Further expanding its portfolio of radio products, Royal Philips Electronics has readied three new miniature FM radios for mobile devices. According to Philips, it is the smallest FM radio solution in the market today. One of three new additions to its portfolio includes a small integrated FM+RDS (Radio Data System) solution that provides listeners with a new world of interactive, user-friendly radio. FM radio is one of the key features users are looking for as mobile phones evolve into portable connected consumer devices. With listening figures as high as 20 hours per week, consumers appreciate the addition of easy-to-use FM radio on their mobile phones. The ultra-small size simplifies the design process for device manufacturers and makes space available for other features.

According to analysts, 15 percent of mobile phones sold worldwide today have FM radio, and the market is set to continue to grow toward 50 percent. Philips’ complete portfolio of radio products includes FM, AM/FM and FM+RDS. It also supports RBDS (Radio Broadcast Data System), the U.S. standard for RDS. The integration of RDS will enable users to view the station name, scan for a particular type of program and ensure that the receiver always tunes to the strongest signal available. The technology also offers benefits for telecom operators by increasing average revenue per user (APRU).

“Mobile phones are becoming the ultimate portable device and consumers are placing great value on the multimedia features that differentiate their phone from others in the market. Already established as a proven technology with a large user base all over the world, FM radio is a valuable addition to any handset,” said Peter Baumgartner, senior vice president of Philips Semiconductors’ Communications business. “As the leader in this market for FM radio on mobile devices, Philips enables everyone to enjoy radio entertainment, everywhere and anytime they want.”

The external component count has been reduced dramatically in the new FM and FM+RDS products. The size of the FM radio TEA5761 has been reduced from 150 mm2 to a 50mm2 PCB area. The FM with integrated RDS demodulator and decoder TEA5764 covers a total PCB area of only 70 mm2. The two versions are realized in wafer level chips-scale (WL-CSP) packaging. The FM radio and FM+RDS are fully pin-compatible, which means that manufacturers benefit from the ability to make last-minute easy swaps. Likewise, the TEA5777 comes in the HVQFN48 package and occupies 200mm2 PCB area. While FM TEA5761 is available now, the FM+RDS TEA5764 and the AM/FM TEA5777 are slated for availability early next year.

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