Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008 - (Page 14)

14 NEWS By JP Joosting, Microwave Engineering Europe IN BRIEF Nanoradio wins Samsung 3G-UMA design-in Specialist radio IC developer Nanoradio AB (Stockholm, Sweden) has said that its NRX700/2 Wi-Fi chipset has been designed into two Samsung phones, the P250 and the P270, being released into multiple countries in Europe. The P270 is the world’s ﬁrst combined 3G and unlicensed mobile access (UMA) phone, Nanoradio claimed. UMA can make use of WiFi and other access networks when mobile telecoms networks are not available. The 3G and UMA service is being offered by Orange. The chipset doubles the standby and talk time compared to standard UMA phone offerings. www.mwee.com/210700019 Inﬁneon places its bets in telematics, incar connectivity In the ongoing debate over in-car communications and telematics, Inﬁneon focuses on Bluetooth and WiFi for the internal data connectivity; while for telematics, the company bets on e-Call and similar applications. Consequently, the company is currently preparing a vehicle-optimized mobile radio platform. The integration of multimedia consumer devices into the automotive electronics landscape poses strong challenges for auto makers and component suppliers. In this context, wireless connectivity increasingly appears to be the technology of choice since it does not require expensive and inﬂexible cabling solutions. Semiconductor vendors hold a key position in this area of potential conﬂicts. Inﬁneon’s strategy provides for two pillars: Bluetooth (with Enhanced Data Rate), and WiiFi (802.11x), explained Christian Winkelmeyr, Vice President Mobile Platform Program Management for the Munich-based chip vendor. Wireless USB (WUSB) is not seen as an alternative since it is unclear to which standard the industry will settle eventually. “The fog over WUSB has not yet lifted”, said Winkelmeyr. Instead, Inﬁneon considers integrating WLAN functionality into its own mobile phone platforms, Winkelmeyr said, hinting that several high-end mobile multimedia and mobile phone products on the market are already offering this functionality. www.mwee.com/210600034 Group pushes Internet Protocol for sensor nets Proponents of Internet Protocol for sensors networks have formed the IP for Smart Objects Alliance. IPSO has kicked off work on one of its ﬁrst major objectives, setting an interoperability standard for running IPv6 on nets based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. Backers say IP opens the door to linking sensor and other simple networks directly to the Internet, eliminating the need for translation gateways. However, top developers have said clever programming techniques are needed to pack IPv6 into the memory and power requirements of sensor nets. About 24 companies have become founding members of IPSO including Atmel, Cisco, Emerson, Freescale and Sun Microsystems. They compete with members of the Zigbee Alliance as well as backers of a host of other proprietary protocols. “The technical people like [IP] because it means they don’t have to build translation gateways, but the business people wanted to see an ecosystem of companies behind it,” said Geoff Mulligan, a consultant and long time sensor net developer who was named chairman of the alliance. www.mwee.com/210602629 French RFID specialist raises $15.5 million in a new round of ﬁnancing ASK, a French contactless and RFID technology company, announced it has raised 11 million euros ($15.54 million) in a round of ﬁnancing led by XAnge, CDC Entreprises and CDC Innovation. While XAnge and CDC Entreprises each invested 5 million euros, existing investor CDC Innovation contributed one million euros to the round. ASK said these funds will be used to further develop the company, notably to strengthen its R&D activities and seize new opportunities, mainly in the banking and ID document areas. Founded in 1997 in Sophia Antipolis, ASK is a provider of contactless products including cards, tickets, readers, and ePassports. In October 2002, Ask closed a round of ﬁnancing of $15.8 million to accelerate its growth. The round was led by Apax Partners and gathered AdAstra, iglobe partners, Advent Venture Partners and LongTerm Partners, as well as three existing investors, namely CDC-Ixis Innovation, Credit Lyonnais Private Equity and Banque de Vizille. www.mwee.com/210700025 RF components to see few beneﬁts from basestation growth The global market for RF components for cellular basestations will remain ﬂat at $1.1 billion through 2013 according to market research group Strategy Analytics. This despite the fact that actual shipments of basestations are forecast to grow to 13.4 million units in 2013, a CAAGR of nearly 70 percent. The researchers also suggest the migration to 3G+ and fourth generation networks will also drive a move toward smaller form factors as operators look to reuse existing sites and inﬁll capacity with smaller base stations. The penetration of micro base stations is forecast to increase to 29 percent between this year and 2013, but the largest growth in shipments will come from picocell and femtocell shipments. Strategy Analytics maintains that femtocells will account for 84 percent of total base station shipments in 2013; that demand for standalone power ampliﬁer modules for upgrading existing networks will be ﬂat to negative as the market focuses on infrastructure rollout for emerging platforms; and that the PA will account for the largest proportion of RF component revenues through 2013, but only exhibit overall growth of 2 percent. www.mwee.com/210700018 Microwave Engineering Europe ● October 2008 ● www.mwee.com 014_MWEE.indd 14 6/10/08 16:22:22 http://www.mwee.com/210600034 http://www.mwee.com/210700019 http://www.mwee.com/210700025 http://www.mwee.com/210602629 http://www.mwee.com/210700018 http://www.mwee.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008

Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008 Contents Comment News Cover Feature: AWR's AXIEM Software Brings 3D Planar Electromagnetic (EM) Simulation "Up Front" RFID: Augmented Reality: Beyond RFID and QR Codes for Mobile Phone Platforms Filters & Frequency Synthesis ZigBee Goes Green with Support for Smart Energy Simplify Mobile Data Applications and Services Test Enabling the State-of-the-Art in Automatic Test Equipment National Physical Laboratory Test Facility Aids Development of Next-Generation Antennas Selecting the Synthetic Test Environment for Transmit-Receive (T-R) Modules in a Phased Array Radar System Products Calendar

Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008

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