Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

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CDMA phone puts features in focus

By David Carey
EE Times
February 02, 2004 (8:07 AM EST)



Potential large-scale design directions for handsets can often be seen in Japan. Toshiba's CDMA 2000-1x phone, launched last October under KDDI's Au wireless service, bristles with features and illustrates mobile capability and component content that literally go beyond the call.

Cameras remain the rage. The A5501T has an embedded CCD with 3x digital zoom and other features. Along with four selectable image sizes, the built-in camera has a self-timer, 11-step brightness adjustment and special effects of sepia-tone, black/white and negative. Choosing CCD over CMOS imagers parallels a broader trend in Japanese cam phones where mobile-friendly versions of the old guard in image sensors hold majority share. In the A5501, a Sharp camera module with sensor, coprocessor and timing generation takes 1-Mpixel still pictures or lower-resolution 15-second video mail clips. Video runs through a Toshiba MPEG-4 encoder/decoder with support for plug-in viewing on a TV from an Analog Devices NTSC/PAL encoder. Picture quality trails a digital still camera's, but the cam phone resolution race is on.

For cellular voice and data, Toshiba tapped Qualcomm's 6000 series chip set. Along with the MSM6100 digital baseband, the RFR6000 and RFT6100 devices form the receive and transmit processor paths, respectively, in Qualcomm's first direct-conversion radio platform, coined Radio-One. While still more complex than GSM radio platforms, direct conversion has eliminated some of heterodyne CMDA's more expensive components. The RFL6000 low-noise amplifier boosts both cellular and GPS signals to the RFR6000. All data in and out of the handset rides the CDMA-1x data pipe of the Qualcomm chip set, at top speeds of 144 kbits/second.




Internal memory stores from Toshiba (16 Mbytes of NAND flash and 1Mbyte of SRAM) and Fujitsu (16 Mbytes of NOR flash and 16 Mbytes of FCRAM) mark the memory demands of feature-laden terminals. The A5501T also supports a plug-in SD memory card for expanded storage.

Toshiba's display goes a step beyond the typical handset screen. An Epson LCD controller provides support for the color 2.2-inch 320 x 240 (QVGA) polysilicon TFT main display and 1.1 inch DSTN caller ID. The QVGA panel provides sharp images, and caller ID is the camera's viewfinder when the clamshell-style case is closed.

This complexity doesn't yet come cheap -the bill of materials for the A5501T is more than 3x that of the simplest GSM wireless phone. But if the Japanese affinity for do-it-all handsets spreads, the chip industry could be in for a great ride.

David Carey is president of Portelligent (www.teardown.com). The Austin, Texas, company produces teardown reports and related industry re-search on wireless, mobile and personal electronics.
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