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Texas Instruments Creates More Advanced 3G Cell Phone Chips

6:30 am on February 15, 2006 | Category: Mobile Devices, Wireless Technology

Leading mobile chipmaker, Texas Instruments, revealed yesterday that it has recently developed a more powerful processor for cell phones, which will allow future wireless devices to better perform intensive tasks.

The company claims that this new technology will allow users to record and play back high-quality video on their cell phones, as well as take 12-megapixel photographs with just a one second delay between shots.

“That’s pretty extreme for a handset, even a few years out. Will a 12-megapixel camera phone be worth it?” said In-Stat analyst, Allen Nogee. “A lot of this is about bragging rights, but if they can do it, more power to them.”

Gartner Dataquest analyst, Stan Bruederle, on the other hand, was more skeptical about the ability of this technology to come to fruition. He believes that most handset makers wonâ€™t take advantage of it for fear of weakening a phoneâ€™s core functions.

“The chip guys are way ahead of the applications,” he commented. “In the end, it’s still a phone.”

With the craze picking up over advanced 3G functionality, however, TI is counting on cell phone manufacturers to claim these high tech â€œbragging rightsâ€ for themselves.

The new technology, which is named OMAP 3, will begin shipping to manufacturers later this year, and is expected to show up in 3G handsets by early 2007.

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