eeProductCenter Ultimate Products 5.1

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Product Shopper New Product Info

(1)
SILICON LABS
AM/FM radio receivers cover weather band frequencies
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "Silicon Laboratories Inc. has claimed the industry's first fully-integrated AM/FM radio receivers with weather band (WB) coverage. In addition to receiving AM/FM bands, the Si4736 family covers the frequencies between 162.40 and 162.55 MHz that are used to broadcast 24-hour weather warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information, as well as national security and public safety alerts throughout the United States and Canada."

Readers say:
"Seems like this is for yesterday's technology....if this was HD radio then it might be exciting....."
"The "SAME" feature is wonderful and great help in today's environment. I wonder why this doesn't have HD radio feature!" "In the world of Broadband Value Circle I see this as a major addition to portable devices. This feature will definitely add value to product"
"Absolutely a great feature to add a WB radio along with an AM/Fm radio in a 3 x 3 mm package."
"Sounds like a nice radio. Why is it so expensive? I would not pay more than $75 for something like this."

USABILITY RANK: 1

(2) VUBIQ
60-GHz radio-on-a-chip is smaller than a dime
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "Vubiq Inc. announced the availability of its 60 GHz integrated radio product, enabling commercial, government, and academic institutions to use the unlicensed 57-64 GHz band for application development."

Readers say:
"New technology, small size."
"This might be interesting but -- that price however ... won't be seeing this used in many Set top boxes or handsets..."

USABILITY RANK: 3

(3)
STMICRO
Bluetooth/FM radio combo chip saves space, cost
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "STMicroelectronics has introduced its 4th-generation Bluetooth/FM Radio combo system-on-a-chip, which meets the integration and cost requirements of the cellular phone market. By combining Bluetooth wireless personal-area-network functionality with a FM radio transceiver in a single 65-nm chip, the STLC2690 saves both space and cost for manufacturers of portable products."

Readers say:
"Bluetooth is ubiquitous, adding FM to further bundle other radios is a good step. Impressed by 65nm technology."
"Similar Production Comparison; Power consumption"
"They likely did it for Nokia and are now trying to sell it to others. Not like there are many start-up cell phone companies who want to run out and design this one in."

USABILITY RANK: 2

(4)
ALTAIR SEMICONDUCTOR
Mobile WiMAX processor hones in on low power for handhelds
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "Aimed at leading handheld device and module manufacturers, Altair Semiconductor has released the ALT2150 mobile WiMAX baseband processor that implements full WiMAX Forum Wave-2 physical (PHY) Layer and Media Access Control (MAC) functionality."

Readers say:
"WiMax is possible future technology. Low power noted."
"It may be technologically charming but I wish these guys luck against the juggernaut of TI, Intel, Xilinx, Atmel, Broadcom, Connexant - maybe they will get rich when they become irritating enough to someone so they get bought. I would not expect the big guys to bet on a no-name place and put it in production."

USABILITY RANK: 10

(5)
MICROTUNE
Universal tuner chip enables DTV on PCs, portables and STBs
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "Microtune Inc. is sampling a low-power, 1-GHz tuner chip dubbed MicroTuner MT2063 that is engineered to exceed the expected performance defined by analog and digital TV standards across the United States, Europe, Japan and China."

Readers say:
"That's a lot of TV standards in one small chip!"
"Very interesting device."

USABILITY RANK: 8

(6)
MAXIM
Maxim shrinks RF transceiver BOM by 50%
eeProductCenter's Janine Love says: "Maxim Integrated Products introduces the MAX2838, a WiMAX RF transceiver in high-volume production that eliminates the need for a SAW filter and the VCO circuitry required by available superheterodyne products. As a result, the company reports that the device saves 50 percent BOM cost, reducing component count and board space."

Readers say:
"Maxim typically isn't the most integrated solution."
"Pretty interesting if WiMax makes it. What if it converges with LTE -- will this part still work?"
"I think its ability to do what you say, is quite well taken. I would sure get a couple and try them out."

USABILITY RANK: 7

(7)
JACKSON LABS
GPS disciplined oscillator delivers ultra-low-power consumption
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "Jackson Labs has unveiled its FireFly product, an extremely small OCXO-based GPS disciplined oscillator (GPSDO) that meets Stratum-1 requirements with very low-power consumption. The OCXO-based Firefly delivers long-term performance similar to Atomic Frequency Standards, and supports both mobile such as vehicle-mounted and airborne applications and stationary applications."

Readers say:
"Cool integration -- but nothing ground breaking."
"Wow the price is way high.. you can buy other solutions for less money I believe that pull the signal right off the GPS."

USABILITY RANK: 9

(8)
QUALCOMM
Highly integrated single-chip delivers advanced capabilities to mass-market handsets
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "Qualcomm Inc. has introduced a new single-chip solution that brings multimedia and broadband capabilities to mass-market handsets. The Qualcomm Single Chip (QSC) QSC6295 integrates baseband, multimedia processing and radio functionality into a single chip, touting cost- and time-to-market advantages to help drive wireless broadband and 3G adoption in mass markets."

Readers say:
"What's new here?"
"This is pretty interesting."

USABILITY RANK: 4

(9)
SIANO MOBILE SILICON
Antenna chip sharpens mobile digital TV reception
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "Mobile TV chipmaker Siano Mobile Silicon launched its second-generation antenna-chip product, the SMS8022, that is aimed at helping drive mass adoption of mobile digital TV (MDTV) on mobile phones, portable multimedia players, notebooks, UMPCs and accessory cards."

Readers say:
"An antenna chip? BORING!"
"There is no such thing as a "digital antenna" - snake oil."

USABILITY RANK: 6

(10)
MAXLINEAR
TV tuner delivers 'green' solution for ATSC converter, set-top boxes
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "MaxLinear, Inc. has developed a TV tuner IC for low-cost converter, set-top box (STB) and other TV systems currently being designed for the FCC-mandated conversion to all digital television in 2009. The low-power MxL5007T targets ATSC-to-analog TV converters with its low external bill-of-materials (BOM) cost and digital CMOS implementation."

Readers say:
"Green moniker is an interesting way to sell an IC."
" Yeah... I am going to put this in my high volume application.. it has design in kryptonite written all over it. The microtune part is likely safer"
"Oh yeah.. and the "green" thing is getting over done. I think this should be a digital powered, nanotechnology, green chip then it has all the buzz words needed to get attention. What about this is green? lead free? ROHS? It uses 300 Mw vs what 400 Mw by the leading bargain brand? This is not where the big power is wasted in products."

USABILITY RANK: 5

In case you were wondering, here's how Ultimate Products works: Our editors select up to 10 of the most significant products posted at www.eeProductCenter.com during the calendar quarter. Then, using an electronic balloting process, we submit the products with the accompanying editorial reviews to selected, qualified readers. Those readers score the products by technical significance and
USABILITY on a scale of 1 through 5, with 5 being the highest score. The product ranked No. 1 in each category was judged as most technically significant for that category. Relative
USABILITY rankings and selected reader comments are also reported. More than 1,000 of you helped to choose these products. As always, we are grateful for your enthusiastic participation.

Patrick Mannion
Editor-in-Chief, Techonline Network and eeProductcenter.com
pmannion@cmp.com