Qualcomm Gobi

Did You Know?

• The third generation of Gobi chipsets, announced March 23, 2010, consists of 6 different chips targeting USB modems, e-readers, gaming devices, and machine-to-machine applications.
• Qualcomm introduced a common Gobi software interface (API) across multiple hardware platforms for select MDM chipsets.

History

Qualcomm's Gobi line of chipsets first appeared in late 2007, with the initial MDM1000 model hitting the market in mid-2008. That chip was adopted by HP, Vodafone, and Verizon. In early 2009, the second-generation MDM2000 arrived, bringing support for frequencies used in Japan and parts of rural Europe, along with faster uploads and software tweaks. The third generation, announced in March 2010, split into six distinct chips to target different devices like USB modems, e-readers, gaming hardware, and machine-to-machine systems. Alongside these, Qualcomm rolled out software updates that gave select MDM chips a shared programming interface across various hardware setups.

Products

The main feature of Gobi modems is their support of multiple wireless standards such as GSM and CDMA. Newer modems also support 4G wireless standards including HSPA+ and LTE, with a notable omission of WiMax. The supported standards and data rates depend on the chip. The MDM1000 is a multi-mode modem supporting EV-DO Rev. A at 800 and 1900 MHz, HSPA with backward compatibility to GSM, GPRS, and EDGE at 850, 1900, and 2100 MHz, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE at 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz, with simultaneous GPS. The MDM2000 adds HSPA at 800 and 900 MHz, improved upload speeds, and Assisted GPS. The MDM6200 is a single-mode modem supporting only HSPA+ at up to 14.4 Mbit/s with GPS. The MDM6600 is multi-mode, supporting HSPA+ at up to 14.4 Mbit/s and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. A/Rev. B with GPS. The MDM8200A is single-mode supporting HSPA+ at up to 28 Mbit/s with GPS. The MDM8220 is single-mode supporting Dual-Carrier HSPA+ at up to 42 Mbit/s with GPS. The MDM9200 is single-mode supporting LTE at up to 100 Mbit/s with backward compatibility to Dual-Carrier HSPA+ and GPS. The MDM9600 is multi-mode supporting LTE at up to 100 Mbit/s with backward compatibility to Dual-Carrier HSPA+, EV-DO Rev. A/Rev. B, and GPS.