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What s a !aseband "rocessor#
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Free Widgets for your ,ite-!log Did You Know? The most e-(ensi.e dr#g (rescri(tion costs more than /&$01$$$ (er year2 more... get widget This Day in History August / 0 1234 : The first #nderwater .essel crossed #nder the 3orth )ole2 more... get widget ,ubscribe to wiseGEEK Learn something new e.ery day More 4nfo2225y email enter email ad Mo5ile (hones and other de.ices ty(ically re6#ire considera5le (rocessing (ower to control their com(#tational and comm#nications f#nctions2 The 'entral )rocessing 7nit 8')79 of s#ch a de.ice allows for many f#nctions1 and often incl#des se.eral software a((lications and dri.ers2 Most mo5ile comm#nications de.ices also incl#de a Base5and )rocessor 8B)91 se(arate from the ')72 :enerally1 it manages the radio control f#nctions1 s#ch as signal generation1 mod#lation1 encoding1 as well as fre6#ency shifting2 4t can also manage the transmission of signals2 The 5ase5and (rocessor is ty(ically located on the same circ#it 5oard as the ')71 5#t consists of a se(arate radio electronics com(onent2 4t can therefore ha.e a different (rogramming interface and control software2 The hardware f#nction is often inde(endent of the o(erations of other (hone com(onents as well2 A 5enefit to this is #s#ally that changes to software a((lications and o(erating systems do not affect the o(eration of the B)2 Software 5#gs can affect other ca(a5ilities1 5#t the 5ase5and (rocessor will #s#ally f#nction witho#t a (ro5lem in s#ch a case2 An a((lications (rocessor is often #sed to manage all of the software (rograms on a de.ice2 A se(arate 5ase5and (rocessor can also ena5le (hone designers to create a((lications and #ser interfaces witho#t ha.ing to worry a5o#t changes to the B) or the way radio signals are (rocessed2 Wireless comm#nication ca(a5ilities ha.e contin#ed to increase thro#gh the early %st cent#ry2 Some 5ase5and radio (rocessor models can handle many channels at once1 #s#ally while (rocessing all recei.e and transmit demands2 This ty(e of de.ice sometimes incl#des m#lti(le (rocessing com(onents2 ;ne kind has fo#r1 so it can com5ine (arameter estimation1 signal searching1 transmission1 and recei.ing f#nctions and other ca(a5ilities2 The B) can also search for mo5ile signals and track them1 as well as select antennas a#tomatically2 4n many cases1 a 5ase5and (rocessor is contained in a common integrated circ#it (ackage1 s#ch as a 5all grid array2 Low (ower models are often a.aila5le as well2 As of $%%1 5ase5and (rocessor ca(a5ilities are often s#((orti.e of the fo#rth generation (rotocols for wireless comm#nication2 The (rocessor is often (art of the de.ice<s modem1 and can incl#de other feat#res s#ch as =lash memory2 A low (ower memory 5ase5and (rocessor often has connections to common interfaces1 s#ch as 7ni.ersal Serial B#s 87SB9 fo#nd in most com(#ters and mo5ile de.ices2 The design of se(arate (rocessors in a (hone is not only efficient1 5#t a5le to (re.ent malf#nctions d#e to software 5#gs1 which co#ld ca#se wides(read (hone (ro5lems as well as network iss#es2 'elated wiseGEEK Articles What s a Costas Loo5# What s a 6icrostri5 Antenna# What s a "anel Antenna# What s a 6ono5ole Antenna# What Are the )ifferent %y5es of Antenna )esigns# What is Antenna Gain# What are the )ifferent Antenna %y5es# Ad )iscuss this Article Markerrag Post 2 @Logicfest -- true, but there's also a disadvantage inherent in that design. Let's say you have a plan that limits your cellular data to 2 gigabytes -- once that threshold is reached, you will pay quite a bit to eep receiving cellular data. !f your "i-#i fails but you eep receiving data through the radio, then you might not now something is wrong with your "i-#i. !n other words, you can burn through your cellular data limit in a hurry if you eep using your phone lie it was connected to your $free$ "i-#i networ. Logicfest Post % &he baseband processor can, in a lot of ways, offer an unseen advantage. 'uite often, the "i-#i and (luetooth functions of a cell phone operate independently of the $radio$ functions of a phone )the part of the cell that deals with cellular data and calls*. "hy is that an advantage+ !t is not uncommon for the "i-#i or radio function in a phone to fail. (y having those controlled by different bits of hardware, it is far more liely that one function will wor if another fails. #or e,ample, if your "i-#i stops woring, you can usually still receive data through the radio. !f the radio fails, you might not be able to mae phone calls but at least you can still access "i-#i data. !n other words, eeping those functions separate often means that you're not completely out of luc if one function fails as the other one will probably eep woring. view entire post "ost your comments "ost Anonymously Login username password forgot password+ 'egister username password confirm email wise GEEK clear answers for common questions =A> 'ontact 7s )ri.acy )olicy Terms and 'onditions 'o(yright ? $$* + $%&'on,ect#re 'or(oration