Infineon: Small in Size and With a Huge Impact on Mobile Phones
MUNICH, Germany—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 26, 2006—
Every mobile phone in the world needs a radio
transmitter and a radio receiver to bridge the distance between the
user and the base stations of the mobile network. Ongoing technology
development since the early 1990's, and a wide spread of regulations,
restrictions and carrier offerings, have led to a broad selection of
frequencies being available for mobile communication.
Today, in the most important digital mobile network, the GSM/EDGE
(Global System for Mobile Communications/Enhanced Data GSM Evolution),
one can find four different frequency ranges, while the
next-generation version, WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple
Access), that includes UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications
System), brings another six frequency ranges to the game, with
additional ones under discussion. The broader the selection of mobile
phones for the consumer, the broader the competition among carriers -
leading to ever-decreasing prices. However, this also means that cell
phone suppliers need to have their products work properly across
multiple frequency ranges, each of which requires sophisticated,
comprehensive semiconductor circuitry in the mobile phones.
The latest radio frequency (RF) integrated circuit from Infineon
Technologies of Munich, Germany, supports all the frequency ranges
currently used in GSM/EDGE and WCDMA mobile networks, and measures
just 6 by 6 square millimeters (0.24 x 0.24 square inches). The SMARTi
3GE chip is manufactured using a common low-power, high-performance
CMOS technology, a state-of-the-art development for RF circuits, which
often require specialized manufacturing process technologies. The
SMARTi 3GE is a one-chip RF transceiver combining the receiving and
the transmitting functions for the GSM/EDGE and WCDMA mobile
standards. It reduces the printed circuit board space required for
those functions in leading-edge, dual-mode multi-band cellular
handsets by up to 40 percent compared to Infineon's previous two-chip
solution. This paves the way for further size reduction of cell
phones, as well as for new design alternatives. And the consumer
doesn't need to make any concessions, because his next mobile device
will work in today's GSM/EDGE networks and in tomorrow's WCDMA
networks in every country around the globe. Moreover, the download
speed of up to 7.2 Mbps for audio and video streaming is fully
supported by this tiny RF chip.
With over 200 million RF chips sold in 2005, Infineon is the
global market leader in RF products for mobile devices.
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor
and system solutions for automotive, industrial and multimarket
sectors, for applications in communication, as well as memory
products. With a global presence, Infineon operates through its
subsidiaries in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region
from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2005 (ending
September), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.76 billion with about
36,400 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker
symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.
This news release is available online at
http://www.infineon.com/news/.
Contact:
Infineon Technologies AG
Media Relations Technology:
Worldwide Headquarters
Reiner Schoenrock,+49 89 234 29593 / 28482
Email Contact
or
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Saswato Das, +1 212 529 1789 / 1902
Email Contact
or
Asia
Kaye Lim, +65 6876 3070 / 3074
Email Contact
or
Japan
Hirotaka Shiroguchi, +81 3 5449 6795 / 6401
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or
Investor Relations
EU/APAC +49 89 234 26655
USA/CAN +1 408 501 6800
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