Single Chip WLAN, Bluetooth 2.1 and FM Radio - Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments announced WiLink 6.0 and  BlueLink 7.0, designed to drive affordable WLAN, Bluetooth and FM radio  technologies into mobile device market.

The WiLink 6.0 is the latest member of TI's mobile WLAN family, and is the industry's first device to integrate a complete offering of Bluetooth, mobile WLAN, and FM, supporting IEEE 802.11n. Both devices are manufactured in 65nm technology, delivering a low-cost, low-power single chip with a small footprint.

The BlueLink 7.0 is the latest version of TI's BlueLink Bluetooth family that integrates Bluetooth and FM. The FM functionality in both devices delivers FM transmit and receive capabilities.

The new WiLink 6.0 device integrates mWLAN, Bluetooth and FM on a single chip, allowing handset manufacturers to quickly and seamlessly integrate these three functions into feature-rich mainstream handsets, giving more consumers access to features usually found only in high-end handsets.

By integrating the industry’s first mobile 802.11n solution, consumers can seamlessly and quickly share large files such as movies and photos between their handsets and other WLAN-enabled devices, like laptops, digital cameras and gaming consoles.

Operators and service providers deploying dual-mode phone solutions expect 802.11n to drastically improve voice call quality and reliability in VoWLAN applications. The WiLink 6.0 device will help reduce dropped calls, lowering support costs for these newer, more complex dual-mode solutions.

The new BlueLink 7.0 device integrates the industry's best-performance Bluetooth technology with high-quality FM stereo transmit and receive functions on a single chip. With new FM transmit capability, consumers can enjoy MP3 files stored on their phone on any FM receiver, such as car stereos or radios without wires. The new chip also provides enhanced performance with support for Bluetooth Specification 2.1 plus EDR (enhanced data rate). The WiLink 6.0 solution and BlueLink 7.0 device share the same Bluetooth and FM core solution, allowing customers to capitalize on their past and future software investments in a versatile manner.

Combined with single-chip modem solutions from TI, handset manufacturers have a complete "antenna to application" solution for mid-tier and low-end handsets. TI's WiLink 6.0 platform can work with the OMAP-VoxTM family of solutions, including the OMAPV1030 processor and OMAPV1035 "eCosto" single-chip EDGE solution, to provide an optimized modem, applications processor and mWLAN/Bluetooth/FM solution for mid-tier handsets. Coupled with TI's "LoCosto" single chip platform, BlueLink 7.0 is a cost-efficient solution to increase Bluetooth penetration in handsets by addressing the high-volume, low-cost emerging handset market.

TI leads the market in mobile WLAN shipments for handset applications, according to Forward Concepts. Using this expertise, the new WiLink 6.0 device is designed to meet increasing consumer demand for PC-style high-throughput connectivity on the go without compromising battery life. The combination of mWLAN, Bluetooth and FM functionality allows users to perform a variety of simultaneous tasks, such as listening to the radio on a Bluetooth headset while checking email via mWLAN.

TI also brings seamless cellular and WLAN connectivity for emerging IMS applications by leveraging its VoWLAN functionality provided by TI's OMAP-Vox and WiLink solutions. IMS gives consumers on-the-go voice access over WLAN or the cellular network using their mobile phones.

Source: Texas Instruments