BCM4751
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iPad 2 sliced up again, this time in the name of radio science
By now you've probably watched iFixit's recent iPad 2 teardown video several times while drooling profusely, but we just know you're itching to find out what's different with the innards of the WiFi-only, GSM, and CDMA versions. Well once again, iFixit's got you covered -- via an "exceptionally cool" user-contributed post, this time. A grand total of three iPad 2s were sacrificed in this round, revealing variations in case design, antenna count, WWAN board layout, radio chipset choices, and headphone jack assemblies. Besides clearly visible changes like the black antenna window on the 3G models and the microSIM slot on the GSM version, it's interesting to note that Apple made the same design choices with the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4. The CDMA model features an additional antenna over its GSM sibling, and uses a Qualcomm Gobi dual-mode radio which supports both CDMA and GSM -- the latter being unused -- along with an integrated GPS receiver, just like the iPhone 4 for Verizon. The GSM version, meanwhile, uses an Infineon chipset for GSM and a separate Broadcom module for GPS, just like the global iPhone 4. Follow the source link below for more sordid details plus high-resolution pictures.
Broadcom announces Android support, three-pack of chips to make your phones more awesome
Chip maker Broadcom has unveiled no fewer than three new mobile-themed hunks of silicon this week in preparation for MWC in just a few days' time. You ready for this? Alright, first up we've got the catchily-named BCM20751, which performs the rather ordinary tasks of GPS, Bluetooth, and FM radio management but also throws in an audio processor to offload some work from the phone's primary CPU, which the company says can reduce battery consumption enough to improve playback time by up to 100 percent in some situations. Next up, we've got the BCM4751, a GPS receiver that Broadcom's confident is going to set a new benchmark for mobile location-based services; a complete setup takes less than 30 square millimeters of precious board space and is claimed to be a guru at picking up weak signals all the while sipping power. Finally, the BCM2049 supports Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, FM (both transmitting and receiving), and Bluetooth Low Energy -- something that was recently adopted for standardization in Bluetooth 4.0. All three should be on display at the show next week. That's not all, though -- the company is also announcing comprehensive support for Android across much of its product range, which seems like a pretty prudent business decision all things considered.
