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New HSDPA Reference Design Completes Extensive Interoperability Testing, Accelerating Delivery of Advanced 3G Mobile Handsets at WCDMA Prices
BARCELONA, Spain, 3GSM World Congress, Feb 13, 2007 -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced the availability of a new High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) compliant reference design that enables mobile handset makers to quickly bring to market the newest features and most powerful connectivity available. Based on Broadcom's field-proven HSDPA baseband processor and CellAirity™ 2.0 software, the new HSDPA reference design is available in a compact mobile form factor to enable OEMs to conveniently apply it to even their most cutting-edge designs.
The new Broadcom® HSDPA reference design has recently completed extensive interoperability testing (IOT) on major cellular networks, providing a tremendous time benefit to OEMs. By initiating and completing the time-consuming IOT process, Broadcom provides manufacturers with increased confidence that products based on its HSDPA reference design will achieve prompt certification for major cellular networks, which in turn, significantly accelerates time-to-market for new handset products.
As the 3G cellular landscape continues to evolve towards higher speed mobile connections, the market is moving to HSDPA as the ultimate connectivity option since it provides the fastest available throughput to deliver higher speed cellular connectivity. To drive this adoption, the industry's top tier phone makers not only need world-class HSDPA baseband processors, but also well-defined, highly functional reference designs that enable them to quickly deliver these products to market.
Announced today is the Broadcom BCM92152A HSDPA reference design that packages a fully functional feature-rich HSDPA phone in a compact form factor. Featuring the successful BCM2152 HSDPA baseband processor and CellAirity 2.0 software, the BCM92152A meets manufacturer demands for enabling 2G and 3G cellular connectivity, feature-rich functionality, multimedia acceleration, record and playback of audio and video, and support for both Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi® protocols.
"Broadcom is one of few companies that have made significant progress in the HSDPA market over the last year, going from an initial HSDPA technology demonstration last year to now having a fully qualified 7.2Mbps HSDPA form factor reference design available," said Robert Nalesnik, Senior Director of Marketing for Broadcom's Mobile Communications line of business. "With this comprehensive design and extensive interoperability testing, we provide our handset partners with the ability to expedite their delivery of full-featured, cutting-edge HSDPA phones to market."
Technical Information
The Broadcom BCM92152A reference design is a 7.2 Mbps HSDPA compatible cell phone housed in a stylish thin flip-phone form factor with integrated loop antenna, stereo speakers and dual cameras. The main camera supports 2 megapixel resolution with built-in flash for low light conditions. The secondary VGA camera supports video conferencing applications. A high resolution QCIF primary display (upgradeable to QVGA ) enables crisp images and video playback, assisted by an integrated 30fps video hardware accelerator included on the BCM2152 HSDPA baseband processor. Multimedia content can be stored and transferred to personal computers and printers via a MicroSD flash memory card slot. Also included is a rich set of CellAirity 2.0 phone applications that are pre-loaded on the reference handset.
The BCM92152A includes stereo DACs and speaker amplifiers to support high quality music playback over external stereo speakers or a headset. Additionally, stereo wireless music, FM radio, and hands-free voice are enabled by the on-board Broadcom BCM2048 integrated Bluetooth/FM device.
Broadcom's BCM2152 HSDPA baseband processor is a full-featured, high performance cell phone processor that has been adopted by top tier phone makers, with new handset models scheduled for introduction in the second half of 2007. The BCM2152 is HSDPA-compliant and provides complete support for all legacy GSM cellular technologies, enabling mobile devices based on Broadcom cellular solutions to roam among worldwide networks without interruption of voice or data services, while always being connected at the highest data rate available.
The new BCM2152 processor features advanced HSDPA and EDGE capabilities, as well as all of the key features required for next-generation mobile phone handsets including advanced digital signal processing (DSP) and multimedia capabilities for recording and playback of audio and video. By enabling faster downloads (and less cellular airtime), HSDPA reduces the cost of delivering high-bandwidth applications when compared to prior generation technologies.
The BCM2152 processor features Broadcom's popular M-Stream technology that significantly improves voice and data quality in areas with moderate or weak cellular signal condition. The end result is fewer dropped calls, extended range coverage and an overall improved user experience. The BCM2152 also includes a built-in multimedia processor that includes support for up to 3.2 megapixel cameras, multimedia encode and decode at 30 frames per second at CIF or QVGA resolutions, 64-voice polyphonic ringtones, and integrated audio amplifiers to support full duplex speaker phones.
CellAirity 2.0 is the newest generation of Broadcom's consolidated software platform for advanced mobile handset designs. It provides the key software elements and runs on the BCM2152 baseband processor to control handset operation and tie together other supplemental technologies such as multimedia processing, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and others. CellAirity consists of a common carrier approved communications protocol stack (that has been field and carrier tested across multiple 2G and 3G networks), a modular applications framework, a set of pre-integrated messaging, web access, games, multimedia and connectivity applications.
Availability and Pricing
The Broadcom BCM92152A HSDPA reference design is now sampling to early access customers. Pricing is available upon request.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Our products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. Broadcom provides the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.
Broadcom, one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies with unaudited annual 2006 revenue of $3.67 billion, is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.
Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with the BCM92152A HSDPA reference design products include, but are not limited to, general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, including seasonality in sales of consumer products into which our products are incorporated, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other locations; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for cellular applications; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to manage inventory; the gain or loss of a key customer, design win or order; our ability to scale our operations in response to changes in demand for our existing products and services or demand for new products requested by our customers; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a cost-effective and timely manner; our ability to retain, recruit and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the positions and numbers, with the experience and capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new markets; changes in our product or customer mix; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; the availability and pricing of third party semiconductor foundry, assembly and test capacity and raw materials; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations, particularly in light of recent events; the effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies, international conflicts and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.
Our amended Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for 2005, amended Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the three months ended March 31, 2006, and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, all filed January 23, 2007, and our recent Current Reports on Form 8-K and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason.
Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo and CellAirity™ are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Bluetooth® is a trademark of the Bluetooth SIG. Wi-Fi® is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Broadcom Trade Press Contact
Jeremy Hyatt
Marketing Communications Manager
949-926-5971
jhyatt@broadcom.com
Broadcom Technical Contacts
Brian Hyde
Sr. Marketing Manager, Mobile Platforms
408-922-5405
bhyde@broadcom.com
Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
T. Peter Andrew
Vice President, Investor Relations
949-926-5663
andrewtp@broadcom.com
SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Mobile and Wireless
Trade Press, Jeremy Hyatt, Marketing Communications Manager, +1-949-926-5971, jhyatt@broadcom.com, or Technical, Brian Hyde, Sr. Marketing Manager, Mobile Platforms, +1-408-922-5405, bhyde@broadcom.com, or Investor Relations, T. Peter Andrew, Vice President, Investor Relations, +1-949-926-5663, andrewtp@broadcom.com, all of Broadcom Corporation
http://www.broadcom.com
