The ongoing convergence of communications technologies and proliferation of digital media is introducing radical changes to the consumer electronic market. These changes are redefining our traditional ideas of what we can expect from familiar products, such as televisions, personal computers, and cellular handsets.

Advances in semiconductor technology are driving this transformation by bringing capabilities we are already accustomed to such as Web browsing, recording video, and getting driving directions into new device contexts. Mobile handsets are a good example of this trend, with the newest models providing advanced multimedia and Internet features that were previously limited to other devices.

Key to this convergence is the ability for mobile devices to connect to multiple networks, including those powered by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, and other radio technologies. These connectivity options greatly extend the usefulness of a mobile phone by enabling commerce and communication (via high-speed Internet access), delivering real-time sports and news broadcasts, and extending their interfaces with wireless headsets and other peripherals. Each radio technology performs a specific function, but the sum represents a significant transformation of the role of these devices in our lives.

Wi-Fi In Mobile Devices

While Bluetooth is already a mainstay feature of mobile phones, Wi-Fi is a relative newcomer to these devices. But with the skyrocketing demand for mobile data, location-based services, and multimedia content on any device, wireless carriers and consumers are now seeing significant value in having Wi-Fi on the handset.

For mobile users, Wi-Fi provides a high-speed link to the Internet and its endless array of digital music, video, and games. But since most consumers won’t pay much for content that is confined to a single device, tying the mobile phone (and its contents) into the larger Wi-Fi ecosystem makes sense. Imagine downloading songs onto your phone while traveling and adding them to the music library on your PC when you arrive home or transmitting photos and videos between your phone and television.

For cellular carriers, Wi-Fi is a technology that can offload data traffic from a 3G network, which frees up bandwidth and reduces the cost of adding infrastructure to support the growing number of customers looking to use these new applications. Additionally, it can turn a wireless handset into a multimedia center, spurring new usage models and revenue streams for service providers.

The additional bandwidth and coverage of the new 802.11n standard will enable even more multimedia applications on mobile devices. This will accelerate Wi-Fi’s transition from high-end smart phones into media-centric mid-range phones. It also is expected to drive Wi-Fi attach rates from 10% of phones in 2009 to 20% by 2012, according to ABI Research.

Combo Chips: A Winning Approach

Given the growing demand for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other connectivity technologies in mobile devices, manufacturers are looking for ways to add these features in smaller and smaller products. However, adding multiple radios to mobile phones and other compact devices brings several design challenges—more cost, more drain on battery life, more space, and more radio interference.

Just as various wireless technologies are converging to meet new consumer demands and create new usage models, chip companies are bringing them together at the silicon level to address the technical challenges presented by wireless convergence. Rather than supplying several discrete components, chipmakers are now integrating multiple wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radio, and GPS onto a single die. Such “combo chips” offer significant advantages that overcome the challenges of designing small mobile devices with the latest connectivity features.

Because of these advantages, IDC predicts that combo chips such will account for nearly two-thirds of all wireless connectivity solutions shipped into mobile phones by 2012, demonstrating the strength of this approach (see the figure). Manufacturers evaluating discrete wireless solutions versus combo chips must consider performance, coexistence and interference, component size and cost, antenna placement, and power management.

Performance

To compete in the cutthroat handset market, vendors are constantly striving to offer the latest features and a better user experience. Both of these factors are critical to attracting new customers and maintaining brand loyalty. If a wireless feature fails to work as expected, consumers will become frustrated and may stop using the feature altogether—or worse yet, switch to another handset brand.

When adding multiple wireless technologies to a mobile handset, manufacturers will not settle for subpar performance. New devices must perform as well as or better than previous generations. Since the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies are constantly evolving, integrating the most advanced features into combo chips is an arduous task. Therefore, handset makers must look for silicon vendors that not only have well-rounded wireless portfolios, but also those with a proven track record of combining technologies for mobile designs.