Everything started when i was reading different reviews and opinions about the few annoinced devices based on Qualcomm's Quad-Core krait solutions , and it got me thinking .
Many different factors affect the way mobile platforms are designed and then used by different manufacturers , and many different factors then affect the final result . I should start with the reasons that Qualcomm chose and is following this strategy .
First of all , Qualcomm is not only a SoC manufacturer , but their other businesses are a whole other matter .
In the mobile phone business Qualcomm provides complete solutions ranging from the Application Proccessors to the Radio part , GPS , wi-fi etc . They even provide the power management IC's , RF ones and the list goes on . Power management IC's , RF ones and all other "secondary" ones are designed to work together with their three different Core solutions which are the following .
MSM xxxx ( where xxxx is usualy a four digit code stating the model ) : These are the complete solutions the company has to offer that containg in the same physical chip almost ... everything . The Application Proccessor , the GPS , Bluetooth and wi-fi modules are inside the MSM , but their key feature is that they also contain the Radio Logic that is required for every phone in order to operate in any kind of network worldwide . Some MSM's are designed to work in many different kinds of networks ranging from GSM / UMTS and CDMA to HSPA / HSPA+ and LTE ones . Others are limited to one or two networkd interfaces only .
This is Qualcomm's key product and the one most manufacturers prefer since it provides simplicity in the phone's design and simplifies it's development since there is no need to make the SoC containing an AP to co-operate with another one containing the Radio Logic and then combine them with everything else , let alone the fact that it does not require seperate solutions for interfaces like Bluetooth and Wi-fi (like the ones Broadcomm offers )
APQ xxxx : These SoC's are identical to the MSM's in most parts except the fact that they do not contain the Radio Logic and require a seperate solution in order to be able to operate in mobile phones . Their target market was supposed to be the one of Tablets or devices in general that run one of the supporting operating systems but do not require network connectivity . They contain of course all other interfaces like Bluetooth / Wi-fi , GPS and USB controller and are an all in one solution of their own
MDM xxx : The third and last from these three different product lines is as expected the one that contains the Radio logic and not all the others that we find in both MSM's and APQ's
Their target is primarily devices like Data USB modems and mobile phones that their Manufacturers choose a different solution as the main SoC containing the AP and perhaps some other peripherals .
Like the MSM's they range from ones supporting certain interfaces only to ones that are complete solutions and can work on almost every kind of network worldwide at least in the hardware part , since the software and design support is the manufacturers choice .
Let us now go even further and see how these three different platforms manage to co exist in an ever changing and highly competitive market .
MSM's are widely used by many manufacturers and are considered to be pretty good solutions since they usually provide performance ranging from just good to excellent . They are classified in different groups with the lower end ones supporting less network interfaces and the high end ones supporting every possible interface and providing a highly integrated solution .
Their architecture changes in each generation in almost every aspect , each new generation usually contain an upgraded kind of CPU , an improved GPS module and of course a better GPU . They are however based on the same basic principle and that helps manufacturers since the programming made for one of them can be carried over to another one with minimum to no changes at all for most sub systems like GPS for example .
Their GPU's and CPU's can differ and require newer kinds of approach however this extra work is justified by their improced performance that the phone makers offer to their customers .
This makes creating many devices in different price ranges easier than any other combination would , and is one of the primary reasons that many manufacturers choose Qualcomm's MSM's even when their performance is lower than other comparable solutions .
APQ's were up untill recently not used in mobile phones since they required a seperate radio solution . Their recent appearence in many devices is a seperate article that i probably write soon .
Their use outside the mobile phone world was quite limited since they competed with solutions that are on the market much longer and most companies are already using them for many years now , making the transition to APQ's risky and costly .
MDM's are a whole other matter .
Almost all USB data modems that work on cellular networks and any other kind of portable data products are based on an MDM . Their performance is usually top notch and their ability to support many different interfaces makes them ideal for companied that want to design a single product that depending on the market will operate either on UMTS or CDMA networks for example with little or no hardware changes and just by running different firmwares .
They are also used by Phone makers that want to use their own solutions as Main SoC's but want to take advantage of their wide network support capabilities . iPhone 4s is a perfect example where Apple wanted to use their own A5 SoC but still needed a solution that could operate on both UMTS/GSM networks and CDMA ones with little to no hardware changes .
Since MDM's supporting LTE networks appeared on the market sooner than their MSM cousins , they were the solution of choice for all manufacturers that designed and sold first generation LTE phones .
In conclusion , Qualcomm's choice of providing thrre different kinds of platforms instead of one , the MSM's is based on the fact that they can cover more market segments by offering the solution each one needs without having to pay for the extra cost for the features not needed .
In the article about the appearence of the APQ's on the mobile phone market I should also highlight how Qualcomm made sure that this platform , the least successful one of the three got a piece of the market
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