Qualcomm hedges standards bets with new 3.5G/4G chip
Qualcomm has become increasingly ecumenical as the firm has aged. Once an aggressive defender against any efforts that would weaken its market for CDMA technology, the chipmaker has announced a new chipset that allows handset makers to use all current 3G and most future 3.5G and 4G cellular standards.
The new chipset, available for manufacturer prototyping in mid-2010, will support HSPA+, EVDO Rev. B, and LTE. Qualcomm had earlier released the Gobi chipset for laptops and netbooks, which supports both dominant worldwide 3G data standards.
The chipset will work with a new transceiver offering, due for sampling later in 2009, that will support all radio frequencies used around the world for 3G and 4G, as well as providing the underlying hardware for Bluetooth, FM radio, and GPS reception.
The chipset also includes support for Simultaneous Voice-Data Operation (SV-DO), an important inclusion as EV-DO doesn't by itself pass voice and data at the same time, as HSPA networks allow.
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