Texas Instruments (TI), the world’s largest maker of chips for mobile phones, Thursday announced a new chip for mobile handsets designed to reduce the costs of cell phones and make mobile communications more available to users in developing countries. Speaking in Beijing, TI Chief Executive Officer Richard Templeton said entry-level phones serve as both data and voice devices for rural communities in developing countries. “For these people, most likely the first time they connect to the Internet will be through a mobile handset,” he said, adding that phones must therefore become more affordable.The new OMAPV1035 chip expands TI’s existing line of chips for low-cost handsets. It will be manufactured using a 65-nanometer process and will support Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service, and Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution cellular standards, the company said.Unlike its predecessor, the OMAPV1030, the new chip combines the analog radio frequency processor with the digital baseband and application processors on a single chip. As these components were previously on separate chips, the OMAPV1035 will allow phone makers to produce slimmer handsets that consume less power, TI said. The new chip is part of a move by TI and other mobile handset and handset component manufacturers to drive down handset costs, making them more affordable for users in developing countries. In September 2005, the GSM Association set a goal for the industry to create handsets with a wholesale price under US$30. Motorola’s C113 and C113a were the first two models to hit the price target.Because the chipset is one of a mobile handset’s most expensive components, creating low-cost chips is critical to the success of any effort to make phones more affordable. Templeton said low-cost handsets are aimed especially at large developing markets, including Brazil, Russia, India and China. “China is the fastest-growing market for low-cost handsets,” he said.-Steven Schwankert, IDG News Service (Beijing Bureau)Related Links: Ultra-Low-Cost Handset Market Taking Off GSMA Gets 10 Bids for Low-Cost 3G Handset Intel Touts New Low-Cost LaptopsCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature Expedia poised to take flight with generative AI CTO Rathi Murthy sees the online travel service’s vast troves of data and AI expertise fueling a two-pronged transformation strategy aimed at growing the company by bringing more of the travel industry online. By Paula Rooney Jun 02, 2023 7 mins Travel and Hospitality Industry Digital Transformation Artificial Intelligence case study Deoleo doubles down on sustainability through digital transformation The Spanish multinational olive oil processing company is immersed in a digital transformation journey to achieve operational efficiency and contribute to the company's sustainability strategy. By Nuria Cordon Jun 02, 2023 6 mins CIO Supply Chain Digital Transformation brandpost Resilient data backup and recovery is critical to enterprise success As global data volumes rise, business must prioritize their resiliency strategies. By Neal Weinberg Jun 01, 2023 4 mins Security brandpost Democratizing HPC with multicloud to accelerate engineering innovations Cloud for HPC is facilitating broader access to high performance computing and accelerating innovations and opportunities for all types of organizations. By Tanya O'Hara Jun 01, 2023 6 mins Multi Cloud Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe