Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008 - (Page 30)

30 MOBILE PHONE TEST are released ensures that issues due to interactions between services can be found before service provider acceptance testing, not to mention before the end-user experiences them. Different users will generally use their cellular service in different ways. Several user proﬁles can be developed that apply different types of stress. An example is a teenage user who is very active with SMS, with some MMS, web surﬁng and data usage, plus voice, of course. That teenager’s grandmother probably would have much different usage. Her service would be dominated by voice, with the occasional SMS or MMS. It is important that the UE be stable in both use models. With the focus on high speed data applications in new mobile devices, new test methods are required to ensure high quality devices. The requirements for fully testing these new mobiles are many, and include the following elements: • Ability to originate and terminate voice calls from either the device or the network; • Ability to emulate numerous data applications including WAP, HTTP, FTP, UDP (including streaming video); • Support for SMS both to and from the device; • Support for MMS both to and from the device; • Ability to vary signal quality to the device; • Ability to emulate movement through a cell (apply fading proﬁles, change AWGN levels, change power from the device); • Monitor battery current drain under all conditions (not just talk time); • Ability to automate the link usage; • Ability to randomize the execution of different services. Figure 1 shows a screen capture from the Agilent 8960 Wireless Communications Test Set displaying data throughput results when using Agilent’s N5970A Interactive Functional Test (IFT) software to perform an FTP ﬁle transfer. The CQI (Channel Figure 2: Battery Current Drain versus Time test results using Agilent’s Interactive Functional Test solution for a UE with periodic SMS text messages being sent as well as voice calls being established in parallel. Quality Index) has been increased during the transfer causing changes in the coding structure and resultant data rate. Another aspect of phone design that directly impacts the user is battery life. Issues with battery life can be uncovered by running real-world tests while also measuring the battery current drain. Figure 2, for example, shows the battery current results for a UE with voice calls being established every 10 seconds and an SMS message being sent every 4 seconds. The SMS message sent to the UE just before the voice call ended could not be received until a new voice call had been established. Establishing complex real-world testing scenarios is key to ﬁnding problems earlier in the design cycle and avoiding more costly and time consuming defect resolution later when problems are found during qualiﬁcation or deployment. Device developers require an easy way to set up and run different services. Automation is essential in order to simplify testing, perform interactive test cases and create interactive usage scenarios. For information on the Agilent N5970A Interactive Functional Test software visit www.agilent.com/ﬁnd/n5970a. Author’s bio Sara joined Agilent Technologies in 2004 developing documentation for the 8960 wireless communications test set. During her 4 years with the company, Sara has been part of Agilent’s marketing organization for wireless communications one box testers. As an learning products engineer, she developed training content and user guides for the different cellular technology formats supported by the one box testers as well as content for various software programs associated with them. Now a product marketing engineer, she is involved with new product launches. Sara holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Washington State University. Sara Johnson, Product Marketing Engineer, Mobile Broadband Division, Wireless Business Unit, Agilent Technologies, Inc. MICROWAVE ENGINEERING EUROPE Free subscription at: www.mwee.com/subscribe Microwave Engineering Europe ● October 2008 ● www.mwee.com 028-030_MWEE.indd 30 2/10/08 14:25:11 http://www.agilent.com/find/n5970a http://www.mwee.com/subscribe http://www.mwee.com

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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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