NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, today announced the 'world's fastest' high-bandwidth cellular soft modem – Nexperia Cellular System Solution PNX6910. Powered by NXP's Embedded Vector Processor (EVP), a 'powerful Digital Signal Processing core', the PNX6910 is claimed to be capable of achieving data transfer rates of 150 Mbits downlink and 50 Mbits uplink, and supports multi-mode LTE/HSPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM capability.
Consumers will benefit from an enhanced user experience as next-generation mobile devices deliver ultra-fast Internet browsing, streaming video services, multi-player gaming and even full length HD films. In fact, NXP's Nexperia Cellular System Solution PNX6910 is capable of downloading an entire HD movie in less than 7 minutes – over twenty times faster than today's HSPA Cat 8 devices at 7.2 Mbs. The PNX6910 is also optimized for a wide range of consumer electronics beyond mobile phones, bringing broadband connectivity to digital still and video cameras, next generation laptops, Internet tablets and ultra-mobile PCs.
"Multimedia content sharing and Web 2.0 services will be the drivers for next-generation handsets and a new breed of connected consumer electronics," according to Dan Rabinovitsj, senior VP & GM of cellular business at NXP Semiconductors. "The PNX6910 will provide consumers with the data services and experiences they are used to from the Internet, while they are on-the-go."
NXP has selected the first implementation of a multi-mode baseband processor to address the LTE market, which is expected to gain rapid acceptance due to its wide support in the mobile industry and the ubiquity of GSM standards worldwide. "The PNX6910 will enable OEMs to develop their next-generation products quickly during the critical ramp-up phase of the technology, enabling faster time-to-market and better performance," remarked Rabinovitsj.
The PNX6910 will allow cellular phone and Consumer Electronics manufacturers to participate in the LTE market from the very start, with a reference design that can connect a wide variety of handheld products via cellular services to the internet. The soft modem approach reduces chip design effort by 1.5 to 2 years due to parallel design phases. This approach incorporates multi-mode functionality on a single RF chip and a single baseband chip, which will help device manufacturers deliver ultra-small form-factors capable of very high speeds. Meanwhile, power efficiency is assured through the use of advanced system architectures and process technologies beating the historical power curve prediction.
LTE represents the exciting future of next-generation broadband mobility for consumers, building on the success story of GSM – widely deployed all over the world. The PNX6910's software programmable vector processor enables multi-mode capability and supports the entire GSM family of standards, including LTE TDD for China, which paves the way for truly global roaming.
Nexperia Cellular System Solution PNX6910 will be available to early access customers in the second quarter of 2009.