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There was a time when handsets were used only for saving phone numbers and receiving messages. This is not so anymore. Today, cellphones can be compared to laptops with huge storage capacities. Thanks to semiconductors that have made some breakthrough changes in hand-held devices. In fact, the mobile segment has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the semiconductor industry.

India is now the second largest mobile market in the world. As per a report by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the mobile subscriber base in the country is expected to be 893 mn by 2012. This is a 150 mn increase of what was projected earlier. The main reason behind this is the increasing adoption of mobile services in rural areas. There is also an untapped and vast opportunity for locally made products in this market. This will, in turn, boost the growth of the semiconductor industry.

According to ISA-F&S 2008 study on the semiconductor market, wireless handset segment held the second largest share (31.2%) of the total available market revenues. It's evident that MNCs are leveraging their Indian R&D capabilities to not only develop products for the local market, but also to identify newer avenues for business globally. In fact, Nokia's Chennai factory is now the company's largest cellphone manufacturing facility in the world.

One interesting aspect is that even at the time of recession, the mobile segment has faired better in the Indian semiconductor industry.

The 'Electronics Industry Market Research and Knowledge Network' predicts a 13-15% decline in mobile chipset market growth worldwide through 2009, with recovery not gaining traction until 2010. However, the mobile segment in the Indian semiconductor industry is expected to outperform the overall market.

Innovation in applications, processors, and memory; and convergence technologies in mobiles is expected to drive the growth of the segment. Enabling broadband on handsets and the adoption of 3G technology will act as a catalyst in this growth. Growing consumer demand, time-to-market pressures, and short product lifecycles mean that the product has to be out in the market within a very tight window, for it to be cost-effective and profitable.

Today, mobiles are not just looked upon as mere communication devices. End-users want feature-rich handsets-with in-built cameras, GPS capabilities, and Internet access-without compromising on the form factor. With increasing demand for sophisticated handsets and advanced features, chip design for mobile phones is increasingly getting complex and convergence is taking place. This has taken the semiconductor market to the next level.

Converging Ways
Today, single-core processors are enabling high-end computing and data intensive applications. Multi-core processors are also gaining popularity, due to their scalability and performance capabilities.

Next generation technologies, like 3G, will play a big role in enabling converged devices. There is a demand for multi-core processor chips in India and the global market, as they deliver greater computing power and consume lesser energy.

"Semiconductor chips are the heart of converged, futuristic devices and there will always remain a requirement for chips for newer devices in the future," says Ganesh Guruswamy, VP and country manager, Freescale.

Rakesh Agarwal, country manager, Lattice Semiconductor opines, "Convergence only presents opportunities in the long-run, since it fuels further innovation of technology and generation of new products."

With the advent of advanced mobile devices and smartphones, the semiconductor industry is faced with demand for powerful processors, huge memory space, large screens, and open operating systems. Chip design that enables a user-friendly graphic user interface is also a requirement.

The launch of mobile computing devices like-smart books that are similar to smartphones in terms of the form factor, but with higher computing power-have also given a thrust to the convergence between mobile and computer space.

Says Rahul Arya, MD, Cadence Design Systems, "The kind of convergence that is taking place is also causing a lot of niche semiconductor players that traditionally focused on one segment, such as the mobile space, to explore the potential of chip design for market adjacencies, say for smart books or netbooks."

Mobiles have for sure become hand-held computers themselves, almost a minicomputer, with-Windows or Android or Symbion OS, 32 bit microprocessor, great audio/video and connectivity of WIFI, USB, Bluetooth, 4-8 GB memory slots, email, Internet browsing , NFC, etc.

In-Stat says that the mobile market for mobile/smartphone processor based solutions is expected to grow at a 22.3% CAGR through 2013, with the highest total unit growth resulting from hand-held applications like smartphones and mobile Internet devices (MIDs). By 2013, the market is projected to grow to about 775 mn units.

As Vadiraj R, head, mobile applications, MindTree puts, "The trend what we notice is that the mobile and computer space is converging through the emergence of netbooks, tablet PCs, etc. These technologies will get deployed in the enterprise space depending on the nature of the requirements and complexity."

3G spectrum has just addressed what was much needed-the support of higher bandwidth on mobile devices. Now to be able to realize the potential of all the sophisticated gadgets available around, what remains is the challenge of providing safe tunnel for mobile based financial transactions. Which means, the IP providers have a much larger role to play in this segment now.

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