Chip news from Altair, Broadcom and MediaTek
AT&T gives LTE-only a boost
Israel’s Altair Semiconductor said today that its FourGee-3800/6300 chipset has completed AT&T’s ADAPT chipset validation. Altair makes LTE-only chipsets, which so far have primarily been used in tablets. Tablets do not need to make voice calls, and voice-over-LTE is still in its infancy.
“Completing the ADAPT validation with AT&T Wireless is an important milestone for Altair,” said Eran Eshed, co-founder of Altair. “We are looking forward to driving innovation on LTE-only enabled devices on AT&T Wireless’ network.”
Broadcom brings home a first
Broadcom said it is the first chipmaker to meet HomeKit technical specifications for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart. HomeKit is Apple’s framework for the connected home. Broadcom said it has embedded HomeKit support into its wireless Internet connectivity for embedded devices software development kit.
“By delivering a complete IoT platform with HomeKit compliance we are enabling developers and OEMs to deliver highly interoperable home connectivity solutions for the optimal consumer experience,” said Brian Bedrosian, Broadcom senior director of product marketing, wireless connectivity.
Eight is not enough. MediaTek debuts 10 core CPU architecture
Following up on last year’s octacore chip designs, Taiwan’s MediaTek today announced a deca-core CPU architecture for high-end smartphones. The Helio X20 has two ARM Cortex A72 cores and two additional clusters comprised of four ARM Cortex A53 cores at 2.0Ghz. It is integrated with an LTE CAT 6 modem, and is expected to sample in the third quarter.
