07-04-2003, 06:00 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Software Radios Coming Soon?
A couple months ago, I linked to a clunky software radio prototype running on an iPAQ. Interestingly, there's a company out there that plans to enable commercially available multinetwork phones by the end of 2004. That's only a year and a half away! And check out the comment about downloading new standards over the air...
"The White Plains, N.Y.-based company will begin shipping the chips this year to handset makers, and the first 'world phones' will appear by the end of 2004, according to Sandbridge spokesman Jeffrey Schwartz.
'That's three to five years ahead of what people thought,' he said.
Sandbridge's chips create chameleon-like radios for cell phones capable of changing from one interoperable wireless standard to the next. The radios flip among Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global Systems for Mobile Communications (GSM), and any of a clutch of other wireless standards using either software stored in the phone or downloaded over the air."
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07-04-2003, 09:44 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,041
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Wow, that would be just amazing! Very cool. When this becomes implemented into phones, the only way a carrier will be able to distinguish itself would be via service and price. A win-win situation for the consumer and business person.
Data you say? Well, considering the huge investment it takes to speed up data transmission, I don't see any carriers making any huge gains in this arena over another carrier's technology standard.
Did you all hear about WiFi phones being pioneered by Cisco? Or maybe I read that here too... The ability for a handset to use WiFi to make phone calls? How about implementing that into the phone too?
Just think about the phone checking for different technologies to find the cheapest way to make a phone call... Someone doesn't have a locked down WiFi setup and the phone makes a link to it... Okay, make the call. For free! 
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07-04-2003, 11:26 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 360
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I would not count on this happening any time even close to when they say. I see the carriers sqaushing this quick, especially in America.
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07-04-2003, 02:45 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 27
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software defined radio != software radio
Note that this is a hardware solution that can be controlled by software (more like "firmware", surely, and probably DSP-based) and I doubt it's capable of doing things that true software radios can do (such as listen to multiple frequencies simultaneously, a truely awesome concept if you want to build a scanner!) Alas, this technology is likely to dilute the term "software radio".
Conversely, current software radio systems are limited to low-frequency if you want to receive signals in realtime.
See:
http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuradio/
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07-04-2003, 08:28 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 83
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A universal mobile phone, it is an interesting idea. It is also referred to as Software Defined Radio. I think there is still some way to go before we start to see mobile phones like these.
Do you like my new avatar? :lol:
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07-05-2003, 12:40 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 193
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mmmm
mmmm that is awesome. I want a radio that does it all. Oh yeah and happy 4th of july.
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07-10-2003, 03:10 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 145
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Beyond Phones, Software radios are the coolest technology.
A software radio / IPAQ could be a:
Television
FM / AM / Shortwave Radio
Cell Phone all standards
Police Scanner
FRS talkabout
use WIFI - All standards a,b,g, xxx whatever
Bluetooth
Anything someone wants to right a program and attach an attena for.
Just like I can download any of a dozen streaming internet clients as programs, point them at a source and the receive and decode a stream, a software radio would do this.
I expect this to follow the path of the PC, the first ones will work badly and be ridiculously expensive, but eventually be $49 bucks at best buy.
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Linear Mode
