Increasing the pace of HSPA+ 21Mbps innovation – introducing the Thor ™ M5780 HSPA+ thin modem

Did you know that, according to the GSA, HSPA+ is the main trend on the high speed mobile broadband market right now? To support this there have recently been a number of successful launches of the first 21Mbps smartphones powered by ST-Ericsson’s thin modems. We have already launched three extremely power-efficient and compact HSPA+ 21Mbps thin modems on the market, the Thor^TM M570, M5720, and M5730. But the innovation does not stop there: In our labs engineers are currently preparing to launch the latest member of the family, the Thor M5780 which represents a further improvement of 21Mbps thin modems for smartphones.

Thor M5780 is a very compact smartphone-optimized configuration which inherits the proven HSPA+ modem technology from its predecessors. The success of innovation has led to a 35% size reduction of M5780 compared to the first generation, M570. That’s pretty neat. Add to that, the fact that the family is capable of delivering 21Mbps downstream and 5.76Mbps upstream simultaneously and needs no separate flash memory and you have what you need to make great high speed broadband-enabled smartphones.

So, what is it that makes Thor^TM M57x0 family stand out?

The world of telecom loves acronyms and there will be no exception here! Keep in mind that every new modem technology aims to significantly optimize the data throughput, network efficiency and power consumption. These devices are engineered to provide you with more performance in your smartphone while enabling mobile operators to use their frequency spectrum in a more efficient way. With the current explosive growth of smartphone usage, it is vital to allow more of your fellow smartphone users to simultaneously enjoy mobile broadband connections.

And now for the acronyms…The 64QAM modulation scheme and the Integrated Rx diversity receiver drive performance. The Enhanced F-DPCH, Enhanced CELL FACH in combination with Fast Dormancy Rel-8 and CPC – seriously improving the network efficiency and current consumption. CPC alone results in at least 20 percent improvement in power consumption. These are some of the technologies that allow the M57x0 family of thin modems to be as high-performing as they are.

The M5780 shares software with the M57x0 family that has already passed major operator’s approval processes so we expect to have a quick bring-up process. This will allow high-speed smartphones equipped with the M5780 to come to market rapidly.