Skyworks Solutions Inc., an innovator of high performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors enabling mobile connectivity, announced that Samsung is leveraging its ultra-compact and high efficiency front-end modules (FEM) for open-loop EDGE, and power amplifiers (PA) for WCDMA and HSDPA across more than 10 innovative universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) models. In particular, Skyworks is supporting their first mobile TV slider phone for Europe.


At a slim 16.7 millimeters (mm), the P960 supports both European mobile TV technology standards – digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H), and the new open mobile alliance mobile broadcast service enabler suite (OMA-BCAST). The handset features optimized viewing with a large 2.6 inch quarter video graphics array (QVGA) thin film transistor (TFT) screen, and Bang & Olufsen ICEPower technology for top-notch audio. The device also offers a 3-megapixel camera with power LED, music player and FM radio with RDS for 24/7 news.

“Skyworks congratulates Samsung on achieving the milestone launch of Europe’s first DVB-H handset, and is pleased to support their family of compelling mobile TV platforms,” said Liam K. Griffin, Skyworks’ senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Our participation in their P960 design reflects our multimode design-win momentum and UMTS market share gains at Samsung and other OEMs.”

The SKY77519 FEM incorporated by Samsung is the industry’s smallest solution for open-polar EDGE architectures, enabling OEMs to raise the mobile bar with an optimized power usage solution (OPUS) and delivering maximum performance that can help increase talk times by 10 percent, improve power savings by 30 percent, and expand battery capacity by 10 percent. As a result, the P960 promises battery life of up to five hours of TV watching time.

In addition, the small and efficient SKY77170 PA packs full 1920 to 1980 MHz bandwidth coverage into a single compact package. A directional coupler is integrated into the module, thus eliminating the need for any external coupler. The single gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) contains all active circuitry in the module.