Hi-tech handsets bring down costs

Cheaper and longer-lasting global mobile handsets are on their way with a new radio technology developed by Qualcomm.

Cheaper and longer-lasting global mobile handsets are on their way with a new radio technology developed by Qualcomm.

The company's mobile radio conversion system, called radioOne, converts radio frequency signals in one step instead of several, eradicating the need for multiple filters.

This Zero Intermediary Frequency technique means circuitry can be cut by 50 per cent, resulting in smaller handsets and lower manufacturing costs. The streamlined radio conversion gives users 20 per cent more talk time.

Designed for use on Code Division Multiple Access-based world handsets, radioOne will initially be adopted by major manufacturers of third-generation handsets. The first radioOne-equipped phones will appear in 2002, said Don Schrock, president of Qualcomm.

A mobile standard which can work on any network was first mooted by the mobile industry three years ago, but analysts said the cost of chipsets was the biggest barrier for a mass roll-out.