ASIA
Japan : NTT DoCoMo, Renesas Technology Corp, Fujitsu Limited, Mitsubishi
Electric and Sharp Corporation announced that they will jointly develop
a comprehensive mobile phone platform (1) combining a single-chip
LSI for dual mode handsets supporting HSDPA /W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS/EDGE,
and core software such as operating systems.
The new mobile
phone platform will help accelerate the global adoption of W-CDMA
services including FOMA(TM), and lower the costs of these handsets.
The companies expect to have the platform developed around Q2/FY2007
(July-September). The next-generation mobile phone platform is built
on the previously developed single-chip LSI technology of NTT DoCoMo
and Renesas since July 2004, which combines a baseband processor and
the SH-Mobile application processor for dual-mode W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS
phones. The jointly developed platform adds new functionality, such
as support for HSPDA and EDGE technologies and full development support
including OS, middleware and drivers.
The platform can
be implemented directly as a base system for W-CDMA handsets and eliminates
the need for mobile phone manufacturers such as Fujitsu, Mitsubishi
Electric and Sharp to develop a separate system for the common handset
functions, significantly reducing the time and cost of development.
At the same time, it allows them toinvest more time and resources
into developing handsets that aredistinctive to them.
The platform will
be initially available for FOMA, and later for UMTS(5) offered by
Renesas. When the platform is widely spread and adopted, a further
cost reduction of the handsets will be expected.