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Nov. 13, 2009

Late yesterday, Qualcomm said it will start offering newly designed chipsets that combine 3G and 4G mobile technology to help mobile carriers move to the next generation of wireless technology.

Qualcomm said Huawei Technologies, LG Electronics, Sierra Wireless and ZTE are all among the first mobile-device manufacturers to test the new 3G and 4G chips.

The new semiconductors will allow mobile phones and other wireless portable devices to switch between a 4G wireless network using LTE technology and HSPA Plus, a 3G wireless technology.

Overall, Qualcomm said that MIDs (mobile Internet devices) that use the new chips could be available in commercial products starting in the second half of next year.

Many wireless carriers now are planning to upgrade their networks to 4G using LTE technology. But these networks won't be ready overnight, and mobile users simply won't be able to get 4G signals everywhere and will have to roam back a step on older 3G networks.

That means that wireless devices will need chips that allow them to switch between networks, ie be fully 3G and 4G compliant for them to work flawlessly.

Qualcomm also said it's providing a new set of mobile-device chips to manufacturers for testing that will add more robust multimedia features to new smartphones such as the iPhone, the line of Blackberrys and Palm's Pre.

HSPA Plus is the next iteration of 3G wireless technology that can provide download speeds of up to 21 megabits per second.

Many wireless operators, including Telstra of Australia and AT&T in the U.S., are upgrading their networks right now. These mobile carriers eventually plan to upgrade their networks to LTE just to be one step ahead of the pack.

This new 3G and 4G chipset supports high-definition video recording and playback, enhanced graphics and an overall chip design that is optimized for a highly responsive Internet experience.

Qualcomm expects wireless handset makers to have MIDs that use the new MSM-7x30 family of chipsets commercially available by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what Intel pulls out of its hat in the next few weeks, in an effort to counter Qualcomm's foray into the wireless chip market.

According to IDC, global sales for mobile chips was estimated to be US $24.2 billion in 2008, and is predicted to grow to US $29 billion by the end of 2009.

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Source: Qualcomm.