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To: Bux who wrote (46925)	11/1/1999 9:12:00 PM
From: marginmike	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

From that"stupid thread"<g> DSP : Digital Signal Processor. It is essentially a CPU which has been optimized to perform math intensive operations. A DSP runs some form of assembly code to achieve the desired result. ASIC : Application Specific Integrated Circuit. This is a general term for an IC that is designed to achieve a specific, well defined goal. The alternate IC is the Standard Product which are building blocks that are flexible and can be used in a variety of situations. The line between ASIC and SP is not always well defined. An ASIC can be any combination of circuits and can contain blocks such as DSPs, CPUs, RAM, ROM, Custom Logic, Analog circuits, RF circuits, etc, etc. A transmitter (or any other part of a cellphone) can be made of either ASICs, Standard Products or both. ASICs are generally superior in terms of size and performance but are only cost effective when volumes are high. Otherwise the cost of development is simply too high. The new MOT device sounds like a SP, but the application requires an ASIC for sufficient performance and the volumes certainly justify ASIC development. MOT is barking up the wrong tree and will get creamed in the wireless market by QCOM et al. Hope this helps. BB --------------------------------------------------------------------------------