Novatel (Vodafone) MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The Novatel MiFi 2352 is a personal hotspot device that converts a 3G signal into a localized but portable WLAN (802.11b/g) network designed for the European HSDPA market (quad band GSM / tri band UMTS). As opposed to more traditional wireless broadband cards or USB dongles which offers connection to a single device, the MiFi 2352 offers wireless access for up to 5 devices via the localized WLAN network giving the "road warrior professional more options in accessing the internet on the go.

The battery powered MiFi 2352 weighs approximately 80 grams and designed to fit into a shirt pocket making it highly portable. Inside the device, the MiFi consist of a primary PCB assembly powered by a Qualcomm MSM7225 chipset and a Murata WLAN module. In many ways, the Novatel MiFi device is analogous to a WiFi enabled handset without the display unit.

Novatel (Vodafone) MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot Main Image

Mobile Business Professionals

Released

H2 2009

Novatel (Vodafone) MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot - Main PCB Top

Pricing - unknown

Availability - Europe

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have assumed a lifetime production volume of 1 million units.

As a reminder, teardown volume production assumptions are primarily used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially). Unless assumed volumes are different by an order of magnitude, minor changes in volume (say 1 million vs. 2) rarely have a large net effect on our final analysis because of this.

Novatel (Vodafone) MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot - Main PCB Bottom

Main Cost Drivers Representing ~70% of total materials cost

Qualcomm - MSM7225 - Baseband Processor - Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps

Samsung Semiconductor - K522F1GACM-A060 - MCP - 2Gb NAND Flash + 1Gb Mobile DDR SDRAM

Murata - Bluetooth / WLAN Module - 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Contains Marvell 88W8688 SoC & Antenna Switch

Tyco Electronics - Battery - Li-Ion, 3.7V, 1530mAh

Qualcomm - PM7540 - Power Management IC - w/ Integrated USB Transceiver

Wus Printed Circuit Co. - 8-Layer - FR4/RCF HDI, 2+4+2

Qualcomm - RTR6285 - RF Transceiver - ZIF, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Tri-Band UMTS Transceiver, HSDPA, w/ Integrated GPS Receiver & Receive Diversity

Ktec - KSAA0500120W1UV-1 - Charger - 5V, 1.2A, w/ 1.1M Cord

Linear Technology - LTC3412AEUF - Regulator - DC-DC Converter, Step-Down, Monolithic, Synchronous, 3A, 4MHz (Qty:2)

Anadigics - AWT6155RM37P8 - PAM - Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, w/ Integrated Power Control

Total BOM Cost $86.89

Novatel (Vodafone) MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot Cost Analysis

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

Manufacturing Notes

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on markings, the unit was assembled in China. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were also sourced in China.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of 'finished' sub-assemblies (such as WLAN Module), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Remember also that labor rates are applied directly only to hand inserted components and systems in our bill of materials, and although regional assumptions do, these new rates do not have a direct effect on our modeled calculations of placement costs for automated SMD assembly lines. ""Auto" inserted components (such as SMT components) placement costs are calculated by an iSuppli algorithm which allocates a cost per component based on the size and pincount of the device. This calculation is affected by country or region of origin as well.

Novatel (Vodafone) MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot - Enclosure Disassembly

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The Novatel MiFi 2352 has an overall component count of 690 (excluding box contents), of which, only 35 are mechanical in nature. This is a significantly higher complexity metric than the MiFi 2200 (dual band CDMA version).

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design. The cost of manufacturing is also, to some extent, decreased in this case because of assumed labor rate applied for China.

Note that manual labor has a much smaller effect on auto-insertion assembly lines (for the Main PCB, for example), where manufacturing costs are much more capital equipment intensive and driven by these investment costs.

Design Notes

The core of the Novatel MiFi 2352 design revolves around the Qualcomm MSM7225 baseband processor and supporting Power Management (PM7540) and RF Transceiver (RTR6285) solution. A Murata Bluetooth/WLAN module packages a Marvell 88W8688 SoC and antenna switch to provide the 802.11b/g connectivity and network management. Interestingly, the integrated Bluetooth functionality does not appear to be used by the device but just along for the ride. The memory portion of the device is furnished by a Samsung MCP with 2GB NAND Flash and 1Gb DDR SDRAM. Unlike the MiFi 2200, the 2352 comes with external memory via a built-in microSD slot.

Here is a summary of the major components used in the Novatel MiFi 2352 design:

Main PCB

• Baseband Processor - Qualcomm - MSM7225 (Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps)
• Memory - Samsung Semiconductor - K522F1GACM-A060 (2Gb NAND Flash + 1Gb Mobile DDR SDRAM)
• Power Management IC - Qualcomm - PM7540
• Bluetooth / WLAN Module - Murata - 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Contains Marvell 88W8688 SoC & Antenna Switch
• RF Transceiver - Qualcomm - RTR6285 (ZIF, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Tri-Band UMTS Transceiver, HSDPA, w/ Integrated GPS Receiver & Receive Diversity)

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Novatel (Vodafone) MiFi 2352 Mobile Hotspot - Box Contents