Digital-rights-management solutions could be present within smartphones in as a little as a years time, a senior executive at Philips said, one of a number of functions being added to mobile handsets.
Wireless executives speaking at the Semico IMPACT conference in San Jose said their industry continues to face the constant pressures to increase the performance of wireless handsets while still maintaining low power and a long battery life.
Part of the problem stems from the role PDAs and mobile handsets play in society: at the high end, the devices emulate the role of a “personal communicator”, emulating a personal computer that doubles as a cell phone.
“Our vision is one where every (handset) is a conduit for entertainment and services, and this will happen whether we like it or not,” said Mario Rivas, executive vice president of the communications businesses at Philips semiconductor division.