Building the mobile connectivity centre

In its 20 years in the mainstream, the cellular handset has rapidly become one of the most powerful product concepts ever invented. It is ubiquitously deployed, and is used for both work and leisure. User demands and the ingenuity of its developers have combined to see it absorb increasing numbers of complex functions. And, just as users are demanding more features from manufacturers, so handset designers are turning to silicon suppliers to solve these pressing integration problems. The integration challenge is an extremely delicate balancing act. The average mobile phone design does not have the capacity to house an additional four radio ICs ifOne way to approach this is to adopt the 'integrate everything now' approach on a single-chip - ignoring any ill-effects that combining multiple technologies creates.