FAQ
Q. What is the Sandblaster® core?
A. Sandblaster® is the new high performance, low power DSP architecture from Sandbridge Technologies, Inc. It enables the handset OEM to implement communications systems, including the physical layer design, completely in software.
Q. What is the SB3500® series processor?
A. The SB3500® is Sandbridge's system-on-chip (SoC) product which integrates three Sandblaster® DSP cores plus an ARM9 general purpose processor. It is a complete device platform that includes support for multiple protocols-plus all of the peripheral device-features of an advanced, multi-feature handset including camera, Multimedia messaging, and USB interface.
Q. What is the key enabling technology of the chip?
A. The Sandblaster DSP core provides the key technology to enable communication system implementation fully in software. Traditional baseband processing chips incorporate the 'physical layer' of the communication systems in hardware logic, and are thereby 'locked' into a particular system. By using a flexible baseband approach, the Sandblaster allows the complete communication system to be described and implemented in software. This allows for development of smart phones and enables enhancements to these phones communication system to be implemented in software and modified over the air, and allows rapid modification by the manufacturer as part of an improved manufacturing process.
Q. How does a programmable solution achieve lower cost?
A. A software programmable solution provides more re-use of the same silicon resulting in lower product cost, plus, it provides the opportunity to create differentiated products in less time and at lower cost than hardware-specific solutions.
Q. What is the compelling technological advantage of the SB3500®?
A. An innovative baseband processor, the SB3500 enables development of multimode smartphones and is suitable for LTE, HSPA, HSPA+, UMTS and legacy 2G and 2.5 systems in a single processor, saving cost, time to market and enabling new class of devices.
Q. What is Sandbridge’s target market?
A. Sandbridge focuses on the emerging class of “convergent devices” such as Smartphones, data cards, CPE’s and Femto Cells.
Q. How do you achieve ultra-low power?
A. In the development of the Sandblaster DSP, Sandbridge's architects and engineers focused on creating an architecture that can achieve the best results in computational efficiency for algorithms typically found in advanced communication systems such LTE and WiMAX. Use of a multi-threading approach allows many simultaneous time-critical tasks and minimizes inefficiencies found in traditional software-running-on-DSP approaches. This allows the final product to approach the power consumption levels of hard-wired ASIC’s.
Q. What is the overall system design advantage offered by this compilation technology?
A. The key design advantage with this approach is that while expressing the desired algorithm in C and using tools included in the Sandblaster® IDE, the developer can achieve performance of assembly language programming in a fraction of the time.
Q. What is Sandbridge’s vision for mobile devices?
A. Sandbridge sees a future in mobile devices of ubiquitous coverage over a variety of networks. Whether roaming from WAN to LAN, or if the carrier aggregates multiple technologies to establish a coverage footprint, true multi-mode devices will provide a continuously connected experience for end users. Additionally, we expect to see 'an always –on, connected world, which requires both Digital Audio and Digital Video broadcast services, to augment the person-to-person communications function that currently drives the handset market.
Q. What is Sandbridge Technologies’ mission statement?
A. Establish the de facto standard software platform for multi-protocol wireless devices through architectural innovation, superior product features, and unparalleled software productivity tools and support.