Cell-phone chip content on the rise, says Nokia
Silicon Strategies
12/11/2003, 5:45 PM ET
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Electronic content such as semiconductors is on the rise again in cellular phones after a precipitous drop over the last several years, according to a top executive at Nokia Group.
The initial cell phones were bulky products that consisted of some 1,000 individual components, said Kari-Pekka Wilska, president of Nokia's North American unit, Nokia Americas, during a speech at the annual SEMI dinner and awards ceremony here on Wednesday (December 11, 2003).
In comparison, the new cell phones now have only about 350 components, thanks in part to the trend towards chip-level integration, Wilska said.
However, electronic content is on the rise again, due to the advent of higher-end smart phones, camera phones, and related products. New cellular phones are being integrated with "color screens, CCD cameras, and Bluetooth," he said.
There are other positive signs in wireless. Worldwide subscriber rates are projected to jump from 1.2 billion today, to 2 billion by 2008, he said. |
