Conexant Systems, Inc., a worldwide leader in semiconductor solutions for broadband communications, enterprise networks and the digital home, today announced the world's lowest power and smallest form factor 802.11g wireless local area network (WLAN) radio for embedded mobile applications. The single-chip CX3110X is a power-efficient, compact chip targeted at high performance, battery operated mobile devices such as multimedia cellular phones, enterprise handsets, PDAs, and digital cameras. The CX3110X is shipping in volume quantities to customers now, and has been designed into several handset models by one the world's largest cellular telephone manufacturers. A hardware and software reference design is also available to enable manufacturers and system integrators to rapidly integrate wireless connectivity into mobile platforms.
"The CX3110X is the lowest power and highest density Wi-Fi radio available today, and is specifically designed for power-sensitive consumer electronics products," said Chee Kwan, vice president of Wireless Networking for Conexant. "Power is a primary concern for manufacturers looking to add wireless networking capabilities to mobile devices. To address this issue, we have leveraged our innovative PowerSave power management technology to significantly reduce power consumption, while still delivering the high performance required for multimedia cell phones and other hand-held devices."
According to industry analyst firm InStat, shipments of Wi-Fi enabled cellular handsets are expected to reach approximately 22 million in 2009, and dual cellular/WLAN voice handsets are expected to reach nearly 90 million for the same time period. "The availability of devices such as Conexant's ultra low-power CX3110X is key to driving the growth of handsets and smart phones with integrated wireless networking capabilities," said Allen Nogee, principal analyst for InStat. "Conexant's expertise in WLAN and VoIP technologies makes them particularly well positioned to capitalize on this growing market opportunity."
The standards-compliant CX3110X is a fully integrated wireless radio that includes a zero intermediate frequency (ZIF) transceiver, radio frequency (RF) synthesizer/voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), high-speed data converters, ARM9(R)-based media access controller (MAC), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing/complementary code key (OFDM/CCK) digital baseband processor, and a complete power management unit (PMU). Host control is provided by a flexible serial peripheral interface (SPI) supporting bit rates of 48 Mbps. For maximum flexibility, the CX3110X accepts system reference clock frequencies of 19.2, 26, 38.4, and 40 MHz to provide coexistence with other cellular nodes.
The ultra low-power CX3110X radio includes Conexant's PowerSave technology, which provides an intelligent power control capability, an industry-leading low power standby mode, and reduced peak and overall low power consumption for extended battery life.
Conexant offers an extensive suite of WLAN solutions including IEEE 802.11a/b/g and dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz) chipsets, firmware, software, drivers and reference designs. These wireless networking solutions are used by the world's leading telecom, networking and computer companies in a wide range of products including access points/routers, client cards, desktops, notebooks, PDAs, digital cameras, MP3 players and other hand-held networking appliances. They are available as standalone solutions or offered in conjunction with Conexant's, DSL and cable modem semiconductor system solutions, voice over IP (VoIP) chipsets and home network processors.
Packaging and Pricing
The CX3110X is packaged in a 12.5 x 7 millimeter low profile ball grid array (LPBGA), and is priced at $15.00 each in quantities of 10,000.
About Conexant
Conexant's innovative semiconductor solutions are driving broadband communications, enterprise networks and digital home networks worldwide. The company has leveraged its expertise and leadership position in modem technologies to enable more Internet connections than all of its competitors combined, and continues to develop highly integrated silicon solutions for broadband data and media processing networks. Key products include client-side xDSL and cable modem solutions, home network processors, broadcast video encoders and decoders, digital set-top box components and systems solutions, and dial-up modems. Conexant's suite of networking components includes a leadership portfolio of IEEE 802.11a/b/g-compliant WLAN chipsets, software and reference designs, as well as solutions for applications based on HomePlug(SM) and HomePNA(TM). The company also offers a complete line of asymmetric and symmetric DSL central office solutions, which are used by service providers worldwide to deliver broadband data, voice, and video over copper telephone lines.
Conexant is a fabless semiconductor company that recorded more than $900 million in revenues in fiscal year 2004. The company has approximately 2,400 employees worldwide, and is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif.
Conexant is a registered trademark of Conexant Systems, Inc. Other brands and names contained in this release are the property of their respective owners.
To learn more, please visit Conexant here.
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