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 opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing 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