TI reveals 45nm process

At the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, Texas Instruments disclosed process and design advancements enabling the first 45 nanometre (nm) 3.5G baseband and multimedia processor addressing critical power challenges in the wireless market, says Fox Business.

TI's 45nm process incorporates various technology advancements and design techniques, along with new SmartReflex 2 power and performance management technologies.

With these advancements, wireless customers will be able to deliver smaller, sleeker devices with advanced multimedia functionality, realising a 55% performance increase and 63% power reduction versus the 65nm process.

Ericsson partnered with Lenovo this week to embed HSPA mobile broadband modules in the PC maker's ThinkPad notebook computers, starting this year. This is the first time Ericsson's technology will be included in a laptop to provide users with a DSL-like experience, says Information Week.

HSPA is a high-speed cellular technology capable of peak download rates of up to 14Mbps and peak upload rates of up to 2Mbps.

Once the technology is embedded in laptops, users will be able to browse the Internet and use bandwidth-hungry applications in places where wireless carriers have built out HSPA networks.

Mobile phones, the Internet and telecentres play a vital role in supporting the livelihoods of the poor and spurring growth in developing countries, according to a report by the UN, says Guardian Unlimited.

But the digital divide between the developing and developed world is still wide, the UN Conference on Trade and Development warned, and it urged governments and overseas aid to target policies for expanding ICT.

Mobile phones are the main form of digital progress helping the poor and bridging the connectivity divide. The number of subscribers in developing nations has almost tripled in the past five years and now accounts for 58% of subscribers worldwide.