Meeting Power, Cost and Performance Targets for VoIP in Handsets

This article explores the challenges faced by designers adding VoIP to battery powered devices, such as VoWiFi and Dual-Mode Cellular/WiFi handsets. The added complexity and power consumption of adding a VoIP application is examined within the context of chip architecture and hardware/software partitioning choices. The evolution of RISC processors with DSP functionality is discussed, as are the merits of a single core system for voice and application processing that is enabled by these enhanced general purpose processors.