The folks at
ZiPhone spotted some code in the brand new 2.0 beta iPhone firmware that could point to the chip to be used in the upcoming 3G iPhone. The code makes mention of "SGOLD3," which could very well refer to Infineon's followup chip to the S-GOLD2 which powers the current iPhone. Infineon's less fancy name for the S-GOLD3H chip is the PMB8878, a 7.2Mbps HSDPA chip with all the video acceleration and media playback features iPhone users have come to expect. Advantages over its predecessor include higher resolution camera support (5 megapixels instead of 2), a 2x speed MMC / SD interface and DVB-H module support, but that doesn't necessarily mean any of those specs will end up in the ensuing iPhone 3G -- S-GOLD2 has plenty of features the current iPhone doesn't take advantage of. The processor speed, however, remains the same.
[Via
ZiPhone; thanks Adam B.]
[Warning: PDF link]
posted Apr 8th 2008 7:55PM
clearly it's a codename for Foxy Cleopatra branding
remember? "it's solid gold!"?
guess we can't all be as pop culture obsessed as i am
*grabs some tissue, closes the bedroom door*
now it's my turn...
... okay?
Uhh...Andrew?
Nothing better to say?
whatever.
I'm a noob when it comes to phone architecture... So this is basically the CPU or is sort of like the chipset... I thought the iPhone used a processor with the ARM instruction set... or am i missing something
This is the chip that is responsible for connectivity, roughly speaking the GSM/UMTS modem. Current iPhone uses Infineon SGold 2 for modem and and ARM processor for CPU.
It handles a lot more than connectivity. Here's a blurb about the S-Gold2 chip.
"The S-GOLD2 implements an ARM926 CPU and supports high-resolution display interface, dedicated camera interface, hardware support for MPEG4 encoding, Java hardware accelerator, and a number of connectivity peripherals including Bluetooth, FM Radio, WLAN, A-GPS and other modules."
more like a chipset then
Jack, a Chipset is a chip/chips which handle communications between components on the motherboard and the CPU. So instead of the CPU collecting data from say, the RAM, you have a chipset to do that for it.
Here, it's an integrated hardware collection. So, technically, it doesn't require chipsets to work, although, the technically part is if the phone's main features, memory and I/O functionality is handled through that chip. Think of it more like the Intel Viiv, it's a collection of hardware to make up a complete, all-in-one solution.
Don't expect the iPhone 3G to gain some huge performance boost either, the iPhone is capable of 620Mhz with it's current ARM processor, however it's clocked at 412Mhz. Probably due to heat and battery consumption.
So who wants to buy my 16GB iphone in about 3 months?
Nobody...
Any takers for a 4GB one? :o)
Yet another piece of information that tells me the iPhone IS coming this june.
will the world end when people stop talking about 3G and the iphone?
until tmobile usa moves to 3G - this means nothing
When it comes out. Then it's copy&paste and the iPhone.
My comment doesn't makes sense. Me fail reading.
Self flagellation is always a crowd pleaser.
It means something to those of us who live in parts of the world where 3G is already everywhere. I'm not buying an iPhone until it's 3G (and hopefully has a better camera).
@gabe
no
oooooh I love speculation! I hope they announce something that'll change my mind before the Xperia X1 comes out tho (but on the other hand I hope not, I love the X1 from shots etc)
until i see the Xperia X1 blend - the phone means nothing.
5 mp's! just add some optical zoom, video recording, and 64gb, and im sold!
add GPS to that and I'm sold too!!
Selling yourself might not be enough to buy the phone you just described.
I don't get why people need 40 GB+ on a PHONE. Even on an iPod, nobody I know has even half of their 30 gig iPods filled up.
Seriously, 64 GB on a phone?! Some LAPTOPS have less than that.
...and as we all know, a small sample of your friends who don't have more than 30 gigs of music is an accurate portrayal of fact.
@ Sora267: well you must be pretty anti-social. i know 10 people off the top of my head who have their 80gb classics filled up and 3 who filled up their 160gb classics. i have a 32gb touch and i still have to choose what to put onto it...
@ Sora267
your an idiot I had a 32gb ipod that I filled up and had to sell it ages ago to buy an 80gb ipod which is already full. It's pretty easy to fill up an ipod especially if you have a wide taste in music. I listen to rock,pop,rap,r&b and reggae. I have over 10gb worth of music(some people have more) a couple seasons of family guy,south park,the simpsons,american dad,the boondocks,everybody loves
raymond and robot chicken. Those thing add up and I forgot the movies I have like 15 movies. I actually don't know anyone who would use less than 32gbs,but I won't be like you and think everyone uses 32gbs+.
It's kewl YOU don't need much space,but other people are different. @Jon kit & Lo_Opy! thank you not everyone is the same.
I usually don't complain about Apple news, but news on the fucking 3g chip for the iPhone?
What the fuck?
This is almost as bad as Gizmodo.
Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
Please.
Go tell somebody who cares
if you havent noticed yet, this is engadget.
Also, how the fuck is this news when most phones from 2 years ago and earlier have had 3g?
For more information on what to do, please visit: http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/08/iphone-3gs-baseband-chip-revealed/comments/11519288/
I was going to respond, but i changed my mind, so you just get a big "NO".
-Taylor
It's such a funny oxymoron to see people comment about how Engadget should post "such and such" when that implies that they took the time to read it.
Emphasis on "moron"...
Definitely, like if you were a casual observer of Engadget and looked at the most commented on/most popular posts you would notice that it tends to be filled with Apple stories. You would then probably assume that a lot of people really like the stories. If no one posted a message about how annoying it is to see Apple stories on the main page (and in turn wouldn't get people like me or those above my post to respond) you would probably have close to 50% less comments on the story and they would then not be as popular (in terms of stats).
Me too.
-Not Taylor
When did I tell Engadget what to post?
I didn't take the time to read it. I read "iPhone 3G's baseband chip" and saw a picture of a chip, and was taken aback at how much Engadget somehow posts about insanely minor accomplishments by Apple.
The iPhone should have had 3G from the start, without it it is an even more crippled phone.
I am also surprised at how many Apple fanboys there actually are on Engadget. It's ridiculous. Could you open your eyes and realize that this isn't fucking newsworthy?
Because it had Apple in the title, and you should know by now that with apple not only is basic functionality a feature, it is also news!
As good as that is (and if it's true), Apple's going to have to try a lot harder than that to beat the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.
And it's really hard for me to say that, being as much of an Apple fanboy as I am, but facts are facts.
The only thing that would make me retract that statement is if the Xperia X1 costs £5432345678987654323456789, which it almost certainly must.
I agree.
-Taylor
Ooh, 7.2Mbps HSDPA... Very nice.
And seriously, why the hell even click the news link, type in your password, then your comment if you don't even give a fuck?
And you know, Engadget has this really cool feature where if certain entries bug you, you could do this thing called "not clicking"! It's really easy - you don't even have to do anything, because it works automatically!
So is 3G confirmed for delivery on June???
No. Next question?
Seriously, Im getting ready to sell my iphone on ebay
dude, of course it is. don't you listen to anything mossberg says that is completely incorrect?
Normally if there are just 1 or 2 rumors, you can dismiss them. But what we have here I think is plenty of evidence that the iPhone is coming out pretty soon. What I find weird is that there's no FCC announcement yet. Besides that, all evidence points to the iPhone launching in june.
The FCC doesn't reveal submissions. Nor do the authorized testing facilities, like Cetecom, that are used prior to FCC approval. This info will only be revealed the day of FCC approval.
Now, the iPhone shortage seems a bit odd for a 9 month old Apple product in Q2, the slowest quarter. And the length of the shortage for a phone that used a lot of off the shelf parts is also odd. It's possible that Apple has long passed the outside testing of the 3G radio, has pre-produced a many portions of the device and is waiting for FCC approval to be announced so they can update the Online Apple Store with "pre-order your new iPhone now, shipping in [one/two/three] weeks", with as little as a laser etching of the new FCC number to be etched on the device, packaged and shipped. I doubt that will happen.. but I think that it will because I want my 3G iPhone now!
I CANNOT WAIT for the 3G iPhone!
The iPhone brought sexy back to the phone industry...thats why everyone wants to copy it.
It's nice to see Apple really getting into the whole 3G deal. It's a shame they didn't include it in the current iPhone. I might consider buying one when my contract runs up. Actually, that XPERIA X1 phone is looking pretty nice.........
Enough with the bitching about Apple stories. I swear, there has not been one single article on Engadget that does not have a bunch of people complaining about this, it's ridiculous.
What exactly is your beef? Clearly no one is listening, because the stories keep coming. I used to enjoy reading the dialogue about stories and topics on Engadget, but now it's just a back and forth about how there are too many stories about Apple, too many stories about Microsoft, too many about Sony. How about you just scroll up the page to the next story or just stop coming here. I am sure you'll find something you love at Gizmodo.
Grow up and let it go.
SD interface would be nice on an iPhone or Ipod Touch; however, its not likely apple will include the hardware support. :(
This is great - and I'm not rooting for this thing to come out because I want a 3G iPhone. I'm more than happy with my iPod Touch on our University Wifi network for at least the next 2 years.
What I see this doing is bringing the floods of hapless iPhone users to asking "Well it should say 3G not EDGE...what's wrong with this network?!". This will hopefully bring more attention to the dismal coverage that AT&T calls its 3G network.
Great for me and my new GSM/HSDPA phone. Nothing against the iPhone. Everything against their crappy coverage vs Verizon for 3G.
Brian
Put a 2ghz Atom2 processor, 8-12mp compacts-grade CCD camera, 32-64gm memory and you bought me :)
No? Then you keep your iPhoney with any number of Geez.
I think they will just add a frontal camera, 3G support, new price tag and a happy face when seeing shares going up :D
I agree, all the anti-apple comments aren't really necessary. People eat this type of stuff, they want to know more and more about the iPhone, it's a popular piece of technology; especially all this 3G hype.
Notice how Engadget didn't comment about the Apple store being down and them releasing Final Cut Server? It's not all about Apple, it's just technology news!!
what kind of power usage does this have compared to the previous chip? In other words, how will it affect battery life?
I find it hard to believe that any company, especially Apple, would make such a significant increase in communications bandwidth and not complete the jobs with commensurate processor bandwidth, storage etc.
I'm keenly awaiting my next iPhone (the current unit is already very nice, but it's weaknesses were obvious from day one) but if the "next" iPhone is really nothing more than changing the data service protocol to tap into a fatter pipe with the same drinking straw processor, well, I guess we all keep waiting.
Considering the performance gap between EDGE and WiFi, I'd say it's safe to assume the iPhone's processor is already well suited to 3G/HSDPA which is plagued by high latency and therefore reasonably sluggish web page performance regardless of the throughput capacity.
A nice step up from EDGE, but it won't even begin to challenge the WiFi performance (when connected to a suitably fast network) that the iPhone already copes with quite well.
Also with battery life as it is, I'd rather Apple didn't start clocking it up and sucking even more juice, or fattening up the battery and making it a brick!
The balance is fine as it is but faster processors will upset that...
Uh, why is this... um, you know, news?
But... but... Steve Jobs said that 3G was over-hyped, unnecessary and a drain on battery life. He wouldn't lie to me, would he?
He said "at the time".
He actually confirmed right from the beginning that the iPhone would eventually go 3G, when the 3G chips used less power. Nearly one year later, this chip seems to be it.
Only wish I could buy one in Denmark ;)
Do you really believe that this chip uses less power? What kind of power savings are we talking about? As good as a regular GSM chip?
Are you sure that this thing is cheap enough for Apple to put it in any of their hardware?
why does the I logo look so much like the incredibles logo?
Did someone forget to poke around? Turns out there's not only a S-GOLD3H (PMB8878) but a 3G-less S-GOLD3, the PMB8877. I couldn't find the specs on the S-GOLD2 (PMB8876) on Infineon's site, so I'm assuming they're discontinuing the S-GOLD2 and forcing the switch to the S-GOLD3.
Without the H. The PMB8877, not the PMB8878.
Someone check Engadget's homework again! :)
Exactly. ZiPhone notes that is found "Gold3" which is the 8877. The 8877 is actually capable of a dual mode GSM/CDMA radio. Taken from the specs pdf:
"Configurable with a UMTS co-processor, S-GOLD3 extends into the growing 3G market, offering easy migration from a GSM/GPRS/EGPRS phone to a dual-mode wideband CDMA/GSM terminal."
So...wait, wait! Can I get the iPhone with Verizon!!! ;)
3g iphone will be released along side 2.0 and apple store when steve jobs announces it at the apple confrence june 9th
iphone for dummiest... easy...
window for smartest... hard and complicated.
unless you are an retard... can't use either.
you guys are all so gay. and you all know it.