Exclusive Teardown: Apple iPhone 5s and 5c [Courtesy : IHS Electronics & Media]

Further to my earlier post about the new iPhone 5S and 5C review, I found this article from IHS. It is extremely interesting if you understand the hardware design of a phone.

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Exclusive Teardown: Apple iPhone 5s and 5c
Courtesy : IHS Electronics & Media

Electronics360 Managing Editor Dylan McGrath sat down with Andrew Rassweiler, senior director of Teardown Analysis and Cost Benchmarking Service at IHS Electronics & Media, on Monday, September 23, to discuss what's inside the iPhone 5s and 5c that Apple Inc. released on Friday, September 20. The discussion covered what's new - and what's not - in the new handsets as well as the cost drivers.

What follows are the preliminary teardown results of both handsets conducted by the IHS Teardown Analysis and Cost Benchmarking Service team with IHS analyst commentary. First up is the Apple iPhone 5s.

Groundbreaking iPhone 5s Carries $199 BOM and Manufacturing Cost
Apple’s Inc.’s new flagship product—the iPhone 5s—features some cutting-edge components that represent pioneering achievements for the smartphone market while maintaining a nearly identical cost compared to Apple's iPhone 5.

The photos below show the Apple iPhone 5s 16 GB model A1533 before the teardown and an exploded view of what's inside. Photos courtesy of IHS.

The low-end version of the iPhone 5s with 16 gigabytes (GB) of NAND flash memory has a bill of materials (BOM) of $191, according to the preliminary results of a physical dissection of the device conducted by the Teardown Analysis Service of IHS Electronics & Media. When the $8 manufacturing expense is added in, the cost rises to $199. The compares to a $197 total cost for the original iPhone 5, based on the completed IHS teardown analysis from one year ago.

“The iPhone 5s features a 64-bit apps processor, low-power Double Data Rate 3 (LPDDR3) DRAM, and a novel fingerprint sensor—features that have never before been seen in a smartphone,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, cost benchmarking services for IHS. “In addition, it is very interesting to see that Apple continues to collaborate closely with suppliers to develop unique radio frequency (RF) solutions that give Apple a competitive edge.”

The photos below show the top and bottom of the main printed circuit board inside the Apple iPhone 5s. Photos courtesy of IHS.

The table below presents the preliminary BOM and manufacturing cost based on a physical dissection of the iPhone 5s conducted by the IHS Teardown Analysis Service. Note that the teardown assessment is preliminary in nature, accounts only for hardware and manufacturing costs and does not include other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditures.

iPhone turns 64
Although other smartphones have included 64-bit graphics processors, the 5s is the first model with a 64-bit applications processor, an innovation that has major implications for the iPhone and for Apple’s other product lines.

“The move to the 64-bit apps processor is largely driven by the need for greater computational power to ensure that the smartphone’s fingerprint sensor works quickly and seamlessly,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS. “The processor also boosts the performance of the iPhone 5s’s camera, allowing 120 frame-per-second (FPS) video and 10 FPS photo capture. This design change will likely set the stage for 64-bit processors to be used in upcoming Apple products, including new models of the iPad, the Apple TV and even MacBook Air PCs.”

The 64-bit processor is part of the Apple-designed A7 apps processor, based on a core from ARM Holdings plc. The new 64-bit processor core is called “Cyclone,” as opposed to the 32-bit version used in the iPhone 5 and 5c, known as “Swift.”

Despite the well-publicized feud between the companies, Samsung is the manufacturer of Apple’s A7. This likely is because Samsung has a license to ARM's 64-bit core.

The A7 used in the iPhone 5s costs $19—significantly higher than the A6 used in the original iPhone 5 and 5c, which currently carries a cost of $13.

Precious memories
In parallel with the upgrade to 64-bit computing, Apple has updated the memory of iPhone 5s to LPDDR3, marking the first time that the IHS Teardown Analysis Service has identified this advanced type of DRAM in an electronic product. Apple probably used this high-speed, cutting-edge memory—as opposed to the LPDDR2 employed in the original iPhone 5 and 5c—to support the fast processing speeds of the A7.

Such performance comes at a price. The 1 GB of LPDDR3 costs $11.00, up from $9.50 for the same quantity of LPDDR2 in the 5c.

Printing money
The addition of the fingerprint scanner also represents an increased hardware cost for the 5s. The user-interface segment of the 5s, which includes the fingerprint scanner, costs $15. This compares to just $8 for the user interface for the 5c, which has no fingerprint scanner.

Battle of the bands
Another major difference between the iPhone 5s and the original iPhone 5 lies in the RF transceiver, which has been updated to support more 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) bands. Like the iPhone 5c, the 5s uses Qualcomm’s WTR1605L RF Transceiver, which supports up to seven simultaneous LTE connections during operations. The original iPhone 5 utilizes the older RTR8600L RF transceiver, also from Qualcomm, which supported only five active LTE bands.

Design Stasis
One of the biggest-ticket items in the iPhone 5s gets no change: the display and touch-screen subsystem. Maintaining the same specification and the same suppliers for the panels as the iPhone 5 has helped Apple hold the line on its hardware costs for the 5s. Japan Display Inc., LG Display and Sharp have been the main display suppliers for the iPhone 5 for more than a year, allowing Apple to provide them the opportunity to enhance their manufacturing yields and efficiencies. NAND flash has also not made any significant advances with the 5s, and the amount of the memory content in the phone remains the same.

Higher prices for higher-end phones
The combined BOM and manufacturing cost for the midrange iPhone 5s with 32 GB of NAND flash is estimated at $208. The 64-GB model’s cost totals $218.

Apple Continues Familiar Design and Pricing Strategy with iPhone 5c
Far from the major departure that many had expected, the iPhone 5c turned out to follow Apple Inc.’s familiar formula, combining premium pricing with a hardware design almost completely identical to the original iPhone 5, according to preliminary results from the Teardown Analysis Service of IHS Electronics & Media.

The photos below show the Apple iPhone 5c 16 GB model A1532 before the teardown and an exploded view of what's inside. Photos courtesy of IHS.

The low-end model of Apple’s iPhone 5c with 16 gigabytes (GB) of NAND flash memory carries a bill of materials (BOM) of $166, based on a physical dissection of the production. The cost rises to $173 when the $7 manufacturing expense is added in. The 32-GB model carries a combined cost of $183.

While this is considerably less than the $197 BOM and manufacturing cost for the original 16-GB iPhone 5 based on the final results of the IHS teardown conducted one year ago, it’s still on the high end for a smartphone. To attain the cost and pricing required to merit low-end pricing of $400, while maintaining Apple’s customary high hardware margin, the combined BOM and manufacturing expense for the iPhone 5c would have had to amount to about $130.

“Many expected Apple to take an affordable strategy with the iPhone 5c, producing a lower-cost smartphone that would be priced at around $400 in order to address developing markets, such as China,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS. “However, the reality of the iPhone 5c is completely different, with Apple offering a phone with a $173 BOM and manufacturing cost, and a $549 price tag—without subsidies. Once again, Apple has stuck to its old tried-and-true formula of optimizing its iPhone hardware gross margins to attain maximum profitability.”

The table below presents the preliminary BOM based on a physical dissection of the iPhone 5c conducted by the IHS Teardown Analysis Service. Note that the teardown assessment is preliminary in nature, accounts only for hardware and manufacturing costs and does not include other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditures.

Just one word: plastic

Just as Apple’s pricing strategy for the 5c is familiar, so are the phone’s electronic content and design.

“The iPhone 5c is basically an iPhone 5 in a plastic disguise,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, cost benchmarking services for IHS. “Just as in the original iPhone 5, the 5c uses an Apple A6 processor, a 4-inch retina display, and low-power Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) DRAM—among other commonalities. Because of this, the iPhone 5c benefits from the normal cost reductions that typically occur for electronic devices during the period of a year. The combination of the design and component reuse—and the plastic enclosure—has allowed Apple to offer a less expensive version of the iPhone, although it’s still not cheap enough to be a true low-cost smartphone.”

The photos below show the top and bottom of the main printed circuit board inside the Apple iPhone 5c. Photos courtesy of IHS.

Display decline
The display module in the 5c carries a cost of $41, down 7 percent from $44 one year ago.
“Maintaining the same specification and the same suppliers for the panels as the iPhone 5 has helped Apple hold the line on its display costs for the 5s,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, director of mobile and emerging displays and technology at IHS. “Japan Display Inc., LG Display and Sharp have been the main display suppliers for the iPhone 5 for more than a year, allowing Apple to provide them the opportunity to enhance their manufacturing yields and efficiencies.”

Getting the bands back together
The biggest difference between the iPhone 5c and the original iPhone 5 lies in the radio frequency (RF) transceiver, which has been updated to support more 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) bands. The 5c uses Qualcomm’s WTR1605L RF transceiver, which supports up to seven simultaneous LTE connections during operations. The iPhone 5 used the older RTR8600L RF transceiver, also from Qualcomm, that supported only up to five active LTE bands.

Touch display technologies

Most of us buy mobile phones and tablets based on display specifications as one of the evaluation parameter. I will try and explain what are the various types of display technologies and some terms which you should know about.

The touch based smartphone screens are a complex assembly and consist of the following layers

• Base layer - display (LCD, LED)
• Middle layer - Touch panel (Resistive, capacitive)
• Top layer - protective glass (gorilla, etc)

Structure of a touch panel display 

The above assembly is one of the most expensive component of a smartphone. It is also one of the most important part of the hardware specification which most customers use for evaluation. So before making a decision you should know what it is.

The various display technologies are

• LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
• TFT - thin-film transistor
• IPS - in-plane-switching
• LED - Light Emitting Diodes
• OLED - Organic Light-Emitting Diode
• AMOLED - Active-Matrix OLED
• Super AMOLED

• Retina Display

The above terms are explained below (not too much details, just sufficient)

LCD Display

An LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display, is a type of screen that is used in many computers, TVs, and cell phones. LCDs are very thin, but are actually composed of several layers. Those layers include two polarized panels, with a liquid crystal solution between them. Light is projected through the layer of liquid crystals and is colorized, which produces the visible image.

Picture : Structure of a LCD pixel

The liquid crystals do no emit light themselves, so LCDs require a backlight. That means that an LCD requires more power, and could potentially be more taxing on your phone’s battery. LCDs are thin and light, though, and generally inexpensive to produce.

Two types of LCDs are primarily found in cell phones : TFT (thin-film transistor) and IPS (in-plane-switching). TFT LCDs use the thin-film transistor technology to improve image quality, while IPS-LCDs improve on the viewing angles and power consumption of TFT LCDs.

TFT LCD

TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor, and is a type of technology used to improve the image quality of an LCD. Each pixel on a TFT-LCD has its own transistor on the glass itself, which offers more control over the images and colors that it renders.

While TFT-LCDs can deliver sharp images, they also tend to offer relatively poor viewing angles, meaning they look best when viewed head-on. If you view a TFT-LCD from the side, it can be difficult to see. TFT-LCDs also consume more power than other types of cell phone displays. In general, TFT-LCDs are found on more low-end smartphones or feature phones, and on basic cell phones.

IPS LCD

IPS stands for in-plane switching. An IPS-LCD is a type of thin display that offers better viewing angles than TFT-LCDs. IPS-LCDs feature two transistors for each pixel, where TFT-LCDs use just one. This requires a more powerful backlight, which delivers more accurate colors, and allows the screen to be viewed from a wider angle. The downside is that an IPS-LCD may consume more power than a TFT-LCD.

OLED Displays

OLED, or Organic Light-Emitting Diode, displays are able to deliver sharper and brighter images than LCDs, while also using less power. Just like LCDs, OLED displays come in a variety of types. Here are the types of OLED displays you're likely to find on today's cell phones and smartphones.

Structure of the OLED pixel

OLED, or Organic Light-Emitting Diode, displays are able to deliver sharper and brighter images than LCDs, while also using less power. Unlike an LCD, which requires a backlight, OLED screens can emit their own light. This allows OLED screens to display brighter, sharper images and text, and to offer better viewing angles. It also means that OLED screens are thinner and consume less power than their LCD counterparts.

OLED screens also offer faster refresh rates than LCDs, so they can deliver smoother video playback. But there are a few drawbacks to OLED displays. For one, the organic materials used to make them have a more limited lifetime than the components of other display types. OLED screens also have the potential to be more easily damaged by water or other liquids. Also, when viewed in direct sunlight, the images on an OLED display are not as bright as what you'd see on an LCD.

AMOLED

AMOLED is the abbreviation for Active-Matrix OLED, a type of display that is found in TVs and mobile devices, like cell phones. AMOLED displays actually pair part of a traditional TFT display with an OLED display. This allows them to offer faster response times than regular OLED displays, which can be prone to ghosting when displaying fast-moving images. AMOLED displays also offer greater power savings than traditional OLED displays.

Like traditional OLED displays, though, AMOLED displays may have a more limited lifetime, because of the organic materials used to make them. Also, when viewed in direct sunlight, the images on an AMOLED display are not as bright as what you'd see on an LCD.

Super AMOLED

Super AMOLED displays, which are found in many Samsung smartphones, are designed to improve on the performance of traditional AMOLED displays. Samsung says its Super AMOLED displays offer significantly better performance than AMOLED displays when viewed in direct sunlight. They are also supposed to offer brighter images while consuming less power than their AMOLED counterparts.

Retina Display

Apple calls the display on the iPhone a "Retina Display," saying it offers more pixels than the human eye can see -- a claim that has been disputed by some experts.

The iPhone 4's Retina Display features a resolution of 326dpi (dots per inch). When announcing the phone, Apple's Steve Jobs said that 300dpi is a "magic number," because it's the limit of the human retina to distinguish pixels. Because the iPhone 4's display features a resolution higher than the magic number, Apple says it will always look smooth and clear.

Screen Size and Resolution

Apart from the display technology there are a few more parameters of the display which are important

a) Display Size - this is the diagonal length of the viewable part of the display or length from one corner of the viewable display to the diagonally opposite corner. 

b) Display Resolution - it determines the amount of content that can be displayed at any given time. It defines the number of pixels horizontally and vertically. So when we say the resolution is 800 x 480, it means the display has 800 vertical pixel lines and 480 horizontal pixel lines. The various resolutions available are listed below.

QQVGA	160 x 120		XGA	1024 x 768
HQVGA	240 x 160		WXGA	1280 x 720
QVGA	320 x 240		WXGA	1280 x 768
WQVGA	400 x 240		WXGA	1280 x 800
HVGA	480 x 320		WXGA	1360 x 768
VGA	640 x 480		WXGA	1366 x 768
WVGA	800 x 480		XGA+	1152 x 864
FWVGA	854 x 480		WXGA+	1440 x 900
SVGA	800 x 600		SXGA	1280 x 1024
DVGA	960 x 640		SXGA+	1400 x 1050
WSVGA	1024 x 576		WSXGA+	1680 x 1050
WSVGA	1024 x 600		UXGA	1600 x 1200
			WUXGA	1920 x 1200

c) Pixel density - the total number of pixels within a physical constraint. It's calculated in pixels per inch (ppi), which is fundamentally a measure of how tightly pixels are squeezed together.The pixel density depends on the above 2 factors (size and resolution)

What looks better? 

Let's take an example. If you have a smart phone with a 3.5 inch display and a resolution of 480 x 800 and a tablet with a 7 inch display and the same resolution 800 x 480, 

a) the size of each pixel on the 7 inch display is larger than on the 3.5 inch display 

b) the pixel density on the 3.5" phone is higher (266 ppi) than that on the 7 inch screen (133 ppi)

In other words, the pixel density (pixels per inch) of the 3.5 inch phone is double that of the 7 inch tablet with same resolution, so pictures look more crisp on the smaller screen with the same resolution. 

Note that the resolution terminology is reversed (480 x 800 vs 800 x 480) because the display on the smart phone is in the portrait form and the tablet is landscape, but both resolutions are the same. 

Touch panel 

Touch panel is that part of the display that responds to the user's touch. It performs actions as per the action defined at the location of the touch. There are 2 major types of touch on smart phones and tablets available at this time - Resistive and Capacitive.  

Resistive Touch panels 

Resistive touch screens possesses two layers of conductive material with a very small gap between them, which acts as a resistance. When the resistive touchscreen is touched with a finger (or a stylus) the two layers meet at the point of touch and thus makes a circuit there. Resistive touch screens are not as responsive as capacitive touch screens and hence, often require a stylus. This technology is cheaper to make and is used only in low end phones. 

The resistive touchscreen consists of a flexible top layer made of Polyethylene (PET) and a rigid bottom layer made of glass. Both the layers are coated with a conducting compound called Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) and then spaced with spacers. While the display is operational, an electric current flows between the two layers. When a touch is made, the flexible screen presses down and touches the bottom layer. A change in electrical current is hence detected and the coordinates of the point of touch is calculated by the controller and parsed into readable signals for the operating system to react accordingly.   

                                     

These systems transmit only 75% of light from the display. The resistive touchscreen is further divided into 4-, 5-, 6-, 7- and 8-wired resistive touchscreen. While the constructive design of all these modules is similar there is a major distinction in each of its method to determine the coordinates of touch.

The Resistive Touchscreen works well with almost any stylus-like object.

Capacitive Touch panels 

Capacitive touch screens are more responsive to human touch when compared to resistive touch screens. Hence, the user experience for touch is much better. Capacitive touchscreens are used in high-end smartphones. A capacitive screen is smooth to operate as it just requires the presence of your finger, without any pressure.

The Capacitive Touchscreen Technology is the most popular and durable touchscreen technology used all over the world at most. It consists of a glass panel coated with a capacitive (conductive) material Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). The capacitive systems transmit almost 90% of light from the display. There are various capacitive technologies available as explained below.

Surface-Capacitive screens, in this technique only one side of the insulator is coated with a conducting layer. While the display is operational, a uniform electrostatic field is formed over the conductive layer. Whenever, a human finger touches the screen, conduction of electric charges occurs over the uncoated layer which results in the formation of a dynamic capacitor. The computer or the controller then detects the position of touch by measuring the change in capacitance at the four corners of the screen.

In the Projected-Capacitive Touchscreen Technology, the conductive ITO layer is etched to form a grid of multiple horizontal and vertical electrodes. It involves sensing along both the X and Y axis using clearly etched ITO pattern.

In the Projected-Capacitive Touchscreen Technology, the conductive ITO layer is etched to form a grid of multiple horizontal and vertical electrodes. It involves sensing along both the X and Y axis using clearly etched ITO pattern. The projective screen contains a sensor at every intersection of the row and column, thereby increasing the accuracy of the system. There are two types of projected capacitive touchscreen: Mutual Capacitance and Self Capacitance

Capacitive touch screens also support multi-touch or plural technology, which can detect two or more touches over its display area at the same time. Some of the common functionalities that require multitouch interface are zooming in, zooming out, rotating objects, panning through a document, virtual keyboard, etc.

The capacitive touchscreen can only be operated by bare finger or multiple fingers for multi touch.   

Protective glass

The glass on top of the display assembly is a glass which provides strength to the assembly and protects the touch panel and display from damage from scratches, impact, heat, etc. The most known glass is the Gorilla glass made by Corning. The other type being sapphire glass also used in wrist watches as well.

Corning Gorilla Glass is an environmentally friendly alkali-aluminosilicate thin-sheet glass designed specifically to function as a cover glass for portable display devices. Its superior composition allows a deeper layer of chemical strengthening than is possible with other chemically strengthened glasses, giving it an increased ability to resist and withstand damage.   

A variety of features come together in Corning’s Gorilla Glass to create a strong, damage-resistant glass that is ideal for smartphones and tablet PCs, including:

• Chemically strengthened to withstand high-volume user interaction and repetitive motion
• Highly durable cover glass for increased mobile Tablet PCs lifespan
• Adds protection without impacting pen response
• Increased ability to resist and withstand damages compared to device without Gorilla Glass
• Retains its performance advantage even when used in thin form factors
• Retains optical characteristics after extended use and abuse
• Remains strong over time
• Water, chemical and disinfectant resistant coating: easy to clean and remove dust, dirt, or other elements.

The iPhone 5C and 5S launched

For all you Apple fans, I am trying to review the colorful iPhone 5C and 5S which got launched yesterday.

The iPhone 5C has a plastic back and comes with 5 colors. Apple has smartly integrated the antenna in the back cover. It comes with the Apple A6 chip (not A7 which is the one on the iPhone 5S), 8MP iSight camera, 4-inch Retina display with a 1136x640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi and is only 8.97mm thick.  The OS is their latest iOS 7.  It comes with 2 memory versions 16GB and 32GB.

 

The wireless technologies it supports are LTE (4G), HSPA and CDMA EVDO RevB (Tri-Mode).  The phone has 5 variants with different bands for different countries. Interesting to note is that there is a variant which supports the LTE bands for India and this variant will an excellent 4G phone for India. The CDMA versions do not support the LTE bands for India and so if these are launched in India it will be a Dual Mode (HSPA+EVDO RevB) only. I am listing the variants for your reference below:

Model A1532 (GSM): UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25)
Model A1532 (CDMA): CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25)
Model A1456: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev B. (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26)
Model A1507: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20)
Model A1529: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20); TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40)

The price for the phone in india will be around Rs 35,000 for the 16GB version and around Rs 42,000 for the 32GB version.

The iPhone 5C video

The iPhone 5S, looks the more traditional metallic iPhone design. It is supposed to be the first 64-bit smart phone. What that means to you is, it will be pretty fast in the transitions. The one new hardware feature added is the finger print sensor placed in the space below the display. It also comes with the faster Apple A7 chip, compared to the A6 on the 5C. The have also added a M7 "motion co-processor". It comes with 3 memory versions 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The thickness is only 7.6mm.

You may ask what the M7 motion co-processor means - Apple has basically strapped this beside the A7 chip to pick up data from the device’s accelerometer, gyroscope and compass. This in turn will reduce the overhead and work-load on the A7 chipset, ensuring better processing and power efficiency. It also means a better app experience in those apps which use data from sensors. All the applications from the iStore will need to be reworked for the iOS7 which also takes care of the M7 co-processor.

Most other features and technology variants are the same as the iPhone 5C.

The iPhone 5S is priced at around Rs 42,000 for the 16GB version, Rs 48,200 for 32 GB and Rs 54,616 for the 64 GB version.

The iPhone 5S video

Have fun you iPhone fans.

Samsung Brings Enhanced Mobile Graphics Performance Capabilities to New Exynos 5 Octa Processor | Sa

Samsung Brings Enhanced Mobile Graphics Performance Capabilities to New Exynos 5 Octa Processor | Sa

Intel Lays Out Its Grand Wireless Plan, Bets Big on LTE

By the end of August, Intel will be one of just two chip makers shipping a low-power, multimode, multiband 4G LTE modem capable of Voice-over LTE (VoLTE), the Intel XMM 7160.

Check out the article by PCMAG.com - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423416,00.asp

I am hoping Intel do well in the wireless world too.

Mediatek's new SOC MT8377 and its difference with MT6577

Mediatek's newer SOC MT8377 is based on the older MT6577 and there is a lot of similarity between them, such as : same GPU (PowerVR SGX531 Ultra),  same CPU core (dual Cortex A9 architecture), the same process technology (40nm), same frequency (1-1.2GHz), same package and same pin configuration (TFBGA package). There are also some differences in the details as listed below...

1) Product positioning : MT8377 is positioned for tablet manufacturers and MT6577 targeted at mobile phones.

2) Different VPU : MT8377 is the first MTK smart chip to support 1080P video decoding by hardware, while the MT6577 only  supports 720P hardware decoding and a software based 1080P video decoding. So the same length of 1080P video playback on the MT8377 will play more smoothly than on the MT6577. This is because the MT8377's VPU unit is stronger.

3) Four different chips: the MT6577 chip uses 4 bundled chips - MT6620 (ie, wireless broadband / WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS and FM transceiver 4-in-1 integrated single-chip), while the MT8377 platform uses the upgraded version of the MT6628. The advantage of MT6628 is the support for Bluetooth 4.0, WIFI speed and stability and the GPS is more sensitive.

4) Improved RAM controller : MT8377 supports LPDDR3 and PCDDR3 dual channel RAM, while in the general version of the MT6577 platform it only supports LPDDR2.

5) Better ROM controller : MT8377's Flash ROM support to eMMC4.5, while the MT6577 supports only eMMC4.41

6) Display resolution: MT8377 product is designed to support the lowest resolution of 1024 × 600, and it also supports higher resolutions viz. 1024 × 768, 1280 × 720, 1280 × 800, 1333 × 768 - four combinations. The MT6577's most commonly supported resolutions are  320 × 480 and 800 x 480.

7) Power consumption : There is only a subtle difference in the power consumption of MT8377 and MT6577 at the same frequency  - only by about 3% which is negligible.

Summary  

The price difference between the 2 chipsets is not much, but the performance upgrade is good especially on the video playback and resolution. Also the RAM and ROM controller upgrades make a difference in the overall performance. Also since the base the MT8377 and MT6577 are pin compatible with small cages to the core software it is an easy upgrade the MT6577 design to MT8577 based tablet design. 

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) introduction

Imagine everything around you which you use in your daily life connected to the internet. It would be fun to control everything using your internet on your mobile or your laptop or PC.

Imagine you able to start your air conditioner at home before just before you reach there. Imagine your coffee ready even before you reach your office. Imagine advertising companies controlling billboards in real time - changing ads remotely. 

A lot more can be done.... i hope I can explain what M2M is and where it can apply.

What is M2M?

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication is a form of data communication that involves one or more entities that do not necessarily require human interaction or intervention in the process of communication. M2M is also named as Machine Type Communication (MTC) in 3GPP. It is different from the current communication models in the ways that it involves:

- new or different market scenarios

- lower costs and effort

- a potentially very large number of communicating terminals - little traffic per terminal, in general

Systems that enable machines to communicate with back-end information systems and/or directly with other machines, in order to provide real-time data. M2M communication can be event-based, that is triggered by the occurrence of a particular event, and/or polling based, that takes place in predefined time intervals. 

Machina Research defines M2M as “Connections to remote sensing, monitoring and actuating devices, together with associated aggregation devices” 

M2M communication could be carried over mobile networks (e.g. GSM-GPRS, CDMA EVDO networks). In the M2M communication, the role of mobile network is largely confined to serve as a transport network. 

Applications of M2M

There are various places where this technology can be applied. The picture below depicts the universe of M2M also called "The Internet of Things".

Let me list down a few applications which cover the M2M umbrella. The umbrella is pretty large as you can see above. 

• Security : Surveillances, Alarm systems, Access control, Car/driver security 
• Tracking & Tracing : Fleet Management, Order Management, Pay as you drive, Asset Tracking, Navigation, Traffic information, Road tolling, Traffic optimization/steering 
• Payment : Point of sales,Vending machines,Gaming machines 
• Health : Monitoring vital signs, Supporting the aged or handicapped, Web Access Telemedicine points, Remote diagnostics 
• Remote Maintenance / Control : Sensors, Lighting, Pumps, Valves, Elevator control, Vending machine control, Vehicle diagnostics 
• Automated Metering : Power, Gas, Water, Heating, Grid control, Industrial metering 
• Manufacturing : Production chain monitoring and automation 
• Facility Management : Home / building / campus automation 

The above applications can fall under 2 broad buckets depending on the type of application - Consumer Applications and Enterprise applications.

The applications are subjects by themselves and can be talked about in detail. 

So from the above you may have realized that there are 3 parts to the complete M2M thing (a) The Device  (b) The network (c) The application. M2M has a huge ecosystem covering the above 3 parts. There can be discussions around how and who are making and selling these products. 

Think about this and let me know......

What I wish to do with this blog

Mobile devices and technology being my profession, I wish to update you guys reading my space with various news about telecom devices - not just handsets and smart phones, but those devices and applications which can make you efficient. I would also like to get you news and information about various enterprise devices and applications which companies look for.

I am not a avid writer, but I hope to make this blog interesting with as much relevant info I can find so that you can get all you need in one place.

I absolutely appreciate your inputs, suggestions and discussions and hope to make this space a useful and fun place.

Regards
Kshitij