Texas Instruments Inc., the world's largest maker of cell phone chips, on Monday unveiled a series of chips for advanced wireless phones and networks that allow users to surf the Internet at high-speeds as well as download videos and music.
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The Dallas-based company introduced five new processor chipsets, or combination of chips, for mobile phones that increase the performance of graphics and multimedia content by eight-fold while doubling the standby time.
The chipsets include technology that splits power supplies, so a user can leave an alarm feature on, for example, while the rest of the phone is essentially turned off.
The company said the chips, which also include security technology, allow mobile phone manufacturers to build more secure, smaller phones with longer battery life.
Two of the chipsets, OMAP730 and OMAP732, are designed for the world's dominant wireless technology standard GSM/GPRS and include a modem. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is the advanced version of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and enables high-speed Internet connections.
The company said the two chipsets will allow mobile phone makers to cut their manufacturing costs by as much as one-third.
The remaining three chipsets, OMAP 1610, OMAP1611, and OMAP 1612, allow mobile phone makers to offer higher-quality multimedia features and are aimed at the high-end market.
Michael Yonker, chief technologist for Texas Instrument's wireless computing products unit, said consumers should start seeing phones with these chips in time for the 2003 holiday season.
Texas Instruments also introduced a radio chipset for the advanced version of GPRS called UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System).
The radio chipset, which enables basic phone functions, is designed to work with the new processor chipsets. This chip is expected to be included in phones in the first half of 2004.
Texas Instruments said a new network chipset, available in the third quarter, will allow network equipment companies to make lower-cost channel cards for base stations, which intercept wireless signals from cell phones.
Source Reuters
