Mobile Internet Devices Give Rise to New Power Management Chips

Jan 9, 2008 5:02 PM
by David Morrison, Editor-in-Chief, Power Electronics Technology

Expanding PMIC Availability

Also announced this week was NEC Electronics America’s plan to expand its product offering to include highly integrated power management ICs (PMICs) targeting the next wave of MIDs. The chips will allow for integration of compelling applications and services such as Internet and cellular network access, multimedia playback, navigation, gaming, social networking and other innovative Web 2.0 applications.

Although no specific parts are being announced at this time, the PMIC offerings announced by NEC Electronics America will be an extension of the existing product offerings from their parent company, NEC Electronics Corp, which is based in Japan. NEC Electronics’ PMIC solutions combine power management, logic, audio, user interface, connectivity and communications functions to maximize battery life, support high levels of integration and minimize board space.

Another IC vendor, Dialog Semiconductor, indicates that they are continually working on highly integrated mixed-signal devices that combine power management and audio functions for the latest generation mobile internet devices that provide multimedia, audio, video, and Internet. The fabless semiconductor company plans to showcase its latest chips at the Mobile World Congress, February 11 in Barcelona, Spain.

Others working in this area include Texas Instruments, which has a portfolio of PMICs that support the company’s OMAP processors as well as other application processors that find use in MIDs. The company notes that its PMIC development is ongoing and that it’s working with top manufacturers as they develop MIDs, ultra-mobile PCs and other portable applications that incorporate wireless capabilities.

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