Infineon launches XMM 2138 platform that supports dual-card mobile phone operation

To meet the growing market demand for dual-SIM phones, Infineon Technologies AG has recently launched a new XMM â„¢ 2138 platform that supports dual-SIM phone operations. A dual-card mobile phone can use two SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards in one mobile phone at the same time, and has functions such as call holding and call switching. By pressing the button, the mobile phone can switch between the two SIM cards in real time. Today, the growth rate of dual-SIM mobile phones in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) is very fast, especially in Asia-Pacific countries.

Dual SIM phones have two SIM cards. Initially, to use two SIM cards and switch between different SIM cards according to requirements, an ordinary mobile phone needs to use a dual-card adapter. This kind of mobile phone is called a dual-network single standby mobile phone. Today, major mobile phone manufacturers have launched mobile phones that use two SIM cards, which can be in the active mode at the same time. This kind of mobile phone is called dual network dual standby mobile phone. A dual-card mobile phone can usually be used to switch between a work phone and a non-work phone, or use one of the cards as a roaming card, so that users can easily enjoy preferential rates.

The dual-card mobile phone market is growing rapidly. Market research agency Strategy AnalyTIcs predicts that from 2009 to 2010, the market size of dual-card mobile phones is expected to double, and thereafter it will maintain a high growth rate. By 2014, the market share of dual-card mobile phones in the entire mobile phone market will at least reach 7% (100 million). In some regions, dual-SIM phones are expected to become the fastest growing field in the mobile phone market.

Infineon's new XMM 2138 dual card platform is based on the highly successful X-GOLD ™ 213 EDGE baseband chip. In addition to having mature hardware, the platform also uses the mature Comneon protocol stack and Infineon's OpTIMedia framework. OpTIMedia has been used in more than 100 million mobile phones and is a market-proven multimedia framework optimized for Infineon ’s baseband chips. It contains durable, high-performance audio, video and image codecs, as well as a mature multimedia application engine. OpTIMedia has all the functions required for entry-level phones, and also enables low-end mobile phone users to enjoy the high-end mobile phone experience. The complete platform solution also uses Infineon's Red Arrow MMI (Human Machine Interface).

Ronen Ben-Hamou, Vice President of Infineon ’s Wireless Solutions Division and General Manager of the Entry-level Mobile Phone Business Division, pointed out: “Through this dual-card mobile phone dedicated design platform, Infineon once again reaffirmed the provision of a scalable The promise of a complete solution. The new XMM 2138 dual-card platform is an all-inclusive solution that accelerates customers ’entry into this emerging market."

XMM 2138 uses the universal software API layer (UTA) used on other X-GOLD 213 platforms and platforms based on X-GOLD ™ 116 GSM / GPRS and X-GOLD ™ 613 HSDPA devices. This common interface ensures that customers can reuse MMI and other software on different platforms. The software reusability obtained through the UTA interface and the hardware scalability based on the universal ARM11 architecture make XMM 2138 an ideal design platform for flexibility. This architecture ensures that customers can obtain high software and hardware reuse rates when developing mobile phones using Infineon ’s entry-level mobile phone solution portfolio.

This new platform supports touch screen, WQVGA display (improving browsing effect), Bluetooth (file sharing) and WLAN function (Internet access). Relying on the on-chip integrated FM radio and the computing capabilities of the X-GOLD 213 ARM11 core, the platform also has excellent audio and video performance. In addition, XMM 2138 also supports dual-network single standby mobile phones and dual-network dual standby mobile phones. This means that both SIM cards can receive calls or messages. With an X-GOLD 213 baseband chip, the optimized protocol stack ensures that both SIM cards are in standby mode at the same time.

Time to market

XMM 2138 samples and a complete reference system are currently available, and mass production was achieved in the first quarter of 2010. At the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona from February 15th to 18th, 2010, Infineon showcased an innovative dual-card solution based on the XMM 2138 platform at booth B22 in Hall 1.