Qualcomm announces world's first global LTE baseband chip

Jos

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LTE fragmentation can be a real hassle for travelers and companies making multiple versions of the same device for different markets. Case in point, the iPhone 5 currently produced in two GSM variants plus a CDMA version, and the iPad’s 4G denomination already cost Apple a $2.25 million fine in Australia for misleading customers into thinking it would work with the country’s LTE networks on the 1800MHz band.

Qualcomm is looking to make that a thing of the past with the introduction of a new radio chipset, dubbed the RF360, that will play well with the roughly 40 different frequencies currently used by carriers around the world and seven cellular modes: LTE-FDD, LTE-TDD, WCDMA, EV-DO, CDMA 1x, TD-SCDMA and GSM/EDGE.

"The wide range of radio frequencies used to implement 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks globally presents an ongoing challenge for mobile device designers," said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies. "Our new RF devices are tightly integrated and will allow us the flexibility and scalability to supply OEMs of all types, from those requiring only a region-specific LTE solution, to those needing LTE global roaming support."

In addition to the wide range of supported bands, Qualcomm RF360 also consume less power, generate less heat, improves antenna performance and reduces chip footprint inside of a smartphone by up to 50% compared to current generation chips, allowing for even thinner designs or freeing up space for other components.

Qualcomm is anticipating a second-half of 2013 launch for products using the chipset.

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Next nexus is looking better and better... especially after the LG flop on the hardware this time around.... My vote goes to Moto for the next Nexus. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll make a kb variant too! (wishful thinking on that last part lol)
 
Next nexus is looking better and better... especially after the LG flop on the hardware this time around.... My vote goes to Moto for the next Nexus. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll make a kb variant too! (wishful thinking on that last part lol)

I... I don't understand. What, the next nexus is going to use this chip or?? How did Nexus come into play here?
 
Was going off the idea that the Nexus line is proposed to Google before being cleared. This means that they tend to use some of the higher advanced hardware. Particularly considering the fact that the Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus 4 both needed 2 separate lines for LTE (still waiting on the N4) this chip may be used in the next Nexus. Google is a fan of unifying devices and very well may try to make 1 line with 1 set of hardware. Plus a large portion of manufacturers may move to this as it solves an issue in the manufacturing process. It's all $$ and if you can have 1 process make all spectrums then why not?
 
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