Senior Director, Product Marketing, Wireless Connectivity Combo. “Today marks yet another important milestone — the industry’s first 5G WiFi Smart TV. We’re thrilled to partner with LG to further expand the ecosystem of 5G WiFi products available to consumers and continue to drive rapid adoption of the technology.”
The increased reliance on wireless networks, the explosion of video consumption and the growing number of wireless devices are all putting stress on legacy 802.11a/b/g/n networks. As a result, consumers are prone to experience deteriorated performance such as choppy videos and slower load times, especially when streaming content from the cloud, smartphone or tablet to a digital TV. 5G WiFi dramatically improves home wireless range, providing higher-capacity video streaming, the ability to connect multiple devices to the network at the same time and broader coverage with fewer dead spots. It also reduces power consumption by up to 83 percent[1] in mobile devices, so consumers can go longer without having to plug in.
The average U.S. household has nearly 4.8 devices connected to the network[2]. Yet, sharing content between these devices can be complicated — and sometimes impossible. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast addresses this issue by allowing users to easily stream content wirelessly between devices. By incorporating the BCM43526 and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast into its newest digital TV products, LG Electronics is ensuring consumers enjoy fast, reliable connectivity between multiple devices in multiple places throughout the home.
Availability
LG Electronics’ new line of 5G WiFi digital televisions will be available in 2013 in various markets.
LG 4K 84-inch Ultra HD 3D LED HDTV: Abt Electronics [AbtElectronics YouTube channel, Jan 28, 2013]
Broadcom 5G WiFi Powers New HTC One Smartphone [Broadcom press release, Feb 25, 2013]
Expands Ecosystem of 5G WiFi Products Available
- HTC chooses Broadcom 5G WiFi technology in its newly launched HTC One smartphone
- 5G WiFi delivers faster, more reliable wireless connectivity with significantly less battery drain
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced HTC has chosen Broadcom® 5G WiFi technology in its new flagship HTC One device. By adopting the BCM4335, HTC is delivering the speed, reliability and power benefits of 5G WiFi in its newest smartphone. Visit Broadcom @ Mobile World Congress for more news.
“With the launch of the HTC One, we’re reinventing the mobile experience and setting a new standard for smartphones,” said Kouji Kodera, Chief Product Officer, HTC. “Our customers today are consuming more and more video on their mobile devices and expect a seamless streaming experience. Broadcom’s 5G WiFi delivers higher bandwidth and broader range so our customers experience the fastest, most reliable wireless connectivity yet — while also preserving battery power.”
The explosion of video consumption and the growing number of wireless devices being used are putting stress on legacy 802.11a/b/g/n networks. As a result, consumers are prone to experience deteriorated performance such as choppy videos and slower load times, especially when streaming content to a smartphone. 5G WiFi, which is based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard, improves the range of a wireless connection, providing higher-capacity video streaming, the ability to connect multiple devices to the network at the same time and broader coverage with fewer dead spots. Broadcom’s 5G WiFi also reduces power consumption by up to 83 percent[1] in mobile devices, so consumers can go longer without having to plug in.
“Broadcom continues to lead the transition to the next generation of Wi-Fi across all product segments,” said Michael Hurlston, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Connectivity Combos. “We’ve hit a major inflection point with 5G WiFi in mobile phones. Now consumers will be able to unlock the real benefits of the technology, especially when used with the many other 802.11ac products on the market today.”
Availability
The new HTC One powered by Broadcom 5G WiFi will be available globally through more than 185 mobile operators and major retailers in more than 80 regions and countries beginning in March. For more information on the HTC One, please visit the HTC Newsroom or Product Page.[1] 5GHz 802.11ac running at 80MHz bandwidth as compared to 2.4GHz 802.11n running at 20MHz
From HTC One Specs [HTC microsite, Feb 19, 2013]
…
CONNECTIVITY
- 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
- NFC capable3
- Compliant with Bluetooth 4.0
- Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX™ enabled
- Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n
- DLNA® for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
- Support consumer infrared remote control
- micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection.)
…
Broadcom CEO Talks 4K TV, 5G WiFi [TheStreetTV YouTube channel, Jan 9, 2013]
Broadcom CEO Discusses Q4 2012 Results – Earnings Call Transcript [Seeking Alpha, Jan 29, 2013]
Scott A. McGregor – Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
… We have been shipping our 5G WiFi combo to lead customers and expect the [first 5G WiFi] smartphones to launch in the coming weeks. …
… I think the 5G WiFi will continue to grow significantly. That’s a new technology that has penetrated access points in 2012, and will roll out in the mobile handsets over the course of this year. That is likely to be the largest magnitude of the set. …
Miracast™ Makes a Splash with Partners at Mobile World Congress [Broadcom Connected blog, Feb 25, 2013]
The geek love for Wi-Fi Certified Miracast™, an innovative Wi-Fi standard that relies on a technology dubbed “wireless display mirroring,” seemed to be inevitable when we first started talking about it. The technology, which allows consumers to easily and seamlessly share media from one device to another over Wi-Fi, was designed for today’s multimedia lifestyles.
The Miracast technology standard is built on the premise that users have a ton of content on their smartphones and laptops – photos, videos and games, to name a few – that they’d like to engage with over a large screen. But for users to seamlessly transfer that content, the technology standard must reside in both the device and the display.
That’s where Broadcom comes into the game. Broadcom and its partners are looking to spur on Miracast adoption with software and hardware that aims to speed up the integration of Miracast into electronics, getting the technology to consumers faster.
At Mobile World Congress today, Broadcom is highlighting recent Miracast partnerships with top tech players and retailers — including Google (in Android 4.2), Intel, Roku, NVIDIA, Best Buy Stores and more.
Adoption is expected to pick up steam this year as Miracast shows up in PCs, smart TVs and gaming platforms worldwide, including products like the Nexus 4, some of LG Electronics’ TVs and Optimus G smartphones, Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone and others. Some 1.5 billion Miracast devices are expected to ship in 2016, according to ABI Research.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast™ is appearing in a range of televisions, tablets, handsets and more. Miracast makes it easy to display applications or video content from one Wi-Fi device on another, even when the devices are different brands. http://www.wi-fi.org/miracast
[Note the second demo at [1:07-2:08] which is by using an LG Optimus smartphone for wireless streaming.]
Broadcom’s contribution to the Miracast ecosystem is in the form of a robust, complete software stack that allows smartphone, display, smart TV and set-top box makers to roll out the technology in their newest products.
Broadcom is also offering an off-the-shelf wireless dongle design that allows display makers to add Miracast to
any device with an HDMI port — similar to the early products that helped bring Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to personal computers before the now-standard technologies were embedded. Best Buy is already selling Miracast-enabled video receivers in its online under its Rocketfish brand, featuring Broadcom’s technology.
Best Buy’s Rocketfish Miracast Video Receiver, Broadcom tech inside.
The standard has been promoted by the Wi-Fi Alliance and Broadcom since last year. In September, the Wi-Fi Alliance handpicked Broadcom’s technology for its Miracast test bed. And Miracast-enabled devices were all over the show floor at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, with somebig-name CE players throwing their weight behind the standard to continue to drive adoption momentum.
Come by and see Miracast in action at:
Hall 3 (Hybrid Hall) Booth #3C14 Fira de Barcelona Gran ViaNot heading to Barcelona? Get the latest MWC newsfrom Broadcom and our partners by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter and reading the blog.
Broadcom Drives Wireless Media Sharing Across Consumer Electronics Ecosystem [Broadcom press release, Feb 25, 2013]
Best Buy, NVIDIA and others adopt Broadcom Miracast™ solution
Broadcom is among first vendors to deliver end-to-end Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast solutions
Broadcom Miracast solution gains traction in PC, smart TV and gaming platforms
Growth opportunity with more than 1.5 billion Miracast devices expected to ship in 20161
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced broad adoption of its Miracast solutions by industry leaders across a range of consumer electronics products. Visit Broadcom @ Mobile World Congress for more news.
Broadcom offers the most complete Miracast software solution, enabling ultra low-latency gaming, 3D and 4K display formats and advanced content protection for reduced time-to-market across a broad and diverse set of platforms. Miracast, a Wi-Fi Alliance standard, transmits video over a robust wireless connection to allow consumers to stream movies, play games and access thousands of applications on a larger screen without delay or interruption.
As a testament to its proven solutions, Broadcom Miracast-compatible devices are among the first to interoperate with wireless display on Nexus 4 as part of Android 4.2, Jelly Bean. Industry leaders, including LG Electronics and Nintendo, have selected Broadcom for its connectivity expertise and now have the ability to add Miracast capabilities to improve the experience of their users. Through strategic partnerships and product innovation, Broadcom is playing a pivotal role in delivering Miracast solutions to support a broad spectrum of consumer electronics products for immediate deployment.
In addition to its Miracast software solution, Broadcom offers a portfolio of wireless HDMI dongle designs that includes its dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi device and high-performance media processor. This high-performance, USB-powered solution leverages 5GHz MIMO technology in a compact design that adds Miracast capabilities to existing consumer devices, simplifies upgrades and lowers total cost for OEMs.
“Intel is excited to collaborate with Broadcom on their Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast HDMI dongle solutions. This collaboration enables consumers who have a PC, phone or a tablet featuring Intel® Wireless Display to enjoy their personal and online content on an even broader set of consumer devices,” saidKerry Forell, Intel WiDi Product Manager.
Broadcom is extending its leadership as the first vendor to offer a wireless HDMI dongle design based on the IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, further reducing latency and enabling simultaneous high-definition video streaming across multiple devices.
A range of Broadcom Miracast solutions are currently in production with major technology manufacturers and retailers.
Best Buy’s Rocketfish Miracast dongle is currently available at retail locations
Miracast support for NVIDIA Tegra 4-powered devices will be available in Q2 2013
For ongoing news, visit Broadcom’s Newsroom, read the B-Connected Blog, or visit Facebook or Twitter. And to stay connected, subscribe to Broadcom’s RSS Feed.
Patrick McGinnis, Vice President, Best Buy Exclusive Brands
“Best Buy is dedicated to delivering technology products that provide more choice, value and improved experiences for our customers. As a leader in Wi-Fi innovation, Broadcom is an ideal partner for Best Buy as we introduce our Rocketfish dongle with Miracast technology for a new viewing and entertainment solution.”
Matt Wuebbling, Director, Tegra Product Marketing, NVIDIA
“Pairing NVIDIA Tegra processors with Broadcom’s leading wireless solutions will allow consumers to share photos, stream HD movies and play amazing games on the big screen seamlessly. We’ve worked closely with Broadcom to bring this groundbreaking wireless display technology to market.”
Edgar Figueroa, CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance
“We congratulate Broadcom on its Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast reference design as well as inclusion of its software in our test bed. Broadcom’s participation in the development of this program has been instrumental in the achievement of an industry-wide certification for this program.”
Dino Bekis, Broadcom Senior Director, Wireless Connectivity Combo Group
“As a leader across all segments of the Wi-Fi market, Broadcom is uniquely positioned to drive mass adoption of Miracast technology. The integration ofBroadcom’s solution into a broad-based foundation of devices from major consumer electronics vendors and retailers will allow consumers to simply and effortlessly share content across the continuously expanding environment of connected devices.”
1 IHS iSuppli Research, Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast™ Press Release, September 12, 2012
LG DWD-300 Miracast™ Certified Wireless HDMI® Adapter [trainofthoughtmkt YouTube channel, Feb 1, 2013]
LG DWD-300 Wireless HDMI Adapter – LG Optimus G™ accessories from AT&T [AT&T, Jan 18, 2013]
LG DWD-300 Wireless HDMI Adapter – LG Optimus G™
Retail price $99.00
Overview
The LG DWD-300 is a lightweight Miracast™ Certified wireless HDMI adapter that uses Wi-Fi technology. Use the DWD-300 as a wireless AV accessory for devices that support the Wi-Fi protocol.
You can view your phone’s content on a larger screen via a convenient Wi-Fi connection. Simply attach, connect, and enjoy! Scroll through an album, share a presentation, or play a video for the whole family. Use Dual Screen Dual Play (if supported by your phone) to check your email, send a text, or use other apps on your phone while playing a video on the larger screen.
LG CES 2013 Press Event First Look – OLED TV, Google TV, 4K TV, and More! [TechSmartt YouTube channel, Jan 7, 2013]
Broadcom Unveils World’s First UltraHD TV Home Gateway Chip [Broadcom press release, Jan 8, 2013]
Opens 2013 Consumer Electronics Show With Game Changer for Big Screen and Internet Video Delivery in the Home
News Highlights:
– Enables UltraHD (4Kx2K resolution) TV into the home for dramatically improved picture quality on big screens
– Supports HEVC video coding standard; reduces video bandwidth usage by 50 percent
– Simultaneously delivers four transcoded HD video streams over IP for content on any screen
– Delivers unprecedented 21000 DMIPs of application performance while protecting high-value content with web domain security featuresBroadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced the world’s first Ultra High Definition Television (UltraHD TV) video decoder solution on the market. Learn how Broadcom® innovation is enabling the Connected Life at home, at work, and on-the-go at Broadcom@CES.
The BCM7445 is the first step to delivering UltraHD TV into the home with the performance and picture quality needed for the evolution in multi-screen connected home entertainment. Broadcom’s 28 nanometer (nm) ARM-based BCM7445 UltraHD video decoder solution, serving as the primary gateway to the home, delivers more transcoding, CPU processing performance and home networking throughput to support a greater range of applications such as video-on-demand (VoD), gaming, social media and web store applications.
UltraHD TV technology, formerly known as 4K, marks a major innovation in HD resolution. UltraHD TV screens display four times the resolution of today’s 1080p60 displays. The delivery of UltraHD TV requires a more efficient compression codec made possible by the use of the new High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard. HEVC speeds Internet video downloads giving operators and users the ability to download content such as movies in half the time and with higher quality video at 50 percent of the bit rate previously required.
“The clarity and brilliance of UltraHD television is a significant step forward in viewing enjoyment and is the next true evolution in TV innovation,” said Dan Marotta, Broadcom’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, Broadband Communications Group.”By integrating HEVC, Quad 1080p transcoding, quad-core CPU, gigabit networking speeds and web domain security, Broadcom is enabling a dramatic improvement in the TV viewing experience while making UltraHD video delivery economics work for service providers.”
“HEVC, which will be known as MPEG-H or H.265, will be required to broadcast UltraHD content, notably major sporting events and Hollywood content,” said Michael Inouye, Senior Analyst of TV and Video, ABI Research. “Next generation user experience, including 80 inch and larger displays, will be improved by the adoption of UltraHD and HEVC. The efficiency of HEVC will also enable additional services including faster IP downloads and the provisioning of VoD services over wireless networks.”
Key Features:
Based on 28 nm process technology, the BCM7445 features the new Brahma15 21,000 DMIP CPU, four 1080p30 real-time transcoders and HEVC compression that delivers resolution up to 4096x2160p60.
The BCM7445 also features web domain security, an industry leading hardware security oversight to separate Internet services from premium broadcast content. This protects critical core network functions from malware threats, paving the way for operators to securely converge and deliver pay-TV programming and open Internet applications to subscribers for a web-based TV experience.
Brahma15 Application Processing
The Brahma15 is a 21,000 DMIP Quad-core ARMv7-A instruction set compatible multiprocessor. 32KB instruction and 32KB data caches per processor are backed by a shared 2MB L2 cache and feed the multi-issue, out-of-order superscalar 15-stage plus write back pipeline of the Brahma15. A 32KB read-ahead cache between the L2 cache and the memory controllers provides 8KB of read latency reduction per processor. The Brahama15 supports the ARM Trust Zone® security architecture, software virtualization and hardware virtualization by core for complete security isolation. Each core individually supports single cycle ARM NEON 128- bit vectors for software based media processing applications. The entire architecture supports Broadcom’s Nexus and Trellis software interfaces ensuring a seamless continuation of the home gateway and client experience.
Availability
Samples of the BCM7445 UltraHD TV video decoder for the home are now available, with volume production expected in mid-2014. The BCM7445 will be demonstrated at Broadcom’s booth at 2013 CES International.
Getting 4K with Broadcom’s HEVC Encoding – CES 2013 [TEKHD YouTube channel, Jan 11, 2013]
Miracast™ Technology Brings Wireless Streaming to the Living Room [Broadcom Connected blog, Jan 3, 2013]
Moving high-definition content from a small-screen device such as a smartphone or a tablet to a bigger screen, such as a TV or desktop computer, can be a challenge. But thanks to a technology standard that’s on the verge of going mainstream, those headaches are about to become a thing of the past.
Meet Miracast™, a technology that CNET Australia has called “a near-perfect wireless streaming solution.” At next week’s International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, expect to hear about a growing number of devices that are outfitted with Miracast, which is actually a Wi-Fi standard that relies on technology dubbed “wireless display mirroring.”
The idea is for consumers to stream content between Wi-Fi connected devices seamlessly, without an intermediate box such as a router or gateway. Think of Miracast as a seal of approval for electronics devices so that problems with compatibility and interoperability become a thing of the past.
The standard has been promoted by the Wi-Fi Alliance and Broadcom for some time. In September, the Wi-Fi Alliance handpicked Broadcom’s technology for its Miracast test bed.
And some big name CE players have already signaled their support for Miracast, including handset and TV makers Samsung and LG. Embedded companies also have hopped on board, including Intel, Ralink, Marvell, Texas Instruments, Realtek and MediaTek.
CES 2013 is likely to be Miracast’s true coming-out party with the industry, with hundreds of Miracast-enabled products on the show floor. Miracast is one of the top trends forecast by Broadcom at our December “Geek Peek.”
At the show today, Broadcom is announcing partnerships with top tech players and retailers —including Google (debuted in Android 4.2), Roku, NVidia, Best Buy and more—to promote Miracast’s adoption.
Broadcom’s contribution to the Miracast ecosystem is in the form of a robust, complete software stack that allows smartphone, display, smart TV and set-top box makers to roll out technology in their newest products. To further accelerate the adoption, Broadcom is also offering an off-the-shelf wireless dongle design that allows display makers to add Miracast to any device with an HDMI port—similar to the early products that helped bring Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to personal computers before the technologies were embedded
Miracast is in its earliest stages of adoption. But, already, it’s prepared to meet the needs of next-generation home entertainment, including support for leading-edge 3D and Ultra HD display formats that allow seamless movie streaming, game play and access to thousands of apps—all over Wi-Fi.
Just in Time for CES: Broadcom and Intel Team Up to Drive Wireless Display Adoption [Broadcom Connected blog, Jan 3, 2013]
The volume of video being consumed over the Internet is growing at an exponential rate, representing about half of all global Internet traffic today and expected to reach 93 percent by 2015. At the same time, the number of devices consumers are using to watch video is also on the rise. Researchers estimate that approximately 4.8 devices are in an average U.S. household with a home network — nearly double from just four years ago.
The challenge for consumers is how to share their content between devices. That’s where technologies such as Intel® Wireless Display (Intel® WiDi) come into play.
Broadcom today became the first Wi-Fi silicon vendor with a license for Intel WiDi technology in PCs. As part of this agreement, Broadcom will integrate Intel WiDi software onto its WLAN chips to help drive adoption of the technology in Ultrabook™ systems. The multistream 2×2 Wi-Fi data rates in Broadcom’s chip coupled with Intel WiDi software will deliver a seamless, high-quality experience to users.
Wi-Fi Display, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast™ and Intel WiDi are based on the same underlying technologies that allow you to do one very useful thing: easily stream content between two devices wirelessly. Those streams will become more commonplace this year as new standards for Wi-Fi-enabled devices eliminate interoperability and compatibility issues. Intel WiDi and industry standard Miracast are compatible technologies that improve the consumer experience for sharing video content between devices.
Intel and its ecosystem partners have shipped more than 30 million Intel WiDi-capable notebooks. This agreement will help drive the proliferation of the technology across a much broader offering of notebook PCs. Learn more about Intel WiDi, or visit the Intel booth (Central Hall, Booth No. 7252) at the International Consumer Electronics Show, which is this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Broadcom Flames WiFi Display demo – Computex 2012 [FirstZoom YouTube channel, June 9, 2012]
5G W iFi Smartphone Technology [Broadcom whitepaper, July 2012]
Mobile-to-Digital TV use cases are gaining traction as consumers begin using interactive gaming, streaming video, and remote control devices in a home. A key benefit is the ability to shift video from a small mobile screen to a larger one using peer-to-peer technologies like Wi-Fi Display and to support the increased throughput required for future video formats such as 2K4K (2048 × 4096 pixels) and 4K4K (4096 × 4096 pixels). With multiple high-resolution video devices connected to a digital TV, this presents a challenge for sustained WLAN throughput and range.
…
5G WiFi provides a number of performance advantages compared to previous generations of Wi-Fi:
- More than six times higher throughput than 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi devices
- Significantly lower power consumption for a given data range
- Improved range and elimination of fading by using antenna beamforming
- Higher throughput at the same distance from an access point
- Reduced interference from other wireless devices (uses 5 GHz frequency band)
5G WiFi is not just a technology breakthrough — it enables new use cases and improves existing ones. In the previous generation of smartphones, high bandwidth applications such as HD video streaming are extremely limited due to low data rates. 5G WiFi breaks that barrier and allows media streaming from a handset to a digital television at data rates comparable to that supported by wired Ethernet connections. At the same time, 5G WiFi enables high-speed data and media synchronization, turning an hour-long backup process into a matter of minutes.
5G WiFi also solves some of the longest-standing problems with Wi-Fi in smartphones. By reducing signal fading and lost connections, it significantly improves the Wi-Fi user experience. By reducing overall power consumption for large data transfers, it also extends battery life.
In summary, 5G WiFi redefines the concept of a smartphone. Whereas today’s smartphone Wi-Fi users are limited to basic applications such as web browsing and e-mail, tomorrow’s 5G WiFi users will have a fullfeatured media center in their hands.
Broadcom 5G WiFi solutions – Computex 2012 [FirstZoom YouTube channel, June 7, 2012]
Broadcom and 5G WiFi [Broadcom technology site, July 25, 2012]
Broadcom Delivers 5G WiFi
Broadcom’s mission as a global innovator is simple – Connect everything. As a leader in semiconductor solutions, Broadcom boasts that 99.98 percent of all Internet traffic crosses a Broadcom chip, across vast lineup of products. Broadcom is investing in the advancement of 5G WiFi, a platform for IEEE 802.11ac, the standard behind the next generation of Wi-Fi. Broadcom recognizes that each previous generation has come in at the right time to address an inflection point in consumer needs. 5G WiFi is no different. It is here as a panacea for the video challenge and represents the continued commitment by Broadcom and the industry to meet wireless needs in both homes and workplaces.
Bringing 5G WiFi to Market
Broadcom introduced its family of 5G WiFi chips for access points and PCs at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2012. Soon after, the world’s first 5G WiFi routers were unveiled by companies such as Netgear, Belkin and Buffalo Technologies, with others, such as ASUS and D-Link, soon following. At the Computex show in June 2012, ASUS announced the world’s first 5G WiFi laptop & motherboard, bringing the power of the next generation of Wi-Fi to the world of computing.
In July 2012, Broadcom introduced the BCM4335, the industry’s first 5G WiFi combo chip for smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks and other mobile devices. The new device extends Broadcom’s wireless connectivity leadership and establishes it as the first chip vendor to sample solutions based on the 802.11ac standard for every major Wi-Fi product segment. Smartphones and tablets powered by the new BCM4335, which are expected to hit shelves in Q1 2013, will allow consumers to reap the full benefits of 5G WiFi on both ends of the wireless connection.
Broadcom Corporation_Unleashing the Power of the 5G WiFi Ecosystem [SUMMITFORUM2012 YouTube channel, June 18, 2012]
Tenda leads China’s Gigabit Wireless Age [Tenda press release, Nov 20, 2012]
Tenda ® (Shenzhen Tenda Technology Co., Ltd), a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers and businesses, today announced the world’s fastest next-generation gigabit WiFi 802.11ac product series at the press conference jointly held with Broadcom®, the world’s leading chipmaker. Tenda, the first in China to launch the high-speed 802.11ac products, demonstrated its courageous commitment to leading innovation at the conference in the presence of over 130 guests from major news, media, government authorities and channels, etc.
President and CEO of Tenda, Mr Dengping Quan, highlighted Tenda’s dedicated commitment to innovation and pioneers of the spirit of innovation. He said at the conference, the demand for high-performance routers operating in the less crowded 5 GHz band is growing significantly in China. By working with Broadcom, Tenda has consistently delivered an innovation pipeline of leading edge technologies designed to address the needs of today’s consumers in China. To improve and facilitate innovation processes, we spent huge sums of money to import IPD (Integrated Product Development), the most advanced product development process, from IBM and Agile IT systems from Oracle.
Consistently investing in innovation and highly valuing the core technology, Tenda contributed a lot— the first to launch wireless terminal products, the first to introduce wireless 11n products in China, the first to launch portable wireless router and easy-to-install router, the first to…
Marketing and Product Director Mr. Hongwei Wang from Tenda introduced the 11ac technology advantage: a remarkably higher transmission rate– up to 433Mbps for a single antenna, and up to 1300Mbps for 3 combined antennas; in the near future, multiple antennas operating in 160MHz will deliver speeds up to 3.47Gbps or even higher. Plus, the advantages of Tenda’s new products based on 11ac standards consist of faster throughput, higher capacity, stronger anti-jamming capability, fashion design and easy usage. Operating on 5G band, these Tenda new 5G WiFi products are designed to better meet the need of smart home entertainment center as well small and medium-sized enterprises, ideal for interference-free video streaming, including transmission from a router to TV device and between different devices.
In 2007, Tenda pioneered to promote 11n products as replacement of the legacy 11g products. Now, Tenda has developed new 5G WiFi products that deliver the speed and reliability required for today’s evolving consumer needs. He gave details of Tenda new products at the conference and announced plans to upgrade the existing series routers to smart and easy to install routers (intelligently detect Internet connection type, intelligently diagnose network faults, intelligently connect to secondary uplink router), as well as to create the world’s most easy-to-install router. It also announced that Tenda will be the first to provide a free telephone service in the industry.
Mr. Micheal Hurlson, Broadcom SVP and GM, Wireless Connectivity Combo described the cooperation with Tenda a win-win relationship and would deepen the strategic partnership. He said, Broadcom will keep its industry leadership and clearly focus on developing 5G WiFi chips. Chinese market is very important to Broadcom and Tenda is found unbelievable in terms of bringing new technology to market. Mr Dengping Quan expressed that, Broadcom is an innovation leader in wireless field. Tenda will keep on close cooperation with Broadcom to bring the latest technologies into Chinese market.
Broadcom’s 5G WiFi dramatically improves the wireless range in the home, allowing consumers to watch HD-quality video from more devices, in more places, simultaneously. The increased speed enables consumers to download web content from a mobile device faster and quickly synch large files, such as videos. Since 5G WiFi transfers the same volume of data at a much faster rate, devices enter low-power mode faster, which can result in significant power consumption advantages. Michael Hurlston, Broadcom SVP and GM, Wireless Connectivity Combo said, “China is rapidly emerging as a top consumer of IPTV services. As Chinese consumers turn to mobile devices to watch video over Wi-Fi, the need for an interference-free, clean wireless experience has become increasingly apparent. Tenda’s new 5G WiFi routers deliver the speed and reliability required for today’s evolving consumer needs.” He also predicted that by the year of 2014, 5G Wi-Fi technology will not only become standard on mobile terminals such as mobile phones tablet but also be widely incorporated into home appliances and medical equipment. Currently Broadcom’s 5G Wi-Fi chips has been applied in the field of routers, PC, tablet, phone, and more terminal devices equipped with 5G Wi-Fi technology are expected to be brought into ordinary people’s life by the end of the first quarter of next year.
He also said that the broadcom technical advantages allow 5G Wi-Fi seamless roaming, remote control, situational awareness platform for applications such as home digital entertainment center. In order to allow better play 5G Wi-Fi charm, Broadcom also integrates other technologies such as NFC, Bluetooth, allowing better content sharing and multi-screen interaction.
Mr Dengping Quan, President and CEO of Tenda, Mr Michael Hurlston, Broadcom SVP and GM, Wireless Connectivity Combo, Roundtable forum, Ms. Jackie Baon, Senior PL Manager of Mobile and Wireless, Dr. Jinqiao Chen, Secretary-General, Committee of Economic Experts of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, deputy chief engineer of Telecommunication Research Institute, Mr. Xiaoyong Liu, deputy chief engineer of the State Radio Monitoring Center Testing Center, Mr. Li Chen, director of category management, Amazon (China), Mr. Ning Lu, Purchasing Director, Gome, and Mr Zixiang Zhang, President of Henan JHD Network Technology Co., Ltd. Etc joined a splendid discussion at the roundtable forum.
Below presents an overview of Tenda’s new 5G WiFi retail products including the W1800R, W80E and W900U.
…
Tenda 5G WIFI [TendaSupport YouTube channel, Feb 18, 2013]
Applying 2-16 cores of ARM Cortex-A15 in ‘2014 vintage’ LSI Axxia SoCs that will power next-generation LTE basestations from macrocells to small cells opening upto 1000 times faster access to the cloud by 2020
OR LSI Corporation’s ARM Cortex-A15 based 2-16 core SoCs with similar number of LSI’s specialized networking accelerators inside to drive the next-generation LTE base stations (from femto- through pico- and micro- to macro- and metrocells) boosting the cloud clients to get out of the current infancy of the mobile Internet OR Cooperation of LSI Corporation with ARM on highly scalable and energy efficient multicores and cache coherent interconnect for them within an SoC now enhanced with a joint LSI and Nokia-Siemens Network effort to improve real-time performance, I/O optimization, robustness and heterogeneous operating environments on multi-core SoCs, also carried out within the newly setup Linaro* Networking Group OR How ARM’s Cortex-A15 to A57 (32-bit to 64-bit) micro-architecture roadmap is going to be enhanced by an upto 16 core SoC architecture developed by LSI Corporation now and with more than 16 cores in the future (with Cortex-A57) which will enable Nokia-Siemens Networks to fullfill its vision of “1 GB per day revolution by 2020” for which a 1000x increase** in traffic throughput will be needed
* From p. 38 of ARM Annual Report 2012 [March 1, 2013] “In 2010 ARM helped launch Linaro, an open source software not-for-profit organisation which [among others] enriches the software toolkit for Android phones. By summer 2012 the results looked pretty impressive, with a reported 100% performance improvement for the Android 4 operating system. See Linaro Android is up to twice as fast as stock Android [AndroidAuthority.com, June 5, 2012]”
** Note that Qualcomm is also working along this vision as evidenced by its Products & Services: Wireless Networks Technology 1000x Data Challenge Overview [Aug 22, 2012], Spectrum [Sept 24, 2012], Small Cells [Oct 1, 2012] and Efficiency [Oct 1, 2012] pages of declaring its corporate intents. This was also one of the focus demos and presentations from Qualcomm on the MWC 2013 last week as evidenced by their The 1000x Mobile Data Challenge at Mobile World Congress [QUALCOMMVlog YouTube channel, Feb 22, 2013] video serving also as a good background intro here
First watch the LSI Axxia video report from MWC 2013: Axxia Processor Family
LSI Axxia 5500 announced, 16-core ARM Cortex-A15 for network infrastructure [Charbax YouTube channel, Feb 28, 2013]
Troy Bailey: [5:40] Will be sampling in early third quarter … Mass production typically is a six to nine months process after that (i.e. 2014) to validate and also to work with customers to get their products ready to go out. [5:54]
Next watch 4G World 2012: The 1-Gigabyte Revolution [LightReadingTV YouTube, Nov 2, 2012] (on the same Oct 29 – Nov 1 conference)
For which it was announced at MWC 2013 that Nokia Siemens Networks and LSI Collaborate on Wireless Infrastructure Solutions [LSI press release, Feb 21, 2013]
LSI® Axxia® platform and SoC capabilities contribute to
higher-performance mobile broadband solutionsNokia Siemens Networks and LSI Corporation (NASDAQ: LSI) announced today a collaborative framework with ARM® processor based System-on-Chips (SoCs) that enable enhanced support for real-time performance, I/O optimization, robustness and heterogeneous operating environments on multi-core SoCs.
Nokia Siemens Networks is increasing investment in technology development in mobile broadband business and actively participating in Linaro Networking Group and to ARM ecosystem in general to enable better use of Open Source Linux®software and tools. This will both enhance performance of forthcoming base station BTS products as well as drive towards lower power consumption.
“LSI is very pleased to be collaborating with Nokia Siemens Networks on innovative mobile broadband solutions,” said Jim Anderson, general manager for LSI’s Networking Solutions Group. “The LSI Axxia line combines ARM processor cores with our unique Virtual Pipeline™ acceleration technology to create a platform for next-generation mobile broadband solutions and other applications. Our advanced software and emulation capabilities ensure accelerated time to market for our customers.”
Complement this with the following two videos produced by Qualcomm for MWC 2013:
– Neighborhood Small Cells [QUALCOMMVlog YouTube channel, Feb 22, 2013]
– LTE Advanced Opportunistic Small Cells [QUALCOMMVlog YouTube channel, Feb 22, 2013]
LSI Axxia background:
– Axxia Communication Processor AXM5500 [LSI promotion site, Feb 19, 2013]
Accelerating Next Generation Networks Mobile Networks
- Enabling one architecture for heterogenous networks
- Leveraging software and hardware investments
- Accelerating time-to-revenue
First 16 core ARM based Multicore Processor for Mobile Networks
The Axxia® Communication Processor AXM5500 product family is designed to accelerate performance and increase power efficiency for mobile networks. The Axxia 5500 series combines 16 ARM cores with LSI’s specialized networking accelerators to offer networking service providers more capable and intelligent wireless infrastructure equipment, including multi-radio base stations, mobile backhaul equipment and gateways.
Leading Technology
The AXM5500 is the industry’s first multicore communication processor to be available with ARM’s new CoreLink™ CCN-504 interconnect technology, which provides the end-to-end quality of service needed for networking applications.
Power Efficiency
LSI’s latest semiconductor manufacturing technology combined with ARM’s power efficient cores more than double the amount of data that can be processed by the Axxia 5500 at the same power level.
Extensive Scalability
The Axxia 5500 platform architecture can scale to meet the performance required for 4G LTE and other data intensive networking applications.
Networking Expertise
LSI’s unique Virtual Pipeline technology efficiently accelerates mobile data processing to allow carriers to deploy next generation applications to support massive data growth.
Software and Tools
LSI’s robust development tools and production quality data plane software accelerate time-to-market. The Axxia architecture’s scalability allows OEM software investment to be reused across the entire mobile network.
– The Data Deluge: Mobile Network Challenges & Solutions [LSICorporation YouTube channel, Sept 18, 2012]
– Bridging the Data Deluge Gap–The Role of Smart Silicon in Networks [by Michael Merluzzi, LSI Corporation in EETimes Design, Feb 28, 2013]
The proliferation of smart mobile devices, video, user-generated content and social networking, and the rising adoption of cloud services for both enterprise and consumer services are all driving explosive growth of wireless networking infrastructure. Globally, mobile data traffic is expected to grow 18-fold between 2011 and 2016, reaching 10.8 exabytes per month by 2016. Today, video traffic alone accounts for 40 percent of the wireless network load. The number of mobile devices connected to wireless networks will reach 25 billion, averaging 3.5 devices for every person on the planet, by 2015. That number is expected to double, to 50 billion, by 2020.This growth in storage capacity and network traffic is far outstripping the infrastructure build-out required to support it, a phenomenon known as the data deluge gap.
To bridge this gap, the industry needs to leverage smarter silicon technology to scale datacenter infrastructures more cost effectively. Besides helping close the data deluge gap, smarter data processing offers potential dramatic improvements in application performance. A recent survey of 412 European datacenter managers conducted by LSI revealed that while 93 percent acknowledged the critical importance of improving application performance, a full 75% do not feel that they are achieving the desired results. This indicates that there is rising pressure on datacenter managers to find smarter ways to push systems to do much more work within the same power and cost profiles.
Accelerating Networks
Smart software running on general-purpose processors, increasingly with multiple cores, is pervasive in the datacenter. Processors have long inhabited switches and routers, firewalls and load-balancers, WAN accelerators and VPN gateways. None of these systems are fast enough, however, to keep pace with the data deluge on its own, for a basic reason: general-purpose processors must treat every byte equally. While such equality is perfectly acceptable for system-level versatility, it is inadequate for low-level, high-volume packet processing.
This reality is driving the need for more intelligence in silicon that is purpose-built for specific networking applications to provide the right balance of performance, power consumption and programmability. Today’s smart silicon has reached a level of price/performance that makes it more cost-effective than adding general-purpose processors.
The latest generation of smart silicon typically features multiple cores of general-purpose processors and multiple acceleration engines for common networking functions, such as packet classification with deep packet inspection, security processing, especially for encryption and decryption, and traffic management.
Some of these acceleration engines are so powerful they can completely offload specialized network processing from general-purpose processors, making it easier to perform switching, routing and other networking functions entirely in smart line cards installed in servers and networking appliances to further accelerate overall network performance.
In many organizations today, microseconds matter, driving strong demand for faster response times. For trading firms, latency can be measured in millions of dollars per millisecond. For others, such as online retailers, every millisecond of delay can mean lost sales and fading customer loyalty. Tomorrow’s datacenter networks will need to be both faster and flatter, and therefore, smarter than ever. To eliminate the data deluge gap and maximize performance, systems need to be smarter, and those smarts will increasingly need to take the form of purpose-built silicon.
About the Author
Michael Merluzzi is product marketing manager in the Networking Solutions Group of LSI Corporation. Focusing on mobile backhaul applications, Merluzzi is responsible for marketing of integrated platform solutions and application-enabling software for the LSI Axxia family of multicore communication processors. Previously, he held a variety of roles in technical marketing, applications engineering and software development. Merluzzi holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and master’s degrees in Business Administration and Computer Engineering from Lehigh University.
– SoCs with more powerful cores need a more powerful interconnect [New Electronics, Jan 8, 2013]
… Troy Bailey is director of marketing with LSI. He said the company is seeing a ‘data deluge‘. “There is more and more data driven by video and mobile use. By most projections, the amount of data will outstrip the capacity of the infrastructure in the future, so what’s needed is faster devices to handle more data.”
Bailey also says there is a need for smarter devices. “We have to develop better ways to handle data; for instance, not moving data that doesn’t need to be moved. One of the ways we can do that is to add intelligence and processing throughout the network, rather than at gateways.”
The way to do this, in LSI’s opinion, is to add more and faster general purpose cores to network processors, but also to add acceleration engines to do those tasks with which general purpose cores struggle. “For example,” Bailey said, “there’s a lot of activity on a per packet basis – classifying, deep packet inspection. If you do these tasks with a general purpose processor, it will be slow and expensive.”
He has an analogy: “A mechanic with a basic set of tools can fix your car, but a specialist who works on one part of the car will have special tools and special knowledge.”
But, as he noted, traffic management is an important element in designing the architecture of a network processor. “If you can avoid sending data over the network, you’re better off and particularly so if you can cache it or put processing capacity closer to the network edge.”
LSI has a range of devices either available or in the planning stage. “We have single and dual core devices that perform the same tasks,” Bailey explained, “but we also have devices with dozens of cores. We see a strong opportunity to handle data in special purpose hardware, so devices will have more engines and more cores. This will need a balance between general purpose and special hardware.”
And the question of which cores to use has been under discussion. Until recently, LSI has based its network processors on PowerPC cores, but an announcement early in 2012 revealed ARM cores are now on the road map. “Some of these discussions are driven by customer requirements,” Bailey said. “The ARM architecture is strong and there’s a good ecosystem, so the move makes a lot of sense. LSI’s approach is based on hardware acceleration, which also makes sense, and we are not looking to use proprietary cores. So while a Cortex-A15 doesn’t necessarily bring more performance, it is more power efficient.”
Then comes the challenge of linking all these cores together. And LSI has turned again to ARM, taking a lead license for ARM’s CCN-504 interconnect. “We have helped ARM to define what’s required in such an interconnect. As you add more cores – particularly accelerators – you end up with a lot of compute elements and when that happens, there’s opportunities for bottlenecks. You could end up adding more cores, but getting lower performance,” Bailey contended.
Neil Parris is ARM’s interconnect product manager. He said CCN-504 had been developed specifically to address the issue of more cores. “It’s about providing coherency between the cpus and the I/O and about using data on chip.”
In some respects, it’s a consequence of integration. “There used to be a range of chips which needed to be connected,” Parris observed. “Now, it’s a single chip with multiple cores which is power critical and which needs to interface to the latest technology.”
CCN-504 – CCN stands for cache coherent network – is the first in a family of interconnects being developed to support future complex devices. “It supports four cpu clusters,” Parris said, “and each cluster can comprise up to four cores. It also supports ARM’s 64bit architecture, which is important for those people building servers.
“Each cpu cluster has an L2 cache, which is configurable to 2Mbyte, or 4Mbyte in the case of the Cortex-A15. The interconnect’s purpose is to join all the processors in a coherent manner, making sure all cores have a consistent view of memory.”
But CCN-504 isn’t ARM’s first cache coherent network. “That was the CCI-400,” Parris said. “That’s aimed at mobile applications with two clusters, including Big.LITTLE.”
Caching is an important element and one which supports Bailey’s view that you shouldn’t have to move data if you don’t have to. “Caches are important contributors to power efficiency and performance,” Parris pointed out. “The more data you have on chip, the fewer the accesses needed to external memory. It helps with power consumption and performance.”
CCN-504 has also been built with cores other than ARM’s in mind. The network can support up to 18 AMBA interfaces, which allows designers to take advantage of such functions as 40Gbit Ethernet, USB and serial ATA links. But it also features PCI-Express connectivity. “Companies will use this facility to add their own IP into an SoC,” Parris explained. “For example, they may wish to add their own accelerator, and it’s our aim to provide them with a scalable platform on which they can build.”
All 18 AMBA interfaces are connected to the cache coherent network through an I/O virtualisation block which provides unified system memory. “AMBA defines interconnect,” Parris said, “and CCN-504 builds on the AMBA interconnect. It has an integrated L3 cache, which can be configured from 8 to 16Mbyte, and a snoop filter.” The snoop filter basically keeps an eye on all caches to ensure coherency and reduce bus traffic.
If the SoC does need to access external memory, ARM has developed the DMC-520 memory controller for 72bit wide DDR3/4. This supports a maximum bandwidth of 25.6Gbyte/s per channel and features buffering to optimise reads and writes. It’s the fifth generation DMC and includes error checking and correction features.
Overall, CCN-504 supports a system bandwidth of around 1Tbit/s and operates up to the cpu clock rate. “This network scales the performance of the CCF400 significantly,” Parris noted, “with more ports and a larger cache. At the moment, it’s 128bit wide, but future devices will move up, including bandwidth,” he added.
Bailey said LSI needed a strong technology partner for interconnect. “It’s not our point of differentiation,” he said, “so the licensing approach made sense. When you think of an SoC with 16 cores, there may be a total of 30 compute elements. It’s a complex design and that’s why it needs a robust networking solution.”
– 4G World 2012: The Future of LTE [LightReadingTV YouTube, Nov 2, 2012] (on an Oct 29 – Nov 1 conference “where enterprises and operators met to discuss the state of the art of the mobile enterprise marketplace” [as per the announcement])
– 4G World 2012: The 4G Opportunity [LightReadingTV YouTube, Nov 2, 2012] (on the same Oct 29 – Nov 1 conference)
4G World 2012: Innovation: Strategy, Technology & Collaboration [LightReadingTV YouTube, Nov 2, 2012] (on the same Oct 29 – Nov 1 conference)
4G World 2012: The 1-Gigabyte Revolution [LightReadingTV YouTube, Nov 2, 2012] (on the same Oct 29 – Nov 1 conference)
– Nokia Siemens Networks and LSI Collaborate on Wireless Infrastructure Solutions [LSI press release, Feb 21, 2013]
LSI® Axxia® platform and SoC capabilities contribute to
higher-performance mobile broadband solutionsNokia Siemens Networks and LSI Corporation (NASDAQ: LSI) announced today a collaborative framework with ARM® processor based System-on-Chips (SoCs) that enable enhanced support for real-time performance, I/O optimization, robustness and heterogeneous operating environments on multi-core SoCs.
Nokia Siemens Networks is increasing investment in technology development in mobile broadband business and actively participating in Linaro Networking Group and to ARM ecosystem in general to enable better use of Open Source Linux®software and tools. This will both enhance performance of forthcoming base station BTS products as well as drive towards lower power consumption.
“LSI is very pleased to be collaborating with Nokia Siemens Networks on innovative mobile broadband solutions,” said Jim Anderson, general manager for LSI’s Networking Solutions Group. “The LSI Axxia line combines ARM processor cores with our unique Virtual Pipeline™ acceleration technology to create a platform for next-generation mobile broadband solutions and other applications. Our advanced software and emulation capabilities ensure accelerated time to market for our customers.”
– Networking Leaders Collaborate to Maximize Choice, Performance and Power Efficiency [Linaro press release, Feb 20, 2013]
Industry leaders including AppliedMicro, ARM, Enea, Freescale®, LSI, MontaVista, Nokia Siemens Networks and Texas Instruments (TI) have formed a new group focused on accelerating Linux development for ARM processors in cloud and mobile infrastructure.
Linaro, the not-for-profit engineering organization developing open source software for the ARM® architecture, today announced the formation of the Linaro Networking Group (LNG) with twelve founding member companies including … <see above> … at the Embedded Linux Conference (ELC).
With ARM-based SoCs at the heart of the transformation occurring in cloud and mobile infrastructure applications such as switching, routing, base-stations and security, Linaro’s members are collaborating on fundamental software platforms to enable rapid deployment of new services across a range of converged infrastructure platforms. Developing the base platform for diverse and complex networking applications requires a significant amount of software that addresses common challenges. LNG will deliver this as an enhanced core Linux platform for networking equipment. …
Networking infrastructure is undergoing a transformation driven by the ramp in diverse data being moved through disparate networks to and from billions of diverse devices. The industry needs to simplify the management of the network as well as create new applications that will enable cloud service providers, carriers and others to reliably provide a great user experience across expanded mobility use cases and the increasing globally-connected intelligence of devices. Enterprises need to scale their networks and their network management capabilities to cope with these demands and also enable the rapid evolution of applications for new revenue-generating business models. LNG will accelerate this transformation through its initial focus on fundamental optimizations for use across all ARM-based networking infrastructure equipment.
…
An interim steering committee for LNG has been meeting since the end of 2012 and has agreed on four initial areas of work:
Virtualization support with considerations for real-time performance, I/O optimization, robustness and heterogeneous operating environments on multi-core SoCs.
Real-time operations and the Linux kernel optimizations for the control and data plane.
Packet processing optimizations that maximize performance and minimize latency in data flows through the network.
Dealing with legacy software and mixed-endian issues prevalent in the networking space.
Linaro expects initial software deliveries from the Linaro Networking Group during the first half of 2013 with on-going monthly releases thereafter.
– LSI hopes to power mobile networks with ARM-based processors [CIO, Feb 19, 2013]
Chipmaker LSI is taking ARM-based processors to new frontiers with its upcoming AXM5500 family, which will be used in mobile base stations of all sizes.
From today’s smartphones, tablets and thin clients to tomorrow’s servers, ARM-based processors are powering a growing number of different devices, and if LSI is successful, mobile networks will be added to that list. The company’s AXM5500 family of processors will use up to 16 Cortex-A15 cores to power base stations for mobile networks.
The Cortex-A15 is ARM’s most powerful processor to date, and is used in products like the Nexus 10 tablet from Google and Samsung Electronics.
“The intention is to provide high-performance and good efficiency on a scalable platform,” said Troy Bailey, director of marketing at LSI.
LSI’s processors for wireless infrastructure have historically been based on PowerPC processors, but because of increased demand for different size base stations in so-called heterogeneous networks, it decided to add ARM-based products.
In addition to achieving a new level of efficiency, working with ARM allows LSI to build a processor family that can be used in anything from a macro cell down to a pico cell, which means lower development costs, because software can be reused, according to Bailey. Pico cells are used to provide coverage for areas such as offices and shops. Installation and management becomes easier, as well, Bailey said.
The first two products are AXM5516 and AXM 5512, which have 16 and 12 cores, respectively. They are intended for use is large base stations. LSI will in the future add processors with fewer cores that are a better fit for small cells.
The product family also uses ARM’s new CoreLink CCN-504 Cache Coherent Network interconnect, which was announced in October last year. It can prioritize time-sensitive traffic and offers up to one terabit of usable system bandwidth per second, according to ARM.
“It is a very good and scalable interconnect. One of the challenges when building high core count processors is making sure you have no bottlenecks and waste the cores,” Bailey said.
The company is also looking at ARM’s new big.LITTLE processing architecture, which in its first generation combines the powerful Cortex-A15 and the energy-efficient Cortex-A7 on one die.
“There certainly are some tasks that need a very strong single thread performance, and there are some tasks that don’t, and it doesn’t make sense to light up a big A15 if it can be done on an A7, so we think it makes sense,” Bailey said.
The company will start sampling the first processors during the third quarter. Because the products aren’t being sampled yet, LSI will have to make to with visual demos showing the performance and power savings at next week’s Mobile World Congress.
LSI will have to convince equipment vendors that using ARM in their base stations is a good move and at least one company is open to the idea. Ericsson isn’t currently using ARM-based processors in its base stations. But “as we continue to expand and develop our base station portfolio, we always evaluate what possibilities are available from the general ICT industry and we might use ARM based processors in the future,” a spokeswoman said via email.
“We definitely have some major customers that are going in the ARM direction, and we have built this product for them” Bailey said.
More media reports for general briefings:
– ARM Chips Take on New Cellular Chores, Aided by LSI [Digits blog of WSJ, Feb 19, 2013]
– ARM is already the brains of your smartphone. Now it wants to run the network too [GIGAOM, Feb 20, 2013]
Understanding LSI
[LSICorporation YouTube channel, Dec 19, 2012]
[10:43] In the case of wireless infrastructure we are engaged with all the system providers . But what’s also exciting we’re engaged deeply with the top two players. This is Ericsson as well as Nokia-Siemens who have between the two of them 50 to 60% share in the wireless infrastructure market. [11:02]
See also: Investor Relations Update [LSI Corporation, Jan 23, 2013] from which the following three slides provide the latest relevant information:
Note: SAM (Served Available Market or Segmented Addressable Market) is a term that is typically used to reference the customers that can actually be reached out of the TAM (Total Addressable or Available Market). More on that: Estimate Addressable Market, Defining your TAM, Total Addressable Market and The importance of TAM, SAM and SOM in your plan 
LSI Management Discusses Q4 2012 Results – Earnings Call Transcript [Jan 23, 2013]: We began ramping our standard product Axxia multi-core communication processor at the leading base station OEM and expect continued growth as we move through this year. We have multi-generational engagements in the wireless space that we believe will enable LSI to have in excess of 50% share in data and control plane processing silicon in a few years. In addition to standard products like Axxia, we have custom silicon wins in the baseband function of base stations with multiple OEMs, further broadening LSI’s footprint in base station infrastructure. … We feel very good about our growth initiatives across networking. Axxia and our multi-core solution there continues to be adopted more and more across base station system vendors.
LSI’s CEO Presents at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference (Transcript)
[Feb 26, 2013]: We made a major announcement last week with Nokia Siemens. Nokia Siemens and LSI are collaborating on LSI’s next-generation Axxia processor. It’s the industry’s first 16-core ARM network processor. We believe we’ll have at least a 9- to 12-month advantage relative to time to market, as well as the attributes that we have in our product. This is a pretty significant achievement, with Nokia Siemens. It adds to the other major player that we’re also shipping Axxia into. And it’s a proof-point to what we said a year ago. We said a year ago that we would have over 50% share of the data plane and control plane, basically the CPU in the base station, that we would have 50% share over the course of the next several years. So we have 2 of the top 3 companies now adopting Axxia, and we’re well on our way to achieve that share position.
We also can extend that commentary into the baseband where we are also going to ship baseband silicon into these 2 companies, which we also believe will amount to at least 40% share. These share levels are up from 10% today. So we’re very excited about what’s happening in our networking business.
LSI transforming itself again [Brian Bailey on EETimes, Feb 20, 2013] (with the illustrations replaced by equivalent images from the AXM2502 Product Brief [March 8, 2012] and AXM5500 Product Brief [Feb 19, 2013] respectively which I recommend to read for further technical details)
LSI is a company that has been through a lot of changes over the years. I can remember when they had their own fabs, did custom design for their customers, and had their own suite of design tools. In short, they were a complete vertically integrated ASIC house. They have evolved many times and become fabless, transitioned to semi-custom design and today is building standard parts for markets such as storage and wireless networking.
The other day we learned about another big change in LSI future and it all has to do with their Axxia line of communications processors. Take a look at the block diagram for the AXM2502 product. It was powered by a pair of PowerPC processors connected to custom accelerators using their Virtual Pipeline technology. This is a 28nm product.
This week, LSI introduced the Axxia 5500 product family of communication processors designed to accelerate performance and increase power efficiency for multi-radio base stations and 4G/LTE-capable wireless networks. The LSI Axxia 5500 product family features 12 or 16 ARM cores.
This switch in processing core brings about a 4X control plane performance improvement and 2,5X data plane improvement and reduced power – something that is becoming important for all applications from battery powered handhelds to datacenters.
This chip not only makes advances for LSI, but ARM also. The two companies partnered to create this 16 core solution utilizing ARMs new CoreLink CCN-504 interconnect. CoreLink CCN-504 can deliver up to one Terabit of system bandwidth per second.
LSI also provides much of the software necessary to power this chip including high-performance layer two through four software packages that provide a complete wireless transport solution for networking OEMs.
More 3d party reports for further technical briefings:
– LSI and 6WIND team up for high performance networking [SemiAccurate, Oct 16, 2012]
– How does LSI envision the next generation of ARM networking SoCs? [SemiAccurate, Nov 28, 2012]
– LSI launches a 16-core ARM A15 cell phone chip [SemiAccurate, Feb 19, 2013]
…
The HetNet problem as LSI sees it
Until recently, you needed very different devices from top to bottom, the hardware on a pico basestation was nothing like that of the vastly larger long distance stations. This mandates some very different software stacks, management tools, and all sorts of other things that bring problems to the poor network trolls running the plumbing 24/7. Heterogeneity is not a good thing here, but there really wasn’t a choice, no hardware was suited for all of the tasks at hand. See what LSI is aiming for now?
Since the Axxia 5500 line can scale from 4 to 32 cores, it can meet all of the demands of basestations large and small. If the pico basestation needs a digitial front end and DSP setup that the big ones don’t, no problem, slap them on. If there are things that the little ones don’t need, pull them out and save die area. LSI hopes to be able to service all of a carrier’s needs from large to small with a single hardware family and the attendant software stack. Carriers like this, it saves them time, money, and headaches, speeds deployment, and makes life easier by simplifying everything. And that is exactly what LSI is aiming for with the Axxia 5500 family.
Corresponding LSI press releases with more information:
– LSI Announces Availability of Family of Network Accelerator Cards for Enterprise, Data Centers and Service Providers [July 20, 2011] “Complete platform built on industry-leading silicon with software protocols to provide high performance and deterministic features for networking OEMs”
– LSI Begins Shipping 28nm Custom Silicon for Datacenter and Mobile Network Applications [Nov 16, 2011] “Custom silicon enables networking and storage OEMs to build highly differentiated silicon solutions; demonstrates LSI leadership”
– LSI Expands Strategic Relationship with ARM to Offer Energy-Efficient Multicore Processors for Networking Applications [Jan 23, 2012] “Enhances industry’s most powerful networking silicon portfolio … LSI will gain access to:
- The broad family of ARM processors, including the ARM Cortex-A15 processor with virtualization support and future ARM processor
- ARM on-chip interconnect technology, including CoreLink™ cache coherent interconnect system IP, for use in multicore applications”
– LSI Introduces Highly Integrated Axxia Communication Processor to Accelerate Mobile Broadband [Feb 21, 2012] “AXM2500 reduces power consumption and physical space requirements; helps service providers seamlessly deploy heterogeneous networks and contend with data growth”
– LSI Expands Axxia Platform to Deliver Power-Efficient Mobile Networks [Feb 23, 2012] “Addition of ARM’s latest multicore technology will provide scalability, performance and low power consumption to meet growing demand for mobile broadband”
– LSI Expands Networking Ecosystem to Accelerate Implementation of 4G Networks [Feb 24, 2012] “Partner solutions accelerate time to market and reduce software investment for wireless manufacturers”
– LSI Collaborates with Vineyard Networks to Accelerate Mobile and Datacenter Networks [May 7, 2012] “Vineyard joins LSI networking ecosystem; combined solution delivers real-time application recognition to improve user experience”
– LSI and Microsemi Collaborate to Reduce Costs and Increase Performance of Mobile Networks [Sept 19, 2012] “Integration of Microsemi timing protocol into LSI® Axxia®communication processors provides networking equipment manufacturers with increased interoperability, reduced customer investment and faster time-to-market”
– LSI and 6WIND Team Up to Accelerate Mobile Infrastructure and Datacenter Network Performance [Oct 16, 2012] “6WINDGate packet processing software for LSI® Axxia®platform allows network OEMs to benefit from performance-optimized software that reduces time-to-market and lowers development costs”
– LSI Summit Convenes Technology Leaders to Unlock Opportunities in the New Innovation Era of Devices, Datacenters and Mobile Networks [Nov 13, 2012] “5th annual ‘Accelerating Innovation Summit’ attracts storage and networking experts to collaborate on solving the challenges of the data deluge”
– LSI Introduces Axxia® 5500 Communication Processors with ARM Technology for High-Performance, Power-Efficient Networks [Feb 19, 2013] “LSI scalable architecture with ARM multicore processors and interconnect to improve multi-radio base station and 4G/LTE-capable wireless network performance”
Future Coherent Interconnect Technology for Networking Applications [ARM’s Smart Connected Devices blog, Dec 11, 2012]
Coherent interconnects will be at the core of next-generation network systems and system-on-chip (SoC) devices. To meet the rapidly growing processing requirements of wireless infrastructure systems and servers, network equipment manufacturers need highly integrated SoCs with a heterogeneous mix of CPU cores. These cores need to handle a mix of general-purpose processing, packet processing and digital signal processing (DSP) functions. The interconnect at the center of these solutions must maintain cache coherency between cores and provide a low-latency path between the cores, caches, external memory and networking I/O.
We are seeing dramatic growth in the data bandwidth in both mobile and fixed line networks. Cloud computing and video services are key applications driving this growth. 4G/LTE networks are transforming the wireless network experience for high-volume data users. Larger data centers with many virtualized servers allow large content providers such as Facebook, Google and Amazon to support many millions of users. To meet these demands, carriers are making significant investments in enhanced 4G networks and infrastructure required to support the huge growth in data traffic.
The latest silicon technology allows the integration of many cores onto a single SoC, dramatically reducing the number of components in a system. The processor cores can be closely coupled to hardware acceleration engines, external memory interfaces and high-speed networking I/O. The level of integration presents significant challenges to developers, who must ensure the use of shared resources does not reduce system performance. The key to this integration is the interconnect between the different cores and the other functional blocks.
Standard RISC cores, licensed from vendors such as ARM, have allowed system OEMs to quickly develop new solutions using third-party tools for software development. The introduction of licensed IP for a low-latency coherent interconnect will allow OEMs to develop more easily new solutions integrating multiple general purpose CPU and other cores. By working with well-established IP and SoC vendors such as ARM and LSI, system developers will have access to next-generation networking SoCs with a mix of CPU cores, hardware accelerators and, if required, their own hardware blocks.
The “Future Coherent Interconnect Technology for Networking Applications,” by Heavy Reading for LSI and ARM, explores the benefits of using a low-latency, coherent interconnect at the core of a next-generation networking SoC and reviews the market demand for next-generation network SoCs with multiple CPU cores and hardware accelerators. It details the technical challenges and one solution that is available to system developers for a coherent interconnect with integrated cache and support for DDR3 and DDR4 memories. The paper also describes a next-generation networking SoC architecture that is built around a coherent interconnect and available to OEMs as a standard product or custom solution.
Guest Partner Blogger:
Michael Merluzzi is a Sr. Marketing Manager in the Networking Solutions Group at LSI Corporation. He has product marketing responsibilities for integrated platform solutions and application-enabling software for LSI’s Axxia® family of multicore communications processors. Previously, he has held a variety of roles in technical marketing, applications engineering and software development.
Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University and master’s degrees in Business Administration and Computer Engineering from Lehigh University.
Next-Generation Multicore ARM Architectures for Intelligent Networks:
Next-generation multicore SoC architectures for tomorrow’s communications networks [by David Sonnier, LSI Corporation on Embedded Computing Design, Dec 11, 2012]
IT managers are under increasing pressure to boost network capacity and performance to cope with the data deluge. Networking systems are under a similar form of stress with their performance degrading as new capabilities are added in software. The solution to both needs is next-generation System-on-Chip (SoC) communications processors that combine multiple cores with multiple hardware acceleration engines.
The data deluge, with its massive growth in both mobile and enterprise network traffic, is driving substantial changes in the architectures of base stations, routers, gateways, and other networking systems. To maintain high performance as traffic volume and velocity continue to grow, next-generation communications processors combine multicore processors with specialized hardware acceleration engines in SoC ICs.
The following discussion examines the role of the SoC in today’s network infrastructures, as well as how the SoC will evolve in coming years. Before doing so, it is instructive to consider some of the trends driving this need.
Networks under increasing stress
In mobile networks, per-user access bandwidth is increasing by more than an order of magnitude from 200-300 Mbps in 3G networks to 3-5 Gbps in 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks. Advanced LTE technology will double bandwidth again to 5-10 Gbps. Higher-speed access networks will need more and smaller cells to deliver these data rates reliably to a growing number of mobile devices.
In response to these and other trends, mobile base station features are changing significantly. Multiple radios are being used in cloud[
]-like distributed antenna systems. Network topologies are flattening. Operators are offering advanced Quality of Service (QoS) and location-based services and moving to application-aware billing. The increased volume of traffic will begin to place considerable stress on both the access and backhaul portions of the network.
Traffic is similarly exploding within data center networks. Organizations are pursuing limitless-scale computing workloads on virtual machines, which is breaking many of the traditional networking protocols and procedures. The network itself is also becoming virtual and shifting to a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) paradigm, which is driving organizations to a more flexible Software-Defined Networking (SDN) architecture.
These trends will transform the data center into a private cloud with a service-oriented network. This private cloud will need to interact more seamlessly and securely with public cloud offerings in hybrid arrangements. The result will be the need for greater intelligence, scalability, and flexibility throughout the network.
Moore’s Law not keeping pace
Once upon a time, Moore’s Law – the doubling of processor performance every 18 months or so – was sufficient to keep pace with computing and networking requirements. Hardware and software advanced in lockstep in both computers and networking equipment. As software added more features with greater sophistication, advances in processors maintained satisfactory levels of performance. But then along came the data deluge.
In mobile networks, for example, traffic volume is growing by some 78 percent per year, owing mostly to the increase in video traffic. This is already causing considerable congestion, and the problem will only get worse when an estimated 50 billion mobile devices are in use by 2016 and the total volume of traffic grows by a factor of 50 in the coming decade.
In data centers, data volume and velocity are also growing exponentially. According to IDC, digital data creation is rising 60 percent per year. The research firm’s Digital Universe Study predicts that annual data creation will grow 44-fold between 2009 and 2020 to 35 zettabytes (35 trillion gigabytes). All of this data must be moved, stored, and analyzed, making Big Data a big problem for most organizations today.
With the data deluge demanding more from network infrastructures, vendors have applied a Band-Aid to the problem by adding new software-based features and functions in networking equipment. Software has now grown so complex that hardware has fallen behind. One way for hardware to catch up is to use processors with multiple cores. If one general-purpose processor is not enough, try two, four, 16, or more.
Another way to improve hardware performance is to combine something new – multiple cores – with something old – Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) technology. With RISC, less is more based on the uniform register file load/store architecture and simple addressing modes. ARM, for example, has made some enhancements to the basic RISC architecture to achieve a better balance of high performance, small code size, low power consumption, and small silicon area, with the last two factors being important to increasing the core count.
Hardware acceleration necessary, but …
General-purpose processors, regardless of the number of cores, are simply too slow for functions that must operate deep inside every packet, such as packet classification, cryptographic security, and traffic management, which is needed for intelligent QoS. Because these functions must often be performed in serial fashion, there is limited opportunity to process them simultaneously in multiple cores. For these reasons, such functions have long been performed in hardware, and it is increasingly common to have these hardware accelerators integrated with multicore processors in specialized SoC communications processors.
The number of function-specific acceleration engines available also continues to grow, and more engines (along with more cores) can now be placed on a single SoC. Examples of acceleration engines include packet classification, deep packet inspection, encryption/decryption, digital signal processing, transcoding, and traffic management. It is even possible now to integrate a system vendor’s unique intellectual property into a custom acceleration engine within an SoC. Taken together, these advances make it possible to replace multiple SoCs with a single SoC in many networking systems (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: SoC communications processors combine multiple general-purpose processor cores with multiple task-specific acceleration engines to deliver higher performance with a lower component count and lower power consumption.
In addition to delivering higher throughput, SoCs reduce the cost of equipment, resulting in a significant price/performance improvement. Furthermore, the ability to tightly couple multiple acceleration engines makes it easier to satisfy end-to-end QoS and service-level agreement requirements. The SoC also offers a distinct advantage when it comes to power consumption, which is an increasingly important consideration in network infrastructures, by providing the ability to replace multiple discrete components in a single energy-efficient IC.
The powerful capabilities of today’s SoCs make it possible to offload packet processing entirely to system line cards such as a router or switch. In distributed architectures like the IP Multimedia System and SDN, the offload can similarly be distributed among multiple systems, including servers.
Although hardware acceleration is necessary, the way it is implemented in some SoCs today may no longer be sufficient in applications requiring deterministic performance. The problem is caused by the workflow within the SoC itself when packets must pass through several hardware accelerators, which is increasingly the case for systems tasked with inspecting, transforming, securing, and otherwise manipulating traffic.
If traffic must be handled by a general-purpose processor each time it passes through a different acceleration engine, latency can increase dramatically, and deterministic performance cannot be guaranteed under all circumstances. This problem will get worse as data rates increase in Ethernet networks from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps, and in mobile networks from 300 Mbps in 3G networks to 5 Gbps in 4G networks.
Next-generation multicore SoCs
LSI addresses the data path problem in its Axxia SoCs with Virtual Pipeline technology. The Virtual Pipeline creates a message-passing control path that enables system designers to dynamically specify different packet-processing flows that require different combinations of multiple acceleration engines. Each traffic flow is then processed directly through any engine in any desired sequence without intervention from a general-purpose processor (see Figure 2). This design natively supports connecting different heterogeneous cores together, enabling more flexibility and better power optimization.
Figure 2: To maximize performance, next-generation SoC communications processors process packets directly and sequentially in multiple acceleration engines without intermediate intervention from the CPU cores.
In addition to faster, more efficient packet processing, next-generation SoCs also include more general-purpose processor cores (to 32, 64, and beyond), highly scalable and lower-latency interconnects, nonblocking switching, and a wider choice of standard interfaces (Serial RapidIO, PCI Express, USB, I2C, and SATA) and higher-speed Ethernet interfaces (1G, 2.5G, 10G, and 40G+). To easily integrate these increasingly sophisticated capabilities into a system’s design, software development kits are enhanced with tools that simplify development, testing, debugging, and optimization tasks.
Next-generation SoC ICs accelerate time to market for new products while lowering both manufacturing costs and power consumption. With deterministic performance for data rates in excess of 40 Gbps, embedded hardware is once again poised to accommodate any additional capabilities required by the data deluge for another three to four years.
David Sonnier is a technical fellow in system architecture for the Networking Solutions Group of LSI Corporation.
LSI Corporation david.sonnier@lsi.com www.lsi.com
See how innovative is the Axxia SoC networking platform for mobile broadband speed [LSI China, Oct 15, 2012] as translated from Chinese by Google (except the introductory summary which manual corrections as well) because there is no English equivalent
What is Axxia? A communication processor? Not only that! It represents a unique innovation network SoC solutions platform, flexible and energy efficient and scalable architecture! It contains the complete network chip and software combination:
Communication processor, using state-of-the-art multi-core technology which can achieve fast path acceleration with deterministic performance and highly programmable;
Highest density, lowest cost and fully programmable media and baseband processor;
The TDM (time-division multiplex) transport of multiservice processor, high-density, low-power and fully trust through the packet network;
Customizazion based on Axxia processors, flexible customer management, industry-leading delivery times.
The Axxia Network SoC solutions for mobile and enterprise networks determine performance, customized solutions to achieve a high degree of differentiation.
Flexible and highly scalable platform
<from here on raw Google translation>
“With the mass deployment of EVS, SAE and LTE-Advanced, the new architecture of the system on the network bandwidth requirements will far exceed the processing capacity of the current infrastructure, which requires the SoC architecture with excellent expansion capability, in order to effectively control costs , while responding to the ever-rising demand for bandwidth. “LSI corporate network components, marketing director Tareq Bustami has pointed out.
Axxia the use of energy-efficient central processing unit (CPU) platform and instruction set architecture (ISA) multicore architecture-independent, allowing the general-purpose processor with flexible, determined by the Virtual Pipeline high-speed path integration, for according to the specific needs of the OEM manufacturers extend and customize Axxia platform to choose their own silicon design, such as ASIC, CSSP or ASSPs. Unique business model is the LSI customers widely hailed (as shown in Figure 1).
Figure 1. The LSI Axxia network platform has an original mixed approach of the general and specific types of processing, and has the ability to integrate custom IP.
This flexible business model is built on the LSI IP accumulation basis. Customers comply with the standards provided by LSI pre-verified IP cores to reduce costs and accelerate time-to-market.
CoreWare IP in LSI the proven complex IP functionality, and to achieve specific LSI design integrity, ease of use, reusability, supportability, quality, range of standard deliverables and supporting infrastructure. , CoreWare IP address program leading storage industry standard interfaces and components are synergistic, ensure compliance, and customer resources to focus on product differentiation and competitive advantage.
Since 1990 LSI IP solutions already contains a high-level, pre-packaged chip components and complete delivery, the LSI leading design tools and methods to achieve integration. LSI IP support for system-level design considerations for end-use applications, including simulation and signal integrity requirements.
LSI also provides a flexible IP subscription model, allowing customers to choose a wide range of solutions from LSI, from the the SerDes or I / O unit to complete the I / O controller, processor subsystem processor core to complete. Specifically including but not limited to: 1. (Key storage and network interface) from the current and next generation serial standards support, such as XFI (10G), Fibre Channel (8.5G), SAS (6G), PCI Express (5G) as well as many other interfaces; 2. the latest parallel storage interface supports DDR3 SDRAM, QDR, DDR II + SRAM and RLDRAM; memory chip-to-chip interface, such as SGMII and SPI4; 3. supports the industry’s most popular integrated processor products, such as PowerPC, ARM, MIPS and ZSP.
Collaboration with ARM, significantly improve mobile network performance / power ratio
Particularly worth mentioning is the integration, in addition to continue to develop Axxia communication processors, high-performance multi-core PowerPC-based ASSP products, LSI also recently a new high-performance multi-core ARM Cortex A-15 processor and LSI hardware accelerators certainty The Axxia processor program series ASSPs ideal for mobile access, backhaul and gateway. The series offers a variety of pin-compatible configuration, suitable for a variety of network applications, NodeB and eNodeB 3G/4G mobile access to the system, the mobile broadband radio network controller (RNC) applications as well as enterprise gateway. The Axxia Series provides a comprehensive software development environment, evaluation board, as well as the industry’s leading supplier, launched a series of hardware / software solutions.
ARM CPU and LSI hardware accelerators with the the Virtual Pipeline patented technology to achieve the best performance and flexibility. This partnership to provide customers with a proven scalable, multi-function software platform to support the extended multi-generation wireless infrastructure. LSI has been a long history of cooperation with ARM kernel currently has shipped over one billion ARM core integrated into LSI flagship the Axxia platform is a natural choice. The platform enables wireless manufacturers to develop a solution that contains all base station processing functions.
Add the ARM energy saving core the Axxia platform can base stations and wireless infrastructure to provide energy-efficient, low-power multi-core processors; provide scalable performance to meet smart phones, tablet PCs and cloud services bring massive data growth needs; embedded intelligence, can be used to determine flow, identification applications, provide appropriate traffic and at the right time in order to achieve real-time services such as mobile video. Through the the ARM Community and LSI network ecosystem, customers also have access to a wealth of third-party tools and support.
The innovative Virtual Pipeline patented technology to determine performance
Any routing combination of LSI Virtual Pipeline (Virtual Pipeline) patented technology developed for each packet classification decisions, each data packet or communications media stream prior to leaving the ACP can after engine CPU core. This flexibility is very powerful and convenient, and is conducive to the design of traffic flowing through the device.
Using patented technology hardware scheduler function with any-to-any data packet streaming combined, and thus needed to route traffic on-chip, able to achieve in the the acceleration engine multicore Commonwealth SoC subsystem components between smooth Communication chip. The flow from the input port is routed directly to the hardware acceleration engine, and then routed to the next acceleration engine, transmission path depends entirely on the processing requirements of specific traffic, regardless of whether or not to use the CPU core. Can achieve up to 20Gbps or more deterministic data throughput, and to achieve deterministic transmission and L2 performance in a longer transition period may be well suited for multi-protocol processing applications.
Figure 2. Virtual Pipeline message transmission of the highly innovative patented technologies.
For example, through the Virtual Pipeline patented technology can be first Ethernet interface receives traffic sent to the decryption engine to decrypt the encrypted traffic, and then routed directly to the content inspection engine contain viruses / spam or other malicious content traffic filtering. If the flow is considered safe, can be directly transmitted to the rear panel ports, without going through the CPU core. In addition, we also needed to flow from the input port or accelerate the engine is routed to the CPU core for further processing.
Wireless eco-system platform to reduce costs, accelerate time to market
Mark Hung, research director at Gartner, said: “built under the premise of controlling costs to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband network, which is a big challenge. Operators will benefit from a higher degree of integration of the mobile infrastructure system IC solve program, because they cost the transition to 4G networks. “
As mentioned earlier, Axxia platform provide highly differentiated multi-core chip and software architecture can achieve scalability and identify performance benefits to customers include: capital expenditures can be reduced by 50%; while the power consumption improvements reduce power consumption by 50% reduction of operating costs; simplified software architecture cocoa to help customers reduce software development work; the active industrial environment can be enhanced debugging capabilities, thus speeding up the listing process; while a high level of system integration can reduce the cost of materials (such as memory and switch) ; uncertainty platform can also shorten the delay, to improve the user experience, and so on.
Figure 3: the Axxia wireless platform ecosystem including IP cores, OS platform and developer tools for ISVs, ODMs, CMs and other partners, providing a strong industrial environment of support.
As service providers compete to deploy 4G wireless infrastructure, LSI is bound growth expected customer demand for reliable integration solutions, was founded a few years ago a the Axxia wireless ecological system, combined with IP cores, operating systems and tools various partners, developers, independent software developers (ISVs), ODM, CM, to the advantage of price, performance, and flexible power range of products both Axxia series to help wireless equipment manufacturers to accelerate time to market, reduce software investment.
LSI and its ecosystem partners recently announced the plans of the wireless platform, pre-integrated solutions to provide optimal performance for their own the Axxia wireless platform to provide stronger support industrial environment. LSI ecosystem partners are encouraged to focus on the benefits of development features, and performance differentiation, rather than using a dedicated interface.
This wireless ecosystem platform provides a proven, scalable, multi-function software platform to support multiple generations of Axxia product line; consistent software architecture to simplify the customer transplantation of the the Axxia products enable customers to choose the best. Framework API LSI architecture oversight functions allow open access to different ecosystem partners.Ecosystem partners committed LSI architecture to optimize performance and support the strategic objectives of the wireless platform.
For example, LSI is in cooperation with the main partners in the the Axxia wireless industry environment Radisys Trillium 3G and LTE wireless protocol software specifically for the LSI Axxia platform integration and optimization. Axxia platform so that you can take advantage of a unique, scalable capacity and performance, simple and convenient to deploy the Radisys wireless software.
Such wireless ecosystem platform plans to help the wireless OEM manufacturers and their suppliers ecosystem response to earnings challenges, accelerate time to market, lower total cost of ownership.Reduce software investment to achieve higher performance of OTB. At the same time minimizing the cost of the non-differentiated products. Reduce technical barriers, you can choose more cost effective, lower power consumption optimal product!
(This article is LSI Corporation feed)
Phablet competition in India: $258 Micromax-MediaTek-2013 against $360 Samsung-Broadcom-2012
Allwinner in mainland China moved first to quad-core Cortex-A7 with the A31 SoC introduced with the launch of the first two tablet products, Onda V972 and V812, on December 5, 2012 (and delivered from December 24, 2012 on in mainland China). That prompted a direction only reaction that Qualcomm quad-core Cortex-A7 SoCs with Adreno 305 and 1080p coming for the high-volume global market and China [Dec 9, 2012]), with sampling just planned for Q2’13 and only now publishing a completely redesigned 2013 roadmap according to Qualcomm moving ahead of Allwinner et al. in CPU and GPU while trying to catch up with Allwinner in Ultra HD [Jan 12 – Feb 20, 2013]. The #2 SoC vendor MediaTek from Taiwan had already plans to move to Cortex-A7 so was able to react much more quickly with MediaTek MT6589 quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC with HSPA+ and TD-SCDMA is available for Android smartphones and tablets of Q1 delivery [Dec 12, 2012]. Such a delivery first happened with Micromax A116 in India (from February 14, 2013 on) which targeted the delivery of Samsung Galaxy Grand (from January 21, 2013 on) based on a very much ‘2012 vintage’ SoC from Broadcom still using a dual core Cortex-A9 driven CPU.
So here we have an interesting possibility of comparing a ‘2013 vintage’ (quad-core Cortex-A7 at 28nm etc.) phablet solution with a ‘2012 vintage’ (dual core Cortex-A9 at 40nm LP etc.) one. In addition from a vendor (MediaTek) trying to agressively conquer the global market after the Greater China one by going against the global #1 heavyweight Samsung. Such an analysis would, no doubt, reveal quite interesting facts not only about the current state of the market but about the future market as well.
First here is an overall comparison video from India:
Micromax Canvas HD A116 VS Samsung Galaxy Grand – Gaming, Benchmarks, Camera, Performance, Display [intellectdigest YouTube channel, Feb 16, 2013]
Next there is a detailed specification comparison is in the table somewhat below.
Before that, however, note that to do such a comparison one needs to invest more than one day of time which shows quite well that in the consumer computing space customers will hardly be able to recognize the really deciding differentiators(in the same way as this happens with consumer products in general). I am particularly dismayed by the fact that even from such a table one will hardly recognize the most important differentiator that from power consumption point of view the Galaxy Grand is ways better that the Micromax A116 (440 hours of standby time vs. 174 hours, and 10 hours 10 minutes of talk time vs. 5 hours).
Then the display quality difference discussed first in the above video is far less than one would conclude from the below table (TFT LCD at 800×480 resolution on Grand and IPS at 1280×720 on Micromax A116) as evidenced by the excerpted video image included below (taken az [1:15] with A116 on the left and Grand on the right, for both the brightness set to maximum for the comparison). One of the reasons for that is the mDNIe (mobile Digital Natural Image engine) technology from Samsung going back to 2003 with TVs. In fact MediaTek just now came up with a kind of similar technology of its own (see in the end of Section 1) called MiraVision. Immediately after that (in the whole Section 2) I included all available material about both the mDNIe and its “parent from TVs”, DNIe in order to make possible to understand the maturity of Samsung solution vs. the MediaTek one. And there are definitely other “tricks” (additional layers etc.) which are also essential for making the Grand screen a true masterpice of display engineering.
Click on the image below or this link in order to go to a clickable version of the table!
Click on the image above or this link in order to go to a clickable version of the table!
Finally, in addition to the already mentioned first two sections of the detailed analysis there is a Section 3 in the end devoted to the Broadcom SoC technology used in the Samsung Galaxy Grand
More information for this introductory part:
– Micromax Canvas HD A116 [Micromax microsite, Feb 13, 2013]
– MediaTek High Performance Quad Core Solution Empowers Micromax A116 Canvas HD [MediaTek press release, Jan 22, 2013]
– Micromax Canvas HD demo Video [micromaxtube YouTube channel, Feb 19, 2013]
– Micromax launches Canvas HD to strengthen phablet leadership [Micromax press release, Jan 21, 2013]
… it is the ideal phone for the young generation who is always on the lookout for better, faster and savvier smart phones on the go!
Commenting on the launch and association with MediaTek, Mr. Deepak Mehrotra, Chief Executive Officer, Micromax said, “At Micromax, we constantly strive to innovate and develop great technological experiences for our consumers. Today’s launch marks our association with MediaTek to bring forth our first quad core phone in this segment, offering consumers a great user experience with latest features and added functionality.” He further added, “We are excited with the success of Canvas 2, which has clearly established Micromax as number one player in the new 5” phablet category in India. We are looking forward to similar success with the new phone being unveiled today.”
…
Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Finbarr Moynihan, General Manager – Business Development at MediaTek, said, “In less than 2 years of launching our first smartphone chipset, MediaTek’s shipments in this category have grown more than ten times, with 110 million units in 2012. As the world’s first commercialized quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC, the MT6589 is an innovative solution that accelerates product development, simplifies differentiation, and offers the best possible experience that mid to high-end smart device owners desire. Micromax shares our core philosophy of pushing the bar on innovation and bringing it within the reach of the masses. We are delighted that India’s leading youth mobile brand has chosen MediaTek to power its top-end mobile smartphones.”
…
About Micromax [the 12th largest handset manufacturer in the world]:
Micromax started as an IT software company in the year 2000 working on embedded platforms. In 2008, it entered mobile handset business and by 2010 it became one of the largest Indian domestic mobile handsets company by offering unique affordable innovations. … The brand’s product portfolio embraces more than 60 models today, ranging from feature rich, dual – SIM phones, 3G Android smartphones, tablets, LED televisions and data cards. The company has many firsts to its credit when it comes to the mobile handset market including the 30-day battery backup, dual SIM phones, QWERTY keypads, dual reception mode handsets, universal remote control mobile phones etc. Micromax has presence in more than 500 districts through 100,000 retail outlets in India. The company has global business presence spread across Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Maldives, UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan and Brazil.
– Samsung Galaxy Grand (i9082) full review hands on video [mobiscrub YouTube channel, Feb 4, 2013]
[2:06] The display of the Grand is a 5 inch Super Clear LCD with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. When compared to the Super AMOLED screen in the Galaxy Note II or the S III, the screen does look less saturated, however, color rendition is great & looks very natural. Wide viewing angles & good outdoor visibility lets you watch movies & read content easily. [2:42]
The Galaxy Grand camera is an 8 MP sensor with autofocus & LED Flash. The camera also features BIS (Backside Illumination Sensor) which basically takes great shots even in low light condition. The shutter speed of the Galaxy Grand camera is quite nice as well but not as fast as the Note II or the S III.
Much of the smart features in the Galaxy Grand resemble to those found in the S III & Note II such as: Multi window, Smart Rotation, Smart Stay, Smart Alert, Direct call & pop up play. Obviously there is no S Pen included with the Galaxy Grand, that differentiates from the smartphone beast, the Note II.
– Samsung GALAXY Grand [Samsung Mobile Press announcement, Dec 18, 2012]
– Samsung Unveiled GALAXY Grand [Samsung Tomorrow Global, Dec 18, 2012]
– Galaxy Grand GT-i9082 [Samsung India microsite, Jan 22, 2013]
– Samsung Galaxy Grand Redefines Smartphone Experience for All [Samsung India press release, Jan 22, 2013]
Even though it supports a massive 5.0″ screen with WVGA TFT display powered with mDNIe [mobile Digital Natural Image engine]technology, the device is incredibly slim and comes with an ergonomic design which makes is comfortable to hold. The vivid display provides an expansive viewing experience rendering messaging, multimedia and Web content in brilliant color and clarity.
Samsung GT-i9082 Galaxy Grand [Duos]
– Micromax Canvas HD A116 Detailed In Depth Video Review And Comparison With Galaxy Grand [Intellect Digest, Feb 17, 2013]
– List of Top 5 Phablets under Rs 20k – Feb 2013 [My PhoneFactor.in, Feb 20, 2013]
– Micromax A116 Canvas HD performance review vs. other quad-core phones [Thinkdigit, Feb 15, 2013]
Section 1 MT6589
Quad-Core Cortex-A7 1GHz+CPU Smartphone Platform [MediaTek product page, Dec 27, 2012]
Overview
The world’s first commercialized quad-core SoC available for mid to high end smartphone and tablets market
The Coolest quad core solution- MT6589 is the world’s first commercialized quad-core SoC (AP+BB) available for mid to high end smartphone and tablets market, the MT6589 integrates a power-efficient Cortex™-A7 CPU subsystem from ARM, PowerVR™ Series5XT GPU from Imagination Technologies, and MediaTek’s advanced multi-mode UMTS Rel. 8/HSPA+/TD-SCDMA modem. The MT6589 is delivered in advanced 28nm process technology, creating a universal platform that delivers powerful performance at a very competitive price.
Features
Innovative, Advanced Dual-SIM solution
Dual-SIM and Dual-Active functionality frees users to seamlessly make and receive calls on two SIM cards at the same time.
High-end Multimedia Capabilities
13MP camera with integrated ISP, 1080p playback and recording at 30fps, and enhanced image processing for DTV-grade image quality
Full HD (1920×1080) [1080p] LCD support for razor sharp visuals
Best-in-class MediaTek Technology
Integrated leading 4-in-1 connectivity combo, providing 802.11n Wi-Fi, BT4.0, GPS and FM radio
MT6589 – The Coolest Quad-Core SoC Platform – Thermal Benchmark [mediateklab YouTube channel, Dec 28, 2012]
See also:
– MediaTek Strengthens Global Position with World’s First Quad-Core Cortex-A7 System on a Chip – MT6589 [MediaTek press release, Dec 11, 2012]
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, announced the launch of the MT6589, the world’s first commercialized quad-core System on a Chip (SoC), available for mid to high-end Android smartphones and tablets worldwide. The new quad-core SoC integrates MediaTek’s advanced multi-mode UMTS Rel. 8/HSPA+/TD-SCDMA modem, a power-efficient quad-core Cortex™-A7 CPU subsystem from ARM, PowerVR™ Series5XT GPU from Imagination Technologies, and is delivered in 28nm process technology. As a leader in Dual-SIM technology, the MT6589 is also the world’s first HSPA+ smartphone platform supporting Dual-SIM, Dual-Active functionality to address increasing multi-SIM demand around the world. The integration of these compelling features makes the MT6589 a universal platform that delivers premium multimedia capabilities with extremely low power consumption for an outstanding user experience. It also enables handset makers to reduce time to market, simplify product development and manage product differentiation in a more cost effective way, for any market worldwide.
…
The MT6589 also supports Miracast™ technology for multi-screen content sharing and pre-integrates MediaTek’s leading 4-in-1 connectivity combo, which supports 802.11n Wi-Fi, BT4.0, GPS and FM.
…
The MediaTek MT6589 is currently being incorporated into smart devices by MediaTek’s leading global customers, and the first models based on this new chipset are expected to ship commercially in Q1 2013.
– Lenovo S3000 uses MediaTek quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 [Charbax YouTube channel, Feb 26, 2013]
– MediaTek Powers Lenovo’s Premium Multimedia IdeaTab S6000 Tablet [MediaTek press release, Feb 25, 2013]
This year, at Mobile World Congress, MediaTek’s quad core SoC will be powering three new Android tablets launched by Lenovo, led by the Lenovo IdeaTab S6000. Built on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system, the S6000 is a sleek (8.6mm) and light (560g), 10” tablet which leverages quad-core processing to deliver performance, connectivity, and clarity.
…
Jeffrey Ju, GM of Smartphone Business Unit of MediaTek. “Our aim is to democratize the smartphone market by enabling the smart ecosystem to make high performance products at affordable prices for the mainstream market. This in turn will be the catalyst for the smart age as customers will demand greater device integration to share and view their entertainment and information seamlessly across multiple screens – requiring a sophisticated smart ecosystem that only MediaTek’s SoC total solutions can drive.”
– How MediaTek helps lower mobile device power consumption? [mediateklab YouTube channel, Feb 24, 2013]
– MiraVision makes Full-HD support for mobile devices a reality to everyone [MediaTek press release, Feb 25, 2013]
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions announced today the availability of “MiraVision,” the world’s most comprehensive suite of display picture quality technology, for its smartphone and tablet platforms.
The joint hardware and software suite of display picture quality technology – MiraVision – aims to strengthen Mediatek’s leading position in the smart age, where consumers can expect the same, high quality of the visual experience across various display resolutions. Leveraging MediaTek’s leading display picture quality technology developed in digital TV (DTV), MiraVision is designed to deliver seamless full high-definition display picture quality on mobile devices. It empowers handset and tablets makers to provide the best visual quality on the mobile platform with reduced time to market, simplified product development and differentiation for consumers everywhere.
MiraVision is equipped with specific features that enable users to enjoy DTV-grade display picture quality on their mobile devices. With MiraVision, contents will be displayed more vivid and saturated with more details, providing a far richer and more colorful viewing experience previously only available on a high-end DTV. Furthermore, specifically tailored for mobile devices, the all-important power efficiency has been addressed and boosted through the Ambient-Light Adaptive Luma (AAL) technology, which intelligently adjusts the panel backlight in response to the ambient light intensity and the displayed contents to simultaneously optimize battery life and viewing experience. The combination of enhanced sharpness, richer color and adaptive Luma technology means true seamless quality across multiple devices is closer than ever before.
“The future is more than just TVs or smartphones alone,” commented Jeffrey Ju, GM of Smartphone Business Unit of MediaTek, “our focus is on innovative solutions that enhance the chip, driving speed to market at premium performance up for our customers while ensuring the seamless cross-screen experience across the array of devices through which users are consuming entertainment and information. We are proud to be the one who can truly integrate technologies of DTV and mobile phones/tablets in the smart age, making the premium cross-screen experience real to everyone in every market.”
This background technology from MediaTek is also available to the MT6589 as evidenced by [2:00 – 3:00] time fragment of this recorded video (at [0:56] it is explicitly said: “Miravision engine which has been included in the new MT6589 quad-core SoC”):
MiraVision: world’s leading digital TV-grade picture-quality engine for mobile devices [mediateklab YouTube channel, Feb 24, 2013]
Section 2
Samsung mDNIe [mobile Digital Natural Image engine]
Into the New Wave – the Samsung Wave S8500 [samsungwave YouTube channel, Feb 14, 2010]
Mobile Digital Natural Image Engine – mDNIe [Read a tech, June 12, 2010]
Samsung Wave display features Samsung’s mDNIe – mobile Digital Natural Image engine technology, borrowed from Samsung’s latest LCD TV and LED TV products, says the company. The mDNIe technology is said to offer better viewing angles and “super fast response.” The Wave’s display is also touted for its tempered glass and anti-smudge surface.
From http://tvtonight.televisionshop.info/samsung-hl-s5087w-50-inch-1080p-dlp-hdtv-on-sale/
The Samsung Digital Natural Image engine (DNIe) Video Enhancer refines all analog NTSC and wideband video inputs for an overall improvement in picture quality. DNIe improves contrast, white level, picture detail and incorporates digital noise reduction to improve lower quality video inputs. The 3-line digital comb filter constantly analyzes the three dimensions of picture height, picture width, and picture changes-over-time to dramatically reduce edge image artifacts while improving transition detail. Samsung’s Cinema Smooth 3:2 pull-down film mode corrects for the artificial frames created when films are converted to DVDs. The result is a clearer image without the subtle motion artifacts caused by 24-to-30 frames per second video conversion.
Samsung’s DNIe™
Samsung’s DNIe™ technology offers digital perfection in naturally presented, crystal-clear images that uncover even the most minute detail.
Motion Optimizer: The visual data are automatically broken down into signal and noise and adjusted through a combined spatial/temporal process to eliminate noise and blurring without the slightest damage to the original signal. This guarantees the viewer a picture of astounding sharpness, whether the scene is still or moving.
Contrast Enhancer: DNIe has done away with the unwanted side-effects that conventional contrast enhancement can produce, such as noise boost-up and flicker by developing an algorithm that recognizes over 1 million criteria for applying contrast. Its detail contrast enhancement technology can automatically analyze up to 70,000 local images within a frame, treating the viewer to a picture rich in contrast even in the tiniest details.
Color optimizer: For each scene the color optimizer calculates the saturation of red, green, and blue in the input signal and adjusts it to the shades that the human eye accepts as natural. Even a conventional process like white tone enhancement produces more striking results when when used with DNIe. The end result is a palette of vivid hues and pure white tones to satisfy the most discerning viewers eye.
Detail enhancer: Many viewers complain of the unnatural effect that conventional uniform detail enhancement produces by relying on artificial amplification of the input signal. In contrast, DNIe automatically analyzes the portion to be amplified, detecting and re-processing any noise or defect to bring the viewer a startlingly sharp and lifelike image.
Samsung DNIe ‘Pixel’ [sangafilms YouTube channel, Dec 5, 2007]
“Nature created DNA, but SAMSUNG developed DNIe.” Samsung Electronics Unveils New “Natural Image” Technology for Digital TV [Samsung press release, April 2003]
– Digital TVs with new DNIe technology are being put on the world market. DNIe technology can be applied to all digital TV types—LCD, PDP, projection or CRT.
– The cleanest and most natural images are produced under all viewing conditions.
– Samsung, which leads the world market in color TVs, TFT-LCDs, and color monitors, aims to do the same with digital TVs.Samsung Electronics has developed the Digital Natural Image engine (DNIe) that greatly improves the clarity and detail of images reproduced by color TVs. The company expects its technology breakthrough to elevate the Samsung brand the top of the rapidly growing world digital TV market.
On April 29, Samsung Electronics held a briefing on the new DNIe technology and digital TV business strategy. On display were PDP, LCD, projection and cathode ray tube (CRT) models supported by DNIe, which offers far greater image detail than conventional digital TVs. Samsung Electronics began its research project to improve picture quality back in 1996 and implemented it in stages. The first prototype digital TV with DNIe was ready last December. The technology can be used with all types of digital TVs to re-create natural colors that truly please. Last year, Samsung sold more color TVs than any other manufacturer, and now the company is ready to do the same in the digital TV market.
DNIe technology optimizes the moving picture image and color, while the contrast ratio and fine details are amplified. These four processes automatically and precisely capture broadcast signals in all formats, from analog to high definition. This high clarity, high detail image technology provides the best possible picture quality under all conditions.
Last December, Samsung Electronics completed development of the four processes. The next four months were applying the new technology to CRT TVs (29”-32”), DLP projection TVs (43” to 61”), CRT projection TVs (43” to 52”) PDP TVs (42” to 63”) and LCD TVs (32” to 40”) and commercializing the new products.
Significance of New DNIe Technology
Samsung Electronics’ high clarity, high detail image technology is the product of a determined effort to improve picture quality. This approach is far more than a simple picture improvement based on analog signal reception. Rather, the new technology produces complete image quality; any signal input comes out cleaner and more natural.
DNIe can completely eliminate blurring from movement or image prolongation. A deep contrast can also be achieved. What is more, the finest detail appears sharp, while the vivid natural color is most pleasing to the eye.
The Samsung Electronics briefing clearly demonstrated the superiority of the company’s latest technology over conventional technology. The company has received 85 foreign and domestic patents related to DNIe, including a basic technology patent for contrast reproduction.
DNIe Technology in a Nutshell
Samsung’s unique DNIe technology encompasses four functions that analyze all signal input, from analog to high definition, in stages. The volume of noise in the signal is detected and the signal level is classified according into analog, SD or HD and then optimized accordingly.
Motion Optimizer: Processes Noise More Completely than Ever Before
This noise processing technology integrates temporal and spatial concepts to ensure clear images even when the motion is very fast.
Contrast Enhancer: For a Deeper Contrast
This technology employs a contrast ratio of one million or more and a new algorithm that can reproduce the optimal contrast to provide a deep and rich image quality.
Detail Enhancer: Complete Images, True to the Finest Detail
A vastly improved technology for automatically analyzing the picture signal reproduces images in amazing detail, resulting in more lifelike video.
Color Optimizer: Vivid, Natural Colors
The video signals being generated are analyzed and the quantities of reds, greens and blues are calculated to provide the colors most natural to the human eye.
Samsung DNIe [tnbtsingapore YouTube channel, Aug 12, 2010]
FAQs: What is DNIe [Samsung, Oct 10, 2012]
Samsung’s Digital Natural Image engine (DNIe TM) is a set of four advanced image processing technologies that makes digital TVs, including various types of displays such as LCD, PDP, projection, and CRT, produce the clearest, most detailed, and yet most natural-looking images ever.
The four technologies used by DNIe are:
Motion Optimiser: eliminates noise, even in moving pictures
Contrast Enhancer: increases the contrast
Detail Enhancer: sharpens pictures and makes details visible
Color Optimiser: provides natural and vibrant colours
The secret of DNIe TM begins with an Intelligent Analyser that analyses any kind of input signal to optimise the picture quality. By analysing the frequency characteristics of the input signal, the Analyser automatically detects the amount of noise in the signal, identifies the source level as analogue, SD, or HD, and even determines whether it has been scaled.
Through this analysis of the input signal at the first stage of the DNIe TM process, the Intelligent Analyser ensures that the optimal adjustments is made throughout the remaining four stages to the production of the final output.
DNIe technology is not only suitable for all usual input signals for television reception today, such as analogue, cable, satellite and digital, it also works with the input signals of DVD, camcorders and game computers.
DNIeTM R&D History
Progress in picture quality enhancement has been achieved through sustained research and investment at Samsung, beginning in 1996 with an independent project. In 1997, Samsung’s project developed a noise reduction function for the image enhancement of CRT TVs.
In 2000, Samsung embarked on a new picture quality enhancement project and confirmed its potential for production. By 2001, the fruits of these research efforts had laid the technological foundations for the birth of Samsung’s full-fledged image enhancement algorithm.
In March 2002, the basic version of Samsung’s unique DNIe technology was ready. At last it was possible to obtain optimal picture quality with signals ranging from RF all the way up to HD. The development of DNIe was completed by 2002, and early 2003 this radical new technology caught the eye of the world in a successful demo at a show in Las Vegas.
For more information on (DNIe) Digital Natural Image engine click Here
DNIe – Digital Natural Image engine [Birds-Eye.Net, Apr 3, 2011]
DNIe, or Digital Natural Image engine, is a “natural image” technology introduced by Samsung in 2003. Originally developed as part of a concerted effort by Samsung to improve television picture quality on non-high-definition-televisions, the DNIe chip is now used in Samsung’s plasma and high definition televisions (HDTV). DNIe makes input signals sharper, clearer and more lifelike. Its advanced image processors help to create true-to-life colors and high contrast, while pretty much eliminating digital artifacts.
DNIe offers better detail than conventional televisions by using four proprietary processes that optimize and enhance image quality and sound: a Motion Optimizer that is a noise processing technology used to eliminate blurring and noise in fast moving images and thus producing a more natural-looking motion; a Contrast Enhancer that offers rich details and image quality through brightness and contrast levels that are enhanced for deeper, richer blacks with greater detail, and more natural whites; a Detail Enhancer that automatically analyzes the picture signal elements in order to produce sharper detail, clearer image separation and more natural edge transition; and a Color Optimizer that analyzes the video signals being generated so that the quantities of reds, greens, and blues are calculated to provide colors with a more lifelike realism, where whites are more accurate, and skin tones are given a more natural hue. DNIe also offers Samsung’s patented “My Color Control” technology that the user to control specific colors without affecting the whole screen, providing six color-control selections: white, red, pink, yellow, green and blue, so the user can adjust a color to their liking.
Other Related Definitions for DNIe
“The secret of DNIe TM begins with an Intelligent Analyzer that analyzes any kind of input signal to optimize the picture quality. By analyzing the frequency characteristics of the input signal, the Analyzer automatically detects the amount of noise in the signal, identifies the source level as analogue, SD, or HD, and even determines whether it has been scaled.” [Samsung]
“The SAMSUNG DNIe vision is an image enhancement algorithm with remarkable engines that work in tandem and individually to improve the visual quality. This technology from SAMSUNG that spells the end of conventional television.” [Samsung]
“SAMSUNG’s DNIe Pro (Digital Natural Image engine) ensures the clearest, most natural images imaginable. Colour and motion are optimised and the contrast and detail are enhanced to ensure unprecedented image quality.” [Samsung]
“Samsung’s proprietary technology, DNIe – Digital Natural Image engine – is the secret to stunning HDTV picture quality. DNIe optimizes six different elements of image quality such as color balance, sharpness, and motion to reproduce the most life-like and vibrant picture throughout Samsung’s broad portfolio.” [Samsung]
“DNIe generally improves most HD and DVD content with a few exceptions, but it’s a mixed bag with NTSC sources. Many HD and DVD images are made sharper with DNIe, contrast is improved, and color accuracy is enhanced in many scenes.” [Extremetech.com]
“DNIe is Samsung’s image “enhancement” engine…On the surface these claims sound great, but on closer examination most of these features are either impossible (6 times density enhancer) or undesirable (dynamic contrast ratio). For every image DNIe makes better there are two images that it makes worse. There is no way these sets can hold a calibration with DNIe enabled. If accuracy is desired DNIe should be turned off and left off. On the HLP DNIe can be easily disabled in the user menu. It should be noted that there are a few models of Samsung DLPs (notably the HLR series) that have DNIe permanently enabled. Before purchasing a Samsung display I would make sure that DNIe can be toggled from the user menus.” [Gadgetbench.com]
“DNIe is a video enhancer that makes the picture more colorful and lifelike. You can tell too. In the DNIe product demo, the screen is split – one side shows natural footage, the other shows DNIe enhanced footage. The difference is remarkable. The natural footage is boring and robbed of color while the DNIe footage is bright and crisp. The user controls when DNIe is used, which is good because not everyone will want enhanced video all the time – like an editor previewing footage to see what color correction is required.” [Matthew Torres]
Links Related to DNIe
Nature created DNA, but SAMSUNG developed DNIe – Samsung Electronics Unveils New “Natural Image” Technology for Digital TV
What is DNIe? – Digital Natural Image engine
Technical Resources for DNIe
Feel the DNIe – Video demo of DNIe and Technical Information
Blogs about DNIe
Samsung Village – Official Samsung blog for news and inside stories
Books about DNIe
Digital Video and HD, Second Edition: Algorithms and Interfaces (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) – by by Charles A. Poynton
Global Marketing Management – by Kiefer Lee and Steve Carter
Other DNIe Related Books
Section 3
Smartphone HSPA+ Platform (from 2013 Products of Broadcom [Feb 8, 2013]):
- BCM28145: 720p 4G HSPA+ Smartphone Processor
-
BCM28155: 1080p 4G HSPA+ Smartphone Processor
Broadcom CEO Discusses Q4 2012 Results – Earnings Call Transcript [Seeking Alpha, Jan 29, 2013]
Scott A. McGregor – Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
Samsung launched the Galaxy Grand, Grand Duos, and Galaxy S2 Plus, leveraging our complete Android platform, which includes our 3G cellular SOC and wireless connectivity.
We also have more than 40 designs in process in China on our turnkey reference platforms. Our technology mix is trending to HSPA+ dual core application processors and additional connectivity, features which command a meaningful ASP premium.
The Galaxy Grand, for example, includes Broadcom’s dual core SOC NFC controller, connectivity combo with built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and FM, RF transceiver, power management, and GPS.
From Broadcom Corp. – Analyst/Investor Day, December 6, 2012 (slides from here)
Robert Americo Rango, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom’s Mobile and Wireless Group:
Broadcom’s focus is on 3G and 4G. The reason we’re focused on 3G is because we see the 3G market continuing to grow. We see it being very important for emerging markets. And we see the 3G market taking over the feature phone market going forward. So for emerging markets, our focus is on 3G. And then the 4G market, of course, for developing regions like the U.S. Big investment in 4G, a lot of progress to report, and I’ll get into this in my presentation. So focused on both because these — this is where the growth is, and this is where the action is in the market.
So 2 years ago, we had one 3G smartphone SoC. That was the 21553. And you can see that’s the 7.2-megabit modem, single-core device. It could address screen sizes, say, from 3 to 3.5 inches. And this was the device that last year I talked about that powered the Samsung GALAXY Y, which was one of the most popular smartphones in India. Now, over the last year, we added 2 chips that we announced earlier this year, the 21654 and the 28145. We switched from 65-nanometer to 40-nanometer, and we went from single core to dual core. So — and you can see that it helped us address a bigger part of the market. We were able to move up to the 4- to 5-inch phone screen size.
Now today, with the announcement of the 21664 and extension of the 28145 to the 28155, we now have a full family of solutions on 3G. We can cover anything from 3 inch, all the way up to 7 to 10-inch, which would be a tablet. More interesting actually is the 5 to 7-inch category, because the phablet is growing at a 93% compounded average growth rate. And phablets turn out to be one of the biggest growth areas for phones in Asia, okay? So Broadcom has the ability now to address this entire market. And again, why is that important? Because once a customer invests in one of these chips and picks up the Broadcom software suite for one, it can quickly be applied to an entire family of products.
Now, again, 3G market is very competitive. We all know that 3G is probably the most competitive segment out there. The reason that we can win is because we have a family of devices here that offer different feature points, different cost points and allow us to make money at these various cost points, okay? So a full range of 3G for all of the segments is now complete.
Now, let me highlight one other point. So 82% of the volume is in this 5-inch and below, but I did mention the phablet being an important segment.
Now, let me highlight our multimedia capability. I just wanted to compare the 28155 on the right to the HTC One X on the left. So HTC One X is a phone you can buy today. HTC One X is the phone that has been touted to have a lot of multimedia capability, world-class imaging, world-class image signal processing. This is the post-processing that goes on, on the pictures to make the pictures look good. A console gaming capability, good browsing experience, a 720 HD screen, Miracast capability that I just described to you, this ability to beam videos from your phone to a TV as well as Wi-Fi Direct. All these are the multimedia capabilities touted by the HTC One X.
Now last year, I talked about the economics of the chips that we were announcing. For those of you who were here, I talked about how Broadcom’s ability to integrate with — change the economics of the smartphone business. And here’s a perfect example of how it changed it, okay? So HTC One X, tear it apart, what do you see inside? Three different chips. A thin modem chip, a quad-core application processor, discrete application processor, and a discrete ISP chip.
Tear apart one of our 28155 phones, what do you see inside? One chip, integrated modem, application processor, graphics and ISP. Okay. So I told you I would exemplify the power of the 28155, and I wanted to talk today about Samsung’s — Samsung is going to be announcing a series of phones based on Broadcom’s 28155 dual core HSPA+. I’m holding the first one in my hand. This is the GALAXY S II Plus, okay? And again if you look go back and look at the GALAXY S II, you’ll see a similar architecture, GALAXY S II Plus, based on 28155, is based on the Broadcom chip, the integrated chip. So those economics that I was talking to you about, they come to play right here with the Samsung GALAXY S II Plus. And in fact, there’s a series of phones that Samsung will be putting out based on the 28155 over the next couple of quarters.
So and then beyond that, what have we done in 2012? We’re working on customer diversity. And in order to achieve customer diversity in today’s 3G market, you need what’s called a turnkey device, a turnkey design. And you might ask what’s the difference between a turnkey and a reference design? Well, a turnkey is something that can quickly be put into production by a customer. So I’m holding up Broadcom’s 28155 turnkey design. And you can see it’s very thin, it’s very light, it’s the kind of phone that you’d want to carry with you. We have a design file that we can offer a customer. And it can reduce their investment from 6 to 9 months of time, down to 30 to 60 days. Where it used to take 200 to 300 engineers to put a design in production, now it’s something like 20 to 30 engineers because we’ve done the turnkey design. And this design is so complete, we have second-sourced the major components, the panel, the sensor, the memory, and we picked suppliers that are favorite suppliers for companies in China who are really building, taking advantage of these turnkeys. So what we’re doing is we’re enabling our handset companies to focus on what they do best, brand and distribution, and we focus on what we do best, which is engineering execution, okay? And we now have turnkeys for 21654, which is our single-core device, 40-nanometer single core; 21664, which is the part we just announced yesterday, which is our low-cost dual-core device, HSPA+ capable; and our 28155, which is what I’m holding up right now, which is our high-end dual core HSPA+ device. Okay.
So a lot of activity has been spawned by this — by these turnkeys and, again, this is a capability we’ve put in place in 2012. So it’s hard to measure the progress yet, but I tried to do that with this chart. And you can see, even in the short time that we’ve had the turnkey capability in place, the number of designs have gone up significantly, almost threefold. So significant number of designs that are currently going on, 15 from last year to 44. So you can see the power of the turnkey design because it enables companies — handset companies, to quickly adopt our platforms.
So talk some more about our expanding cellular SoC share. If you focus on that first row now, those are the phones that I’d like to highlight. Of course, I just mentioned the Samsung GALAXY S II, and I mentioned that there’ll be a series of phones based on Broadcom’s 28155 dual core HSPA+ coming from Samsung. The other phones you see here, GALAXY Chat, GALAXY Music, GALAXY Pocket Plus, are the beginning of a series of phones that are coming out on our single core HSPA+ device. And I’d also like to point to some of these interesting carrier-branded phones, okay? Kind of a blessing our 3G technology in the world’s biggest carriers: T-Mobile, with Concord, this is our first 3G phone in the U.S. market; Vodafone, with the Smart II and Orange. All phones based on Broadcom 3G SoCs, okay? And then all the phones in the bottom row, all in production still, all rolling along with our first 3G SoC, that’s the 21553 that I talked to you about last year. Samsung GALAXY Y is still selling like gangbusters along with a number of these Samsung smartphones in the developing countries, okay? So a lot of progress on 3G. And you can see a number of Chinese vendors on the chart, TCL, ZTE, G’FIVE, Sprocomm. Those are all customers and certainly, there’s other customers in China now working on our turnkey designs.
So exemplifying that growth we have in the 3G space, this chart shows that from Q3 2011, Q3 2012, we grew our 3G business 500%. Pretty big growth. More important to me though, is the market share that we command. You can see that Strategy Analytics has now recognized that Broadcom has 15% of the 3G/4G Android smartphone SoC ecosystem, okay? 15%. And we haven’t started shipping our 4G LTE solution yet, okay? So again, significant market share gains over the last 24 months in the most important ecosystem for us, which is Android, 15% market share.
… roughly 15 different customers that make up that 44. And if you talk about when products hit the market, I mean, I think, they’re starting — they’re going to start hitting the market in — over the next 3 months. …
… you’re asking, should I worry about the vertical integration at Samsung? And I think anything Samsung does on vertical integration only applies to one segment of their business. I mean, if you look at Samsung’s business, it’s very broad. Everything from entry-level smartphones, midrange 3G smartphones, 4G smartphones, they have a very broad portfolio. In order for them to make money in all these areas, they need chips that are optimized for each one of those segments. And I think I exemplified that with the 28155 for the GALAXY S II Plus. So I think the risk of vertical integration is kind of overblown because you just need to apply the best solution to the particular class of product you’re building. …
… we see Wi-Fi changing very rapidly and it will change even in the China market. So we don’t see the need to go integrate it. We believe the idea of having a connectivity island and a SoC island with app processor graphics and cellular modem, is the right partitioning for the next couple of years. …
My question is, I guess, is do you think your timing — it seems like now, you’ll really going to hit the market, 2014 is when you get any significant revenues. Is that — are you going to really miss out on the profit pools while you’re fighting it out at the — with MediaTek at the midrange and low-end, meanwhile your good buddies in Southern California capture all this profit and then use that to attack you elsewhere?
… if you look at the 3G space, it’s a lot more than just China. Right? I mean, I just showed you all the different phones from Samsung that are still coming out on 3G. So I do not believe that there’s not money to be made in 3G. Okay? Having said that, a big investment in 4G, absolutely recognize the importance. We’re moving very fast we have a big R&D investment in 4G. We think we’re going to get there in time to hit the sweet spot of the 4G market. And 4G will last for many years to come.
Can you talk a little bit about your position on the RF side of the equation? You’re building full turnkey solutions now, there’s a lot of complexity on the RF side of the handset and whether you have the applicable tool kit to do more integration on that side.
That’s an easy question because we have one of the world’s most capable RF teams in Broadcom. Broadcom pioneered CMOS RF, implementing RF in CMOS. And you can — as witnessed by our patent portfolio, which is second to none. We have a very capable team. The team has built RF chips for all of our devices. And I mentioned earlier that we sell more wireless chips with integrated RF than any company on the planet. So I’m very confident in the capabilities. They are doing the RF for all of our complete platforms that I showed you. So whether it’s 21553, 21654, 21664, 28155, those are complemented with Broadcom RF internal, 100% Broadcom IP. And again over the course of time, we can integrate all these IP into a single chip. That’s the reason these big OEMs, these big handset OEMs want to work with Broadcom because they know eventually all these connectivity pieces will integrate into a single connectivity island, and same thing with the baseband island.
As it relates to the wins that you had earlier this year with the single-core platform like let’s say for example going into Samsung, I think the rough dollar content is about $10 to $12. Because you’re not only supplying the baseband, you’re supplying the power management, RF, integrated connectivity. And I think you’ve told us before that as the team moves to the dual-core platform, very similar to the GALAXY S II plus announcement today, that it’s roughly about a $7 to $9 increase in dollar content. So first question is, is that still the case?
I think you’re asking is can our dual core — our 28155, for example, which is our high-end dual core, okay. As I mentioned, this is part that has integrated ISP. That’s the same ISP engine that Nokia used for their 41-megapixel camera that’s on board our 28155 device. We also have very high-end graphics on that device. The graphics on Broadcom 28155 rivals lot of the 4G SOCs that are out there. In fact, it surpasses a number of them, okay. So when you compare the price of that to the single core, absolutely the price delta would be in the range that you mentioned, okay, the ASP uplift.
And then the second question is, as a team rolls out the turnkey solution, my sense is that there is still a lot of customization that has to be done on the software and the firmware set for your customers.
… the idea behind the turnkey is not to have a lot of customization. The way that a company — a handset company could take advantage of our turnkey is to perhaps change the color, perhaps change the idea a little bit, but not change it. And that’s really what’s important. So there isn’t a lot of customization needed. We do all of the Android integration, all the tests. And we make sure all of the Android certification tests pass when we deliver that turnkey design. So if somebody wanted to put their own skin on top of it, we could do that, but would really prefer when it comes to the turnkey that they don’t touch anything, that they use this as their experience phone, if you will.
12 months from now, most of the growth of the smartphone market is coming from emerging markets, much lower-end mix, can you help me understand how that impacts the content, the pricing, the competitive landscape, the profitability? Is that China market really going to be it’s a Broadcom turnkey solution or it’s a MediaTek turnkey solution and whoever has that turnkey solution wins it all?
… first of all, every handset company, any smartphone handset company is — are spinning their 3G offerings today. So in order to — for them to take advantage of the growth in 3G, they’re all having to reduce their costs. They are all having to move to more integrated solutions. So I don’t see it as just a China play, okay. So I see it’s a worldwide event. And that certainly in China, I think the turnkey does help significantly because if you look at Tier 2s and Tier 3s in China, they don’t have as much engineering resource. So I do think it’s a big swing, an advantage to have a full turnkey and be able to supply this multi-sourcing capability to those Chinese customers. But again, the 3G turnover is going to happen across the world, not just in China.
SUPPLEMENTAL CONTENT:
Source: Broadcom 2012 Analyst Day Supplemental Content, Dec 6, 2012
BCM28145/28155
Dual Core 720p/1080p HSPA+ Baseband Processors [Broadcom product page, Feb 24, 2012]
The BCM28145/BCM28155 HSPA+ baseband processors are highly integrated high-performance dual-core CPUs implemented in a cost effective 40 nm LP process that squarely targets today’s power-conscious mobile platforms. These devices, combined with their complete reference platform, provide system designers with everything needed to bring next-generation mobile devices to market while also providing an extremely flexible platform for application, video, and multimedia developers.
BCM28145/BCM28155 devices integrate high performance dual-core ARM® Cortex-A9 processors, each with a NEON floating-point SIMD processing engine. A powerful 2D/3D graphics engine, the latest audio codecs, and advanced video and image processing capabilities are all delivered by the integrated Broadcom VideoCore-IV® technology.
Features
Advanced 2G/3G modem with support for 21/5.8 Mbps HSPA+ and Class 33 EDGE
Advanced applications processing subsystem
– Dual ARM cortex-A9 processors with NEON extensions, up to 1.2 GHz per core
– VideoCore-IV multimedia and imaging processor
– Support for 20-Mpixel imaging, 720p (28145) /1080p (28155) video capture and playback, and accelerated 2D/3D graphics
– Full integration of audio subsystemHigh performance memory and peripheral interfaces
– 400 MHz LPDDR2 memory interface (single-28145, dual-28155)
– High-speed e.MMC/SD/SDIO and NAND interfaces
– CPI and MIPI® CSI-2 and MIPI DPI-2, DBI-B and DBI-C DSI serial camera and display interfaces
Source: Broadcom 2012 Analyst Day Supplemental Content, Dec 6, 2012
See also:
– Broadcom Introduces New Platforms Optimized for Android ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ Smartphones [Broadcom press release, Feb 27, 2012]
Single and Dual Core Processors with VideoCore® Technology Provide Premium Android Experience
…
Broadcom’s new family of 3G platforms will enable handset OEMs to affordably deliver a premium Android 4.0 user experience across multiple smartphone product tiers. The Broadcom® BCM21654G features a 1 GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor, an integrated 7.2/5.8 Mbps HSPA modem and low-power VGA video support. The BCM28145 and BCM28155 include dual ARM Cortex A9 cores up to 1.3 GHz, 21/5.8 Mbps HSPA+ modems and HD 720p and 1080p, video respectively. All three chips were developed in an advanced, low power 40 nanometer process technology and are complemented by radio frequency (RF), power management unit (PMU) and an advanced connectivity suite for a complete system solution.
All three platforms are sampling to customers and expected to be in production in the second half of 2012.
Optimized for Superior Android 4.0 ICS Smartphones:
Broadcom’s industry-leading VideoCore technology offers a ‘third processing core’ to offload the application processor, enriching the Ice Cream Sandwich user experience with the industry’s lowest power HD playback and camcorder capabilities up to 1080p.
Low latency memory and bus architecture boosts overall system performance for a highly responsive user interface.
Highest quality imaging is provided by Broadcom’s latest Image Signal Processor (ISP) that supports cameras up to 42 megapixels, with very low light capabilities and wide dynamic range for the sharpest images.
From Broadcom Corp. – Analyst/Investor Day, December 14, 2011
Robert Americo Rango, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom’s Mobile and Wireless Group:
… Broadcom has been investing for many years, actually, since 2004 when we did an acquisition, in graphics. In fact, we call it VideoCore, and that, it’s maybe a misnomer, it should be called MediaCore because this dedicated IP block does graphics, it does image signal processing. When your image comes off the camera, you need to post-process it, that’s called image signal processing, okay? And it does video. So you can’t do those functions well with standard application processors. You need to do that with dedicated hardware, dedicated customized hardware, and that’s called VideoCore.
Source: Broadcom 2011 Analyst Day, Dec 14, 2011
Now let’s see how we do versus the industry’s competition. One of the most recognized benchmarks that’s out there is called Taiji. It’s the OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark most people will recognize as benchmark, as a very important benchmark. And what you see here is Broadcom versus Qualcomm versus TI. In fact, this TI chip, I think, is running the latest version of some of Ice Cream Sandwich phones that are out there. And you can see that Broadcom’s VideoCore is able to render over 50 frames a second while some of the competition can barely get to 30. And in fact, just another data point comparing Broadcom VideoCore 4, all this — again, this is a fair comparison because it’s comparing what’s in production to what’s in production. Our VideoCore 4 is in production in many different Nokia phones, smartphones. And Nokia’s multimedia experience is widely considered to be one of the best. Now comparing VideoCore 4, which again is in production, to one of Imagination’s latest IP cores, we’re 1/2 the power and 2x the performance.
So some of our competitors don’t have this IP. They go often license it from a company like Imagination. It sounds good on paper until you have a problem. And a customer calls you up and says, “Hey, this game, this Modern Warfare 3 won’t run,” and that company has to go call Imagination. Okay, Broadcom doesn’t have to do that. We’re a one-stop shop. All this IP that I’m talking about is owned and within Broadcom so I can walk down the hall, knock on the engineer’s door and say, “What were you thinking when you designed this?” and I usually get an answer very quickly. And I think that’s the respect we have with our customers, okay? We have the IP in-house. Okay, so the industry’s best graphics performance and power consumption. …
Broadcom Announces 1080p Multimedia Processor with Breakthrough Mobile Power-Performance [Broadcom press release, Dec 15, 2009]
New Broadcom® BCM2763 VideoCore® IV Processor Features 1080p Video, 20 Megapixel Photos and 1 Gigapixel Graphics in an Ultra-Low Power 40 Nanometer Design
Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced its next generation multimedia processor that delivers industry leading performance and lower power in the top multimedia categories for mobile devices. Using 40 nanometer (40nm) CMOS process technology, the new Broadcom® BCM2763 VideoCore® IV multimedia processor provides even higher integration, smaller footprint size and lower power consumption than 65nm designs.
With the higher integration and significant power savings from 40nm CMOS process technology, the BCM2763multimedia processor features the most advanced mobile high definition (HD) camcorder and video playback, up to 20 megapixel digital camera and photo image processing, and 1 gigapixel 2D/3D graphics rendering for a world-class gaming experience. HD video, 3D games and high resolution 20 megapixel pictures can be displayed at top quality on full-sized HD televisions and monitors using an on-chip industry standard HDMI interface. Additionally, the BCM2763‘s highly integrated architecture reduces bill-of-materials (BOM) cost to help drive sophisticated multimedia features into more affordable handsets.
Highlights/Key Facts:
The breadth and quality of Internet multimedia content is rapidlyimproving, with sites such as YouTube now supporting full HD 1080p video sharing. Consumers are also increasingly using cell phones as their primary digital camera and camcorder, which is driving demand for higher resolution and more sophisticated image processing which is currently only available on advanced standalone camcorders and cameras. Additionally, newer graphics-oriented user interfaces and mobile games now require enhanced graphics capabilities.
The new Broadcom BCM2763 VideoCore IV multimedia processor enables best-in-class performance in the following areas:
Full HD 1080p camcorder capabilities in a cell phone with significantly improved quality over current generation handsets (which generally have VGA or lower resolution camcorders).
Up to 20 megapixel digital camera with advanced features such as multiple shots per second, image stabilization, face and smile detection and panorama mode.
The ability to render mobile games natively at up to 1080p resolution, which in combination with an on-board HDMI output, allows a console-quality gaming experience on large screen HDTVs.
In addition to providing these capabilities on new handsets, the BCM2763 has improved power savings using a 40nm process without draining the battery or significantly reducing talk time. Additional ultra-low power consumption features include:
20% to 50% power reduction in comparison to the prior generation Videocore III multimedia processor.
4 to 6 hours of 1080p video recording and 8 to 10 hours of mobile playback, with up to 16 hours of full HD playback over HDMI given sufficient handset storage.
Only 490 mW of chip power is required for 1080p camcorder H.264 High Profile encoding and only 160 mW for 1080p playback.
Only 160 mW of power is required for mobile game graphics processing, supporting up to 1 gigapixel per second fill rates and improves graphics performance by a factor of 4x to 6x in comparison to the prior generation Videocore III multimedia processor.
The BCM2763 processor integrates the key functionality and components needed to drive advanced multimedia capabilities in new handsets. As a result of this high integration, the BCM2763 enables a lower overall BOM cost, enabling manufacturers to pass these lower costs on and introduce advanced features to lower tier phones than previously possible.
The BCM2763 integrates the functions of eight chips including GPU and graphics memory, image signal processing (ISP) and ISP memory, video processing and video memory, HDMI and USB 2.0. 128MB of LPDDR2 graphics memory is stacked in a single package.
The 40nm process enables reduced power, improved performance and reduced handset board space.
Benefiting from an existing VideoCore software code base and legacy architecture, manufacturers of phones and other consumer electronics devices can easily add these new VideoCore IV multimedia features to their products, allowing faster time-to-market.
The BCM2763 is currently sampling to early access customers (pricing available upon request). Handsets utilizing this new 40nm VideoCore IV multimedia processor technology are expected to reach the market in 2011.
Supporting Quotes:
Mark Casey, Vice President & General Manager, Broadcom’s Mobile Multimedia line of business.
“VideoCore IV is setting new benchmarks for performance, power consumption and affordability and is poised to drive advanced multimedia capabilities into new tiers of handsets. Supported by our comprehensive line of complementary cellular and connectivity solutions, our multimedia processor technology is the right choice for next generation mobile designs.”
Subscribe to RSS Feed: Broadcom Mobile Platforms Group
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry’s broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.
Broadcom is one of the world’s largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2008 revenue of $4.66 billion, and holds over 3,650 U.S. and over 1,450 foreign patents, more than 7,750 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.
A FORTUNE 500® company, Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.
Linux client market share gains outside the Android? Instead of gains will it shrink to 5% in the next 3 years?
The Linux Foudation quite proundly referred to ReadWriteMobile: The ‘Year of the Linux Desktop’? That’s So 2012 [Feb 3, 2013]
For those Linux enthusiasts still pining for the mythical “Year of the Linux Desktop,” the wait is over. In fact, it already happened. In 2012 Microsoft’s share of computing devices fell to 20% from a high of 97% as recently as 2000, as a Goldman Sachs report reveals [”Clash of the titans” downloadable from here, dated Dec 7, 2012]. While Apple has taken a big chunk of Microsoft’s Windows lead, it’s actually Google that plays Robin Hood in the operating system market, now claiming 42% of all computing devices with its free “Linux desktop” OS, Android.
Read more at ReadWriteMobile.
from which I will include here the following chart:
for which Goldman Sachs commented as:
The compute landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation over the last decade with consumers responsible for the massive market realignment. While PCs were the primary internet connected device in 2000 (139mn shipped that year), today they represent just 29% of all internet connected devices (1.2bn devices to ship in 2012), while smartphones and tablets comprise 66% of the total. Further, although Microsoft was the leading OS provider for compute devices in 2000 at 97% share, today the consumer compute market (1.07bn devices) is led by Android at 42% share, followed by Apple at 24%, Microsoft at 20% and other vendors at 14%.
Note from Goldman Sachs: Microsoft has gone from 97 percent share of compute market to 20 percent [The Seattke Times Dec 7, 2012]:
I asked Goldman Sachs about what happened in the 2004-2005 time frame — as seen in the above chart — that made Apple’s vendor share jump, Microsoft’s share plummet and the “other” category to go from zero to 29 percent. Goldman Sachs replied that it has to do with more mainstream adoption of non-PC consumer computing devices but declined to elaborate beyond that.
Microsoft was put into the “Challenged” category (along with Google BTW) by Golmann Sachs noting that:
… we estimate that Microsoft would have to sell roughly 5 Windows Phones or roughly two Windows 8 RT tablets to offset the loss of one traditional Windows PC sale, which we estimate has an overall blended selling price of $60 for business and consumer.
but a kind of more positive than negative outlook was predicted for the company by
… we expect the recent launches of Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 tablets to help the company reclaim some share in coming years.
Apple, at the same time, was into the “Beneficiaries” category (along with Facebook and Samsung BTW) by Goldmann Sachs for the reason of:
… we believe loyalty to the company’s ecosystem is only increasing and this should translate into continued growth going forward. In particular, we see the potential for Apple to capture additional growth as existing iOS users move to multiple device ownership and as the company penetrates emerging regions with new devices such as the iPad miniAAPL and lower priced iPhones. As a result, we believe Apple’s market share in phones has room to rise much further, and that its dominant tablet market share appears to be more resilient than most expect. We expect these factors to continue to drive the stock higher.
This is, however, not going to happen if taking a judgement from the stock market reflections since then with 13.7% drop in Apple’ share price vs. that of Dec 7 (the report publishing date) and a whopping 34.5% drop vs. its last peak on Sept 19, 2012 (at $702.1):
source: Yahoo! Finance
Why Did $AAPL Stock Go Down After Beating Earnings Estimates And $AMZN Stock Go Up After Missing? [Techcrunch, Jan 29, 2013] had the following explanation:
The moves in different directions for Amazon and Apple have been about expectations and guidance. Wall Street has higher expectations for Apple and ‘different’ expectations for Amazon. Wall Street wants Apple’s ‘gross margins’ to grow. They don’t expect Amazon’s ‘profits’ to grow. It sounds silly, but if Apple has reported lower profits and a huge gross margin increase the stock might have shot up. If Amazon had reported record profits today on decreasing margins, Wall Street might have panicked.
…
Wall Street has stopped caring about Apple’s profits today. They were displeased with forward guidance. Growth rates have slowed measurably at Apple which is understandable for a company of its’ size. Wall Street is worried that growth is slowing and competition from Google and Samsung are taking a toll. Apple has given Wall Street so many wonderful surprises so magic has become the norm. Now that Apple is boring, they have run for the hills.
That moode didn’t change even after Apple CEO Tim Cook was trying to assure investors at the Goldman Sachs Internet and Technology Conference on Feb 12, just a week ago. Read the Wrap up: Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Goldman Sachs Conference keynote [AppleInsider, Feb 13, 2013] from which I will quote only the following excerpts as the most notable ones:
Cook went on to say that introducing a “budget device” was not something Apple would be comfortable with, and instead pointed to the strategy seen with the iPhone lineup. In that model, new variants like the iPhone 5 are sold at the highest price while preceding versions like the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 are sold at discounted rates.
…
According to Cook, the iPad is “the poster child of the post-PC revolution” and has driving the push to tablets since its introduction in 2010.
While Apple’s tablet has been the downfall for a number of PC alternatives, such as netbooks, the device is also said to be hurting the company’s own Mac computer sales. During the last quarter of 2012, Mac sales dropped 22 percent year-to-year on low demand and supply constraints. Apple’s iPad business, however, grew by nearly 50 percent over the same period.
“The cannibalization question raises its head a lot,” Cook said. “The truth is: we don’t really think about it that much. Our basic belief is: if we don’t cannibalize, someone else will. In the case of iPad particularly, I would argue that the Windows PC market is huge and there’s a lot more there to cannibalize than there is of Mac, or of iPad.”
Cook noted that burgeoning markets like China and Brazil will be major players in future growth, and the company is banking on its ability to draw customers in to the Apple ecosystem with “halo products.”
“Through the years, we’ve found a very clear correlation between people getting in and buying their first Apple product and some percentage of them buying other Apple products.”
At the same conference Microsoft, similarly to Apple, declared a ‘no change’ strategy despite of the obvious failure of its Windows 8 and Windows Phone efforts so far. In the No “Plan B” for Microsoft’s mobile ambitions: CFO [Reuters, Feb 13, 2013] report one can read:
“We’re very focused on continuing the success we have with PCs and taking that to tablets and phones,” Microsoft’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said
…
“It’s less ‘Plan B’ than how you execute on the current plan,” said Klein. “We aim to evolve this generation of Windows to make sure we have the right set of experiences at the right price points for all customers.”
…
Gartner estimates that Microsoft sold fewer than 900,000 Surface tablets in the fourth quarter, which is a fraction of the 23 million iPads sold by Apple. Microsoft has not released its own figures but has not disputed Gartner’s.
Windows phones now account for 3 percent of the global smartphone market, Gartner says, which is almost double their share a year ago but way behind Google’s Android with 70 percent and Apple with 21 percent.
To grab more share, Klein said Microsoft was working with hardware makers to make sure Windows software is available on devices ranging from phones to tablets to larger all-in-one PCs.
“It’s probably more nuanced than just you lower prices or raise prices,” said Klein. “It’s less a Plan B and more, how do you tweak your plan, how do you bring these things to market to make sure you have the right offerings at the right price points?”
So the last 3 months went against Goldmann Sachs’ November 2012 predictions. The only question now remains whether those 3 months brought any changes in the non-Apple and non-Microsoft territories which would question other parts of the Goldmann Sachs’ forecast as well?
There were no negative changes just strengthening of the already established dominant position against both Apple and Microsoft:
1. Mainstream tablets 7-inch at US$199, say Taiwan makes [DIGITIMES, Feb 19, 2013]
Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD have reshuffled the global tablet market and consequently 7-inch with a price cap of US$199 has become the mainstream standard for tablets, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.
Cumulative sales of the Nexus 7 have reached six million and are expected to reach eight million units before the expected launch of the second-generation model in June 2013, the sources said. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire have driven vendors to develop inexpensive 7-inch tablet models instead of 10-inch ones, the sources indicated.
In order to be as reach US$199, 7-inch tablets are equipped with basic required functions such as access to the Internet and watching video, the sources noted. While Google, Amazon, Samsung Electronics and Asustek Computer are competitive at US$199 for 7-inch tablets, white-box or other vendors need to launch 7-inch models at lower prices such as US$149, the sources said. Fox example, China-based graphics card vendor Galaxy Microsystems has cooperated with Nvidia to launch a 7-inch tablet in the China market at CNY999 (US$160).
2. Digitimes Research: 68.6% of touch panels shipped in 4Q12 from the Greater China area [DIGITIMES, Feb 19, 2013] meaning that in supply chain terms there is a growing concentration on suppliers not only from Greater China but especially from mainland China:
Taiwan- and China-based touch panel makers held a 68.6% global market share for touch panels shipped during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to Digitimes Research.
China-based panel makers saw the biggest share in the handset touch panel market during the fourth quarter due to smartphone demand in China, while Taiwan-based panel makers only held a 27.5% share in the market largely due to lower-than-expected sales of the iPhone 5, said Digitimes Research.
In terms of touch panels used in tablets, Taiwan-based panel makers saw a drop in their global market share to 59.9% during the period largely due to the iPad mini using DITO thin-film type touch screens provided from Japan-based touch panel makers. China-based panel makers meanwhile held 18.6% in the market due to demand for white-box tablets in China, added Digitimes Research.
Meanwhile, Digitimes Research found that Taiwan-based TPK provided 70.9% of all touch panels used in notebook applications in 2012.
3. Touch Panel Market Projected for a 34% Growth in 2013 from 2012 [Displaybank, sent in a newsletter form, Feb 19, 2013] published to promote Touch Panel Market Forecast and Cost/Issue/Industry Analysis for 2013 [Jan 30, 2013]
The touch panel market is growing rapidly due to the increasing sale of smartphones and tablet PCs. The touch panel market size in 2012 was 1.3 billion units, a 39.4% growth over 2011. The market is projected to grow 34% in 2013, growing to more than 1.8 billion units.
Touch Panel Market Forecast (Unit: Million)
(Source: Displaybank, “Touch Panel Market Forecast and Cost/Issue/Industry Analysis for 2013”)
Smartphone and tablet PCs, major applications that use touch panels, are expected to continue to grow at a high rate. In addition, most IT devices that use display panels have either switched to or will start using the touch panels soon. Therefore the touch panel market will show a double digit growth annually until 2016, by unit. The market size is expected to reach more than 2.75 billion units by 2016.
With the explosion in the sale of smartphones and tablet PCs during the past few years, our lives have changed dramatically. They are now common place in our lives, and have a huge influence in the IT industry in general. With the introduction of Windows 8 OS in October 2012, upsizing of touch panels has begun. The impact of this event on the immediate growth of the touch panel market and the long-term effect is so immense that it cannot be estimated at the moment.
The financial crisis that started in 2008 left much of the IT industry hobbling worldwide. But only the touch panel market is enjoying a boom. Many new players are pouring into the industry, and those on the sidelines are waiting for the opportune moment to enter. As more players enter the competitive landscape, touch panel prices are falling rapidly. In addition, to gain competitiveness and to differentiate itself in the market has led players to develop and improve structure, technique and process, and seek out new materials.
The introduction of Windows 8 is leading the increase in touch capable Notebook and AIO PCs. It is still too early for the touch interface to completely displace keyboard and mouse, but the touch functionality does add convenience to some operations. We are sure to see an increase in specialized apps that capitalize on such functions. Therefore, touch functions will complement traditional input methods. As the technology is still in early implementation stages, it is used only in select high-end Ultrabooks. But it’s only a matter of time before touch functions make its way to mid-end products.
Forecasting the future of touch panel industry is not only difficult, but also outright confusing in the current landscape due to the rapid expansion; the increase in number of devices that use touch panels; more players in the market; and rapid development of new products and new processes. In serving clients, Displaybank has released “Touch Panel Market Forecast and Cost/Issue/Industry Analysis for 2013” to provide industry outlook by application, product, and capacitive touch structure. The report also includes the supply chain of set makers and touch panel manufacturers; and cost analysis of major capacitive touch panels by size and type. This report will serve as a guide to bring clarity and understanding of rapidly transforming touch panel industry.
4. Cheaper components could allow 7-inch tablets priced below US$150, says TrendForce [DIGITIMES, Dec 14, 2012]
Viewing that Google and Amazon have launched 7-inch tablets at US$199, other vendors can offer 7-inch tablets at below US$150 only by adopting cheaper components, according to Taiwan-based TrendForce.
As panels and touch modules together account for 35-40% of the total material costs of a 7-inch tablet, replacing the commonly used 7-inch FFS panels with 7-inch TN LCD panels accompanied by additional wide-view angle compensation could save over 50% in panel costs, TrendForce indicated. In addition, replacing a G/G (glass/glass) or OGS (one glass solution) touch module with a G/F/F (glass/film/film) one, although inferior in terms of transmittance and touch sensitivity, can cut costs by about 70%. Thus, the adoption of a TN LCD panel and a G/F/F touch module for a 7-inch tablet could reduce material costs by about US$25, TrendForce said.
Given that the type of DRAM affects standby time only as far as user experience is concerned, costs can be reduced through replacing 1GB mobile DRAM priced at about US$10 with 1GB commodity DRAM priced at about US$3.50, TrendForce noted. As for NAND flash, 8GB and 4GB eMMC cost US$6 and US$4, respectively, and therefore the latter should be the preferred choice to save costs.
For CPUs, China-based IC design houses, including Allwinner Technology, Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics, Ingenic Semiconductor, Amlogic and Nufront Software Technology (Beijing), provide 40-55nm-based processors at about US$12 per chip which could be alternatives to chips used in high-end tablets which cost about US$24, TrendForce indicated.
While the sales performance of tablets below US$150 is yet to be seen, such cheap models are expected to put pressure upon China-based white-box vendors, and in turn intensify price competition in the tablet market in 2013, TrendForce commented.
5. Strong demand from non-iPad tablet sector to boost short-term performance of IC vendors [DIGITIMES, Jan 28, 2013]
Demand for IC parts from the tablet industry in China has been stronger than expected in the first quarter of 2013, which could help boost the short-term performance of IC design houses, while offsetting the impact of slow demand from China’s smartphone sector caused by high inventory levels, according to industry sources.
Entry-level tablets meet market demand in terms of pricing and functionality, particularly in China, said the sources, adding that demand for entry-level tablets in China and other emerging markets could top 4-5 million a month in 2013 compared to 2-3 million in the second half of 2012.
MediaTek, while seeing demand for its handset solutions from China decrease in the first quarter of 2013, has also enjoyed emerging IC demand from the tablet sector, with plans to release chipset solutions for the segment in the second quarter of the year, the source revealed.
Since the growth momentum for tablets in 2013 is expected to come from non-iPad vendors in China and other emerging markets, Taiwan-based suppliers of LCD driver, analog and touch-controller ICs as well as those of Wi-Fi, audio and Bluetooth chips will benefit from the trend thanks to cost advantages and strong business ties in these markets, the sources commented.
6. Allwinner A31 SoC is here with products and the A20 SoC, its A10 pin-compatible dual-core is coming in February 2013 [Dec 10, 2012] and The upcoming Chinese tablet and device invasion lead by the Allwinner SoCs [Dec 4, 2012], both from my own separated trend tracking site devoted to the ‘Allwinner phenomenon’ coming from mainland China and having the potential of drastically altering the 2013 device market (not taken into account at all by Goldmann Sachs report):
that already resulted in huge growth of the mainland China Android tablet manufacturing in 2012, as well shown by this chart:
which has already fundamentally affected the worldwide tablet market in 2012:
7. What Allwinner started in 2012 with the single core A10/A13 SoCs and which was further boosted by the quad-core Cortex-A7 A31 SoC on Dec 5, 2012 with the release of Onda V972 and V812 tablets (for US$ 208 and US$144 respectively) is an incredible strategic inflection point for the whole ICT industry, which ALL SoC vendors should compete with. Rockchip shown as the #2 on the mainland China market just followed the suite:
8. Now the most ambitious external challenger Marvell Announces Industry’s Most Advanced Single-chip Quad-core World Phone Processor to Power High-performance, Smartphones and Tablets with Worldwide Automatic Roaming on 3G Networks [press release, Feb 19, 2013] which is going to add to the competition the integrated on the SoC 3.5G modems:
Marvell’s PXA1088 is the industry’s most advanced single-chip solution to feature a quad-core processor with support for 3G field-proven cellular modems including High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+), Time division High Speed Packet Access Plus (TD-HSPA+) and Enhanced Data for GSM Environment (EDGE).
The Marvell PXA1088 solution incorporates the performance of a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 with Marvell’s mature and proven WCDMA and TD-SCDMA modem technology to provide a low-cost [elsewhere stated by Marvell that this SoC is for the phones space in the “$100 range”] 3G platform for both smartphones and tablets. The advanced application processor technology of the PXA1088 enables a breakthrough end user experience for multimedia and gaming applications with universal connectivity. Marvell’s complete mobile platform solution includes the Avastar® 88W8777 WLAN + Bluetooth 4.0 + FM single-chip SoC and the L2000 GNSS Hybrid Location Processor, and an integrated power management and audio codec IC.
Marvell’s PXA1088 is backward pin-to-pin compatible with its dual-core single-chip Unified 3G Platform, the PXA988/PXA986, enabling device partners to upgrade their next-generation mobile devices to quad-core without additional design cost.
…
Currently, the PXA1088 platform is sampling with leading global customers. Products based on this platform are expected to be commercially available in 2013 [elsewhere stated by Marvell that “We’ll start seeing PXA1088-based phones in the first half of this year”].
9. Yesterday we had two significant advancements described in the Ubuntu and HTC in lockstep [Feb 19, 2013] post here. Especially the Ubuntu related part is remarkable as first time we had a new platform which can span the whole spectrum of devices: from smartphones, to tablets, to desktops, to TVs – actually all from a smartphone capability expanded via docking and other means to a screen, to a TV, a keyboard, and a mouse. This is certainly an extreme case of the new Ubuntu capability which can have implementation in different devices as well. Even in that case, however, the source and binary codes could be the same. This is also cleverly using the already well established Android drivers and Android Board Support Package (BSP) infrastructure of the most cost-efficient ARM SoC vendors. Note that this is furthest from any “license violation” attacks as the original OHA terms and conditions are stating the Apache V2 licencing which:
The Apache license allows manufacturers and mobile operators to innovate using the platform without the requirement to contribute those innovations back to the open source community. Because these innovations and differentiated features can be kept proprietary … Because the Apache license does not have a copyleft clause, industry players can add proprietary functionality to their products based on Android without needing to contribute anything back to the platform. As the entire platform is open, companies can remove functionality if they choose.
10. Finally today came Google Glass: showing how radically the user experience might be changing in the next 2-3 years:
More information: Google Glass – Home [Feb 20, 2013] where it is also possible to grasp its wonderful, non-intrusive seign like this:
Conclusion: There are even more uncalculated by Goldmann and Sachs advancements in the non-Apple and non-Microsoft spaces than in Apple and Microsoft ones. Just in these 3 months! Therefore it would be ridiculous if Goldmann and Sachs’ “consumer compute platform share” forecast as shown in the chart above will be fullfilled!
Ubuntu and HTC in lockstep
Update at 18:05 PM CET: Both Ubuntu’s and HTC’s countdowns have ended, and there was no relationship between the two. Ubuntu, however, managed a clever publicity this way. What Ubuntu is promising now – touch enhanced experience from a single binary through tablets to desktop and TV. It would be even possible to use your Ubuntu smartphone and dock it to a larger touchscreen and Ubuntu presents a tablet interface, add to the tablet a keyboard and mouse and your tablet becomes a desktop PC on which even Microsoft Windows application can be run via one of the thin client solutions, even the presentation may go to your TV screen.
This is what I observed today at 12:05 AM CET on ubuntu.com and htc.com:
What is going on? Here is the explanation from HTC HOSTING SPECIAL EVENT IN NYC & LONDON ON FEB 19, HINTS AT NEW M7FLAGSHIP [UnleashThePhones.com, Jan 30, 2013] with the invitation:
Meanwhile on HTC’s social site yesterday appeared a table with a number of devices covered by cloth, and one of them has a tablet like shape:
(via Instagram). Interesting coincidence with the Ubuntu home page declaring:
Tick, tock, tablet time!
as seen on my lockstep screenshot above.
What is this Ubuntu thing anyway?
Ubuntu comes to the phone, with a beautifully distilled interface and a unique full PC capability when docked [Canonical press release, Jan 2, 2013]
- Leading open PC platform with huge global following announces mobile version for network operators, OEMs and silicon vendors
- Fast, beautiful interface for entry level smartphones
- Unique PC experience on superphones when docked with a monitor, keyboard and mouse
- Ubuntu raises the bar for mobile UI design, for richer and more immersive apps
- A single OS for phone, PC and TV
Canonical today announced a distinctive smartphone interface for its popular operating system, Ubuntu, using all four edges of the screen for a more immersive experience. Ubuntu uniquely gives handset OEMs and mobile operators the ability to converge phone, PC and thin client into a single enterprise superphone.
“We expect Ubuntu to be popular in the enterprise market, enabling customers to provision a single secure device for all PC, thin client and phone functions. Ubuntu is already the most widely used Linux enterprise desktop, with customers in a wide range of sectors focused on security, cost and manageability” said Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical. “We also see an opportunity in basic smartphones that are used for the phone, SMS, web and email, where Ubuntu outperforms thanks to its native core apps and stylish presentation.”
Ubuntu is aimed at two core mobile segments: the high-end superphone, and the entry-level basic smartphone, helping operators grow the use of data amongst consumers who typically use only the phone and messaging but who might embrace the use of web and email on their phone. Ubuntu also appeals to aspirational prosumers who want a fresh experience with faster, richer performance on a lower bill-of-materials device.
The handset interface for Ubuntu introduces distinctive new user experiences to the mobile market, including:
- Edge magic: thumb gestures from all four edges of the screen enable users to find content and switch between apps faster than other phones.
- Deep content immersion – controls appear only when the user wants them.
- A beautiful global search for apps, content and products.
- Voice and text commands in any application for faster access to rich capabilities.
- Both native and web or HTML5 apps.
- Evolving personalised art on the welcome screen.
Ubuntu offers compelling customisation options for partner apps, content and services. Operators and OEMs can easily add their own branded offerings. Canonical’s personal cloud service, Ubuntu One, provides storage and media services, file sharing and a secure transaction service which enables partners to integrate their own service offerings easily.
Canonical makes it easy to build phones with Ubuntu. The company provides engineering services to offload the complexity of maintaining multiple code bases which has proven to be a common issue for smartphone manufacturers, freeing the manufacturer to focus on hardware design and integration. For silicon vendors, Ubuntu is compatible with a typical Android Board Support Package (BSP). This means Ubuntu is ready to run on the most cost-efficient chipset designs.
In bringing Ubuntu to the phone, Canonical is uniquely placed with a single operating system for client, server and cloud, and a unified family of interfaces for the phone, the PC and the TV. “We are defining a new era of convergence in technology, with one unified operating system that underpins cloud computing, data centers, PCs and consumer electronics” says Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and VP Products at Canonical.
Canonical currently serves the leading PC OEMs: ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo all certify the majority of their PCs on Ubuntu and pre-install it in global markets. Over 20 million desktop PCs run the OS today, and Canonical estimates that close to 10% of the world’s new desktops and laptops will ship with Ubuntu in 2014. Ubuntu is also wildly popular as a server platform, the number one server OS on the key major public clouds and the leading host OS for OpenStack, the open source IAAS.
With that Canonical had achieved something even much more: Ubuntu for phones – Industry proposition [celebrateubuntu YouTube channel, Jan 2, 2013]
So this is the Ubuntu thing, most probably today to be expanded into the tablets as well.
Will add that information as released in a couple of hours or so!
Ubuntu unveils tablet experience with multi-tasking [Canonical press release, Feb 19, 2013]
- Unique ‘side stage’ multi-tasking puts phone and tablet apps on a single tablet screen
- Secure enterprise tablets with full disk encryption, multiple secure user accounts and standard management tool that covers Ubuntu server, PC and touch
- Unique convergence across all four form factors: a phone can provide tablet, TV and PC interfaces when docked to the appropriate screen / keyboard / remote
Canonical today presented Ubuntu’s tablet interface – the next step towards one unified family of experiences for personal computing on phones, tablets, PCs and TVs.
“Multi-tasking productivity meets elegance and rigorous security in our tablet experience,” said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and Canonical. “Our family of interfaces now scales across all screens, so your phone can provide tablet, PC and TV experiences when you dock it. That’s unique to Ubuntu and it’s the future of personal computing.”
“Fashion industry friends say the Ubuntu phone and tablet are the most beautiful interfaces they’ve seen for touch,” said Ivo Weevers, who leads the Canonical design team. “We’re inspired by the twin goals of style and usability, and working with developers who are motivated to create the best possible experience for friends, family and industry.”
The new tablet design doesn’t just raise the bar for elegant presentation, it breaks new ground in design and engineering, featuring:
- Real multitasking: Uniquely, Ubuntu allows a phone app on the screen at the same time as a tablet app. The Ubuntu side stage was invented both to enable efficient multitasking and to improve the usability of phone apps on tablets.
- Secure multi-user: Multiple accounts on one tablet with full encryption for personal data, combined with the trusted Ubuntu security model that is widely used in banks, governments and sensitive environments, making it ideal for work and family use.
- Voice controlled HUD productivity: The Heads-Up Display, unique to Ubuntu, makes it fast and easy to do complex things on touch devices, and transforms touch interfaces for rich applications, bringing all the power of the PC to your tablet.
- Edge magic for cleaner apps: Screen edges are used for navigation between apps, settings and controls. That makes for less clutter, more content, and sleeker hardware. No physical or soft buttons are required. It’s pure touch elegance.
- Content focus: Media is neatly presented on the customisable home screen, which can search hundreds of sources. Perfect for carriers and content owners that want to highlight their own content, while still providing access to a global catalogue.
- Full convergence: The tablet interface is presented by exactly the same OS and code that provides the phone, PC and TV interfaces, enabling true device convergence. Ubuntu is uniquely designed to scale smoothly across all form factors.
The Ubuntu tablet interface supports screen sizes from 6″ to 20″ and resolutions from 100 to 450 PPI. “The tablet fits perfectly between phone and PC in the Ubuntu family,” says Oren Horev, lead designer for the Ubuntu tablet experience. “Not only do we integrate phone apps in a distinctive way, we shift from tablet to PC very smoothly in convergence devices.”
On high end silicon, Ubuntu offers a full PC experience when the tablet is docked to a keyboard, with access to remote Windows applications over standard protocols from Microsoft, Citrix, VMware and Wyse. “An Ubuntu tablet is a secure thin client that can be managed with the same tools as any Ubuntu server or desktop,” said Stephane Verdy, who leads enterprise desktop and thin client products at Canonical. “We are delighted to support partners on touch and mobile thin clients for the enterprise market.”
Even without chipset-specific optimisation, Ubuntu performs beautifully on entry level hardware. “Our four-year engagement with ARM has shaped Ubuntu for mobile” said Rick Spencer, VP Ubuntu Engineering at Canonical. “We benefit from the huge number of contributing developers who run Ubuntu every day, many of whom are moving to touch devices as their primary development environment.”
For silicon vendors, Ubuntu is compatible with any Linux-oriented Board Support Package (BSP). This means Ubuntu is easy to enable on most chipset designs that are currently running Android. Ubuntu and Android are the two platforms enabled by Linaro members.
The Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu will be published on the 21st February 2013 with installation instructions for the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablet devices as well as smartphones such as the Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus. Installable images and source code will be available from developer.ubuntu.com.
The Preview SDK, which currently supports phone app development, will now be updated to support tablet apps as well. Uniquely, on Ubuntu, developers can create a single application that works on the phone, tablet, PC and TV because it is the same system and all services work across all form factors.
Visit us at Mobile World Congress: Booth Number: 81D30, App Planet Hall 8.1. The Canonical team will be available to install Ubuntu on your phones and tablets at Mobile World Congress. Note: Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview is a developer build and not a consumer-ready release.
Ubuntu for tablets – Full video [celebrateubuntu YouTube channel, Feb 19, 2013]
Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu to be published on 21 February 2013 [Canonical press release, Feb 15, 2013]
- Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu for Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 will be available
- Daily update mechanism to follow progress in Ubuntu
- Canonical will flash phones at MWC for industry, developers and enthusiasts
- Preview SDK and App Design Guides already available for developers building touch apps for Ubuntu
Images and open source code for the Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu will be published on Thursday 21st February, supporting the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 smartphones.
They are intended for enthusiasts and developers, to familiarise themselves with Ubuntu’™s smartphone experience and develop applications on spare handsets. Tools that manage the flashing of the phone will be available on the same day in the Ubuntu archives, making it easy to keep a device up to date with the latest version of the Touch Developer Preview.
Attendees of Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, 25th – 28th February can have their phones flashed to Ubuntu by Canonical team members at the Ubuntu stand, booth number 81D30, App Planet Hall 8.1, where Ubuntu will be shown on a range of devices.
The code release is a milestone in the development program for Ubuntu’™s phone experience, and enables developers to port the platform to other devices. “Our platform supports a wide range of screen sizes and resolutions. Developers who have experience bringing up phone environments will find it relatively easy to port Ubuntu to current handsets” said Pat McGowan, who leads the integration effort that produced the images being released. “We look forward to adding support for additional devices for everyday testing and experimentation.”
The install process and supported device list are maintained at wiki.ubuntu.com/TouchInstallProcess and will be updated as new devices are added.
The release also marks the start of a new era for Ubuntu, with true convergence between devices. When complete, the same Ubuntu code will deliver a mobile, tablet, desktop or TV experiences depending on the device it is installed on, or where it is docked. Ubuntu 13.10 (due in October) will include a complete entry-level smartphone experience.
Canonical has published a Preview SDK and App Design Guides to allow developers to create applications for the full range of Ubuntu platforms. The toolkit provides a range of documented templates to enable native applications to be created quickly and easily. The App Design Guides explain how these templates can be used to design and build beautiful and usable apps. Blackberry Touch developers will be familiar with the Qt/QML environment, which supports rich native touch apps. Developers will not need to cross-compile or package applications differently for phone, tablet, PC and TV. One platform serves all four, a single application binary can do the same.
On Ubuntu, native and web or HTML5 applications sit as equal citizens and so those developers already developing HTML5 applications will easily gain support for Ubuntu.
“This release marks the threshold of wider engagement – both with industry and community.” says Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu. “For developers, contributors and partners, there is now a coherent experience that warrants attention. The cleanest, most stylish mobile interface around.”
Availability:
Go to wiki.ubuntu.com/TouchInstallProcess to download Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu from Thursday 21st February.
Go to developer.ubuntu.com to download the SDK to develop applications for Ubuntu.
Go to http://design.ubuntu.com/apps to read the Apps Design Guide giving advice about designing and building beautiful and usable apps for Ubuntu on the phone.
Visit Canonical at Mobile World Congress: Booth Number: 81D30, App Planet Hall 8.1.
Introducing the New HTC One [HTC YouTube channel, Feb 19, 2013]
- HTC One gets official – metal chassis, 1080p display, ‘Ultrapixel’ camera [AndroidCentral.com, Feb 19, 2013]
- HTC One: Your guide to the 2013 Android reboot [AndroidCentral.com, Feb 19, 2013]
- Official HTC One specs [AndroidCentral.com, Feb 19, 2013]
- New HTC One – First Look [HTC YouTube channel, Feb 19, 2013]
- HTC One – The Unveiling [HTC YouTube channel, Feb 20, 2013]
- Introducing The New HTC One®, A New Perspective On Smartphones [HTC press release, Feb 19, 2013]
HTC BlinkFeedTM, HTC ZoeTM and HTC BoomSoundTM Deliver HTC One’s Unprecedented New Smartphone Experience
HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced its new flagship smartphone, the new HTC One. Crafted with a distinct zero-gap aluminium unibody, the new HTC One introduces HTC BlinkFeedTM, HTC ZoeTM and HTC BoomSoundTM, key new HTC Sense® innovations that reinvent the mobile experience and set a new standard for smartphones.
“People today immerse themselves in a constant stream of updates, news and information. Although smartphones are one of the main ways we stay in touch with the people and information we care about, conventional designs have failed to keep pace with how people are actually using them,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “A new, exciting approach to the smartphone is needed and with the new HTC One, we have re-imagined the mobile experience from the ground up to reflect this new reality.”
HTC BlinkFeed: A personal live stream right on the home screen
At the centre of the new HTC One experience is HTC BlinkFeed. HTC BlinkFeed is a bold new experience that transforms the home screen into a single live stream of personally relevant information such as social updates, entertainment and lifestyle updates, news and photos with immersive images so that people no longer need to go to separate applications to find out what’s happening. HTC BlinkFeed aggregates the freshest content from the most relevant and interesting sources, giving it to people at a glance, all in one place, without the need to jump between multiple applications and web sites.
To enable this new dynamic approach to the smartphone, HTC will provide both local and global content from more than 1,400 media sources with more than 10,000 articles per day from some of the most innovative media companies, such as the AOL family of media properties, ESPN, MTV, Vice Media, CoolHunting, Reuters and many others. For more information on HTC BlinkFeed’s content partners, visit the HTC Blog.
HTC UltraPixel Camera with HTC Zoe
The breakthrough HTC UltraPixel Camera redefines how people capture, relive and share their most precious moments. HTC Zoe gives people the ability to shoot high-res photos that come to life in three-second snippets. These Zoes, photos and videos are then displayed in a unique way that brings the gallery to life and transforms the traditional photo gallery of still images into a motion gallery of memories. It also automatically creates integrated highlight films from each event comprised of Zoes, photos and videos set to music with professionally designed cuts, transitions and effects. These highlight videos can be remixed or set to different themes, and can be easily shared on social networks, email and other services.
To enable this innovative camera experience, HTC developed a custom camera that includes a best-in-class f/2.0 aperture lens and a breakthrough sensor with UltraPixels that gather 300 percent more light than traditional smartphone camera sensors. This new approach also delivers astounding low-light performance and a variety of other improvements to photos and videos. In addition, the perfect self-portrait or video is just a tap away with an ultra-wide angle front-facing camera which supports 1080p video capture. Multi-axis optical image stabilisation for both the front and rear cameras also helps ensure video footage smoother whether stationary or on the move. HTC UltraPixel camera adds many other features and effects such as enhanced 360′ panorama, time sequencing and object removal.
HTC BoomSound
The new HTC One offers the best audio experience of any mobile phone available today. HTC BoomSound introduces for the first time on a phone, front-facing stereo speakers with a dedicated amplifier and an amazing full HD display that immerses people in music, videos, games and the YouTubeTM clips they love. BeatsTM Audio integration is enabled across the entire experience for rich, authentic sound whether you’re listening to your favorite music, watching a YouTube video or playing a game.
HDR recording uses advanced dual microphones and audio processing to capture clean, rich sound that is worthy of high-definition video footage. Phone calls sound great on HTC One thanks to the addition of HTC Sense VoiceTM, which boosts the call volume and quality in noisy environments so that conversations come through loud and clear.
HTC Sense TV
HTC Sense TV transforms the new HTC One into an interactive program guide and remote control for most TVs, set-top boxes and receivers. Tapping the power of the cloud, Sense TV makes it simple and intuitive to see what’s on and find that favourite show.
Metal Unibody Design
Wrapped in a zero-gap aluminum unibody and sporting a brilliant 4.7”, Full HD (1080p) screen, the new HTC One features the latest Android Jelly Bean operating system and LTE network technology to offer blazingly-fast browsing in a package that combines premium design with breakthrough build quality.
Available in stunning silver and beautiful black, the sleek and crafted aluminum unibody sits comfortably in the hand and showcases HTC’s unique antenna technology, which helps people achieve a crystal clear signal. The display also resists scratches and reduces glare, whilst offering incredible 468ppi resolution and rich, natural colours.
Global Availability
The new HTC One will be available globally through more than 185 mobile operators and major retailers in more than 80 regions and countries beginning in March. For more information and to pre-register for the new HTC One, visit http://www.htc.com.
