Motorola has become the first manufacturer to come out with a cell phone which makes use of the new ‘LoCosto’ chip. The LoCosto chip from Texas Instruments, is a low cost chip and is the industry’s first architecture to provide single-chip solutions from ultra-low to entry-range wireless handsets.

TI’s integration capabilities are shown in its unique new “LoCosto” platform, the industry’s first architecture to provide single-chip solutions for low- to mid-range wireless handsets. Using TI’s advanced DRP™ technology,“LoCosto” combines the radio and all the baseband processing into one highly integrated device. The result is a lower BOM and savings in board space, power consumption and system cost. Utilizing “LoCosto” technology, wireless handsets can be designed in sleeker form factors and at costs affordable to new markets.

For the first time, wireless handsets can be made ultra compact and inexpensively enough to open up entire new markets around the world. Motorola has launched the GSM based W220 , based on this chipset in Taiwan for NT$4,880 (US$150). Among its features, of which MP3 player and camera are not present, the only thing worth mention would be the FM radio. Compal Communications will ship CDMA handsets (W170 and W210) and GSM handsets (W208 and W375) that incorporate the LoCosto chips to Motorola in the second half of this year, sources said. The W170 model will be volume produced in the third quarter, with the rest to be rolled out in the fourth quarter, the sources added.

Texas Instruments expects production costs for the LoCosto chip to be less than 10$ and upto millions of chip sales this year.