Building Devices for Mobile 4G - WirelessWeek

Building Devices for Mobile 4G
Wireless Week
Eran Eshed - Altair Semiconductor

June 11, 2009

The war of words between WiMAX and LTE for dominance in the 4G wireless broadband market has escalated, with both sides making the case for the superiority of their standard. For those designing 4G wireless handheld devices in this environment, the task of building devices for the next generation of wireless communications was already tough – throw in the challenge of accounting for multiple standards, and the difficulty increases dramatically.

The challenge is to define a product for a future (and mostly undefined) wireless market that offers new 4G-enabled features that will make consumers want to upgrade to a 4G device, while also providing the experience that mobile customers expect.

This is especially critical for 4G devices beyond the smartphone, such as digital cameras or MP3 players. Built-in wireless broadband capabilities could revolutionize the way these devices are used, but the usage patterns and performance expectations (battery life, etc.) are considerably different from the smartphone.

Complicating the development of 4G handheld devices even further are the multiple 4G standards that are being developed and promoted around the world. In addition to WiMAX and LTE, which currently receive the lion’s share of coverage in the media, there are other 4G standards such as XGP, which has found success in Japan. A designer also has to be sure that the device is compatible with the wireless standard that the consumer will need to use.

While there are many aspects to creating a successful device, I believe that for 4G handheld devices, multi-standard 4G functionality combined with low power consumption is the key to enabling mass consumer adoption. Let me explain.

The truth is that despite the rhetoric from those promoting WiMAX or LTE, there really isn’t a “standards war” between these two 4G wireless standards. It has become quite clear that both standards will have their place. WiMAX will play a significant role in some developed markets such as North America, Japan, Korea and Asia in general, as well as in developing countries, while LTE will likely become the mainstream 4G technology globally.

In this environment, it is to the device manufacturer’s advantage to build multimode products. This will allow the consumer the ability to operate in both standards concurrently (roaming from one to the other), which will be an advantage in certain geographies where one standard is dominant. For example, a subscriber in Baltimore, which has a robust WiMAX network through Sprint, also may want to roam in other areas, which in the future may be covered by LTE.

Perhaps more importantly for device manufacturers, designing multimode 4G devices will allow them to gain the higher capital efficiency and shorter time to market for the various devices in their product family. In this case, introducing the device to a market with a different 4G standard would simply require programming the device, rather than swapping out components and completely redesigning the device architecture.

This leads to my second point – customer expectations for mobile device performance.  Software defined/multi-mode modems require a great amount of flexibility, which traditionally would translate into high power consumption. This is especially true in a 4G environment that requires the processing of very large amounts of data – where 4G devices already start from a disadvantage compared to 3G.

Power consumption will be critical for 4G handheld devices. These devices are no longer limited to the traditional handsets or smartphones, but rather include consumer devices and gadgets like cameras and MP3 players. In the 4G era, consumers will love the benefits of these devices being always “connected,” but they will not accept short battery hours that limit their use. 

The possibilities for 4G connectivity in these types of devices are truly exciting. But if the result is a battery life of only a few hours, consumers will reject the devices and all will be for naught.

Picture a digital video camera that can wirelessly transmit video to multiple Web sites at broadband speeds – very cool and exciting. Now picture that video camera running out of battery life after one hour – consumer excitement will be replaced with frustration with the device.

Portable GPS devices also would be great with 4G connectivity enabling all sorts of location-based services – unless your GPS runs out of power two hours into the trip.

Fortunately, there have been some important recent advancements in 4G semiconductor technology, including the development of a unique multi-mode 4G architecture which will enable the integration of any 4G air-interface into virtually any device. Additionally, new 4G wireless chipsets have been tested to prove broadband speeds while showing battery life comparable to current 3G handheld devices.

For handheld device designers, solving the battery life and multiple standard issues will go a long way toward enabling products that consumers will embrace. By first addressing issues such as these which affect the basic functionality of 4G devices, we will greatly increase the adoption of mobile 4G technology.

Eshed is co-founder of Altair Semiconductor.