Android Will Include Native Support for Combo Chips

Broadcom announced recently that the latest Android operating system featured as a standard component the software in charge with control over its Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/FM combination solution. This would be the first time the Android platform would have native support for multi-functional wireless connectivity, a solution also known as a “combo” chip.

Given the fact that Broadcom offers now access to portions of its combo drivers, it would provide Android developers with a means of designing mobile devices and applications able to benefit most from the wireless connectivity solutions.

Currently, Android-based mobile phones include both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, yet they use discrete components to enable the capabilities. Broadcom's BCM4325 comes as the best-selling combo chip that includes both standards, being able to offer high-class space, as well as power, cost and coexistence. The integration of the connectivity technologies is simplified a lot by including BCM4325 drivers to the Android platform, while also speeding up development stages.

“Two of the most exciting trends in the handset industry are the growing popularity of Android and the transition to combo chips for connectivity,” said Chris Bergey, director of Broadcom's Embedded WLAN line of business. “As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, we are committed to advancing the Android platform by contributing our software and facilitating greater access to our combination chips in the open source community. We expect a plethora of products and applications to evolve from the connected Android platform in the not-so-distant future.”

Multi-radio integration brings a lot of advantages that are able to change the manufacturers' vision over connectivity, and the growth of combo chips has been greatly leveraged. The global market intelligence firm IDC states that more than 60 percent of connectivity solutions included in handsets by 2012 will be combo chips. Broadcom stands as the first chip manufacturer to include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and FM technologies into the same silicon die, and it currently has the largest portfolio of wireless combo chips in the industry.