Broadcom unveiled its newest platform for entry-level smartphones and also announced a milestone-reaching series of multicore processors suited for LTE and LTE-Advanced networks.
The company's smartphone platform is a quad-core HSPA+ processor with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, near-field communications (NFC) and advanced indoor positioning technology. The BCM23550 processor is optimized for Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system and delivers 21 Mbps of HSPA+ downstream data speed and 5.8 Mbps upstream.
The chipset is powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor running at 1.2 GHz and includes VideoCore multimedia, which supports dual HD with simultaneous high-definition output to smartphones and Miracast-enabled large screens such as TVs.
The turnkey platform integrates 802.11ac Wi-Fi--which Broadcom brands as "5G WiFi." It also includes indoor and outdoor positioning capabilities via multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) support that includes GPS/GLONASS in addition to WLAN, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and Cell ID technologies.
Broadcom's new processor also supports all major NFC specifications, including NFC Forum, EMVCo and the China UnionPay QuickTap mobile wallet.
The BCM23550 is pin-to-pin compatible with Broadcom's BCM21664T dual-core HSPA+ platform, allowing handset manufacturers to leverage existing designs and accelerate time to market, said Broadcom. The BCM23550 is currently sampling with production expected in the third quarter.
From the infrastructure side of its business, Broadcom also unveiled a new its XLP900 Series multicore processors, which it claims are the first CPU solution to deliver more than 1 trillion operations per second of computational performance with full memory coherency. The 28-nanometer processors also deliver 160 Gbps application performance that is scalable to 1.28 Tbps, said the company.
The vendor noted there is a growing need for more intelligent communications processors to support the speed, quality of service, security and power efficiency demands of LTE and LTE-Advanced networks. "The XLP900 Series of processors is highly optimized and ideally suited for the stringent performance, security, efficiency and scalability requirements of service provider, data center and enterprise networks," said Broadcom.
The company's flagship processor features end-to-end hardware virtualization support for the CPU cores, I/Os, hardware accelerators and on-chip interconnects. It also offers advanced security capabilities such as deep-packet inspection and multi-layer QoS capabilities.
The XLP900 Series is currently sampling.
For more:
- see this Broadcom release and this release
- see this PC Mag article
- see this Inquirer article
Related articles:
Broadcom sampling 802.11ac chips for entry-level devices
Broadcom challenges Qualcomm, Samsung in LTE modem market
Growing WLAN demand sets stage for 802.11ac shipments
Broadcom to take on Qualcomm with LTE chips next year
Broadcom unveils 802.11ac chip for smartphones