Samsung demonstrates 3.6 Mbps HSDPA Phone

Samsung used the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month to highlight its expertise in High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology by demonstrating speeds up to 3.6 Mbps. Although there have been several demonstrations of speeds up to 1.8 Mbps in the past, Samsung's demonstration of HSDPA handset speeds of 3.6 Mbps is the industry's first ever. A 3.6 Mbps HSDPA handset allows users to download content much faster than either a WCDMA or GSM/GPRS network. HSDPA, a new form of mobile broadband, is capable of transmitting data at speeds up to seven times faster than that of WCDMA. Users can enjoy large-scale multimedia downloads, such as DVD-quality movies and interactive multimedia games, with high-speed wireless Internet access comparable to speeds of fixed-line ADSL services.

Resulting from strategic collaboration between Samsung and Qualcomm, Samsung's in-house developed HSDPA handset is equipped with Qualcomm's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM6280 solution.

"As a global telecommunications leader committed to developing handsets that serve as the most advanced personal multimedia devices on the market, Samsung is proud to showcase HSDPA as the future of mobile broadband," said Kitae Lee, president of Samsung's Telecommunications Network Business.

"The first over-the-air 3.6 Mbps calls on an HSDPA handset by Samsung mark an exceptionally important milestone in driving the commercialization and deployment of this technology worldwide," said Dr. Sanjay K. Jha, president of QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies.

Samsung demonstrated the HSDPA handset at its stand at CES, showing users handheld web browsing, streaming and downloading of contents, and offering a comparison with handsets at 1.8 Mbps and 384Kbps. For example, downloading a 4MB mp3 file takes less than 10 seconds at 3.6Mbps HSDPA.