Mobile phones for under $20 by next year

Early next year people in India can look forward to using mobile phones costing less than $20 (around Rs 850) running on 3A size batteries, said S Surya, managing director, Infineon Technologies. These new ultra-low cost (ULC) mobile phones will be using Infineon's new reference platform based on a single chip GSM solution.

These phones will be using three 3A batteries (the type usually referred to as pencil batteries) whereas mobile phones currently run on batteries whose replacement cost is over Rs 200.

"The company is negotiating with various handset makers and things will be finalised very soon," said S Surya, managing director, Infineon Technologies India Pvt Ltd. The Bangalore centre of Infenion has made a contribution in developing this low cost technology.

These costs cover the entire mobile phone, including all the electronic components, printed circuit board, connectors, casing with keypad display and all softwares associated with the mobile phone.

By next year the company also plans to shrink the size of the 'system-on-a-chip' (SOC), thereby aiming to reduce the price by another 20 per cent. The SOC technology reduces the size of the printed circuit board, thereby reducing the number of components used and also increases the standby time.

In Infenion's ULC platform for a mobile phone capable of basic voice and SMS service, the number of electronic components has been reduced to below 100 from around 150-200. This is made possible by a highly integrarted chip of Infineon that combines the processor and the send and recieve electronics.

Infenion aims to provide mobile phone manufacturers with chips for individual functions and also complete reference platforms for all types of mobile phones ranging from ULC phones to multi-functional multimedia phones.

Infineon Technologies also announced that Midas Communication Technologies, a provider of network access solutions, has selected a customised system-on-chip (SoC) solution cost optimised for Voice over IP terminals featurng conferencing and hands-free functionality with high-quality audio performance.

The company also plans to increase its headcount in India in the next 18 months from 550 to 880. So far the company has invested $150 million in India.