NORWOOD, Mass.-Chipmaker Analog Devices Inc. announced a teaming with Chinese vendor Datang Mobile to offer a phone reference design for the TD-SCDMA wireless standard. The move furthers the possibility the technology will see the light of day in China.
“We believe our reference design answers the call of TD-SCDMA supporters by helping to eliminate the obstacle of insufficient handset availability,” said Sun Yuwang, Datang’s vice president.
The chip reference design covers high-end camera phones, camcorder phones, multimedia phones and video phones. It includes a digital baseband processor, an analog baseband/audio/power-management IC and a direct conversion radio. Aside from the TD-SCDMA technology, Datang will also offer tool kits for debugging and testing. Mobile phone reference designs generally speed phone development by providing most of the necessary designs and components in one package.
Datang is China’s most vocal proponent for TD-SCDMA. ZTE, Nortel, Siemens, Huawei, Alcatel and others have said they will offer network equipment, while Bird, Amoi, Lenovo and others have promised TD-SCDMA handsets, according to UBS.
The Chinese government is to issue third-generation licenses to the country’s wireless operators, although it’s unclear which technologies the government will endorse. Industry observers expect the government to issue the licenses some time this year.
