Seiko Picks Infineon Transceiver

Seiko Instruments picked Infineon Technologies' SMARTi 3G single-chip CMOS radio frequency (RF) transceiver for its C01SI UMTS /HSDPA data card. The card will enable laptop and PDA users to connect to the Internet via the cellular network. The new card will be supplied to Softbank Mobile, a leading 3G mobile phone carrier in Japan, for use in its first data card UMTS/HSDPA service offering. "The device made it possible for us to integrate HSDPA support and receiver diversity in a compact flash-sized card," Takaaki Yamamoto, vice president of the Mobile Communication Systems division of Seiko Instruments, said in a statement. "This new solution will enable Softbank Mobile’s business and private customers to take advantage of high-speed Internet applications, to download emails and share content even when on the move." The SMARTi 3G is the first cellular transceiver IC that supports all frequency bands designated for all UMTS networks. Its standard analog interface ensures compatibility with the majority of existing 3G baseband processors, and it supports HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) Category 8 with the downlink data rate of 7.2 Mbps.