My friends at Sigmatix and Octoscope have a nice follow-on EE Times article about Vector SDRs. The original article (mentioning Sandbridge) is here.
As an excerpt: To ensure the cost reduction of SDR platforms via economies of scale, software portability across processors must be achieved. The new generation of SDR, called multimode vector radio (MVR), offers that portability.
- It reduces the number of radio devices in a handset by up to five times, thereby cutting costs, simplifying design and increasing battery life.
- It provides wider coverage by reprogramming itself to operate on diverse international networks.
- It improves customer satisfaction and reduces development risk by enabling over-the-air bug fixes and upgrades as standards evolve.
- It expedites the development of multimode handsets and basestations, enabling developers to change software quickly and easily, rather than undergo costly revisions of silicon.
- It leverages the same hardware for multiple designs, thus reducing costs through economies of scale.
