3G/VoIP/WiFi Feature Phones
Brief introduction
From common feature phones to smart phones, from personal digital assistants to panel computers, the mobile Internet market has bigger and bigger imaging space, with the popularization of wireless Internet. Apple’s successful development of products such as iTouch, iPhone, iPad and the like enables a lot of terminal development and production enterprises to aware the large growth space which may be brought by mobile Internet terminals. All products of FMSoft are the most popular in the mobile Internet market; and the following mobile Internet terminal products can use products from FMSoft.
Feature Phone
With the development of software and hardware technology, feature phones are not low-end phones which can only dial numbers, receive and send messages any more. The boundary between feature phones and smart phones becomes more and more vague; at present, the price is the only difference between feature phones and smart phones distinguished objectively, because current feature phones can also access mobile, take photos, play music, watch videos, and have beautiful user interfaces similar to iPhone. MiniGUI and mDolphin browsers of FMSoft products have covered huge market shares in the field of feature phones and are used in 3G feature phones by enterprises such as Lenovo, Coolpad, Hisense, ZTE communications and the like.
VoIP Phone
Such terminal applies VoIP (Voice on IP) to realizing functions such as communication, chat and the like by means of access to Internet in low cost. WiFi phones, WiMAX phones, Skype phones and the like are typical examples. Products of FMSoft have been applied to VolP phones successfully.
Smart Phone
As described above, the boundary between feature phones and smart phones becomes more and more vague. However, technically speaking, the main difference between smart phones and feature phones is that smart phones apply complex operation systems such as Linux, iOS, Windows Mobile, but feature phones generally apply real-time operation systems such as ThreadX, Nuclues and the like. The HybridOS of FMSoft can also be applied to smart phones due to the application of Linux kernel at the bottom layer.
Typical solutions
MiniGUI-based low-end feature phone solution
Feature phones generally run a simple RTOS (real-time operation system), such as Nuclues, ThreadX, OSE and the like. MiniGUI can run on almost all RTOSes. We can use MiniGUI to build a solution of a low-end feature phone, as shown in Figure 1.
Advantage of the solution
- MiniGUI provides a C language programming interface; an application developed based on MiniGUI occupies less resource but has good performance, applicable to hardware platforms with a processor having a main frequency of about 100MHz.
- Other application programs such as a browser can be conveniently integrated into the solution due to plentiful functions of MiniGUI.
- Application of the solution is convenient for the evolution to a high-end feature phone based on MiniGUI 3.0 due to the compatibility between the interface of MiniGUI 3.0 and MiniGUI 1.6, thereby avoiding the waste of cost on research and development.
Recommended hardware platforms
- Leadcore Tech. GSM/TDSCDMA baseband chip
- MTK GSM/GPRS/EDGE/TD baseband chip
- Infineon GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip
- Spreadtrum GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip
- RDA GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip
Solution of high-end feature phones based on MiniGUI 3.0/mDolphin 3.0
MiniGUI 3.0 can also run on operation systems such as Nuclues, ThreadX, OSE and the like and supports user interface effects and UI special effects similar to iPhone. In addition, mDolphin 3.0 browser can also run on MiniGUI 3.0, so as to support Internet accesses via WEB/WAP protocols.
Based on special effects developed by MiniGUI 3.0, you can click here to download a demonstration program which can run on Windows.
Advantages of the solution
- MiniGUI provides a C language programming interface; an application program developed based on MiniGUI occupies less resource but has good performance.
- Application of MiniGUI 3.0 and components thereof (mGEff, mGNCS, and mGNCS4Pad) and the like can build UI effects comparable with iPhone.
- mDolphin phone release supporting WEB and WAP at the same time is integrated to reduce the purchasing cost.
- miniStudio, a visual IDE(Integrated Development Environment) based on a Windows platform, is provided to help to improve the efficiency for developing application software.
Recommended hardware platform
- Leadcore Tech. GSM/TDSCDMA baseband chip
- MTK GSM/GPRS/EDGE/TD baseband chip
- Infineon GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip
- Spreadtrum GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip
- RDA GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip
Note: in order to have good software performance and UI special effects, it is suggested to apply a baseband chip having a processor with the main frequency higher than 200MHz.
Real Products
Lenovo TD 30t
Lenovo “Shijie” TD30t is a TD-SCDMA/GSM dual-mode handset, characterized in simple and vertical figure in combination with a design of circular arc edges and corners for flexibility and light weight, instead of “big” figure of a traditional TD product; body thereof has many fashionable colors, combined with “argent” painting, characterized in fashion and beauty. As a 3G phone, TD30t supports typical 3G applications such as video telephone, CMMB mobile TV, walkman, mobile video and the like. A user can have a smooth video communication with your families and friends at different places face to face by means of a head camera; high-speed mobile Internet access functions of 3G are also transplanted to TD30t phones, which can be connected to a computer directly as a wireless network card, for free on-line information reference and mail sending and receiving and enjoying mobile office.
Lenovo TD30t G3 phones apply MiniGUI 3.0 as graphics and graphics user interface supporting system. In addition, many G3 phones put into the market at the latest such as Coolpad F608 also apply MiniGUI 3.0.
ZTE U58/U210, Coolpad F69/F608, HS-T68 and the like
In 2008, China-made 3G standard TD-SCDMA had an obviously increased commercial progress. Among 200,000 phones purchased by China Mobile through tender invitation, more than 100,000 phones applied MiniGUI as a graphic platform thereof. ZTE U85 and HS-T68 belong to typical TD phone models.
In 2009, TD-SCDMA 3G network of China Mobile has been put into commercial trial for more than one year. Through the commercial trial, China Mobile has accumulated rich experience for the popularization of 3G network based on TD-SCDMA standard. At present, in the market of mobile 3G phones (namely TD-SCDMA phones) in China, over 50% 3G phones apply MiniGUI as graphics user interface thereof. In the first part of the year 2009, among 3G phones of 4 models deeply customized by China Mobile, phones of two models applied MiniGUI, which were ZTE U210 and Coolpad F69. China Mobile will adopt a “prepaid charge and nil purchase” policy to popularize deeply customized 3G phones. Obviously, with the upcoming establishment of China mobile TD-SCDMA network and coverage of 218 cities in 2009, there will be millions of 3G phones operating MiniGUI and other MiniGUI-based application software in China.
Datang Mobile TD-SCDMA terminal solution Arena
On Hongkong Telecom World in 2006, Datang Mobile Communication, as a leading enterprise in the Chinese communication field, grandly rolled out a TD-SCDMA 3G phone terminal software standard platform Arena which adopted ThreadX as a real-time operation system and applied MiniGUI and Fhas application development platforms of FMSoft to be graphics display systems and terminal application development platforms. Such platform is the most important software platform solution of Datang Mobile communication among 3G phone solutions. At present, more than ten phone manufacturers and phone design-houses have selected such a platform for the development of 3G phone products, such as ZTE and TCL, which indicates that MiniGUI has become a phone de-facto standard of TD-SCDMA standard platform.
Skype phone
Taiwan Inventec Electronics Technology Co., Ltd began to cooperate with FMSoft in 2003 and selected FMSoft MiniGUI as a graphics system, Fhas application development platform (smart phone version), and Fhas application kit to develop a GSM smart phone and a Wi-Fi phone which run on Linux and eCos operation systems respectively. GSM smart phone realized functions such as short message, communication, call history, address book, T9 Chinese input method, PDF, WORD, EXCEL, and PPT and the like and was very popular in Taiwan. In 2006, Inventec Company further cooperated with FMSoft and selected MiniGUI to develop a video IP phone supporting Skype function, which laid a high-end position for FMSoft in digital media field.
Wi-Fi phone
The company takes VxWorks as the real-time operation system and selects MiniGUI, a product from FMSoft, as graphics system, Fhas application development platform (smart phone version) and Fhas application development kit to research and develop a Wi-Fi phone based on SIP protocol, with functions such as address book, communication, call history, e-mail, Japanese input method and the like and capable of distributing SIP communication protocol and related Wireless information; and a lightweight built-in database is provided for data storage.