Mobile World Congress 2014 - ZTE, one of the top five global handset manufacturers, today announced the ZTE Flare, a 4G LTE unified WiFi mobile hotspot device that is the world's first commercially announced data device to feature Qualcomm Technologies' fourth-generation Qualcomm Gobi 4G LTE Advanced modem.
Qualcomm Technologies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM). The ZTE Flare utilises the Qualcomm Gobi 9x30 chipset, which is capable of supporting peak LTE Category 6 downlink speeds of up to 300Mbps, making the device an ideal choice for global users looking for the fastest mobile broadband experience.
"Not only do Qualcomm Technologies' Gobi chipsets provide the fastest mobile broadband connections worldwide, they're also easily integrated into our products," said Zhao Guang, MBB Product General Manager, ZTE. "This enables us to bring the latest LTE Advanced Category 6 technology to market faster and deliver a superior user experience to customers."
The ZTE Flare offers several notable improvements over ZTE's previous generation device, including lower power consumption and lower heat generation - enhancements derived largely from using the latest Qualcomm Gobi and RF360 technologies.
"High-speed mobile broadband connections are increasingly important to today's users, and we are excited to have Gobi technology enabling 4G LTE Advanced CAT6 connectivity in ZTE's newest and best mobile hotspot product," said Alex Katouzian, senior vice-president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies. "We're looking forward to seeing many more devices take advantage of the speed, reliability and global connectivity that Gobi chipsets deliver, enabling consumers to access mobile content anywhere, anytime."
The Qualcomm Gobi 9x30 chipset, the first commercial modem to be manufactured using a 20nm process, is also the world's first LTE Advanced world mode modem capable of wideband up to 40MHz carrier aggregation on LTE FDD and TDD. By allowing network operators to combine fragmented spectrum across two RF bands in all possible 3GPP approved combinations of 5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, and 20MHz, Gobi 9x30 enables LTE Advanced CAT6 FDD and TDD deployments at a global scale. In addition to enabling faster data rates and lower latencies for end-users, Gobi 9x30 features significant performance improvements, including a nearly 15% reduction in power consumption from the previous generation and a smaller design footprint.
TheGobi 9x30 modem is paired with a Qualcomm VIVE 802.11ac WiFi chip - the QCA6174 dual-band 802.11ac/a/b/g/n 2x2 MIMO solution - which provides significant broadband capacity to distribute the LTE connection at a range of up to 32 connected users. TheGobi 9x30 modem also supports the full suite of RF360 technologies, including envelope tracking, antenna tuning and integrated PAs and switches.
The ZTE Flare is expected to be available in second half 2014.
