Earlier this week I saw that iFixit.com had already performed a teardown on the new HTC Evo 4G phone. It shows the RF device winners to be TriQuint and Avago for the RF front end modules which is significant as this is expected to be a hot phone that can compete with the iPhone (although the new iPhone is set to release soon). The TriQunt device is a TQM613029 (outlined in green - image from iFixit.com) CDMA PA-duplexer module that integrates a single-ended transmit filter, duplexer, high efficiency PA die, RF power coupler, matching and built in voltage regulator functionality eliminating the need for external switch circuitry (all in 28 sq mm). The Avago device is a AFEM7758 (outlined in orange) front end module is a fully matched CDMA Front-End Module featuring the integration of power amplifier, duplexer, band- pass filter and coupler. The module uses FBAR-based technology that offers low insertion and good isolation.
These components are the typical RF platform for HTC designs of this type but new here is the 4G capability supplied by the Sequans SQN210 WiMAX chip that supports mobile WiMAX baseband and three frequency bands: 2.3-2.4, 2.5-2.7, 3.3-3.8 GHz. This includes a low-complexity MIMO algorithm on the downlink and 2Tx on the uplink for 2Tx diversity and optional full 2×2 uplink MIMO. This type of integration is impressive and they will offer LTE solutions also.
Is it too early for a 4G phone with such limited infrastructure in place? What do you think??
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