Texas Instruments’ and Nokia’s joint announcement that Nokia will incorporate a single-chip system based on Texas Instruments’ technology to its future mobile phones may result in development of phones for the mass market in the short run and, eventually, more advanced devices that will let users roam between networks, analysts say.The new chip design uses digital technology to simplify radio frequency processing, which can reduce board space and extend battery life, the companies said. Using Texas Instruments’ DRP (Digital RF Processor)-based, single-chip technology, Nokia will utilize cost, size, power and performance advantages for high-volume, entry-level mobile phones. As a first step, the phones will target high-growth regions such as India and China. “Over two years ago, Texas Instruments announced its vision to integrate its DRP technology in our mobile system solutions,” said Gilles Delfassy, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Wireless Terminals Business Unit, in a statement. “This vision was first put into action in a single-chip solution for Bluetooth connectivity, is now continued with the single-chip GPRS solution, and will be followed with a robust roadmap of single-chip products to address additional wireless needs. With the industry’s first integrated single-chip solution, Texas Instruments and Nokia are bringing more affordable, advanced mobile phones to consumers worldwide.” “Texas Instruments’ advanced DRP technology, combined with our systems expertise, will enable us to deliver smaller, sleeker handsets with the latest voice, data, and multimedia capabilities without increasing size and power consumption,” said Juha Pinomaa, Vice President, Entry Business Line, Nokia. Some industry analysts said the chip will enable wireless phone developers to evolve services in stages. “The phones that will first come to market will be basic phones, but that’s where the improvement will begin, and over time, they will make them move up market,” said Alex Slawsby, senior analyst for mobile devices for the IT re-search and consulting company, IDC. “The design will free up resources of hand-set vendors to focus on handset development.” “It’s an important milestone for the industry and a first step towards a mass market-friendly device and, eventually, it will let you roam between different types of networks,” said John Jackson, wireless analyst for the IT research company, The Yankee Group. “You’ll have GSM, GPRS, CDMA and WiFi.” The new chip follows Texas Instruments’ integrated DRP technology roadmap. The BRF6100 Bluetooth single chip, announced in June 2002, was the first imple-mentation of Texas Instruments’ DRP technology, followed by the BRF6150 and the BRF6300. Texas Instruments’ integrated wireless technology roadmap also includes a sin-gle chip solution for digital TV for mobile phones, as well as future single chip solutions for GPS, wireless LAN, UMTS and other air interfaces, paving the way for further integration with the cellular modem and the company’s OMAPTM processors. Technology Industry