EDGE Vol.14

The mobile phone industry is undergoing considerable change. For example, in Japan the arrival of terrestrial digital one-segment broadcasting, number-portability regulations, and HSDPA high-speed data services at 10Mbps or more are making 2006 a particularly eventful year. With the milestone of 100 million Japanese users in sight, mobile phone manufacturers in our country are searching for the next key to market growth. Two major themes are likely to emerge. One is the development of business models in which "things" rather than "people" are the users. The other is a major push into international markets to achieve global market scale and further drive the expansion of the mobile phone business.

Whichever direction is taken, it is clear that the ability to work quickly will be a deciding factor. Victory will go to those phone makers that can rapidly develop special-purpose devices with built-in communications functions and mobile phones optimized for the various communications standards and applications, then release the new models onto the market at low prices.

Renesas counts a large number of mobile phone producers among our customers. Our responses to these advances in the mobile phone business include developing the SH-Mobile series of application processors. That product line now includes the SH-Mobile G series, LSI devices that combine SH-Mobile functions with a baseband processor. An extensive range of additional mobile phone components, including LCD controller ICs, RF modules, power-supply ICs, and various middleware products for SH-Mobile processors complements these very successful products.

Mobile phone solutions are one of the pillars of Renesas' system solutions business and an area of ongoing strength. This Special Feature looks at the front line of this part of our business, beginning with a discussion by industry experts on how globalization is affecting companies that manufacture mobile phones. It then provides updates on some of the latest Renesas solutions for handsets: the G-series SH-Mobile application processor mentioned previously, middleware packages for SH-Mobile devices, and LCD controller/driver ICs for mobile-phone color displays with up to QVGA resolution, as well as RF ICs and high-power amplifier modules. The section of the magazine concludes by describing a quick-response power supply IC for W-CDMA and CDMA2000 mobile phones.

Roundtable discussion : Making Sense of Globalization in the Mobile Phone Business
Renesas Mobile Phone Solutions
SH-Mobile Application Processors
Middleware for SH-Mobile Devices
LCD Controller/Driver IC
RF IC/HPA Module
Power Supply IC for W-CDMA/CDMA2000 Mobile Phones

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